PALM FLOWERS and SPANISH

The palm trees are in flower!
Seen on this morning's walk - another treat for the eyes from nature. Aren't they lovely?

And don't you love languages?!
For many years the only foreign language I knew was French, learned in the schoolroom and then re-learned on frequent cross-Channel visits to Calais, Dieppe and onwards to Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, where we had friends with an ancient five-storey hotel smack bang in the centre. We could park the car for the weekend and walk everywhere, buying a chicken in the market to eat on the white sand beach, and drinking enough not to mind the ancient French beds.

Now half our lives our lived in Spanish, and the OH needed my translation services at the dentist this week.
"What do you want me to say?" I asked him.
"Tell the dentist my gums feel tingly- I think I have an infection."
I can say "hurt" or "itch" - but "tingle"?
So I looked it up.
"Siento hormigueo". That looked familiar. I know "Siento" means "I feel" and "hormiga" means "ant". So "Siento hormigueo" must mean "I feel antsy". That makes a kind of sense. Sorted!

DOES MY TUM LOOK BIG IN THIS?

Okay - this is the only full-length photo of me I could find in a hurry - taken in England last year by my grandson. My hair is now longer, though still with its natural grey highlights, but I look much the same. Except that I have put on a kilo and a half since I gave up smoking.

This month I have been wearing dresses because it's summer, but my black handbag doesn't look good with summer dresses, so today I was browsing for another. I reckoned I could treat myself as my trip to the dentist cost me nothing!
I looked at the price ticket - 27 euros - and shook my head. The trader pounced. I explained that I was a writer and needed a bag large enough to take my A5 notebook. He took the bag I admired inside the shop and extracted the paper stuffing. We tried the notebook, which fitted. 
I said "Not enough pockets." The price dropped by three euros. I said I would think about it, The price dropped another three euros. I walked to the door. "Give me eighteen euros," he said. At least he hadn't mentioned a wife and six starving children. "All right," I agreed - it's a pretty bag.
As I was getting my purse out we got chatting and this young man - well, 40ish anyway - patted my tummy gently and asked, "Baby?" I fell about laughing. He frowned. "I'm a grandmother," I said. He smiled and changed the subject.
As I was walking back to my car I wondered whether to be flattered or hurt. He'd already made the sale, so presumably it wasn't flattery, yet did I really look young enough to be pregnant? It would be nice to think so.
But it was probably the dress, which falls in tiers from the waist - nice and cool in Tenerife heat.
Hence the question - does my tum look big in this?

MOTIVATION (Or told you I was ill)

My motivation seems to have done a runner and all creative writing activity in this house has been on hold for a couple of weeks, so naturally I was starting to obsess. Then I listed possible reasons in order of occurrence.
1. The dentist said I needed work costing E2000. Yelp! Raided savings and managed to find half, borrowed the other half, handed over cash, and then endured two sessions each lasting several hours. More to come this week.
2. Sent off A Strange Adoption to two Book Prize Competitions by mistake, and wasted time worrying. Then I realized that being short-listed once would be a miracle - reaching the finals twice is as likely as my grey hair spontaneously reverting to brown.
3. Submitted Helter-Skelter to an agent and received a request for the whole MS. Ecstatic! Then spent several days convinced I hadn't edited out all the errors, then I worried about it failing again, and then I got tense about it succeeding.
4. A friend arrived for a week of R&R which meant the OH invaded my bedroom/study to leave the spare room free, and the OH snores all night and always has a siesta which is often my best time to work.
5. A sore throat crept up on me, turned into a raging fever and hacking cough. Got out of bed to celebrate my birthday watching turtles released, which was lovely but marred by the friend forgetting his hat and spending the whole time lurking and shivering in the shade. Went out for a nice meal but not much appetite. Doggy bag gratefully received by starving neighbour.
6. This morning the doctor confirms I have a chest infection and gives me cough medicine and antibiotics to deal with my that AND with the urinary infection that was revealed by the results of a test done 2 weeks ago.
Told you I was ill.
Two doses of meds later I am feeling a bit better and much more positive. The OH has finished his siesta, and I have time to polish up a 750 word story and transfer my scribbled notes to my Ideas File before the friend takes us out for dinner - he flies home tomorrow.
Now where did I put that "to do" list?

World Book Day?

So much for world book day - I got another refusal.
Mind you, I did tell the agent that I live in Tenerife, which is not a point in my favour.
With daily flights to England, email, Facebook and blogs, you would have thought being an expat was no barrier to acceptance, but it has been a major factor for me. I have had several comments from agents and publishers that make it clear that they can't visualize successful publicity unless I live round the corner.

Still, what with blood tests and the dentist, I've got enough to think about. I'll just get on with writing and hope someone, somewhere, will see their way to representing me!

No photos thankyou

There I was with a short story simmering away nicely. Thought a cup of tea and a biscuit would help it along. Sat with same on the terrace, watching cat sunbathing and wondering what it would be like to be able to rest my nose on my back feet. Took a bite of biscuit and - Arrghh!
A crown broke off. It's been in my mouth for 40 years (courtesy of NHS when my son was a baby) but I had no clue it was about to quit. It took the underlying tooth stump with it, and it's right in the front. Not a pretty sight.
First thing this morning we drive to the dentist - they know us well as the OH had major work done recently. They were shut for refurbishments till Monday. Probably spending the thousands we paid for his teeth.
So I'll be writing the story to take my mind off the fact that Sod's Law seems to have been written especially for me.