Sunday at Mum's

Today started fine and bright and I was probably a bit optimistic in  my clothing choice as I donned a thin top and some leggings but we were going to Mum's for Sunday Lunch and it is always warmer down in Emba.  After a little relaxation in our current lockdown regulations we are able to go together to visit her but the total duration for our outing has to be only 3 hours and so with that in mind we decided we would go to her, rather than she to us, because we would travel a bit quicker and that might give us longer to have our meal and less likelihood of getting indigestion!   Yesterday I had prepared our meal so that we would simply need to ping the cooked elements for a couple of minutes and we would be good to go.  We were having Hunter's Chicken, Potato and Onion Casserole and some fresh coleslaw.   As we prepared to leave the clouds started coming over and it got a lot cooler - undaunted I donned a cardi and hoped that would be enough.

I know that the last year (well nearly a year) has been difficult for so many people with all the various restrictions to our liberty and lifestyle but  just when things seem to improve the rug is pulled from under our feet and we are hit with another spike or variant and we need to stay safe.  Mum is one of the very lucky ones on the island to have had her complete vaccination - both parts and within the recommended time of three weeks.  Currently only about 300,000 people on the island have received any sort of vaccine so it is going to be a long time before John and I get the opportunity so we need to be sensible about what we do, where we go and who we mix with.  I can see this continuing for quite some time so it is probably a good job we are happy to stay at home for the majority of our time save for walking and getting some shopping in.

The clouds cleared as we got to Mum's and it was a really pleasant day for so early in February.  It seemed a bit strange going down to Emba as it has been quite a while since we have been able to do so.  I know that Mum will have been glad of the company and that her week this week has been broken up by being able to come to us on Wednesday.  Anyway it was good to get down and make sure that everything was ok and to do a couple of little jobs for her whilst we were there.

Mum has been having a problem with the part of her TV system which provides films and series.  This had been working well but then had an update which is always a recipe for disaster!!!!  We know how much she depends on having something reliable to provide her with some entertainment and getting TV here is not straightforward unless you want to rely solely on Cypriot TV but there is only so much of Stini Yiamas that one person can stand.  We fixed it but the fix wasn't ideal but it will suffice until we can find something better.

Our three hour outing seems to be the faster three hours ever and before we knew it we were back in the car and traveling home along one of my most favourite parts of the island - Banana Bay.  This is supposed to be where the Paphos Marina is being built but we hope not - it would be a shame to ruin such rugged beauty.  It has changed over the last 10 years but those changes have been mainly to address the safety of that stretch of coastline.