Gathering Olives

This is a photograph of Iznájar, taken through the branches of an olive tree in La Celada, where we now live. I am posting it because it is relevant today as, in my finery, I found myself grovelling around on the floor picking up the olives that have fallen for a friend. It is a very humbling experience to spend time with people who break their backs doing a job that pays so little in reality. These people earn between 50 and 70 cents per kilo of olives, even though the machinery they have to use is expensive, the time they need to get the olives off the trees is seemingly never ending, and they do it all with a happy and humble heart.

My son was in his element - climbing trees, hurling olive bombs as us as we worked around the children, all the while occasionally coming down from his squirrel nest to "help" a little - and every little really does help in this work!

I will write a longer post about the process in due course, but now it is WEEKEND OFF, and I am going to enjoy every single moment of it!

Frenetic Yoga ????

I'm sure it shouldn't have felt like that! But I was so hopelessly overexcited ! I have my first weekend "off" this weekend since some wonderful friends and I have decided to do "Child Swaps". NOT like wife swapping I can assure you ...

The Spanish are such a toughened people that they really don't, ever, take time off. They clean if they are not cooking; they look after their families in a way that puts the British "stuff 'em in a home and forget'em" publicity to shame ....

However some friends and I have all agreed that a weekend off every month or so DOES do the soul good. AND IT'S MY TURN STARTING TOMORROW!!!!

So why have I called this article Frenetic Yoga I hear you wonder as you scratch your head and peruse this ...

Well, because a mate of mine is organising himself as we speak to leave his work at 1am in Barcelona, take a glass or two of wine with a friend after work, then take the dawn flight from Barcelona to Málaga where I will meet him and we will have a party-filled Robbie Burns noticing weekend of adult (probably) drunkenness and debauchery ..... IT WILL MAKE A CHANGE I CAN TELL YOU!!!

I am SO looking forward to it that I decided I would clean the house from top to bottom in honour AND get my legs waxed (think Highland Cow) for the event ... so when it was time for my Thursday morning Yoga class I was so frantic and hyper with the excitement of starting to see my home looking tidy again, I got a bit "pepped out" and had to breathe - that´s

b-r-e-a-t-h-e - slow and deep, in order to bring myself back down to Planet Normal again ---

But it is very exciting to have time all to myself I have to say - and even more exciting to have made a plan so that I have a few more of them this year!

Musician Inspires Monthly Healing Meeting

Okay so I know it's an unusual photograph for this blog, but being as I have been a bit slothful these past few weeks, I thought I would put in a good picture to make up for it ...

This photo was taken outside (and no I did NOT eat there) Burger King in Torremolinos - where I went for the weekend with my son and my mother to get a bit of mental-ness.....!

That may sound strange, but living in the beautiful, peaceful, unspoilt mountains of Spain, I have learned that every so often I like to go to the coast, the cities, or the generally looning places where there are more British people than indigenous locals, and remind myself of why I LOVE rural Spain.

And this man, whose name I am sorry I don't know, is from Peru, and has the licence to do his thing throughout the season, and we LOVED listening to him - his music was so peaceful and tranquil and beautiful, even though he was literally flying from one instrument to the other to make up the effect.

Since being there, we now have a musical healing night here in the Guest House pretty much every full moon now with several people who choose to come each time, and others who come when they feel like they need a musical pan pipe drumming rattling healing and talking session. It is absolutely wonderful! Although totally NOT obligatory!

If you are interested in coming specifically for a healing / pampering holiday, do let us know - we have access to Chiropractic, Reflexology, Healing, Shamanic Healing, Massage, Manicures, Pedicures, Waxing, Hair Styling, Full Facials and Body Treatments ... and of course we have the Hot Tub up on our roof terrace where you can be hubbled and bubbled before your treatments and after with a glass of bubbly!