Sunday April 21st...

It started out as quite a nice day today which was good as Mum and Dad were coming up early.  We had suggested a walk or something before lunch and at Badders the other day Prodromi Pam had mentioned a Spring Fayre at the Akamanthea so we thought Mum might be interested.  

The cats were in full on play mode - John reckons that the raw liver we feed them makes them hyper and he might not be wrong.  Minnie Mou will smell nice as she was ferreting around in the mint this morning with Chivers watching on.  She was after one of those huge locust like grasshoppers which she managed to catch and remove one leg and then leave it to limp off.

I have a number of craft projects in mind at the moment and have been sorting out the pebbles and drift wood that I have found.  I have quite a collection of 'heart' pebbles which look really attractive but I need a way to display them to their best.

One of the projects needs pebbles with a hole in them - another needs flat smooth oval pebbles.  I thought I would drag Mum down to the beach later to help me find what I am looking for.  She generally likes a bit of a walk and some fresh air so I didn't think she would mind!

I also need more fir cones for around the gazebo in the back garden where I have scattered them to hide the shingle.  There are plenty up by the school in the village so if we didn't get to the beach that was somewhere else that I could go with Mum.

Mum and Dad arrived mid morning.  John had been baking and I will add the recipe to the blog in due course but he had baked a Wheatabix cake.  A Wheatabix cake I hear you ask?  Yes, a Wheatabix cake which is a great way of using up old Wheatabix.  It makes a sort of tea loaf which would be scummy served hot or, as it ages, with a smear of butter on top!  Plus it has no added fat which must be a bonus.

Mum was more than happy to come with us to the Akamanthea - Dad chose to stay at home with a Soduko to keep him company!  We called into the Droushia Heights Hotel so that Mum could see what the newly refurbished hotel looked like and to introduce her to Irene (who seems to be the Manager) so that Irene would know who she was when she and Dad attend the lecture being held there next Friday.  The lecture is about the Flora of the Akamas and will probably be quite interesting but we have a busy (and expensive) week ahead so we are giving it a miss. Mum and Dad are attending with Trish and Alan Powney. 

As we left the Droushia Heights the weather in Droushia was taking a turn for the worse so we were glad to be driving away from it.  When we got to the Fayre the weather in Latchi was bright and sunny although the clouds were moving quickly down the hill. There wasn't a huge amount at the Fayre which we wanted although John did win me a stunning geranium on the tombola.

We had a good old look around the Akamanthea and were very impressed by the resort.  It was very attractive and spotlessly clean.  John and I had looked at it as a prospective place for his family to stay when they come over but it was a little expensive when the flights were added.  

As we left the Fayre people were beginning to pack up as the threat of rain became more of a possibility.  We travelled along the coast and parked up at La Plage so that we could go beachcombing.

 Mum was in charge of finding heart shaped pebbles or pebbles that had a hole going through them.

John was in charge of finding palmate shaped pebbles that could be used to represent leaves.

I told Mum that I wouldn't feed her until she had found what I was looking for!  

You can't believe, looking at the photographs, that within minutes the weather had changed dramatically and as we made our way home and passed through Prodromi we saw a line in the road which showed where the rain started.  As we made our way back up the hill the weather got worse and back in Droushia it was feeling like the middle of winter.

As we climbed the hill and passed by where Andreas is having his house built I thought I saw a Golden Oriole - I wasn't going to say anything because I wasn't sure and, only last night, we had seen them in a bird book at Wheelies and John had said that he couldn't believe you would see these in Cyprus.  I did say something and when I did we saw four suddenly fly past - unbelievable!  They are a really attractive bird and I will fess up and say that is not my photograph - I found it on tintyweb.

We got home ready for our lunch/dinner - this week I had made a meatloaf which has become John's favourite as it is lovely hot with salad or veg and equally nice cold in a pitta - it's quick and easy but I have made three so far and all three have been different.

I had washed the cat's old basket which has been in the hidey hole outside and which Fluffer has been sleeping in but she has stopped coming since Sean and Sharon went home.  I washed it because it was damp from all the rain and covered in fur and had put it in the conservatory to dry and Chivers had found it and commandeered it as his own.  There is something not quite right with him at the moment but I can't put my finger on it but he doesn't rush for his breakfast and that always indicates an issue.

As you know we have always played cards with Mum and Dad.  We used to always play cribbage and then we moved on to Noms - both games have filled many an evening over that past I don't know how many years!

Tonight we revisited Canasta - not a good idea when you have had a bucket full of Kolios Rose but hey who was counting? Let's just say that Dad and I came in second!!

Managed to speak to my sister Kaye on Skype tonight.  She is looking well and looking forward to catching up with son Matthew in Dubai for his 30th birthday.

What on earth am I going to buy my godson on his 30th birthday when he is living it up big stylee in Dubai - answers on a postcard please!!!