Monday

So now there are two coats of the red paint on the accent wall and I like it - John is still not convinced but he is warming to it so it is going to stay for now although god knows what we would cover it up with!  We are beginning to get back to normal and spent this morning tidying things away or moving things back to their usual place.  We have friends for dinner on Wednesday so we need to get back to some sort of normality.

One of the jobs I have been meaning to do for ages is to clear up my knitting box - I am still in the process of crocheting a throw for the spare bed but one of the balls of wool which I purchased from the UK Foods shop simply will not unravel without knotting up so I decided to try and wind it into a new ball otherwise it is going to get lobbed into the bin and soon.

I have made a garden plaque as a birthday present for Wednesday.  This is the second attempt because on the first one the writing started to bleed when I added more flowers which was more than a bit irritating but John got his super-duper sander out and managed to salvage it for me.

I have found an unexpectedly flowering plant in the garden - it would appear to be a gourd which is a bit of a shame as it is far too late and it will never produce anything because the temperature is dropping quite sharply at night now so this poor little plant will perish in due course.  I had to check with Sheila what colour gourd flowers are and she has confirmed they are white so this is definitely a gourd plant.

Poor Charlie is poorly.  He has been ratty as hell recently and particularly snappy towards Boris who usually comes in and just flops on Charlie and they cuddle up together but just recently it has been more like World War Three when they get together.  John wondered whether Charlie was nursing some sort of injury and he was right as he appears to have a bite on the base of his tail just where he had an abscess previously.  I did manage to get a bit of iodine on it and then some antiseptic gel so hopefully that will be ok because he hates going to the vets and normally throws up or worse en route.

It was a normal Monday this week - no photography skills required - back to Art with Sheila instead and I am now reaching the end of this current picture.  I have just the tree and its leaves in the top right corner to finish and I am finding this a bit of a challenge and even worse I will have to start thinking about what my next picture is going to be!

Anyway it was good to be at Sheila's and we both worked hard - Sheila is currently working on a picture of a fish - she is doing it in acrylic and then doing a second in pastel pencils it will be really interesting to see the same picture completed in different mediums.

Klaus has also joined our happy band of crafters as he is currently perfecting his gourd carving - I shall have to take a photograph of the beautiful one which he has done that looks like autumn leaves and which can hold a candle or a roof fragrance or something similar - it is really spectacular and I would think that if he could knock a few of these out they would sell really well.

When I got home from Art we nipped down to Polis to do our shopping ready for the meal on Wednesday and then we went across to Kathikas and the Winery so we could get some bottles of our favourite.   I wasn't going to get out of the car because it was only going to be a quick in and out and purchase a box but Maria came out to have a chat and we had to apologise that we weren't going to be stopping this time.

The sun was setting spectacularly tonight although we lose the best bit where we live because we face the wrong direction and the sun disappears down behind the hills.

As we came up the concrete hill past the Egyptians House (that is what we call it but the guy that lives there is probably Syrian) we got caught up in a Droushia traffic jam as it was rush hour - unusually the driver pulled over at the top of the road to allow us to go by - I had wanted to get a photograph with him silhouetted in the setting sun but we miss out on that!

Monday evening equals belly dancing but we were down by two with Elena still barking like a dog with her bronchitis and Louise rammed to the gunnels with doggies needing pampering before she shoots back to the UK.

This week the very lovely Sofi got us to start learning a routine which we will continue to practice so that we can then know the steps and concentrate on our technique.

Sadly I am completely unable to move to the left whilst waving my hand and 'tacking' my hips but hey, who cares?  I love it and for once I have found an exercise which I enjoy.

Christmas has come early even to the dance school and as we entered there was a massive Christmas tree fully trimmed with the lights on.   I bet the young kids that dance before us absolutely love it but it is going to be a long time till December 25 for some parents - bring back the time when nothing Christmassy appeared in Cypriot shops until about halfway through December.

Our tea tonight was taken with Diana and Rob in Kaponas Grill House in Droushia - It is good to have somewhere that is always open in the village rather than book in advance although I think you have to go a long way to beat the food at Fitos but then we have to drive there and we can walk to Kaponas!