Location: Los Alcázares, Murcia, Spain
Summary: A week of hospital and dental appointments, website work, coffee experiments, and plenty of Arsenal drama.
Monday, 3rd November
I woke up around 6:45 and lay in bed until my alarm went off at 7:30. I listened to my phone read out the news, weather, and my tasks for the day before getting up for a shower. After my shower, I made a coffee, checked my messages, published last week's blog, then had a second coffee and did the Wordle puzzle before heading to the health clinic on my disability scooter.
I did not have to wait long to see the nurse. I told her I would be seeing the consultant at the hospital later, and she informed the doctor before looking at my leg. The wound looked much better than last week and was clearly healing. She took a swab to send to the laboratory, then cleaned the wound, applied cream and dressings, and covered it with a plaster. She made me an appointment for Wednesday, and I went back to my apartment.
After working on my website for a while, I walked to the main road to wait for Andy to pick me up. At 12:10 he still had not arrived, so I called him. He had forgotten, but said he would be with me soon. I waited on the main road so he could find me more easily. He finally arrived at 12:20 and drove straight to the hospital. He left the car in the taxi rank so we could get inside quickly and took me to the waiting area for my appointment. We were 30 minutes late, but Andy spoke to the receptionist, who told him the consultant had been called to an emergency and all appointments were being rescheduled.
Andy gave me his car keys and told me to wait in the car in case it was towed while he went to another reception area to get a new appointment. As I sat in the car, a taxi driver came over to tell me we should not be parked in the taxi rank. I mumbled that my friend was on his way back and waved my walking stick at him, which seemed to work. A short time later, Andy returned with a new appointment and a printout. We drove back to Los Narejos, passed Pizzeria la Sombre, and continued to the Las Claras Centre, where Andy dropped me off for the memorial for my friend Mike, who had passed away last week.
Inside the centre I saw a few people I knew and got myself a drink. Just as I was served, the memorial ceremony began. Mike was a Freemason, and his Brethren led a very nice memorial for him. It ended with a hymn and a set of bagpipes playing him off on his next journey. After the ceremony, I collected my drink from the waitress and sat with other mourners for a short chat. Martin and Kate asked if I wanted to go out to dinner with them, but I declined as I already had dinner planned at home and felt I had done enough for one day. Kate kindly gave me a lift home, and by 15:00 I was back in my apartment relaxing.
In the evening I received messages from Amazon saying that both the new sink and the new electric hob I had ordered had been dispatched, but neither would arrive for a few days or weeks. What I really wanted to know was when my new disability scooter would arrive. I binge watched episodes of NCIS: Tony and Ziva, then prepared oats in milk with sliced banana and grapes and put them in the fridge to soak overnight before going to bed at midnight.
Tuesday, 4th November
I slept well and woke when the alarm went off at 7:30. My phone read the news headlines and my schedule, and I promptly fell back asleep. I woke again around 8:30, got up, made a coffee, and took the overnight oats from the fridge for breakfast. I completed the Wordle puzzle while eating and checked my messages.
I felt a bit fidgety this morning, a word my mum and grandma both used for someone who could not sit still. I decided to go for a coffee in Los Narejos to see if any of my friends were at Cafe Prensa. I went to the garage, got my disability scooter, and headed there, arriving around 10:30. I sat with some friends who were already there, but they did not stay long and soon left me on my own. When I finished my coffee and tostada, I had a quick look in a local charity shop for a new mug big enough for my evening Horlicks. There were a couple of mugs the right size, but I did not like the designs.
I left the shop and went to La Sombre to meet Martin and Dave. They both arrived and we sat chatting, but I was not feeling very well. I think the overnight oats were sitting badly in my stomach. Martin gave me a small carrier bag, and inside was some beetroot he had found for me after I had been unable to find any. I left around 13:30 and stopped at EconomyCash on the way home to buy milk, a couple of rolls, and some beefburgers and crunchy chicken burgers from the deli counter.
Back at home I put my shopping away and sat in my armchair to rest. I put the TV on and watched more NCIS: Tony and Ziva. After a few hours I started to feel better, and in the evening I had a beefburger with mushrooms in a roll. Later I watched the Slavia Prague vs Arsenal Champions League game. Despite injuries and bans forcing Arsenal to field several young and fringe players, they still won comfortably 0-3.
I tried to watch some of the Tottenham game later, but could not get interested. As soon as Tottenham scored, I turned the TV off and went to bed around 21:00.
Wednesday, 5th November
I woke around 6:30, made a coffee, completed the Wordle puzzle, and checked my messages. I did some work on my website and then took a shower before getting ready to visit the nurse at the health clinic. I left home at 9:40, a little early, and took my Kindle to read while I waited.
I was glad I had taken my Kindle, as I had to wait nearly 40 minutes past my appointment time. When I was called in, I showed the nurse a note in Spanish explaining my rescheduled hospital appointment, then sat on the treatment table. She removed the old dressing, cleaned the wound, and redressed it, telling me it looked better. I asked if the compression stockings I had bought would help, and she said they would. She also advised me to apply rehydrating cream to my leg whenever possible, as the skin was drying out. She helped me put the compression stocking on and I told her I would remove it at night, apply cream, and put it back on in the morning. She wanted me to return on Friday, but I explained I had a dental appointment, so she made one for the following Monday instead.
On the way home I detoured to EconomyCash to buy more milk so I could make a coffee later. When I got home, I decided to make one straight away. As I began grinding the coffee, I realised why my coffee had been tasting so strong. I had set the grinder to the double measure and forgotten to change it. I made a coffee using the correct measure and it tasted much better.
In the afternoon and evening I worked on my website, making backend changes that users will not see but which should improve searchability and loading speed. Later I made a Horlicks using the milk steamer on my coffee machine. It was fantastic and much easier to use and clean than boiling milk in a pan. I went to bed around 22:00.
Thursday, 6th November
I woke at 7:00 and lay in bed until my alarm went off at 7:30. I listened to my phone read the news headlines, then got up and had a shower. After dressing, I made a coffee and did the Wordle puzzle, checked my messages, and then went to Mercadona on my disability scooter.
At Mercadona I bought mainly cleaning supplies, then went to EconomyCash for some rolls. Back at my apartment I put the shopping away and sat down. I had barely settled when the doorbell rang. On the video screen I saw a delivery driver, so I let him in. It was Amazon, and the kitchen sink I had ordered had arrived early. I can now honestly say I have a pile of boxes in my hall that even includes the kitchen sink.
I spent the day working on my website until around 17:00, when my Uncle Dave called me on WhatsApp. I had sent him a few messages recently and had not heard back, so I was glad to speak to him. We chatted for nearly an hour about what we had been doing and our various health problems. We finished in time to watch Jasmine Harman's Renovation In The Sun. We had both met her years ago at a show at Earls Court in London and had been talking about her when we realised she was on TV.
The program did not show much of her struggles to get her home remodelled, so it can only improve. My mobile beeped with a reminder from my dentist about my appointment the next morning. I watched some dull TV, downloaded a demo of a computer game called WhiskerWood, and tried it out. The game looked good, but my eyes became sore from too much screen time, so I turned everything off and went to bed around 20:30.
Friday, 7th November
I slept well but spent too long in bed and woke with a backache. I used my leg pillow to straighten my back before getting up. After getting up, I made a coffee, completed the Wordle puzzle, and checked my messages before taking a shower.
My dental appointment was at 10:00, and I left at 9:45, giving myself plenty of time to walk there. I checked in with the receptionist and waited about 15 minutes before being called in. I thought it was just a check on the work they had done a couple of weeks ago, but it soon became clear they were doing more. I was given a numbing injection and the dentist started working. I am not sure exactly what she did, but it involved packing, filing that produced little plumes of smoke from my mouth, more packing, and then holding an X ray plate in place for an X ray. There was more drilling, filling, and packing before she finished. I was given another appointment for next week for a filling. It was painless, but I felt strange walking home with a numb mouth.
Back at home I contacted Amazon again to find out when my disability scooter would arrive. They told me it should arrive soon and that they would contact me within 48 hours with details. I also checked the expected delivery of my new electric hob, which was still scheduled for today. After the dental work I did not feel like going out, so I worked on my website while I waited.
At about 15:00 I received a message saying a refund had been issued for the disability scooter. At 15:30 I received another message saying the scooter had been delivered, so I would not receive a refund. At 15:45 Amazon phoned to say they would contact the seller, as they suspected the delivery company might have lost the scooter. I was advised to wait until Monday or Tuesday to hear back or contact them again if I had not heard anything.
There was not much on TV that I wanted to watch, so I decided to learn how to play WhiskerWood properly. It is a civilisation style game where you build a city from nothing, except the characters are mice and the graphics are fantastic. After a few attempts I started to grasp the basics and lost track of time. When my eyes became too sore to continue, I checked the clock and it was after midnight. I turned the game off and went to bed.
Saturday, 8th November
I woke around 7:00 and lay in bed until the alarm went off. After listening to the news headlines, I got up and made a coffee. I checked my messages, then had a second coffee and some cereal.
When I went to put some washing in the machine, I noticed the sink had not drained from the last time I used it. I got my toolbox and removed the sink plugs and drain. It was completely blocked with fibres from where the washing machine empties into it. I stripped it down, cleared the blockage, cleaned the pipework, and reassembled it. After testing the water and seeing it drain properly, I started the washing machine.
I then filled the dishwasher and set it running. With the worktop clear, I unboxed the new sink that had arrived to check the size. It was correct, and I imagined how much better the kitchen will be with the new sink, larger worktop, and new hob once everything is installed.
I sat at my computer and started playing WhiskerWood again. I am beginning to love the game and can see myself spending many winter hours on it. I stopped for lunch and had some chicken wings followed by a bowl of dried fruit, which sounded horrible but was actually lovely and healthier than crisps or chocolate. I loaded the dishes into the dishwasher, watched some football, and then went back to WhiskerWood.
In the evening I watched Sunderland vs Arsenal. It was Arsenal's toughest game of the season. Sunderland took a 1-0 lead when defender Dan Ballard, a former Arsenal youth player I always liked, scored. Arsenal battled back and Bukayo Saka made it 1-1, then Leandro Trossard scored a great goal to put Arsenal 1-2 up. In extra time Sunderland scored again to make it 2-2. In the dying seconds I thought Arsenal had won it, but the Sunderland goalkeeper made a fantastic save and Dan Ballard cleared off the line to deny his former club. It was one of the best games I have seen this season. I prefer to think Arsenal won a point rather than lost two, as Sunderland have been excellent and deserve their place in the top four. Arsenal remain top and are six points clear, which is impressive considering we were five points behind Liverpool only a couple of months ago.
Sunday, 9th November
My alarm went off at 7:30 and I lay in bed listening to the news headlines. I must have fallen asleep again, because when I got up for a coffee it was about 8:45. I sat at my computer and had a fuzzy memory of doing the Wordle puzzle in the early hours. When I checked the site, I saw I had not finished it and had one guess left. With so many letters already used, I could only think of one possible word. Luckily it was correct, and after forgetting to do the puzzle yesterday, I started a new streak of one.
I had a few items in the fridge to use up, so I cooked breakfast with one bacon rasher, a fried egg, beans, plum tomatoes, a slice of toast, and a couple of fried new potatoes. It was delicious and set me up for the day. After a second coffee, I stripped the bed linen and put it in the wash basket before making the bed with fresh linen.
Earlier in the week Martin had given me some fresh uncooked beetroot, knowing I had been looking for it. I had planned to juice it with carrots, but with the temperatures dropping I decided to make soup instead to keep me warm. I looked for recipes online but did not find anything I liked, and I was missing ingredients for the ones I did find, so I decided to wing it and make a plain beetroot and carrot soup. It tasted great. I let the rest cool and stored it in single portions in the freezer for the coming days and weeks.
I tried to watch some football in the afternoon but could not get interested. Instead I watched a film called Good Fortune starring Keanu Reeves. It was a great film that put a unique spin on the classic angel saving someone story, which has been told many times. I highly recommend it if you get the chance to watch it.
In the evening I had a shop bought lasagna and played WhiskerWood on my laptop until I went to bed around 22:00.
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