Tuesday 22nd January...

I was up early this morning and took the opportunity to capture the sun rising over the back of the Between Friends/Medlife development which is across the field which is outside our back door.

It was the precursor to a beautiful day.  The Moving Gods have been very kind to Vix and Trev - giving a sufficient lull in the awful weather in the UK to allow them to fly out on Saturday without any sort of delay before the 'snowbomb' that is being forecast for this weekend and then rewarding them with fine weather for their first few days settling in - let's hope it remains fair for the day their worldly goods arrive which is later this week.

We were having an 'at home' day getting some maintenance jobs done before Mum and Dad came over for a meal and a sleep-over and a chance to see the new sofas of course!

We decided, as it looked like it would be a good drying day, to tackle the kitchen ceiling.  Last year the winter speckles upset me hugely because I thought it was only our house that suffered with damp and condensation but during our time here we have come to realise that this is just a sad fact of Cypriot life.

Because of the concrete flat roof above the kitchen and the extremes of temperature and cooking we get condensation and in places it manifests itself as speckly mould which appears through the paintwork and which we wipe away with some sort of spray bleach stuff (which John got in his eyes last year) and which disappears, reappears and then goes on its holiday during the summer.  

We had bought some special kitchen ceiling sealant stuff from Glykkis which meant that we had to clean all the surfaces and then paint this sticky resinous compound all over before painting once it was completely dry.  We have done the first coat and the ceiling now looks like we have been puffing away on Capstan Full Strength for the duration of our lives here in 10B - I know we have to wait but the sooner it gets painted over the better in my opinion.

It really was the most glorious day for so early in January - when I look back at this time last year we were experiencing hard frosts!!!  You feel so much more energised with the sun is shining and it is warm so having done the ceiling we got the bedroom ready for Mum and Dad.

I took the opportunity to get our bedding washed and out on the line - that is such a guilty pleasure of mine because hung out and dried correctly they can go back on the bed with no ironing required!!!

John on the other hand was sorting out the wood store so that we can see exactly what we have got left for this winter and decided to liberate a branch that has been sitting the in the field next door for months.  We were doing really well with the wood store and sorting out and cutting up purloined loggage when something went ping on the chainsaw and it stopped - a bit had broken off and it will have to go back down to Glykkis for a replacement part.  John was not impressed because he had only got the chain sharpened on Monday and was enjoying using it!  In fact it came in very handy when someone came to look at the plots in the field next door because the drone of a chainsaw hardly lends itself to a peaceful ambiance!  We are not that lucky and the viewer was probably deaf in any case.

As I said Mum and Dad came over this afternoon and we sat out in the conservatory until it was time for tea when John got the wood burner lit and we came inside to a lovely warm and cosy atmosphere.  I had used the chicken Mum gave me at the weekend and made a chicken casserole with lots of veggies in it and served it with hasselback potatoes, peas and cabbage and it was very nice.  In fact there was quite a lot left and as Dad is going to visit Frank tomorrow I put together a lunch for Frank as I am sure he will appreciate some home-cooked food.

 

My last picture is to show you what Minnie Mou thinks of the new sofa - it seems to have got her seal of approval - little fatso that she is!!

Always mindful that it is considerably cooler up here than down in Emba we put the heater on in Mum and Dad's bedroom and the electric blanket so that they have a lovely warm bed to slip into.

Mum always says she sleeps well up here anyway because the shutters make the room darker and it is quieter.