Wednesday - a Different Crafting Venue...

This is a particularly lovely time of the year up here in Droushia as the recent rain has brought everything to life and the garden is looking green and lush.  We can now see which plants have self-seeded and where - so watch out for a Californian Poppy overload next year!!  After looking very sad indeed we cut the straggly growth off of the lemon tree and it has now put on new growth - perhaps we should have done it sooner!

 

I have been around with my little garden claw and lifted quite a lot of the weeds that have sprung up all over the place - this is now going to be a running battle I can see!!!  We still have a problem with some of the plants which seem to have rotted, or at least died from the inside out - Mum and Dad had an issue down in Emba with something they called 'ash' and we are now wondering whether or not it is the same or similar too the fungus that is affecting the Ash trees in the UK and that is why it was called 'ash'.  It is a bit of a shame really because two or three of the Gazanias are just a black mound whereas others are continuing to flower and the lovely Myrtle is hanging on by a thread with just a few green leaves clinging on valiantly.  Next spring is going to be another voyage of discovery to see what has and what has not managed to survive but at least each year I am getting a clearer picture of what I can expect with the garden.  On the plus side we seem to have a number of bulbs which are beginning to show green shoots - some will be the local indigenous plants and others, hopefully will be the daffodils, narcissi and aliums that I have planted.

 

Jeannette is currently in the UK, she has gone to visit a specialist that she hoped would be able to help her with the debilitating deep vein eczema that causes her such pain and distress - I have subsequently learnt that he is unable to help which is a great great shame for her and I know how bitterly disappointed she will have been to learn that news.  We will just have to do our best to cheer her up on her return.

 

Anyway as a result of Jeannette being away Prodromi Pam kindly offered for me to spend this morning at hers for craft.  Pam and Barry have a very pretty home in Prodromi (hence her nickname) with a very pretty courtyard and garden area at the back.  I am a real lover of the soft blue used in the shutters and the vibrant pink of the bougainvillea which I know can make a right old mess but is so quintessentially Mediterranean.  Pam was saying that their development has had an influx of potential Chinese buyers and that the other week they were all peering into her garden wanting to take photographs and at one point she had to join them!!

Their development is very attractive with a lovely pool area and being slightly elevated has far reaching views across the mountains and the sea.  It also benefits from being lower down than we are so is several degrees warmer throughout the year.

 

Prodromi Pam is currently working on a mosaic but normally she sews - she is the lady that makes handbags and has also done some sewing for us (the blinds in the conservatory, curtains in the lounge and John's shorts).  She is obviously artistic and her house is nicely furnished and co-ordinated. The dining area looked lovely and I really liked the beach hut VW picture above.  We were joined by Marmalade Annie and her dog Wilfie and were treated to a very very nice cauliflower cheese soup for lunch - sounds a bit odd I know but it was extremely tasty and you know that normally I am not overly fussed by cauliflower!  In conversation Annie said that she was going to do a Lebanese meal for a visitor and I asked her if she could make use of some of the lovely dates which Galadia had given me as they are now ready after their freezing period.  She said she could and she also wanted some figs so after lunch she followed me back home to pick up the dates and go foraging for figs with the help of John and his trusty stick.  There are still figs to be had but they are high up and generally out of reach to us short arses!

 

John had been busy in my absence having created a gate for the car port out of a couple of old pallets - this is just to make the bike less obvious.  He is so good at building things and basically making something out of nothing.  Only trouble was that at some point this morning, wearing only flip-flops, he managed to kick a pallet and looks like he may have broken his little toe - well if the colour and size is anything to go by that is!  He says he must wear proper footwear in future when he is working but he is going to struggle to get a shoe on at the moment.