Friends, food and Fitos

The last few settled days have given me itchy feet - not to go anywhere but to get things done around the house and today I wanted to go through my shed and be ruthless.  Mum said that Tala Monastery Cats is looking for items to put into a new unit they are creating for blind and disabled cats and I knew that there were quite a few rugs in there that we no longer used but I just didn't want to throw away.  I give quite a lot of my stuff to Polis Animal Rescue but this time I wanted to help the Monastery Cats.  One rug remains - it is providing a nice clean floor to the shed and Charlie very much approves.  I didn't get to throw out a huge amount but there is a pile to go to the cats and a few bits to go to Mum's charity shop and a few bits going into the bin.  It is now much easier to get our bikes in and out for which John is very pleased and he has a shelf handy for his chainsaws which were given an overhaul today in readiness for next winter.

Most of our To-Do List has major projects on it which need several days to complete and my sister arrives on Friday and then on her penultimate day my aunt and uncle arrive so we aren't going to have any time until I return from the UK and Mark and Laura have had their holiday.

In my shed I found an aged box of plant food which had seen better days so I decided to give all the pot and tub grown plants a good meal.  As I have said previously I have some no-shows at the moment but maybe with a bit of sun and some nutrition they may return.

Whilst feeding a geranium I disturbed a nursery of baby spiders - what started out looking like an orange Maltezer suddenly started to wriggle and grow and hundreds, if not thousands, of baby spiders moved away from one another before moving back again to form another orange Maltezer of safety.  Nature is wonderful isn't it?

I spent quite some time tidying in the garden - it is beginning to look a bit better after the decimation caused by the hail at the weekend.  I am hoping that by the weekend there will be more flowers in bloom for my sister to enjoy and my aunt and uncle thereafter.

It was good to be able to spend the whole day working in and around the house.  I am systematically freezing John to death as I have removed another throw from our bed - we now only have the 4.5 tog duvet on the bed and no Clare, no electric blanket!!!  I had to buy a new dual duvet at the end of last year when we discovered a family of mice had set up home in our old one and I am convinced that they have the tog rating wrong on the new one - we have only had the 4.5tog on the bed over the winter, with a variety of throws admittedly but we never felt the need to replace with the 9.5tog and god forbid that we had joined them for the full 14tog experience - I would have died!

We were going out to Fitos this evening with Di and Rob and Clare and Les and meeting with David and Edda.  It seemed crazy to take multiple vehicles so as our Pug seats 6 legally I said that I would drive, actually John drove there with me in the jump seat and I drove back with him taking my place.  Fitos was in one of his 'mein host with the most' modes so was very liberal with the free drinks and sadly as I was driving it meant I couldn't take advantage - I don't and won't drink and drive no matter where we are going or how far it is this is something John and I agree on.

It was too chilly to sit outside to eat this evening although it had been a beautiful day and there was a very odd sunset as the island is now swathed in a sand storm so everything has a yellow glow.   I do love the view from the terrace at Fitos where you can look across the vineyards to the mountains beyond.

Fitos came and joined our table after we had finished eating - he was trying to persuade the men to go on a fishing trip with him so that they could come back to the taverna and cook what they caught and he was at great pains to underline the fact that this was to be a boys-only adventure not that any one of us girlies would have wanted to join them - I remember distinctly some of Dad's many fruitless fishing trips or his disgust at the fact that some would eat whatever they caught no matter how small or full of bones or spines!

It was good to introduce Les to David because when Les returns from Hong Kong next time he will be permanently living in Droushia and is a musician so wanted to meet someone nearby with a shared interest - who better than Dixie Dave?

John and I were at opposite ends of the long table so it made it a bit difficult to join in with some of the conversations but it was good to sit back and see the various couples talking we seem to be good at introducing people and thereby increasing their social circles.