Days like today remind us why we live where we do...

John woke at some ridiculously early hour this morning and got up - it registered JUST but I snuggled down - it is the best part of the day - just before the builders start!  I was joined by Chivers who leapt in through the windows and sat right on my chest (not easy granted) and fell sound asleep so my excuse was that I was pinned to the bed and couldn't get up!  The builders did not disappoint starting at about 7.15am but by then I was coming to so it didn't really bother me.  Although the sky was cloudy you could just tell that once the sun had burned off the cloud it was going to be a cracking day Gromit!

We were joined for coffee by our neighbours Sharon and Sean who arrived last night and borrowed a bottle of wine before sleeping in the lounge next to their wood burner - it has been quite a while since they were over last so it will take a while for their house to warm up!  No photographs as they were waiting for the water to heat up and have a shower - bad hair days all round they said but I thought they looked fine if not a bit tired but they had a long old day yesterday.  It is nice to have them around again and hopefully they are coming for a meal on Saturday if they don't get a better offer!  The Droushia Cribbage Championship can recommence - I seem to recollect that we girlies are in front!!!

Avid followers will be excited to learn that SF (Site Foreman) is back on the scene - boy we have missed him!  Dad came up today to help John get the space ready for the new conservatory.  It is strange to see the pergola and doors being dismantled - I have got so used to that space.  It is also very encouraging to learn from Sean (who is in the double glazing trade) that the price we have been quoted is very very reasonable. It was also encouraging to hear from Dad that the weather up here in Droushia was better than he had left in Paphos - that is a rare thing indeed!

He wasn't wrong about the weather because you can see the weather station showed a temperature in excess of 27 degrees midway through the morning! 

What a difference a week can make but I have heard that next week is back to wet and windy so I am not going to gloat too much.  I cant believe the humidity level in the house either - down to under 30 degrees which is fantastic and means that we don't need to use the dehumidifier during the day which is a bonus.

A sure sign that the weather is improving is the proliferation of wildlife that has come out of hibernation.  This little fella (which was only about an inch or so long) was one of a pair that emerged from the wood that John was removing from the pergola.  They are like tiny little dinosaurs and absolutely fascinating but dont stick around too long to have their photograph taken!

It is lovely to see them as we know for certain that spring/summer is just round the corner and it will only be a matter of time before we are moaning about how hot it is outside - we have our fingers crossed that the weather will be kind to Laura when she arrives at the end of March and talking of Laura (and Mark) we wish them well for this weekend when they finally move out of married quarters and into their lovely new house.

One of my jobs today was to try and get Dad's driving licence sorted, the form is only issued in Greek but I had managed to find a translation on the internet, Dad had tried to print it but without success.  He also needed a passport size photograph.  The only trouble was that today it was very bright and sunny and Dad's photo chromic lenses kept going black!  Eventually they calmed down enough to take a snap - Dad looks like Prisoner Number 6!!!  

I offered to run it through my airbrushing software to iron out the wrinkles!  I think he must have had a rather severe haircut recently - obviously wanted to get value for money and not have it done again for a while!  Still you have to admit he ain't looking bad for an eighty year old!

Chivers had a coming of age today as he caught his very first rodent - a tiny little mouse - John managed to rescue it from his boxing glove paws and set it free in next door's garden in the hopes that it escaped to live another day rather than die of shock.  We just know that we are going to be greeted by some dead or half dead wildlife as time goes by.  Sean and Sharon were well impressed with the way that Chivs has developed as the last time they saw him he was only just recovering from cat flu and boy that feels like a lifetime away.

It must have been warm at ours because as I was leaving to go down to Paphos and play pickleball in Paphos I left Dad and John eating lunch outside in the front garden.  I persuaded Dad to take his hat off - nice that he had it on to stop getting sun burnt rather than because it was so bloody cold up here!  I am trying to persuade John to do something with this space which gets the bulk of the sun all day - after all we have some glass doors that need using now that we have taken them down from the conservatory!!  I mean to say that a man of his calibre should be able to come up with something surely???

I left mid morning to go on down to Paphos to play pickle-ball  and John and Dad followed on later.  It has been such a beautiful day that tourists staying at the Imperial Beach were out lying in the sun in bathing costumes!  There were only four of us for PB today.  It makes for a right good old workout as we get little respite between games but standing on the court today in balmy temperatures in the 20s with the sun sparkling on the blue Mediterranean sea we are reminded just why we have chosen to live here and reflect on how lucky we are.  The cold wet and windy weather is now a distant memory!

We are back from Paphos - I have had my hair scalped courtesy of Rosie (Mum's neighbour).  

Just want to say Happy Birthday to John's Mum and our nephew Michael and also get well soon to my god father Terry (Mum's little brother) - our love and thoughts are with you all xxxx