My Spanish Getaway...Part I

Pre-Departure
For months leading to the 19th September, Steve and I have been eagerly anticipating our week-long holiday in Malaga, Spain. So on the 18th September, all the bags were packed, passports packed, tickets printed and we set off to the airport early on 19th September, took the 7.50am flight from Bournemouth and arrived in Torremolinos at around noon local time, greeted by the wonderful and hot sunny Spanish weather.

Upon arrival
Because we have been to Torremolinos so many times and knew exactly how to get to the flat, we wasted no time at all in settling into the flat and stocking up on food and drinks, and making the flat nice and cozy for our week there.

However, when we went downstairs to check out the pool, it was to our utter disappointment to discover that the pool was shut. Hoping that it was just being temporarily shut for cleaning, we made a note to check it again the next day, keeping our toes and fingers crossed.

So having nothing to do and keen to follow the Spanish culture, we decided to enjoy a siesta before heading to town for some dinner.

That was when it all happened... I was carrying a box of cookies and a water bottle and as I was making my way down the few flight of stairs to the bedroom, I slipped and fell, BIG TIME, on my bum and IT HURT LIKE HELL. When Steve finally got me onto the bed, I was in floods of tears because of the pain.  After the initial shock and pain died down a little, I stood up to go to the bathroom. That was when I realised that when I fell down, I must have knocked my problematic heel somehow and I could not put my foot down without it hurting like hell. Sharp pains shot up from my right heel straight to my calf every time I attempt to put my foot down and walk. Which meant that I had to hobble on my toes wherever I went and going from the living room to the kitchen was an enormous effort.  Worst of all, the flat was on the 4th floor, with no elevator !!

ALAS!!! What am I going to do?!?! I simply cannot face the prospect of being trapped in the flat for the whole week of my holiday. What about poor Steve? Not only did he have to be at my beck and call, fetching everything I needed, he also had to go shopping on his own and to bring home dinner and lunch for me!! And did I not mention that we have both been looking forward to this holiday for months and months?!?!

Stay tuned and I shall reveal what happened next in Part II as I need to be heading off to dreamland for my much needed sleep to be ready for work tomorrow morning...

Till then...

The changing of seasons and more projects completed

Nine calendar months have snuck past me and I am still in a daze ... It seemed like not long ago we were rejoicing in the unexpected January snow (not all of us) and when I turned around, it's September already. Mind you, from January to September, I did manage to squeeze in events like going home to Malaysia to visit the family; learning to use the sewing machine; celebrated another birthday; a few holidays here and there.... So all in all, quite an eventful nine months.

As much as we are unwilling to accept that Summer is coming to an end, you know that it is happening when you can feel the air getting chillier and you no longer feel comfortable in just your skimpy t-shirt; shorts and flip-flops. Your lips start to feel a bit dry and flaky; and your skin becomes rather dry.

Speaking of dry skin, I have started using the much talked about 'Waitrose Baby Bottom Butter' on my face. I know it sounds absurd but not long ago I read about it on the news and when I was in Waitrose a month ago, I saw it and decided to give it a go. It actually works quite well on my superdry skin, so I have stopped using my dermalogica moisturiser and am only using this. But I suspect I will go back to my dermalogica products quite soon, once I get hold of another tube of my daily moisturiser as I've run out of that product. I like the light, aromatheraphy-smelling moisturiser on my face. But at the moment, for £2.49 per tub, it's doing quite a good job.

I hate using make up and until today, I am guilty of going around puffy and pale-faced, looking like I've just woken up from bed, even at 1 o'clock in the afternoon because I can't even be bothered to put lipsticks on. I have tried, I swear, I have, that is, to maintain a regime of applying make up before coming out. Bea even gave me a crash course on using make up but I just gave up after two days because I cannot be bothered. Too time consuming and, frankly, pointless. But I will give it another go, soon, when I've visited the store and bought myself some proper MAC make-up. I'll let you know. I quite like the Hello Kitty range, so perhaps I will start trying, soon. First, I need to sort out my unruly and quite frankly, almost non-existing eyebrows. That's what irritates me the most.

Anyway, some random pictures to show you what's been happening...

 The view of Widemouth Bay

This picture was taken during our latest weekend away in Cornwall and the whole weekend was spent appreciating how beautiful the Cornish coast was. We enjoyed driving along the tiny and narrow coastal roads with tall hedges on both sides, while admiring the breath-taking views of the sea whenever we get chance to have glimpses of it. When we do get chance to stop and appreciate the beauty, the Canon compact camera that we have just isn't quite cut out to do the job of capturing how beautiful the surroundings were. I guess that's one of the reasons that has prompted me to want to get myself a camera which has slightly more options than a compact digital camera can offer, for the sole purpose of being able to capture pictures with a bit more depth. I have no idea about shutter speed, or ISO or macro but I am sure once I get hold of the camera, the learning will come with using it. So it's all very exciting.

 Another completed project, Michelle's Bag

I call it Michelle's Bag because it was made for a friend's birthday and you guessed right, her name's Michelle. From the outside, it might look like an ordinary tote bag but close up, you'll see that each flower is individually stitched to give it a sort of '3D' effect. It was an enjoyable project to do and hopefully she'll be able to make some good use of it.

Mind you, I was saying to Fely after three flowers, it was quite hardwork stitching free-motion and maneuvering the fabric to get the stitches around each flower to look tidy. Quite straining on the eyes and back but was definitely another satisfying project to do.

Made some cushion covers yesterday and I must say I'm quite pleased with how they have turned out. Steve chose the green fabric, flower motif with green background on one side and I matched it with a stripey deck-chair, seasiddey kind of fabric on the other side. 

I already have another project or two in mind, just need to find time to do them. It's all go, go, go !!