This week...

Been back from Spain for almost a week now, and the weather here has been better than it was there! I got in a few hours on the sun lounger and devoured two good books, the rest of the time we went out and about as it was too cloudy for sitting around or swimming (although I did brave the 17 degree pool for 2 x 15 lengths).

So what have I been up to?

We continue to do a bit more to the decorating downstairs, got the coving up and holes in the walls filled ready to do the sanding this coming weekend. Planned out how to fit computer desk, pool table (new addition to the room), treadmill, sofa (new adition to the room...will keep the kids away from the 'living' room so hub can continue his zombie-like state betwen night shifts!) and enough shelves to house my favourite books collection of OU books and novels. Not an easy task in a room that is 3.5 x 3.5 m! And not easy even though I have already sold hundreds of pounds worth of books on ebay! Still, it should all fit, and if we treat ourselves to a flat screen on the wall the kids will have a nice den, and I will have a nice area to get away from the rubbish on the TV to read, exercise, or use the internet.

I've discovered green fingers! We have a small corner of the patio that had no use (it's at the top of some steps which now go nowhere - they used to lead up to the dinig room before we added a two storey extension 9 years ago) and I have made it my growing patch! I've planted seeds for carrots, baby lettuces and spinach. I also bought some patio pots and have planted chives, cress and tomatoes. We'll probably get a ground frost now!

Anyone who knows me fairly well will know that I'm not much of a domestic goddess, but I am trying! I do enjoy pottering about the garden with my secateurs (spelling?), now I am doing something a bit more productive and may (or may not!) save a few pennies on the food bill. I'd like to give potatoes, broccoli, and strawberries a go but don't have much space, other than room for more patio pots.

Next, to improve my domestic skills I intend to have a go at some proper home cooking or baking! Sounds more tricky than planting so I am having a think about this one! Grabs a few library books with some glossy pictures of deliciosu looking dishes and am weighing up how easy they look to make, and how much stuff I will need to buy (herbs? flour? loaf tin? flan dish? I only have salt and vinegar in my cupboard,and a baking tray and 2 roasting tins in the oven!!)

Healthy eating got a bit slack in Spain I rediscovered the taste of crisps and chocolate and wasn't very active...I know I've put on a few pounds, so I can't wait to get back on the treadmill. I was tempted by a resistance band in Tesco, well, it was only a fiver, so I got it and have looked up some moves on the Web. I also dusted off my dumbells (had them almost ten years and they've never bene used!) and got another library book on what to do with them!

Practising Spanish also got a bit slack in the lead up to the holiday, but I did use it to order food and drove family potty telling them anything I could translate, from food packets to electoral advertisments! Evening classes start again this week and I really should be looking at the preterite tense, but I have two chapters to test for KE312 by the weekend.

I'd better get cracking then!

Photos......

are here:

Hola from rainy Spain!

I hope the weather in the UK is as nice as it is here! We have plenty of grey clouds, some rain, and the odd burst of warm sunshine, but as soon as I get out on the sunlounger with my book, MP3 player and an iced drink.... it clouds over and I get goosebumps!

Having a lovely rest though. Been out to Mijas, a very pretty village nestling on the hills overlooking the coast, and to the crocodile park in Torremolinos, kids loved it but I felt a bit sorry for the crocs and alligators in their cemented, un-natural environments. Highlight was we all got to hold a baby croc.

Photos to follow, at the moment I am lucky to be typing this...it's the first internet connection I've had since we got here 6 days ago!