Kevnjan's new adventure.

Mon.31st.Dec. Where does the time go. Can't believe another year has passed already. It's good to look back over previous New Year celebrations and remember the times and the people. So many no longer with us. Come to think of it most of them are a bit of a blur!! Last year with Geert and Maria though seems like 5 minutes ago. It's just the two of us this year, and the dogs of course. We spent the day in Elche today, not terribly exciting. The church was shut, lots of shops open and nowhere to park, never seen so many cars. We liked the town though, lots of trees in the park, very pretty. Lunched on cold pizza and cake. It's been much cooler today, no sunbathing, but still bright and warm enough to wander Elche coatless. Got back to find the dogs eating the earth in the flower pots. Is that normal?? They seem fine, we're feeding them well and there don't seem to be showing any ill effects. (Not sure about the plants though!) Very odd. Well, happy new year everyone, this time next week we will be on the move again so might have more to report. I think I might pour myself a little Scotch as it's a special occasion. Fishcakes for dinner.

Thought you might like a picture.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Fri. 28th. Dec. Glad to say I've got through another Christmas with a minimum of fuss. This is the way to do it. Very quietly, slowly, eating and drinking good stuff in moderation. No indigestion, no hangovers. Why hasn't anyone thought of this before?? We had a great Christmas day, exchanged a few small gifts, spoke to family and friends and relaxed with good food and a little booze, (not Janet). The day was a little misty and cool so there was no lunch by the pool but it was warm enough for a long walk in the afternoon. The weather warmed up on Wednesday and Thursday and we put in some tan time. Anyone who knows me will probably be aware that I'm not a great fan of Christmas, mainly because I don't think it was ever meant to start at the end of October!! This year was different, it should be like this every year. Looking forward to new year now. Time to feed the dogs and poop scoop. By for now.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Mon.24th. Dec. Christmas eve. I've just come in from my afternoon laying by the pool in the warm sunshine. We have shopped for the last 3 days - why? I hear you ask!! I haven't a clue, there are only two of us and the shops are only closed for one day!! I'm keeping the gate securely locked, I'm wondering if Janet is expecting 20 or 30 people to turn up for dinner tomorrow!! If they do they won't go hungry that's for sure. Tomorrow the shops are shut so we can have the day off. We put a video on Facebook today, brave Jan actually took a (very) brief dip in the pool. Although the sun has been shining and the air temperature is around 70, the pool is 57. Even the dogs thought she'd gone mad. Anyway, that's about as exciting as it gets around here at the moment. A merry Christmas and a happy new year to all who read the blog. I promise to try and make it more interesting in the new year.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Wed.19th. Dec. Hi you blogwatchers. Pretty dull stuff eh. Yesterday was a big day. The sun shone, Mr. Manley gave me the day off and our dental appointments awaited at 6.30pm. I took a coffee, my Kindle and the usual entourage of 3 poodles and sat by the pool in the warm sun. Not a cloud in the sky, took off my sweatshirt and enjoyed. Jan came out to show off her new Christmas dress. " Very nice, a little warm for a sunny day" said I. Big mistake!! Jan went in to change into something more summery and joined me by the pool. Within half an hour the clouds had rolled over and the temperature had dropped about 10 degrees. She normally has to put sun cream on to get that sort of result. I suppose it's the time of year. We went out to lunch as we had dental stuff scheduled for later. Last night we swapped early Christmas presents. Poor Jan has had another tooth removed and suffered severe pain, she doesn't handle pain too well. I had a filling which was relatively painless. The real damage was done to the bank of Woodward when the bill was presented!! Now that hurt!! Still, hopefully we can look forward to a few months of good dental health now. This time tomorrow it will be just Jan and I, (and the dogs of course) John and Pat will be on their way home. Good luck to them, the weather forecast is dire. Sun's just warming up here, think I'll have a coffee by the pool and wait for Jan to come out in her swimsuit and make it rain. Bye for now!

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Fri. 14th. Dec. While we've been here waiting for dental treatment we've been helping out pruning the olive trees, although I'm not sure how much help I've really been, I'm afraid of killing them off. I suppose I've never managed to kill off my roses yet so probably it's OK. I'm not let loose with the chainsaw though. Probably just as well!! I had my first appointment with the dentist on Wednesday and to my surprise a pretty hygienist non too gently cleaned and scaled my teeth. Didn't see that coming, got to improve my Spanish. Anyway, I'm €50 lighter but my teeth are sparkling. The filling gets done on 18th. same time as Jan's extraction. We are going to be here until the new year. Jan has persuaded Pat and John that they should visit the family in England for Christmas. They have been in Spain for 15 years and never been back to England together since. We have volunteered to mind the dogs and keep an eye on things while they're away. Three standard poodle bitches, how difficult can that be!! Anyway, it's nice to be able to help out. Hope they've got some warm cloths in storage, looks like they might need them. Weather here is warm for a few hours during the day but disappointingly cold at night still. Might be ready for Morocco when they get back.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Mon. 10th. Dec. Well, we paid our first visit to the dentist this morning and with John's help, (as an interpreter), we established that Jan has another split tooth, no wonder she's in so much pain. This seems to be an unfortunate side effect of the infusion she has once a year for her osteoporosis, we sere warned that it might cause dental problems. She has to take an 8 day course of antibiotics before the treatment can commence. Hopefully it will not be a saga the like of last summer. She doesn't deserve this sort of discomfort. I have to have a filling replaced also. Looks like we will be buying dental treatment for each other this Christmas. Still, every cloud has a silver lining! Today I was able to help John out with pruning the olive trees, hopefully I won't do too much damage, I prune my roses and haven't killed them off yet!! Might as well help out, although the weather is pleasant we can't lay by the pool sunbathing. So here we are, looks unlikely we'll make it to Morocco this side of the new year, still, mustn't complain, I have to keep reminding myself, I could be in England, driving a bus, in the cold, with no heater!! How I love Monday mornings. Well, it's time for my first beer of the day, of the week come to think of it. Bye for now.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Sunday, 9th. Dec. Friday we had the day off, took the last of the olives to the press and went shopping. Visited Mercadona, Chinese bargain basement and wasted time looking for stuff. Seems to be a popular pastime here. A daily visit to Mercadona is a must. Saturday was a beautifully sunny day, warm, and we spent it doing very little. Went out for Chinese in Guardamar in the evening. Boy the nights are nippy over here. Today Jan revealed that she is suffering from toothache, something I'd suspected for a day or two and so we have had to postpone our departure until we can see a dentist. It's probably a good idea as I have a missing filling so perhaps we can kill two birds with one stone. Let's hope that this tooth problem doesn't turn into a saga the like of the one in the summer. Poor old Jan's feeling rotten, it's not just the toothache but the guilt she feels that we can't move on. Got to say, if you're stuck in Spain with a problem like this, there aren't many places I'd rather be, or people we'd rather be with. Looks like John might get some help pruning the olive trees.

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Thurs. 6th. Dec. Well I apologised already for life being a bit dull. We've been picking olives all week and yesterday took another load to the press. Looks like we may finish today, certainly tomorrow. The weather has been cold here. It's been windy and a little cloudy and Jan is still fighting off a cold, not the best weather for it! Still we're cheered considerably when we see on the news that England has snow and the grandchildren are having snowball fights at school. The news on the insurance situation is good, I rang the other day and my insurers e-mailed me a green card for travel in Morocco, free of charge. I'm very impressed. Looks like we're running out of excused not to go to Morocco. Our only hope is that there's a heatwave in the Costa del Sol. Still, it's just another adventure isn't it? Got to figure out our next destination soon as it looks as if we'll be on the move in the next few days. Maybe Granada. (If it's not snowing.)

Kevnjan's new adventure.

Sun. 2nd. Dec. Well that's November gone then. We're back at Finca Buenos Suenos, arrived Thurs afternoon after offering to help gather in the rest of the olive harvest. We were in Cartagena, filling up with gas and figured as we were half way there already we'd offer our services. Did an hour Thurs. and all day Fr. We have very accommodating employers who have taken the weekend off for eating, drinking and making merry. Back to work tomorrow. We all went to the press with 500 Kgs of olives yesterday and watched them go through their transformation into oil. Fascinating. Made us very hungry so went to a restaurant for leisurely and enjoyable lunch on the seafront. It looks as if we have another few days to get the picking finished then it will be time to make a serious move towards the Costa del Sol to find somewhere to spend Christmas, weather permitting. I've just realised that my insurance doesn't cover me for Morocco so I'll have to fix that if we decide to go over. Hoping the weather will be good this side. It's been distinctly chilly this week, although today has been brilliantly clear and sunny. There's a cold wind blowing still, though the forecast is for it to warm up in a day or so. We went to a market this morning and had our firs churros since arriving in Spain. Very nice, walking through the market munching churros, so good Jan had to go back for more. John drove us up into the mountains afterwards, it's beautiful up there, those who stick to the coast and the beach really miss out. It's good to see a bit of the country with people who know their way around, adds a new dimension. So that's about it for now, sorry if it's a bit dull but we're enjoying it.