Signed sealed and delivered...

Another day without Bassam - not unusual as it is Friday and he doesn't work on a Friday being Lebanese and we had an early appointment at the Court House in Paphos so that we could go through the official process of lodging our wills.

I had dressed in readiness for pickleball - i.e. a polo shirt and shorts.  John questioned whether shorts were appropriate for a visit to the Court so I duly changed into some lightweight trousers only to be greeted by Carole (who prepared and engrossed our wills) sporting  some very very short shorts and a strappy vest top!

We hadn't any idea how long this process was going to take and it was all very official with our wills actually being sealed into their envelopes - the man used good old fashioned sealing wax and a match (clearly no health and safety concerns here!!).  It was the same nice man who dealt with finding (manually by looking through dozens of entries in hand written ledgers) Dad's will and then doing the necessary so we could remove it.  I remember him sending me across the road to get the requisite revenue stamps and then he realised that he had asked me to get the wrong amount so paid for the shortfall himself.

In the end it was a quick affair and a tick in the box as we have been meaning to get this done for absolutely ages so we have to thank Di and Rob for spurring us on to get this completed.

We were left with some time to get some shopping sorted and John raided the shelves in Cycleband for the last few remaining bottles of real ale that they had.

We had pickleball this afternoon - no Liselotte as she is in Denmark and it was blooming hot on the court.  I was quite useless this week - not sure why maybe it was having played yesterday but we all had fun nonetheless and Mum was in good form.  She seems to be so much more relaxed since I returned from the UK and played like a demon.

We have decided to dine out on Sunday.  We were supposed to be meeting up with Jackie and Costas but this had to be postponed and our house and garden is in a bit of a mess at the moment as we are mid wall and mid garden projects.

We were both super weary this evening so neither of us fancied a late night and if Bassam comes tomorrow (which will be dependent upon the demands of his children) he will be knocking on the door just after 7.00am

As it happened Bassam did not come as he had to do something with Amoura but we were still up and about and working at 7.00am doing things - we have decided to revamp the garden area just outside our bedroom window which is a part of the garden which just sort of evolved without much thought or planning.  We wanted to dig up and save as many plants as possible then clear it, dig down, put membrane down and then put clean shingle on top and add interest by putting plants in pots.  This was hard work and involved a trip up to Agia Marina nursery to purchase a load of pots to house the newly dug up plants.

It would appear that after many years in the doldrums Lordos 1 is the place to be.  Galatia is having some work done, 4a has started to have work done, 8a and 8b may be sold and there is more than a little interest in 9b and two other properties on the other side have been cleared ready for sale which leaves just 3 from the original 10 repossessed by the bank to be dealt with.  It will be interesting to see how this might affect the peace and quiet although we are somewhat protected from what goes on out in the estate because we are tucked away.

We called it a day mid afternoon and collapsed in the pool which is currently at around 28 degrees and we think that the new pool cover (THANK YOU Lakis and Argy) is keeping the water warmer than the old one did.

There were dark skies and thunder all around this afternoon but we managed to avoid any storms here in Droushia.  In fact we managed a trip to the cemetery.  Dad's grave is now completed and looks so much tidier and is more in keeping - the succulent flowers in the trough are doing great and look bright and cheerful.

We then trod very carefully through heavy plant to get to check our post in Finikas and to seek refuge in the garden for a quick drink which was accompanied by all sorts of little bits to eat including a freshly cut cucumber served with sea salt - the first that Phillipos had been able to harvest and he did so just for us.

We have to thank Argy for the box of Koliva made for her brother's memorial and for giving Dad a mention at the service in the village church yesterday.  They are so very kind to include us in these very important milestones.