lovely friends...

So my lovely friend Diana brought me a present for looking after her house and plants whilst she was away.  Really it was no hardship and we were only too happy to do it for them - after all that's what friends are for!!!  Still it was nice to have a present and I have a thing about candles so this was right up my street.  I aspire to owning a Jo Malone or a Diptyque but that ain't ever going to happen!!!

In fact it was only the other day I was saying to someone, and I think it might have been John's Mum, that if anyone were to give me a posh candle as a present, like for Christmas, I would be more than happy so here I am more than happy with my very posh looking Marks and Sparks Patchouli and Clove Candle - it is almost too nice to light.  Diana, who is only a couple of months younger than me said she had no idea what Patchouli was and I couldn't believe it because in the 70s it was all tie-dye and patchouli oil or maybe that was just because I lived near Glastonbury???  Anyway it prompted me to look up exactly what patchouli is and according to Wikipedia it is a plant from the dead nettle family and that doesn't sound anything like as exciting as Patchouli does it?

The candle smells lovely in its pot so I will let you know what it is like when it is lit - I shall be saving it for a special occasion.

Those of you who may have been worried about John and him being cold at night need worry no longer as I relented and allowed him to have the thick fluffy throw on the bed - that and a sheet!  To be fair the temperatures at night have been hovering around 10 degrees which is chilly.  The forecast for the next week is for good amounts of sunshine and temperatures in the mid 20s but cold at night because of the clear skies still after the last few miserable days I would take that in preference any day.

Our bed is now a veritable smorgasbord of throws 'just in case'.  I like to think of it as being more my attempt at embracing the art of Hygge which is a Danish and Norwedian word for a mood of coziness and comfortable conviviality with feelings of wellness and contentment!!!  But then you all knew that didn't you!

Minnie Mou is clearly appreciating the comfortable conviviality and has got herself well snuggled up and just catching the rays of sunshine that were coming in through the door.

John decided not to chance his knee at pickleball today.  He has been moaning about it all week and then this morning declared that it wasn't so bad after all but he took one look at my face and decided he would be better resting it which was a wise decision.  I set off and paid my first visit to our new local filing station which seems to have a huge forecourt with not much in it.  Anyway I was served by a very nice young man and watched two guys doing a sterling job handwashing a car which I was informed cost 9 euros.  This is a tad more expensive than down in Emba but then we wouldn't have to travel down there to get it done.  It all seems very nice and clean and friendly so I shall be using it again particularly as I had both the windscreen and back window washed whilst waiting for Kenny to be topped up.

It was a very bright day today, bright and breezy but it meant I had a very pleasant drive down to Mum and the sea looked spectacular as I passed along by Banana Bay where they are supposed to be building a marina but I have read in the paper that Paphilia have now pulled out - this has been in the pipeline for over ten years apparently and now they are going to have to go through the tender process again.  I for one am not sorry - I have always loved this stretch of coastline with its wild and rugged charm so would be sorry to see it swallowed up by concrete .

I picked mum up and we went off to play.  It was really good fun this week.  Liselotte brought her dad along to see what pickleball was all about before taking him shopping in the Old Town.  This left Mum, me, Di, Keith and John.  All very good natured games with a lot of banter and some hard play.

Mum and I did a bit of shopping in Paps and a few bits and pieces back at the house before I set off back home.  I stopped at Banana Bay - it was difficult to capture the power of the sea and the size of the waves but you can hear how strong the wind was.  I had an uneventful trip home but was more than ready for my shower and the chili that we had left over from last night.

I will finish with a shot of the sun shining over the sea.  Tomorrow is forecast to be dry and warm which is good because we are doing a village clean.  In the UK I gather there is likely to be snow tomorrow which after all the lovely weather they have been experiencing is going to come as a shock.

It was cool this evening but we were warm from our showers and our chili and snuggled up on the sofa getting to grips with the art of Hygge - we had such plans to watch things on the TV but we just didn't make it - the call of the big fluffy throw on our bed was just too much in the end.