Monday 25 January 2016

The Third Miserable Monday in a row...

Looking back the previous two Mondays have been shitty - today was no exception!  January and February really do tend to be the worst months - cold, damp and grey and poor Sharon and Sean are having new windows fitted.

Although our swimming pool is currently covered over we still looked like we had a pool outside as the rain has accumulated on the temporary cover.  On days like today I really cannot imagine ever wanting to step inside the water again!!

Unbelievably only a couple of days ago I saw that my friend Dina's children were swimming in their pool down in Prodromi but then as John pointed out they are Russian and so possibly are more generally attuned to colder temperatures and he wasn't being rude about them -  there is a flaw in this argument as both her children have been born over here in Cyprus!!

The beauty of this time of year is that the residual heat from the dying embers of the wood burner leave the lounge feeling warm when we get up.


There are at least three little creatures who fully approve of the wood burner, Minnie Mou will have adopted her favourite position sitting on John's chest!!

The gale force winds have wreaked havoc in the garden and outside the kitchen it is strewn with empties.  We have been collecting these for quite a while - this is not one night's consumption!!!  We asked Tanith if she wanted them for her mulled wine and she said yes so we have been keeping them ever since.  Unfortunately we have not, as yet, been able to catch up with her to hand them over so they are mounting up.

We should be seeing Tanith and her family later in the week when we have all been invited to Elena's for supper along with Rob and Diana and some other friends of Elena's.

Elena has been a bit off colour of late with exceptionally high blood pressure which was not 'white coat syndrome' as we first thought - hopefully the medication she has been given will sort this out and quickly.  She is doing another Lebanese night at the Droushia Heights next week so she really needs to be on top form for that.

It being Monday I was off to art at Sheila and Klaus's - they were due a power cut but I was pretty sure the conditions outside were in no way conducive to electricians being outside!


Normally at this point (the exit to our estate) we can see across to the mountains but today there was so much low cloud and rain that the view was very grim indeed.


The poor resident horse has been moved and at least is in a field where he/she can get some shelter under trees but he/she was soaking wet and underfoot it was turning into a bit of a quagmire - he/she is such a gentle soul but at least at the moment has plenty to eat, has plenty to drink and somewhere to get out of the rain.


Sheila and Klaus live opposite the absolute dead centre of the village - opposite the cemetery!!  It is a beautifully well kept area and at the risk of sounding very morbid is where we will have a family plot and where Mum and Dad will be buried.  They will at least have Sheila and Klaus to look over them.  Cremation is a long way off over here so we didn't want Mum and Dad to be laid to rest at the cemetery in Irimi which is near Limassol and there is no room down Emba way.


Today I finished my little picture of an owl.  This is the second owl that I have done - Louise got me interested because I know she loves them and I did one for her for her birthday.  That one was a much looser picture based on a water colour.  This one was more photographic and I am really quite pleased with it.

John couldn't really get on with the things he wanted to do today as they were outside activities and the weather was pants so he took advantage of me being out to watch Spectre the new James Bond film which isn't really my cup of tea.

He was being kept company by Boo Boo and Minnie Mou who were, unbelievably both sat on his lap.  To be fair Minnie had been sitting on John's lap quite happily when Boo came in and just did his normal FLOP and gradually pushed Minnie out of the way.  She put up with it for a while and then moved off in a huff.

Sharon called round this afternoon for a cuppa and to get away from the building site that is her home.  The installation of the windows has not been without problem as absolutely nothing here is square so on this horrible day they have been trying to fit the back door to the kitchen and it has been in and out like a fiddler's elbow.  Sharon has been helping but it had just all got the better of her and she came for a chat and a cuppa and a warm.

This evening we had decided to take advantage of the voucher Rabia had given John which was for money against a meal at Kaponas.  When we decided to go we arranged to meet up with Janet and John but at that point we didn't realise it was going to be like a monsoon.  Janet had kindly let Eleni know in advance so that the wood burner was guaranteed to be lit.

When we set off the rain had stopped and the skies were clearing so it was bracing to say the least walking up to the taverna.  The wood burner was indeed lit and it was lovely and warm inside.

We arrived early and sat down and watched an episode of the Greek cooking programme 'My Mother Cooks Better than Yours' which is a cross between Ready Steady Cook, Can't Cook Wont Cook and any other cookery competition on the TV you can think of and had the Greek equivalent of the Hairy Bikers in tow!

We haven't really seen Janet and John since the jingle so it was nice to catch up and see how they are coping with the winter. I keep trying to assure Janet that the first one is the worst and then it all gets a bit easier because you know exactly what to expect.


We had a lovely evening - far too much food and probably far too much wine but it made the walk home a breeze and John and I slept well as a result.  We were anticipating snow during the night as Sofi had cancelled Belly Dancing because she had been told that the Police were giving warnings about the driving conditions and potential snow falls on higher ground.

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