So visitors gone home - back safe and sound - big big thanks to the Special Assistance Team at Paphos airport who got them through to departures in record time.
Our lives are now returning to some sort of normality if six hours of cleaning and gardening in unusually warm temperatures for September is normal! We were so glad of a surprise visit from Susan and John Read and their son Gareth because it afforded us a little break!
Lunch was going to be a challenge as I haven't been to Paps for about three weeks - but in the end good old beans on toast saved the day!! Breakfast earlier hadn't been an issue for me as I had received my regular delivery of freshly picked local figs from George next door!
It is too early for the major garden cut back in readiness for winter as there are still things flowering and we have more visitors who may want to enjoy the garden before it looks bare and uninteresting.
I haven't done a thing in the garden for at least three weeks and boy didn't it tell as the solanums were in real need of a radical haircut to keep their shape and encourage the flowers.
Several hours and a green council wheelie bin full of clippings later I had done just about as much as I could manage without being crippled for life! I just know I am going to be paying for this tomorrow but there is always an immense feeling of satisfaction when you wander round the garden and it all looks neat and tidy - plus I have heard that we are in for another sandstorm in a couple of days and if it was anything like the last one then I will be staying firmly indoors.
Whilst I was working out in the garden John was getting down and dirty in the house - he took the opportunity to sweep the chimney so that the wood burner will be ready to use when we need it.
We hadn't thought it would be too bad but managed to get a fair amount of crap out - just goes to show that some of the wood we are burning produces a lot of rubbish!
By the end of the exercise John could have done a reasonable impersonation of Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins! On the plus side it meant that the lounge got a good clean and the floor mopped so all traces of soot were removed otherwise we could just imagine some little paws finding some and trotting it through the house and then settling into my ironing basket!
On the subject of clothes we suggested to John's mum that she leave a load of summer clothes here for next year if she was unlikely to wear them back at home. She decided to do that and I said I would list everything to aid with packing next time. She and Hadge took two suitcases back with them which seemed to be pretty full but they have managed to leave 36 kilos behind and a lot of it seemed to be unworn!!!
We have now had the grotty old wall down the front path skimmed over and we need to paint it but as yet haven't got round to getting any paint - even in its raw state it looks so much better and as we were on gardening I was having a shift around and decided to put some pots out on the low wall to make it look a bit more interesting. It isn't really a priority as there are lots of other more important external work that needs doing like the flat roof but when it is so very hot it's just not something you have the energy to think about it and then before you know it the bloody rains come and it is no good to do it then!
It being Thursday meant it was my day to feed the cats up at the end of the estate. This includes the lovely kitten for who we have failed to find a home so far - we call her Jazzy-B but Irene calls her Peanut - either way she comes everytime someone goes to feed - not that she is particularly hungry but she just loves some attention. She is practically inseparable from the resident stray Donut who is a lovely lump of a cat and so maybe they are destined to stay together - they do at least get fed, watered, vet treated when necessary and have some love. Today we took up a mouse from the ones which John's mum brought for ours (they have stiffly ignored them) and also a scratching post from Mum to which they did the same! We are sure that when Sean and Sharon come out permanently they will adopt all the regulars so we aren't too concerned about Jazzy-Peanut and we will endeavour to give her regular cuddles until they are here. We just don't want the numbers to increase much more as there is a kind of uneasy harmony between the 12b's and the 10b's and a pecking order has been established even if sometimes one or other of the cats just needs reminding.
We are very conscious that our visitors have prevented us from spending as much time with Pam and George as we would have liked and as they would normally have had family and grandchildren to stay at this point they are feeling a little more in need of company than usual so we went round for a cup of tea this afternoon - this also means cake and/or biscuits and sometimes something savoury so, desperate to lose some of the extra pounds we have accumulated over the past few weeks, we had to head things off at the pass and settled for only a plate of biscuits! We are planning a night out together as they want to thank us for keeping an eye on the place for them - we would do it anyway but it is always nice to go out with them.
On arriving at George and Pam's we had to step over Charlie who has adopted George as his papou and George loves him very much so they have become inseparable! We now don't really worry if we can't find Charlie as, if George and Pam are in and up, he is likely to be found with his head in Pam's fridge - Pam clearly gives Charlie little tit-bits as I could see a plate on the floor by the freezer - and we wonder why he is fatter than any of our other cats.
We reluctantly turned down the offer of loukaniko, eggs and chips cooked by George's own fair hands in favour of a baked brie and roasted red pepper salad which I have been dreaming about for days - not sure it would appear on any diet sheet but it felt healthier than having chips!
It was a beautiful still evening with no condensation and we took the opportunity to sit outside because we can!
Our lives are now returning to some sort of normality if six hours of cleaning and gardening in unusually warm temperatures for September is normal! We were so glad of a surprise visit from Susan and John Read and their son Gareth because it afforded us a little break!
Lunch was going to be a challenge as I haven't been to Paps for about three weeks - but in the end good old beans on toast saved the day!! Breakfast earlier hadn't been an issue for me as I had received my regular delivery of freshly picked local figs from George next door!
It is too early for the major garden cut back in readiness for winter as there are still things flowering and we have more visitors who may want to enjoy the garden before it looks bare and uninteresting. I haven't done a thing in the garden for at least three weeks and boy didn't it tell as the solanums were in real need of a radical haircut to keep their shape and encourage the flowers.
Several hours and a green council wheelie bin full of clippings later I had done just about as much as I could manage without being crippled for life! I just know I am going to be paying for this tomorrow but there is always an immense feeling of satisfaction when you wander round the garden and it all looks neat and tidy - plus I have heard that we are in for another sandstorm in a couple of days and if it was anything like the last one then I will be staying firmly indoors.
Whilst I was working out in the garden John was getting down and dirty in the house - he took the opportunity to sweep the chimney so that the wood burner will be ready to use when we need it.We hadn't thought it would be too bad but managed to get a fair amount of crap out - just goes to show that some of the wood we are burning produces a lot of rubbish!
By the end of the exercise John could have done a reasonable impersonation of Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins! On the plus side it meant that the lounge got a good clean and the floor mopped so all traces of soot were removed otherwise we could just imagine some little paws finding some and trotting it through the house and then settling into my ironing basket!
On the subject of clothes we suggested to John's mum that she leave a load of summer clothes here for next year if she was unlikely to wear them back at home. She decided to do that and I said I would list everything to aid with packing next time. She and Hadge took two suitcases back with them which seemed to be pretty full but they have managed to leave 36 kilos behind and a lot of it seemed to be unworn!!!
We have now had the grotty old wall down the front path skimmed over and we need to paint it but as yet haven't got round to getting any paint - even in its raw state it looks so much better and as we were on gardening I was having a shift around and decided to put some pots out on the low wall to make it look a bit more interesting. It isn't really a priority as there are lots of other more important external work that needs doing like the flat roof but when it is so very hot it's just not something you have the energy to think about it and then before you know it the bloody rains come and it is no good to do it then!
It being Thursday meant it was my day to feed the cats up at the end of the estate. This includes the lovely kitten for who we have failed to find a home so far - we call her Jazzy-B but Irene calls her Peanut - either way she comes everytime someone goes to feed - not that she is particularly hungry but she just loves some attention. She is practically inseparable from the resident stray Donut who is a lovely lump of a cat and so maybe they are destined to stay together - they do at least get fed, watered, vet treated when necessary and have some love. Today we took up a mouse from the ones which John's mum brought for ours (they have stiffly ignored them) and also a scratching post from Mum to which they did the same! We are sure that when Sean and Sharon come out permanently they will adopt all the regulars so we aren't too concerned about Jazzy-Peanut and we will endeavour to give her regular cuddles until they are here. We just don't want the numbers to increase much more as there is a kind of uneasy harmony between the 12b's and the 10b's and a pecking order has been established even if sometimes one or other of the cats just needs reminding.
We are very conscious that our visitors have prevented us from spending as much time with Pam and George as we would have liked and as they would normally have had family and grandchildren to stay at this point they are feeling a little more in need of company than usual so we went round for a cup of tea this afternoon - this also means cake and/or biscuits and sometimes something savoury so, desperate to lose some of the extra pounds we have accumulated over the past few weeks, we had to head things off at the pass and settled for only a plate of biscuits! We are planning a night out together as they want to thank us for keeping an eye on the place for them - we would do it anyway but it is always nice to go out with them.
On arriving at George and Pam's we had to step over Charlie who has adopted George as his papou and George loves him very much so they have become inseparable! We now don't really worry if we can't find Charlie as, if George and Pam are in and up, he is likely to be found with his head in Pam's fridge - Pam clearly gives Charlie little tit-bits as I could see a plate on the floor by the freezer - and we wonder why he is fatter than any of our other cats.
We reluctantly turned down the offer of loukaniko, eggs and chips cooked by George's own fair hands in favour of a baked brie and roasted red pepper salad which I have been dreaming about for days - not sure it would appear on any diet sheet but it felt healthier than having chips!
It was a beautiful still evening with no condensation and we took the opportunity to sit outside because we can!
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