✍Journal: Week 40, 2025.

In week 40 of 2025, I worked extensively on my website, repotted some plants to keep in my apartment, and met my friends Andy & Wayne for lunch.

📝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 to attend my appointment at the health clinic. I was pleased with my Wordle attempt today because I equalled my best-ever streak of getting it correct, 61 days in a row. Now, I hope I can maintain my streak tomorrow and continue it, extending it. I´m convinced that games like these help with your everyday mental ability and help my ageing brain keep ticking over, in the same way, that I believe writing this blog helps keep my memory going, even if it doesn't work properly.

I had a message from my neighbour, Liz, asking me to pick up some shopping for her today, but I wasn't able to help her. I suggested she order it online, but she refused, so I guess she didn't need it that badly. Just after 10:00, I walked to the health clinic to get my leg dressed. When I arrived, I sat down and waited for my turn. I had to wait a few minutes today because someone the nurse was seeing needed some extra help. When my turn came, I was called in, and the nurse quickly removed the old plaster, cleaned the wound and redressed it. I thought the wound looked good, and the nurse seemed happy with it. She made me an appointment for Friday and told me that, because it was healing so well, I would only have to see her once a week starting next week.

I left the clinic and looked for the bus stop. I knew there had to be one close to the health clinic because I had seen the bus go past on several occasions. I didn't think the charge on my disability scooter would be enough to get me to see Martin today, so I decided to take the bus. I found the bus stop, but the bus wasn't due for at least 40 minutes, so I decided to walk halfway to the office and get the bus near the Mercadona store. I walked through the housing estate to the Mercadona store and looked at the time to see how long the bus would be, if it was on time. I would have had to wait about another 15 minutes, so I decided to keep walking. Because the temperature has been lower over the last few days, I have found it easier to walk and wasn't as puffed out as I expected to be. I continued walking and arrived at Pizzeria la Sombre in Los Narejos, where I found Martin already waiting for me. I sat down and, after catching my breath, I ordered some water. Dave arrived a short time later, and we sat talking till around 13:30. Although I had walked all the way there, I knew I wasn't ready to walk home as well, so I asked Dave to drop me off at my apartment.

After Dave had dropped me off, I rested in my apartment for a while and then had a salad for lunch. For some reason, my knee ached more after I had sat down than it did after the long walk this morning. I rested for the afternoon and finished watching series two of The Amazing Race Australia. It hadn't been as good as the first series, and the next three series featured Australian celebrities whom I had never heard of, all trying to boost their popularity and celebrity status, which held no interest for me. I went to the garage and plugged in my disability scooter to charge, returned to my apartment and then went to bed around 21:30.

📝Tuesday, 30th September.

I woke up feeling rested and refreshed at about 6:30. I got up, had a cup of coffee, and completed the Wordle puzzle before walking to the health clinic, arriving at 8:00 when it opened.

There was only a small queue at the door when I arrived, and after waiting a few minutes, I was able to go in. I had to wait a couple more minutes before being called in to see the nurse who carried out the simple blood test by pricking my finger with the needle. The first reading didn't work, and she took a second, which soon showed that my INR reading was perfect. As I left, I saw a Scottish lady whom I had met a few months ago. She was waiting for her turn to go in, and we had a quick chat about the health system app for mobile phones. I tried to download it to my phone, but it wouldn't work. She said she would email me a link so I could try using it on my computer.

When I left, I walked a slightly longer route home to get in some extra steps. I walked through the market, and the stallholders were beginning to set up. I guessed they were running late because of the rain last night and earlier this morning. When I returned to my apartment block, I went to the garage to unplug my disability scooter. I was annoyed to find that someone had dumped four or five bags of old magazines and rubbish in my parking spot. It was not the first time it had happened, and I was not going to drag it to the rubbish bins myself.

I unplugged my disability scooter, and after returning to my apartment, I printed out two notices, politely asking whoever had dumped the rubbish in my parking spot to move it. I told them that if I found out who had put it there, I would dump it outside their apartment door. I put one notice in the lift and a second on the community noticeboard. I suspect it is one of the English people in the apartment block or someone cleaning an apartment owned and rented by an English person, because there were a lot of English motor car magazines in the rubbish. I put the notices up at about 8:30 and wondered how long it would be before the rubbish is moved.

I returned to my apartment and conducted some indexing work on my website for Google, then read my emails and responded to two messages that required a reply.

I had to send details of my NIE (Resident's card) to FedEx to prove I was a resident for tax purposes on some clothes I bought. Hopefully, they would arrive soon. I bought them to replace a lot of my old clothes. I realised while looking through old photos that I had had some of my t-shirts for longer than I have lived in Spain, 10 years, and that they needed replacing. I had ordered some new ones through Built Different because their clothes are designed for larger gentlemen like myself, and I am tired of walking around Spanish shops looking at clothes that are way too small.

The second job would cost me a lot more money, as it involved an email requesting the final payment for my trip to Australia and New Zealand next year. I checked that I had enough in my account to cover the balance and then went online to make the payment. I was surprised at how easily I spent so much money, but I was pleased that it was all taken care of. All I have to do now is look forward to the holiday.

After completing these tasks, I relaxed for a while before heading out on my disability scooter to pick up a few items of shopping before meeting Martin and Dave. I visited the Mercadona store and purchased a variety of groceries, including salads, various cuts of pork, and a large selection of fruit. I was in and out quickly and continued to Cafe Prensa for a coffee before meeting Martin. when I arrived at Cafe Prensa, Christine was sitting there, and I joined her for a coffee. I sat chatting with Christine for a while before moving to Pizzeria la Sombre to meet Martin.

I sat chatting with Martin and Dave, and was joined by a man who is mentally disabled but who, unfortunately, does nothing to help himself. He refuses to take his medication, drinks to excess and continually smokes weed. He got so bad that he tried to kill his mother in her sleep. I will have nothing to do with him and will refrain from speaking while he is in our company. He shouts continually; I do not know if he is going deaf or doing it for effect, but if you are within 30 feet of him, you can hear every word that spews out of his mouth. He even told us that he is trying to move back in with his mother in England, if she can get over him trying to kill her. The fact that she sold her homes in Spain, moved back to England, and left him here is enough to tell me she wants nothing to do with him anymore. He eventually left our company after his pizza arrived and he took it home.

I sat with Martin and Dave for a while longer, and Kate and Aria arrived. We chatted for a while longer, and then I left and went straight home on my disability scooter. When I got back to my apartment, the note I had left concerning the rubbish that had been dumped in my car parking space seemed to have worked. The rubbish had all been removed when I arrived. I removed the note from the community noticeboard and the lift and went home. I had one of the salads I had bought, and after it, because I was still hungry, I had some chicken wings. It filled me up, but I had an acid reflux reaction to the chicken wings. The first episode I have had in quite a while. When I had recovered, I sat down to watch TV.

I didn't have anything else to eat today, in case the acid reflux returned, there was nothing I really wanted to watch on TV, and after ordering some indoor, self-watering flower pots on Amazon, I went to bed around 10:00.

📝Wednesday, 1st October.

I woke up a few times in the night to use the toilet, but got back to sleep quickly. I have been waking up with arm ache recently and realised this morning it seems to be because I sleep lying on the arm that aches. I will try lying on my back or the other side to see if that stops it. I got myself a coffee and then sat down at my computer to attend to my morning IT tasks, check my email and message apps, update my website, index pages on Google, and complete the Wordle puzzle. I received an email from Farcebook informing me that my Farcebook ban had resulted in my account being permanently deleted, and that I could no longer use it or apply for a new account.

After having a second coffee and a bacon sandwich, I added descriptions to the photos from my trips to Noli, Finalborgo, and Bagnoregio in Italy. I shaved my hair, then took a shower, and got ready to go out. At midday, I left to walk to the health clinic to pick up the results of yesterday's blood test before meeting my friend Wayne for lunch.

When I arrived at the health clinic and went inside, there was only one person in the queue, and I was seen very quickly. I asked the receptionist for my blood test results from yesterday, and she got them for me straight away. As I thought they would, the dose for my Sintrom anticoagulants will remain the same for the next three weeks. My next appointment was scheduled for October 21st. I was a bit puffed after the walk to the health clinic, so I sat and rested for five minutes before leaving and starting to walk to the Casa de Papel restaurant.

On my walk to the restaurant, I realised I hadn't taken an omeprazole tablet before leaving home, so I decided to get some on the way. I changed my walk and went to a pharmacy I knew about in the back streets of Los Alcazares. As I arrived, Wayne called me and told me that our friend Andy was also coming, and that they would be at the restaurant soon. When I arrived at the pharmacy, I was out of breath again and had to sit down for a couple of minutes. After a couple of minutes, I got up, bought my tablets from the lady working there, and left.

I walked the short distance to the restaurant, and as I was the first to arrive, I sat outside to wait for Wayne and Andy. They arrived a short time later, and we sat inside. All three of us had the menu of the day. I had been to Casa de Papel several times, but it was Wayne and Andy's first visit. We shared a salad and ordered our starters and main courses from a selection of options the waiter presented to us. No written Menu of the day, you have whatever the cook is cooking that day.

I had the beef stew starter, and when it arrived, it was big enough to be a main meal. It tasted fantastic and was obviously made fresh. My main course was chicken and chips with the chicken fillet cooked in a beautiful honey mustard sauce. It was fantastic, the sauce was so good I would eat it on everything. I struggled to eat all the chips, but I only left a few behind. We all had profiteroles as a dessert, but all declined the coffee we were offered. I had a glass of white wine with my meal, and Andy and Wayne had beer. When the bill arrived, it was only €50 for everything the three of us had eaten and drunk. I knew what good value it was at the restaurant, but Andy and Wayne hadn't been there before and were surprised by how great a value it was.

After we had finished our meals and paid the bill, we all left the restaurant. Andy and Wayne got in their car and drove home, but I decided to walk back to my apartment. Walking with a full stomach was tough after all the exercise this morning, but I made it home safely and immediately turned on the air conditioning in my apartment and sat down in my armchair. I didn't need to eat anything else this evening, so I just topped up my water every now and then as I watched TV and waited for the Arsenal vs Olympiacos football match to start.

I enjoyed the Arsenal vs Olympiacos football match, which Arsenal won 2-0. After a promising start, in which it looked like Arsenal would win by a large margin, Olympiacos began to play their way back into the game. If Arsenal's goalkeeper, David Raya, hadn't pulled off a fantastic save from one Olympiacos effort, the game may have finished very differently. As it was, Arsenal finally scored a second goal, to the relief of all their supporters, notably myself, and went on to win the game 2-0. It was a great game, but a lot tougher than most Arsenal fans were expecting.

📝Thursday, 2nd October.

I slept well last night and finally got out of bed around 9:00 this morning. A very late wake-up for me. The Oura software, along with data from the ring I wear, indicated that I spent 9 hours and 52 minutes in bed and slept for approximately 8 hours and 42 minutes last night. The amount of walking I did yesterday, along with the good food I had, contributed to a need for my body and mind to recover.

When I got up, I had a large coffee and sat in front of my computer to check messages, complete the Wordle puzzle, and read the reports on the Arsenal game from the previous night. I got up, removed my Oura ring, put it in the small charger it came with and then took a shower. When I finished my shower, I got another coffee and decided it was time to clean my kitchen up a little. I had let it get untidy in the last few days.

I worked in the kitchen for a while, tidying up and loading the dishwasher with all the dirty plates, cutlery, pots and pans that I had let accumulate. I was expecting a delivery of t-shirts and polo shirts today and couldn't leave the apartment until it arrived. Not that I had the energy to do much anyway. 

I spent all day working on my website, watching TV, and waiting for the delivery from Built Different, which FedEx were supposed to deliver. I added a new section to my website, which I called "Thoughts & Ponderings", because it is exactly that: a section for my thoughts that I think about or ponder over. The delivery never arrived, and at 23:00, I decided that FedEx wouldn't arrive, so I went to bed.

📝Friday, 3rd October.

I woke up at 6:30 this morning, but I fell asleep again. I got up when the alarm I set the night before went off at 7:00. I made coffee, completed the Wordle puzzle, and then took a shower. After taking my shower, I had another coffee and then went to the health clinic on my disability scooter. I had been planning to walk, but changed my mind because I didn't want to miss the Amazon deliveries I was expecting today, and possibly the FedEx delivery if it arrived today.

I left for the health clinic early because I needed to stop by an ATM on the way to withdraw some cash. I went to the one at my bank branch near the town hall, and after withdrawing the cash, I turned and went towards the health clinic. I arrived at the health clinic a little early and had to wait for a while, so I sat and finished reading the end of one book before starting another. I was then called in. The nurse took off the plaster and cleaned the wound. It is strange to say about a wound, but it looked really good, and I was pleased with the way that it appeared to finally be healing up. The nurse seemed pleased as well, and after redressing it, she made me a new appointment for the following Friday. When I left the health clinic, I turned my disability scooter around and started down the path to the exit.

As I went down the path and on to the road, I couldn't help noticing that a man on a tricycle was ringing his bell. I thought how impatient he was and went to glare at him as he passed, only to realise it was one of my neighbours who had also just left the health clinic. We began chatting and journeyed back to our different apartment blocks together. We said goodbye outside his apartment, and I carried on to my apartment block. I put my disability scooter away in the garage and went up to my apartment, where I got a coffee and cooked myself breakfast. I had bacon, egg, baked beans, mushrooms and fried potatoes. It was the first cooked breakfast I had at home for a while, and it was beautiful. The best thing was that I had enough supplies left to have it again tomorrow morning. After breakfast, I continued my work on my website while I waited for my deliveries to arrive.

At 11:15, the FedEx deliveryman arrived with my delivery from Built Different. I took the package from him and then went back inside to inspect it. The delivery was for new polo shirts and t-shirts, and I tried everyone on as I unwrapped them. The first thing I noticed was how well each item was wrapped and how each garment was placed inside its own strong, sealed plastic ziplock bag. The quality of each piece of clothing was excellent, and when I tried them on, I was delighted with both the feel and the fit. I will definitely use them again and recommend them to my friends and family.

After checking all the clothing, I got a cold drink and then continued working on my website, adding a new introduction page to the cruise photo albums section. I hope this clarifies the different sections and makes them easier to navigate. After finishing the update on the website page, I began working on the escorted tour photo albums section, following the same process as I had for the cruise photo albums.

My delivery from Amazon arrived around 14:30. I unpacked both parcels. I first tested out the new kettle I had bought and rearranged some items in the kitchen so it could sit where I wanted it, near a plug socket. It worked fine and will replace the old kettle that works on the induction hob, which I intend to replace soon as well. Next, I unpacked the self-watering plant pots I had ordered. They were an ideal size for what I needed, and it was simple to put the self-watering rope into the pot and attach the pot to the base. I put plants into two of the pots, watered them and placed them in my apartment. The third one will be used for another plant I already have, but I will need a little more compost before I can repot the plant into it.

I took some food out of my freezer for later and for tomorrow, and put it in the kitchen to defrost. Then, I sat down in my armchair to rest for a while. I ended the day working on my website. I started in the afternoon, and the next thing I knew, it was time to go to bed.

📝Saturday, 4th October.

I woke up early at 06:30, got a coffee and put some washing in the washing machine. I spent a couple of hours working on my website, and after the first load of washing finished, I hung it up to dry, stripped the linen from my bed, and put it in the washing machine. I had some porridge for breakfast and then did the Wordle puzzle.

I went to Economy Cash on my disability scooter and, on the way, dropped off two large bags of plastic in the recycling bin. At the shop, I bought two salads, some soft hot dog rolls, and a new, sharp carving knife because I was tired of using the old one, which had a missing end. It still works, but it annoys me. The new one probably won't last long, but since it was less than €3, it didn't matter. After getting a few bits of shopping I worked on my website all morning, focusing on the genealogy section, altering its appearance and updating some of the data for individuals. I will be adding new data about the census records people were in, and wanted to make it look better than it currently does. For lunch and before the football games started, I had a couple of hot dogs. They seemed much better when I was a kid, as my dad took me to matches at Highbury.

In the afternoon, I watched the Arsenal vs West Ham football game. It was a great game, which Arsenal had under control the entire time, but I wished they would release Gyokeres quicker. It seems that every time he gets the ball, he has two or three players around him, or the ball is played in behind him instead of in front of him. It will take time for him, or rather the team, to get used to him, though. He still looked dangerous, and Arsenal won 2-0 with Declan Rice scoring one and Bukayo Saka scoring the second from the penalty spot.

I had some pork ribs to eat this evening, but they weren't very good. I don't know why I keep trying them; they aren't any good. I should stick to the pork tenderloin, it's much better.

I watched the Chelsea vs Liverpool game tonight. Well, I say I watched, I listened to it while I continued to work on my website. Chelsea beat Liverpool 2-1, which meant that Arsenal regained the top spot in the Premier League.

📝Sunday, 5th October.

I slept quite well last night, but woke up a few times. I eventually woke up at 9:30 and got out of bed. I made a coffee, but it looked terrible. I hope the coffee machine isn't breaking down again. I switched to tea and had a normal tea with a fresh sprig of mint dropped in it while it steeped. It tasted and smelled great. I will need to purchase additional self-watering pots for my herbs to ensure they last longer. I do like having fresh mint in the kitchen; it makes the place smell nice and is handy for cooking.

I sat at my computer and checked for messages, and then did the Wordle puzzle. I was very unlucky this morning when I tried to guess the word. I was one letter out, and after two more attempts, I had it correct. I got it the first time before, but not for a long time. Still, three goes were still good. As I sat at the computer, someone in the square had a boombox turned up so loud that I couldn't hear my radio, even after I turned it up. Luckily, after a couple of songs, they moved on. I don't understand why people enjoy deafening others early in the morning. Some people, especially in Spain, are unaware of how loud they are and fail to respect others.

I did my weigh-in for this week and was delighted to see that I had continued last week's downward trend and that I had lost even more weight than I did the previous week. I then made myself a cooked breakfast of bacon, egg, baked beans, and fried potatoes. I wanted to go for a walk today, but I sat down at my computer for half an hour to let my breakfast settle before walking.

It was the wrong decision to sit down. I did a little work on my website, and when I stopped, it was 15:45. I had a pasta salad to eat, and since I had been doing such good work on the website, I continued working on it. I listened to the football on TV as I worked and eventually stopped around 21:30. I rested my eyes for a while, ordered some extra self-watering flower pots and additional adhesive notice boards for the house on Amazon, and then went to bed around 22:00.

Health and exercise metrics for week 40 of 2025.

Sleep time encompasses all stages of sleep, including REM sleep, light sleep, and deep sleep.

The table above shows the basic details of the activities I undertook during this week. Activity helps burn calories and aids in weight loss, while different exercises help you burn different types of fat. Because of my long-term injuries, I find exercise difficult, but I will try to slowly increase my activity over time. This, in turn, should help me lose weight slowly.

*Both these figures today should have been higher. I took my ring off to take a shower and forgot to put it back on till later in the day.

The table above shows my weight gain or loss for this week. I don't expect this to change quickly, but I hope it will improve as I get fitter and lose weight.