Sunday Sevens

Sunday Sevens #203 29.9.19

~ Making Stitches ~ Leave a comment

Hello! It’s Sunday again, and it’s been another busy week at this end with lots going on! Here’s what I’ve been up to this week:

Med Steps on a Monday

It feels good to be able to say that! It’s been such a long time since I had last made the climb. I think it was back in May just after the Med Steps 5 challenge actually, so this walk was well over due! It was hot but glorious up there and took me 46 minutes to get to the top (when I’m on form I can make it in less than 30 so there’s some training required!). I stopped aching yesterday… 🤣

Nocturnal visitors

When we got our new windows put in recently I was hoping our gecko friends wouldn’t abandon us. I am pleased to report that they came back with the warmer summer weather and they are still with us now. They don’t come onto the clear glass windows – just the frosted ones and lie in wait for moths.

Dressmaking class

My made-to-measure paper pattern is finished and the fabric has been cut ready for my trial run at making trousers. Sewing will begin this week.

An evening with friends

This week the book club I belong to had its first meeting since before the summer break. We met on Queensway Quay and it was lovely to catch up on everyone’s news and hear how everyone was getting on. Our book over the summer was Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine by Gail Honeyman which I read when we were away in Portugal on holiday – it was so long ago I had trouble remembering the story! Must be my age!!

Upper Town walk

One morning I found myself in town and had a bit of free time (which doesn’t happen often enough!) so I took a wander up into Upper Town. There was a time a few years ago when I would regularly end up in these streets and alleyways but life doesn’t bring me up here often these days – it’s funny how your life’s geography changes over time.

Down by the water

On Friday evening I found myself at the Park just by the water at sunset. Normally I see the sun going down from our balcony but it was nice to see it from close to the water for a change…

Seamist at sunset

Last night though, I was back at home and saw this great weather as the sea mist swept into the Bay from the Strait of Gibraltar just as the sun was going down.

Eldest spotted it first looking out the window and commenting that it was like being on a plane and being above the clouds! It was quite beautiful. Less so though for those who were actually on planes and had to be diverted to Malaga because the reduced visibility meant they couldn’t land in Gibraltar.

I did manage to grab my crochet hook yesterday for a while in solidarity with all my yarny friends who are at Yarndale this weekend. Each year I hope I will be able to return to this great friendly festival, maybe next year? You can read all about my first, and so far, only trip to Yarndale in 2016 here.

And that brings this week’s Sunday Sevens to an end. I hope you have had a good week and that next week is kind to you.

Sunday Sevens was first created by Natalie from Threads and Bobbins.

Sunday Sevens #202 22.9.19

~ Making Stitches ~ Leave a comment

Back again, and just one week since the last one! How are you? I hope you had a good week!

Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens:

Back to school

My Dressmaking classes restarted this week – it felt good to be back again and using my brain! New term means a new project – trousers. Pattern drawing began this week and I took in the fabric I bought in the UK to show my teacher – thankfully it got the seal of approval. It will be a while before I start sewing with it though, after I cut my paper pattern I need to make a trial run in cotton to make sure I have the pattern correct.

Sunny morning in town

Its been such a long time since I’ve met a friend for coffee, but I managed it this week. We had a really good chat catching up on news from both of us from over the summer and cooking up a plan for the future – it was fun.

Birthday cake baking

I certainly wouldn’t get a place on Bake-Off… one of the Little Postcards celebrated a birthday this week and carrot cake was the request. I only bake for birthdays and occasional charity cake sale so it’s not my speciality nor is my spice rack particularly up to date. Imagine my horror when I replaced the required spices with new ones (as the old ones were a few years out of date) and only discovered the unopened packet of ground ginger when I was clearing up afterwards.

My delight at being told, ooh Mummy this tastes so gingery was a relief! Shhh it’s our little secret!

Many shades of grey…

It was a very grey affair on Friday… just look at those grey skies against the grey of the Rock, road & the buildings!

Relay for life

I had the privilege to pop along to the annual Relay for Life in aid of Cancer Research UK which was taking place yesterday. I wasn’t taking part, just cheering along from the sidelines. This amazing event saw about 80 teams of people walking round the track at Victoria Stradium for 24 hours from 11am yesterday to 11 am this morning – that’s some going. It is a very emotional event as many people are walking in memory of loved ones and in support of friends and family who are going through cancer at the moment. What a special thing to witness.

That’s it from me for this week, I hope you have a good one! Until next time, bye for now…

Sunday Sevens was first created by Natalie from Threads and Bobbins.

Sunday Sevens #200 11.8.19

~ Making Stitches ~ 2 Comments

Did you catch the title of this post? Sunday Sevens number 200 – eek how did that happen? Have I really been writing about what’s happened during my weeks for 200 weeks? If you have been with me from the start I reckon you deserve some kind of reward for your stamina! Thank you to everyone who’s been reading my posts for so long whether you’re a newbie to Postcard from Gibraltar or have been dipping in and out for years, I appreciate your company – thank you!

By the way, I had lots of fun walking around the town centre looking for ‘200’s for this photo collage (thank goodness Gibraltar’s dialing code is 200!!).

Here’s what we’ve been up to this week:

Beach day

Last Sunday and Monday were spent doing laundry from our trip to Portugal last week and putting our home back together after having contractors in to do some much needed jobs in our absence. Tuesday, though, was a beach day. It was lovely down at Sandy Bay. I stupidly thought that after a long summer of using factor 50 suncream I could throw caution to the wind and go down to factor 30. I was wrong. a bit of previously unexposed flesh couldn’t cope with it and I got a bit frazzled. That’ll teach me. I’m back on The factor 50.

Market day in La Linea

I’m on the hunt for some fabric to recover our dining room chairs. I have a design in my mind and headed to La Linda’s Wednesday market to try and buy some. Unfortunately the stall holders didn’t have what I wanted. We did have a nice lunch at Cafe Modelo in La Linea town centre (their chips are really rather nice) and had a bit of a walk about – it made a nice change,

Lovely sunset

On Wednesday evening we enjoyed a glorious sunset over the Bay. The photo doesn’t really do it justice.

Thursday swim

I took the Little Postcards to the Europa open air pool on Thursday, it was lovely. I didn’t take any photos in the pool but am always amazed at the waterfall above it.

Bougainvillea blooms

I have included this bougainvillea a few times in Sunday Sevens over the years. It always seems to be in bloom and was laden with flowers when we walk past it this week.

Squeezing the last bit out of the day

On Friday we stayed on the beach until the last rays of sunshine had disappeared over the Rock. The Little Postcards were having so much fun in the sea and burying each other in the sand. It seemed such a shame to leave.

Busy day in the Bay

I happened to look out of the window yesterday and thought it looked really rather busy out in the Bay. There were ferries heading back and to to Morocco and tankers bunkering in Gibraltar waters as well as huge container ships heading to Algeciras port. I think the only day it’s quiet out there is Christmas Day.

And that brings this week’s 200th Sunday Sevens to a close.

I forgot to include this last week… here’s a little compilation of my July highlights.

Sunday Sevens was first created by Natalie from Threads and Bobbins.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday – no – Saturday Sevens – no – Fives #198 27.7.19

~ Making Stitches ~ 7 Comments

Hello all, this week I’m ringing the changes, Sunday Sevens is making an appearance a day early… I shall explain why at the end!

Tortilla fail

Last Sunday I attempted to make a Spanish Tortilla or Torta de Patata as it’s know round these parts… I failed! It didn’t taste too bad with the burned bits cut off… my Gibraltarian friends will despair of me!

Blue skies in Blighty

I can’t take credit for this beautiful photo, it was sent to me by my Dad as he and my Mum took a walk along a canal tow-path in Cheshire. I have his permission to feature it in this week’s Sunday Saturday Sevens Fives. We have had some very humid weather in Gibraltar this week, but I know that it’s been sizzling in the UK, with temperatures higher than we’ve experienced.

Saharan dust sunset

This beautiful sunset caught my eye one evening this week – Wednesday I think. It was a stunner, thanks to the Saharan dust which is knocking about a lot at the moment.

Evening stroll by the sea

This week has been rather hectic in our apartment, we have got some contractors coming in to do some much needed work. As a consequence I have spent a lot of time over the past few days packing our things/junk and moving them into rooms which won’t be touched by the workers.

First world problems I know, but it’s been a bit crazy added to the fact I have 3 young men at home who were hoping to spend some time at the beach this week but were stuck indoors while I did jobs and Mr Postcard has been away with work. To try and make up for the fact we had been in a hot sweaty flat all day I took them out for a walk to Catalan Bay on Thursday evening and we stopped off for an ice cream after dinner. Not quite the beach day I’d promised them at the start of the week, but it will have to do!

Restful sleeping environment – not

And this, my friends is the view from my side of the bed. Most of the contents of the lounge are in our bedroom. The flat is in chaos and I’m a bit frazzled with it all, so I’ve decided to take a week off my phone and try to unwind a bit after a rather stressy week. That’s why this week’s Sunday Sevens is actually a Saturday Fives – and not the most uplifting one either – apologies for that!

I’ll be back again next Sunday, all being well, and between now and then I’m going offline – I’m not being rude – just reclaiming my sanity after a busy few days. See you on the other side x

Sunday Sevens #197 21.7.19

~ Making Stitches ~ Leave a comment

Hello there! I hope you’ve had a good week! Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens, seven pictures from the last seven days….

Beautiful building

I had a meeting in this beautiful old building on Monday. I have walked past it countless times on my wanders around Gibraltar but never set foot inside before. Wow, what a stunning staircase!

Sunshine through the green!

I drove past this banana (I think) leaf on Tuesday and the sunlight shining through it caught my eye. When I walked past it later, I had to take a photo!

Marbella

We had a midweek trip to Marbella. The old town is just so pretty.

The breakfast of champions

We went out for breakfast on Thursday morning – what a treat! Never had new potatoes with my eggs Benedict before… it was delicious though!

Levanter galore!

It was a rather grey but humid day on Friday. We went to the beach… it was rather quiet! (I wonder why?!) The Little Postcards enjoyed themselves in spite of the weather.

Beautiful bougainvillea

I walk past this beautiful bougainvillea every so often and it almost all year round looks fab. We’ve had mixed results when we’ve tried to grow it – this one gets a gold star!

And that’s all from me for this week. I hope it’s been a good one for you.

Sunday Sevens was first created by Natalie from Threads and Bobbins.

Sunday Sevens #192 23.6.19

~ Making Stitches ~ 2 Comments

Hello there! It’s Sunday Sevens time again. Here we are on our last weekend before School breaks up for summer for 9 loooooong weeks! Not sure what state we’ll all be in by the time September comes around – I feel a another summer craft challenge coming on….

Bank holiday on the beach

It was a bank holiday here in Gibraltar on Monday in honour of the Queen’s birthday. We headed down to the beach for the first time this year, and so did everyone else by the looks of it!! I also indulged in a spot of alfresco crochet, a bit of bank holiday bobbling on the beach!

I managed a bit of bobbling on the bus home too!

Photo of the day!

This photo which I used for my #52fridayphotos photo challenge last week got noticed by an Instagram account which showcases nice photos of Gibraltar… and I won photo of the day this week! What a lovely surprise 😊.

More street art

A few weeks ago I shared a couple of photos of recent additions of street art ( a sloth & a ginger cat). This huge and rather lovely piece of art has appeared on hoardings around the old police station on Irish Town. Much better than a plain old hoarding don’t you think?!

Lunch with friends

I had a lovely afternoon with friends this week on Queensway Quay. It had been too long since our last meet up. We had a lovely chat.

Comedy in a cave.

The Mancunian comedian, Jason Manford, came to Gibraltar this week. He did four shows in St Michael’s Cave in the Upper Rock. We went along to his first show and had a really good giggle. It was fabulous, and the cave is a stunning venue for an event. The evening was rounded off with a lovely sunset as we emerged from the cave…

New old pool

Gibraltar has a new/old pool! The Nuffield Pool, which was owned by the MoD was handed back to the Gibraltar Government a couple of years ago and very sadly it was left unused. This summer it has been smartened up again and this time is open to the public – not just military personnel and their families. It opened on Friday – I’m looking forward to our first trip!

Sunset flight

Last night as we were sitting out on our balcony watching the world go by a plane took off from Gibraltar airport and flew by. What a lovely time to fly!

And there you have it, seven photos from the last seven days (who’s counting?!). Sunday Sevens was first created by Natalie from Threads and Bobbins.

Sunday Sevens #191 16.6.19

~ Making Stitches ~ Leave a comment

Hello there! This week has been a rather busy one, the last week of full days for school children here in Gibraltar (read parents dashing around frantically to get as much done as possible) and I went home to see my Mum & Dad. Here goes this week’s Sunday Sevens – seven (or more) photos from the last seven days…

Leaving on a jet plane…

Last Sunday I caught a flight back home to Manchester to see my parents. Mum hasn’t been too well recently and was in hospital awaiting an operation the previous week. She was allowed home for 24 hours at the weekend, so I was able to have some time with her on Sunday before she headed back… it was lovely to see them both.

Birdy art work

Mum was in the Manchester Royal Infirmary, which is right next door to the Manchester Eye Hospital. My Dad took me on a detour to see these seagulls in the back of the main entrance of the Eye Hospital. There used to be a whole wall full of them but now these are the only ones left. My very talented little brother made them with a friend as a commission for the hospital. I’m glad I got to see some of them at least in situ!

Memories of last summer..

Did you see my post last year about the Bee in the City trail around Manchester? I didn’t see this Bee last year, s/he’s now living in the vestibule area of the Manchester Eye Hospital.

You had one job…

On one of our many trips back and to from hospital visiting hours, I spotted this sign on the entrance to a car wash. It really cracked me up. Not sure whether the car wash was operated by the Knights who say Ni?

Heading home

Mum had her op on Monday, I’m pleased to report it went well. She was allowed home on Tuesday. I was really grateful that I was able to be there and to spend some time with her, my Dad and brother. The staff at the MRI were wonderful and we’re so grateful for all their care and attention.

On Wednesday I flew home to Gibraltar early in the morning. As we climbed through the rain clouds above Manchester I spotted the shadow of our plane on the blanket of clouds below.

Last art lesson

I went to my last watercolour lesson this week. I’ve been going to my lessons, which I have greatly enjoyed for about 5 years now. I always finish for the summer once the children go on half days and have quite a few other things lined up for the autumn so I have decided to finish my lessons. I will still paint when I have the chance, but my formal lessons have come to an end. My slightly distracted attempt at a daisy on Thursday perhaps wasn’t a great example of 5 years of classes, but never mind!

Back in the crochet zone!

I don’t think I’ve picked up my crochet hook since the Easter school holidays. I’ve been very busy with all sorts going on and when I’ve had free time, I’ve not been in the right frame of mind to do it. Yesterday, for the first time I was in the mood, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting back into my Coastal Crochet CAL.

So that brings this week’s Sunday Sevens to a close. We’re off out for a Father’s Day meal with Mr Postcard now, and I wish all Dads out there a happy day (my own Dad included). I spoke to my Mum this morning and she’s sounding better and brighter every day. I’m sure she’ll be back to her old self very soon.

Have a lovely week!

Sunday Sevens was created by Natalie from Threads and Bobbins.

Sunday Sevens #189 2.6.19

~ Making Stitches ~ Leave a comment

Hello there and welcome to the first Sunday Sevens of June! Wowzers, June already! That came around quickly…

Here’s this week’s edition of Sunday Sevens, seven photos from the past seven days:

A morning stroll

One morning this week I found myself wandering around Upper Town. It was glorious up there, the views are amazing.

The sewing begins!

After weeks of pattern cutting, hole disguising and tweaking lining, sewing began in earnest this week at my dressmaking class. I think I’m going to like this top once it’s finished!

Walking on the runway

On Wednesday I had a meeting on the northern side of the runway and had a stroll across it in the sunshine to get there. It never ceases to amaze me that here in Gib, you can actually walk across the runway… I was stopped from crossing on the way back while we waited for a rather sleek private jet to take off before I could head home.

Empowering women

I attended a very inspiring event this week put on by Start Up Grind Gibraltar. It featured successful professional women talking about how they got to where they are and what needs to be done to help more women succeed. It was a great event, and reminded me to just go for it! (I’m not yet sure what ‘it’ is though!)

Bowling fun

On Thursday, the kids had the day off school for Ascension Day. They didn’t want to go to the beach or the park, so we went bowling instead. We will be hosting the Island Games in Gibraltar next month and as bowling is one of the sports on offer, our bowling alley has had a bit of a makeover. It got our seal of approval.

A mahoosive boat

This week I have spent rather a lot of time working at my laptop on the dining table and whilst looking for inspiration I’ve gazed out of the window and I have seen so many boats. There was a very striking yacht with black sails, another yacht which quickly wound in its sails to cope with strong winds, and then, yesterday, this huge container ship came past our window. Just check out how big it is compared to the dolphin safari boat which you can see to the right of the picture.

Sewing the Rock of Gibraltar

I spent a rather fun few hours yesterday doing a spot of sewing. I have been so busy with work stuff lately that crafty fun time has been very low on the agenda. I haven’t picked up my crochet hook in weeks – but that will change soon I hope! I had fun working on this Rock of Gibraltar for a project I’ll tell you about next week.

And that’s it from Sunday Sevens for another week. I’m afraid Postcard from Gibraltar has been rather neglected of late as I have had so much other stuff going on. I’m sure that things will get back to normal again once we head further into the summer (I hope).

Whatever you’re up to this week, I hope it’s a good one for you.

Sunday Sevens was created by Natalie from Threads and Bobbins.

Sunday Sevens #188 26.5.19

~ Making Stitches ~ 2 Comments

Hello there, Sunday Sevens has made it back to a Sunday! It’s been another extremely busy week at this end, with a school sports day, an inservice day, and now we’re halfway through a bank holiday weekend. I had to put an extra page in my diary this week to allow for all the things we’ve had going on! I’ll be glad when summer comes and things quieten down a little – I hope!

Med Steps 5 weekend

Last weekend was Med Steps 5 weekend. In previous years the fundraising event ran just on the Saturday. This year though, there was a family event on the Sunday. Children were given a Med Steps passport to complete along the route and were awarded medals at the end.bThis brilliant event, as always, raised funds for the wonderful Cancer Relief Centre in Gibraltar.

One very big boat

Do you remember that in last week’s Sunday Sevens I told you about this big boat? Well this week it even had a helicopter on the top! And I hear it belongs to Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook fame.

Last rays of sunshine

I happened to step out onto the balcony just at the right time to spot the sun about to dip down behind the hills across the Bay from our house one evening. It’s at times like this that I’m so grateful for where we live.

Street art

This little chap has been all over social media in Gibraltar lately. The sloth has been painted onto some hoardings around building work and I happened to walk past him mid week for the first time. Moments later I spotted this lovely cat too just a bit further on!

Jacaranda galore

This year I’ve noticed just how many Jacaranda trees there are in Gibraltar. I have been trying to photograph one with it’s gorgeous blue/violet blossom for the past couple of weeks but normally the background has been blue sky which didn’t display the colour of the blossom well. I spotted this one on Main Street and the building behind it showed it off to great effect.

Polling Day

I’m sitting here in front of the TV this evening watching BBC coverage of the European elections whilst simultaneously watching the local coverage from the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation on my tablet. We, in Gibraltar went to the polls like the rest of the UK on Thursday. Gibraltar is eligible to vote as part of the South West region of Great Britain. Gibraltar voted overwhelmingly (76% of the Vote) for the Liberal Democrats – the party leader, Sir Vince Cable was in Gibraltar to campaign just a week or so ago on a pro-Remain ticket, there was even a Gibraltarian candidate standing as a Lib Dem MEP.

Beautiful botanical gardens!

We took a walk through the beautiful botanical gardens yesterday. No matter what the weather or the time of year, it’s always special here!

That’s all for Sunday Sevens for this week, thanks very much for stopping by.

Sunday Sevens was created by Natalie from Threads and Bobbins.

Sunday Sevens #186 12.5.19

~ Making Stitches ~ Leave a comment

I completely forgot about Sunday Sevens this week, here’s a rather short and rushed one!

Sunset shot

I spotted this lovely sunset on Sunday evening last week.

Dressmaking class

This week I was going rather cross eyed while I tacked the lace I’m using to make a top to the lining using an identical coloured cotton. Most of the tacking is now done, hopefully I can get sewing soon!

Art class

I’ve lost my painting mojo a bit of late. This was the best of a bad lot this week at my watercolour class…

Visitors

We’ve had some family over to visit this week, which has been lovely. This was as we crossed the runway to pick them up from the airport.

Med Steps

What do you do when you have visitors to the Rock? Drag them up the Med Steps of course!! Shame we picked the hottest day of the year so far to do it… 26.9 degrees Celsius. It was rather warm up there!

Upper Rock wildlife

Whilst taking a breather on our trip up the Rock I heard some rustling in the leaves. First of all I thought it was a snake but then I spied legs! It was the biggest lizard I’ve seen during my time here in Gibraltar.

Convent Garden Party

One of my first ever blog posts was written after visiting this beautiful garden, the Convent garden. The Convent, which is where the Gibraltar Governor lives is a beautiful place, a real oasis in a rather built up place.

And that is a rather rushed Sunday Sevens for this week, I hope it’s been a good one for you.

Sunday Sevens was first created by Natalie from Threads and Bobbins.