Fingers crossed it remains dry...

I am up at 5.30 this morning catching up on my blog.  The reason for this? Fothergill is keeping me awake - my own fault as I forgot to take some tablets before going to bed last night and I am now regretting that decision.

So back to Tuesday and we had our fingers crossed that it was going to remain nice all day - the weather forecast had shown it as quite changeable but it has been nearly a week since the flat roof work was started and we were keen to get it moving forward particularly if we are to have the outside of the house painted soon.  Carrying buckets of cement up and down the ladder has not been without some spillage so we don't want that to happen down clean new paintwork!

I have a question for my readers - does anyone know what the wooden box-type structure is in the picture on the left?  I took a photograph of it the other day when I was out and about walking - it has clearly been created for a specific purpose but we have had a look and cannot think what it is for because if it is to contain something that something has to be very small!  Anyway answers on a postcard please!!!


Out in the garden we have another mystery as the bougainvillea (which we thought had perished due to the snow earlier in the year) is flowering at long last (and yes I know that these aren't technically the flowers) it appears to have both pink and red flowers - initially I thought that the red bracts were fading to pink before they dropped off but having checked this out for for the last few days this is not the case so either the plant produces both colours or there were in fact two plants in the pot and I got lucky!

We have had to bring in cushions from outside because even if it is not raining there is now so much condensation at night that everything gets soaked and then gets mouldy or rots if you aren't careful.  The trouble is we have very little storage so I have to get quite creative otherwise it looks like we are living in a jumble sale...
...I have turned my craft storage box into a seat and it has got the seal of approval from Charlie immediately although he appears to be struggling to get the whole of his fat backside onto the top!




It was sunny today - in fact it remained dry all day which was great and it meant that this morning the laying of the granite tiles could be completed before we went off down to Paphos.  Poor John is suffering from RSI from cutting them and in order that we did not have a small strip down one side of the roof he chose to lay them so that there was a wider strip down both sides so it looked more aesthetically pleasing but this meant a lot more cutting was involved.

We now have our fingers crossed that it remains dry again tomorrow so that the tiles can be cleaned before they are grouted and then once grouted that will be a tick in the box.  We then have to Hammerite the railings and ladder and paint the lip all around the top of the roof and then it will be job-done and hopefully job-done for many years to come.




When George and Pam were here I mentioned to Pam that I would decorate a gourd for George and she thought he would love that as he is quite a traditionalist.

I learned the skill last year when I attended a course which was put on by the government in the village as they are keen to ensure the old traditional skills continue.  With gourd carving all the patterns used to be very geometric - a bit like you would have created if you had owned a spirograph toy when you were younger.

This classic decoration probably only appeals to a limited audience so Sheila and Klaus are branching out having grown an abundance of gourds over the summer and they are investigating different techniques for decorating the gourds which will probably make them more commercial if they want to sell them.  I am going to put my order in now for a cat!  It just goes to show that simple designs can often be the most effective!

The tile laying was completed with only minutes to spare before we had to go off down to Paphos.  John thought he had plenty of time but the morning just ran away with us so he was rather stressed as we left!

As the sun set down in Paphos we hoped that the orange skies were indicating that tomorrow would be fine and dry.  The colours were incredible - this was the view looking down Mum and Dad's drive.

Frederico has become a permanent fixture at 3B and Mum and Dad love him to bits.  Apart from going out to do whatever is necessary he seems to spend all day with them and is constantly hopeful of something to eat every time they move.  He will allow Mum to do just about anything to him which makes us think he must have belonged to someone previously.  She can wash him and he loves it - this is not a sign of a feral cat!  Nor is he the shape of a typical Cypriot cat as he is short and chunky rather than lean and leggy and god blessed him with some rather large conkers which are still intact although he never sprays - without being absolutely sure whether or not he is someone else's cat it seemed a bit of a liberty to just whisk him off an have his nuts removed plus they can be pretty sure he isn't adding to the local population because he never goes anywhere to have the time to do it!  Mum did ask at the vets about having it done but they think he is probably quite elderly.

It was dark by the time we left to come home - dark at 5.30pm - no likey! but the moon was full and huge again - we seem to have had a year of super moons.

We had to go and pick up the remainder of the tiles from the One Stop depot which is up on the industrial estate near Mum and Dad's - John had been there once before but in daylight and everything looks different in the dark even with the aid of a super moon!

The warehouse guy was waiting and remaining open for us specially so we had to find him - which we did eventually and so we had the car loaded up and had to take it steadily back home.

These tiles match the ones which have gone on the flat roof and are going to be used to tile around the poolside when we do that job - I say when because we have had little success with people getting back to us about relining the pool - we think maybe it is just too small a job for them to be bothered with.

I haven't been serious food shopping for ages and the fridge is empty!  It is a good opportunity to be creative with what is in the freezer and the store cupboards.

Tonight's gastronomic delight was sweet and sour chicken - something which we haven't had for ages - in fact I don't think I have cooked that at all since we moved out here.  It was quick, easy, hot and filling and just what the doctor ordered!

We had had sufficient sunshine today for hot water for a shower but there is a definite nip in the air at night and so it is time to bring out the onesie!!!

There is nothing nicer than snuggling into a onesie after a nice hot shower and it will only be a matter of time now before we have to succumb to a duvet on the bed - albeit only the 4.5 togger but Autumn is most definitely here.

I have had a look back on the blog at the weather for this time of year and have told John that he is banned from lighting the wood burner until December - although neighbours are here from Nicosia as it is a bank holiday tomorrow (Oxi Day) and we can smell the distinctive smell of wood smoke coming from their direction!