Happy Anniversary Besties.......

Plunging yourself into cold water is a great way to wake yourself up in the morning allegedly or at least that is what John keeps telling me and with some stormy weather forecast for later in the week if we are going to do it then it is nicer to do it when the sun is shining.  The water isn't that cold, I can still feel my toes afterwards!!!

Our first job of the day was to nip down to the Veaseys so that we could give them their card and gifts for their 35th Wedding anniversary which traditionally was coral and now more modernly, jade.  We gave them neither but they did get a nice bottle of white wine and a pretty little plaque which says "Cheers" in Greek.  Just in case Di or Rob get confused this is not the actual plaque which we bought them - I bloomin' well forgot to take a photograph so I have had to look through Rhi-Rhi's Ornaments page to find a similar picture.  Anyway at least you will get an idea of what I am talking about!!!  We didn't stop long as we knew they were off out for Sunday Lunch and we were meeting them at the Droushia Heights Hotel for a drinkie later on this evening.


Back home and we are beginning to get the garden ready for the winter by pruning and cutting back.  We have had an issue with mealy bug on the fruit trees - they are bloody horrible things which look like a squidgy white armadillo shaped bug and which wreak havoc because they eat the soft fresh growth.

We have also had another issue with something that produces sooty mould and I have found it on the leaves of the Bird of Paradise which is under the bay tree and the bay tree was absolutely riddled with that and mealy bug - I decided that a radical prune was the only answer and the sooner the better.

I do not want to lose this tree as I use the fresh bay leaves in my recipe amongst other things so the haircut and then a drenching with a strong fairy liquid solution will hopefully sort it out, failing that I will have to go to one of the agricultural places to get some chemicals to sort it out.  I do try not to use any sort of chemicals in the garden if I can but sometimes this just cannot be helped.  I was just finishing off the haircut when Mum arrived.  She had been due to come with her two friends Sue and Fran but they had had to postpone.  John was having a day at home watching the rugby and Mum and I were having a girlie afternoon out.

I had left John with some of the chicken casserole from Friday night so knew he would be ok and Mum and I set off calling into the cemetery first.  You can see what a beautiful day it was - the sky was so blue with a few wispy clouds.  We didn't realise then that it would be somewhat windy down on the coast and Mum feels the cold and she didn't have a cardi with her.

I was a bit undecided where we should go - I had contemplated Tsakkas but the restaurant (if it is still open) is fully in the shade but has a great view out to sea.

I thought it would be nice to go somewhere different and thought that Santa Barbara might be a good option as it is sort of sideways on to the sun but had forgotten that most of the eating area is under sails so although we were seated in the centre I could see that Mum would find it a bit chilly so we moved to another table where we had some sunshine coming in to the side.  Mum chose to have the children's portion of fish and chips (without the mushy peas) - it came on a plate printed like it was a newspaper which was a nice touch!!  I had the chicken Ceaser wrap and it was very nice.  The location is lovely and the staff friendly and attentive.

We took a bit of a circuitous ride home taking the other Polis Road and turning off and coming back up through Kritou Tera which made a nice change - it was a lovely warm afternoon and the landscape (although looking a bit dry and dusty) is beautiful.

Once back home we took the opportunity to make the most of the late afternoon sun by sitting in the front garden.  Sorry Mum for this most unflattering photograph but I snapped you just as you were offering me one of your biscuits!!!

Mum opted for the rocking chair because it is low and she can put her feet on the floor - I reclined on the day bed.  It actually got rather hot under the gazebo the covers of which will soon have to be taken down and packed away for another year.  We should do it sooner rather than later as we generally hang on and hang on and then a bloomin' coptic storm comes and shreds it beyond repair.  We have been able to get replacement top covers from Superhome Centre in the past for 35-40 euros which is ok but often the whole thing is only 80!

John came and joined us when he had finished watching Wales snatching victory from the jaws of defeat having watch England annihilate Australia earlier in the day.

Mum stayed until around 4.00pm - next week she will have to think about what time she leaves as the clocks will have changed and the nights will start to draw in.  I forgot to look at how dark it is currently at 5.00pm.

We got ourselves changed and ready to go to the Hotel for 5.30pm.  John had suggested driving and leaving Kenny there so that I would only have to walk one way and I thought that was a great idea because he could drop me off there tomorrow on my way to Art and I could then pick up Kenny and drive myself home once finished.

We haven't been to the hotel for some time - it has been very busy over the summer months and we like it when it is quieter.  There were only a handful of people inside including Irene and Dennis from the village.  Poor Dennis is recovering from a knee replacement operation and has had some complications.

We had a lovely couple of hours with Di and Rob - it was nice to be with them and it was nice to be back in the Hotel.  Yes its a shame that they no longer offer the loyalty card discount but we will still patronise it when we can.  I am pleased I managed to get a nice shot of the happy couple - Di actually has her eyes open which is a rare thing when I am taking her photograph!!!

Congratulations Mr & Mrs Veasey on your 35 years of marriage and may you celebrate many many more.