Autumnal Occupations...

Well we had the day to ourselves today with loads of plans but the weather was against us so we spent the day in and around the house and as we have Aunty Joyce and Uncle David coming for the weekend it meant we would be good and ready for them.

We are staying in to eat on Friday night.  As John and I will be playing pickleball in the afternoon down in Emba I like to have something sorted that will be easy to get ready on our return so with the weather decidedly cooler I dusted off the slow cooker.   I had bought a joint of pork yesterday which I decided I would cook a bit differently.  I remember that my aunt and uncle had enjoyed a Chinese at the Farmyard this time last year so I found a recipe for slow cooked pork in honey lime and ginger which sounded nice.  I have to say that the sauce smelt absolutely delicious - it will need thickening before serving but hopefully my effort will look as delicious as this.  The actual recipe had used pork loin but it is so lean over here I prefer to use something with a little more fat - I opted for one of the joints they have which comes wrapped in a string bag although when I extracted the joint from the bag it didn't seem to have much fat on it at all and was complete rather than bits - I just hope it turns out ok - time will tell!!

John thought it would be nice served with Dauphinoise potatoes which was fine by me - if the meat is a bit dry at least there will be some moisture from the potatoes.  You would not believe the size of the spuds for sale in Paps yesterday - they were absolutely GINORMOUS - you can see just how big when you compare it to the size of a standard large egg!!!!  So I got the potatoes ready along with the carrots and leeks so we will be all ready to go when we get home tomorrow.  I have to admit I have cheated with the pud - carrot cake from Paps - you simply cannot beat it and two slices will feed four of us no problem!

Before the heavens opened I managed to get a couple of hours in the garden - it has been sadly neglected over the last few months and was in need of a good tidy - everything has become overgrown and some of the plants get woody if they are not regularly cut back - then there is the danger that you will cut them back too far and they don't return.  I have a fabulous russet red osteospurmum which Mum gave me and I have trimmed it as much as I dare but it is beginning to look like its days are numbered which is a shame.

The sickness which has affected the vines has also affected plants in the garden.  The late rains and more humid conditions have resulted in plants developing mould - the honeysuckle in the front and the jasmine in the back have both suffered.  I have but the honeysuckle right down - it normally survives a good scalping but I am not too concerned if it doesn't - it is lovely when it flowers but other than that is quite messy.  The jasmine, on the other hand, was just beginning to cover the gazebo quite nicely so I am trying to cut out the bad bits and allowing the good bits to survive.

Apparently we have shingle in the borders but with so much dead debris on the surface you wouldn't know - this would drive the Bobster nuts as he carefully removes anything which has fallen down from their plants - I can see the reason why - everything looks so much cleaner but fear I have let ours go too far to ever get it back looking like that!

With my new bougainvillea to plant I am having a move around - we have too much in the garden really but I never like to get rid of anything that is growing - today I made and exception because the yucca interferes with the washing line and although we cut it back earlier in the year it seems to have doubled in size.

Di and Rob are returning to the UK next week for a family visit - they are leaving the same day as Aunty Joyce and Uncle David.  So tonight we had a Drouseian Dinner Out and had opted for Fitos as had most of the other residents of Droushia - we wondered if the electrical storm outside had caused a power outage in our village forcing people to eat elsewhere!!!  Fitos was packed and he seemed just ever so slightly harassed with only a young girl and his son to help with the service.  The food was excellent as always and we had a good evening - treated to a spectacular display of lightning which was impossible to capture on the phone, not least because we were dazzled by the lights from the new petrol station which looks like it is about to open - it still only appears to have one pump which is a bit confusing!!!  It is however visible from space and the security light outside the back door is going to blind someone and cause an accident.

Finally on a lighter note we were thrilled to have a phone call from George and Pam today.  It was so lovely to speak to George who wanted to thank us for everything we had done in preparation for Lou and Malc's holiday.  It wasn't much really and they are so lovely we just wanted them to have a good time - a week is too short.  Anyway Pam I know you read this so big hugs and kisses to you both.  Σας αγαπάμε και οι δύο xxx