✍Journal: Week 45, 2025.

Explore my week 45 journal from November 2025 in Los Alcázares, Spain, where I share daily reflections, health updates, tech fixes, and meaningful moments from everyday life.

📝Monday, 3rd November.

I woke up around 6:45 today. I lay in bed until my alarm went off at 7:30. I listened to my phone as it read out today's news stories, the weather forecast, and what tasks and appointments I had for the day, and then got up and took a shower. After my shower, I got a coffee, checked for messages on my computer, published last week's blog, got a second coffee, and did the Wordle puzzle before heading to the health clinic on my disability scooter.

I didn't have to wait long to see the nurse after arriving at the health centre. When I was called in, I told her that I would be seeing the consultant at the hospital later, and she informed the doctor before looking at my leg. The wound looks much better than it did last week, and it is obviously healing well. She took a swab from the wound to send to the laboratory, then cleaned the wound, applied cream, and dressings, before covering it with a plaster. She made me an appointment for Wednesday, and I left and went back to my apartment.

I worked on my website for a while and then walked to the main road to be picked up by Andy. At 12:10, Andy hadn't arrived, and I called him to see where he was. He had forgotten, but said he would be with me soon. To make it easier for me to be found, I walked to the main road and waited there for him. He didn't arrive until 12:20, but he headed straight to the hospital after picking me up. When we arrived, he left the car in the taxi rank to make it quicker to get inside and took me to the waiting area, where I had been told to go for my appointment. We were 30 minutes late for my appointment, but Andy spoke to a receptionist. She told Andy that, unfortunately, the consultant had been called away to an emergency and that all the appointments were being rescheduled. Andy gave me his car keys and told me to wait in the car in case it got towed, while he went to another reception area to schedule a new appointment for me.

As I sat in the car, a taxi driver approached me to tell me we shouldn't have parked in the taxi rank. I mumbled that my friend was on his way back and waved my walking stick at the driver. This seemed to work, and they departed. A short time later, Andy got back with a new appointment for me, along with a printout of the new appointment. We left and drove back to Los Narejos. We drove past Pizzeria la Sombre and went on to Las Claras Centre, where Andy dropped me off so that I could go to the Memorial for my friend Mike, who passed away last week.

I went into the centre and 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 all his Brethren led a nice memorial for him. It finished 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 in the bar and sat down with other mourners for a brief chat. My friends Martin & Kate asked me if I wanted to go out to dinner with them, but I declined as I already had dinner planned at home, and after today's hectic schedule, I didn't really fancy doing anything else. Kate kindly gave me a lift home, and by 15:00, I was back in my apartment, relaxing.

This evening, I received messages from Amazon stating that both the new sink and the new electric hob plate I had ordered had been dispatched, but that neither item would arrive for a few days or a few weeks yet. What I really wanted to know was when my new disability scooter would arrive.

Tonight, I binge-watched episodes of ↗️NCIS: Tony & Ziva. I prepared some oats in milk, added sliced banana and grapes, and put them in the fridge to soak overnight before finally going to bed at midnight.

📝Tuesday, 4th November.

I slept well last night and woke up when the alarm went off at 7:30. My phone read out the news headlines and my schedule for the day, and I promptly fell back asleep. I woke up again around 8:30, got up, made coffee, and took the overnight oats out of the fridge for breakfast. I completed the Wordle puzzle while eating breakfast and checked my computer for messages.

I was a bit fidgety this morning. A word my 🔗mum and 🔗grandma both used to describe someone who couldn't sit still. I decided to go and get a coffee in Los Narejos to see if any of my friends were at Cafe Prensa. I went to the garage, got on my disability scooter, and headed to the Cafe, arriving around 10:30. I sat with some friends who were already there, but they didn't stay long and left me all alone. When I finished my coffee and tostada, I had a brief look in one of the local charity shops for a new mug. I wanted a bigger-sized mug to drink my evening Horlicks in. There were a couple that were about the right size, but I didn't like the design.

I left the charity shop and went to La Sombre to meet Martin and Dave. They both arrived, and we sat chatting, but I wasn't feeling very well. I think the overnight oats I had earlier this morning were sitting unpleasantly in my stomach. Martin gave me a small carrier bag, and when I looked inside, it contained some beetroot. I had been looking for beetroot but had been unable to find it. I left around 13:30 and, on my way home, I stopped at the EconomyCash store to buy some milk and a couple of rolls. I also bought a couple of their beefburgers and crunchy chicken burgers from the deli counter.

When I got home, I put my shopping away and sat in my armchair to rest. I put the TV on and relaxed, watching a few more episodes of NCIS: Tony & Ziva. After a few hours, I started to feel a bit better, and that evening, I had a beef burger with mushrooms in a roll. This evening I watched the Slavia Prague vs Arsenal Champions League game. Arsenal were forced to field several young players and many players who hadn't played much due to injuries and bans, but they still easily won the game with a well-deserved 0-3 victory.

I started to watch some of the Tottenham game later in the night, but couldn't get interested enough to watch it all. As soon as Tottenham scored a goal, I turned the TV off and went to bed around 21:00.

📝Wednesday, 5th November.

I woke up around 6:30 this morning, got a coffee, completed the Wordle puzzle, and checked my computer for any messages. I did some work on my website and then took a shower before getting ready to visit the nurse at the health clinic. At 9:40, I left home to go to the health clinic. It was a bit early, but I took my Kindle so I could read it when I arrived.

I was glad I had taken my Kindle to the clinic today, as I had to wait nearly 40 minutes to be seen after my appointment time had passed. I showed the nurse a note in Spanish that informed her about my rescheduled hospital appointment, and then I sat on the treatment table. She removed the old dressing, cleaned the wound and redressed it again, telling me that it looked better. I asked her if the compression stockings I had bought and taken to show her would help my leg heal, and she said they would. She also advised me to apply rehydrating cream to my leg whenever possible to help the skin, as it was drying out. She helped me put on the compression stocking after dressing my leg, and I told her I would remove the compression stocking at night when I go to bed, apply the rehydration cream to my leg, and put the stocking back on when I woke up in the morning. She wanted me to come back again on Friday, but I explained that I have a dental appointment on Friday, and she made me an appointment for the following Monday.

I left the health clinic and on my way home, I made a detour to EconmyCash to get myself some more milk so that I could make myself a coffee later.

When I got home, I decided to make a coffee straight away. As I began to grind the coffee, I suddenly realised why the coffee I had been drinking had always tasted so strong. I had originally set the coffee grind weighing cup with the double measure and had forgotten to change it. I made myself a coffee using the correct size coffee measure & it tasted much better.

This afternoon and evening, I worked on my website, making changes to the backend that will not be visible to users, but should improve its searchability and loading speed. Tonight, I made a Horlicks using the milk steamer on my coffee machine. It was fantastic and is a lot easier to use and clean up than boiling milk in a pan on the hob. I went to bed around 22:00.

📝Thursday, 6th November.

I woke up at 7:00 and lay in bed until my alarm went off at 7:30. I lay in bed listening to my phone read the day's news headlines to me, then got up and had a shower. After I had showered and dressed, I got myself a coffee and did the Wordle puzzle. I checked for messages on my computer and then went to the Mercadona store on my disability scooter.

When I arrived at Mercadona, I purchased the items I wanted, which were mainly cleaning supplies, and then went to EconmyCash for some rolls. I went back to my apartment, put my shopping away and sat down. I hadn't been in long when there was a call at the door. When I checked the video screen, I saw a delivery driver, so I let them in. It turned out to be Amazon; the kitchen sink I had ordered had arrived early. I can now honestly say that there is a big pile of boxes in the hall of my apartment, which 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, but hadn't heard back from him, so I was glad to hear from him. We chatted for nearly an hour about what we were both up to and our different health problems. We stopped talking in time to see "Jasmine Harmans' Renovation In The Sun" TV program. We had both met her years ago at a show at Earl's Court in London and had been talking about her when we realised she was on TV today.

I watched the program, but there wasn't very much about her struggles to get her home remodelled; it can only improve. My mobile beeped, and when I checked, it was a message from my dentist reminding me of my appointment at the dentist's the following morning.  I continued to watch dull, dreary TV programs, and downloaded a computer game demo onto my laptop. The game, "WhiskerWood", looked quite good, but it was unclear as my eyes took on a square shape and became sore from too much TV and computer work. I switched the laptop off and went to bed around 20:30.

📝Friday, 7th November.

I slept well last night, but had spent too much time in bed. I woke up with a backache and had to use the leg pillow I have to help straighten my back before getting out of bed. After getting up, I made a coffee, completed the Wordle puzzle, and checked my computer for messages before taking a shower.

I had a dental appointment at 10:00, and I left my apartment at about 9:45, which gave me plenty of time to walk the short distance to the dentist. I checked in with the receptionist at the dental clinic and waited about 15 minutes before being called in. I thought I was just having a check-up done on the work they did a couple of weeks ago, but it soon became clear they were doing more work. I was quickly given a numbing injection, and the dentist began working in my mouth. I don't know what she was doing, but it included packing, filing that produced smoke plumes rising from my mouth, more packing with additional items, and then I had to hold an X-ray plate in place for the X-rays. Further drilling, filling, and packing were then performed. When the dentist had finished, I was given another appointment for next week and told I would have a filling then. It was all quite painless, but I felt strange walking home with a numb mouth.

When I got home, I contacted Amazon again to find out when my electric scooter for people with disabilities would be arriving. I was told it should arrive soon and that they would contact me again within the next 48 hours with the details. I also checked the expected delivery today of my new electric hob for the kitchen. It was still scheduled to be delivered today. After this morning's dental treatment, I didn't feel like going out anyway, so I settled down to work on my website while I waited.

At approximately 15:00, I received a message stating that a refund had been issued for the purchase of the disability scooter. At about 15:30, I received a message stating that the disability scooter had been delivered, so I wouldn't receive a refund. At 15:45, I received a phone call from Amazon stating that they would contact the seller, as they suspected the delivery company might be responsible for losing the disability scooter. I was advised to wait until Monday or Tuesday of next week to hear back from them or to contact them again if I hadn't received a response.

There wasn't much I wanted to see on TV tonight, so I thought I would try to learn how to play the newest game I had bought for my computer, WhiskerWood. It is a civilisation-type game where you try to build a city from nothing, except that the characters are mice and the graphics are fantastic. I began to test it, and after a few attempts, I started to grasp the basics. To the point that I didn't even notice the time. When my eyes became too sore to play any more, I looked at the time and it had gone midnight. I switched the game off and went to bed.

📝Saturday, 8th November.

I woke up at around 7:00 this morning. I lay in bed and waited for the alarm to go off. After turning the alarm off, I listened while my phone read the news headlines to me. I got up after the news headlines and made a coffee. I drank my coffee while checking my computer for messages, then got a second coffee and some cereal.

After eating my breakfast, I went to put some washing in the washing machine, and as I did, I noticed the sink hadn't emptied of water from the last time I used it. I found my toolbox and screwdrivers and used them to remove the sink plugs and drain. It was completely blocked with a mixture of different fibres where the washing machine empties into it. I stripped it down, cleaned the blockage, and cleaned the pipework before reassembling it. I tested the water and confirmed it drained properly, and then I started the washing machine.

I then filled my dishwasher and set that running. With the kitchen worktop now clear, I unboxed the new sink that arrived this week to check that it was the correct size. It was the correct size and I imagined how much better the kitchen would be with the new sink, larger worktop and new hob for cooking once it is all installed.

I sat down at my computer and began playing WhiskerWood again. I am beginning to love the game and can see myself spending many hours playing it during the upcoming winter. I stopped for lunch and had some chicken wings, followed by a bowl of dried fruit. Sounds horrible, but it was lovely and healthier than crisps or chocolates. I loaded the dirty dishes into the dishwasher and sat back in my armchair to watch the day's football, then continued playing WhiskerWood on my laptop.

I watched the Sunderland vs Arsenal game tonight. It was Arsenal's toughest game of the season, and Sunderland went into a 1-0 lead when Sunderland defender Dan Ballard scored to put Sunderland up 1-0. Dan was a youth player at Arsenal, and I always hoped he would play with Arsenal. When he was an Arsenal youth player, I thought he was great, and he always reminded me of Tony Adams. Arsenal battled back, in every sense of the word, and in the second half, Bukayo Saka scored to make it 1-1. Then, Leandro Trossard scored a great goal to put Arsenal ahead, winning 1-2. In extra time, however, Sunderland scored again to make it 2-2. In the dying seconds, I thought Arsenal had won the game, but the Sunderland goalkeeper made a fantastic save, and none other than Dan Ballard made a goal-line clearance to deny his former club, Arsenal, a last-gasp goal and the three points. It was one of the best games I have seen all season, and I like to think that Arsenal won a point rather than lost two because Sunderland have been playing well all season and are deservedly in the top four of the Premier League at the moment. Arsenal remain top and are currently six points clear of the rest, which is great, considering only a couple of months ago we were five points behind Liverpool in the top spot.

📝Sunday, 9th November.

My alarm went off at 7:30 and I lay in bed listening to the phone read the news headlines to me. I must have fallen asleep again, because when I got up and had a coffee, it was about 8:45. I sat at my computer and had a fuzzy memory of completing the Wordle puzzle before I went to bed in the early hours of this morning. I visited the website and found that I had attempted to complete the Wordle puzzle but had not finished it. I had one guess left to complete the puzzle, and having used up so many letters, I could only manage to guess at one word with the remaining letters. Luckily for me, it was correct, and after forgetting to do the puzzle yesterday, I started a new streak of one today.

I had a few items in the fridge to use up this morning, so I cooked a breakfast: 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. I had a second cup of coffee and then stripped the linen from my bed, putting it in the wash basket before making the bed with fresh linen.

My friend Martin had given me some fresh, uncooked beetroot earlier in the week, which he knew I'd been looking for but had been unable to find. The original idea was to juice it with carrots to make a morning juice. Due to the dropping temperatures this week, I changed my mind about juicing the beets and carrots and instead decided to make some soup, which would keep me warm instead. I had looked for recipes online but hadn't found anything I liked, and since I was missing some ingredients for the recipes I did find, I decided to wing it and make a plain beetroot and carrot soup. The soup tasted great, and I let the remainder cool before storing it in single-serving containers in my freezer to use over the coming days and weeks.

I tried to watch some of the football this afternoon, but couldn't get interested in it. 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, a tale that has been told many times. If you get a chance to watch it, I can highly recommend it.

This evening, I had a shop-bought lasagna to eat and played WhiskerWood on my laptop until I went to bed around 22:00.

👨‍🍳Beetroot & Carrot Soup Recipe.

This is the improvised recipe I created on the spot, using the ingredients I had on hand.

📋Ingredients.

• 3 beetroot.
• 1 kg of carrots.
• 1 red onion.
• 2 litres of vegetable stock.

I would have used some garlic, but I didn't have any on hand.

📋Method.

• Peel & chop the red onion before adding it to a large pot with a little olive oil over low heat to soften.
• Remove & discard the stems from the beetroots, and then peel and chop the beets up, placing them on top of the onion in the pot.
• Peel & slice the carrots, adding them to the pot along with the onion and beetroot.
• Mix the three ingredients together and let them soften over low heat for 10 minutes.
• When the vegetables have softened, add the vegetable stock & bring to a boil before reducing the heat to a simmer for 40 minutes.
• Remove from the heat & then with a hand blender, blend until smooth.
• Reheat the soup, add salt & pepper to taste and then serve.

I really enjoyed the soup and was glad I made it. The recipe made enough for a dozen bowls of soup, and after the first bowl, I put the rest in my freezer. 

Health and exercise metrics for week 45 of 2025.