Catching up...

Back to normal now so I can catch up on what has been going on this week...

...on Monday we were due to have a visit from Mum and Dad and Ed and Viv who used to live next door to them in Lakoudia Street prior to George and Elizabeth.  Unfortunately Ed has done his back in so they weren't able to make it which left us with the day to ourselves and a chance to catch up on admin matters.

We shot off into Polis this morning and I just grabbed the Bloody B rather than my proper camera to record the day's events.  

First stop was the woodyard as John needed some more wood for the pergola.  

This time he remembered to take the tape measure and saw with him so that he could cut the wood into manageable lengths so that it would fit into the car.

Next stop was the dentists - John had a mishap with the fillings in his front teeth (they fell out) so he was keen to get them sorted sooner rather than later.  

We had found the sign for the dentists and located it in a rather inauspicious block of flats but we were rather pleasantly surprised by the interior when we got inside.  Half an hour later we understood why she was able to have such lovely furnishings as the two little fillings set us back €92.  Fortunately we have private medical insurance that takes care of that and will also cover the two check-ups and clean/polish later in the week - we will then spend the next few months checking out if there is anywhere else in the locality that is cheaper - we know that there is a dentist that pitches up at the hospital so that might be the best bet.

Some boring shopping was followed by the reward of lunch sat in the sun at To Karabani - beef gyros and chips to share and a frappe each!  As we were pulling out of the carpark I said to John that I had really enjoyed my €3 lunch and he quipped that it was even cheaper as he had just realised that we had left without paying!!!  He turned round immediately as the oversight was completely unintentional and I ran in to pay.  Yaya wasn't a bit concerned and said it didn't matter as she knew she would see us again!

As I was off to Nicosia early in the morning with Mum and a load of others I packed up my stuff and headed off for Emba.

On the way through Kathikas I stopped to take a photograph of this tree - do you know what it is???  It has obviously now lost its leaves for the autumn but the fruit remains and this is a Persimmon or Sharon Fruit.  

There are about three trees next to one another which are absolutely laden with fruit and no-one seems to do anything with them! They are the most stunning colours and I am fascinated as to why they have been left untouched because I absolutely love them and they are expensive in the supermarkets!!!!

I took the opportunity to stop off at the Euro Shop to pick up some bits and pieces - batteries, gas clicky lighter thing and candles - and to visit the DIY shop next door because I wanted to see if they had the price for the triplex sheets for the gazebo and John had seen a panel heater which he thought would be good for the bathroom.  Apparently these eco-heater convection panels are very efficient although Dad is not convinced that it is going to make much difference in the bathroom but we decided we would give it a go.  We are so limited to space that something which sits flat against the wall seems an attractive choice.  I will let you know how we get on but this is the selling pitch "ECO Heater - 400 Watt Electric Wall Panel Heater Save up to 50% or more on your total heating costs. The ECO heater uses one-third the energy of other room heaters. Can be painted to match any room. This high efficiency wall panel heater offers out of the way wall mounting and is a very economical way of providing room heating at a low cost. Air between the ECO heater and the wall heats quickly and rises, drawing in cool air from the bottom. the ECO heater soon has warm air is circulating throughout the room. The ECO heater panel heater uses about the same electricity as four 100 watt light bulbs."

After a very nice meal we all settled down to watch some TV - Mum and I enjoyed the Big Bread Experiment on BBC2 - I don't quite know why Dad looks like he has had a stroke but apparently he sits like that quite often when he is doing a Sudoku!!

An early night was in order as we had to be off and out at 7.30am!!