Zoo animals

The theme for this week's art/photographic challenge is Zoo animals and I needed to get something done to swell the numbers.

We were having a quiet morning and the weather was a little cooler than of late so we settled down, after breakfast, in the Do-Jo.  John read the paper on-line and I got my watercolour pencils out and tried my hand at painting a Giraffe!  I am pretty happy with it - it's really not my thing but it is always good to push yourself.

We were joined by the cats who seem to like to be with us when we are in there - since we have changed it round from the configuration last year it seems to stay cool or at least cooler than outside.  Charlie seems to be settling down a bit and is not pulling his fur out quite so much - I am hoping that my lavender and chamomile infusion that I wipe all over him is doing the trick - he doesn't seem to mind and it is from the fridge so nice and cooling when I apply it.

It is Lakis and Argy's wedding anniversary today - I wont embarrass them by printing the number of years but it is quite a few and although all anniversaries are special this was not a special special one if you get my drift!!!

Anyway I used good old Bunches to send them a hand-tied bouquet by way of marking the occasion and they have subsequently sent me a photograph to show me what arrived.  I am super happy with the flowers and more by luck than judgment I managed to choose a colour scheme that sort of went well with their decor.

Anyway I know that they are readers of the blog and this will be published a couple of weeks after the event but we want them to know that we wish them all the very best and have missed not having them across the road declaring that 'coffee is ready' at around 11.00am even though we have to decline on numerous occasions because we are in the middle of a project, DIY or gardening!!!

We have been spending so much more time at home because there has been bugger all open and actually we have enjoyed the challenge of creating a weekly menu and ensuring that we waste as little as possible - sometimes the food simply tastes better with a glass of wine but today we realised our wine rack was looking rather empty!!!

We decided to have a treat and get a little dressed up and go to the Winery and have lunch and stock up on their wine.  Whenever it has been possible the Winery (Vasilikon) has always contacted us to arrange take-away sales so that all through lockdown we have been able to have a glass of our favourite tipple.

The Winery has a resident dog and I can never remember its name but he is a lovely dog who might just get its body to grow so it is in proportion to its head!!!  

He loves John who comes with a couple of chews in the car to keep the dog happy but to be fair although it comes to the table it doesn't cause any problem.  I am not a dog lover but this one is adorable.  Anyway we had placed our order and the dog came to sit with us and stared and stared and stared at John as if to say "I am being super cute and super good so where is my treat?"

The staff were at great pains to ensure that the dog was not a nuisance but we told them that we were more than happy to have him sit with us.  All the staff were pleased to see us, not least Yiannis who is one of the owners and who follows our walks with great interest.  In fact when John got our box of wine along with a free bottle we then got a second free bottle from Yiannis.

My meal was superb - I had the chicken skewers with salad and chips and, instead of the tsatsiki that it is supposed to come with, the honey and mustard dressing they use on another dish - it was absolutely melt in your mouth!