Saturday

We thought we were having a day at home today fiddling round doing bits and pieces but as it turned out our neighbours Gregoris and Theodora came this afternoon and we ended up going out for a meal with them unexpectedly.

I started this morning by potting up the plant we bought to go in our new pot.  It is a bit like an anorexic peace lily - similar but with very thin white flowers.

I am not sure whether the conditions in the conservatory are going to suit it as it looked great when it was first planted up and then after an hour or so of hot sun it had started to flop.  I hope it will survive because it was exactly the sort of thing we had been looking for.

Great news in the garden as my moon flower has burst into full bloom at last and looks really lovely - it was helpful that it had done so as I gave Marina from Finikas a plant last night and wanted to show her what it was going to look like.  It was even more helpful because my Greek dictionary gave me the word for purple which no-one seems to recognise!

As we knew that Gregoris and Theodora were coming we went round to check that all was well in their garden.  Since John has filled in the bit of fence along the pathway we can no longer peer through the gaps which is good. Prior to doing this I gave their olive tree a good old pruning but since then it has grown masses so I thought I would trim it back and tidy up the honeysuckle that is going to be trained along the wires that John has put up for it.  I really think that it is about time they got rid of the old chair bed as it has just about fallen to pieces.  I know it is a favourite place for Chivers to sleep but it looks like it is a favourite place for the sparrows too!  Gregoris has talked about having it reupholstered but I think it is beyond redemption!

John keeps a neighbourly eye on their pool but recently he has noticed a leak and as he didn't want them to be wasting chemicals and water we had text to tell them there was an issue and as a result they decided to come and take a look, calling an engineer who John met to discuss the problem.

Whenever we go round next door Chivers always likes to come and keep us company and today was no exception - even though the olive trees around the house-oven had been cut last year they have come back with a vengeance!

Back home I was preparing for Sunday lunch tomorrow when Mum and Dad will be with us.  Having been given some fresh apricots I had opted for a sort of sausage and apricot tagine type dish which I was planning to serve in Yorkshire puddings with little roasties and some fresh veg.  Thank God for slow cookers - they make life so much easier!

Unused to having immediate neighbours Charlie and Chivers were patrolling the wall outside when they heard Gregoris and Theodora arrive - then the two cats decided to have a face-off - you can tell Charlie is unhappy because he is beginning to flatten his ears!

We decided to eat at Fitos in Kathikas.  We didn't go out until 8.30pm which is late for us.  I am so glad I rang ahead to book a table because I have never seen it so full.  Gregoris decided to order a selection and have it all put on the table for us to eat a little of each as a sort of meze-compromise.  We had a mountain of food, stifado, moussaka, souvlaki, sheftalia and pork chop with salad, dips, pickles, chips, veggies, pittas etc etc.

John and I were groaning when we returned home - far too much food, eaten too late but it was so kind of our neighbours to take us out.