all over the place...

ooooo what a day - the autumn weather has started to arrive and the weather forecast looks to be correct - showers today and heavy rain tomorrow - let's hope it bucks its ideas up for Thursday when we are off out on our monthly island discovery day and Rob and Di have chosen the Zoo which I am looking forward to.


 It was a cool, damp and grey start but a chilly outside temperature just meant that the water in the pool seemed ok-ish - there was probably little, if any difference, between the two although John was pleased to have a towel waiting for him as he exited the water!

He is, of course, playing to the cameras as he is a much more hardy sole than me and I actually think he is quite enjoying our early morning constitutional swim.

John pointed out that there was an article in today's paper extolling the virtues of a regular morning cold shower - apparently you are much less likely to shirk going to work if you start the day with one - as I have absolutely no intention of going back to work I am not sure what his point is!!!

Boris clearly thought we were mad - he took the higher ground and viewed us with an air of incredulity before announcing his arrival very vocally and demanding a treat (he had by that time already had his breakfast).  Boris is acting a little strange at the moment - he has a fear of doormats and the doorstop inside the front door and seems to have lost the knack of using the catflap.  He sits and thumps it like a boxer in training letting it flap backwards and forwards but doesn't go through.  This is ok in the warmer months when we can have the doors open but when it is raining he sits outside somewhere waiting for us to open the door.  I am not sure what has happened to have brought about this change and wonder if there is an entrance he used to use somewhere that has now been blocked up and he thinks the same about the catflap - who knows?

I had a morning of errands starting by taking Mum's dress to Anastasie in Polis to be altered and stopping with Anastasie for a chat and a catch-up before putting to bed the guilt-free curry saga which meant I got to visit the Spice House so I am not really complaining!

I have seen advertised a company based in Polemi which makes curries from all good things and whilst I am happy to make a curry I like to try and support new enterprises and like to eat good food rather than mass produced things so I had ordered two for us to try this weekend as a treat for John because it is going to be a big footballing weekend for him with the Mighty Blades taking on dirty dirty Leeds on Friday.  One of my friends Jo, had offered to pick up the curries for me from the Spice House which is in Peristerona because on a Friday the Guilt Free Curry Company does a drop off there and Jo would be there then.  Unfortunately Jo was unable to collect the curries on Friday last and my text to Catherine at the Spice House got missed so Catherine had frozen the curries for me awaiting my arrival today to hand them over!  Complicated?  A little but nothing spoiled and I was in no real hurry for them.

The grey of the day had begun to lift when I arrived at Peristerona which is less than 15 minutes up the hills from Polis.  The Spice House is well signposted and there is parking there either at the house or on the road nearby.  I was greeted by Catherine's rescue dog and later by the rescue cat!

The Spice House is, as the name suggests, the home of all things spicy - there are spices and mixes here you just can't find in the local supermarkets.

Catherine and Jo used to live in Droushia and we have met before although many years ago so it was nice to make their acquaintance again.  I was offered, and accepted, a lovely cup of freshly brewed coffee along with some little tasters of the goodies they make which were accompanied by a comprehensive explanation as to the ingredients and the benefits.

I couldn't resist a look around and picked up a couple of recipe sheets that looked interesting and then just had to pick up two of the spice mixes, one being the Thai Ten Spice featured in the fish cake recipe and another which is a smoky spicy rub which looked and sounded lovely.  Big thanks to Catherine for her hospitality and for the gift of one of the spice mixes.

Steni, Peristerona, Lysos are all located in a lovely area and one which we visit when we have visitors so now we can add in a trip to the Spice House and I would urge anyone who is a bit of a cook or looking for ingredients with known health benefits to go and seek out this establishment and speak to Catherine or Jo about what they have on offer.  I shall certainly be back not least when the Dukkah mix we have, which John loves, has run out.  Oh and I mustn't forget the foodies market - normally held at Steni on the 3rd Sunday of each month - next one 19th November.

From Peristerona I took the scenic route back home via Akourdaleia and a quick cuppa with Elaine who had thought the weather would have put people off visiting the Herb Garden but couldn't have been more wrong with customers from Vietnam and Belgium and Emba all pitching up.

Work continues on the garden as Elaine is stamping her own personality on it - it is a slow process but even after only a few months it is beginning to take shape.  I particularly like the old bird bath which has been filled with succulents - I am a lover of succulents anyway but these are currently in bloom so there is a lovely mix of the bluey green leaves and pink flowers.

The weather deteriorated today and by this evening the heavens had opened and we had torrents and torrents of rain, thunder and lightning.

We were safe and dry inside thank goodness -  we no longer get water coming in under the conservatory door even though we had forgotten to fully open the tap from the water butt.  The front garden was awash.  We had towels at the ready as the four cats rushed in!