Christmas Eve

It is hard to believe looking at the picture but it is Christmas Eve and our plans were to be thwarted by the weather.  I had planned for us to go for a light lunch at the Herb Garden in Pano Akourdaleia but that was not to be - John and I might have been able to cope with the cold but Mum most definitely could not.  Mark had been kind enough to let us know that it would not have been very cosy there as it was piddling down.  Had we hung on we might have changed our minds and chanced it because we had some brief spells of sunshine but in the main the weather was awful - windy and wet - our gazebos gave up the ghost - we thought they might.  Nothing looks sadder than a shredded gazebo in the winter.

So without a trip out we had a quiet day at home - in the main I was prepping for tomorrow so that I wouldn't have too much to do.

This year I have decided to cook my bird in a bag which I haven't done before so I got it all ready and seasoned and marinading so tomorrow it is just a question of popping it in the oven and hoping for the best.

I made stuffing and bread sauce, got the pigs in blankets sorted, did the spiced red cabbage and did all the veg and breathed a sigh of relief when it was all done - tomorrow should be much easier with everything ready - we plan to go to the cemetery and then to the Hotel before tackling the meal - maybe if I could get John and Mum slightly squiffy then it will taste all the better.

John has got the house bouncing hot - I am guessing that Santa will be able to see if from space when he is on his journey this evening!!

I am pacing myself in terms of the alcohol content over Christmas. So in Paps they had a spritzer mix thingy with white wine and melon which is actually pretty refreshing but needs to be served very chilled.  I stuck to that today - tomorrow John has bought a special red wine which I think is going to be rather heavy.

So far my viewing choices have been a hit so far which is great - this afternoon we sat down to watch the Eddie the Eagle film.  I wasn't expecting much but it was very enjoyable and had Mum laughing.  Unfortunately the weather has meant that we are confined to barracks so I know she doesn't like to sit all day so this evening rather than watch the TV we tackled our customary Christmas jigsaw.

We hadn't expected to get anywhere near completing this today - the puzzle was actually made up of three pictures but there was an awful lot of snow on all of them.  Fortunately it fitted on my craft board so we could move it off of the dining table if we needed to.

We stuck it out and got it finished!!!!  Only trouble was for most of the time I had my back to the fire so I was absolutely sweltering!!!  Anyway there is a tremendous sense of achievement in the Wiseman Household that we faced up to the challenge and were victorious.

The weather this evening was so bad it had the cats spooked - so windy it was quite scary - let's hope it is a little calmer tomorrow.

Lovely day was made complete by a phonecall from London and the distinctive Cypriot tones of George Kailou wishing us a Merry Christmas - so good to speak to him and Pam and so looking forward to seeing them next year.

Kronia Polla everybody-peeps xxx