Location: Los Alcázares, Región de Murcia, Spain.
Summary: A week of health appointments, long walks, website updates, new clothes, gardening, lift breakdowns, and plenty of football. I continued improving my fitness, dealt with annoying neighbours and rubbish dumping, enjoyed meals with friends, and kept up with my daily routines while managing knee aches and the heat.
Monday, 29th September
I woke up just before 8:00 this morning. I got up, had a cup of coffee, and completed the Wordle puzzle before getting ready for my appointment at the health clinic. I equalled my best-ever Wordle streak today, 61 days in a row. I hope I can extend it tomorrow. I am convinced that games like these help keep my ageing brain ticking over, just as writing this blog helps keep my memory going.
I had a message from my neighbour Liz asking me to pick up some shopping for her, but I wasn’t able to help. I suggested she order it online, but she refused. Just after 10:00, I walked to the health clinic. I waited a few minutes because the nurse was helping someone who needed extra care. When my turn came, she removed the plaster, cleaned the wound, and redressed it. It looked good, and she seemed happy with it. She made me an appointment for Friday and told me that from next week, I would only need to see her once a week.
I left the clinic and looked for the bus stop. I didn’t think my disability scooter had enough charge to get me to see Martin, so I planned to take the bus. The bus wasn’t due for 40 minutes, so I walked halfway to Mercadona to catch it there. When I checked the time, I would still have had to wait 15 minutes, so I kept walking. The cooler weather made it easier, and I wasn’t as puffed out as I expected. I arrived at Pizzeria La Sombre, where Martin was already waiting. Dave arrived shortly after, and we sat talking until around 13:30. Dave dropped me home afterwards.
My knee ached more after sitting down than it had during the walk. I rested for the afternoon and finished watching series two of The Amazing Race Australia. It wasn’t as good as the first series, and the next three featured Australian celebrities I had never heard of, so I won’t bother with them. I plugged in my disability scooter and went to bed around 21:30.
Tuesday, 30th September
I woke feeling rested at about 6:30. I had a coffee, completed the Wordle puzzle, and walked to the health clinic, arriving at 8:00. After a short wait, the nurse pricked my finger for the Sintrom test. The first reading didn’t work, but the second showed my INR was perfect. As I left, I saw a Scottish lady I had met months ago, and we chatted briefly.
I walked home through the market, where the stallholders were setting up late because of the rain. When I reached the garage, I found someone had dumped several bags of old magazines and rubbish in my parking spot. It wasn’t the first time. I printed two polite notices telling the culprit to remove it or I would dump it outside their apartment. I put one in the lift and one on the community noticeboard.
Back in my apartment, I indexed pages on my website and replied to emails. I sent FedEx my NIE details for tax purposes on some clothes I had ordered. I also paid the final balance for my Australia and New Zealand trip next year. It was a lot of money, but I was pleased it was done.
I went out on my disability scooter to pick up groceries and then met Christine at Cafe Prensa for a coffee before joining Martin and Dave at Pizzeria La Sombre. A man who refuses to take his medication and drinks heavily joined us briefly. He shouted constantly and told us he wanted to move back in with his mother, despite having tried to kill her. I refused to speak while he was there. He eventually left.
Kate and Aria arrived later, and we chatted before I went home. The rubbish in my parking spot had been removed, so my note worked. I removed the notices and went home. I had a salad and some chicken wings, which gave me acid reflux. After recovering, I watched TV and went to bed around 22:00.
Wednesday, 1st October
I woke a few times in the night but got back to sleep quickly. I realised my arm ache was probably from lying on it. I had coffee and completed my morning tasks. I received an email from Farcebook informing me that my ban had resulted in my account being permanently deleted.
After a second coffee and a bacon sandwich, I added descriptions to my Italy photos, shaved my hair, showered, and walked to the health clinic to pick up my blood test results. The dose of my anticoagulants will remain the same for the next three weeks. My next appointment is on October 21st.
I walked to Casa de Papel to meet Wayne and Andy for lunch. I stopped at a pharmacy on the way to buy omeprazole. We all had the menu of the day. My beef stew starter was big enough to be a main meal, and the chicken in honey mustard sauce was fantastic. The three of us ate and drank for only €50. They were impressed.
I walked home afterwards, turned on the air conditioning, and rested. In the evening, I watched Arsenal vs Olympiacos. Arsenal won 2-0, but it was tougher than expected. Raya made a brilliant save that kept Arsenal ahead.
Thursday, 2nd October
I slept well and didn’t get up until around 9:00. The Oura ring showed I had slept for 8 hours and 42 minutes. I had coffee, completed the Wordle puzzle, and read reports on last night’s Arsenal game. I cleaned the kitchen and loaded the dishwasher.
I spent the day working on my website and waiting for a FedEx delivery of t-shirts and polo shirts. I added a new section to my website called Thoughts & Ponderings. The delivery never arrived, and at 23:00, I gave up and went to bed.
Friday, 3rd October
I woke at 6:30 but fell asleep again until my alarm went off at 7:00. I had coffee, completed the Wordle puzzle, showered, and went to the health clinic on my disability scooter. I withdrew cash on the way.
The nurse cleaned and redressed my wound. It looked really good, and she seemed pleased. She made me an appointment for next Friday. As I left, I saw a man on a tricycle ringing his bell. I thought he was impatient, but it turned out to be my neighbour. We chatted on the way home.
Back home, I cooked a full English breakfast. It was beautiful, and I had enough ingredients to make it again tomorrow. At 11:15, the FedEx delivery finally arrived. The clothes were excellent quality, well packaged, and fit perfectly. I will definitely order from them again.
My Amazon delivery arrived at 14:30. I tested my new kettle and set up the self-watering plant pots. I repotted two plants and prepared another for later. I took food out of the freezer to defrost and spent the rest of the day working on my website.
Saturday, 4th October
I woke early at 06:30, made coffee, and put washing in the machine. I worked on my website, hung up the washing, stripped the bed, and put the linen in the machine. I had porridge and did the Wordle puzzle.
I went to Economy Cash for groceries and bought salads, hot dog rolls, and a new carving knife. I worked on the genealogy section of my website, updating data and improving the layout. For lunch, I had hot dogs.
In the afternoon, I watched Arsenal vs West Ham. Arsenal won 2-0. Gyökeres still needs better service, but he looked dangerous. Later, I had pork ribs, which were disappointing again. I watched Chelsea vs Liverpool while working on my website. Chelsea won 2-1, putting Arsenal back on top of the league.
Sunday, 5th October
I slept well and woke at 9:30. My coffee looked terrible, so I switched to tea with fresh mint. I completed the Wordle puzzle and weighed myself. I was delighted to see I had lost more weight this week.
I made a cooked breakfast and planned to go for a walk after letting it settle. That was a mistake. I sat at my computer and ended up working on my website until 15:45. I had a pasta salad and continued working while listening to football on TV.
I ordered more self-watering pots and adhesive notice boards on Amazon and went to bed around 22:00.
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