Green living day by day

Showing category "General update" (Show all posts)

20th July 2020

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el domingo, julio 19, 2020, In : General update 
This week has seen storms developing. The high temperature just lead to it. We have had some very welcome rain that has freshened up the air and made life a bit more comfortable.
Mum got up one morning with a very red ankle. I checked for a bite but couldn't find one. We believe it was just an infection. Dementia sufferers are prone to infections for no reason. We started her on 4 cups of olive leaf tea a day as she refused to go to the doctors, telling me she would go when she got home. Withi...
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13th July 2020

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el domingo, julio 12, 2020, In : General update 
Oh my goodness, just over 2 full months since I have published a post. Life is just so busy, I don't seem to get 5 minutes to myself anymore. I am not complaining as this time I am getting with mum is priceless. I just cannot believe how fast time passes. 
The weather here has been hot, hot, hot. We have had 20c nights and 30c or more days. It is a bit too hot for mum to sit out in it without shade and even with shade she struggles some days. The bonus at the moment is that she is still using ...
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11th May 2020

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el lunes, mayo 11, 2020, In : General update 
My goodness, over a month since I last posted and what a month it has been. Basically for most of April it rained. We had the odd dry day but mostly wet, damp days. This has made it very difficult to get the work done in the garden. The weeds are waist high in places as we just haven't had the time to clear it. 

There is a path in there somewhere!

Mum has had a really hard month. Lots of changes have taken place, the main one being her sleeping pattern. She was sleeping 12 hours or there abouts...
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6th April 2020

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el domingo, abril 5, 2020, In : General update 
We have certainly had an eventful week here. It started off with rain, rain and yet more rain. We live our lives outside in the garden and to be shut in the house so much is very wearing. Anyway the sun shone on Friday, it started with a glorious sunrise and by the time mum came out for breakfast it was warm enough on the terrace to eat breakfast there. Kev and I were discussing what we were going to do outside when we saw mum slump in her chair. I caught her and Kev ran to get a duvet to put...
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30th March 2020

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el lunes, marzo 30, 2020, In : General update 
I cannot believe it has been 3 weeks since I have found the time to write a post. Time just flies past here. We have had 2 weeks of lock down with an extension of another 2 weeks at the minute. This hasn't really affected us much other than we have had to think about a plan in case Kev or I contract the virus. Mum has asthma and would be classed as high risk, so we would need to quarantine the contagious person to hopefully stop her from contracting it. What we have changed is Kev is the only...
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2nd March 2020

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el martes, marzo 3, 2020, In : General update 
Another month passes here. Time moves so fast. Spring will be upon us this month, although most of the plants think we are already there. The days are getting longer and warmer. Most days we are around 20ºC or higher and lock up is almost 7.30pm now. We have not lit a fire for over a week, not even the gas fire. 
We have had a pretty uneventful week here as it goes. Mum has been quite settled. She has been asking if she can help almost every day. She has been hanging the washing out, peeling ...
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24th February 2020

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el martes, febrero 25, 2020, In : General update 
The weather here has been positively spring like. It has been really warm everyday. The days are getting longer. We now do lock up at 7.15pm unless it is cloudy and it now starts to get light at about 7am. This means we can work longer during the day and we eat dinner as it is getting dusk.


Mum has been more settled this last week. She has even been helping! She has been hanging the washing out and bringing it in. She washes and dries up now after most meals. It is good to see her doing someth...
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17th February 2020

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el martes, febrero 18, 2020, In : General update 
The weather this week has been really kind to us. It has been sunny and warm all week which has allowed us to really crack on with the jobs in the garden. 
We have had a helper here this week. He has been working really hard doing lots of jobs that we have wanted to do but just  not had the time yet. He has taken all the broken animal houses down, stacked the wood and saved the screws to be used again. The turkey run has been tidied up and a new turkey house has been built. This was in prepara...
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10th February 2020

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el lunes, febrero 10, 2020, In : General update 
This week the weather has been positively Spring like. It has been warm and sunny almost everyday. Mum has been able to sit outside while we have worked. Everyone has just felt happier. Even mum wasn't moaning as much! Most of this week we have only had the gas fire on, we have lit the range once and the bedroom fire twice. This is unheard of for me in February, it must be warm.

This mornings sunrise...glorious colours

This week I have been on a mission to find Onion, our female turkey a mate. ...
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3rd February 2020

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el lunes, febrero 3, 2020, In : General update 
This week has seen the weather improve. We have had gloriously sunny days, about 20ºC, perfect outside working weather. Mum has even been sitting outside in the warm sunshine. We have had a week of it with Mum. The middle of last week was her 75th birthday. I made her a big chocolate cake that she loved. We had a really good day. Lots of people rang her and she was busy all day. The day after we paid for the break in routine, mum refused to take her pills. I have managed to get round this by...
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27th January 2020

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el domingo, enero 26, 2020, In : General update 
Almost the end of the month. It has seemed to go by so fast. The weather this last week has been very gloomy. It has rained pretty much everyday and a few mammoth storms have passed us by. Our water stores are almost full. The pool has gone up 5 tiles, that is 5000 litres just from the rain. Everything is sodden. Yesterday, the sun finally decided to shine. How different it makes you feel to see the sunshine and blue skies. I finally got the washer on after a week of preserving power. 

We fina...
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20th January 2020

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el domingo, enero 19, 2020, In : General update 
Another week flies by and it is hard to believe that we are 2/3rds of the way through January already. We have so many projects on the go at the moment that there is always something to keep us busy. Add the normal day to day stuff too and we just don't stop during the day. Luckily the nights are drawing out slightly now. Lock up of animals is between 6.15 and 6.30pm depending on the weather. We have had a weather warning out  since yesterday for heavy rain, strong winds and even a possibilit...
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12th January 2020

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el domingo, enero 12, 2020, In : General update 
We have had a bit of a week of it here with Mum. She has been hard work all week. She is having vivid dreams and is mixing it up with reality. She thinks my brother lives across the bridge when in actual fact he lives on the Isle of White. She is convinced there is nothing wrong with her and we are keeping her prisoner. She said we lie to her all the time about letting her go home.
Wednesday she had a dream about being at home and in her dream she woke up walking down the street. In our mornin...
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6 January 2020

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el domingo, enero 5, 2020, In : General update 
The first post of the new year and new decade. Happy new year to everyone taking the time to read about our life. 
Wishing everyone health and happiness always. 
Our new years eve was a quiet affair. We sat and wrote out a plan of the big jobs we wish to complete in 2020. We were surprised that there are now less big jobs to get done. One main job is to render the house getting rid of the stipple effect. This will make painting the house much easier and less time consuming. Another big jobs is ...
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31st December 2019

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el domingo, diciembre 29, 2019, In : General update 
Almost at the end of 2019. Personally for us this has been a hard year. It feels like we haven't accomplished anything. We know this is not true but it is how it feels. We decided to sit and write down the positives of the year, that we could remember. We managed to think of over 60 positive things we had done or learnt over the last year. When you see it all written down it gives you a boost. So perhaps it wasn't such a bad year after all.

It was a chilly morning this morning, about 3 degrees...
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11th December 2019

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el jueves, diciembre 12, 2019, In : General update 
This week the weather has improved. We have had 20 degree sunshine most days, although the breeze has been chilly at times. It has been perfect weather for work outside. 
Last Wednesday we had one of the Lliria estate agent turn up at our gate. He had a couple that he was showing houses to, who had been let down for somewhere to stay. They were sleeping in their car. The weather last week was wet and really cold. He asked if we could have them stay here. I stopped doing B&B last January becaus...
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4th December 2019

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el miércoles, diciembre 4, 2019, In : General update 
Another month gone. How time flies. We are now in the final month of 2019 and I can honestly say I will be glad when this year is over. Hopefully the new year will bring less heart ache for us.  The last few days here have been miserable, wet and cold and this morning is no different. The temperatures have dropped a good 10 degrees since Sunday. So we have been inside with fires lit and I have been cooking to keep busy.
We have been trying to get out to do Christmas shopping this past week but...
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27th November 2019

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el miércoles, noviembre 27, 2019, In : General update 
Almost a month since my last post. Time just seems to pass us by in the blink of an eye. So much emotional stuff has been happening here that I don't know whether we are on our heads or elbows! Oh my goodness where to start.

Almost a month ago my daughter in law passed away after a brave fight with ovarian cancer that spread. She left behind my son Luke and my grandson. Obviously as a mother first instinct was to go to them but my son wanted to come here for a few days, to try to take their mi...
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30th October 2019

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el lunes, octubre 28, 2019, In : General update 
Since the clocks went back it seems like it is dark so early here. It is about 6.30 pm now for lock up and the nights are getting chilly. We have had the fire on in the front room every night. We have had some lovely weather during the day though. Sunny and warm, great working weather.

On the agenda this week has been laying new floors in the bedrooms. Originally we thought laying laminate down would be a good idea, but with all the water problems that we have had, what with windows that don't...
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23rd October 2019

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el miércoles, octubre 23, 2019, In : General update 
The mornings here are now really chilly. It is not getting light until 7.45am if the sky is clear. If not it can be more like 8am before  it is light. 

 Last Thursday Kev went away to the U.K. to spend time with his mum. I have been here with my mum.  She has been very unsettled since her trip away with my brother. She keeps asking when she is going home and keeps getting her clothes out of the wardrobe and drawers and putting them on the bed. I have found this hard this week. Having no one he...
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16th October 2019

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el viernes, octubre 18, 2019, In : General update 
Two weeks has flown by since my last post. My leg has healed and I am back to full strength this week. I am so grateful as I hate sitting around doing nothing. Mind you I have got to study more Spanish and read a few books too.
We have had a few days alone this last week. My brother and his wife came and took Mum to Calpe for a few days. We had 2 days of the same questions running up to it, What day are they coming? Where am I going? But it all went off without a hitch. I asked my brother to b...
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2nd October 2019

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el miércoles, octubre 2, 2019, In : General update 
Another month passes us by in a flash, or that is how it feels. After all the rain a few weeks ago the weeds are taking over again. It doesn't help that last week while out walking I got a calf injury so am having to rest it as much as possible. It is covered with a support bandage and I sit with it up as much as I can stand. Gardening has been off of the agenda but it is really starting to frustrate me. 

We have had a bit of a week with Mum. She keeps saying she wants to go home but it seems ...
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25th September 2019

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el miércoles, septiembre 25, 2019, In : General update 
This week has been a bit of a mixture for us. The weather has been sunny most of the time with the odd rain shower thrown in. The temperatures are coming down, upper 20s most of the time and the nights are drawing in. Dusk is now about 8.30pm so lock up for the animals is getting earlier. On the plus side it means we stop earlier and rest more. 

The big thing we got done this week was Mums residencia. She has now got her card and can legally stay forever. It has taken a while to get here. Mum ...
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18th September 2019

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el miércoles, septiembre 18, 2019, In : General update 
I got up this morning in the dark. Struggling to find time to sit and concentrate to write this blog with mum here, so I have decided to add an hour to my day when everyone else is in bed to get this done. 
If you read last weeks blog you will know Kev and I went to the UK to bury his dads ashes and my youngest son Gary came to stay with his Nan. I was a bit worried about how this would go but it was all fine until we got home. Mum thought she could fly home with Gary and got quite upset when ...
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11th September 2019

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el viernes, septiembre 6, 2019, In : General update 
Another week gone in a flash. Tomorrow we fly to the UK to lay Kevs dads ashes to rest. I have my youngest son Gary arriving today to spend some time with his grandmother so that we could go alone. It is a much needed break away. I love my mother immensely but the repetition gets you down when life throws you yet another curve ball to deal with, so a few days away are just what the doctor ordered.

Kev has been rendering the back of the house around our bedroom doors for a few days this past we...
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4th September 2019

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el viernes, septiembre 6, 2019, In : General update 
We can tell that another month has passed us by. The nights are drawing in and daybreak is later. I cannot go  for my walk now until about 7.15am as it is not light enough to see before then. There is a plus side in that the mornings are much cooler and so work outside can resume.

Kev has been busy rendering the outside of the house. It is such a mammoth task that we have decided to do it a bit at a time. This bit is outside of our bedroom. We found some damp in our room and so thought the ren...
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28th August 2019

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el jueves, agosto 29, 2019, In : General update 
Got up this morning to a cooler morning. A jumper is needed now when I go out walking. I am  a bit late with this blog post as we have been really busy with the bedroom. Last Thursday we went and bought lavender and a light grey paint for the walls and black out blinds for the windows. I wanted the bedroom to be a place where we could go and relax with calming colours. As for the blinds, they are great. They do exactly what they say they do.

I picked tomatoes in the week and decided to make ba...
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21st August 2019

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el miércoles, agosto 21, 2019, In : General update 
Got up this morning very, very early as I just could not sleep. This is not a good thing when caring for someone with dementia. I have found that my mood directly feeds into mums mood. She becomes a reflection of whatever I am feeling. I have started to journal to be able to get my feelings out and try to stay calm when things get to me. I have found this really helps.

This morning finally, we got some rain...looks like it may be in for the day...we can hope. The weather the last few days has ...
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14th August 2019

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el martes, agosto 13, 2019, In : General update 
Got up this morning before it was light. I sat and watched the sunrise in the cool morning air. This is my favourite time of the day.

We had really hot weather last week until Sunday. It was far too hot to do anything outside other than pick the vegetables that were ready. I have had a lot of tomatoes this month and decided since Mum loves tomato ketchup to make her some and can it. I use a River Cottage recipe and it is lovely, much better than the bought stuff. Trouble was that the hot weath...
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31st July 2019

Publicado por Michelle & Kev Martin el miércoles, julio 31, 2019, In : General update 
Another month almost gone. The weather here is getting hotter. I try to get out walking by about 6.30am so that it is cool. This is my me time, the only time I get without my mum. It is priceless for my sanity!

This week has been spent picking vegetables and canning for storage. Every other day I go and pick tomatoes, summer squash, aubergines and peppers. I cook up the tomatoes, then add the other veg for a few minutes, then can using the pressure canner. We have about 24 jars of mixed veg st...
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About us...


In our previous lives in England, Kev was in the Army and then worked for the prison service when he came out. I was a teacher in Formby, Liverpool. Both jobs became full time, take work home with you jobs...and so the work/home life balance was not ever heard of in our house. The reason we moved to Spain was so that I (Michelle) could learn Spanish and then return to England and teach Spanish to all children within the school. We both took a 2 year sabbatical with every intention of returning, but as you can see we fell in love with Spain, the people, the culture and the laid back way of life, and cannot forsee us moving back to England in the near future.

 If anyone would like to get in touch with us to ask questions or just say Hola our new email is 

greenlivingexperience@gmail.com

We will respond as soon as possible with answers to any questions.

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