alan-and-suzi

[alan-and-suzi]

Sunday 13th September 2020

Betty’s hand lights....

Monday we had a walk into town, went into the Tourist Info and collected a couple of bus timetables, it was pretty much deserted in town at about midday. Still hot 🥵 so we came back home for a cold drink and to sit in the air con. Weigh day today and we both continue to lose weight steadily which is good news. Couldn’t do Mr Motivator and all the walking so just did one in the evening. We spoke with Chris and Carolyn on WhatsApp, made plans to see them in a couple of weeks as they’re busy this week and we’re busy the week after. The local government decided today that present sanctions will be in force in Valencia region for another three weeks, so still no singing or groups of more than ten people getting together.

Tuesday we caught the bus to Carrefoure, we felt safe enough, everyone wearing masks and spaced out. I got a pair of Birkenstock’s re soled at Mr Minit, the very first pair I bought, probably about 6 years ago, they’re good to go again now. We also got some more rechargeable batteries, we don’t hardly use any other type now which I’m pleased about. We bought some drinking glasses, tumblers, that can go in the dishwasher, we’ve broken three of the ones we inherited with the apartment by putting them in the dishwasher....only got a couple left. Fairly busy in Carrefoure but well organised and not really any queues. We had a drink sitting outside in a cafe before catching the bus back.

Wednesday we had an Amazon delivery for Alan of a new hair trimmer (for ears, nose etc). Alan got a text message from the R.A. Clinic giving him an appointment for next Wednesday so we had a walk to the doctors to make an appointment for blood tests, got one no problem for Friday. We dropped into the Spa for some shopping on the way home.

Thursday the builders came about 10.00 to do some odd jobs for us. They wired up the hand lights and fitted them to the wall ( the bulbs are from Prisma Lighting), tried to fit a new door lock to the back door but failed, we need a locksmith. They also chatted to us about various sound proofing options. They’re coming back in a couple of weeks to repair the roof over the balcony, then we can get it painted and finished off out there. We’re sitting outside for breakfast each morning now it’s a little cooler and it’s really lovely.

Friday morning at 8.28 Alan had his blood test appointment so we walked down there, waited about 25mins, delays due to coronavirus as usually they have at least eight nurses doing them and they’re really fast, now it was only two, in two separate rooms, so it was much slower. A lady stood behind Alan in the queue too close and one of the nurses told her to back off. Very clean and organised. We went into the chemist opposite and picked up our prescriptions and some nail clippers. At 5pm we had a video chat with Alan’s parents and sister really nice chat, they’re all well. Linda and Nigel have just come back from Edinburgh which they enjoyed. There was a small earthquake (3.6) in Leighton Buzzard this week which Mum and Dad felt, pictures rattled and the building shook, their first one, scary stuff. We had a film night with a bottle of wine, Dubois Cava, I think it’s my favourite and only 2.49€ a bottle. We watched Nightcrawler, we both thought it was good and gave it a score in the high eighties.

Saturday we cleaned the apartment as usual then Alan went upstairs and had a quick chat with Marco and Veronica about our builders coming, they will need some access to our roof from their balcony, they were OK with that. We had a walk into town to Andres for some cold meat, we’ve got fed up of eating the supermarket stuff. Then we went into Dialprix for a bottle of wine for tomorrow and some more bread squares. Finally we called into our chemist for the last item on my prescription that we couldn’t get the other day and I got two more free masks. It seemed to be a very noisy day, people in the new block over the road were playing loudish music, next door had either a loud TV or salsa music and Marco was in and out all day long, the dogs were woofing and scuffling about and there was hammering and banging intermittently. I expected a noisy night but then about 11ish it all went quiet, apart from the odd loud car going by. We have downloaded a free white noise app (my noises) and it works brilliantly, you can choose from many different noises, white noise, ocean, rain etc etc, I prefer white noise as it’s less distracting, sounds just like our air con is going. When we have that on and ear plugs in it blocks out everything, apart from the very loudest of loud motorbikes going by or something similar, it’s a brilliant find.

Sunday we sat outside for a very leisurely breakfast, we didn’t have to be anywhere so we sat reading and chatting for ages. We did Mr Motivator then relaxed some more. After lunch we shared a bottle of wine and watched a couple of films, a double matinee, they were Rounders and Phantom Thread, they were both good and we rated them in the 80’s. Later we had a snack and then I gave Alan a haircut and we played games and read.

We have either been doing Mr Motivator twice a day or going for a walk and one Mr M. We are still eating less and are very motivated to keep going, all cravings for chocolate and crisps have gone now thankfully and when we’re shopping we don’t even look at them. Sometimes a day seems to go slowly but the weeks are flying by. Alan has been writing every day, his third short story is now done, just needs checking over and polishing then it will be ready to be sent off. The October edition of Writers Forum came out on Saturday and Alan’s first ever story was listed as being Highly Commended, how brilliant is that for a first attempt, I’m so proud of him. As the story wasn’t published in the top three it can be sent off to another competition so he is now looking where to send it next. I have been sewing together all the ties I got to make a skirt, I’m just waiting for the last three ties to come from Linda and then I’ll get it Finished. Still doing our daily challenges and playing Moonlight Lite Mahjong most days.

[alan-and-suzi]

Sunday 6th September 2020

We went to Rockies Bar, Playa Flamenca to meet a friend....

Well, a funny old week. Last weekend we were awake a lot of Saturday night, I couldn’t sleep because the neighbours were playing salsa music (very quietly) until all hours. They had been playing it loudly for a couple of hours early evening and it got both of us completely wound up. By the time we went to bed it was quieter but I had got myself in a state, everything was bad! We were thinking of moving, soundproofing the bedroom, you name it and we thought of it. So on Sunday we were pretty tired and washed out. We lounged around, looking at Rightmove, looking at noisy neighbour forums etc etc. We had a film matinee afternoon, with wine, watched two excellent films: ‘Whatever happened to Baby Jane’ and ‘Where Eagles Dare’.

Monday I fired off an email to our builders about soundproofing the bedroom, they’re coming next week for other jobs so will have a look. I also sent emails to Rascals, Jill, Crazy Ladies and Maria saying we were both resigning from Rascals and would not be coming any more. Cue loads of emails from people we like there saying how sad they were etc. Jill tried to make out it was nothing to,do with her and Dave phoned, quite upset hoping it wasn’t anything him and Pat had said (it wasn’t). I just felt relieved that I no longer had to do it all on my own and no longer had to put up with Jill being negative and mean. I phoned up Pink Ladies, a cancer group who refer you for a mammogram and smear test, and arranged to call in and see them, I don’t have any problems but it’s two years since I had them done.

Tuesday Alan went to Iceland and we both went to Spa, nicely stocked up for a week or two. We tried to change HSBC address online but failed miserably, ended up sending them an email. RBS I had to write a letter to, in this day and age, how outdated is that? Then we had to walk down to the post office to send it off. I WhatsApped Liz to let her know she shouldn’t be getting any more mail for us, we’ve been a nuisance for long enough, she always seems to be so busy with family etc.

Wednesday Alan had a brief chat with our neighbour over the fence, just exchanging names and pleasantries, part of our plan to get to know them a bit better and then mention the noise if it happens again. I emailed Studio 32 to ask about joining them, they meet in San Luis for rehearsals and they have quite a lot of ex Rascal members, in fact they were started by ex Rascals who fell out with Jill.

Thursday we got a taxi to Pink Ladies office at Playa Flamenca where I had to fill out lots of forms for my test referral. They were very pleasant, English ladies, and told me the clinic is in Torrevieja behind Habaneras (so only a bus ride) and the staff all speak English. While there we bought four books, two each as they have a charity shop attached. After that we walked a short way to Rockys Bar and met one of the Rascals, Mo, for a drink. We had a nice chat and I mentioned to her that if Jill retires (as she is suggesting) I would be happy to take over....I’m sure Mo will pass this information along. We had an Amazon delivery of more flavour sachets for the Sodastream, they are yummy just in still water so I am making up bottles of them to keep in the fridge.

Friday we had a bottle of wine and a film night, watched a brilliant Agatha Christie film, ‘The Witness for the Prosecution’ we both rated it highly. I contacted a U3A lady who runs a group doing Intermediate Spanish but she does it by Zoom and we want to socialise and learn, so not for us. We had a message from Dawn and Ernie to say they think they’ll be here from mid September for two or three months. It will be good to see them, I feel a bit like Suzi no mates at the moment.

Saturday was cleaning and mopping day, nothing very exciting happened. Appointments came through for my tests, 21st September and 27th October which is OK. Also an email from U3A, they have a different venue for their meeting, Torrevieja council are not opening the CMA building yet so it will be held at Hi-Life which is at Punta Prima, we’ve been there before to quiz nights.

Sunday we had a lazy morning, reading the news online, catching up with social media ad and reading our books. After lunch we shared a bottle of wine and watched two films, this is definitely becoming a (good) habit. Today it was The Illusionist and Gloria Bell....both very good films, we both really liked them.

All week we have been sticking to our diet, still losing weight successfully and without too much pain. Still doing Mr M twice a day, although we missed it Thursday morning when we went to Playa Flamenca. Alan has been writing every afternoon, he is working on refining short story number three. He sent off his poem to Writers Digest. I have been reading, knitting four rows a day, keeping social media going, answering emails, WhatsApping people and playing a card game. Yesterday I started on the tie project and am feeling quite enthusiastic about it.

[alan-and-suzi]

Saturday 29th August 2020

Last year....

We had breakfast, read news online, did Mr Motivator then cleaned the apartment. After that Alan prepared lunch, cod, noodles and green veg. Once we tidied away Alan got on with writing while I did some Rascals stuff, caught up with social media, sorted some washing/drying and knitted my four rows. Later we did our daily challenges, did another Mr M, had a snack, played Mahjong, then shared a bottle of wine and read and chatted until bedtime. Our neighbours were irritating today, playing loud salsa music for about an hour between 6.30 - 7.30pm. Mostly they have been OK since I asked them to be quieter one night and I suppose today it was early, but it was still irritating 😠. Spent half an hour looking at properties on urbanisations then felt better 😁.

[alan-and-suzi]

Friday 28th August 2020

The snowman Dorothy knitted for us and sent in Ali’s parcel....

We were up before 10.00am today, both had quite a restless night - too hot. Had breakfast, read the news online, did Mr Motivator and then read a bit more. Alan sprayed the bedroom and balcony for cockroaches. We had a video chat with Alan’s Mum and Dad for an hour or so, they’re both still fine and we had a good chat. After that we called back Chris and Carolyn (they rang while we were video chatting) and spoke with them for another half an hour or so. We don’t speak to anyone for about ten days, then we speak to two lots of people in quick succession. I did lunch today, chicken Korma with basmati rice, my absolute favourite 😋 . After lunch Alan got on with some writing while I read my book, did my knitting quota, caught up with social media and played a card game. I’m loving sitting on our new sofa, it smells divine, 👃new leather. Later we did our daily challenges, did another Mr M, had a snack, then watched a film (Michael Clayton, we both enjoyed it, rated it 85% average) until bedtime.

[alan-and-suzi]

Thursday 27th August 2020

Sofa delivered and in position....

Alan got up at about 8.15am today but I just couldn’t, I was so tired and felt washed out so I stayed in bed and went back to sleep until about 9.45am. That’s only about the second time ever we haven’t got up at the same time. Anyway, I felt much better after the extra sleep and Alan had been making writing notes while I was in bed. We had breakfast, read the news online, did Mr Motivator and then went for some shopping at our local Dialprix. They don’t have a lot of choice but we got some staples to keep us going. We were waiting for the sofa shop to phone us about delivery of our new sofa so we didn’t want to be too far from home. Alan prepared lunch today, southern fried chicken with hash browns and green veg. Of course just as it was half ready the shop phoned to say they would be here in half an hour! We didn’t like to say no, so we wolfed down our lunch with about one minute to spare, literally.

Anyway, finally, the sofa is here and it all seems good. The delivery men were professional and helpful and it looks great. They were taking away the old one when our upstairs neighbour stopped them and asked us if she could have it. We showed her the four broken springs but she still wanted it so we agreed and she got her family to help her take it upstairs, she was very happy. The room looks more spacious now which is a bonus and the sofa is very comfortable, also it smells divine. After all that excitement we had a cup of tea/coffee and then Alan got on with some writing while I did some Rascals stuff, did my four rows of knitting, sorted out some washing, read my book (I’m on a David Baldacci now and it’s sooo much better than the usual free crap I read) and caught up with social media. Later we did our daily challenges, did another Mr M, had a snack, played Mahjong and then shared a bottle of wine, read and chatted until bedtime.

[alan-and-suzi]

Wednesday 26th August 2020

Tie delivery from Ali today....

We were up a bit earlier, had breakfast, read the news online and then did Mr Motivator, we both found it quite difficult this morning due to lack of sleep and excess heat. We wake up several times a night boiling hot, put the air con on for a while, then switch it off again and go back to sleep 😴, it makes you feel quite weary. We checked our online banking (all good). I got an email back from the Crazy Ladies today confirming they will do three dances for us in our Christmas shows, so that’s good news. We had a phone call from the sofa shop to confirm they have it back and can they deliver it tomorrow, so we said ‘Yes’, I so hope everything goes OK. Then we had a delivery....all the ties from Oxfam and Joe’s Dad, sent to us by Ali, how fabulous do they look? I’m itching to get started now but I need to just wait and see if I get any more come through. Ali also kindly put in a large bottle of hand soap and one of air freshener made by Thomas’ girlfriend, which smells divine, and a knitted snowman from Dorothy. A joyous package to receive.

Alan did lunch for us, salmon steak with lemon, basmati rice and baby peas, yum 😋. After lunch we both read for a while, then Alan got on with some writing while I caught up with social media, did some Rascals stuff, read my book and did my daily quota of knitting. We did our daily challenges, did another Mr M, had a snack, played Mahjong and then read and chatted until bedtime.

[alan-and-suzi]

Tuesday 25th August 2020

Just some of the faults on the new sofa they tried to deliver today....

We were up a bit earlier, had breakfast, read the news online and then did Mr Motivator. We cleaned up the old sofa and swept and mopped behind it ready for the delivery of the new one today. I got a deep scratch off one of the springs in the old sofa today, it bled for quite a while, I had to put a wedge of cotton padding on it for a while but it’s all right now. Alan tried to send his poem off but couldn’t get through the process 🤷‍♂️, try again another day. I sent an email to Jen and Paul in Bulgaria, re did a couple of words on the black wall and made a shopping list. I did lunch today, chicken Jal Frezi with rice.

After lunch Alan did some writing while I read my book, not for long though as the shop rang us wanting to deliver the sofa at about 3pm. We saw the delivery men arrive and they put the two back cushions on the pavement, without any covering. When they got upstairs to us I checked these two cushions and they had blue marks (like felt pen) and black dirty marks, also one of them had a stitch undone. While I was looking at them they brought up the seat cushion and it also had blue and black marks. At this point I told them to stop and phoned the shop. I basically told them that the sofa was not up to standard, we were not accepting delivery of it and that we wanted our money back. The lady on the phone told me they would send the cushions back for replacement, I said we can’t sit on a sofa without a back or a seat! She said she’d speak to the factory, that she couldn’t make a decision, I told her I was making the decision and was rejecting the sofa as it was not in an acceptable condition. So back it went. Then I sent an email to the shop setting out our position. The salesman, Javi, phoned later in the afternoon and said he sofa was not perfect, he had spoken to the factory manager and they were going to collect it in the morning, sort it out and return a perfect sofa to him tomorrow evening. They would deliver it to us again with someone from the shop and from the factory, unwrap it at our house and make sure it was perfect and we were happy with it. So we agreed.

Alan tried to do a bit more writing and I did my four rows of knitting but we couldn’t settle so we stopped earlier today, at about 6.00pm. We did our daily challenges, did another Mr Motivator, had a snack, I gave Alan a haircut, then we played Mahjong, read and chatted until bedtime.

[alan-and-suzi]

Monday 24th August 2020

Last day of the old sofa....

We were up about 10am, I’m really liking these extra morning dozes, we wake up about 7-8am and then go back to sleep 💤, blissful. We had breakfast, read the news online, Spain has ever increasing numbers of infections, then we did Mr Motivator. We walked to Corte Ingles as we’d been advised we could exchange our Sodastream gas bottles there, unfortunately we couldn’t. We then went to the shop we bought our new sofa from (been waiting since 4th June, due to coronavirus they haven’t been able to get the different materials from various countries) and Yay! It’s been delivered to their warehouse and will be delivered to us tomorrow. The state of the old one that we got with the apartment. Since we’ve been under lockdown, sitting on it a lot more, three springs have broken through (Alan even sawed one off as it was a bit sharp) and you can see how much it has sagged and collapsed. We saw a picture of our new one today, the warehouse sent it to the salesman’s phone, and I’m very much looking forward to sitting on it tomorrow 🛋.

Once we got back home we had a rest and a cold drink then Alan prepared lunch for us of haddock, wedges and green veg. After that he got down to writing short story number three while I made the bed, caught up with social media, read my booking, did some knitting and did some Rascals emails. Later we did our daily challenges, did another Mr M, had a snack (we both lost just over a pound this week) played Mahjong then chatted and read until bedtime.

[alan-and-suzi]

Sunday 23rd August 2020

The knitting....

We were up quite late again, had breakfast, read the news online, did Mr Motivator. This picture shows the knitting I just started, I’m limiting myself to four rows a day so I don’t get a thumb injury! I haven’t knitted on circular needles before and it’s taking a bit of getting used to, you can see from the graph how far I’ve got so far( highlighted). I think it will get easier as the knitting gets longer, at the moment it’s a big, curly mess! I did lunch today of a chunky veg soup/stew which was OK.

After lunch we chose a film each to have a double matinee. My choice was ‘Strictly Ballroom’, which was a fun film involving some ballroom dancing, based in Australia, a feel good film, although it had me in tears at the end! We both enjoyed it. Alan’s choice was ‘Flash Gordon’, which needs no description, and we both enjoyed it. Then we did our daily challenges, did another Mr M, had a snack, played Mahjong, then read and chatted until bedtime.

[alan-and-suzi]

Saturday 22nd August 2020

Near Hombre Del Mar yesterday....

We were up quite late again, had breakfast and read the news online, then did Mr Motivator. After that, we cleaned the apartment, and it was a mopping day, still it doesn’t take long as it doesn’t get too bad. Then a rest and a cold drink before lunch, my turn today, chicken Jal Frezi with lime and coriander rice. Later Alan got down to writing and I did some washing, read my book and did some knitting. We did our daily challenges, did another Mr M, had a snack, played mahjong and then read and chatted until bedtime. A pretty quiet, restful day really. Temperatures are still in the 30’s and I read that last night it didn’t get any lower than 29 degrees, phew, no wonder we are sleeping on and off at the moment 🔥🥵.

[alan-and-suzi]

Friday 21st August 2020

Applying silver leaf to an old picture frame....

We were up lateish again, had breakfast, read the news online and then lounged around for a while. We did Mr Motivator, lounged some more and then Alan did lunch for us, chicken fillet, noodles and green veg. After lunch Alan did some writing while I read my book, wrote a couple of emails and finished off the picture frame above. That’s me covered in glittery bits, and the work top, the floor, the phone, basically everything I’ve touched. The silver leaf floats around everywhere and is very hard to clean up as it just floats off and then settles somewhere else. I also started knitting a cushion using a Norwegian pattern and round knitting needles (I’ve never used them before and they’re tricky to get used too) because there are so many stitches, 236. It’s a complicated pattern using two colours woven together, a bit like doing Fair Isle, but this ends up looking like newspaper print....we’ll see.

Alan got the second scene of his story to the next stage (there are three scenes) and then read it to me, I love it 🥰 , he’s so imaginative and clever. It’s very well written, he’s done lots of research and read lots of books about writing now, the characters are believable and likeable. We did our daily challenges, did another Mr M, had a snack, then shared a bottle of wine and watched a film (First Reformed), it was OK if a little gloomy, I wouldn’t watch it again.

[alan-and-suzi]

Thursday 20th August 2020

Table/drinks cooler....

We were up about 10.30am today, had breakfast, read the news online and then did Mr Motivator. We went for a walk down to the sea front, it was pretty cloudy but still 29degrees, we sat near the Man of the Sea for a while then walked back to the Casino for a drink in the shade. We walked back home, had a rest and a cold drink and then I did lunch of chicken in tomato and mushroom sauce with pasta 🍝. There were quite a few people on the beach and in the sea but not many people about in the bars and restaurants.

After lunch Alan got down to some writing while I varnished the frame I gilded yesterday, did some Rascals emails and read my book. We did our daily challenges, did another Mr M, had a snack, played Mahjong and then read and chatted until bedtime.

[alan-and-suzi]

Wednesday 19th August 2020

How we video chat with people....

We had breakfast, read the news online and did Mr Motivator, then we read some more before having a video chat with Alan’s Mum and Dad for an hour or so. They’re both fine, it’s been raining in the UK for several days now therefore they’ve not been getting out for a walk so they’re doing jobs around the house. After chatting we had a delivery from Amazon of a table/bar for the balcony, we assembled it and got it out there, it looks pretty good. Alan did lunch today of fish, hash browns and green veg, all good. We had a couple of lengthy discussions today, one in bed this morning about living here and how it is affecting us. Sometimes our neighbours are noisy and on top of everything else(lockdown measures, heatwave, diet) it gets a bit much. We were planning on going to a karaoke bar this week and now all music bars have been closed, due to the increase in infections, so that’s that. We know we’re very lucky to not be working, to have an apartment paid for, to have enough money for food etc and to be together but very occasionally the staying in nearly all the time makes me stir crazy 😝. Anyway, we both agree and feel better for talking about it and having a cuddle afterwards. After lunch Alan did some writing and I gilded a photo frame and put it together. We did our daily challenges, did another Mr M, had a snack, played mahjong, then shared a bottle of wine and chatted and read until bedtime.

[alan-and-suzi]

Tuesday 18th August 2020

Lovren, Bulgaria, four years ago....

We had a very on and off night of sleep, I think the main problem at the moment is it’s just so hot 🥵. After breakfast and reading the news online we did Mr Motivator, then Alan did some writing while I did a few odd jobs. I cleaned a little bit of black from the shower, it was under the clear plastic sealant, so I dug it out and re did it. Then I regrouted an area of tiling in the kitchen where the old grout had just fallen out. I did lunch today, chicken Korma with added potatoes and basmati rice delicious 😋.

We chatted for a while after lunch, then went to our local Spa for a bit of shopping 🛒, just the usual, nothing exciting. When we got back we had a cold drink and a sit down for a while, then Alan got on with more writing and I researched a couple of projects on the Internet, then played solitaire and read. I am reading ‘Villette’ by Charlotte Bronte, all 668pages of it, and it is seriously hard going. Not only is it the typical, flowery language of that era but she keeps going into French too, not easy to follow. As we have no sodastream gas cylinder at the moment we have been using the flavoured sachets we got in plain water, it’s just like drinking squash but more exotic flavours. We are keeping the three bottles topped up so we always have cold drink in the fridge, hrouhout the summer we have no cold water, it comes out of the cold tap warm! We did our daily challenges, had a snack, did another Mr M, played mahjong, then read and chatted until bedtime.

[alan-and-suzi]

Monday 17th August 2020

The poster for the first show we did with Rascals last year....

We were up nice and late today, about 10.30am, a lovely lie in. We had breakfast, read the news online, chatted, did Mr Motivator and then went out briefly. Unfortunately the lift wasn’t working when we went out so we decided to cut our walk in town short bearing in mind the climb back up our stairs to the 4th floor. We went out about 12.30pm and it was already 34 degrees. We just took out the rubbish and glass, then walked round to a nearby second hand shop, I was looking for a few things to upcycle but they didn’t have anything suitable. I’d like a white figurine to nail varnish dip, an ornate picture frame for the poster above (I’m going to frame it and hang it outside on the balcony once the roof repair is done) and a small round side table. When we got back Alan did lunch for us today, southern fried chicken, noodles and green veg, a good combo.

I searched online for different things and ended up ordering a small round table come cool bar, it’s white and the top lid lifts up to reveal a space for ice and bottles of wine or whatever. Once the lid is lifted up and latched it becomes a secure table top....it’s due on Saturday from Amazon. It’s to go out on the balcony, although we could use it indoors. I spent a good hour searching for a place to get our sodastream gas canisters filled, when we bought it the website said how easy it was to do, oh no! Not at all easy, no stockists near us, no online refills to Spain, in the end I managed to find an email address for sodastream and wrote off to them for help. Let’s hope it’s not going to be purely decorative and we can get them filled somehow. Alan got on with short story number 3 this afternoon, because it’s much longer than the others, about 6000 words, he’s reading it to me in three stages. I’ve heard the first stage and it sounds intriguing, I want to know what’s coming next! If the weather would just cool down a little I would sit outside but it seems like July and August are a write off in this heat. So many things I want to do and things I want to see but this weather ☀️🔥stops me going out much, never mind the coronavirus 🦠. We did our daily challenges, another Mr M, had a snack, played mahjong and then read and chatted until bedtime.

[alan-and-suzi]

Sunday 16th August 2020

Dressed for the pandemic....

We were up later today, about 10.15am, had a good sleep 😴. We had breakfast, read the news online and did Mr Motivator before lounging and reading some more. I did lunch today, cock a leekie soup with chicken and rice. After lunch we shared a bottle of wine and had a film afternoon....I chose ‘His girl Friday ‘ with Cary Grant, rated 98% on Rotten Tomatoes and we both thought it was dreadful. They were constantly shouting over each other so I couldn’t hear what they were saying, Alan gave it 10% and I gave it 15%. Our next film was ‘Sorry to bother you’, rated 94%, it was also bad, Alan gave it 50% and I gave it 20%. It started off OK but then deteriorated and became ridiculous. Then we did our daily challenges, had a snack, did Mr M again, played Mahjong and read and chatted until bedtime.

[alan-and-suzi]

Saturday 15th August 2020

Bozhentsi in Bulgaria, two years ago....

We had breakfast, read the news online and then did Mr Motivator. After a little rest and a cold drink we cleaned the apartment, this week accompanied by The Eurythmics. We then sat and read the news for a while before Alan did lunch, fish cake, spicy noodles and green veg. After lunch Alan continued with short story number 3 while I touched up some of the grouting on the bathroom cupboard (will it ever be done!!). Then I retired to the bedroom and went through the entire Rascals Christmas Show song lyrics to make sure they matched up with the music. Of course three of them didn’t so I sent an email to Dave asking him to have a look at them again for me, maybe I was just listening to different music to that which he’s downloaded, although I did listen to several trying to find music to match the lyrics. I also thought a couple of the songs could have long instrumentals at the end shortened a bit, they went on too long. We did our daily challenges, did another Mr M, had a snack then we shared a bottle of wine and watched a film, an old favourite, ‘Driving Miss Daisy’. Then it was time for bed 🛌.