Out, out...

It was a much better day today, starting bright and warm Nicky and I set off on a walk.  This has been planned and postponed for days.  We walked out of the village towards Arodes and then turned right (the road in the photograph) and then at the end turned right and up the switch back into Inea.  It was really good to be outside and getting a little exercise.

Our walk through Inea takes us past the church.  In the courtyard is an ancient olive tree with the most fantastic trunk.  I am not a tree hugger but I love this tree.  I wonder how many weddings, christenings and funerals it has witnessed.  Clearly there is a art in cutting back olive trees so that you create the amazing twisted trunk like this one has.

Back home and in the garden doing some tidying up I witnessed something I had never seen before.  I have seen a grasshopper shed its outer skin but never realised that spiders do the same.  On one of our hanging baskets was an Orb Spider doing exactly that.  What I could see what that this spider had a malformed front leg.  Its old skeleton/skin had only seven legs and the new spider had seven normal legs and a weedy white one front right - I am guessing this may well disappear in due course.  I watched it for a while and then let it get on with its life struggle undisturbed.

We solved the mystery of the missing Christmas Presents which I thought were in a carrier bag in George's but were actually in a box so we retrieved them and this afternoon I started the job of wrapping some.  Mum can't manage with her hands so I do them for her.  I am a fan of using brown paper and decorating rather than spending loads on Christmas wrapping.  I managed to do a couple - it is a start but not a great one!

This evening we were to have celebrated Jonathon's 50th birthday but sadly he was unable to make the journey so Jane and John, Mum, John and I did it in his absence.  We went to Phideas in Coral Bay which has been there for years.  Sadly it was very quiet in there although it was a Saturday - maybe people were off visiting the newly established Christmas Villages (Polis is one and was having Father Christmas arrive by boat this evening).  The food was good - my calamari particularly so and we had a nice evening.  I trusted my phone to the owner who was so busy yapping that he didn't actually get it in focus!

We were impressed by the Christmas light display in Peyia.  I quickly snapped this as we were driving back home.  At least they bring a little cheer on what is likely to be a difficult Christmas financially for many.  We got back with all the cats snuggled up in the conservatory.  I had managed to put the fires on remotely so the house felt pretty warm.