Thursday - we try Pickleball indoors again...

After some brilliant weather over the past few days today looked pretty grey at the outset.  Over towards Latchi the sky was pretty black but fortunately the weather was coming from Paphos and we had some clear skies in view and I decided to try and get some washing done - poor John is running out of undies I would think!  I was up early - another difficult night with Chivers.  John did a fantastic job of administering this morning's medication although Minnie looked hatefully at him as we tried to squirt the ear gunk in her ear.  We decided to see how they progressed today but we didn't feel awfully optimistic looking at Chivers and once again nothing at all would tempt him to eat.

I had decided to go down to Emba to give the indoor pickleball another go.  We have heard rumours that the filling stations are going on strike indefinitely tomorrow so I wanted to make sure the CRV got filled up and it gave me a chance to use my new Christmas purse.  Mrs Haggett would be so proud - a GUESS purse - although if it came from here in Cyprus it is anyone's guess as to whether it is kosher or not - not - probably!!   I set off with the intention of going via Mum's and picking her up but I had only just got onto the concrete road by the Egyptian's house when I met not one but two cars and there is very little opportunity for two cars to pass - as I now know - it took me an extra 10 or so minutes to get down that track and that made me late and having got 5 points on my licence (three courtesy of John) I can't afford to speed.  I had to let her know that I was running late and she decided she would walk as it wasn't far anyway.  I went Peyia way and stopped at the garage to get petrol.  Deep Joy fuel has gone up 7 cents a litre here on January 1st.  This is the start of things to come here as the government begin to implement the measures imposed by the Troika and address the budget deficits. 2013 is going to be a tough year I think.  Anyway I managed to fill up and asked the attendant if they would be shut tomorrow and he said he didn't know which was helpful.

There were six of us at pickleball today as Jenny had come to try out the new facility.  It isn't working as the boundaries are just too close to the perimeter of the court and we are concerned about the rental commitment that Tom is paying in advance.  Dave has decided that this is just not for him and will not be returning.  We are going to need to find another venue and some more players so that if someone cannot make it for any reason there is still enough people to play otherwise we have to pay for the court and not use it.

I gave Mum a lift back home and made my way back to Droushia.  As I came up the Polis Road the heavens opened and I drove most of the way back home through heavy rain.  Bugger - I hoped that John would remember I had washing on the line.  Miraculously as I neared Droushia the skies were clear and bright and although my washing was not completely dry it was pretty near to it and so we brought it in and put it onto the airer so it could finish off in the warmth of the conservatory.  I took the opportunity to plant up the daffodil bulbs that Mark and Laura has sent as part of our Christmas box.  We decided to plant them all along the path in the front garden.  Although this area gets hammered by the rain we have grown daffs here before so we have our fingers crossed.

Chivers has made no improvement today, in fact he has got worse as he started to vomit bile, he looks pitiful and we made the decision to make an appointment for him first thing tomorrow and to be honest that wont come soon enough.

We had been invited round to our neighbours Angela and Phil this afternoon to catch up.  They are the couple who have had all the work done on the three bedroom house next door but one to us.  We have seen it in all stages and were keen to see the 'almost' finished article.  Angela is clearly a woman who knows what she wants and wont settle for anything less!!!  The house is looking spectacular - having money obviously helps and having enough money to afford central heating throughout helps even more!  We had intended to go for an hour or so but ended up staying for over three!!  They will be visiting on a more regular basis with family members and like their privacy and like to keep themselves to themselves but are happy to pass the time of day.  This is fine by us and to be honest it is nice to see the place spruced up and to have more people around.  They have also tidied up the house next door which belongs to a family member and have tackled the green area.

 

On our return it really was too late to cook a meal so we settled for cheese and biscuits.  Minnie Mou was snuggled up on the sofa with her self heating blanket wrapped round her and looked warm and comfortable.  She is clearly on the mend.

Chivers on the other hand looked haunted and has taken a turn for the worse - we are both beside ourselves with worry and desperate to get him back to the vets safe and sound.

Nothing would prepare us for the awful night that was to come - I will report on that tomorrow because two nights with little sleep has taken its toll and I am calling it a night.