Lockdown will end soon

We are coming to the end of Lockdown - just this weekend to go and then we will start to return to some normality - sadly though things have not improved sufficiently for Abi and Jordan to be able to come - Cyprus will not appear on the 'Green' list of holiday destinations and so on their return they will have to isolate and they simply do not have enough annual leave to be able to do this.  I hope they will be able to rearrange but to what?  No-one has any idea what the future is going to hold so planning is pointless.

Apart from a bit of shopping I didn't have much planned for today save for a bit of gardening - currently the beautiful Australian Bottle Brush tree, which John's Mum gave us, is in full flower and is a haven for the bees who go about their business with great enthusiasm and a lot of noise!!!

I am so pleased that my second orchid has put in an appearance.  It is beginning to open out its flowers and it is apparently, according to the orchid experts on the island, Anacamptis Fragrans x Sancta.  Just one bloom like the last time - I have no idea whether these things multiply and spread - I would like to think so.

As I said before some of the early flowering plants are way past their best so I am in the process of cutting them back.  Now that I know Jordan and Abi cannot come I shall not be so precious about trying to keep some flowers in the garden for them.  John is desperate to pull up the poppies but they have yet to set seed and I really want them to do that.   If you look over our wall into the field beyond you can see a lovely line of wild poppies courtesy of the seeds I have thrown over previously.

I hope to go to the Garden Centre at Agia Marina tomorrow as I want to get some pots to replace any which are plastic and John wants to put a trough outside the back door for the herbs rather than the tub I have them in at the moment - I like the tub but I get his point that we would be better with something a little narrower.  

Out the front after being in the garden for years and thus far producing only single blooms the Bird of Paradise is beginning to put on quite a show - there are at least half a dozen of the magnificent blooms in evidence and they seem to secrete some sort of sticky substance which the ants love.  I don't mind as long as that keeps them there and not anywhere else.  

John started on the tiling outside the back door - he has selected all the tiles and the pattern he can make with what remains and cut them ready to put them in place.  Whilst they were sitting there I thought the wooden doorframe to the aluminium backdoor looked a bit shabby and let the area down.  John agreed and so we decided to ask Costa to give us a quote for a new doorframe when he brings back the fly screen for the front door which he has told us has now been remade.  

This will delay completing that particular area but we think it is better we do it now.  Wood is lovely but needs looking after and treating - the weather wreaks havoc whereas aluminium just needs a clean and the lovely Richard (now our neighbour) is on hand to do that for me if I don't want to.

It was not so hot today so it wasn't such hard work being out in the garden but I had a small mountain of ironing calling me from the spare room and even though that room wont be being used by guests in the near future I really must get it sorted.

Not only did I clear my laundry basket I also dug out a load of shorts and summer tops for me and got them nicely ironed so that now when I get up I don't have to look quite so much like Worzel Gummidge.  One big bonus of the lockdown restrictions being lifted is that I can get my hair cut as and when I want to - I am not so bothered about much else save to have neat and tidy hair and clean and ironed clothes!!

I have also started a 'charity' bag - Charity shops should be able to reopen again on Monday so next week I shall be dropping off the bag.  I had promised myself to go through all the cupboards and drawers this lockdown and I haven't done that so as we cannot see Mum on Sunday we have earmarked that day to go through as much as we can and get the charity bag full.

I have been nursing a nasty bite on the back of my left knee - I found some tablets for bad bites and took one last night - I am not sure if it was this that made me feel absolutely knackered about 3.00pm so much so that I actually went for a snooze in the afternoon which turned into a two hour sleep!!!!

When I got back up John suggested we have a little drinkie up on the roof terrace before having our supper - I was happy with that and for a change he had bought some pineapple so that we could have gin, pineapple and tonic which was actually very nice.  Apparently you can 'pimp' this up further by adding some ginger syrup so I have been tasked, by John, into making some to keep in the fridge so we can try this combo ourselves.

Not much else to report - we started to watch 'Fearless' this evening starting the late, great Helen McRory.  Looks like it is going to be good - I thought we had watched it before but don't think we can have done - nothing looks at all familiar.