In the early hours of this morning the clocks went back heralding the end of Summer Time - we should have enjoyed an extra hour in bed but no-one told the cats so they bounced in at their normal time which today meant that instead of it being 6.00am it was 5.00am and after an interrupted night with storms and earache I was not impressed. About 4.00am every morning this ear thing ramps up and is really really painful - I guess it is because the painkillers have run their course. So feeling well below par I got up - it wasn't raining thank goodness and no rain had come into the conservatory which is a bonus. Everything in the garden is perking up (including the weeds) and the green looks so much greener as a result.
We clearly had had quite a bit of rain overnight. The decking is absolutely sodden but fortunately the work to the flatroof must be doing its job as there are no puddles of standing water - all we need now is some dry weather and work can continue again which can't come soon enough as we seem to have a million projects on the go at the same time and the house is a tip which really gets on my nerves.
Wandering around the garden all sorts of things are beginning to come back to life - the only trouble is that it can be difficult to differentiate between a weed and something which has self seeded. I know I threw a load of seeds around the garden which Elena's Aunty Friday gave me - the resulting plant is very pretty some sort of wild small delphinium but I don't actually know what it looks like when it first begins to grow!
I checked on the wasps nest (if that is what it is) progress seems to be very slow but they are still there clinging onto the mouldy old leaf - I am not going to investigate any further because they get angry when they hear the camera so I don't want to provoke them any further!
The 'nest' is located in the middle of the Morning Glory column at the front of this picture. It is still full of flower and so I will leave it there for the time being - the dark pink gaura behind and the pale pink gaura further behind are the best two plants in the garden as they flower and flower and flower and you can chop them back throughout the summer and they keep coming back - these get no water save for any condensation there is overnight.
We looked like we were going to be in for quite a nice day as the sun was making an appearance through the scattered clouds. We were off to Mum and Dad's for lunch with Sheila and Klaus and it is always warmer down in Emba so we had to dress accordingly - at this time of year the fact that we are 5-6 degrees cooler means that we can get dressed up to leave Droushia and regret our wardrobe choices when we arrive in Emba. Evenings are beginning to get a little chillier here so John wanted to check out what jumpers he has stored at Mums so he can bring some back in readiness.
I can tell he is already absolutely itching to get the woodburner lit - it is just so cosy in the house with that on the go but I have checked back on previous years and it is far too early - excuse the pun but I think all our wood is burning a hole in his pocket!!!
The cold of the winter here is no longer the shock that it used to be - we have done so much to make sure we are as comfortable as possible. The Photo Voltaics mean that we have been banking electricity to be used in the winter so we don't have to worry about the immersion or the bedroom panel heaters costing us a fortune. Although production this last week has been rather poor!
We picked Klaus and Sheila up and made our way down to Emba. Mum said it had been overcast and cool there this morning but it was lovely by the time we got there. It is really good that we three different generations get on well together. It is nice for Mum to have someone other than us to entertain - she used to do a lot of it in the past and has all the gear which only comes out now and again and it is a shame not to use it.
The table looked lovely all laid up complete with Frederico underneath! These regular lunches are good for us as it gets the old grey matter working as we plan a menu so that we have something different to eat each time. Klaus is such a good cook that he makes us raise our game! It is my turn in December so I need to start looking around now for something different to tempt their palates - they are pleasure to cook for as they like most things and have good appetites so pretty little nouvelle cuisine-type dishes aren't going to cut it!
I didn't see Mum's neighbour Effie to thank her for the olive oil she gave me earlier in the week and we also benefited from an enormous pomegranate and two avocados from the garden.
It's really nice receiving such fresh organic produce - John isn't keen on avocado if it is mushy so I need to try and get them ripened just right. They are currently in a paperbag with an old banana and I am checking them regularly.
I am just a bit disappointed that they haven't been growing the black eyed beans in the fields surrounding the bungalows - when we had those fresh previously they were absolutely delicious!
John drove this week - I haven't been drinking because I have been on antibiotics and the gin and tonic and glass of wine I had with lunch made me feel very tired either that or it was the fact I had had very little sleep last night! I was more than happy when we got home when he said he wanted to watch some sport as it meant I could have a snooze on the sofa.
Although not settled the evening was beautiful and as the sun began to set the colours were reflected in the sky above.
Even though we cannot see the sun set directly from our house we still know when it has been a good one!
John went up to inspect the roof terrace and we now have everything crossed for a dry couple of days next week so that we can get the tiling done.
The days are now going to be short with it being dark by 6.00pm maybe even earlier if it has not been a nice day. Time to catch up on all the TV we have missed during the summer months!
It was a bumper sports day today and John came home to catch the Manchester Derby which ended a boring draw and then followed that by the Australia v Argentina rugby which was rather more exciting. He decided that he wouldn't stay up for the grand prix as it was from America and wouldn't be televised here until very late.
I wasn't bothered as I was getting stuck into my crochet. It is not the prettiest bit of work you will ever see but when the footie is on I would really rather be doing something else and I have a whole load of wool that needs using up - it will provide the cats with a new blanket if nothing else!!
I had felt quite a bit better today so was hopeful that my ear problem was going away - about time as I have been feeling poorly off and on since last Wednesday morning.
I left John watching the TV with Minnie Mou, Boris and Chivers for company - Charlie had mooched off probably up to Sharon's to see if there was anything to eat there as we were refusing to give him any more food. He and Boris are a nightmare at the moment - the colder weather has given them enormous appetites and they constantly want feeding - if we hadn't wormed them recently I would have thought they needed it.
I checked on the wasps nest (if that is what it is) progress seems to be very slow but they are still there clinging onto the mouldy old leaf - I am not going to investigate any further because they get angry when they hear the camera so I don't want to provoke them any further!
The 'nest' is located in the middle of the Morning Glory column at the front of this picture. It is still full of flower and so I will leave it there for the time being - the dark pink gaura behind and the pale pink gaura further behind are the best two plants in the garden as they flower and flower and flower and you can chop them back throughout the summer and they keep coming back - these get no water save for any condensation there is overnight.
We looked like we were going to be in for quite a nice day as the sun was making an appearance through the scattered clouds. We were off to Mum and Dad's for lunch with Sheila and Klaus and it is always warmer down in Emba so we had to dress accordingly - at this time of year the fact that we are 5-6 degrees cooler means that we can get dressed up to leave Droushia and regret our wardrobe choices when we arrive in Emba. Evenings are beginning to get a little chillier here so John wanted to check out what jumpers he has stored at Mums so he can bring some back in readiness.I can tell he is already absolutely itching to get the woodburner lit - it is just so cosy in the house with that on the go but I have checked back on previous years and it is far too early - excuse the pun but I think all our wood is burning a hole in his pocket!!!
The cold of the winter here is no longer the shock that it used to be - we have done so much to make sure we are as comfortable as possible. The Photo Voltaics mean that we have been banking electricity to be used in the winter so we don't have to worry about the immersion or the bedroom panel heaters costing us a fortune. Although production this last week has been rather poor!
We picked Klaus and Sheila up and made our way down to Emba. Mum said it had been overcast and cool there this morning but it was lovely by the time we got there. It is really good that we three different generations get on well together. It is nice for Mum to have someone other than us to entertain - she used to do a lot of it in the past and has all the gear which only comes out now and again and it is a shame not to use it.
The table looked lovely all laid up complete with Frederico underneath! These regular lunches are good for us as it gets the old grey matter working as we plan a menu so that we have something different to eat each time. Klaus is such a good cook that he makes us raise our game! It is my turn in December so I need to start looking around now for something different to tempt their palates - they are pleasure to cook for as they like most things and have good appetites so pretty little nouvelle cuisine-type dishes aren't going to cut it!
I didn't see Mum's neighbour Effie to thank her for the olive oil she gave me earlier in the week and we also benefited from an enormous pomegranate and two avocados from the garden.It's really nice receiving such fresh organic produce - John isn't keen on avocado if it is mushy so I need to try and get them ripened just right. They are currently in a paperbag with an old banana and I am checking them regularly.
I am just a bit disappointed that they haven't been growing the black eyed beans in the fields surrounding the bungalows - when we had those fresh previously they were absolutely delicious!
John drove this week - I haven't been drinking because I have been on antibiotics and the gin and tonic and glass of wine I had with lunch made me feel very tired either that or it was the fact I had had very little sleep last night! I was more than happy when we got home when he said he wanted to watch some sport as it meant I could have a snooze on the sofa.
Although not settled the evening was beautiful and as the sun began to set the colours were reflected in the sky above.Even though we cannot see the sun set directly from our house we still know when it has been a good one!
John went up to inspect the roof terrace and we now have everything crossed for a dry couple of days next week so that we can get the tiling done.
The days are now going to be short with it being dark by 6.00pm maybe even earlier if it has not been a nice day. Time to catch up on all the TV we have missed during the summer months!
It was a bumper sports day today and John came home to catch the Manchester Derby which ended a boring draw and then followed that by the Australia v Argentina rugby which was rather more exciting. He decided that he wouldn't stay up for the grand prix as it was from America and wouldn't be televised here until very late. 
I wasn't bothered as I was getting stuck into my crochet. It is not the prettiest bit of work you will ever see but when the footie is on I would really rather be doing something else and I have a whole load of wool that needs using up - it will provide the cats with a new blanket if nothing else!!I had felt quite a bit better today so was hopeful that my ear problem was going away - about time as I have been feeling poorly off and on since last Wednesday morning.
I left John watching the TV with Minnie Mou, Boris and Chivers for company - Charlie had mooched off probably up to Sharon's to see if there was anything to eat there as we were refusing to give him any more food. He and Boris are a nightmare at the moment - the colder weather has given them enormous appetites and they constantly want feeding - if we hadn't wormed them recently I would have thought they needed it.
A really lovely day out with special friends and family.
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