That'll be the Day

So yesterday we remembered Dad's passing and we celebrated Jack's birthday - I guess that is what you call the 'circle of life'.  At these times the restrictions of Lockdown become more tangible.  So many celebrations have been curtailed.  I was exceptionally lucky that last year my 60th Birthday went ahead as planned - this year is not a special birthday and if we do nothing (which I suspect will be the case) it wont be an issue.

On the subject of birthdays it is Nicky's on Tuesday, she, like me, celebrated a 'special' one last year although nothing like as big as mine!!!   I have made her a birthday card (seemingly just from the cats!!!) and we have a gift for her which I hope she will appreciate now "she is an artist!!".

We have been doing our weekend shop on a Friday recently as it is a day when we don't walk so we can have a bit of a lie-in, get our list ready and then go.  We get just about everything we need from Paps in Polis and at the moment neither of us are wanting to go shopping in Paphos so that suits us fine.  We didn't really need much today as we are trying to get through stuff that is lurking in the freezer but it was a lovely day and if nothing else we fancied a bit of an outing in the sun.  

We drove back to Droushia on the road which goes up the side of the cement works and which John and Liselotte walked down the other week before taking the other one which runs parallel back up.  He wanted to show me the views and to see whether, if they do the walk in reverse on Tuesday, this is less onerous on his knees!!!  The photographs do not do this area justice.  Just at the end of the green field is a massive valley - and the green field is on a vicious slope - so much so that you have to wonder (a) why they grow wheat on it and (b) how they hell they harvest it without the machinery tipping up and tipping down the valley.

On my return I set about doing something with the candle wicks I have recently receiving in the post.  We have often thought there should be something we could do with leftover wax from the candles which we burn and now there is.  

I have worked out that the best thing to use to melt any leftover wax or ends of candles is my 'brikkie' - this is the long handled jug that Cypriots use to make their traditional coffee.  It has the added benefit of having a spout so I don't end up with molten wax all over the place.

Now that I have the wicks I can melt the wax and fill the numerous jars that are left over from having been used before and today I had enough to fill the three in the picture.  It took next to no time to melt the wax but what I have found out is that it settles in the middle and so you have to have the wick straight and attached to something to keep it straight otherwise it disappears into the wax.  I even managed to add a bit of fragrance to the wax as I had a jar of food flavourings which we bought from Lidl years ago and which have been sitting in the cupboard unused.  Hopefully the house will soon be smelling of buttered almond!!!!

Poor John had to sit through a double bill of films this evening which were my choice - I blame him for a 60s music quiz which he played to me this morning and which reminded me of this film, That'll Be the Day and the sequel Stardust which starred a young and exceptionally good looking David Essex.  I actually remember going to the pictures to see these films and had the album in my youth!!!