Day 35...

Whoa but I am tired tonight - not helped by the fact that we have just returned from Mum's where we went for our Sunday tea and we had a really lovely meal, for once I wasn't the driver, so I had a couple of glasses of wine too.  We even had pudding!!!! woohoo there were leftovers and we had them to fill our fridge - thanks Mum xxx

I have no idea what happened this morning but I woke as normal at about 7.00am and got up and took a look outside to make sure the world was still turning.  It appeared that it was so I returned to bed and then when I woke up again it was gone 9.00am!  Now that is what I call a good lie-in!!  I think John would have stayed longer given half a chance!

Our unpacking is nearing the end and we can at last see the wood for the trees - home is beginning to really feel like home.  Our smart gate now has a bell - you can take the boy out of the navy but not the navy out of the boy!! 

John sprayed it black to match the rest of the gate furniture and we have added the pull which Geordie made for John before we left the UK.  Don't know what the knotting skill is called - apparently it has an official name -whatever it is thanks Steven it looks really smart and in Sheffield United colours too!

Just hope we hear it when someone comes calling!!!

Our goal today was to get the spare bedroom cleared enough so that it looked like a spare bedroom just in case someone decides to come and stay with us.  We still have a few bits and pieces to find a home for but as you can see we now have a spare room and I think it looks really nice and cosey but then I am biased!!

We had a bit of excitement with our sink today because we knew we would need to pull off quite a lot of cold water before the hot ran through so I dutifully did that and used it to water the lemon and lime trees, cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes.  The water didnt seem to be getting hot so we checked out the water in the cloakroom - piping... but still not hot in the kitchen.  We did all sorts but still no joy - I could feel more than a bugger it coming on...  Eventually John sussed out that there are three supplies under the sink.  One on the left on its own and two on the right.  The assumption was that the two on the right were the hot and cold feed and the one on its own was the fresh drinking water.  That is what you would have expected but then this is Cyprus so NO the lonely feed on its own on the left was the HOT WATER.  Mystery solved but the tap will have to be replumbed tomorrow!

At 2.00pm we collected Sharon and followed Sean in his hire car down to Coral Bay (where he had to drop off the car and just leave the keys under the footwell mat!!) and then took them both to Paphos airport for their return flight (only slightly delayed apparently).  They had said that they were coming out at Christmas but as we left them they thought they might try and squeeze in another visit in September.  It has been nice knowing that there is someone nearby if we need them.

We went from the airport to Mum and Dad's for tea.  As it is Sunday we needed a new photograph for the blog so we got Dad to take one of us both with the Stephanotis that Hilary and Keith have given us as a 'welcome to your new home' gift. 

We now have unpacked a really nice large vietnamese blue pot which will house the stephanotis so that we can move it round until we find the right spot for it.  Dad has suggested we ask Alkisti if she knows whether or not a stephanotis will survive in the Droushia climate without any special care.  It is hard to believe when it is 30 degrees that we do get very cold weather up here!

Mum and Dad are both looking good and it was nice to catch up with them (and get fed!!).  Tonight we had our usual best of five crib game before tea and Mum and I partnered each other. 

I am not one to gloat but the girls done good and were victorious!!!  John wanted to know how come Mum kept having hands in double figures with me when she doesn't manage it when she is partnering him!

You can see John here checking out the special offers at Paps supermarket to make sure we are getting all the deals!!  Shopping is interesting and on a limited budget we are making sure we make the most of our money.  It is also a novelty for me to have a freezer!  It was a bit of a bonus today because Sean popped round with the food that they would not be eating - I now have a fridge which is packed to the gunnels and providing we don't get bored with salad we probably wont need to shop for a week if not two!

Just thought you might like to see Mum's floosie of a cat Missy (or as I call her Ugly Betty) entertaining her gentlemen callers - on the left is HP who lives to the left of Mum and Dad and has been neutered and on the right is Mimi who is male (despite his name) and not neutered. 

Both HP and Mimi come calling for UB like lovesick teenagers and she is just so superior - most of the time she doesn't even acknowledge their presence but at least tonight she did deign to go outside!!!  Sadly Mimi is moving to Larnaca on Wednesday as his owner George is moving away.

Managed to stay awake long enough to watch the final of the French Open at Roland Garros and see Nadal beat Federer.  Mum has always been a huge tennis fan and when I was a youngster I can remember Dad rigging up a TV in a cardboard box so that Mum and I could watch wimbledon outside and continue to sunbath - probably 1976 if my memory serves me right - a very long hot summer when I took my 'o' levels before disappearing to Canada for the Summer to visit Uncle Norman and Aunty Betty.

Loaded up with goodies and more of our stuff which has been housed at Emba, John drove us home on a lovely warm and starlit evening.  The noise of the frogs is deafening tonight so thank God for our double glazing.