Author: lindika

Saturday 2nd November

Still Celebrating:  Our friends, Danielle and David, were over from the UK for a short period, so we arranged to meet at La Sala Banus for lunch.  I was still in celebration mode, so really looked forward to seeing them.  They introduced us to a charming couple, Viv and Gary, who were also over from the UK.  Apart from the usual embarrassing struggle for me to settle in, the staff were lovely and I had a fun time as we caught up on our news.  Of course we just had to toast my latest medical report – hee, hee ……

 Della Reduced Days!:  We began cutting down on Della’s days over the past couple of months.  She began with us by working full time but, as I improved, her days were reduced from four times to twice a week.   This suited Della’s new business arrangements, but although it suited both of us, I had a pang in my heart as I wouldn’t have the daily verbal abuse and our usual banter.

Introducing Johanna:  Colin and I really needed help with our house.  As we had known this lady for many years, Johannna came to take over cleaning in our humble place.  She went through our house like a “human tornado”!  She was efficient, friendly, precise and got on with her work quickly.  An excellent addition to our team.

Thursday 7^th November

Golf Fancy Dress Meeting:  Our gang of “Naughty Girls” of Marie, Doreen and Agnete met at the El Paraiso Club to discuss updates on our fancy dress theme for the December event.   Fay was my replacement on the team.  We were also joined by Maria but she would be neutral because she wouldn’t be in Spain for the event.  We discussed all sorts of characters and what our team would be.  The girls kindly included me in fancy dress even though I wouldn’t be able to play.   I was designated the “buggy driver” for the day.  Was looking forward to it!

Lunch With My Boys:  Colin and Christian joined me for lunch at the club later.  It was nice to mix with other familiar faces from the club that day.

No More Laces:  At last I no longer had to fight with the laces on my trainers.  Colin gave me an “Happy UnBirthday” present of some ankle boots with small heels.  I Thought, “Are you kidding Me!”, as I could bearly walk in flat shoes.  I found that I could actually wear these new winter zip up boots.  I couldn’t wait to have a go out socially and take them for a “test drive” and see if they would work.  

Blog Update:  I struggled with the design, what I could write about and wondered if it would be of interest.   I thought, “Why on earth had I begun in the first place”.   Colin told me, as he read the first drafts, that it was fine. I was ashamed about my writing.   I knew Colin had been kind, but I knew that I would have to work more on the “Blog”as / if I was to carry it on.

Continued Exercise:  I continued with my daily routine of leg, arm and finger stretching exercises.  The routine consisted of the usual leg kicks of back, side, scrunching and pushing forward.  However, my ankle remained stubbornly rigid, painful to the upper leg but with still little feeling to my ankle.  I was Ok to get my right leg to bend back freely while I stood on my right leg, but my left leg just wouldn’t bend well enough.  As for my bad arm, I tried stretching it out, up and down.   It bacame a lot easier while I laid on my back in bed, instead of standing upright. 

Unfortunately, when I moved the left arm, I felt a pull of my arm and shoulder and this stopped me moving further.  I admit that I gave up frequently out of frustration and anger because the pain and strain of completing each simple task.  That horrible cycling machine was still part of my agenda!  Although I hated it with a passion, my cycling became faster and steadier (out of anger) but at a lower pace than when I previously “showed off” on social media weeks before.  The main thing was that my RPM (miles per minute) maintained a steady speed of around 30 – 34 RPM.  I got tired easily, but I no longer cared.  To maintain my daily regular numbers became more important than my fatigue.

More Finger Senses:  I began to have more feeling in my fingers of my left hand.  When I stretched out and applied pressure to the finger tips, it felt like pins and needles.  However, I couldn’t feel anything when I applied pressure to my finger nails.   Really strange ……..

Cutting My Own Steak:  Colin made me a steak dinner one night.  It was pretty impressive.  Previously I had to have my meat cut up for me.  However, this time I managed to use my knife and fork properly (sort of). Who was I kidding?  It had been a very awkward exercise because my left hand grip was still quite weak.    I  was stubbornly determined to cut that piece of meat myself.  I ended with a very bent left arm, elbow in the air, while I tried to apply pressure on my fork to hold the meat in place.  In the meantime, I tried to cut the steak with the knife in my right hand.  It must have looked like an ugly scenario, but I eventually managed to cut a piece!  It was frustratingly slow but, although very awkward looking, it felt so satisfying.  Colin stood over me, in case I needed his help.  I desperately wanted to prove that I no longer needed assistance while I ate.   I think I failed because my meal grew pretty cold …….

Saturday 16^th November

Walk in Progress:   Although my left leg remained straight while I walked, my balance and speed had improved slightly.  The video was just to show the improvement from my initial “George and Mildred Shuffle” from several months before, in “my first baby steps” when Colin had to hold me up.

I had intense pains and cramps a few nights later, which resulted in my walking not as good.  I was really frustrated.  It was like “two steps forward and one step back” with my progress!

Media News:  Colin and I followed the UK media and saw that Prince Andrew became headline news.  Regardless of the scandal headlines, people have their own opinion.  Also, there was the “Brexit” campaign being promoted.  Although Colin and I settled in Spain, and don’t have a vote, we both felt this was a huge mistake for the UK to leave Europe.  However, that was our opinion, and I think it reflected the majority of our ex-pat community out here in Spain.  We will see if Boris Johnson manages to succeed in convincing any of us to change our minds.

Barry’s Passing:  Heard the very sad news of the passing of one of our golf club members.  Barry was fun, an excellent low handicap golfer and partner of my hairdressing friend, Jacquie.  I was so upset to hear the news, as we all knew that he hadn’t been well, but were very shocked to hear that he had lost his battle so suddenly. 

Friday 22^nd November

Social Security Medical Check Up:   Colin and I had to be in Malaga, yet again to prove my invalid condition.  Our friend, James, kindly drove us this time.  It couldn’t have been a great deal of fun for him to be parked outside while it rained heavily that morning.   Colin and I eventually found the office, but got drenched!  After we passed their security check, we were ushered to a communal seating area where we waited for our number to show up on the screen.    It seemed to be an odd waiting system.   I had number 68, but their system had confused us all.   When it was my turn, we were passed into a female doctor’s office where I had to go through a series of a few questions and tests in Spanish.  When she asked me how I felt, I don’t think she expected my response.  I told her that I felt “frustrated”, which was the usual scam reply.  Anyway the doctor appeared to be satisfied and made arrangements for me to be monitored again in the near future.  I wasn’t sure if I’d passed or not!  James had waited patiently outside to take us back home.  It was so kind and patient of him to be our driver that morning ….

Monday 25^th November

Horrible News:  I was shocked to hear of the death of Gary Rhodes (well known UK chef),  of a brain bleed, similar to my condition.  It made me feel even luckier to have survived my own attack.  Also, there was Clive James, a well known writer, broadcaster and TV critic, who had leukemia.  Such sad news of the loss of two vibrant personalities.

Thursday 28^th November

My First Thanks Giving

First Attempt to Colour My Hair:  “Thanks Giving” was a festival I never celebrated before.  However, since my increased internet contact with Chuck, my birth father (from Texas), I became more interested.  I had to make preparations to get ready.  As it was Della’s day off, I had to try to dye my hair alone.  I think I did a half decent job – after so many hours!  Not as good as Della’s standard, but even Colin was impressed!

A group of John and Anisa’s friends met at the Hotel Andalucia Plaza for the event.  John was really efficient to organize the rest of our gang to arrive by mini coach to the event.  I felt excited when we joined an even bigger group of strangers in the main dining area.   There were rows of tables and display of wonderful hot and cold dishes.  The event was very well organized. 

When they played the “Stars and Stripes” song, I felt so moved that I had to put my hand to my heart and join in the singing.  It felt quite emotional, as I gave thanks that I was there to experience the moment, which Colin sneakily captured on camera!  We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon, as Colin laughed at my new silly moves on the dance floor.  I had a wonderful time and promised to attend again the following year.

After the mini bus collected us, we all decided on drinks at the Estepona Chilli Restaurant as a drop off point.  It was a wonderful end to a very enjoyable afternoon.  It was also obvious that I had enjoyed myself when John took a snap shot of me laughing.  I really love that photo because it exhibited the happiness that I felt then.

Please view next page 26 at link “Xmas, Condition Update & Emotional”: https://www.rebootinglinda.com/26-period-leading-to-christmas-social-gatherings-condition-update-an-emotional-month/

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Saturday 30th November

Current News:  The first news that hit us was the horrendous one of a terrorist that had stabbed and killed two young people on London Bridge.  Why these two humans, as part of a prison release programme in the UK, had to lose their lives was beyond me.  The attacker, Usman Kahn, was in prison and killed the two people who had campaigned to have people like him released.  Matt Meritt and Saskia Jones were in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Totally heartbreaking – you can read in following link: HERE

The second piece of news was really inspiring.  I read about Lieutenant Commander Pete Reed, a three time Olympic UK rowing champion.   The very statuesque man had a stroke of the spine in September, that left him paralysed from the chest down.   I never heard of a stroke of the spine before.  I read an article about him, which was really moving.  Throughout his ordeal and struggles to recover, his attitude was “of a balance of being positive and realistic”.  What a motivating man, I felt complete admiration for him. You can read details in following link: HERE or follow his progress on twitter on link: HERE

Sunday 1^st December

Christmas Festival in Estepona:  It was lovely with the start of the Christmas festivities.   Colin took the opportunity to pass out our magazine at the main entrance, while I had the freedom to hobble around the various exhibits alone.   There was plenty to see and carol singing while I mixed with some friends in the crowd.  I met up with Anisa and other girlfriends at one clothing stand.   We naughtily shared some wine through plastic cups. Then Anisa, a friend and I explored the other stalls.  The three of us came to one that made costume jewellery.   Since I had been invited to a girls’ “Secret Santa Lunch” in a few weeks time, I bought Anisa, Lynne and myself a pair of Santa earrings to wear on that day.  There was a very kind man at the main entrance door.  We had a lovely chat as we discussed his volunteer work for ADANA (Dog Adoption Society) and the adoption of our dog, Oscar.  The gentleman had paw prints on his white welcome balloons, which I offered to buy for the oncoming Christmas Fancy Dress Golf competition this month.  When I explained about my fancy dress outfit, he kindly gave me four balloons to be inflated on the day.  Such a nice and generous man. 

Monday 3^rd December

Christmas Decorations Time:   I usually put up my decorations on 1st December.  Many years ago I decided that, as it took so long to decorate the house, I kept them up until the 12^th night after Christmas Day.  That became a tradition in our house since, especially as Colin always loved to have the festive decorations up each year.  However, this year was another challenge, which I hadn’t looked forward to, but I decided that I couldn’t delay putting up the decorations.  I was too proud to discuss with Colin, so when Johanna came round to clean she helped me a great deal.  While Colin was out, she kindly hauled the boxes from our upstairs storage and climbed the step ladder to put the ornaments up where I couldn’t place them.   When it was time for Johanna to leave, I assured her that I would be alright to decorate the Christmas tree alone.  Boy!  I regretted that decision, as it took me an hour or so longer than usual. My bad leg and back hurt because I had stood for too long.  Never thought that limping around the tree would cause such agony!    However, it was worth it when Colin was surprised by the house transformation when he got home.

Thursday 5^th December

Girlie Lunch:  It was lovely to meet up with Jayne and Michelle for an Indian lunch at Masala Restaurant in Benavista.  Michelle drove us there to meet up with Jayne.  It was a wonderful relaxing afternoon, as we giggled over old memories.  All three of us had lost track of time.  We met at 1.00 pm and laughed when we realized it had started to get dark outside when we left. 

Friday 6^th December

Naughty Night:  Our friend David, Vice Captain of El Paraiso golf club, organized a group of us to go for a musical dinner night to the Miel Restaurant, in Sabanillas.  This place was owned by Kaat, the energetic Belgium wife of our friend, Paul.   We knew that night was guaranteed to be vibrant with excellent food and good company.   As there were 12 of us, David and Tracey had organized a mini bus to transport us there and collected us later.  The “Lola Boys”, a naughty West End cabaret act provided a blend of music, comedy and camp mischief that hadn’t disappointed the entertainment side.    The place was packed and it was terrific to also see Ian and Michelle with their guests.  Such a fun night.

Saturday 7^th December

Telephone Mishap:  I’d been without my mobile phone for over a week and Colin brought it back from repairs.    The previous week I went to the downstairs toilet with my mobile, as I became irritated by the number of times that I had missed calls from my office whenever I decided to go to wander to the W.C.    I thought I was clever, as my grip had improved, to hold my phone with my bad hand.  Nooooooo.   My hand wasn’t strong enough to maintain the grip for long, so down the phone fell into the toilet!   In the past, I would have been really crazy if I didn’t have my phone for just a day.  I wasn’t even sure if it could even be repairable.   During the week of waiting, I was surprisingly calm and patient as I waited for any update news of repair.  I admit that I was very happy when I eventually got it back.  Most of my data had been saved but I unluckily lost all photos and videos from January onwards.   Fortunately, I had backed up most of it on my office computer, so I hadn’t lost as much data as I’d thought.   What a lesson learned in the art of patience.

Monday 9^th December

Christmas Fancy Dress Competition:   The day had finally arrived for our gang to get together in our various costumes at El Paraiso Golf Club.  After all the secret meetings and messages, our team revealed ourselves as “Panto Villains”.   Even though I wasn’t able to play, I had created the character “Cruella de Vil”.  I was joined by the Queen of Hearts (Marie), Captain Hook (Agnete), Evil Queen in Snow White (Doreen – our Lady Captain & organiser) and the Sheriff of Nottingham( Fay, my replacement player).   We even decorated our golf buggy as “Cruella’s” car with “De Vil” number plates, balloons and parts of the bodywork with paw marks.  It was a great day with the golf girlfriends, inventive costumes, good food, Carol Singers, musical entertainment and the generous time & photos by our fellow club member, David, who posted them on his web page in this link Here)

Thursday 12^th December

Election Day in UK:   After all the campaigning for “Get Brexit Done”, we found out the following morning that they had won the election with a landslide as Boris Johnson became Prime Minister of the UK.  Now the fighting had begun as the government will need to deliver on their main election policy.  What an interesting next four years.

Sunday 15^th December

Estepona Port Sunday Market:  Colin and I went around the Sunday market in Estepona Port.  We always enjoyed the port and the eclectic mix of handicraft stalls.  It was a nice warm and sunny day.  It was even nicer to limp around the stalls for the first time since before my attack.  I felt quite proud of myself that I’d actually managed to walk all around the market, so Colin bought me some new stud star shaped earrings to celebrate.

First Time in Heels:  We were going to join Gill and Brian at the golf club for Sunday lunch.  This was going to be my first time to test if I could cope with small heels.  When I attempted to walk in them, it wasn’t too bad.  At least I hadn’t fallen over, but grabbed onto Colin for more support, just in case.  Unfortunately, the club restaurant had suspended the special sunday lunch until some time in January so we opted to meet at the “Playa Bella” restaurant.  Colin and I had our wedding lunch there after the Gibraltar registration ceremony in 1988.  With the warm ambience and friendly staff, over the years, this place was always a favourite with the locals and expat community.  The four of us had a lovely time as we caught up with news and excellent food.  I was relieved I’d survived my higher heels trial.   It had been such a lovely and happy day.

Relaxing with Oscar:  After our lovely lunch, Colin and I chilled out with our dog, Oscar, the rest of the day.  He had grown so much during the past months and become a little more docile.  

Tuesday 17^th December

Secret Santa Girls’ Lunch:   My first time for a “Secret Santa” lunch with the girls was booked at “La Sala Banus” Restaurant.    John patiently drove Anisa and me there to meet up with the rest of the girls.  After a fun afternoon of good food and giggles, I enjoyed the concept of each girl receiving a present from a “Secret Santa”.  Weeks before, we’d picked a name out of a hat and then had to buy that person a present.  We never knew who bought the gift.  It was fun as I watched everyone open their Christmas presents.  Later I felt that I had to say a few words to thank Anisa and gang for their support, friendship and for including me in my very first “Secret Santa” lunch.

My Condition: 

My Leg and Arm:   I must have overdone my exercises, social activities and walking in those heeled boots over the past few days.  I experienced pain and spasms in my bad leg, bad arm and down my back again at night.  Over the past week or so, I tried to lift my bad leg and arm higher at least 20 times a night.  My leg would be stiff and tremble each time I went a little higher or tried to bend it.  My ankle still would’t bend unless I moved it with my good hand.  My arm had improved a little.  Before I struggled to raise it out stretched and slowly up, but eventually I managed to move it further back a little at a time to touch the bed head board above and past my head.  Each time it was painful along my arm, across my shoulder and down my back.  However, I gradually managed to move it a little further back every night.  I wished the pain would disappear.

Fingers:  The fingers on my  left hand remained robotic.  I still had difficulty gripping anything properly.  I still had to type with my right hand only, but kept trying to involve my left hand, which was a disaster.   To open and shut my left hand was still slow and annoying.  I practiced opening and closing my left hand gently, then slowly squeezed a foam ball to strengthen my fingers.  Some days I felt I had made progress, then other days it felt like I hadn’t improved at all.  I still couldn’t chop ingredients properly when I tried to cook and had to resort to my electric chopper again.  So glad for that machine or my cooking would have taken me hours to prepare – or not at all.

The Stairs:  Afraid that I still had difficulty bending my bad leg high enough to tackle each step.  I still had to kick my leg out to the left and slide onto the next step up.  It aggravated me that it was taking me so long to improve.

My Head:  Equally infuriating was that my head hadn’t improved much.  It still felt tight with constant pressure.

My Speech:  The inside of my mouth still felt swollen and tongue too big.  I still had the exasperating lisp.  I knew what I wanted to say, but my speech was no where near what I heard myself saying in my head.  I felt that perhaps I had been a bit lazy, so decided to try to concentrate on enunciating better in future.

Saturday 21^st December

Emotional Charity Shop Carol Singing:  We thought it was a good idea to attend our local charity shop for their carol singing afternoon.  The volunteers there were always a kind and friendly group of people, so we wanted to support their special day.  We received the usual warm welcome, with generous offerings of wine and snacks.   We were about to be entertained by some female singers that Colin and I recognized from the larger mixed “Marbella Gospel Group”, that we had seen years before.  We were really thrilled because we both loved their act.  Their singing that day was wonderful and very moving.  At one point during one song, I felt an incredible emotion build up like a wave over me.  I couldn’t help myself but I felt my throat tighten and the tears began to run down my face.  Colin noticed and, while he gave my hand a squeeze, asked if I was OK.  I could hardly speak, as I tried to blubber out the reason for my emotional moment.  It dawned on me that, if I hadn’t survived to battle through my illness, I would have missed this beautiful afternoon.  It was amazing how a few simple songs had touched my heart so much.

Tuesday 24^th December:

Christmas Eve Celebrations:   We arranged to spend the evening with Matt, Andrea and family, also John and Anisa for a meal at “La Sala Banus” with carol singing by the complete group of the “Marbella Gospel Choir”.  The outside terrace was turned into a winter scene with full tables of diners and revellers standing.  It was a great atmosphere as we also mixed with other friends there.  I hadn’t been confident enough to meander in the crowd with Colin to mix with others, so I remained in the safe haven of my seat.   However, it was lovely to reunite with friends and familiar faces that I hadn’t seen in a while.  John, smiled and laughed each time someone came over to hug me or kiss my hand.  I had to jokingly smack him as he labelled me “Doña Corleone”, the female version of the “Godfather”.  Cheek!   Anyway, it was a fun and a happy evening for me.

Wednesday 25^th December

Christmas Day:   This year had been very different from our usual Christmas day.  We decided on an intimate meal at home together this time, instead of a party or friends around.   I used to get up really early to prepare Christmas lunch for 6 or 10 people.  It felt really strange that this year Colin got up early and taken on my kitchen duties.  I felt quite redundant, but it was a welcome change for me to witness him prepare Christmas Lunch after all our years of marriage.

Earlier that day I went for a walk with Colin and Oscar.  My walking (limping) was a little better but I felt a number of twinges of pain from my right hip, as that leg had done most of the work while my bad leg remained straight and ankle still rigid.  I wasn’t sure how this could be rectified but would definitely need to be worked on.

Social drinks before Christmas lunch:  Colin took me to the “Dog House Bar” for social drinks before lunch.  This always was our yearly tradition with other regulars on Christmas day before we all parted to our various places for lunch.  This day was fun, as we sat with our Santa hats and waited to win a prize in their yearly raffle draw.  There were the usual banter and cheers for winners and the good hearted cries of “fix” for any multiple winners.

Christmas Lunch:  Colin had put on a magnificent feast for Christian (his son) and me.  Colin and I always opened our presents after our meal or early evening.  This year I felt awful because I wasn’t able to do any Christmas shopping or wrap any presents with my customary style of different colour coded wrapping with bows for family and friends.  Although Colin and Christian assured me that all was OK, I felt really inept and despondent.  The feeling lasted even longer when I read Colin’s Christmas card to me.  His beautiful personal message was, “Sharing another year with you is all I want for Christmas”.  I was overcome with more emotion and cried …….

Sunday 29^th December

“Waiting” Staff Post:  Our friend Paul and Kaat advertised for more waiting staff at “Miel Restaurant”, where the gang of us went for the “Lola Boys” night earlier in the month.  Kaat described what kind of qualities were need to apply, so I naughtily posted, “I suppose a limping, one handed waitress is out of the question but guaranteed good sympathy tips”.  Needless to say, I never got the job – hee, hee …..

Monday 30^th December

Buddah Parting Gift for Della:  As Della had started on her own projects and finished working on my physio and care at the end of November, Colin and I had gifted a large Buddah for her workshop.  She and Jez, her boyfriend,  collected it this day.  When we said our “goodbyes”, we parted on good terms, but I knew that I would miss her company and friendly bullying ways.  Della had to move on with her business and work on her own health, as we all felt that I was able to move under my own steam by then.   She jokingly told me that, as I’d been improving, I had become boring.   Charming!  We promised to stay in touch but it was really sad parting with her.  She was a big part of my recovery and I would always be grateful.  It felt quite scary to be left without her guidance, but Colin promised to continue to “bully” me and trust that I would continue with my exercises.   An equally scary prospect ……

Tuesday 31^st December

Welcome 2020:  December proved to be a pretty emotional month for me.  This New Year celebrations turned out to be the first one out with friends in years.  The previous year, Colin and I had to cancel due to illness, so we looked forward to meeting up with the same gang of friends this time to welcome a more promising decade ………

Please view next page 27 at “New Year, Anninersary & Naughty Girls”: https://www.rebootinglinda.com/27-welcome-2020-1st-year-anniversary-of-my-attack-medical-check-up-social-and-naughty-girl-gatherings/ at link:

CONTACT FORM: Please leave a comment …..
We would love to hear from you and appreciate if you will “Share” your comments or experience with us. This will help us make a compilation of stories to help others to give hope and encouragement for their journey to recovery.

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Happy New Decade

I previously mentioned that Colin and I had been too ill to celebrate last “New Year” so we met up with John and Anisa, and the gang to celebrate at “The Golden Sun” for a Chinese party.  I was definitely in a positive mood to start the next new decade.

Started as We Meant to Carry On

The party was really good fun sharing with John, Anisa and our group as we began to celebrate the new decade.  The place had a good atmosphere.  We all enjoyed the banquet of delicious Chinese dishes, danced to live music and watched fireworks outside from the terrace.  Everyone was friendly and in good spirits.  I tried to dance with some girlfriends with my new peculiar style.  I really didn’t care if I looked a bit odd. Colin and I just had to seal “Midnight” with a kiss.

New Years Day

As one of the Dog House regulars, we went on “New Year’s Day” to meet up with friends, have fun and ate their usual offering of “Hangover” ham and eggs.  It was a fun and lovely day out to clear away any cobwebs of the previous night.  Jayne joined our table so we had a lovely gathering until early evening!

Day of “Three Kings” – Monday 6^th January

Day of the “Three Kings” Parade:  This is always a big celebration over here in Spain ( please click on here for more details).  Colin and I went to Cancelada Village to view the mini parade with Oscar.  We sat on the side terrace/pavement area of a cafeteria in the main street.  We watched families gather along the side of the street.   The trucks with floats were loaded with sweets and goodies. As they passed by, they threw the goodies to the crowd and waiting kids.   It was a lovely atmosphere and such a giggle to see that some kids came well prepared with big shopping bags to collect the sweets and goodies.   It was good fun as we chatted and laughed with other spectators.  Colin and I were relieved and even more surprised that Oscar had behaved pretty well (for a change) and seemed to enjoy all the activity.  I was really sorry that I hadn’t taken any photos but the attached image revealed how they celebrate in Malaga.

Saturday 11^th January

My 1^st Year Anniversary:  I thought of how all the memories of my awful attack last year had been replaced by more positive and new memories of “Celebration”.  I was thankful how the medical staff had saved my life, the constant loving care from my wonderful Colin and the support, encouragement, friendship and laughs from my family and dear friends.   I could have given up, but they all had spurred me onto improve.

Celebration Dinner:  Wow, I couldn´t believe it had been 12 months!    Since I had come so far, it was cause to celebrate.   Colin and I decided to celebrate at Chilli Restaurant for an intimate dinner with John and Anisa, Christian, Matt and Andrea.   Since my energy level was limited this year, we decided next years party should be with more friends.

I still had to hold onto Colin’s arm at times for support to walk but I was able to visit the restaurant W.C. on my own.  Colin had become my emotional crutch whenever I lost confidence to walk for too long, time I tried by myself in public.  I knew that I had to stop that habit if I wanted to become totally independent.   However, I decided to be safer than sorry on my special night so I still had to hold onto Colin. 

We had lovely Indian cuisine, Matt and Andrea naughtily paid for our meal in secret.   John and Anisa surprised me with a personlised T-shirt with my blog name on it.  I was so touched …..

Monday 13^th January

Social Security Medical Check:  We had to drive off to the Malaga Social Security Office to prove that my condition was still valid.   I was especially nervous when I realized that I had to be interviewed alone in Spanish.   When Colin and I entered the interview room, the white coated interviewer ushered Colin out of the room and told me in Spanish, “you are in Spain so you speak in Spanish”.   He wasn’t particularly friendly in his demeanour.  I instantly felt self conscious and doubted that my Spanish was good enough to answer his questions.  I don’t think he smiled once even though I tried to be open and friendly.  That had been a very scary experience! When it was over I was informed that I had another medical appointment in a few weeks with the “Malaga Department of Labour”.   What part of I’m still in recovery hadn’t they understood??   I was so traumatised and upset, I burst into tears in the car. Anyway, we thanked our friend and colleague, James, for again driving and patiently waited for us during my horrid ordeal.

Friday 17^th January

Valid but not Invalid:   After the trauma of the previous interview, I was pleased to swiftly receive my results by phone text.  I had been worried for days because I hadn’t been too sure if I answered the questions correctly.  I felt that the interviewer hadn’t been sympathetic to my condition, so I convinced myself that I failed.  It wasn’t that I lied in any of my answers, the interview conditions were less than friendly and would have made anyone nervous!  This day I was surprised to find that I had passed and that my disability status was extended until my next appointment in mid May.  I felt such relief because I seriously thought that I made a mess of it all. Just goes to show you that I shouldn’t have assumed failure and should have had more faith in the system.   I was too nervous to have even considered that!  Hindsight is a wonderful thing ………..

Monday 20^th January

Lesson in Patience:  It’s been difficult to have patience with our dog, Oscar.    He chewed through our internet cable in the garden twice.  Each time, we had to wait a few days to have the internet reconnected. Needless to say this caused problems with contact for business purposes. Oscar then ran of with our satellite remote control and chewed that to bits.  This  meant that we were stuck watching only one channel for 3 days.   My patience had been severely tested but whenever he looked toward us or relaxed on the sofa, “butter wouldn’t melt”  …… Honestly, we’ve been too soft on our dog.

Helping Around the House:  I wanted to show Colin that I was more capable of just feeding the cats, rinsing crockery and cutlery, loading and unloading the dishwasher.  I really needed to prove that I could do more things around the house.  One of the first tasks Colin set for me was to sweep a room.  Afraid that ended in disaster.  I held the dustpan weakly with my bad left hand, while I tried to sweep the dirt with the broom with my good right hand.  It wasn’t a great success because I made more of a mess than I swept into the dustpan! 

My other task was trying to wash the clothes.  I managed to load the washing machine alright but unloading it proved to be more difficult.   The constant bending over put a strain on my back and legs because of putting the clothes out to dry on hangers or on furniture – this ended in a “comedy of errors”.   My bad hand just fumbled clumsily with everything.  It aggravated me that I wasn’t able to perform such simple chores.  Nonetheless, though it took me ages, I eventually completed the job.

Monday 27^th January

First “Naughty Girls” Get Together of 2020:   It was really nice when I met up with some of my lovely ladies after they finished their round of golf.  We had our usual refreshments, “nibbles”, caught up and giggled throughout the afternoon.  They are a fun crowd and I always looked forward to meeting up with them.

Disturbing Corona Virus News:  The Covid 19 – Corona Virus, turned out to be an acute respiratory syndrome. Seemed to have spread from a place in Wuhan, China, throughout the country.   The scary thing in the media was this virus could extend toward Europe and the rest of the world, if not contained.  We will have to wait to see what will happen …..

Please view next page 28 at link “Sexy 60’s, Dancing, Cooking & Virus!”: https://www.rebootinglinda.com/28-sexy-sixties-my-birthday-time-for-reflection-better-dancing-more-cooking-start-of-corona-virus-in-europe/

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Thoughts Before My Sixtieth Birthday – 5^th February

My Thoughts on Eve of my Birthday:   Most women would lie if it never bothered them reaching the age of 60.  I suppose it depends on each person’s experience to appreciate the enormity of reaching that age.  When I was so much younger, I couldn’t envision myself at that age either.  I was young, ambitious, felt infallible and nothing was going to hold me back from my potential.  Turning around the corner of sixty made me reflect a great deal.  I remembered my care-free years of youth, how I threw away my inhibitions and had little fear to tackle new challenges that life threw at me.  As I got older I became more cautious in certain areas.  Since my illness I grew to be more accepting of my limitations, physical changes, growing older and had to learn to be more patient in general.  That mindset helped me a great deal during my recovery period.

My Limitations:  I’ve had a year of virtual inactivity in comparison to the sports and actions from before my attack.   Even though I worked on my exercises during recovery, it wasn’t any where near my previous physical pursuits.   My waistline had spread to an extra “michellin tyre”.   I no longer had the “gap” between my legs, lost my youthful looks and constantly wondered where the younger version of me had disappeared to whenever I looked at the reflection in the mirror.   I tackled the limitations of my ever changing daily deeds, which honestly had severely tried my patience at times.    I’m sure a lot of women would empathise with the mourning of the loss of youth and lessons in having to adapt to changes in their body shape and lifestyle.   However, this time of my reflections was not of grief and regrets of what I could have and hadn’t done “moments”.  It was a time for acceptance, be more patience and embrace what was to come.  As I said good bye to the old “me” I decided to embrace the “New Me” and any new trials ahead.

My Birthday:  I decided to celebrate by the posting of a photo of when it all began, as a baby.  It felt really strange as I viewed that image. I thought of my innocence and the future years of untapped potential from 1960.  During the day I received wonderful Birthday messages, cards, gifts and calls from friends and family like, Chuck and Susan.  I was so touched.  Susan, my sister, husband Luke and their daughter, Lydia, had created an amazing personalized birthday card made up of old images of me at various stages of my life.

8^th – 9^th February – Birthday Weekend in Gibraltar

Belated Birthday Celebration Plans:   Colin had arranged with John, Anisa and group of friends to spend a weekend away at “The Sunborn Boat” based in Gibraltar. It was to celebrate both mine (on the 6^th) and John’s (on the 8^th) Birthdays.   In the afternoon some of us went on a walk up and down Gibraltar high street to do some shopping.  I felt a bit awkward because I obviously held everyone up as I limped along at my own slow pace.  Each time I tried to speed up a little, Colin held my hand and said, “don’t panic, we have plenty of time”.  I guess my frustration must have shown.

Surprise Indonesian Lunch:  We chose a local Indonesian eatery called, “Rock Noodles”, for our lunch recommended by the hotel.   To be honest, it was pretty small and resembled more like a takeaway place rather than a normal looking café / restaurant, which was hidden down a side street.  Nevertheless, as my bad ankle began to hurt, I was grateful for an excuse to rest.  We managed to squeeze ourselves around a table inside the cramped premises, while we witnessed a constant queue of people outside waiting to collect their takeaway orders.  We took this as a decent indication that the food would be good and proceeded to order our lunch, which Anisa and I later agreed was quite authentic and delicious.  We had an additional treat from the charming Indonesian lady owner when she presented our group with one of her signature dishes, lamb satay (kebabs).   I had never tasted them before because I always used to eat pork or chicken satay.  After sampling her lamb version, I was determined to get the recipe for my future “Indonesian Recipe” page in our magazine.   We all vowed to try the place again the next time we stayed in Gibraltar.  It was even better when we discovered that they provided a takeaway delivery service to our hotel rooms.  What a gem of a find.  That lunch had turned out to be a really special and an unexpected treat for all of us that afternoon.

Everybody Knew:   We had a lovely group of friends for John and Me to share our birthdays.   Anisa had arranged for John and myself to have “Birthday” balloons attached to our seats.  John had a “Happy Birthday” one, but I had a “Happy 60^th Birthday” message on mine.  It announced my age to the rest of the restaurant! 

We had a wonderful meal.  I still felt uncomfortable in attempting to use my bad left arm in the restaurant, therefore, I selected a Thai green curry so that I could eat easily with one hand.  Our friend, Dennis, provided the live music that night but I wasn’t in the mood to get up to dance this time.  I wanted to savor the night and enjoy more time talking and laughing with our table.  John and I had the added surprise gift of personalized chocolate cup cake treats from the restaurant.  It was such a lovely gesture and we both indulged ourselves.  They were so delicious.   Afterward we went onto the hotel casino for drinks.   It was a wonderful, fun night and I was totally spoiled.

Saturday 9^th February

We met for breakfast, all in a different state of bleariness from the night before.  We all agreed that it had been a pleasant day/night.  I was surprised that after the excitement of the previous day that I hadn’t suffered too much from pain and fatigue.  Before we checked out to do our “Morrison’s supermarket” shopping, we caught up on the various previous night antics, news about the coming “Super Moon” and shocking news about our friend Joe:

Super Moon:   We were in for a treat to witness the “Super Moon” to be in the early hours of Sunday:   “The full moon of February, called the Snow Moon, occurs in the eastern U.S. during the wee hours of Sunday, Feb. 9, about a day before reaching perigee, the closest point to Earth in its orbit — creating a full moon that appears slightly larger than average.  The full moon happens when the moon is exactly on the opposite side of Earth from the sun. Most of the time, the moon is illuminated by sunlight. Once in a while, though, the moon’s orbit carries it within the shadow of Earth, as happened in January 2019, when there was a total lunar eclipse. February’s full moon “missed” Earth’s shadow, because the moon’s orbit was slightly tilted (or inclined) five degrees with respect to the plane of Earth’s orbit, and therefore Earth wasn’t directly between the sun and the moon.  Through binoculars or a small telescope, the full moon appears almost unbearably bright. While it isn’t dangerous to one’s eyes, it can be hard to spot detail”.    

Sad News About Joe:  I previously mentioned Joe, the gregarious, funny Irish man from the “Dog House Bar”, when we watched the Rugby World Cup.  That morning we had the horrible news that Joe had been admitted into hospital from a serious stroke and was put into an induced coma.  The details came as a terrible shock and we hoped that he would recover from this.  The information felt more personal for me as it was a bit too close to my own memories and recovery during the previous year.   I felt terrible for his friends and family that had to go through the same emotions and trauma that my own endured.  I truly hoped for a lucky break and that recovery for him would be possible, as it had been for me.

Wednesday 12^th February

Live Music Night:  The “Dog House” hosted a special live music night so we met up with some of the gang from the Gibraltar weekend and other friends.   The duo entertainers had flown in especially from the UK to provide the music.  As they had limited space, the “Dog House” had wisely pre-sold tickets weeks in advance.  The place was full that night and there was a vibrant and lively atmosphere as most of the girls in our group got up to dance to the music.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself and hadn’t felt too self conscious when I joined them dancing.  I felt really happy that my dance movements had improved slightly, but I had to remain dancing on the spot, as my balance was still rather dodgy if I tried to move my legs too much.   I really didn’t care, it was a start toward me trying to dance more naturally and I had fun.

Thursday 13^th February

More Aches and Pains:  I had excruciating pains in my left foot, especially the top of the instep area.   I felt stiff and had more difficulty to walk comfortably.  I guess the activities of the previous night had taken their toll on me.  My limp was more pronounced as I couldn’t bend my left knee with each step.  No dancing for me for a while!

Thicker Hair:  Colin noticed my hair looked thicker and in better condition.  I actually hadn’t noticed so much before, but because Colin had mentioned it, I realized that I hadn’t lost the usual amount of hair after a wash or brush.  Before, I got annoyed as the crown of my head gradually become thinner and developed a balding area over a period of months during the year before my attack.  I dismissed this as fact of my age. I was in my late fifties and advancing fast toward my sixtieth birthday.  I really didn’t know why there were changes in my hair, but I was really happy that the balding area had gradually grown back.  Perhaps it had been my medication, better eating habits or the exercise?  Or perhaps a combination of all three?

Sunday 16^th February

Golf Driving Range:   It had taken a few days for my bad ankle and leg to loosen up. The awful pain and stiffness eased off a little.  I was back to feeling more confident, especially as my left arm had better movement. Colin took me to “Atalaya Golf Range”.  I was apprehensive as this meant we would be practicing with other golfers around, but Colin told me to not be so silly.  While he practiced his swing on the driving range, I gingerly made my way around the putting area and made a few successful putts to my surprise.  Colin walked over to me and told me that I should try to swing my pitching club.  I thought, “yeah right!”, as I limped toward our reserved area and used my pitching club like a walking stick for support on the soft grass.  I must have made a strange sight as I prepared myself in between other able bodied golfers striking their golf balls their long distances. 

My first few attempts were rather pathetic. I kept missing the ball and I became increasingly irritated with myself, as my embarrassment grew.  Colin wouldn’t let me sit until I at least hit one ball.  Thankfully I actually managed to strike one over 50 meters!  That was no where near how far I used to strike in my past, but I felt so happy, I couldn’t help saying out loud a “whey hay!” in satisfaction.   At least I had proven to myself that I was capable of a little swing, so it had spurred me onto making more strikes.   At least I hadn’t fallen over either!  We decided to go for a lunch time drink to celebrate.  I was determined to improve my swing so the next time could further.

Even More Aches and Pains:  I suffered again the following day, like the day after my dance escapade.  I always never learn moderation!

Saturday 20^th February

Luke in Hospital:  My sister, Susan, rang me to inform us that her husband, Luke, was in hospital.  Apparently he had been suffering a while with stomach pains and resulted in surgery on his gall bladder.  Colin and I were always fond of Luke.  He’s a wonderful husband to Susan and a good father to my niece, Lydia.  We wanted to show our affection for him, so I ordered over the internet a personalized coffee mug, card and a jar of his favorite coffee to be delivered to their home in time for his release.  I was really pleased that it arrived safely – it was just a small gesture on our part.

Saturday 22^nd February

British Blue Passports:  Boris Johnson and his government announced that Britain would revert back to the previous British blue passports. This was to confirm their intent to leave the European market.  I was really pleased that I managed to get the EU pink version earlier this year before the stocks ran out.  Now we will shall see if Johnson’s government can complete their policy to “get Brexit done”.

Cooking Again – Indonesian Lamb Satay (kebabs):  Today I tried to create the lamb satay from the Indonesian eatery in Gibraltar a few weeks ago.  I still continued to use my electric chopper.  Although my finger movements had improved a little, my grip was still too weak to hold onto what ever I tried to chop.  It really was so maddening.  However, it was worthwhile when Colin gave me the “thumbs up” sign in approval.

Monday 24^th February

Fell on Walk with Oscar:   Colin and I decided on an experiment and let Oscar off his leash for the first time on the beach.   I couldn’t control my balance on the soft sand so I stood and watched from the pavement, as Colin and Oscar walked along the water’s edge.  It was wonderful to see Oscar run around so free and chase the birds.  I was amazed that whenever he ran too far, he automatically returned to Colin the moment he whistled.   Just as I was getting a little more confident with my walking, I suddenly lost my footing while I dismounted the pavement to take try to take a photo.  I had a terrible fall, cut my bad hand and knee.    To my embarrassment, I wasn’t able to get up again.  I saw Colin in the distance so I waved to indicate that I needed his help to get back up.  Unfortunately Colin assumed that I had decided to sit down, waved back and walked even further away!  I had no choice but to wait until he and Oscar returned from their walk.  What a stupid predicament.  It taught me not to be so cocky the next time I wanted to go for a walk without company.  That incident had really affected my self-confidence.

Wednesday 26^th February

Patricia’s Birthday Celebration:  A group of us gathered for lunch to celebrate Patricia’s birthday.  We had a delicious set meal and plenty of laughing.  The husbands and partners later joined us for drinks, but I don’t think they were too impressed when some of us broke out to into song and waved our arms above our heads to the music.  I think our other halves were pretty relieved when we all calmed down and joined them for drinks later.

Corona Virus Crisis:  The general news in the media had escalated.  The virus had expanded from China and seemed there were pockets of evidence of outbreaks in various countries in Europe.  Italy especially became most prominent with the increased amount of infections and deaths on a daily basis.  The frightening overall fear was that the contagion will become a pandemic throughout the world ………..

Please view next page 29 at link “Movement, Quarantine & Lock Down”: https://www.rebootinglinda.com/29-more-movement-last-girlie-get-together-corona-virus-quarantine-strange-new-homelife-in-lock-down/

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Friday 6^th March

More Arm Movement:  Over the past few days I had some improvement with my bad arm.  However, the spasticity is still very evident.  I actually developed my own exercise of “air push ups”. This meant I tried to push both my arms up in the air several times until my left arm ached or became too stiff to move.  Although it felt better, my arm remained robotic in movement and there were pains and strains in my muscles.  

Finger Movement:  In spite of my left hand finger improvement, it was still not natural when I opened and closed my hand slowly.  Honestly, it felt like witnessing a clip of terminator’s stripped back hand going through the strange robotic motions.  I still had “pins and needles” throughout the hand, almost like an electric shock and the grip wasn´t any better.  However, nothing was going to stop my cooking efforts.

Video Clip:    Inspite of some problems in free movement, I just wouldn’t allow the pains and strange sensations restrict me from trying to reach further and grip harder.  I wasn’t about to let Colin, family and friends down by giving up at this stage because of any discomfort and limitations.   The video demonstrated the improvement with my arm.  Before I could only move my arm up and down, however, I wanted to show that I was able do better by moving side to side and across my body.    The movements resulted in twinges or tightening of my muscles, but  I had to believe that one day the spasticity would eventually go away.

Saturday 7^th March

Richard’s Birthday Bash:  We were invited with a bunch of old faces to celebrate Richard’s 75^th Birthday.  The party took over “The Forge Restaurant”, a popular destination for wonderful food and atmosphere in the hills behind Estepona.   It was a stunning setting and wonderful to see friends again.  We all first met in the social areas, laughed and reminisced about our many memories together.  I initially sat at the bar, which was a good place, as I couldn’t move around freely.  Most people had to get to the bar to replenish their glasses, which gave me the opportunity to mix with them and catch up on their news. 

Eventually we were all ushered into the dining area for our pre-ordered lunch.  We were seated with our friends Paul and Kaat, from “Miel Restaurant”, along with a few new faces to us.  The afternoon passed by far too quickly, the food was delicious and our table good fun.  It was a lovely celebration. Colin and I were pleased that we’d been included to be part of that special day.

Monday 9^th March

Last Meeting of “Naughty Girls”:  Because of the increased threat of the Corona virus spreading in Europe, Colin became very strict with me. He made certain conditions and made me promise not to sit too closely with the girls and not to greet them with our customary hugs and cheek kisses .  In the end I had to agree to “behave” before he consented to take me to meet the lovely ladies at El Paraiso Golf Club.

Social Distancing:  It was great to meet up with the girls, but they had new rules in place. No “hand shakes, hugs and kisses” in the club house.   For greetings and prize presentations, all the girls exchanged distant waves or fist and elbow bumps!  It was strange and unnatural to witness. We broke up into our little groups to mingle more.  Some of us slipped off a bit later to join our other halves at “The Granada Bar” for drinks and Indian tapas.  Must say that we hadn’t social distanced much then!     

Ooooh I had to say my appreciation for my Indonesian golf friend, Anna, for my delicious Indonesian style fried bananas gift (pisang goreng) back at the golf club earlier – they were really delicious.

Thursday 12^th March

My Orchid Gifts:  I was so lucky with my “get well orchid gifts” from the previous year.  I’ve not been known for my “green fingers” and plants usually died if I so much as looked in their direction!  Imagine my shock when I spotted new shoots and buds on each plant.  I really was so excited and it showed that “Spring” had begun to sprout in my little office area.

Print Deadline for our Magazine:  All the artwork was prepared for the March / May issue to send off in time to our printers in Malaga.  However, just before we were about to send off for print, Colin and I discussed a delay until after the weekend.    We had always kept up to date with all the disturbing news about a possible quarantine in Spain coming.   We both agreed that, even if it would be later than our normal deadline, it would be more practical to wait until after the weekend.

Saturday 14^th March

Heaven Beach Bar:  When we went for a walk with Oscar to one of our old local favourite beach bar haunts, it was shocking to see the transformation.  The place had burned down for various reasons of arson and a bad partnership.  It was sad to see the last remainder of a once thriving business burned down to a ghost shell of it’s former self.   The only evidence that existed was a skeleton of what used to be their beach massage pavilion.   The last framework of where we had former happy social memories with friends.  It was sad to think those times could never be repeated.   I understood there were a few problems behind plans to build it up again, so hopefully it might be resolved in a few years.

Sunday 15^th March

Lock Down  Implemented and Lunch Cancelled:  What a difference a few days made. There were threats for a total lock down in Spain but, like most of us, we had all been in denial until now.  Colin had reserved Sunday lunch at “The Dog House” for later that afternoon.  We received text messages that morning that everywhere were instructed to close!  The threat of “staying at home” had become a strange new reality.  I felt really bad for “The Dog House” as they had worked hard in preparation for pre-ordered lunches. Suddenly everything had to be cancelled.   This must have been a very similar situation for most bars and restaurants.  How awful!  The news of a Lock Down was quite surreal.  Some of us thought, “are they serious?”, until we all noted that if we broke curfew at midnight we would be under the threat of arrest and hefty fines too!

My Last Morning Walk:  Before it became too risky, Colin and I took Oscar out for a final walk by the beach.    I was classed high risk category, due to my condition.   We took advantage of a little freedom this morning before Lock Down got fully enforced at midnight.    We were lucky to live in a fairly secluded area, a short walk to the beach.  It felt quite peculiar and strange not to come across a single soul, as we were the only people on the beach.  It had sunk in, that I wouldn’t be able to go out for a walk for at least two weeks from today.  We understood that under the new curfew, Colin would only be permitted to go out for small walks with our dog and could only shop for essentials or medication, then had to come straight home.  It felt odd to be under enforced quarantine, almost like it must have been like during the “black out period” during the UK World War Blitz era. However, we knew that it was necessary to make sure households would be kept safe in self isolation.  We hoped that this wouldn’t last too long.

Monday 16^th March

Colin’s First Solo Walk with Oscar:  This was the first time that Colin went for a walk with Oscar.  Although yesterday had not been a problem, this time some police were patrolling close to the beach and stopped Colin.  They asked for proof of identity and asked if he lived close by.  When Colin showed his papers, the police politely told him the next time he was going to walk the dog that he had to make sure he would be closer to home.  The problem was that Colin had been stopped on the public road in the Park Beach complex, which was easier for the patrols to spot any transgressors.  The police were pleasant enough and, as they were looking through binoculars somewhere else, they must have been more occupied in looking for someone or something else. Colin was allowed to continue his walk.  It was a bit of a shock how this quarantine developed into something more serious and sinister than we all had anticipated.

Publish Deadline Cancelled:  It was a hard decision to suspend our business and not proceed with our March / May issue.  However, if we had proceeded to print before the weekend, our company would have been liable to pay for the printing of thousands of magazines that wouldn’t have been much use over the following lock down period, as tourism and other businesses were seriously affected and closed like our company. 

Wednesday 18^th March

Stock Piling!:  We read in the news of how people in the UK had been emptying supermarkets and stalls by insane panic buying.   Italy had been in Lock Down for a few weeks and the news that Spain had also gone into quarantine set people off into a frenzy to stock up in the UK in case they also had to go into Lock down.  The strange thing was that their supermarkets quickly ran out of stocks of toilet paper instead of food!   Where was the logic in that?

New Style Supermarket Shopping:   Colin went to a local supermarket in the morning. The traffic seemed normal.  There wasn’t a queue, he was given surgical gloves and ordered to rub his hands with clinical hand dispensers at the entrance.   The staff all had masks on and they had Perspex dividers at the cash out areas to shield them from the shopping public.  Apart from being low on some items, they had a decent stock of fresh fruit, veg, bread and things.  There was no evidence of mob stock pile shopping like the UK and plenty of rolls of toilet paper!  However, it was quieter than normal, it was almost like a normal day out shopping for Colin. 

Colin Gone Stir Crazy:  After a few days of not allowed to go out socially, Colin suddenly developed a “Cleaning Frenzy” and got out a few items to polish! 

Oscar’s Birthday:  It was Oscar’s first Birthday!  I just couldn’t believe how much he had grown from the little puppy that I was able to hold in my arms, to almost 4 times the size!  He’s been so naughty over the past year but also adorable.   Even though I never considered a dog as a pet before, I grew so emotionally attached to him.   God knows why?  His affectionate heavy running jumps at me were pretty unnerving as I always ended in an unsightly heap on the floor!    Well, he had blustered into our lives and I’ve had plenty of bruises and scratches as “badges of honour”. I had grown to love my naughty “Therapy Dog”.

Bank Standing Orders:  We noticed that our bank account had been drained with mortgage, business loans, tax and utility payments.  So much for government aid during lock down!   It was an increasing worry that we had to survive without any income from our suspended business and live on Colin’s monthly pension and my disability allowance.   We soon realised that our account could dwindle into negative status if this quarantine was to last months or a year!   The were quite helpful via emails, phone and advised us on a solution to help us as our account continued to be drained.  We worried because, although we had a reasonably good record with the bank, our ages and status could count against us.  We had to wait for their decision in a week or so, after they had a look into our records and tax situation.  It was very scary as all of a sudden our home, business and lifestyle had come under threat because of this lock down.

Friday 20^th March

Shopping All Masked Up:  Colin sensibly asked me for a scarf to wear over his face when he went shopping in the morning.  If the staff had to wear them, then it was practical for him to do the same.  I loaned him one, which I reckoned could have started a new fashion trend!  At least he hadn’t been arrested for looking like a bank robber!  Again, there were no major crowds and the supermarket had been well stocked again.  However, Colin was surprised at the amount of shoppers without masks on.

Colin Gone Nuts!!:   Yes he had been cleaning, dusting and polishing, but then he suddenly decided to tackle the declutter of our cupboards.  Lord help me – if I hadn’t moved, he would have feather dustered me next!!

Restricted Exercising:  I missed my walks around the Park Beach complex since quarantine had been enforced.  Colin had developed a daily habit of walking Oscar to the beach by a small pathway, away from public roads.  This proved successful as he hadn’t bumped into any police patrols.  Also it turned into his new daily health regime. This time, he kept Oscar off the beach because the new rules had barred people on beaches. 

Although I still detested my cycling machine, I had no choice but to use it.  Some days I cycled for 15 minutes, which meant about 3 kms.  Although I had to be honest, I had missed out some days.  However, on some other days, as I felt guilty and also nagged by Colin, I managed 3 x 15 minutes sessions in a day, which meant 9 kms.  I admit my cycling exercises were a bit erratic but I was pleased that I ended with surprising results.  My buttocks had gone from fairly shapeless to a great deal firmer!    No saggy bum!!

I managed to maintain my arm and finger exercises and also walked up and down the stairs several times.  It still annoyed me that I wasn’t able to bend my bad leg enough to reach the step above.  My left leg still kicked out.  More leg exercises on that loathed bike I guess!

Monday 23^rd March

Sad News about Joe:  I had mentioned in February that Joe had been admitted to hospital because of a serious stroke.  Unfortunately since then, due to several seizures, he had to be put into an induced coma and ventilator.  We were so sad to find out that Joe had lost his battle and passed away earlier today.  He was another vibrant personality in our gang who will be sorely missed.  Because of the isolation rules, the regulars of “The Dog House” each took selfie photos of toasting Joe to send to his loved ones abroad to see how appreciated he was by our crowd.

UK in Lock Down:  The UK went into Lock Down.  About time!  They held back for so long, so I hoped that it wasn’t too late.   While we were under a strict quarantine, the tourists stranded over here in Spain had illegally gathered.   Some silly female tourist decided to defy curfew and thought it would be OK to go for a swim in a hotel pool.   It took a Spanish policeman to jump in the pool to arrest her!   The rules had forbidden any socialising and all hotels had to isolate their guests until a time for Spain to repatriate their guests back to their countries.   I worried about my family in the UK, especially as we read the news about mass gatherings for the Cheltenham Horse Festival from 10th to 13th March, Stereophonics Concert and football matches” etc.  I was really relieved when the UK decided to join us in quarantine.  It had to be best to opt for safety than regret.  My other concern was also for the USA because of Chuck and family.  I hoped that they would soon follow suit.  At least I had some regular updates from Chuck and Susan via emails, calls or whatsapp messages, which eased my mind about their safety.

I Used to Have Dark Hair:  After so many weeks without a decent haircut or dye, I noticed that my grey roots had grown too long.  I made a joke of it to friends by wearing a silver white wig for emphasis.  Colin and I had debated that, since the hair salons had been closed, we would cut each other’s hair.  Not sure that I should have been ready to agree, so I decided that he would be the first guinea pig.

Thursday 26^th March

Speech Problem:  It seemed my speech still hadn’t improved much.  That or it was Colin’s hearing.  He came out of the shower and as we discussed the topic of me trying to do more things around the house.   When I replied, he stood up straight, towel around his waist and looked rather indignant when he said, “what do you mean show you my w**ly?”.   Silly man!  I had said, “I would   show willing”!  We had a bit of a giggle about it after.  No matter how funny it had been, I later felt irritated that my speech still was not right.

Dog with a Sweet Tooth:   Colin fell asleep after devouring most of his sweet packet.  However, naughty Oscar, saw his chance to pinch the rest of the packet from the coffee table and hid around the back of the house to finish it off!   He must have known he had been naughty when he sheepishly rested his head on my knee waiting to be fed later.   What an innocent face!

Corona Virus Quarantine Extention:  There was an increase in the number of virus deaths and signs of stricter rules throughout Europe.  We all had hoped that our curfew would be relaxed by the end of the month but we had notices that the quarantine was extended.  Looked like Colin would have to overcome his “stir-craziness” for much longer!

Please view next page 30 at link “Change in Condition & in Quaratine”,: https://www.rebootinglinda.com/30-april-fool-changes-in-my-condition-and-life-in-quarantine/

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Thursday 4^th June: 

More Arm Movement:  Although I was still robotic and had twinges of pain in activity, I wanted to demonstrate that I was capable of a little more arm movement.  I think I did OK in the video.

Thursday 4^th June

Our Daft Dog:  This was Oscar’s way of relaxing on our sofa with us.  He may be Colin’s buddy but I was “Mummy Belly Tickle”.

Wednesday 10^th June: 

My Orchids in Bloom: So pleased how my orchid plant gifts survived and beautifully bloomed this year.  It was amazing considering I had been neglecting them and tend to kill plants off!

Bike Exercise:  I still cycled but not as often as I should.  I noticed that my left foot kept drifting to the left and the back of my heel banged against the machine while I peddled.  It was annoying as I stopped to adjust my foot position every so often.  After cycling for a few rounds, my left foot naturally slid back into the same awkward place as before.   I really detested that machine!

Thursday 11^th June

Villain Dog!:  Colin sometimes came home with a stuffed toy treat for Oscar. The new one, “Spiderman”, seemed to be well made but hadn’t lasted too long!  We thought this one would survive a bit longer than usual.  Wrong!  Spiderman ended in tatters within 5 minutes!  I guess the little super hero had a new arch enemy!  Our dog, such a villain!

Sunday 14^th June

Great BBQ Get Together:  Matt and Andrea kindly hosted the first get together with almost 20 guests.  It was so wonderful to mix with more than a handful of folks.  It was a lovely, sunny day and everyone were in good spirits as we exchanged our stories of life during lock down.  I made my curry puffs as an offering for the buffet, which Ellie (Eldest daughter) had eaten most of!  The girls got together for a lovely group photo as the guys looked on.

Home in Disgrace!:   I made the big mistake of not mixing my wine with con gas (fizzy) water.  I stupidly thought that I honestly would be alright after over a year of sensible drinking.  Wrong!  In the middle of my 3^rd drink, I suddenly felt really strange.  Poor Colin and Matt had to carry me back to the car in disgrace as I brought a new meaning to the term “legless”.  The next day I woke up so mortified.  It hadn’t been fair to Colin or our hosts that I had very little control of walking at all.  I sent text messages of apologies but I still felt awfully ashamed and horrible.  It was official, I was not the “Party Animal” that I used to be.   What an embarrassment!

Monday 15^th June

Spain to Accept Tourists:  We heard that Spain would be moving forward into phase 3, by relaxing restrictions and discussed opening the borders to tourists.  On 21^st June they intended for citizens to move around more freely and across different regions in Spain.  This decision would be a great boost to the economy and encouraging for businesses to restart with positivity.  On the other hand we had reports of other regions in countries like New Zealand, Australia and China that suffered set backs and had to enforce new lock down rules.

Black Lives Matter Movement:  The USA was convulsed by nationwide protests over the death of an African-American man, Floyd George, in police custody outside a shop in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  The arrest, on 25 May, was recorded and went viral.  The video clip revealed a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeling on Mr Floyd’s neck, for 7 minutes and 46 seconds, while he was pinned to the floor.  This all began with a report of a fake $20 (£16.20) bill.  All this led to public outrage after Floyd’s death and the mantra, “I can’t breathe”,  and started the “Black Lives Matter” movement.

The death resulted in demonstrations, sometimes riots, throughout the USA which spread to Europe, especially in the UK.  I thought, what had started as an outrage against racialism in general, actually turned non violent gatherings into violence and anger in places, instead of the intentional first peaceful mass groups of people.

I had first experienced racism when I was a small child when we moved to the UK.  Children are usually cruelly honest, but when a kid called me a “Paki”, I had no idea what he meant.  By the same token, that child never understood where was Indonesia, as he blindly decided to call me that name.  After my Mother explained, I just decided he was an idiot and just ignored him until he wanted a date with me later in life.  I still ignored the ignorant fool!  However, that experience hadn’t angered or defined me for life but prepared me to handle things better and be more aware in the future.

Personally, I couldn’t understand the “anger” that came out of the demonstrations and riots that followed the increase in the “Black Lives Matter” movement.  I equally couldn’t understand, or condone, the malicious destruction and graffiti of particular old statues that represented some ancestors.  If somebody from history had been judged as racist or a slave trader, defacing or pulling down their statue hundreds of years later could not hold them to account.  They were long dead and gone.  Surely there was no reason to obliterate their history.  I thought that we were supposed to learn from good or bad history.  Not to have it re-written all of a sudden because a certain generation or religion decided to take offence.  Also, so much for the demonstration and riot crowds with the social distancing rules!  It was all very sad to witness a peaceful message from some, to have been hi-jacked by so many irate people and others with an ulterior motive for destructive purposes.

Thursday 18^th June: 

Dame Vera Lynn:  I couldn’t believe the news that Dame Vera Lynn (the Darling of the World War 2 UK forces) had passed away.  I was even more amazed that she was 103 years old!  There’s hope for all of us!

To read more about her, please click HERE

My Condition:  I still had rigidity and twinges of pain.  However, inspite of this, I was able to move my left limbs a little further and better.  I know I had mentioned my frustration of feeling as if I had regressed instead of progressed, but to be honest, I really had nothing to complain or feel down-hearted about.   I thought back to the days when I hadn’t been able to move at all.   The months of gradual progress from the ability to touch my chin with my left hand, then my nose, my forehead and eventually to actually touch the top of my head.    There was a time when I thought that I would never walk again. However, I progressed from wheelchair, my first “baby steps, to a gradual walk (limp) independently and able to manage a little awkward dancing. How could I be down-hearted about that? The past year had little episodes of victories, so I was pleased with how far I had come.  The new and different sensations had shown me that I began to feel more, after so many months of numbness or dead muscles.  The pain and stiffness I hoped were signs that my body was gradually “rebooting”.   I realized I would have more struggles to face, but those would be other challenges yet to tackle.  The main thing is, I felt in places I never thought I would 18 months ago.

Friday 19^th June

First Beach Lunch:  We met up with John and Anisa to pre-celebrate their wedding anniversary on the 21st, at El Velerin Beach.  I was previously invited to join Michelle and some of the girls on the same beach but I already made the lunch arrangements with John & Anisa.  Our foursome were seated in the main eating area inside. As I couldn’t join Michelle and the girls on the soft sand to say, “hello”, it was so lovely for some of them to come over at different times so that we could say, “Hello”, and catch up on sweet memories and chat.

The restaurant part was immaculate and all the staff had to wear face masks.  When it came to look at the menu, they had a QR scan code mounted on the table, which we could read from our phones.  All wonderfully organized!  It was so good to see other tables enjoying their meal, the beach beds also occupied, which was a good economic sign for this area.  This must have given the place huge encouragement.

Tuesday 23^rd June 

Cooking Again:  As I felt a little less pain, I decided to try out another of my Indonesian style recipe experiments.  This time it was “Daging Rendeng”, which was a coconut beef curry.  Although it took ages to prepare, about 4 hours to cook, I was glad I made the effort.  It was something different and quite yummy, which Colin enjoyed.  Another successful meal.

Wednesday 24^th June:

Malaga Medical Appointment:  Due to the lock down, my medical appointment with the social security department was postponed from May to this month.  To be honest I’d been dreading this day since the last awful experience.  I had read the reviews of this office online, which were dreadful and the majority commented that it appeared that they automatically failed everyone.  This was probably due to the high number of disability benefit fraud cases to obtain medical benefits or early retirement.  I was really terrified to go.  In the past, whenever I had to go through customs with my passport, took exams or got stopped on the road by police road blocks, I automatically felt anxious or even guilty!

Over 17 years ago, Colin applied for early retirement, at the age of 57 yrs., due to a treble heart bi-pass.  Although he had his medical records and the scar on his chest as proof, the department had denied his application!  It took Colin 18 months to fight them in court until they finally agreed and backdated his pension payments.  It was of little surprise how petrified I felt about the prospect of my next medical ordeal.

Our friend James kindly drove us to the lunchtime appointment in Malaga.   As I’d been to so many medicals in different places, we really weren’t too sure where to go to.  However, once we got to the address, I recognized the imposing office building from a previous visit.  James went off for a coffee while Colin and I went in.  It was strange walking in with our masks and greeted by a masked security guard who checked my papers and made sure we got our number in the waiting area.  It was equally odd because the place that had been packed on the previous visit, but this time there was only a handful of people waiting for the screens above to indicate appointment number.  The seats were marked accordingly to ensure social distance seating 2 or 3 seats apart. 

The Medical:  While we waited for my turn, I noticed a number of people with walking sticks, crutches or leg braces.  Colin naughtily whispered to me, “fake”, whenever a new person hobbled in.  I tried not to laugh too loud, in case they realized what Colin said.   When it became my turn, Colin was allowed to accompany me into the consulting room.  This time I had a pleasant female doctor, which put me at ease immediately.   Colin told me earlier not to be nervous and just tell the truth, as I had nothing to hide.  When the doctor asked me how I felt, I eagerly told her that I felt much happier than a year ago when I couldn’t move my arm very much and showed her how high the left arm would go.  She went over my medical records then asked if I ever used a walking stick or crutches.  I told her never, because I wanted to walk independently, and the only time I had to use anything was a wheelchair when I couldn’t walk at all.  She smiled and turned to Colin and said, “you’d be surprised the amount of walking sticks and crutches I’ve seen in my office”.   Later I was asked to walk up and down the office.   Colin prepared himself to do battle on my behalf if a negative comment or report was to come.  The doctor took the wind out of his sails when she told us that she considered me a genuine case and recommended me for early retirement in a few weeks!  In the UK, the retirement age for women is 66 years but no possibility of an early pension.  In Spain, the age is 67 years and there could be cases for early retirement due to ill health or disability.

Celebration Lunch:  I was so relieved that I no longer had to go through any more medical inspections.  Happy days!  The three of us decided to celebrate with lunch in the La Resina golf club. It had wonderful views of the course and water feature from the outside terrace area.   That was a good day …………

Please view next page 33 at link “Flexibility, Friends & Restrictions”: https://www.rebootinglinda.com/33-more-arm-flexibility-my-first-professional-hair-cut-meeting-up-with-friends-and-more-border-restrictions/

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My Condition & Frame of Mind:  The past few weeks had been a mixture of pain and pleasure.  Pains suddenly arose, which left me incapable of walking, lifting my left arm or having any enthusiasm to exercise.  The pleasure part were periods when I could walk, move my left arm more effectively and do some exercises.  Needless to say, I had some good days and some bad.  The “invisible harness” kept me from any natural movement again, which was really frustrating.  However, each day I was able to push myself a little more in spite of the obstacles of my daily restrictions.  I tried to convince myself that all the past efforts and getting beyond the pain barrier would eventually be worth it.   Help!

Spasms Night or Day:  Apart from the usual outbreaks of my leg and arm contorting, brief spasms and foot twitches during the night, these occasions sometimes occurred during the day too!  On some days, as I sat back to relax, all of a sudden my leg would have the uncontrollable jitters and shakes!  If these sudden attacks hadn’t been funny at certain times, I could have cried with embarrassment.

Our Daft Cat:  I’ve mentioned our daft dog, Oscar, but one of our cats is equally nuts.  “Lucky”, our black cat, liked to stay at home, had started the habit of sleeping in a peculiar position wedged between my two pillows above me. No wonder I ended up in bed without a pillow!

Tuesday 4^th July

New Independence Day:  This day marked the UK coming out of their lock down restrictions and some businesses tentatively going back to work.  Of course it was the usual USA Independence Day, so I fumbled to create a small piece of artwork to mark both days for celebrating.

The following day, I was really surprised to read in the media of the amount of illegal gatherings in the USA and the UK.  After less than 24 hrs., since the UK had relaxed the lock down rules, there were photos and reports of large crowd gatherings, which unsurprisingly later ended up with a number of cases of infections.  The USA also continued to experience problems of large gatherings and demonstrations.  After all the restrictions over the World!  What kind of “stupid” were these people?

Tuesday 7^th July

Happy Birthday Colin:   It was Colin’s Birthday so I posted,  “My Husband and best friend who has loved, cared and protected me since the day we met over 34 years ago”. The photo of us, was when we celebrated our 25th Anniversary a few years ago.

Wednesday 8th July

My First Professional Haircut:    It was so lovely for my hair done professionally again (sorry Colin, had to avoid you & your office scissors this time.) I was desperate for my hair to be dyed and cut.   Hannah, the stylist, did a great rescue haircut. I had to keep my mask on at all times, also when they dyed and washed my hair!  The mask was pretty hot to keep on, however, it was nothing in comparison to the poor staff that had to wear theirs all day. 

When I waited for my hair to be washed, it was just typical that I had a sneezing fit.  Although everyone were really polite and helpful, I felt that I had this imaginary sign of “unclean” hanging from my neck.   Such an embarrassment!

Anyway, it was great when I was able to show off my new hair style when I met Colin and friends for social drinks around the corner after.

Thursday 9^th July

Beach Lunch:   We had a pleasant beach lunch with our friends Alan and Denise.  It was lovely to bump into my fellow golf buddies, David and Barbara, there too.

Colin and I later joined Alan and Denise for a drink at the Granada Bar, where we met up with other friends.  It was a great afternoon of non-stop giggles.

Saturday 11^th July

My First Week with Arm Behind My Back:  This was the first week that I could move my bad left arm behind my back.   Apologies about lack of bra in photo but you could see that I felt pretty chuffed.

Ellie’s 18^th Birthday Bash:  I rested most of the day because Matt and Andrea hosted a special 18^th Birthday party for their beautiful eldest daughter, Ellie.  We wondered on what could we give as a present until Colin pointed out that whenever I brought over my curry puffs for their barbeques, Ellie had eaten or coveted most of them.  We got a pretty candy striped hat box and I made plenty to fill it to the top, just for Ellie.  She seemed pretty pleased with our gift.

The party was so special and spectacular.  There was a violinist playing his electric violin as the guests started to arrive to cocktails and canapés.  We were offered a fabulous buffet while we were entertained by the Jersey Boys tribute group, a singer, D.J. and finally Johnny Baker on the keyboards at midnight.   I even got up to dance to a few songs!  It was such a wonderful and magical night.

Monday 13^th July

Face Masks made Compulsory:  We got the news that it was compulsory for face masks to be worn at all times in public areas.  It was alright to dispense with them in a bar or restaurant.  This meant that we had to wear our masks while we went for our walks, were in the car or walked from the car to a bar or restaurant.  Because of the anti-mask protests, there was no more tolerance of individuals refusing to use their masks, or they would get an instant fine or, under extreme situations, would face arrest.   I could understand the new rules but it felt strange to be out in the fresh air with stifling masks on in the heat, yet we were permitted to take them off in an enclosed bar or restaurant premises.  Sorry, but I couldn’t understand the logic in that.

Thursday 16^th July

New Arm Exercise:   I had been collecting pebbles from our beach walks, so I used some of them as weights to show how I tried to strengthen my left arm and grip.  Of course Colin had to show off his tomato plants too.  I made sure that I also exercised the right arm, otherwise I would eventually end up with a right skinny arm and my left looking as if it belonged to “Mr Muscles”.

Virus Spikes:  We had disturbing reports of virus “spikes” occurring, which resulted in reports of Barcelona, California and Florida that went into quarantine lock down.  Naturally, as Chuck and his wife, Inki, lived in California, I was concerned about the spread of infection in that area.  Funnily enough, I hadn’t been as concerned about the quarantine nearer to home, in Barcelona.  Our area of Andalucia, was given the “green light” and had still maintained a good level of statistics, so we were still safe.

UK Restaurant Bookings Problem:  I was sorry to read about famous chefs Tom Kerridge and Paul Ainsworth ranting about how they each had various bookings of a total of over 20 people in one night but they never turned up.  These selfish individuals never had the courtesy to ring to cancel.  None of them thought about what it meant to these restaurants to re-open after quarantine, their careful preparation, the expectation and potential earnings from these reservations, especially when they had to pay staff wages, rent and costs etc.  As Colin and I have been in that industry, we totally empathized with these chefs / Owners.

Friday 17^th July

“Early Doors” Back:  It was so nice to meet up with our golf buddies, Gill and Brian, for “early doors” drinks and catch up at Gregorios after such a long time.  Later, Colin and I went on to to see Adria and Dolores in the Villacana complex. It was also great to see the familiar faces of some of our other mates there and catch up after so long.

Cold Night Showers:  The weather became uncomfortably hot over the past few weeks.  Although we had a fan situated at the base of our bed and air-conditioning in the bedroom, the heat was so unbearable at night, I had several freezing cold showers to cool myself down.  At times, by the time I went back to bed, I had dried off and was too hot again, so had to go for another cooling shower!

Saturday 18^th July

Another “Linda Moment”:   Colin took me shopping to our local Lidl supermarket.  As we entered with our trolley, there was an area with fresh plants for sale.  Colin just had to grab a few as I hobbled off into the distance to get whatever was on our list.  Later, when we started unloading the shopping into the boot (trunk) of the car, Colin handed me a plant and said, “I don’t know where to put these”.  I was rather puzzled and replied, “on the back seat then?”.  He became irritated and snapped, “I meant in the garden, you twit!”.  How was I to know?

Monday 20^th July

COLIN THE SCAVENGER:  On our way back from the beach, Colin spotted a framed trellis left against the Park Beach bins. He saw a gardener and asked if they were getting rid of it. The gardener said “OK” for Colin to take away.   What a sight he made during the rest of the walk! Good find though because it was the perfect size and colour for our back terrace. Somebody’s rubbish turned into our new treasure.

Tuesday 21^st July

FRIENDS REUNITED: Great get together at El Velerin Beach Bar yesterday for a well over due lunch and catch up.  The boys played golf in the morning and the “Naughty Girls” joined them for the afternoon.  It was a lovely fun reunion of mates, especially as we hadn’t met up together in such a long time.  Colin and I had really missed their company.

Continue with the Magazine?:  Colin and I were concerned about the news of the increased infections in certain areas of Spain.  We intended releasing an August / September issue of the magazine fairly shortly.  After we had to suspend our business back in march, it was a tough decision to proceed or not, especially after the latest UK tourism blow to Spain.  Our magazine surprisingly came up with 84 pages of advertisers, instead of the normal 96 pages. We had only a small number of cancellations since the recent restriction news, which was pretty lucky when we took into account the amount of business closures since lock down. 

Friday 24^th July

MY INDOOR “PEBBLE BEACH”: We had collected lovely pebbles from the beach on each days of our walks together since the freedom from lock down. I created an indoor pebble memory on my office floor.

Virus Outbreak Again:  The news hadn’t been great as we heard of more cases of infections in Spain.  The UK government placed Spain on a “black list” of areas not to visit and suddenly announced a 14 day quarantine for British tourists when they returned to the UK after midnight.  This instantly created travel chaos and an uproar of protests as many British citizens had less than 24 hrs. to decide to face the quarantine on their return from Spain, cancel their current or future holiday plans.  This was not good.  Although we were quite isolated from the spread in our region, the news had not been good for Spain in general.

It was hard for our area to understand why the British government had placed such a “blanket ban” against Spain, when it could have been judged on regional results like ours in the Costa del Sol.  This seemed to be another rash decision, however, the British government motives seemed against foreign travel and encouraged citizens to remain in the UK for “staycations”.

LUNCH GET TOGETHER:  At last got together with more good mates for a Chinese meal at the weekend.   Colin and I hadn’t seen Pauline and Barry since the last New Year’s Eve party, so it was really great to see them and catch up on news since then. 

Please view next last page 34 at link “End of Blog & Achieved My Goals”: https://www.rebootinglinda.com/34-end-of-my-blog-achieved-my-goals/

CONTACT FORM: Please leave a comment …..
We would love to hear from you and appreciate if you will “Share” your comments or experience with us. This will help us make a compilation of stories to help others to give hope and encouragement for their journey to recovery.

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Saturday 1^st August

Anniversary of Driving Test:  Oh my God!  I realised this day was the anniversary of when I passed my driving test for the first time on 1st August 1977 at 10.00 a.m.!   I will need to take another one in the future, when I’m more flexible and allowed behind the wheel of a car again.  Needless to say, Colin was nervous of that prospect. 

Disability Parking:  Colin made inquiries about a blue disability badge for our car, to enable him to park the car closer to buildings for easier access for me.  As we had sold my car, the badge would be for his car.  I told him that, if he ever parked in those disability places with out me, he had better remember to limp when he left the car!

Social Drinks:  We went for early door drinks and bumped into Denise, Alan and a few others, which had turned into a fun early evening giggle between us. 

Sunday 2^nd August

Time to Relax:  We were disappointed to get a call from Lara, Colin’s sister, when she told us she couldn’t make the trip over to visit us.  Shame, as I was looking forward to a reunion. We instead decided to visit and re-connect with a few businesses for the magazine on behalf of our company. We then ended up with a couple of quick drinks at the Dog House.  While Colin mixed with his male friends I had a laugh with Rose, one of the Owners, and some girls.  It was such a hot day Rose had placed one of those electric fans that sprayed out a cooling fine mist of water.  I was in a naughty mood and asked Rose if any of the ladies with perms ever walked past it and ended up looking like human “candy floss”.  I don’t know what happened but we all erupted in fits of giggles every time some poor woman walked past it.

A Slow Easing of Spasticity:   After of two months of frustrating muscle stiffness, pains and spasms, I finally experienced a slow easiness some days.  It was great to be able to do stretch exercises, walk and move in general with less of the usual resistance and struggle.  Although I was still fairly robotic in movement, my left arm and leg felt a bit more flexible and free.  It was also good to have had some peaceful nights sleep without the usual spasms, jitters and shooting pangs of pain or electric shocks.  I still had periods of returning back to the spasticity, which were constant reminders of my limitations on the road of recovery ahead. Nevertheless, at least I had some good periods that gave me more encouragement.

Side Effect:  Unfortunately, I discovered a great deal of itchiness on my left arm and leg, which included the left side of my face during some of these periods of ease.  I know I should have been grateful for this new sensation, but I definitely wasn’t.  Cooling moisturising cream and very cold showers were the only things that saved my sanity.

Monday 10^th August

Things come in 3’s:   Have you ever had that feeling of bad luck happening in a series of three?  I tried to empty a plate of cooked noodles from the previous night into our bin.  For most people it would have been a simple task.  I somehow managed to get the heavy bin lid to bang down, which smashed the plate and created a horrible mess all over the place.  It took me ages to clean up.  I then tried opening a big bottle of fizzy water only to have it explode all over the kitchen counter and over me!  I spent the rest of the day waiting for the third event to happen only to finally discover that, when I undressed, I stupidly had put on my knickers inside out and had been wearing the crotch on my hip all day!   Think I’d been paranoid? 

Lovely Photo Surprise:  Denise cheered up my day when she sent me a photo that she had forgotten to send from our lunch the previous month.  I loved it.  It showed me in a happy and naughty mood – more important, looking more healthy since a pretty long time.

Lebanon News:  The tragic explosion in Lebanon, earlier this week , was apparently caused by a Russian Oligarch’s company abandonment of dangerous chemicals in storage in the dock area, which caused death and devastation.   There was an escalation of protests and violent clashes there, calling for the resignation of the Prime Minister and his cabinet.   Another terrible incident to be added to our World’s history.

Tuesday 12^th August:

Hand Improvement:  At last I could bend my left hand back and actually feel the strain of the muscles from my wrist upwards to my finger tips! It was great to be more flexible again.

More Cooking:  I began to get more adventurous with my chopping skills and made my version of spring rolls.  I was really pleased with the final results.

Monday 17^th August:

New Curfew Rules:  We heard that there would be a blanket ban in Spain of bars and late night spots to close after midnight or 01.00 am last night.  This was devastating news for many businesses in our area.  Just as we thought we had a new found freedom, this decision will have a terrible effect on many businesses here again.

My Surprise Date Lunch:  Colin told me to get ready by lunch time, as he had organised a surprise afternoon for me.  I had no idea what he had in mind, or what I should  wear.  I guessed in the car when he pulled up into the golf club Car Park.   Colin had bumped into some of my golf buddies earlier in the week and arranged for me to meet with them for drinks before he treated me to an Indian lunch date.  My Darling hubby want to cheer me up after I had felt a bit housebound, isolated and had a hard time with my condition over the past few weeks.  So thoughtful – I had such a lovely day.

Saturday 22^nd August

My Back:  I noticed that, as I did my daily chore of loading the dishwasher, my back hadn’t ached as much as usual. Yipee!

Colin’s Working Lunch:  Colin had a business meeting later today at La Resina Golf club so we took the opportunity to have an Italian lunch with John & Anisa.   It was such a beautiful and sunny day.  We even saw a rainbow in the water feature! Good luck sign I wonder?

Monday 24^th August:

Naughty Girls Reunion:  As Colin had been kind enough to arrange for me to see the girls the previous week, we all arranged for me to have a reunion today.   We met at the club house and I sat on the terrace while each group of 4 completed their round of golf.  It was hard for me to watch them finishing off on the 18^th hole, as I yearned to play.  However, it was a lovely afternoon..

The 3 Amigas – A Promise Fulfilled:  So grateful to my friends Julie and Karen for their patience when they walked slowly with me on the San Pedro beach promenade that morning.   When I was first released from hospital I saw the photos of their walks on social media in February 2019.  Not knowing if I could ever walk again, I jokingly messaged them and stated that if I was ever able to walk again, I would like to join them.  This day marked a goal fullfilled!   I actually managed to walk 2.5 km!   I really appreciated their kindness.

Friday 28^th August

END OF MY BLOG:  Well I think I have said as much as I’ve needed to.  My main goal was to raise awareness from half paralysis to walk independently and get more movement in my left arm and leg.  It’s been a journey of frustration, aches and pains but it finally has been worth it to get this far.  I hope my little victories have been helpful to both those who suffer and their care givers.  The main reason for my blog was to show the lows and highs that can happen in recovery.  It was also equally important to me to show some of the fun and laughter that helped me through some dark moments.

Bumps and Bruises:  Everyone falls and bruises differently.  I’m afraid that I have always bruised easily.  I fell many times during recovery and ended with some awful markings, resulting with some extremely sore places.   I guess my legs kept getting knotted, due to balance issues.  The bruises, like the picture, were painful but never prevented me from getting up again.   To be honest, I always had to be pulled up to my feet by someone else, as I couldn’t get up alone.   Although I had lost my confidence at times, I always tried again eventually. 

Fortunate:  I’ve been lucky to survive with the never-ending help and love of my ever-patient husband, Colin.  I will be eternally grateful for the aide of Della, Lara and the support and encouragement of my family and friends.  I leave you with my final video clip below of me actually taking a full golf swing, which was another aim for me.    I’m glad that I managed not to fall over then!  Although I still have tightness of my head, a pronounced limp, my foot remained inflexible and I generally move rather robotically – I will always try to eventually overcome these several obstacles.  However, I am happy to leave things at this point and, as the well known song title, “I’m feeling good”. Goodbye and Good luck with your dreams – Perhaps I might do an update when I hopefully will be able to move a bit more naturally ……. LINDA xxx

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