Out of the mouths of babes...

No Bassam today which we weren't too surprised about to be fair as Elena had felt awful so had gone back to Nicosia.  Not a problem for us as John had a load of cutting he could be getting on with in Bassam's absence - we just hope her trip will be brief and she will be back home for the weekend.

So once again an early start - we have been a bit worried about Charlie - he isn't eating anything like the amount of food we would normally see him consume but he seems ok in himself - this morning though I saw his backside disappearing into the cupboard where we keep their food so he obviously decided to take a look in the cupboard for himself to try and find something he fancied - either that or he knows that there is a basket in the back that he could settle into and sleep!

Having been a devil cat in his youth he has settled down and is very loving - in fact he is the one that is around the most and likes to have company - this can irritate the other cats particularly Minnie who doesn't want to play with him and screams like he is killing her if he gets anywhere close - but then again she is a right old whinge bag at the best of times!

John spent today cutting granite tiles - a terrible job and he has now gone more than prematurely grey - everywhere is covered in a fine film of granite dust and his ears are ringing as a result of not having any ear plugs.

Heyho it is a small price to pay as the end result will be great and once everything is back in its place we will forget the mess we went through to get there.

The front door was supposed to be collected today to be made shorter but they didn't come - not a problem as it means we will be able to shut the house up properly tomorrow when we go to Paphos but we will need to get it done as soon as possible.

I got on with some crafty things in between being chief gofer and coffee maker - I have eventually finished all the parts of Louise's sign but now need to work out how to attach the pieces together so that it can be hung.  I hope she is going to like it - I am quite pleased with it.

I need to turn my attention to Kate's sign which I have started but decided to do hers on a canvass and John doesn't think the edges of the canvas look very good so will either have to find something else or look to see if we can cover up where it has been stapled.

I need to do the wording but have run out of paper so will need to get a ream before I can complete that project - I am going down to Paphos later today on the Piano run so if I remember I can get some then.  I shall be taking Lola and Amoura for their lessons and will grab five minutes to shoot across town to the Mall.

We have decided that we want to be less cluttered so when we put things back into the conservatory we want to make sure they are the right pieces and that they match the decor.  I have had for some time some rather rustic candlesticks which I like and which I liked in the colour they came but now we don't have anywhere for them to go if they remain blue.  I remembered I had some gold spray paint so took them across the road out of the way and gave them a good coating.

I am undecided but they are a better colour and if I can get some nice cream round candles to sit on top I think they will look ok.  Only trouble is I can't leave candles in the conservatory in the heat of the summer as they melt!


So this afternoon I collected the girls and off we went to Paphos.  Lola had a lesson first so I shot off to the Mall with Amoura and then got back to entertain Lola whilst Amoura was practicing.

I think Lola  would have liked to have come to the Mall so we managed to find a park nearby.  This is when we started the conversation about 'making babies'!!  She wanted to confirm that John and I had not made a baby and why -  I told her that John used to work away a lot maybe going in month 1 (January) and not returning until month 10 (October) at which point she looked at me and asked me why I would have needed him - this is a conversation that I am going to leave with Elena!!

John had worked so hard whilst I was away and has just about cut all the tiles that are needed - all the tiles except for the tricky thin slivers at one end of the room.  He has laid them down so I can have a look and now I can't wait for it all to be finished.

He escaped for a couple of hours to have a drink with Sean and to catch up on Sean's recent trip to the UK.  He was looking forward to some male company and male orientated conversation I am sure!

A little later home than expected we had a rush tea of free-range eggs on crumpets and some grilled bacon which tasted all the better with well-earned glass of vino!