Clear out your wardrobes
I’ve decided that summer is here, no matter what. Out today have gone my coats, scarves and jumpers and I’ve brought back my cropped trousers that make your thighs look like tree trunks, my white tshirts that have gone yellow, sleeveless tops that reveal bingo arms, flowery peasant skirts that now just look wrong ( as those gladiator shoes will by next year!!) and ….well guess who is heading to the clothes shops this morning?
I’ve also found my girls Build a Bear birth certificates which won’t mean anything to you unless you also have children that have them. It means they can now access online a game they have been wanting to play for ages. So the spring clean was worth it. New wardrobe here I come and I’m going to have two very happy girlies this afternoon. If clothes buying is a success…maybe three happy girlies?!!
Friday ads sell your unwanted things
I have been having a big clear out of the garage. I’ve had to do it very gradually so that my husband doesn’t realise that things are going missing. When he’s in a good mood, had a glass of wine, I ask him can I throw something out and if he says yes, I make sure I have a witness ( pet cat will do) and then when he’s out of the house….off I go to the skips. I leave things there and a few hours later, my rubbish is someone elses treasure.
However there are some things that I’ve advertised with Friday ads in Spain. There is the UK Friday ads but also one, all in English for Spain. Last week I advertised on the web and also in the newspaper ( completely free) a fold up bed. On Sunday a man came around, bought it and the 50 euros helped pay for this weeks petrol.
Setting up your advert is really easy and you get to preview it before it goes live on the internet and into the Friday newspapers. There are categories for everything, toys, furniture, electrical goods…..and if you don’t sell one week you can just readvertise it another week. You have an email that comes through asking if you want to advertise again…tick the boxes and voila, done.
Anything that doesn’t get sold….well that’s why we have skips.
The 7 plagues
Has anyone else noticed that this week-end a plague of mosquitoes has descended upon Marbella? Or is it only my house?
They seem to have extra super sized dangly legs, as though they were the sportsmen of the mosquito world and they also appear very hungry……I’m calling my husband to bed now, he thinks I’m being nice but I’m actually seeing him as alternative bait to me.
One of the 7 plagues was turning water into blood….think that’s exactly what the mosquitoes have in mind tonight.
Self Catering Spain
Self catering holidays in Spain. Choose from thousands of self catering villas and apartments direct from owners. Availability calendars so you can see if your accomodation is free for your holiday dates. Easy online enquiry form that goes direct to the owner.
Grow your own tomatoes
Beat the credit crunch and start growing some of your own vegetables such as tomatoes on a terrace or herbs.
I went out last week-end and bought for 24 cents each a good strong healthy tomato plant – well several. I bought a small bag of compost, some peppers and as I keep pots from plants I have bought before I saved money on these. I’ve tried growing the larger tomatoes but have found the smaller varieties to be more prolific and easier to manage.
From the garden centre I also bought in some pretty painted pots some herbs, basil as we eat a lot of pasta and mint as my son likes it with ice-cream and I liked the idea of it with Pimms! I also have some friends who are mad for herbal tea and there is nothing better than fresh mint tea. Well, unless you count Typhoo with full caffeine.So far the herbs are a week old and are really happy on my outside kitchen window sill. I only water them in the evening so they don’t get too hot and then suffer from an aphid infestation. Much cheaper than buying it fresh from eg Supersol and there is something extremely satisfying about growing and harvesting your own food.
So head to your local garden centre this Sunday, most are open in the mornings and see what you can buy. I’ve tried a few things but for me tomatoes and peppers are always winners. The long green peppers produce scores of vegetables for you and if you have children they will love picking them off for you to add to your stir fries.
Strawberries, melons, peppers, tomatoes, herbs, lettuces ( mine were eaten by moth caterpillars last year) there is so much choice. Try it on a sunny terrace, a small patio, even a windowsill……happy gardening.
sandals for girls
El Corte Ingles in Puerto Banus has some gorgeous sandals for girls, little and bigger feet, prices from 30 euros in the supermarket to taking out a second mortgage in the main shop. Actually they had some lovely coloured and white ones with lots of detail on in the main shoe section on the ground floor for around 39 euros. Soft leather, pretty colours. Lots of choice of styles unlike their school shoe selection which has all but disappeared entirely.
I wish we had in La Canada or Puerto Banus, a decent, reasonably priced shoe shop like they have near Dunnes in Mijas
Easyjet code to receive £10 off your flights per person
Here is a code from Easyjet for you to receive £10 off your next flights per person. Enter the code EASYASH and book before 30th April for flights to be taken between 14th May and 15th July inclusive.
Mounted police in Puerto Banus
I was in Puerto Banus today and was a little bemused by the sight of mounted police on the road. I’m not exactly sure of the point of them.
It can’t be to control the crowds because there isn’t anyone in Puerto Banus. It can’t be to book offending vehicles because there isn’t anywhere to park the horses. It can’t be to catch the gangsters because they are all in bed sleeping off their drug overdose from the previous night and anyway, like vampires, we all know that they only come out at night. They crawl out of the drain pipes underneath Sinatras.
It all looks rather old fashioned. I want to see the police in Puerto Banus in black sleek cars like I used to watch on Knight Rider, equipped with weapons of mass destruction and lasers that can blind you on contact. They would look great, pull in the crowds and be a lot less pongy than a horse.
Make friends volunteering
If you are looking to make friends then there is an opportunity for volunteer work in my garden, bathrooms and also with the Marbella arts festival. Meetings in early June to help organise the Marbella arts festival and they are looking for the following roles to filled. You can contact Yvonne if you fancy meeting up with new people and helping out. Yvonne Sjokvist on mobile no: 617368414 or email: yvonne_sjokvist@hotmail.com
Areas to be covered during the festival:
- Festival tent (providing relevant information to visitors)
- Press and media co-ordination in Festival tent –Spanish/English speakers
- VIP event check-in for inaugural evening 17th June.
- Receiving and “checking in” artists on their arrival at Alameda parking garage for set-up Thu 17th June 8am -1pm and break-up Sun 20th same hours.
- Organizing and overseeing student helpers. Distribution of programmes
- Assist Ana Matias at her tent at times to be agreed with artist
- Carry out survey of visitor response to the Festival
Teacher’s not always right
I’ve got a pretty good relationship with my oldest daughter but we’ve had a few ding dongs recently. Mostly due to the teacher saying one thing and me another.
She’s been having some PSE or is it PIS, definitely “brainwashing” sessions in school recently, designed for children to explore their feelings and feel good about themselves. I could save the school the money and time by just letting them loose in a shopping mal for an hour or so. The teacher could grab a coffee and if any of the children get nicked for shoplifting they could even extend that coffee break into lunch or beyond.
I was trying last night to invesitgate the chicken I was about to attempt to cook for tea. My daughter was twittering on about how her PSE teacher said parents don’t listen properly, “hmmm, that’s nice darling” and she got jolly cross with me. “MUM, that’s exactly what I’m talking about. You ARE NOT listening.” I didn’t look up, I was getting more and more concerned about some red blood clots on my Mercadona chicken. ” Super darling, hmmmm, is that a bruise on the chicken, a bit of old skin or hepatitis?” For the rest of the evening I was given dark looks and the cold shoulder. A bit like the chicken.
Over the week-end another teacher decided it would be absolutely lovely if my daughter and her school friends were taken up La Concha from Marbella on a Saturday at 8.30 in the morning to raise money for charity. Well we all know that charity begins at home and that’s exactly where I intend to be at 8.30 in the morning this Saturday. In my bed, not treading up a mammoth mountain. Are the teachers absolutely sure that it isn’t volcanic?
My daughter assured me that it would take a mere six hours to get up and I assume back down and that’s if you didn’t have an asthma attack or heart attack on the way. I can only just about manage two flights of stairs, and my daughter came last, well, joint last, in the athletics trials this week at school, so she’s not much better. I tried to explain that she would be climbing a mountain, if she got tired how we would she get home unless she planned to take a parachute?
She doesn’t like carrying things, after school it is me that usually has to carry her bag, her sisters bag, her brothers pe kit…..I’m often heard braying on the way back to the car. I told her that if she was climbing a mountain she’d have to take a backpack and carry water, lots of water and high energy snacks like chocolate and crisps….only I’m not sure we have any of those left in the house, because I’ve eaten them with all the carrying on the last few days.
So I’ve said no. No mountain and no more brainwashing and I’ve also promised that if it is a choice between her and the chicken, next time she’ll win. Unless the chicken has feathers and I need to work out if I can see a pulse.
I’ve called her teacher silly and the other teacher daft and I’m not very popular at the moment. But then I know….that the teacher’s not always right. Mums however are.