I Keep Thinking it is Saturday...

We woke at some god forsaken time this morning - it was daylight at least but very early.  Chivers' health continues to give us some cause for concern but today at least he wanted to eat and we have switched to wet food so that he gets some fluid intake when he eats.  He has had a little to drink today although in fairness Mins doesn't seem to drink that much and we are still waiting for the tablets to sort out his constitution because until that happens dehydration is a real danger. We decided to keep him in and calm and under a watchful eye rather than stress him out again in the car but if he looks like he is not responding we will get him to the vets immediately.

Both cats have been treated for ticks and fleas this morning - just as well as the goats were brought to graze in the field next door and around these parts they are known as the Tick Express.  

Chivers absolutely hates the goats so we tried to keep him in and distracted but failed miserably and he was out doing the odd mouthing thing that he does when he is faced with something he doesn't like or something he is hunting. It is like silent growling and is very odd and as we are trying to keep him calm this wasn't good.  

John kept a close eye on him even when he decided to jump the fence and started following the goats.  Fortunately no incidents and no ticks today.  A couple of times today he has been running round like a puppy at MAC II and then he pants for a short time and then calms down, maybe we are looking for things that aren't there and that as a cat who had a poor start in life he will always suffer with a poor constitution and erratic breathing.

When the cats went for their mid-morning nap we took the opportunity to nip down to Polis.  John wanted to go to the woodyard to order the wood for the carport and for decking under the gazebo and then we picked up a few bits and bobs in the supermarket.

It being close to lunchtime and as a treat to us both after a rather stressful week we ended up in our favourite cafe for tea and stickies.  Today I opted for the moist orange cake that I had when we went for the first time with Laura - John plumped for a baked poppy-seed cheesecake which he said was absolutely fantastic and I had to admit it was a million times better than the name sounded.  It was beautiful sitting in the shady courtyard eating cake and drinking tea and great to see that the Art Cafe was busy because I know of two people who would be devastated if it weren't there.

It was very very warm when we got back - in the conservatory it was well over 30 degrees so we left it a couple of hours before we decided to do some jobs.  John was devastated that I hadn't noticed that he had done a load of work on the front garden yesterday.

We had decided to remove the footpath that split this part of the garden and to make it into one patch so that I could plant it up with more plants.  I was in such a rush to get in last night from Mum and Dad's I had walked past it and not taken any notice - how bad is that?

We have been looking at some of the plants which Klaus and Sheila gave us and we are going to put them in this front garden.  The herbs are doing brilliantly and at the moment the thyme and sage are both flowering so that adds some colour.  In the winter this is where we get the majority of the sunshine so we would like to make sure that when we are sat on the paved area that we have this lovely lush garden area to look at.

It is Friday night - takeaway and movie - except without the takeaway!  We have just had a lovely chilli prawn and butterbean salad with fresh village bread and dips (and yes Laura, I removed all the poo sacs!!).  We are now going to watch a film called Source Code - hope it is a good one.

Girlie Shopping instead of Pickleball...

It was a difficult night's sleep - the stresses of the day had taken their toll and we continued to worry about Chivers and his health.  Both cats came to sleep with us for a while during the night, went out, came back in, jumped around the bed, went out, came back in, attacked our feet and then peered at us nose to nose to see if we were getting up.  We were optimistic that Chivers had improved but this morning he wouldn't eat anything I put down for him and he was sick after eating grass - not to go into too much detail but he still has the squits and all this is not good for his dehydration.

I was going down to Paphos for pickleball this afternoon so we decided I should go early and (a) go into the vets to discuss calmly where we are with Chivers after the trauma of yesterday and before we decide whether or not we continue going there for his care (b) replenish John's Super Sunday Soccer Cider and (c) go to the bank in Kissonerga to transfer over some money so that John can get cracking with building the carport.

After 21 years of living here Mum and Dad were going to immigration today because they had been told that new regulations meant that, despite gaining 'permanent residency' and having it stamped in their passports, they  needed to re-register and get a yellow slip.  This has involved them getting together all sorts of paperwork and photocopying it and worrying a bit about the implications not to mention the fact that they had paid for this previously and were having to pay again.  Their appointment was first thing this morning but as everyone is given the same time this meant that they could have a long old wait.  Would you believe it but only today the immigration authority have been told that the old permanent residency paperwork and stamp in the passport is sufficient and there is no need to re-register - this is bound to open a right old can of worms for all those 'permanent residents' who re-registered prior to today.

I decided to drive down to the vets via Peyia where the cider is sold (although I have since found out that Mum can also get this in Chlorakas at the same price).  Poor John deserves to have his stocks replenished particularly as the mighty Blades are being televised Saturday and we all know what that means - Kiss of Death normally - there are only two games left to the season and if SUFC continue to win their promotion is not in doubt but life as a Blades supporter is like living on a knife-edge - boring never, disappointing often.

The next stop was to the vets - if nothing else I needed to get Chivers' book uptodate because we didn't know what the tablets were that John had picked up from Kathikas yesterday and we wanted a copy of his blood test.  We also wanted to discuss the care he had had prior to him escaping from the cage.  Yesterday was not the day to do it obviously, and at the end of the day all we want is what is best for him.  Our immediate concern is to get his constitution working properly so that he is hydrated and happy to eat - the vet wants to do a whole load of other tests but at this stage providing he is not in danger we want to keep him as stress-free as possible and we have yet to decide if we take him back to that surgery.  John has been with him all day.  He says that he has been quiet but drinking and eating a little and has taken his medication although he did spit it out three times tonight!  It has been exceptionally hot today so I am not surprised he is not rushing around like a mad thing.

I called into the bank at Kissonerga - it is technically our branch because that is where we started out but we rarely go in there now as the Polis branch is nearer.  It tickles me that the guy behind the counter always recognises me and could tell me that my Dad had been in earlier in the morning.  The exchange rate today was nearly €1.24 which is the highest for about four years.  Having sorted the transaction I said to blokey (don't know his name) saying he looked well, he told me that he was bored and he didn' like routine and was looking for some excitement in his life - at which point I felt it was a good time to leave just in case he was hoping that I might be able to provide some!

En route I found out that we had insufficient players for pickleball today so I took the opportunity to call in and catch up with Nicky and then swung by Mum and Dad's and after a quick spot of lunch took Mum out shopping.  We started off at Next and Debenhams - both of which are at the end of their sales so sometimes there are bargains to be had and, if nothing else, Debenhams is a nice store to wander round.  John wanted me to see if there were any Mantaray Polo Shirts on offer but unfortunately not and at full price he would have had a coronary still we did find one or two nice things and someone is going to benefit when it is their birthday but I can't say who!

We decided to go down to Kata Paphos and the Harbour to see the shop which has taken over where Peacocks used to be - we had noticed it had changed hands when we drove back from pickleball on Tuesday and it is opposite another branch of Debenhams.

Cyprus has hopped on the Garra Rufa craze which is sweeping the world it would seem and today we walked past people having dead skin nibbled off by hundreds of fish.  Mum said 'never in a million years' but I wouldn't mind giving it a go although I pity the poor fish that get my smelly piggies.  In fact Laura and I had planned to go when they introduced this service at a salon in Ilchester but the fish weren't 'ready' in time for me to go before I left the UK.  The woman on the left assured me that (a) she didn't mind having her photograph randomly put on my blog and therefore on the internet (so thanks lady on the left) and (b) that is was quite a nice relaxing experience. 

I have no idea how much this costs back in the UK but today it was €18 for 15 minutes - that seems like a rather long time to me particularly if you have ticklish feet as I do so I would probably opt for the €7 for 5 minutes - when you think that a coffee can be as much as €4 that seems quite a bargain to me.

On the subject of coffee I persuaded Mum to hang the expense and live a little so we did the tourist thing and sat at the cafe on the corner.  Yes I know that the coffee was twice the cost that it would have been in Paps round the corner but the view was infinitely better!  It was very hot down there and our peace was shattered at regular intervals by a red open topped double decker bus which was ferrying a wedding party around the harbour and tooting its horn - now there is class for you!!

We returned home to Dad so that we could continue our Rummikub championships and then have some tea before I went back to Droushia.  John has had a day of cat sitting and DIY and fending for himself.  Hopefully he will be pleased I managed to get him another pair of trainers from the Sports Direct in E&S that was closing down - they were 20% cheaper than if I had bought them from the Mesoghi Avenue.

Chivers is in and has made a fair attempt at eating a pouch of Gourmet cat food.

Houdini Who???

Today probably rates as one of the worst days John and I have had for a very very very long time...

...after a pretty miserable night's sleep (because we were both worried about Chivers) and Minz had been desperately looking for him, we woke and were planning our day when I checked the phone to find we had had a missed call from a number we didn't recognise.  I half jokingly said perhaps it was from the vets.

John called the number and it was from the vets, it was the vet telling us that during the night Chivers had managed to escape from his cage and was missing - in fact they weren't even sure he was still in the building and wanted us to come down and call for him as he might respond to our voices.  To cut a long story short John made the journey from Droushia to the vets faster than the speed of sound and we found out that he had escaped and triggered the alarms at around 2.30am that morning - it was now about 9.30am so he had been missing for over seven hours.  We were both frantic and I mean frantic - I have absolutely no idea how parents cope when their children go missing - our world was falling apart in front of us and after all he is only a cat, only a cat but our cat and our child replacement.

Eventually we found him hiding, wedged underneath the display of cat food in the waiting room.  He was absolutely traumatised as were John and I.  All we wanted to do was get him out and get him home.  We may have been less than civil to the staff in the surgery, and I intend to go back and apologise tomorrow, but for God's sake what exactly did they expect?

We have now got him home and settled - you will probably think he looks fine and we have been over-reacting but he breathes overly quickly, he pants with his tongue hanging out, he wasn't eating and drinking, he was dehydrated and has lost body weight.  He is calmer and we have got him to eat a little tuna and drink a little water.

The vets have phoned and now that we have all calmed down they have explained what happened and there are steps they are going to take to ensure that this does not happen again.  They also arranged for one of the members of staff to meet us this afternoon with some tablets that he is to take to try and settle his stomach which will help with the dehydration.  We will monitor the situation and decide what is best for him.

Having got Chivers settled we carried on with the remainder of the day.  I had cancelled craft at Jeanette's obviously and, even though I could have gone for a while once we got Chivs home that was the last thing on my mind. 

We needed to get two new front tyres for the car and John was keen to find somewhere in Polis that we could trust.  Having looked around we decided upon the place which is opposite Mosfilos on the corner.  John was happy that the guy knew what he was doing and that he could communicate with him and, even more importantly, John and I could wait in Mosfilos whilst the work was being done.

We had not intended to have lunch out and to be honest we were not really in the mood for food but we have always loved Mosfilos with its beautiful old colonial building and the genial owner who obviously enjoys his food if his waist-line is anything to go by.  We had to wait for about half an hour so decided there was nothing for it but to eat.  This is the sort of traditional establishment where the workers go for lunch and choose the dish(es) of the day rather than there be any sort of menu.  John opted for the pork afelia and I went for the white fasoulakia beans.  We were presented with a plate of rough and ready salad: hunks of onion, tomato and cucumber with very fresh, very peppery rocket - that would have been enough for me on its own.  John said that the Afelia was absolutely NOSTIMA (delicious).

As soon as we had eaten the car was ready to take complete with two new tyres - just the tracking to get done.  As I said I had missed craft today so having got home and checked that the cats were both ok, I decided to try out some crafting at home and created a garden gecko out of some green garden wire we had loafing around and some of my glass nugget beads.

He is not quite complete at this stage, there is some bending required to make sure that when he is attached to the wall he sits properly but all in all I think he is quite a star!

We have been keeping a very watchful eye on Chivers this afternoon - we need to make sure that he isn't sick and that he is eating and drinking and is breathing steadily.  He has barely moved from the garden today which is unusual for him as he normally likes to disappear over into the field.

We had left the cat basket in the conservatory so I decided to leave the door open so that the cats could get used to it.  Both Minz (on the left) and Chivs (on the right) had a good old look at it without being scared - they can probably smell Mum's cat hanging around it - why is it then when you want them to go inside they suddenly become rigid and uncooperative?

By late afternoon both John and I sat down and reflected on the events of the day.  What a nightmare it had all been.  John decided he had the urge to get mullered and I have to say I agreed with him so we cracked open the spirits - it has been so stressful I think we deserved it.  

We are pretty much Skyped out tonight having spoken to my sister Kaye and to both of John's sisters Janice and Wendy.  We have managed to get the tablets down Chivers and he has been very good at taking them.  We both need a decent night's sleep but I am not overly optimistic except that tomorrow must surely be a better day?

A Difficult Day...

It has been a very difficult day today because having had Chivers sleep with us all evening on the sofa and then all night on our bed he wouldn't eat anything this morning although he ran to his food and then I watched him drink water and then throw up.  He has seemed a bit out of sorts for a couple of days and he looked a bit scraggy so we decided to get him to the vets as quickly as possible which meant that John had to get down to Peyia in just 20 minutes - thank goodness we had got Mum and Dad's cat basket having given Ray and Janice back the one they had lent us.

To cut a long story short Chivers was kept in because he was dehydrated and put on a drip.  When we phoned this afternoon they said that he had ripped the shreds off of one of the cages as he so wanted to be out of it so they had had to move him to a larger one.  He doesn't seem to have eaten and has the runs (which obviously contributes to the dehydration) and they don't seem to know what has caused it.  We thought it would be best if he stayed in overnight for observations and having returned home late tonight Minz cannot understand why she is on her own.

I doubt either of us will sleep much tonight worrying about him so fingers crossed that by the time you read this he will be back with us and fit and well.

Back to today then whilst John was racing off down to the vets I had a visit from what they refer to over here as the Cyprus RAF - this is a very, very large black beetle with a loud buzz (like an aircraft) which seems to fly headlong into windows.  This is a what I think is called an African Black Lawn Beetle.

This duffer was walking across the swimming pool cover so I rescued it with the shrimping net - it got out of the net and flew straight back onto the cover - duh!  I rescued it again but his time it couldn't find its way out of the net so I had to untangle it and left it to dry out on the fence.  These insects are about the size of a small plum - you  wouldn't want on of them to hit you in the face if you were out cycling or on the motor bike - it could do some serious damage.

Our car was supposed to be being looked at by a garage in Paphos so John swung by Mum and Dad's and dropped the car off and borrowed their CRV so that he could come back to Droushia and pick me up.  We were going to take the opportunity to do some shopping whilst we were down town and I had said I would play pickleball today and then we were being very naughty and having Mum and John's favourite takeaway - KFC and then only because Mum and Dad had got a half price voucher put in their letterbox.

I also took the opportunity to take my original Canon camera down to Paphos to see if I could get it cleaned as there is something somewhere that leaves a circular shadow on the pictures.  The shop where Klaus had taken his previously has either moved, closed down, or was not where I thought it was located but we did find a small shop near to the Agipinor Hotel where the guy was extremely helpful and located whatever it was that was causing the problem.  He did not have the necessary cleaner to remove the offending speck but told me that his son (who also has a camera shop) would come over during the lunch closure and sort it out for me.  True to his word the speck has been removed and John went and picked up my camera whilst I was playing pickleball and there was no charge - how good was that?

On the subject of pickleball it was glorious down at the Imperial Beach today as there was just a light wind to cool us on the court.  During one of my sit-out periods I took a walk down to the beach and watched a paraglider being pulled along the coastline.  I have done this once many years ago, the views were spectacular but it was one of the most painful experiences of my life because the harness was pinching me in places I can't even begin to mention - let's just say it is a good job I didn't want children because that harness probably prevented me from ever having the opportunity!  Not only that, it was an extremely windy day so on my own I wasn't heavy enough to counterbalance the affect of the wind filling the 'chute so it took two or three men to drag me down - after that they sent people up in pairs.

I need help again from someone to identify the plant above.  These are flowering everywhere along the coastline.  It is some sort of succulent which we refer to as Ladies Fingers but I know that this is not what they are called.  The vibrant pink flowers are about 5-6 inches across and as you can see are very popular with the bees!  We had a load of it which we ripped out when we made room for the bike.

Mum is going to hate me for this photograph but it is lovely to see her enjoying the KFC.  We sat upstairs on their balcony waiting for the meal to arrive.  We had been told it might take 30-40 minutes and I wasn't entirely sure that they had understood my directions so we were chuffed when it pitched up just about 10 minutes after I had ordered it - pretty good going as it had to come from the Tomb of the Kings Road.

Dad and I were victorious in our Best of Five tonight - but only just.  John took the honours with the Rummikub.  If anyone else can suggest a good simple game for the four of us to play we would recommend your suggestions!

My Art Education Continues...

It is Monday today and, so that I am not gadding about everyday of the week and leaving John home alone, I asked Sheila if I could continue with my art lessons on a Monday so that next week when my Greek lessons commence I can go straight from art onto Greek.  Fortunately Sheila didn't mind so my new regime started today.  We will probably ring the changes once in a while and get Sheila and Klaus up here - I cant expect them to feed me every week - delicious though it is.

Anyway before I went off to Sheila's I got washing out and on the line and decided that I should give my sage a bit of a haircut.  We have let it flower - it is probably not the best thing for it but the flowers are so pretty and it attracts the hummingbird moths that I love.  John had the bright idea of putting the cuttings into water and any leaves that I removed I put in a bag and have put in the freezer so that I can use them in cooking or let mum have some if the sage plant I gave her doesn't survive.

Herbs do really well up here - I guess that is why when the gardens up here were planted there was a proliferation of sage, thyme, bay and lavender.  There is also an abundance of the variegated lemon scented geraniums but they have been left to get a bit woody so they are past their best.  I am going to take some cuttings and see if I can bring some new ones on.

On the subject of gardening we have been looking at the front garden and think we will remove the pathway in the middle and that will give me more space for planting.  We had been thinking about decking the area where we have the table and chairs but John has been down to the woodyard today and priced up wood for building the carport, decking under the gazebo and decking at the front and it is going to be quite expensive.  The alternative is to slab but it is going to be one hell of a job getting the areas level and then you still seem to get weeks coming up through the slabs, plus if one cracks then it is a bit of a sod to try and replace it.  There are decking companies here so we might just get a quote to see what their costs are.

While I was out 'enjoying myself' John decided that he would, along with going to the woodyard and doing our food shop, tackle the job of increasing the external waterpipe so that we can use the sun to heat more water for the outside shower and then dump the excess into the swimming pool.  I hope that, if he plans to have a shower today, he checks on Chivers' whereabouts because when I left this morning I found him lying in the shade directly under the spout!

Chivers has been a little bit under the weather the last day or so - we are not sure if he has been eating lizards or gecko tails or had a fur ball because he was ever so slightly sick last night - those of you who know John will know that bodily fluids are just not his thing!

So back to my art - I am currently working on a piece in Sepia - this is all very new to me as you only use five shades.   I had no idea what to do - the sepia study that Sheila has hanging on her wall is of Kent with water and beautiful old buildings.

I decided I would try to recreate (with a bit of artistic licence) a photograph of East Portholland which is where my Dad grew up and this is the progress I have made so far.  Those of you unfamiliar with that particular piece of Cornish coastline wont know how accurate (or not) I have managed to make it but I know my Dad and I can just hear him saying "those houses never had rectangular windows".  I am hoping to make even more progress next week because I would just love for my Aunty V to see what I have done when she is over here visiting from Canada.  I just hope she will think it is "frickin' brilliant" - her words, not mine!

 

After a couple of hours of close up work your eyes begin to ache a bit so our '10 minutes to lunch' call from Klaus is most welcome.  He is such a lovely 'gentle' man and his cooking is brilliant - today he told me it was leftovers - I can assure you that his leftovers could grace the table of many a restaurant!  We had a pie that comprised roasted vegetables and lamb in a tasty gravy topped with mashed potato and something which made it all crispy crunchy on top - delicious!!!

I walked home from Villa Knipps taking the bottom road - my progress was monitored by two of the local dogs, all voice and no trousers - in fact I think I was in more danger of being licked to death looking at the black dog!!  This route takes me along the main road and then I turn up the hill opposite the Droushia Hills Taverna.  This is a bit steeper than you realise - particularly when you are walking in flip-flops!  Still this must be good for the old heart surely getting it pumping!  On the subject of exercise Mum, God bless her, had her first dip in their swimming pool today - I said she must be a nutter!!! Their pool is always a good 10 degrees warmer than ours but it is still quite early.  I can't see us using ours for a few more weeks at least, today it was still only mid 60s!

John was just finishing off the water pipe job when I got home and he had also seen Simon Cowell at the farmer's union and got some fairly lethal stuff for the drains.  We are going to give it a go and see what happens - failing that we will be looking for some road kill to put in there.  You think I am joking - well apparently not!  Look it up on the internet! Oh and thanks Klaus for the advice on the venting pipe!

A Sunday without Cider...

The day from hell - started with a phone call from the vets to say Chivers had escaped from his cage and was lost - we found him in the end - full report in a couple of days - needless to say we are stressed!

Another dreadful night's sleep for me.  We may have to consider locking the cats out because at about 4.00am Chivers was attacking John's feet and Minzer was draped over my head.  I love them to bits but there are limits.  Plus I had random dreams again - I was being haunted by the drains even though today (unlike yesterday) - nothing - not even the merest whiffette - in all my working life I hated an intermittent, unreconstructable problem they were always the worst to try and resolve.  John is off to try and see whether Simon Cowell (the man with the high waisted trousers at the Farmer's Union) might have something to restore the balance as we think this is what may be the problem. 

 

Today was glorious so we decided to take the bike for a spin and had read in the PALS magazine that there was a flea market in Steni this morning.  Even if the market was pants the ride to Steni is lovely and we were hopeful that the little coffee shop/snack bar place might be open.  We took a cross country route missing out Polis and were amazed to find that there are still places which have a large amount of running water still gushing down to the sea.

The countryside is truly stunning at the moment so green and lush and with the fruit trees in blossom the air is so fragrant - that is one thing you will have to take my word for because even with all the technology there is around at the moment I cannot get scratch and sniff onto the blog (bloody good job when it comes to the drains I hear you cry!!!).

We passed some stunning holiday rental properties that we haven't noticed before - we are going to try and get some contact details as they might be a good location for people wishing to visit this part of the island.  We couldn't see anything obvious so will have to go back again at some point.  One of them might have suited Kaye and her party but we think that we made a good choice with the one in Kathikas particularly when it comes to proximity of eating establishments.

We found the flea market in full swing in the grounds outside the local museum which is where the Christmas market had been held last year.  There were certainly a few people bimbling about and we were pleased to see Irene (Droushia cat lady) doing a roaring trade with her books.  She will be thrilled to see her feral cat programme coffers being replenished - it is a thankless and unending task but without her we wouldn't have our two little darlings and for that we are eternally grateful.

John found a homemade cake and pie stall, hence the picture at the top of the blog.  These were cinnamon and apple muffins which he chose for our afternoon tea.  He also chose a chicken and ham pie which we are going to have with salad for tea - it saves me cooking and I have managed to get out of that quite nicely this weekend!

We didn't take time to go into the museum when we went to the Christmas market - I think it was because it was pretty damn cold that day.  Today we did make the effort and it is a very interesting, well laid out little museum of traditional Cypriot rural life.  The museum is funded by donations.  It is certainly worth a look if you are ever Steni-way as is Steni itself which is a lovely tidy village and is the home of the Steni craft group who meet on a Thursday in the little building next to the hall.  This is where Vix and I went last year and how I got to meet Jeanette and become part of the Wednesday craft group she holds at her home in Neo Chorio.

Also worth a visit is the little taverna Nero-Mylos which was doing a roaring trade today (probably helped by the attendees of the Flea Market).  We have heard good things about their spare ribs although unfortunately we were too early today to try them out.  John spied the desserts and said that we will have to return one day for tea and a sticky (not that he has a sweet tooth of course - he is just 'spreading the wealth'!).  By the time we had had a drink and a pitta and portion of chips we were too full to contemplate trying a dessert - tempting though it was.  There is always the next time and it gives us somewhere relatively nearby to take friends and family - who knows perhaps Kaye and Co might fancy ribs one night?

We took a leisurely drive home taking in the scenery - and beautiful it is too.  Winter does now seem to be a thing of the past thank goodness although someone (Dad I think) says rain is forecast sometime next week - let's hope it is after Wendy and Bill go home as they have had a right old mixed bag for their fortnight.  Still, a Skype call from Laura and Mark in Yeovil showed us that the weather there today was awful - at 1.00pm it was hardly daylight and it was pouring with rain.  It was good to hear from them and John is chuffed that the Hearse (our old Peugeot 406 estate) is still providing them with a vehicle - John always did say that the exhaust was a nightmare and in the ten years we had the car every single exhaust or combination of boxes made it sound like it was blowing - maybe it was just a feature of that model!!

A Day with our Stalkers...

Please note - Chivers is poorly - we had to take him to the vets today (Tuesday).  He has been sick and is dehydrated and has been on a drip - he is being kept in overnight.


Today, being Saturday, we had arranged to meet up with Wendy and Bill and their son Robert.  Wendy and Bill are, as you know, our friendly neighbourhood stalkers, as they followed our blog for some time before making themselves known to us.  We met for the first time way back in January and any doubts we might have had about meeting random strangers went out of the window from the outset.  

They kindly brought over John's new laptop which has been dedicated to his usage alone and not bogged down by all the odds and sods that have been downloaded on our other two machines.  With this pristine unadulterated laptop John is banned from moaning about the performance or the fact that something is 'not responding' as laptops don't get any better (well at least until the next model is unveiled).

In readiness for the 'Royal' visit we had a mass clear up, that was after a bit of a lie in as a result of our late night last night - baggy head? moi?  John has got a real bee in his bonnet about the glass in the conservatory and although we know there is still a coptic dust storm to come in the next week or so he decided to risk life and limb up on the roof with his telescopic squeegee pole - titter ye not madam!  Not sure that this was overly successful because it was a warm and sunny day and so the suds dried a bit too quickly even with the help of the hose and, lesson learned, don't do this when you have a bedroom window open!

John was also losing the war against the black flies that were nose-diving into the swimming pool despite his best efforts to get it looking sparkly clean.  These flies are like big horse flies and don't drown - they lie looking dead on the surface and when you fish them out with the shrimping net they suddenly come back to life and stupidly fly back in.

We had arranged to meet at To Karabani so that John could take Wendy and I down to the campsite.  We girlies were going to walk the coast path and meet up with the boys at Faros and then have lunch.

It was a lovely day for a walk and there were quite a few people enjoying the sun down on the beach but there is such a long stretch that it still looks relatively empty.  Latchi seems to be getting ready for the visitors to come but still had some work to do before the coast path is complete and the harbour paths and walls are finished.  

Bizarrely they have just started some development opposite the existing shops which has reduced the car park significantly and will inevitably cause mess and noise when there are tourists around.

There are some stunning beachside properties along that walk, many of which are available for rent.  We were particularly taken by this house (which is probably privately owned and not a rental) not least because the immaculate lawn turned out to be artificial grass and pretty authentic looking at that.  The gardens were beautiful and I am filled with enthusiasm for creating a lush and relaxing haven back at home.  It is all looking a little bare at the moment - not least because I planted the wrong things but now I know better plus I have people like Klaus and Sheila for donating plants and cuttings which should stand a chance of making it.

Faros was buzzing - nearly all the outside, marina-side tables were taken and once we had sorted out a seat in sunshine we settled down do a very very pleasant lunch for which I understand I need to thank Bill who paid for John and I which was very kind.

It was great to meet their son Robert who, as you can see, is a chip of the old block and he will hate me for saying it looks like a mini Bill (in my opinion).  I think it was great that during his precious week's holiday he was happy to come along and meet John and I.  Still in John he found a kindred footballing spirit and apologies that we made him miss the beginning of the Real Madrid Barcelona match - I hope his big night out in Droushia made up for it!

After a leisurely lunch we drove back to Droushia.  We were keen for Bill and Wendy to see the changes that we had made since they were last here in January.  The boys retreated to the cool of the lounge to watch not one but two football matches whilst Wendy and I relaxed in the conservatory.

The cats displayed the most overt cupboard-love ever when Wendy produced a whole raft of kitty treats including their absolute favourite: Asda Tiger Salmon Sticks.  Prior to this they had given our visitors a stiff ignoring!

No problems about Bill not having his glasses this time as Rob had insisted on driving so before it got too late we decided to venture down into the village to show the Bailey's the delights of a Saturday Night in Droushia.  

Unfortunately Christos's taverna was closed so our bar crawl was reduced to just one venue - O Stathmos.  As we went inside there were four guys in residence, one playing patience, two playing Tavli (backgammon) and one surfing the net.  No sign of either Bambos or Sylvia or anyone else who normally serves.  Oxi problem!  we sat down and to the amazement of the Bailey's John walked up to the fridge and helped himself to beers.  In the meantime the silver surfer had phoned Bambos who arrived from Palates and explained that there was a bit of a do going on up there with music and souvla and that we were welcome to go if we wanted - even if it was just to listen to the music.  Now had we known about this beforehand we could have factored it into our big night out so we thanked him but declined.  He then disappeared again.  This is so typical at Stathmos where if Bambos knows you he trusts you to help yourself and leave the money.

This rounded off a lovely day and it was brilliant to meet up with Wendy and Bill again - what a nice guy Rob was and a big thank-you to him for being 'Duty Drives'.

A New Sink and Making New Friends...

Oh what glamorous lives we lead up here in Droushia - our job for today was to replace the sink in the shower-room with the new sink and tap which we had brought over with us.  

Revamping the world's smallest shower-room is a challenge as we are limited as to what we can do but little by little we have tried to make the most of the miniscule space available to us.  We thought that a more compact sink would give more room when you are drying yourself having got out of the shower, with the existing sink you get a lovely shot of cold porcelain pressed against your nether regions if you are not careful.  

These jobs are never straightforward and the 'bugger-it' count was hugely elevated today.  Pipes were the wrong size or the wrong length and a hasty visit to Glykkis was required.  Plus the aroma escaping from the waste pipe whilst the sink was removed left an awful lot to be desired.  Poor John had to work in close proximity to it whilst contorting himself so that he could reach underneath.

Eventually (after an initial leak) we managed to get the new sink in situ but with the tap plumbed in the wrong way round - a minor detail.  Well when I say 'we', obviously I mean John with me lending a worse than useless hand - I am never in the right place at the right time - nor can I visualise what John requires without having it spelled out to me in simple terms - I am never going to be anything more than a humble Part Four and a rubbish one at that!

We still have to tidy up the sealant and make sure that no new leaks appear but it seems to have slotted in pretty well and the tap that John was so dubious about will do the trick for a while at least.  There is now really nothing more we can do to improve this room except to try and find out why periodically we get that drain smell inside (and out).  For the lives of us we cannot work out what is causing this - the drains seem free flowing enough - greater investigation into the vagaries of our septic tank are required methinks - at least now John has agreed there is an issue.

On to a more pleasant subject - our evening out...

...as a result of the Droushia Ladies Lunch Club as organised by my friend and neighbour Marian, John and I had been invited to Helen and Alistair Smeaton's for an Indian supper.  We were being joined by Marian and husband Chris and Jane (crafty lunch lady Jane) and her husband Mark.

As I have said before, and I make no apology for another plug, Helen and Alistair run a holiday cycling business http://www.wheeliecyprus.com/ from their beautiful and secluded home which was a bit of a bugger to find but once we did we were greeted by the most fantastic location with views to die for.  Having deliberated long and hard about what to wear because evenings here can be pretty chilly at the moment I needn't have worried because their home was warm and cosy.

 

I understand that they can offer separate accommodation for people joining their cycling and/or walking breaks.  I didn't get a chance to see it but if it is anything like their home I am betting it is fantastic.   They obviously have an eye for style and I had ornament envy - the face on the wall and the metal lizard could well go missing but it would be one hell of a trek up the hill to carry them back!

I think it must be fantastic to be able to turn a hobby or an interest into a business and Cyprus has offered this opportunity to a number of our friends, Jeanette with her mosaics and Nicky with her photography to name but two.  Maybe the easier pace of life here allows people to take time to take a good look at what that want to do and what they can do.

We had a lovely evening, Helen is a very accomplished cook who did everything from scratch and even got John and I to eat things that we may not have normally tried.  The fish curry, not normally top of my menu choice, was stunning and the goan pudding, which was a fragrant milky carrot confection, absolutely fantastic.

The company was great too and hats of to Jane who had been to hospital that morning to have the carpal tunnels on her left hand sorted out.  Spookily there was a West Country connection between us all!!!  Jane was from Exmouth and her husband Mark used to look after banks in the West Country and was familiar with Yeovil, Chris had worked for Clarks in Street, Helen lived near Abbotsbury - perhaps it was the accents that drew us together but then Helen is Welsh so that cant be right!

Thanks to John who opted to drive - I am not normally too bothered about having a drink but I did enjoy the red wine it went bloody well with Goan food I can tell you!!!.

The Storm Continues...

We had a crap night's sleep last night.  We were visited by both Minzer and Chivs during the course of the night and John was woken when Minzer decided to dance over his head.  I will have to give up eating cheese or something because I had some very bizarre dreams.  At one point I dreamt that when we go out to Helen and Alistair's for a meal on Friday night they belong to some strange sect and we are unable to leave until we agree to join - they run a cycling holiday business called Wheelie Cyprus which is hardly up there with the Moonies is it?

I was about to enjoy a little lie-in when I got a holler from John because Chivers had yet another tick today - this time disgustingly attached to his lip.  He is such a good boy that he will dutifully sit still whilst we get the tweezers out and remove it - unlike Minnie who wriggles like a greased pig.

The stormy conditions continued today with grey skies and wind although not so warm as it had been yesterday.  We were going down to Paphos today so that John could take the car into the garage where Dad goes to get the knocking noise we get on an uneven surface looked at.  With rain threatening and high winds pickleball looked unlikely but we were going anyway as Mum had organised a special tea of steak.  Dad had been for an ultrasound on his heart today because 'he hadnt had one for some time' and he has to see the kidney specialist later this week so hopefully he will be given as clean a bill of health as possible for his age.

John has new trainers - it is their first outing today - I think he needs to scuff them up a bit because there is something slightly creepy about ultrabright white new trainers!  He is so pleased with them that we may well have to take another visit to the dreaded Sports Direct.  As John has suffered with calcification of his heels and has 'spurs' which he thinks is a result of wearing heavy old Navy boots it is a real bonus when he finds shoes or trainers that fit and are comfortable.

The weather improved as we made our way down to Mum and Dad's - Mum and I knew that the swirling wind was going to make our game interesting!  There were only four of us playing today so there was little time to catch our breath between games.  At least today we could blame the wind for any poor shots that we made - the airball was going all over the place but at times the wind held up shots that would probably have been miles out normally and as a result I was able to lob Tom on a number of occasions with a shot that dropped just on the line.

I have added a photograph of the Roman Hotel as we pass by it on our way home from pickleball.  I always love the look of this hotel, one day I shall persuade John to stop and then I will go in and have a look at the inside.  On the outside they have painted murals and added statues to give it a 'classic' look - some might say it is a bit kitsch and it was the place where our friend Alan picked up a prostitute - when he was playing an extra in the TV show Sunburn!!

We had a lovely evening - games of cribbage with the usual moans and groans and some games of Rummikub - topped off by a superb meal of steak, vegetables and potatoes and then some Lidl vanilla icecream (which is as rare as rocking horse poo) and a coulis of mespila fruit and preserved ginger.

Our diaries are now getting filled up with the various visitors that are coming and our one year anniversary and Mum's birthday.  

Our trip home was uneventful and Min was waiting in the conservatory - Chivers appeared over the wall as we entered the garden.  Chivers is busy playing with a Crunchie wrapper like a thing possessed - Min is just looking down her nose at him.

Wild and Windy...

The title says it all - it has been a wild and windy day here in Droushia - in fact probably all over Cyprus.  It has been a warm wind - in fact at times it has been considerably warmer outside than in.  This storm is called the Khamseen or Khamsin winds (hot and sandy as they carry dust from the deserts of North Africa and the Arabian peninsula).

I took this video before I left for craft this morning - hopefully it will give you an idea of the strength of the winds and how leadened the skies have been - unfortunately all that sand up there will have to come down so we are prepared for a right old mess.

The garden has taken a right old battering - unfortunately the petunias in the front garden have been broken off and the sage has been blown practically horizontal.  Still there is nothing we can do until it dies down - gardening here is rather more stressful than I had anticipated!  I turned my attention to the plants that I have in the conservatory - including (get this Laura) the orchid that is shooting again - this orchid has been harbouring a lizard, we think that one of the cats might have caught it previously and brought it in as it was missing part of its tail.  We diverted the cats' attention and moved it outside to a safer place.

As I said earlier I was going to craft at Jeanette's today and taking Sheila with me.  John was battening down the hatches as most of the jobs he wants to do at the moment either need me as a second pair of hands or are outdoors.  He wasn't going to be lonely though as the cats weren't terribly impressed by the weather either and as I was leaving Chivers was stretched out on our bed - not even upset by the hairdryer and Minnie Mou was bedding down on the newly washed covers on the sofa.

As I made my way down to Sheila and Klaus's house I stopped at the community office as I could see Marianna was in so that I could pay our water bill.  For the last three months it was just over €14.  We do try and make sure we don't use water unnecessarily although over the next few months I will need to do some watering - there is some in the water butt which will help.

I didn't achieve very much at craft today!  I had promised to do some sewing for Jeanette as she had purchased some bead edged place-mats and coasters when she was over in Africa and they needed a little repairing so that was my first job.  I decorated one more gecko so we have a family of three to 'walk' up the wall outside and hide the imperfections!  I also managed to make a couple of Christmas cards.  I really need to sort out all the stuff that I have got as I end up taking far too much with me and then don't know where to start.  I really need a good meaty project to get my teeth into!  

Jane called into craft today, she is having an operation on the carpal tunnels of her left hand on Friday and she and her husband Mark are coming to Helen and Alistair's for dinner that evening - I have told her I will feed her if she needs help!  I have eventually sussed out where we turn off to get to Helen and Alistair's which is handy as we are driving Marian and Chris there on Friday!

When I got back to Droushia to drop off Sheila her lovely husband Klaus was outside assembling all the plants and cuttings he has been nurturing for me.  Blimey no pressure on me to keep them all alive then!!

Amongst other things he gave me a yucca and a cactus, some trees, some osteospurmum and some morning glory.  These will all help to fill the gaps and give the garden some height and some interest and of course if they survive at the Knipps's there is every chance that they might survive chez-nous.

Between us this afternoon John and I have eventually cleared the ironing away.  It seems a bit of a wasted effort at times because being short on storage space our clothes go away ironed but come back out needing ironing again!  Still it is a lovely feeling when it has all been done.

I am about to start tea - we are eating out of the freezer as it has been packed to the gunnels and should Lidl ever get any vanilla ice-cream back in stock we need room to house some.