Wednesday 4 November 2015

helping with homework

We were up early this morning - it was a fine and bright start to the day and John wanted to get the flat roof prepared in readiness for grouting.   There was a lot of excess guff to get rid of - this is clearly not the technical term for tile adhesive! and there were splashes of cement everywhere that we wanted to clean off.  I was given the job of cleaning the guttering which is brown normally but is currently a whiter shade of pale!

The cats love it on the roof but we have been trying to keep them away otherwise we would have a house covered in dusty white pawprints.

As I have been told on numerous occasions preparation is key - prior preparation prevents p*** poor performance!  I know that John is right but he is as precise as I am slap-dash and so we have to try and meet somewhere in the middle.

We took breakfast up on the terrace.  I am hopeful that when it is all finished we might spend a little more time up there particularly on a day like today when it was warm and sunny but not too hot.

John will need to perfect some sort of pulley system so that it is easier to get food and drink up there otherwise I can see a nasty accident happening with a hot beverage!

Not many people can say that they have hoovered their roof but we did today - every join was cleaned out and hoovered so that the grouting will go in smoothly!

Bloody hell hoovering the roof!  it is as much as I can manage to hoover the house every now and again!!

Still it was a job well done and it spurred us on to get some other jobs done that we have been talking about doing and not got round too.  From up on the flat roof it is easy to see the state of the conservatory roof and that really did need a clean on the inside and the outside.  We have 'blinds' up to filter out the bright sunshine in the summer and, having taken them down. we now realise they provide some insulation and warmth in the winter.

The original ones have been up for four years - they are long lengths of muslin which John refers to as muslim (no offence meant to anyone by this) - the plan was to remove the muslims and give them a wash but this proved a step too far this time as they started to disintegrate and so we made the decision that it was time to go and we will have to go and get something to replace them and sooner rather than later.

With nothing up on the roof we could see just how dirty the glass had become so John decided to give it all a clean - it was not on his to-do list but we reckoned he could add it and cross it out as being done at the same time!

It is not easy trying to clean the glass and normally with the blinds up you can't see it anyway but it felt good to get it done.  As you can see by this time it is beginning to cloud over in Drouseia - typical!  Still no sign of rain though thank goodness.

I couldn't really help John with the conservatory roof except for being around to switch the water on and off so I left him to it.

The decking area by the kitchen had been cleared whilst the flat roof was being tiled so that the table and chairs etc didn't get covered in guff but as the job was nearing completion John said everything could go back which is good because the garden won't look so messy with furniture everywhere.

I cleaned down the wood and gave it a good sweep and a very Cypriot wash with the hose and decided to give the Solanum and cut back before putting the table and chairs back in place.  I cannot believe how quickly this grows - I reckon it gets a haircut every week to keep it in shape.  This is one of the few original plants left in the garden and John built the decking around it as I wanted to keep it.


Today Boris has discovered the craft-box-come-seating-area which has been created but unlike Charlie he can get his more sylph-like figure onto the cushions without his bum hanging over the side!!!

As I couldn't help with the grouting I decided to get on with some more painting in the house.  Most of the rooms have very high ceilings so I need John for that but the area outside the bathroom is manageable with a step-ladder and it was in need of a freshen up so it got a lick of magnolia throughout and looks better for it.  I then went on to tackle the three remaining walls in the spare bedroom doing as much as I could reach.

The green accent wall is growing on me - it is fresh and clean and makes the bedroom appear lighter so it will do for now and once the other walls are magnolia then changing the colour behind the bed isn't going to be a major exercise.

Good news we got a phonecall from Tony today to say that he plans to start the painting of the outside of the house on Friday so that will dovetail in nicely with the other work being done and also good news someone is coming tomorrow to take a look at the pool project so things are moving at last.



Having done all the painting that I could manage I shot off down the road to feed John and Susan's cat Millie as they are away for a few days participating in a charity bike ride which will take them from Arodes to Mount Olympus.  Fortunately John's hand was sorted in time for him to take part - but it was touch and go for a while and I know he would have been very disappointed not to have taken part.

I like to make sure that I see Millie if I am feeding her - I didn't have to worry because she was sitting on the balcony waiting when I arrived but she was more interested in having a cuddle than eating to begin with.

She is a delicate little cat unlike our four and very loving so we like to give her some fuss and some food when we are in charge!

The views from John and Susan's house are stunning and it was rather more sunny there than at ours even though it is only five minutes down the road.

I checked around to make sure everything was ok before leaving Millie to her meal.  I am guessing that their dog Zak is being taken care of by Helen and Al - they usually do if John and Susan are away.



From their terrace I could hear quite a bit of shouting and what appeared to be the sound of a whistle being blown.  As I looked down the valley I could see that it was a goatherd keeping his charges under control. As they crossed the road and made their way along the fields there seemed very little vegetation for them to be feeding on.  They will be glad when the rains come in earnest and there is something nice and fresh for them to feed on.



On my return home the flags were out as the tiling was officially declared to be finished!!!  All grouting done but cleaning up still remains.

It is looking good - the decking style tiles are a lovely soft colour and match in well with the surroundings - they are going to look really good around the pool and will blend in with the garden and the wall which is exactly what we were hoping for.


A bit of a day of rest tomorrow after all the hard work - just as well as we are off to the Elysium for afternoon tea with Mum and Dad and Wendy and Bill and we will be able to go and enjoy it without worrying that there is work needing to be done back home.  Yet another fantastic sky tonight as the sun went down.  We were knackered but happy - another tick in the box!


After a quick shower we wandered up to the Kaponas Grill House in the village for a bite to eat.  Eleni was chuffed to show us a project that one of her children had done for school all about the village and even more chuffed to tell me that the photographs had all been taken from the internet and were mine which I had taken from in and around the village - I was chuffed too to think that I had helped even though I hadn't known about it at the time!!!

Readers Kaponas Grillhouse is welcoming local ladies for tea and cakes from 3.00pm on Friday 6th November - please go and support them

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