General Chat

I think it is since you came back to UK Bridget and don't come on every day. The thread was originally to keep you in touch wasn't it so without you on here it is like a ship without a captain.

I agree with Ann - but I also think we should keep this Diary going.
We have had lots of miserable damp days here on the Costa Blanca but yesterday was sun, blue skies and clear visability. Today, well completely different - back to the damp and wet. Will I ever get my washing dry I ask myself.
Sorry to hear you are thinking of not renewing Val - you will be missed.
Must admit I have to get my bits of paper in some sort of order and plan to go shopping tomorrow to buy some ring binders etc and make a start of sorting out the filing. Must also find some folders to store my card making stuff. If you could see this computer/music(Hobby room you would think what a """""" mess ! And must admit most of it is mine !!!
Well must go and wash up breakfast dishes and make Paul a cup of coffee - he is busy in the small courtyeard (under cover - so not getting wet) doing a bit of diy - it is what I call my small corner where I sit when weather is dry and read or just sit !!!
Take care all and enjoy a peaceful Sunday.
Love Mary xx
ps Bridget how is your little great niece ?

Well here i am again and i is so pleasing to read the messages although i feel sad that some of you are opting out. Or at least thinkong about it. I have always found that this method of being in contact is rather like haveing penfriends....has anyone else though that. ?? If the majority wish to leave us now for what evr reason I ma sure tha they alll know I would welcome hearing from you all from time o time. As for those who may wish to stay the course maybe we should call ourselves by a diferent name
well going to watch antiquies road show now
Good night everyone

bridget

It is much cooler to-day, overcast and looks like rain, but that's as far as it gets!!!!!!

My daughter intends going to a Dog Show in April and will be camping. She bought herself a tent yesterday , came round here to have a trial run of putting it up with father's help. Because it was so hot out yesterday they decided to put it up in the lounge!! Well I was not impressed with the pair of them but they carried on anyway, moved all the furniture about and set about their task. They managed pretty quickly and then had to take it all down and replace all the furniture - they had fun.

Our insurance people have paid us out to have the kickboards in the kitchen and the carpet in the lounge replaced - water damaged when the connection to the washing machine broke whiule we were out one day and the kitchen and diningroom/lounge were flooded. I was very surprised that they did not send an assessor to see us but just paid us when they received the quotes which we had submitted.

That all for now people


Take care.



Val in SA.

Hello Val. Thank you for your personal message and it is pleasing to see that you are keeping this thread alive.
The story of your daughter and husband putting the tent up in your home really made me smile. I can recall the first time I went camping and it took us hours to put the tent up and then in the middle of the night a storm blew up and the tent became loose.......only went once more after that and then decided that camping wasn't for me!

It has been very wet here in Hasings in east ussex and the fields are so waterlogged that the roads and pathways are becoming the only outlet. The same weather is forecast for the next 2 or 3 days.

I do hope that we have a good summer as we are so near to the beach it would be delightful to relax on the sands.

My husband is watching football and messing around with his computer...I am also on the comp trying to catch up with friends
So take care and Bye for now
Bridget

Oh Bridget, you are missing some wonderful weather, at last. It is so warm today and last night we didn't even light the log-burner...the almond blossom here in the Jalon valley is just reaching perfection, the area is a mass of different shades of pink..
I have been so lucky with my tree these last few weeks as a cousin has put his tree on A......y and he has lots of photographs that I have been able to save of one of my great grandmothers and a great aunt and even one or two of my dad.
Take care
Frances.

I was also going to say you are missing some wonderful weather Bridget but Frances has beaten me to it. After about 8.10 days of damp weather we have know got much warmer weather - and yet looking at the Sky News Scotland has loads of snow. The UK certainly are having a hard time of it this winter.
We have friends coming over tomorrow for a meal so my beloved slow cooker will be coming out to make steak in red wine - hope it turns out off but I have made it more times than I care to remember.
Spoke to my mom this afternoon and she is looking forward to coming out here for 2 weeks in April - I must make sure this time she does not go back with a black eye !! We also have friends coming out in May for 5 days . si we are giubg back up the mountain to the villa as it has more bedrooms than our house. We are lucky to be able to use it as and when takes our fancy.
Hope your great neice is doing ok Bridget
Take care all
Love Mary xx

The sun shone today and we were wondering what it was it has been so long!!!
A slight exageration but i am sure that you all know exactly what I mean.
OH and I were going away his weekend for a break but the dreded bug put paid to that, I spent most of thursday in bed and today OH has been much worse than me, He hasn;t had anything to eat and is only drinking water now he must be feeling unwell.

Mygreat neice is stablising and is holding her own, she is small for her age but as i reminded my sister, her grandmother, our mother was only 5ft 1inch and so am I, our older sister is just 5 feet tall and our grandmother was about 4ft, 10, so maybe she will be short just because of her genes.
The hospital are fairly pleased with her so we are keeping -the prayers going and taking one day at a time.

We may go to Barcelona in the next few weeks to see our eldest sons new flat, he is so proud of it,He is having a tough time in the fashion business at he moment and has been worrying a lot and it would be nice to see him.

Take care everyone

bridge

nudge

Greetings everyone,

iI is good to hear that your greatniece is holding her own Bridget..

We had a few showers of rain last week which was good for the grass which now shows tinges of green.

We have a long weekend later this month and some friends will be visiting, we will have to ask them to use water sparingly as our restrictions are still in place. We have been reading the water meter every day to keep tabs on the amount of water we use, not once have we been over the limit.

There was another practice run with the tent last weekend, this time outside on the lawn, thankfully. I think by the time Tracey goes on her camping trip she will have it down to a fine art!!

Take care.



Val in SA.

hello everyone.

Isn't it a strange world? Here we are wondering if the sun is going to stay with us for a while or will the wet wet wheater return and there is val not being able o use to much water and having hot days!!!

I have agreed to stay in my job for another few months, that is until August and then I will have to wait and see what happens.

This saturday I am going with OH tio see west ham play at home, OH has followed this team since a very small chaild and all our boys a big fans. This is the first time I have been in almost 40years!!!
will let you know all about it next time I write on here

Take caer eveyone
Bridget

It is indeed a strange old world Bridget!
Enjoy the game to-morrow.



Val. in /SA.

Good morning all
I thought it was about time I added to this thread again Bridget - it would be a shame to let it fall down to the bottom on Chat.
I have been busy this last week or two trying to sort out all my bits of paper with all the information about my relations - still not managed to file it all away - but hey ho there is always next week !!
Glad to hear your great neice is progressing well - she is always in my prayers.
It is a great pity we can¡t put photos on these threads as my dil sent me some photos of deers that were wondering around the gardens of where they live in Ambleside. Also a picture of the garden all covered with snow. When we visited them in December the views across the valley from their garden were beautiful - they certainly know how to pick where they live. Before moving to Ambleside they lived in Somerset which was beautiful too.
Well it is market day in Oliva today also the day to buy Costa Blanca News so I must shake my feathers and go out whilst it is still dry - sky looks like it might rain, although this week has been bright and sunny and quiet warm - spring must be coming.
Enjoy your football match Bridget and look forward to hearing from you again soon.
Take care all and have a happy and peaceful weekend
Love Mary xx

Hello, where is everybody? Pehaps I am the only one at the moment with not much to do!!

The whole house is upside down at the moment as we are having a new carpet fitted to replace the one damaged by water. The workmen have been here for hours, although it looks as though they may be nearly finished. Then tge big job of putting erverything back where it belongs.

We have visitors arriving on Thursday and staying until Monday, that will keep me busy. I have one room ready but must still do the other one.

Well it's almost time for the World Cup Soccer which I hope goes off smoothly, although there is a taxi strike on right now.


Take care.



Val in SA.

A very BIG THANK YOU to everyone for keeping this going. I shall now be able to post at least once or twice a week so hopefully we shall soon haqve more people coming back o us!!
The Home i am working in is on the edge of a veru=y old village, more about it on the next message, and the home is set in five aces of delightful gardens. The pece of land to the left of the home has about a dozen sheep and some are pregnant and we are waiting for the lambs to arrive. Today we telephoned the owner of the sheep as we were concerned that the roghs had no been filled with water for a day os so,well it had but no by he owner! We learnt that she has been in hospital for a few days and is likely to be the for a while. Now I will make sure that they have water but it is a very long time since I was a midwife!!! Any tips???

The weather is improving and the days are staying light so I guess that spring is really on the way. I am sure that the area mus look beautiful ia few weeks time and once again I will be able to descibe the area as i did when at home

Bye for now everyone and thanks for all the prayers for my great niece.
Bridget

Thought I would pop in and write a few words.
Well, it is spring time for you in the UK and I guess you are all pleased to have winter behind you. We have winter approaching, but winter in JBay is mild, at least I think so.

We have just had a longweekend over here and we had friends for the weekend. On Sunday we took a drive to Cape St. Francis which is a small seaside town about half an hour's drive from here. The water there is usually a beautiful turquoise but unfortunately when we were there it was quite misty so the water wasn't so pretty. On the return trip we stopped off at a little roadside restaurant called Olive Tree Junction where we sat outside and enjoyed the fresh air while we had something to eat. Then I did something which I haven't done in years, I went to a movie which I must say I rather enjoyed. It is a small cinema which seats 100. There were only 12 people there.

Val in SA.

Good morning everyone

At last it seems as if I am coming to the end of the hard work at the place I am working in. Beaurocats seem to run the world...does anyone else agree with me....and I cannot tell you how many Policies and procedures I have had to write, plus reports and more reports, Risk assessmenst, wrote 50 yesterday, yes that is 50, and a few more still to do. Please do not even think about training there are 8 legal training subjects which have to be done by every member of staff per year!!! sometimes I wonder where the time is to look after people. Would love to hear your views.

Well the sea birds of all shapes and sizes have invaded us again as the weather has been very veyr wet. The doves and especially the white doves seem very forlorn and hide in every nitch they can' We even had large hailstones this week.

I have taken the last two days away from work and writing everything up from home.
Next weekend we are going to a wonderful old pub and restaurant for the weekend. In case anyone would like to know the history it is called the Mermaid and it is in Rye in East Sussex. Maybe I will write a reveiw afterwards for you all to judge!!

Has anyone else on this thread joined the writing group, I find it great and quite fascinating. I have submitted very little so far but read some amazing pieces that people have submitted. I think I will start again this week.

Heard from my sister yesteday that my niece and fanmily are visiting her this weekend and this is the little one with the Cystic Fibrosis. She is doing very well and whilst still very small ahs not had any setbacks in he last few months. I do keep reminding my sister that whilst she and her husban are tall her two sisters just abou et over 5 feet in height, our grandmaother was only around 4feet 10 inches and grandad was only 5feet 3 inches but it did not damage their lives in any way and there are a lot of short oeole on her fathers side as well.

anyway thank you all for your prayes on her behalf.

Have a good Easter do NOT eat the easter eggs in one go just as I did!!
Bridget

Good afternoon all
Hope you all enjoyed Easter. The weather on the Costa Blanca has been very good - so much so we have had 2 bbq's followed by a seista on the sun chairs. Even managed to put some colour on our faces !!
Well my mom is out here for 2 weeks a week this Friday - she will be 87 on 13th May - and is looking forward to her holiday here. And I promise you all she will not be going back with a black eye this time !!
So pleased you can see the light at the end of the tunnel Bridget - you must feel as if it was a job well done. Also pleased to hear your great neice is doing well - I remember her in my prayers every night.
Well must be off to prepare dinner.
Take care all
Love Mary xx

Is everyone too busy or has the time come for this thread to come to an end. Such a pity.

Winter is approaching and the days are certainly cooler and the nights longer, I have been getting up later in the mornings as it only gets light at about 6.30 a.m.

We are off next week to spend a few days with my niece and to be there to celebrate her 50th birthday, we won't be doing any dancing, however, as Jimmy doesn't have the breath for dancing any more!!!

Hope your little greatniece is still holding her own Bridget.


Val in SA.

OK I am coming hoome in October and at the suggestion of another person I have decided to keep the messages going on this thread.

I have missed writing each day about my thoughts, fears, happy times and sad times. Writing about the early mornings,late evenings and the wonderful changes to the skyline.
The people who joined me became my cyber friends and I hope that you all keep writing.

I have enjoyed being back in the UK but have also realised that I miss my Spanish home, my two beautiful Cocker Spaniels and being relaxed.

So let us gather together and resume our Daily Diary

Best wishes everyone and I wonder who will respond first

Bridget