Saturday 12th January

After a lovely lie in and leisurely start to the day John decided it was too cold to go sitting around at Ayia Marina watching the football so we decided that we would just go to Annie's so that John could cut up some of her logs so that they fit better in her wood burner.  He had previously arranged to go and do that before going to football.  Driving down to the coast the temperature rose dramatically and by the time we got to Annie's it was very pleasant indeed sitting outside her kitchen.

John's chainsaw needs the chain sharpening so he was only able to cut a few logs so he spent time with the splitter making up a load of kindling whilst Annie and I drank coffee, ate homemade cake, watched Wilfie (her dog) and chatted.  I am hopeful that in the not too distant future we might organise a trip to Nicosia on the bus from Paphos.  I know you can do it from Polis but Annie doesn't travel that well so she prefers to drive to Paphos and bus it from there.  I have been dying to try out the bus system and everyone says that service is excellent so will have to give it a try.  She likes to go to Ledra Street and cross the border and I must admit that the last time I went with Mum and Janice I found some lovely and very reasonably priced shops on this side of Ledra Street.

When we had finished at Annie's I persuaded John to stop at the picnic site in Argaka so that I could go down onto the beach to find some pebbles for my next craft project.  This area is very near the copper mines at Limni so the beach is often a strange colour and you can find some very odd pebbles there which look like they have been molten at some point as they are knobbly and as John calls them 'Jurassic' which will be ideal for recreating the skeleton of a gecko! 

We didn't hang round too long because we were going out early for a meal at Elaine and Paul's (Nessa and Dave Coaches).  Their house is called The Lodge and is a very pretty house which Elaine has decorated and furnished with beautiful pieces some from her time working in the Middle East.  There is a comfortable and cosy feel which she calls Shabby Chic and I love it. 

Even though twelfth night has passed Elaine still has plenty of her Christmas decorations still up (they take her four days to erect!!!) but this is because she has a visitor coming in a couple of days.

So here is Elaine and I standing in front of one of her two beautifully decorated Christmas trees and I know I look like I have a big old glass of wine in my hand but this was for the photograph only as it was my turn to drive tonight and the road down to Akourdalia is very windy indeed and the last time we went it was raining so badly that John got soaked running to the car.  No rain today just a cold crisp evening with some lightning evident in the clouds.

So this is a view of the lounge where all the accessories pick up the vibrant red colours that are evident in the beautiful Sanderson curtains which would not be everyone's taste but matched with the Turkish rug and striped sit up and beg armchair worked beautifully.

This is the view from the sit up and beg chair - I fell in love with the coffee table which was ornate and had a glass top so that you could display things underneath.  They have divided the living space into small rooms which can be closed off in the winter to retain the heat and then opened up in the Summer to take advantage of the sun.

We were eating in what had been an outside patio area underneath the bedroom balcony but which has now been enclosed and makes for a comfortable and stylish dining area - helped by Elaine's impeccable artistic flair for furnishings.  

We had a lovely meal which started with a homemade tomato soup which Elaine had made from the remainder of their tomatoes which she picked this weekend - the beginning of January!!!  Paul said that they had grown like triffids and had repaid them with loads and loads of fruit.  Then followed succulent lamb with roast potatoes, parsnips, cauliflower, broccoli and carrots.  Paul had cooked the lamb in a cook-bag with herbs and wine and it was beautiful without any fat and without the strong flavour that I normally associate with Cypriot lamb.  I shall have to give it a go!!

We took our pud in the lounge sat round the log fire.  It was a homemade roulade with summer fruits and was yummy.  John was gutted when he realised on the way home that he had forgotten his doggy bag.

Although Elaine is an early to bed person she stayed wide awake last night and before we knew it it was nearly 11.00pm!

We had asked them to join us on the charity race night which Bryn from the badminton club is organising and which John is keen to support.  It looks like the Wheelies and the Springates will make up the numbers.

We had put our electric blanket on timer last night but had not anticipated being quite so late home so we stayed up for a while to give it a chance to reheat the bed.

Dad had sent an email with a copy of an article he had seen in the Cyprus Weekly regarding two viruses which are affecting cats over here.  It referred to Panleukopenia and Chivers seemed to demonstrate all the symptoms except for a fever.  Apparently it can be spread by fleas and can survive for longer than one year in a suitable environment.  The virus primarily attacks the lining of the gastrointestinal tract causing internal ulceration and, ultimately, total sloughing of the intestinal ephithelium.  This results in profuse and usually bloody diarrhea, severe dehydration, malnutrition, anemia and often death. It causes a decrease in the cat's white blood cells thus compromising its immune system. Other symptoms include depression, lethargy, loss of appetite, fever, vomiting, loss of skin elasticity due to dehydration.  Affected cats may sit for hours at their water bowl, although they may not drink much.  Feline panleukopenia requires aggressive treatment if the cat is to survive, as this disease can kill cats in less than 24 hours. Treatment often involves whole blood transfusion to improve pancytopenia, intravenous fluids as most cats are dehydrated, injections of vitamins A, B, and C, IV antibiotics to prevent septicemia, which develops in most cats with feline panleukopenia if antibiotics are not used, and hospitalization.  Now we aren't sure that this is what Chivers had but we are really really glad that he seems to have got over it.