Wet Wet Wednesday...

No two days are ever the same at the moment so when we woke this morning and threw back the curtains you could barely see across to the kitchen and then it began to absolutely bucket down again.  I had promised Jeanette that we would do some card making at craft so I packed up some bits and pieces and dodged the rain so that I could get to Neo Chorio.

There has been so much rain that I would guess the water table is absolutely saturated because the fields cannot cope and the excess is pouring off down the roads and filling the culverts - fortunately most of the ones round here have been cleared recently but there are times when even they are unable to cope with the volume.

As I set off for Jeanette's the sun began to break through and it really felt quite mild as I drove off down to Latchi.

As I turned off at the Easy convenience store this is the state of what was a dry river bed in the summer and which caused the mud slide a couple of weeks ago which swept through the shops and tavernas causing havoc.  After the event it has been cleared so that the water is flowing safely down to the sea - it has made the sea a strange colour.

On arriving at Jeanette's it was quite pleasant but she had planned for those of us that turned up to craft indoors.  So she had got a table ready for us which her cat Nooly short for Yanoula had decided was very firmly her territory!!  She is a lovely cat with a really quirky face as she looks like she has a beard!!  She is reminiscent of the cat from Shrek and I think Jeanette said that she was a Bengal Cat.  Either way she took some persuading to relinquish her position on the crafting table!!

When people haven't made cards before and have no idea what it is that they want to do except recycle old cards it is quite hard to know what to take with you and I have a tendency to take EVERYTHING I have and then people become completely mesmerised by what there is available.  Jeanette had asked me what she should buy to start her off and that is difficult too except blank cards are a good start and I managed to get some kits from the Euro shop which had blank cards, toppers, beads and ribbons in Christmas colours.

At the end of the day there were only three of us there, Jeanette, Chris and me.  Not surprising really as the weather lurched from torrential rain to blustery sunshine.  It was toasty warm in Jeanette's as she had the central heating on and we spread ourselves out and started making some cards - neither Jeanette nor Chris had done it before but soon got into the swing and both really enjoyed themselves.  Some of my efforts are in the photograph!

Neither Chris nor I can make next week but we have agreed to do more of the same the following week and the week after that Vix will be staying with us so she will get roped into making cards too!  Unfortunately she will have to slum it with the basic stuff we have got and not all the lovely kit that she has and which she uses to produce really really beautiful cards. 

More rivers are springing up on the island - this one is just down from Jeanette's house and I wasn't even aware that there was a dry river bed there normally.  It is no wonder everything looks so green!  Absolutely everyone is saying that this is the worst winter they can remember - we have our fingers crossed that the weather will be kind when Vix is here in February - and Vix you need to remember to have some outdoor soled slippers so that you can run between the buildings at night - Mum forgot and had soggy slipper socks as a result!

Talking of Mum and Dad we had invited them up last night so that they could see the log burner and we have also designated Wednesday night as our regular crib night (as we did in Yeovil) and they are coming up either to play at ours or, when the weather gets better, in Christos's taverna and hopefully we might find some other players to join us to make up a friendly league.  We had comfort food in the oven and a toasty warm home to welcome them as they ran in through torrential rain!

Gradually the cats are getting more familiar with Mum and Dad and Chivers actually sat on Mum's lap for a while.  Minnie rarely sits on anyone's lap other than John's so no-one should take it personally if she buggers off into her bed with her back to you!

Even Dad had to admit that the temperature in the house was bouncing - he said that he had warm hands and that his hands are never warm so John was delighted.  Dad and I were firmly trounced at Crib so we moved on to Mexican Train Dominoes which I excelled at to such an extent that John accused me of cheating!!!

We ended up having a very late night - even later than we managed on New Year's Eve!!!  We got stuck in to the bargain wine from Lidl and the bargain port from Lidl and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  Toasty warm beds and toasty warm bedrooms beckoned and we all turned in to enjoy a damn good night's sleep.

PS Don't forget to check out my Food Diary Page so you can see just how exciting I can make a weevil and a biscuit taste!!!