A new place for coffee...

Gym day and John is suggesting that we should go for a swim afterwards in the future!  We sent him off to test the water temperature and he didn't fill us with confidence.

The hotel excelled itself today - not just the biscuits but a selection of pastries from the breakfast counter.  Lovely but soon the amount of sweet stuff we have afterwards will negate all our hard (or not so hard) work - oh but you have just got to love the staff at the hotel who look after us so well and we do say it every time we are there - the village would really miss the hotel if it weren't there.

We try and support it as much as we can but sometimes we feel we are doing it single handedly!  We shall be down later in the week for the happy hour (three hours) and now that there is Leon on draft John is one happy bunny because it makes it the cheapest place around to drink at the moment!

Back at home there was a love-fest happening in our bedroom as Boris had gone to sleep on our bed with Chivers and was giving him a bit of a cuddle.  Chivers barely tolerates Charlie but he doesn't seem to mind Boris.  Bless them both and we are pleased to report Boris is back to normal although we are undecided about giving him a collar again.

I took Amoura down to Polis this morning so that she could get the bus to Paphos as she was having a day at the water park now that school's out.  I took the opportunity to run some errands including going to Kate's to drop off the butterfly picture I had done for her.  Her salon Beauty by Kate is such a peaceful sanctuary all calm and clean and smelling nice.

I decided to drive home via the scenic route going out the back of the woodyard and cross country - it looks beautiful at the moment as there is still a little green around - give it a couple of weeks and it will all be brown and crispy.  It was nice driving along with no-one else around and it was a glorious day.

Back home Chivers had managed to disentangle himself from Boris's clutches and had come to supervise my washing.  All the cats are fascinated by the toilet flushing and the washing machine for some reason!

It was exceptionally hot and sticky at pickleball today - our newbie Angela is proving to be quite a whizz - her table tennis background has stood her in good stead and now only three weeks in is proving to be an asset to the group.  The hall floor hasn't been completed so it is still a right old mess in there but at least we didn't have to compete with belly dancing next door today.

Mum, Dad and I went out to the newly opened coffee shop which is opposite Paps in Chloraka which is next to the Flying Dragon chinese (which has now opened a seating area in the shop that was vacant next door).

Anyway Chocco was very nice and the interior was beautifully done and the teas and coffees were very reasonably priced although Dad opted for a cider which he had to drink out of a fancy glass which we thought looked like a vase.

I went for a smoothie and Mum and I shared a massive massive piece of carrot cake.  The cake was good but Lou and H you don't need to worry the carrot cake at Tala Monastery is still the best but if you are in Emba or Chloraka this would be a good place for a drink or sandwich.

John finished relatively early and we went home for one of our favourite teas which involved picking some fresh rocket from the garden - it is the only thing I grow and we love it.  Fortunately it over-winters and self seeds so we have plenty.

Tonight we were having a chorizo and halloumi salad with the halloumi from Maria's in the village which is delicious.  I soak the cheese overnight in water and when I cook it I do it in a pan on a low to medium heat so that all the fluid comes out of the cheese and then it become light and fluffy with a nice crispy coat.  I have found that on occasions I can get chorizo from our local Paps supermarket.  I could only get it in Lidl previously when they were having a Spanish themed promotion so this is good news.  It feels virtuous having a salad but I am guessing that with the meet and cheese it probably isn't so good for you but am I bothered??