Where is Noah when you need him?...

I know that I keep saying that I have never seen storms like it and that they have been getting progressively worse but last night really was the worst weather I think I have ever seen or heard anywhere.  We had said goodbye to Bill and Wendy when the storm started.  Living up here on top of a hill the weather systems seem to come up and settle overhead.  In summer we can often have a thin veil of cloud above our house when everywhere else is bathed in sunshine - of course in the summer that is quite nice and can provide some respite from the excessive temperatures - in the winter though it means that this area comes in for quite a battering.

I was in the middle of a Skype call to my friend Haze last night when the thunderstorm started in earnest - even she could hear it.  In fact there seemed to be two storms raging - one over towards Lara and the other down around Kritou Terra and when one appeared to be abating the other ramped itself up.

This isn't a brilliant photograph but then it was bucketing down and at that point I didn't have much idea how you photograph lightning anyway - having said that I have now read up all about it so next time I will be more prepared.  Anyway this was taken at about 11.30pm so you can see just how everything was being lit up.  

I had checked the temperature outside when Haze called so knew that it was cold (only 6 degrees) and the temperature falling so it was no surprise when the rain turned to hail - the first flurry covered the sunbeds - Vix and Laura take note!!!!  I took a look out later during the night and it was white over - didn't have my camera as it was across the way and didn't fancy running over to get it either.

The storm raged for several hours - it was difficult to get off to sleep as the noise of the wind and then hailstones the size of hazelnuts battered the buildings.  The amount of water coming off the 'conservatory' roof and overflowing from the water butt caused a flood between the buildings - fortunately there was nothing to spoil but equally there is nowhere for the water to go and we all know how much damage water can do - it only needs to find one little gap...

Fortunately we remembered to shut the shutters on the spare bedroom windows so we didn't have a repeat of the other day when the water poured up and over the runner because the window drain couldn't cope.  We hardly dared look this morning at what was facing us.

The great lake of Droushia is getting bigger - we pity the poor bugger whose house is built there because unless they sort this out properly that area is always going to be prone to standing water!

On balance things at ours weren't as bad as we had envisaged but boy what a mess there was.  The pool was full, the water butt was full, both cat litters were full (poor kitties didn't have anywhere dry to go to the loo even though we thought we had provided them with that facility), the ground was sodden and there was debris everywhere.

At the end of last night the gas fire started playing up again so John's first job this morning was to clean it and get it working properly - he thought it was crap on the sensor and he turned out to be right.  We thought the gas bottle had gone but he changed it and then the new one wouldn't light either so we knew we had a problem - only trouble was that when it started to happen last night John really didn't want to be outside swapping gas bottles back and forth!  Chivers came to give John the benefit of his experience in gas fires and together they sorted out where the problem was and how the pebbles should be stacked for optimum performance - Chivs said he would be checking out sooner rather than later as it was bloody cold in the house this morning!

I copped for the outside jobs and this photograph is flattering to the weather - not me obviously - because it is absolutely bucketing down and bitterly cold.  I had been outside clearing the litter trays and putting them somewhere dry and then syphoning as much water as I could out of the water butt because we have nothing but rain forecast for the coming week - deep joy!  It will make our trip down to Pissouri interesting tomorrow as we are eating in the taverna right on the beach!

The early morning brightness was soon replaced by more hail, more rain and that lovely rolling mist that engulfs us.  You can't see it but just beyond those trees is the house that Andreas is having built!  The strange thing is that it can all change very quickly and briefly the clouds parted and we had blue sky and a little sunshine - sadly it was brief and it was only a matter of time before we were back to grey skies, wind and rain.  It was most definitely a day for being indoors so we just resigned ourselves to that fact.  We had intended to go down to Paphos to the Duckpond market and call in to see Mum and Dad but just didn't see the point of turning out into the cold.

We warmed ourselves with a hearty lunch of butter-bean and chorizo chowder (thanks to Mum's neighbour Keith from the Blue Olive for inspiring me to make some).  It was lovely and the next time chorizo is on offer I shall definitely make some more.

This afternoon John is enjoying an FA Cup football-fest although the less said about the farce that was the Man City Man U match the better - no wonder fans get frustrated by refereeing inconsistencies. 

The cats have been in and out, in and out all day they really prefer to be out playing during the day but they just don't like the weather - Chivers has just come clattering in through the cat-flap without his collar and magnet - I think he must have come up against one of the feral cats in the garden but it just goes to show that with enough strength he can push himself through without it. We have had to give him a replacement - it is a good job the spare magnets arrived last week but at this rate I am going to have to get a couple more.

Min, however, has decided to look plaintively at us through the window and on a day like today who can resist?  We have relented and let her in that way - she never loses or removes her collar bless her she just gets things attached to it!

We are going to have to go out and investigate where Chivs collar might be but it is wet and getting dark so it will have to be tomorrow now.