Goobye Kyriakides and good luck...

We are now nearing the end of the first week of September and we are easing ourselves back into our old routine with pickleball resuming this week.  We did not expect August to go out with such a bang and September to come in with such a wimper - the temperatures have dropped, the weather feels stormy and we are most definitely into Autumn.  Having said that the conditions afford us spectacular sunrises (as seen through the fencing this morning) and some pretty awesome sunsets thereafter and our new pool cover seems to be ensuring that the water temperature is holding up.

With plenty of posts in the bag I am lumping together several days as really there is not too much to report save that we have today said goodbye to our friends and neighbours, Lakis, Argy and Kia.  They had planned to stay into October but have returned early due to a family illness.  We shall miss them as our local coffee shop is now well and truly shut!!  Argy, I will now be able to lose a little weight as I have learned that coffee is accompanied by a meze in your house!!!  although this may take some time as I have just gone and cleared your fridge/freezer and switched it off - I am set up for stubbies for some time yet!!

We have had some pretty wonderful meals with the Kyriakides not least in the magic setting of Santa Barbara which is possibly their favourite restaurant this neck of the woods and this year we had the pleasure of meeting their delightful niece Louisa who is currently working at the Latchi Family Resort.  Anyway we shall definitely go to Santa Barbara again with John's Mum, Jackie and Stan particularly now we have sorted out the size of the calamari!!

It was an emotional farewell this morning - I put everything I wanted to say in a card which I slipped into Argy's handbag thinking she would discover it at the airport and could read it then - she caught me out by finding it before they left so there were tears all round.  They are currently in the air and we wish them a safe journey and will be thinking of them particularly over the next few crucial days.  Λάκης, Άργυ και Κιά - Θα σας λείψουμε και ελπίζουμε να σας δούμε ξανά σύντομα.

Unbelievably this week has seen my great nephew Jack start school 'proper'.  It did not start too well as he was unhappy about wearing his new shoes as witnessed in the first photograph.  There was still an air of slight apprehension in the middle photograph where he is captured on what was his first day at school but by the time he returned home, whether it was just because he had returned home but he was a picture of joy.  He is growing up so quickly - where on earth does that time go???