Catching up with the Kirby's...

We had so much planned for today and the weather put the mockers on it good and proper.  John was going down to Emba to help remove two trees outside Mum and Dad's old house but it was far too wet to use his chainsaw safely.  What is ironic is that when Mum and Dad had the house built three spaces were left in the pavement where they were obliged to plant trees - presumably in an attempt to make sure that developments retained some 'green' where plenty of green had been removed.  Many years ago John and I purchased three trees to fill those gaps and two of those trees are the ones which Nicky and Mark want removing as they are now beginning to damage the boundary wall.  The third tree has long gone!  So whilst John was down being a lumberjack in Emba Nicky was coming up to Droushia and she and I were going out with our cameras taking pictures.  I wanted to pick her brains about how I could have taken better pictures of the rally cars last Sunday as I had wanted to try and capture the feeling of the speed of the cars.

We now have a 'sandbag' of sorts outside the front door to stem the flow of rain water.  Mum will recognise the fabric as we used two pillowcases that she had given us - in fact she gave us some duvet covers and pillowcases and they seemed to be the best thing to use.  Prodromi Pam put her sewing machine to good use to create the bag and we liberated some sand to fill it.  It has already been tested and has done a good job - only trouble is that it creates a right old trip hazard when we are not using it!

So due to the weather we spent the day indoors when we had been expecting to do other things.  It wasn't the end of the world as we can always find things to do/watch or read but it was a bit of a shame as I had been looking forward to spending the day with Nicky.

The roses which Crafty Jane brought me on Monday have come into their own and are looking absolutely stunning.  It makes me realise how much we have missed not having fresh flowers in the house.  When we lived in Yeovil John often went and visited the flower guy who set up in King George Street between Barclays Bank and the Post Office and got a bunch or two to brighten up the married quarters - that seems like a lifetime ago now!

In the evening we made our way down to Emba via Peyia as it is a more scenic route but we began to doubt our decision when we followed a driver who was three sheets to the wind, how he never killed himself we will never know but I will tell you about that another time!

It is a little strange to go back into Mum and Dad's old house but we are happy that it was bought by Nicky and Mark who obviously love it as much as Mum and Dad did when they lived there.  Nicky and Mark are gradually stamping their own personality on the space and we like what they have done.

Their house has recently been made a home when they were adopted by a stray cat which has been named Alfie and who is a real cutie - full of fluff and attitude!!  He certainly knew what he was doing when he chose the Kirby's as his new keepers!!

I have probably said before that Nicky is an accomplished cook and so we always look forward to going down for a meal.  Mark has had a number of health issues recently including very elevated cholesterol and blood sugar.  He has been very good about keeping to his prescribed diet and is looking all the better for it.  I guess this is something that we all have to look forward to as we get older which is a bit of a bugger to say the least!  Still as I say Mark took the warning signs seriously and all credit to him on that score.  Nicky is also looking good - I expect that now the pressure of continuous weddings has abated she can relax a bit more.  As always we had a lovely evening with them, great food and great company and we are hoping to return the favour before Christmas is upon us.