Day 27...

Not the best night's sleep I have ever had.  Different noises - frogs when we went to bed and then birds on (and in) the roof at about 5.00am! Plus I am not used to sleeping on the ground floor and up until today you could walk straight up our path as there was no gate.  I got in a right old mess with the bedding - ended up with both my pillows and one of John's!

We were up early this morning as there is still so much to do.  The weather has been very unsettled and with so many boxes and so much packing paper we couldn't afford to keep it outside if there was a chance of rain. 

Mum and Dad were coming up again to help so before they came up John and I cracked on with the lounge/diner ceiling and managed to get all the roof void filled with packing and the wooden planks back up in place.  Not an easy task as John has to put up with little short-arse me trying to help!

When we were back in Yeovil we had purchased a 'Quay' door from the Old Creamery which we had earmarked as the gate at the end of the path. 

It is called a 'Quay' door because the wood is made from the planks round on an old quayside.  John decided to get Dad to help him put this up today as he was keen to define our boundaries. 

This was never going to be a five minute job as nothing here is square and John had to make a frame to fit the gap between the two walls and then slot in the door.  It took them the best part of the day to get it fitted and I think I heard more than one or two 'bugger its' during the process!  Anyway great excitement as during the course of emptying boxes Mum managed to find the wrought iron door knocker that I had bought but couldn't find before we left and which John was convinced I had thrown away.  Anyway the end result is a smashing looking gate/door which is very much in keeping with the look we are trying to achieve.  John just needs to get the fence up to the left to complete the job but that is a minor detail.  Thanks John and Dad for doing that today - it is nice to know that people can't just walk straight in on us!

Mum and I continued to unpack boxes and put things away although there were times when we couldn't do much because the boxes were stacked too high or were too heavy or contained things that we couldn't find a home for!  Eventually though things have begun to take shape and the lounge/diner area is beginning to look a bit more like home - I am surprised how much room we seem to have.  Things may not stay where we have put them and ultimately we may not keep all the furniture  but we want to see how it goes for a while before we make a final decision.

The kitchen still needs some attention - the sink isn't connected nor the cooker, hob and extractor so I am having to make do with a sandwich toaster and teppanyaki pan!  Mum has kept us well supplied with an assortment of toasted pitta-bread sandwiches for lunch!

One good thing is that I seem to have plenty of storage space and we have unpacked all of the kitchen boxes and I still have cupboards and shelves that haven't been used.  The cupboards reach right up to the ceiling and even with my steps I have a cat in hells chance of getting anything up onto them!

Once Mum and Dad went back to Emba, John and I took our first trip into Polis to do a weekly shop and opted to go to Paps rather than Orphanides but in time we will probably give both a go and see what each has to offer.  You can get most of anything you want - at a price - so it took us longer than normal to find what we wanted and at a price we wanted to pay. 

Anyone coming out please bring me honey in a squeezy bottle as honey is incredibly expensive over here - as is cream and you only seem to be able to get whipping cream - where is the Elmlea when you need it???  On a positive note salad stuff, if you buy the local produce, is very cheap and we both love salad so that is a bonus, strangely though the Danish Feta was cheaper than local - how daft is that?  John also loves a good pork chop and two large pork chops costs the equivalent of around £1.50!  We opted for a large salad with feta and some very fresh (still warm) village bread together with a couple of glasses of Butchers red wine which we purchased in a ten litre carton for 25 euros!

John's world is complete as I have managed to get him ITV and he will be able to watch the champions league final tonight.  He is soooooo torn though because as a patriot he would normally shout for the English team but it is Man U and he cannot stand Man U!!

Hopefully a better night's sleep tonight - more sorting tomorrow obviously but we are all out tomorrow night in Latchi for a cultural evening,