Birthday celebrations with Di and Rob...

Fridays, like Sundays, seem to come round super quickly at the moment and no sooner have we had one hot sticky pickleball session than we have another!!!  Everyone is feeling the heat at the moment and it is increasingly difficult to find a cool spot or some moving air!



Bed-making yesterday was hampered by Mr Boo but today we had both Chivers and Charlie hogging the sheets.  Last night Minnie had been missing - very unusual for her so we reckon she had got shut it somewhere so we were pleased that there was a full head count this morning.

Not much to report on our day save for a good session at pickleball with Mum and the usual crew but we are pleased to report that my Aunty Joyce's operation seems to have gone well according to my cousin who could report she was up and eating which is good news.  No information as yet on the nasties they took away but fingers crossed she will make a good recovery.

Early night for us both - we have shingle being delivered at 8.30am tomorrow, a ton and a half John thinks the bag holds and he is keen to get the front garden project completed because Mum is bringing her friend Lilian up on Sunday.

I don't know what is going on with our door bell but it went off at 4.45 this morning - we aren't sure whether this is an indication of the battery going or whether as it was cooler the button relaxed - whatever it was it went off and so therefore we both shot out of bed - we were more or less certain that there would be no-one there and there wasn't.

We returned to bed but only for a short while because we were having shingle delivered and I needed to shoot down to Polis for a couple of things.

I love Polis at this time of the year because it is buzzing and full of life - the locals are out early to avoid the heat of the day and the tourists are out and about making new discoveries.  I was headed for the Blue Oyster craft shop because I had seen something which I wanted to give Diana for her birthday on Tuesday.  We are paying for her to have lunch at the Herb Garden in Akourdaleia as her main present so this was just a little something for her to open on the day.  She had mentioned she liked some of the jewelry in there and I have to agree that there is some really pretty stuff in there and I had seen a very pretty daisy necklace which I hoped might have some matching earrings and it did so that was fabulous - present got!!

I had left John working on the front garden - there was no appealing to his better judgement and asking him to just do a little - I know he wanted to get it finished.  He was digging out and barrowing away the excess soil in the front garden before we put down the membrane and then the shingle - he reckoned he had about half a dozen barrows to shift but that probably turned out to be more like ten and I reckon it was probably the hottest day of the year so far.

I don't think I was really overly helpful but between us we managed to get the soil cleared away and the membrane laid around the plants which we wanted to remain in situ and then John began filling the barrow with shingle and wheeling it down  and the pathway and then eventually we managed to get it all in and in place.  We had thought that we might only use half the bag but in the end we used it all!!!

I am really, really thrilled with how beautifully tidy and clean it looks and how very grateful I am to John for pushing through the pain barrier with his blistered palms and getting it all done in readiness for tomorrow.  He is such a star and I know he likes to see it looking good but I know that even more than that he likes to see me happy and I am super happy.

This evening we had the pleasure of celebrating Di's birthday down in Latchi like proper tourists eating at one of the sea-front restaurants.  Di and Rob had been to No9 on a couple of occasions and wanted us to try it with them so that is what we did.  We arrived early so that we could have a couple of drinkies beforehand and I had driven down in Kenny so that we could leave him to admire the harbourside overnight and we were getting a taxi home.  We hadn't banked on it being quite so warm at 7.00pm which is sometime before the sun sets but it was scorchio!!!

It makes a really nice change to have what I would call pretty food served on pretty crockery.  This is my pork dish which looked so nice and tasted equally as good.  The Bobster and I had the same starter (halloumi served with honey and sesame seeds) and the same main (pork medallions) John also had the halloumi starter but followed it with sea bass and Di had blue cheese stuffed mushrooms and the sea bass.  My only disappointment was the carrot cake which was more like a cookie but the others had fabulous looking puddings so I guess I just made the wrong choice on this occasion and will know what to plump for if and when we go there again.

It was a lovely lovely evening - it felt like we were on our holidays!!! It was unbelievably warm down on the coast - when we got in the taxi it was still 27 degrees and that was just before midnight!!!  Big thank you to the Bobster for suggesting it and big thank you to Diana for having her birthday so that we actually did something different!!!  Happy birthday for Tuesday Di xxxx