Thursday February 28th...

Night times are getting me down.  I didn't drink yesterday as I was driver, not that I felt like it anyway and all I wanted was a decent night's sleep but it was not to be, hack hack hack, snore snore snore - guess which one was me and which one was John??  Added to that it was extremely windy - no sign of the lovely weather we have been experiencing for the last couple of days.  It must have been very windy as there were white horses on the coast down at Argaka and that next to never happens.

The wind did not put off my lovely daffodils from fully opening - thank you Mark (and Laura) - they look lovely and are brightening up the garden no end.  I have planted them down the pathway that leads towards the garden shed and am hopeful that they will survive and multiply over the years.

On the subject of plants these are the two that I bought from the nursery in Ayia Marina yesterday.

The one on the left is an outdoor trailing plant which he called Lotus and which has very distinctive orange flowers which look a bit like a parrot's head. 

The one on the right is an indoor plant which you see all over the place in shops and banks and which has dark green and very glossy leaves.  I didn't catch the name of this one - it was something long and complicated!!!  Anyway I need to get these potted up or planted up when we have decided where they are going to go.

Vicki was driving to pickle ball today so I had arranged to be at hers for 11.30am as we were having lunch at Mum's beforehand.  John wanted to take the bike for a spin so that was how I was getting there.  The bike took a bit of persuasion to start but it finally did.  Boy it was chilly on the road to Arodes and as we were en route I said to John it was better than having a face lift the way the wind was pulling the skin back on my face.  Just a shame it wasn't permanent.  I keep looking in the mirror and seeing how awful my skin looks - I never was blessed with nice skin having had acne from a very young age and never took a lot of care with sunburn when I was younger and now I am paying the price.  Take heed people.

We had only just arrived in Emba when Mum returned from the hospital where she was having her prolapsed heart valve checked out.  She has to go annually to make sure it isn't causing her difficulties.  So far so good.  Dad is still in pain with his hip/leg - let's hope that the physio woman in Droushia can help him as he has an appointment with her on Monday.  He was off to visit Frank today and keep him company for an hour or so.

It is good to have Mum back at pickle ball and the five of us there enjoyed some right old games.  We have just about got to grips with the limitations of the court except for the area at the back where you are in danger of hitting the bat and the fans in the ceiling!!  We do get a good workout and as I said to Vicki this is clearly a sport where you develop some finesse as you get older.  Mum is a demon spinner of the ball as is Jeff when he serves - the bugger!!

We had an early celebration for my birthday because some lucky people will not actually be here on the day.  I had plumped for the coffee shop in Steni and phoned to ask if they would kindly do ribs as it was not a Sunday.  They had said that they would - they need to marinade them for twenty four hours so need notice if they are to provide them other than on a Sunday.

John and I were joined by the Arodes Four.  Five of us had opted for the ribs and Vicki decided to choose from the menu.  I had thought that Jane and Mark had had them there before but apparently not so this was going to be a new experience for them too.  The last time we had been there with them was after a very long hot day picking olives and then we had only had a drink.

Unfortunately I had been plagued with a tickly cough all day and I was really tired so I was not at my sparkling best but I enjoyed my food and my shared bottle of wine with Mark (thanks to John for driving me) and I think everyone else enjoyed the evening.