What is wrong with ...?

 ...the post

Whatever  is wrong with the postal service?   It is worse than ever. 

I sent Christmas cards to my family in Australia the first week of December and they still haven't received them! I sent my nephew in Australia a parcel on 22nd November and he still hasn't received it!   My sister sent me a parcel from the UK to Spain on 8th December and I still haven't received it either. I know there have been delays due to COVID throughout the whole of the Pandemic and post has taken longer than usual but never this long!

I went into the Post Office yesterday and had a chat with a very nice lady there. She said they were very short of staff all over the country,all due to Omicron/Covid and she said it has hit other countries too so that seems to confirm what I thought and is the main reason for the delay. I really don't understand why the Post Office doesn't employ temporary staff to cover the ones off sick. There are plenty of people unemployed and looking for work! I imagine that would be extra expense but at least you keep the postal service going properly. They don't seem to want to do that instead their staff is doing overtime and any minute now will go down sick too due to being overworked! 

I shall definitely be sending my baby blanket for my niece by registered post as I don't want it lost not after all the expense,time and effort of making it.

I am super pleased how this blanket turned out! 

The colours I used coincide with the colour scheme my niece has used in her nursery. I always ask the mother to choose the colours she wants and sometimes suggest others. I also like to mention to her what those colours symbolise and the following details is what I shall be sending to my niece.

GREEN : a new beginning, connecting to nature 

ORANGE: Joy and good health

CREAM: Comfort

BROWN : Security and safety

PALE GREY : Wisdom

The blanket pattern is from Repeat Crafter Me . I used a Hook 6.00 and Aran yarn throughout. I did tweek it a little! I gave it a sc border and didn't add tassels. I don't put tassels on baby blankets. I have this image in my mind of baby's little fingers getting entangled in the tassels. so that puts me off using them on baby blankets or shawls. 

The little grey bow was an extra 😊

Usual Sunday walk

We didn't go too far afield last Sunday just on top of the cliffs near the Lighthouse and Skywalk that I mentioned in my last post .

We continue to think we are eventually going to sell our four bedroom apartment in Alicante City and downsize to a two bedroom apartment or bungalow near the beach. At one time we had thought to do so in this area as we like it very much. However, one has to be sensible and we aren't getting any younger! Although it is a lovely area and the beach is just at the bottom of the hill, it is a steep climb back up and we have decided it just wouldn't be practical to live up here on top of the cliffs. 

Bit bigger than the one I have in my balcony garden🌵

Replies to comments in last post completed 🌴

Happy blogging

Amanda :-)

Trying again

We returned Sunday morning back along the coast to the Carrabassi wild beaches hoping that the amount of Caravans and Motorhomes illegally frontline parking and camping had diminished. In fact it had not it had increased! We therefore continued along the coast towards Santa Pola Town looking for a small area where we could get down to the beach to take the photos of the island of Tabarca that I wanted.  I was absolutely disgusted to see Motorhomes frontline parking and camping all the way along that part of the coast. It wasn't until we got to the entrance to Santa Pola Town that we could finally park.  

The following information is for those Caravan and Motorhome campers who are parking and camping illegally, according to the law in this country!  I imagine they won't take much notice though! If they are blatantly ignoring the signs prohibiting camping they aren't going to worry about the following either:

Coastal Law (article 33.5) also included in the General Traffic Regulations, prohibits parking and circulation, as well as camping and camping sites 20 meters from the beach in an urban area or 100 meters in a rustic area, counted from the shore of the sea (point that reaches the maximum water in storms or tide).

At the very entrance to Santa Pola Town we decided that the only way I was going to get the photos of the island that I wanted was to go along the seafront pathway there.  Just before that I took a few photos of the mountains we passed on our way along the coast and also of the popular Skywalk that is situated on the top of the mountain near the lighthouse. I have been there a couple of times and the view from the Skywalk is amazing. 

The Skywalk

Santa Pola Skywalk (google image)

At the coastal entrance to Santa Pola Town a little altar to La Virgen del Rosario .

I got my photo of Tabarca Island not quite the one I wanted but at least you can see it. It isn't always possible to get a clear photo of the island as it is very often covered in sea mist or a heat haze. They also call it the Isla Plana (the flat island) I don't think I need to explain why😐.  I always think that it reminds me of three submarines in a row😁. It may not look much but it is worth a visit. It is a marine reserve and it is great to go snorkelling there. The seafood restaurants are really good there too.

It was so lovely there that we continued along the seafront pathway for awhile and at the same time to also admire the villas there.

I wouldn't mind living here at all !   Just a few steps away from the sea...heaven!

A Watch Tower. There is always a watch tower or the ruins of one in all the towns along this coast.

Back to reality

 Now the refrigerator needs a thorough clean... sigh!

Best get it done!

Replies to comments on previous post completed 

Happy Blogging 

Amanda :-)

Read the signs!

 

It was a wonderfully sunny day last Sunday in fact it was very much like a day in Spring as the weather was very mild indeed.  We decided last Sunday to go a little further along the coast to the wild beaches that are situated under the watchful eye of the Cape of Santa Pola lighthouse. You can usually see Tabarca Island quite well from the seashore there, so I had thought to take photos of the island to post here.

Santa Pola lighthouse (google image)

This was my first snapshot of the mountains overlooking those beaches

However this is the only decent photograph I could get ! 

My idea of taking photographs of Tabarca Island dispersed completely when we came up against the this invasion of Caravans and Motorhomes, some of considerable dimensions, situated right on the edge of the access to the beaches and coastline there.  Real front line parking which meant that the campers would of course enjoy their stay right in front of the sea but impeded access for other people on foot to enjoy the beach as well. 

There were many more further along this coastal path.

In fact some of these campers had parked so close together (on the left of this photo) and had laid out their tables and chairs in such a way that even squeezing between these vehicles to get to the beach would have been embarrassing and difficult.  

On top of it all it is prohibited to camp in this area and is clearly indicated so by the numerous signposts that are placed at different places along this part of this coastal track. 

I noticed that there were a mix of foreign and Spanish campers so what part of this sign did they not understand?

Even if you do not understand Spanish it is pretty clear what the symbols indicate.

At least the people who had camped in the car park had not blocked the access to the beaches even though the signs also indicated there that it was prohibited to use the car park for camping!

but it seems they thought they could ignored all these signs too.

It was really annoying ... a beautiful sunny morning spoilt!

Sweet Things

On a cheerier note this is what my daughter brought for us for tea on Christmas Day

I highly recommend this Panettone by Chef Pastelero Juan Fran Asensio.  I don't usually like Panettone very much as I find them dry but this one was delicious; full of yummy chocolate and orange bits and not at all dry.

I am posting this video clip that I have found about this Chef Pastelero.

I didn't know that the baking of panettoni goes back to the 15th century!  I'll remember this! Why is it I store the useless information and forget the important!😁

Replies.

In reply to certain comments and queries on my last post "Gentle Lady"

Betsy and Kathy: in reply to your comment about Torka not being allowed inside the house. It seems it is the norm here when they consider the dog to be a guard dog. Personally I think who ever breaks into my SIL villa Torka would probably knock him/her down and lick that someone to death! 😁

Shaz: in reply to your comment about so much paving in the garden and no grass. It is the norm here. Lawns/grass produce lots and lots of mosquitos which means constantly fumigating, using mosquito nets and other gadgets to put up with them. Having no lawn reduces this considerably. Lawns are also a very costly feature in gardens here as they need to be constantly watered all year round. 

Crochet

I am just finishing off the centre piece of the Baby blanket I am making for my niece in Australia. 

The C2C stitch is pretty easy but the tangle of different coloured yarns was a bit annoying until the work started to flow and I got used to changing from one colour to another. I did have to frog the work twice because I counted the wrong number of squares. Good learning curve though! 

I have been chatting with my niece this morning on Messenger and she tells me she will be induced early due to high risk so baby should be here the end of February and not in March. I think I need to hurry it up! It will take at least a month for the post to get it to her over there in OZ.

Replies to comments on previous post completed 🖋

Happy 2022 to you all! 🔔🔔🔔

I am ardently wishing for a better one 

Amanda :-)