Sunday routine

It was a rather slow start to today so I was very glad that yesterday I had got my act together and got lunch ready because otherwise Mum and Lilian would have been disappointed.

My new favourite way of cooking potatoes is to smash them - it is quick, easy, foolproof and bloody delicious!!!!  I take the baby new potatoes that you get in cartons in Paps or Kaite's and stick them in the microwave for about 10 minutes until they are soft then use a jar or a glass to flatten them, brush with oil, sprinkle on some sea salt and then put on greaseproof paper and roast.

The weather forecast for today was for it to be hot and it wasn't wrong.  We started the morning with a dip in the pool which is hovering around 26 degrees which isn't bad for ours bearing in mind that at this time of year it is pretty much in the shade.

This is not my photograph but it is a photograph of the marmalade bread and butter pudding recipe that I followed for today's meal.  We had been given the remains of a jar of thick chunky cut marmalade (Stan would say it is not his favourite) and I wanted to use it up along with a stale loaf of brown bread which was 'loafing' in the bread bin.  Bread and Butter is apparently Mum's favourite and apparently the only time she ever eats a pudding is when we go to the Farmyard for Sunday lunch.  I need to remember that in future when (a) I am desperately trying to think of something to serve her after our meal on a Sunday and (b) when she tries to sample whatever pudding John or I might have chosen (which does our head in!).

Anyway I digress, Mum and Lilian arrived safe and sound.  Lilian has been very poorly for the last week or so which was exacerbated by the fact she had visitors.  She is pretty sure that she may have had a kidney stone making a bid for freedom - hopefully her scan on Tuesday will shed some light on what has made her feel so ill.  She said she wasn't eating much but made a valiant attempt and I think she was glad not to have had to think about cooking today.

I can't believe that this time last week I was cooking a full on Christmas Dinner and a year ago that we had the sad news about the untimely passing of my cousin.  

The weather cooled in the evening - I think the forecast is for it to be noticeably less warm tomorrow - I for one wont complain about that as I have really struggled the last few days.  I can't believe how horrible it is to have a thermostat with no upper limit.

I like to go out in the garden when it is cooling and tonight I needed to do some watering.  On my new bougainvillea was a beautiful little jeweled bug - no idea what it was but it was very pretty - it is probably ravaging the plant as we speak but we don't like to kill anything if we can help it - except the mealy bug - they get it straight away and this year we seem to have a plague of them on the island.  I am keeping a close check on my plants - basil seems to be the main attraction and so I am taking fresh untouched cuttings and ditching the old plant if I think there are any signs of those squidgy white disgusting pests.

I want to spend a day in the garden giving it a bit of a tidy up before it gets a massive winter haircut but today Dip arrived and next weekend Karen will be arriving and they will come up for sure so I want the garden to look a bit inviting, not like it has been attacked by a flame thrower.

I have a white solanum in the corner by the outside shower.  I have had it years but it has taken until now to put on any sort of growth so that I can cut it into a nice pom-pom shape.  It has got a bit leggy recently so I attacked it with the secateurs this evening.  Interestingly some of the white flowers are tinged with the more familiar blue/purple colour our other plants have.  Maybe a bee has cross pollinated.

John watched some football and some cricket this evening, I didn't do much and we decided on an early night because we have to take the car to Agia Varvara tomorrow for a tyre check and break check.

Today we managed to see all of Nicky's cats at some point during the day so I didn't have to worry about them but when we went to bed neither Boris nor Charlie were anywhere to be seen.  Charlie I wasn't worried about as I guessed he had probably mooched around to see Jan and Derek but Boo normally squeaks back if you call him.  John realised I wasn't going to settle until I had ascertained his whereabouts so suggested we go for a little walk before bed and see if we could see him.  Little bugger was sound asleep on the sofa outside the kitchen door - he couldn't even be bothered to acknowledge I was worried about him!