So we are creeping ever closer to Christmas and whilst the days may be fair the nights are cold up here in the hills and in fact today when I woke it was rather cloudy and grey and we had clearly had rain overnight.
My attempt to make the bed this morning was stymied by the boys who had grabbed the warm bits for themselves. Now I can make a bed around one sleeping cat, if that cat is Charlie, in the same fashion as when a conjurer whips off a table cloth and keeps the items laid out on top undisturbed. Charlie sleeps like the dead and so I can wiggle and pull and fold the bedding around him and he doesn't care - I do not have the strength or expertise to do it around three cats so I left them until their tummies forced them to make a move towards the kitchen.
At this point I must tell regular readers that sadly the Judy/Tinks experiment didn't work and Tinks the tiny dog has been returned to Hounds on Holiday still seeking a new home which is a shame.
So back to today and after having played a pretty strenuous hour and a half of pickleball with depleted numbers so that there were only four of us - Jeff, Tom, Di and myself, I took Mum to do a bit of shopping. I feel like her 'Minder' as help her navigate around in her shades - she says she is terrified of tripping over and I can't blame her but the shades are there to help and work fine in strong sunlight but on an overcast day can create or hide shadows which she could mistake for a step. Anyway the International Woman of Mystery and I went to the local Papantoniou supermarket for some bits and pieces. The one in Chloraka is the original shop which has been located there in one form or another for 30 years. Originally it was nothing more than a shed with the fresh produce in orange boxes outside and everything inside a bit dark and dingy and dusty. Times have changed and the Papantoniou empire is spread far and wide over the island and although the original shop has changed it was a bit like Topsy and just grew and grew and now has to compete with the likes of AlphaMega and the unpronounceable one that has branches in the old Carrefour buildings - these are much more modern and provide a much nicer shopping experience. I love our Paps in Polis which is relatively new but used to really hate the one in Chloraka as it never really felt clean. I am not entirely sure how old the photograph is above but where the shopping trollies are there are now mature trees!
So over the past few weeks, whilst still trading, the original Paps store has been given something of a makeover which is still underway. This is the same facade as in the photograph above - you can tell that from the rectangular window with the small panes.
Mum and I are in debate as to what the glass corner on the left is going to be used for - our guess is either (a) a small cafe or (b) an area to put items on promotion.
The entrance has been moved from under that rectangular window to over on the right which is causing all sorts of confusion but inside the store is now light and airy and everything looks fresh and clean but until the refurbishment is complete it is a lottery as to whether you will be able to find what you are looking for!
I was instructed by Effie (Mum and Dad's neighbour) to help myself to any pomelos that looked ripe and were still on the trees as there are a whole load on the ground but she says they are there because they are no good. She has two heavily laden trees and she doesn't eat them - fortunately we love them so I was more than happy to relieve her of a few although I think it may just be a little too early. The three I chose were each the size of a small football but the skins will be a good centimetre thick and once peeled you end up with something the size of a navel orange! It is worth the effort though and once we start we can't stop eating them.
John did not come to Emba with me so having sorted out Mum and Dad (who we will see again tomorrow as John is taking Dad to Limassol for what we hope will be his final check-up on his eye) I drove back via a Potama Bay and stopped to take a photograph of this area which is likely to change soon if the planned Marina gets the go ahead - shame really as I like the ruggedness of this bit of coastline even though it has been tidied up over the years.
We had a quiet night as we have a busy-ish day tomorrow.
My attempt to make the bed this morning was stymied by the boys who had grabbed the warm bits for themselves. Now I can make a bed around one sleeping cat, if that cat is Charlie, in the same fashion as when a conjurer whips off a table cloth and keeps the items laid out on top undisturbed. Charlie sleeps like the dead and so I can wiggle and pull and fold the bedding around him and he doesn't care - I do not have the strength or expertise to do it around three cats so I left them until their tummies forced them to make a move towards the kitchen.
At this point I must tell regular readers that sadly the Judy/Tinks experiment didn't work and Tinks the tiny dog has been returned to Hounds on Holiday still seeking a new home which is a shame.
So back to today and after having played a pretty strenuous hour and a half of pickleball with depleted numbers so that there were only four of us - Jeff, Tom, Di and myself, I took Mum to do a bit of shopping. I feel like her 'Minder' as help her navigate around in her shades - she says she is terrified of tripping over and I can't blame her but the shades are there to help and work fine in strong sunlight but on an overcast day can create or hide shadows which she could mistake for a step. Anyway the International Woman of Mystery and I went to the local Papantoniou supermarket for some bits and pieces. The one in Chloraka is the original shop which has been located there in one form or another for 30 years. Originally it was nothing more than a shed with the fresh produce in orange boxes outside and everything inside a bit dark and dingy and dusty. Times have changed and the Papantoniou empire is spread far and wide over the island and although the original shop has changed it was a bit like Topsy and just grew and grew and now has to compete with the likes of AlphaMega and the unpronounceable one that has branches in the old Carrefour buildings - these are much more modern and provide a much nicer shopping experience. I love our Paps in Polis which is relatively new but used to really hate the one in Chloraka as it never really felt clean. I am not entirely sure how old the photograph is above but where the shopping trollies are there are now mature trees!
So over the past few weeks, whilst still trading, the original Paps store has been given something of a makeover which is still underway. This is the same facade as in the photograph above - you can tell that from the rectangular window with the small panes.Mum and I are in debate as to what the glass corner on the left is going to be used for - our guess is either (a) a small cafe or (b) an area to put items on promotion.
The entrance has been moved from under that rectangular window to over on the right which is causing all sorts of confusion but inside the store is now light and airy and everything looks fresh and clean but until the refurbishment is complete it is a lottery as to whether you will be able to find what you are looking for!
I was instructed by Effie (Mum and Dad's neighbour) to help myself to any pomelos that looked ripe and were still on the trees as there are a whole load on the ground but she says they are there because they are no good. She has two heavily laden trees and she doesn't eat them - fortunately we love them so I was more than happy to relieve her of a few although I think it may just be a little too early. The three I chose were each the size of a small football but the skins will be a good centimetre thick and once peeled you end up with something the size of a navel orange! It is worth the effort though and once we start we can't stop eating them.
John did not come to Emba with me so having sorted out Mum and Dad (who we will see again tomorrow as John is taking Dad to Limassol for what we hope will be his final check-up on his eye) I drove back via a Potama Bay and stopped to take a photograph of this area which is likely to change soon if the planned Marina gets the go ahead - shame really as I like the ruggedness of this bit of coastline even though it has been tidied up over the years.
We had a quiet night as we have a busy-ish day tomorrow.
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