At Mum's

We were taking food down to Mum today and went down via the nursery which is near Paps in Chlorakas.  This is where we went to have Dad's funeral flowers done by a lovely lady called Stella.  I obviously haven't been this way in ages because the original building for the nursery has now been supplemented with an amazingly huge light and airy second building which houses all sorts of delights including some women doing some really amazing floral decorations.

There was the most amazing display of flowers inside including some orchids which I actually thought were artificial until I got up close to them.  There is all sorts in this new building - I really would urge people in that area to go and have a look.  I am guessing it might only be a matter of time until they open a little coffee shop - I hope they do because it would be a lovely place to take Mum on one of my regular weekly visits.

I smiled as we were out in the pot area looking at what they had because everything was all lovely shiny and new and in the field next door there was a wizened old goat herd with his herd doing what they have done for years and years irrespective of any changes happening around them.

We had lunch with mum and watched some of the snooker and then helped her to finish her current jigsaw.  She wasn't able to go out with her friend Lilian yesterday as she had hoped so had been indoors for several days (bar her daily walk) so she was glad of the company and ate amazingly well today.  She must have really liked my sausage shepherd's pie and the apple pie and cream.

On our return Jan called in to fill us in on her and Derek's recent mini break to the Aliathon in Paphos - a belated 60th birthday gift for Derek.  They had a fabulous time which is good because they work so hard. She, Ellen and I are due to be going to Ikea together on Tuesday which should be fun.

A day of two halves

Yesterday was most definitely a day of two halves.  The morning was a wash-out with thunder and lighning and hail storms and then by about 1.00pm the weather improved and was sunny the skies cleared and so we had an extremely chilly evening!

Lots of rain this morning meant that we stayed indoors - for a while, when the storm was directly overhead, we switched off the internet and anything else that we thought we might get hit by lightning.  Good job too as our friends in Arodes got what they think was a direct hit but their breakers were working properly so it just blew the main fuse.

I am planning a trip to Ikea with Janet and Ellen.  Gail is giving it a miss as she is going for her scary heart operation shortly.  I have been looking at the wooden decking squares that they sell as an option to provide some small 'stepping stones' in the shingle where Joani's Place is - John thinks it is worth a punt so if they have them in stock and I can get them in the car I think I will get some.

We caught up with Simon, Melanie, Jasmine and Frances today as they are up staying in Droushia for the long weekend as Monday is a Bank Holiday.  Apparently we had been to Kaponas with them last year although I hadn't remembered that.  I had remembered that we had been to Achilles in Inea with them one evening the year before.  The girls are growing up so fast.  Jasmine has changed from a very shy and somewhat timid little girl to a much more confident young lady.  Frances is Frances, tough and determined!  They are a testament to the parenting of Simon and Melanie particularly as Melanie lost her mum when her mum was young so she was never able to tap into her for help and guidance.  We had a lovely lunch at Kaponas and then they walked back to have some cat hugs with us.

To say the girls have enquiring minds is an understatement!  We passed a bush which was in full flower on our way to Lordos 1 - it was lovely and not one I had seen before, well I had obviously walked past it on many occasions but never when it was in flower and it was beautiful.  We had to have a good old look at it and then get out our phones and find out exactly what it was except none of the apps were absolutely certain - I shall have to put a post on tintyweb to see if anyone can tell me.

Once again we had a very chilly evening outside - temperatures down to single figures.  The poor garden doesn't really know quite what is happening. I am pleased to say that all of my hostas have now put in an appearance.  Some look better than others and sadly the lovely original one out the back of the kitchen has become absolutely decimated by snails.  This is because we have had so much rain.  I have tried covering the surface with sharp 'stuff' and swamping it with coffee grounds but that hasn't had any noticeable effect so I am reluctantly going to have to resort to some slug pellets - I try and avoid using them because of the cats but think I can put it where they wont be interested.  If I don't I am going to end up with a pot of interesting stalks!!  I plan to spend a good part of Monday in the garden if the weather allows - it is in need of a really good tidy.  April has been a really awful month compared to previous years!

Wild West Weather

So the morning wasn't too bad but the remainder of the day was pretty awful.  The weather forecasters were right - massive thunderstorms, hail and lightning.  Whilst there was a little bit of sunshine my new toy started to work.  This little fountain, all €12.50 of it works!  It came with a number of heads and so I need to decide which is best so that when it is working I am not losing all the water in the pond!  I was everso slightly happy about this!!!  Little things...

John wanted to take his bike down to Polis in the afternoon to see if Savvas could sort his brakes so we had the early part of the day to ourselves.  Whilst it was dry I set about getting the washing done so that I could put clean bedding back on the guest bedroom and whilst we were at it we did some sorting and clearing out.   It is actually very satisfying to start to get some semblance of order in the cupboards after 12 years!!!  Sadly storage is rather lacking in these houses although we have tried to make as much as we can but there is never enough and there is never enough if you are people who don't like to get rid of anything 'just in case'.  I question when we might ever use some of the things we have kept over the years.  The problem is that if I secretly sneak them into the charity bag John will come along and sneak them back out!!!

Anyway before the storm came we had enough sunshine for the little fountain to show exactly what it could do - the photograph on the left shows it in all its glory.  What we realise is that we need to find some way of weighting it so that it remains in the centre of the bowl so that we lose the least amount of water as possible.  It isn't going to be an issue over the next could of days as we are unlikely to get much sunshine to get it going and there is plenty of rain forecast!

The rain held off longer than we had expected but just as we were about to go down to Polis started to deteriorate.  Thunder and lightning and then a hailstorm which has sadly battered the garden just as it was beginning to look nice.  This weather is more like February.  As we were going out we erred on the side of caution and unplugged everything and switched off the router as we normally lose something to a lightning strike.

This is me sat in the car waiting for John to run his bike over to the shop.  I didn't venture out and John wasn't impressed when he came racing back with it almost immediately - apparently Savvas doesn't deal with hydraulic brakes so John would have to take it back down to Paphos and I suggested he did it straight after we had gone shopping so that he would have his bike working safely sooner rather than later plus Monday is a Bank Holiday which will delay things.

John did go straight after shopping and on his way back got caught up in a huge gridlock because there had been a massive accident on the road near Tsada caused because the roads were white over with huge hail stones.  We have not heard whether there were any fatalities.  He managed to get home an hour later than he would normally.  He wasn't overly impressed that I had chosen a chilly old day to have salad for tea.

It might have been like the Wild West outside but we were all snuggled up together in the warm of the lounge, no heating on but the curtains, rugs, throws etc make it feel cosy.  

Bye Bye Michelle

Michelle was leaving today - her time with us has gone by so quickly.  She is easy company even though she says she is a pain in the arse with regard to her food likes and dislikes!  She isn't really - she is a fish eating vegetarian and has an aversion to 'pulses' and spices but we managed to find plenty for her to eat and even got to introduce her to new things.  She was going home armed with recipes to try.

During her visit we had learned that my Mum had lost her last remaining sister.  Aunty Phyl had passed away in Australia having been unwell off and on for years.  Out of 12 children only my Mum and her brother Ivor (in his 90s) remain.  Our thoughts are with Simon who survives Aunty Phyl and for all the other members of her family.  A bit of an end of an era and obviously Mum was upset by the news.  Simon intends to return Phyl's ashes to the UK at some point in the future so that she can be laid to rest with her Mum and Dad, my Gran and Grandad.

We are on a weather warning for the next three days.  Lots of heavy rain, hail and thunder storms.  There was a definite dip in the temperatures but for most of the day we had some pleasant sunshine which meant that we had an easy day doing very little but enjoying the warmth of the conservatory.  John went for a bike ride, Michelle and I read and chatted.  We had arranged to go down to see Mum in the afternoon, Michelle is related on my Dad's side, and we were going to have a takeaway with Mum before I dropped her off at the airport at about 6.30pm.

This turned out to be a good plan.  A lazy day after yesterday's celebrations was just what the doctor ordered and we had a light lunch with John before Michelle packed the remainder of her things.  I had offered to do her washing so she could take everything back all nice and clean but the change in the weather meant that getting it dry wasn't guaranteed so we knocked that idea on the head.

We got to Mum's at about quarter to four and chatted before it was time to go and order the takeaway.  Having the Chinese up the road from Mum is great because although there are only a couple of items on the menu she likes the ones she likes she really likes if you get my drift.  Michelle had a sweet and sour prawn dish and I had the same beef teryaki noodles as I had when I went to pick Michelle up.  In fact I took half of it home for John to have when I got back from the airport.  The weather was good until just as I got to the edge of Droushia and then it began to rain.

As I got to Lordos 1 the sun was setting in spectacular fashion with all the rain clouds that were about.  I was glad to get indoors without getting wet.  It is lovely having visitors but it is also nice having the house back to ourselves.  I shall be on cleaning and getting everything back to normal tomorrow if the weather allows.

I will just end with a picture of my new toy which I picked up on my way down to Paphos with Michelle.  I have invested in a small fountain to aerate the little pond I have and in which we have now spotted five little fishies.  It needs to charge so will see what it is like if we have any sun tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Graham xxx

It's the day of Graham's birthday (top right imitating a teapot) and it started with coffee in the garden.  Clockwise in the hat is Elaine whose husband Dave is bottom left with glasses on his head.  They are good friends of Graham and Elaine and come from the North East (we could have done with our neighbours Jan and/or Derek for translations! except they had gone away for a couple of days for a belated 60th birthday celebration for Derek).  Next to Elaine is Linda, Graham's wife, then my cousin Michelle and then the back of John.

We sat for some time enjoying the sunshine and getting to know one another and having a right old laugh before we set off for Kaponas where we were having a late lunch birthday celebration (Linda's choice having taken them there last year).

We sat outside even though the North Eastern contingent were the one's feeling the cold!  I was fine as you can see in a sleeveless top - I have become used to the weather and the hormones help!  Having said that after we had eaten we moved out into the sunny bit and it was like a different world!  Everyone seemed to enjoy their food which is a relief when it is for a special occasion for someone else.  Anyway they had wanted traditional and that is what they got!

Bless Eleni she had got a fabulous cake for Graham and we all enjoyed a piece before making out way down the village to the Droushia Heights were we were going to sample a cocktail, well those of us who weren't driving (sorry Dave).

So here we are waiting for our cocktails an eclectic mix of woo woo's, swimming pools, daquiri's you name it save for poor Dave who got a coffee!!!  It was all very nice and the loved the hotel.  But all good things come to an end and so we had to wend our way back to Lordos 1 for a coffee before they went back to Paphos before it got dark.

To round off what had been a really lovely day John settled down to watch the Mighty Blades secure their promotion to the Premier League.  What better way to end the celebrations?

Fine food...

Our 'tourist' day today started with brunch at the Florabelle Cafe in the Garden Centre.  We took a slow drive along the Argaka coast and then up into the hills and managed to get a table although, as always, it was busy at the Garden Centre.  Today Michelle tackled something she would not normally eat, avocado, as it was on the bottom of the breakfast stack and she had to admit that actually all it had done was add a creaminess to the ensemble so I am guessing this is something she may tackle again in the future.  We have done really well with introducing her to new tastes and textures and she is going to go home and try making some of the Lebanese dishes I have done which is great news.

From the garden centre we took a drive to the Baths of Aphrodite.  It was busy so first off we took a walk through the restaurant to have a look at the amazing view before going up through the gardens to see the 'Baths' which are somewhat underwhelming I always think!  Still it was a tick in the tourist box and once you have got up the first steepish hill is a nice walk although quite warm today.  Michelle has been lucky with the weather although it is due to be quite stormy from Thursday which is the day she is going home.

We had planned a meal at Fitos in the evening, we had been there last time she came and she had enjoyed the swordfish so originally it was going to be just the three of us but I put a general shout-out to the neighbours and both Nicky and Mark and Pete and Gail took us up on the invitation and so we all got together for a lovely, if not noisy, evening!!  The food and company were great and a good time was had by all.

It is the birthday celebration tomorrow for Graham which was the main reason for Michelle coming.  I need to make sure that Eleni has remembered to get a birthday cake!

New sights and tastes

Michelle and I went and did a bit of sightseeing today.  We started with a trip down to the Waterfalls.  It had been my intention to park in the new carpark and walk along the left fork so that we could take the newly made path down to the viewing platform and then walk back rather than take the long and winding path from the picnic area.  Whilst we tried to do that the new path has become so overgrown we couldn't actually locate it which meant we walked quite some way downhill fruitlessly and so I walked back to the fork and left Michelle there, got the car and then drove the two of us down to the picnic area whilst the road block bollards were removed.  This area is not so impressive as the other but it was the best I could do under the circumstances!

I can't believe that John swam here and that the pool contained several goldfish.  It was today looking murky and neglected and the rustic wooden rail around the pool had fallen over.  I know it is not deemed to be tourist season yet but actually it really could do with some TLC.  I had thought that was the reasoning behind the parking charge but sadly there was a load of rubbish awaiting collection, presumably after Easter.  

We headed to Polis by going out the back of Kritou Tera and past the lovely Agia Ekatarina church which is in the middle of nowhere.  We had a quick wander round before getting back in the car and making our way to Polis where Michelle hoped she would be able to get a silver necklace (which she did at Yiotis).

There is a new shop between the two jewelers which I think used to sell old fashioned bedding.  It is now an homage to all things traditional and even had an old loom in there and the girl was making a small rug.  It is nice to see new things opening up but I do wonder exactly what she will hope to sell.  The artwork was 'interesting' - created after some very bad trip or nightmare I would think - both Michelle and I looked at the pictures and at each other and raised an eyebrow!

In Tina's we had a lovely drink and piece of cake and sat and enjoyed the surroundings.  Unfortunately the lovely old building next to the Art Cafe is falling down (literally) and in order to protect her customers Tina has had to cordon off several feet adjoining the old walls.  This is such a shame for her and also a shame that that lovely building has not been looked after and restored.  I have peeked in and see that there are a number of archways - it looks a bit like cloisters so wonder if it was connected with the small church at some point in the past.

We then went off in search of fish for our barbeque supper.  We were having some prawn kebabs with halloumi and pineapple (sounds weird, tastes ace) and in the end Michelle and I settled for filleted sea bream and John had a whole one.

Along with the fish I did some lebanese side dishes to introduce Michelle to some new tastes and flavours.  Thankfully she loved them and we had a great meal which we ate indoors because Michelle isn't keen on insects!

Michelle's first full day...

It was a slow start to day one proper of Michelle's visit.  We had insured her on Kenny so that she could take herself off down to Paphos to visit her friends Linda and Graham so after finally getting Google Maps to give us a route which avoided any major diversions, and some tea and toast and instructions as to where the car documents were if stopped by the police and what to do in case of an accident Michelle set off like it was her maiden voyage in a car - she is in her 50s!

It was a very different Sunday for us, no mum so once Michelle had left we just relaxed around the house.  I waited to hear whether Michelle was returning for an evening meal before getting food ready for the day.  We had been given a lovely home grown lettuce from Mum's neighbour Effie which was going into tonight's salad.

We had also been given some more of the magnificent tomatoes being grown in the polytunnels next to Mum so I made a tomato base for a pasta sauce because although Michelle doesn't eat tomatoes per se she is happy to eat them in a sauce.  The tomatoes were at the peak of ripeness, I had left them out on the worksurface because apparently the flavour is adversely affected if you keep them in the fridge.  They made an amazingly piquant tomato sauce with a hint of chili added for some extra zing.

This is not my photograph as I was driving at the time (I had to nip out on an errand) but on my return home a beautiful Golden Oriole flew straight across my path into a tree near the Scrimshankers house.  I have had the pleasure of sighting one previously near Andreas's house on the corner two years running when we first moved over here apparently they have a distinctive call which I need to investigate so I know if there is one around again.  

On the subject of wildlife we currently have a very persistent Carpenter Bee zooming around in the garden looking for a home.  This one was trying to make a hole in my trellis.

These bees are huge, double the size of a bumble bee and when flying in the sunshine have an iridescent blue colour and an unmistakably loud buzzy hum which sounds a bit like an old Spitfire engine - hence why I think they are referred to as the Cypriot RAF!!!

It would appear that my trellis wasn't suitable as a home because when I went back later to show Michelle it had gone but I could see where it had been.  Maybe it was just on an outing?  I will have to go back and investigate whether it has done more carpentry to my trellis, I just dont think it would be thick enough to provide it with any protection.

Michelle returned safe and sound having had a lovely day with her friends.  She does not eat meat so tonight I was making a prawn and halloumi pasta dish with the fresh sauce I had made earlier.  Even if I do say so myself it was absolutely delicious and I will be making something similar when my friend Hazel comes as she doesn't eat meat either.  Actually we are always happy to embrace other people's dietary requirements it means we get to try things that maybe we wouldn't normally try.

We settled down to watch some snooker before calling it a day.

 

Michelle arrives

Visitor day started with a trip down to the Evangelismos Clinic to see Dr Lakoudis and to have the MRI explained to me.  It didn't take long - apparently I have chronic arthritis which explains the pain and the spasms and possibly an issue with the rotator cuff but he said in the first instance he would deal with the arthritis with a small procedure and hopefully that would be sufficient to alleviate the pain and discomfort I have been experiencing.  The operation might be in Paphos or Limassol.  I wont know until his secretary gives me a call.  

Because I was going to pick up Michelle from the airport I had arranged to spend the afternoon with Mum and take her out for a ride then have something to eat.  This was instead of doing it on Sunday.  She seemed happy with that arrangement although there was some confusion about whether to have a late lunch or an early tea.  So in the end I suggested we drive out to where we might at some point have lunch and check it out and then order a takeaway from her local Chinese (the Flying Dragon) before I went to the airport.

She had wanted to go to Sentiero by the Sea which is next door to the Sea Caves Bar and I hadn't actually ever been there so was interested to see what it was like.  It is a very attractive bar and the food looked good.  Unfortunately we couldn't have a seat in the sun because Mum can't sit in the sun and the one we had in the shade was too cold so I had to go and get her coat.  Blimey it is like going out with Goldilocks!  The food looked great but I couldn't see anything on there that would floats Mum's boat so it was just as well we were only having a drink.  The drinks were very reasonably priced particularly bearing in mind the location.

To say I have not been to that bar is true but I have been to that stretch of the beach before, way back in 2016 when there was a Masseur there - it had been a gift from Mum and as I remember was amazing - when I found the blog post about it I mentioned then that I had a problem with my shoulder.  Sadly this lovely facility has long gone but the remnants of the gazebo remain.

I drove Mum home along the coast as much as possible so that we had a nice little run out - she did seem to enjoy it which was good and then we spent an hour or so doing a new jigsaw and watching the snooker before I went up to the Chinese to order our food and bring it home although they do deliver I like to have mine as soon as it comes out the wok!

The man who takes the orders at the Flying Dragon does not fill me with confidence - when I arrived dead on opening time he already had about 10 orders in the queue and he just kept taking more and more seemingly for roughly the same time!  I ordered Mum her lemon chicken and egg fried rice and I ordered beef teriyaki noodles with extra chilli.  Our two meals came with a bag of prawn crackers and I have to say it was very nice.  Mum had enough for two meals.  Try as I did I couldn't eat all my noodles but they were delicious.  Anyway it was good to see Mum really enjoy her meal.  Shortly after we had finished, packed away and had a cuppa I had to go to the airport.

Although Michelle's flight was on time about 8 came in one after another so the baggage reclaim was a nightmare and I ended up sitting just outside the airport for about two hours before she text to say she had her bags and had made her way out to the pick up point.  We had an uneventful ride home, she unpacked, had a snack, we chatted and then it was time for bed Zebedee 

Kumsquats!!!

I have been in full-on tidying mode today in readiness for Michelle's arrival tomorrow.  

I decided that the Kumsquats had had long enough languishing in the gin so strained that off and set aside the macerated fruit to make something with them.  I have yet to try the gin!

We sat down and penciled in a bit of an itinerary.  Michelle is going to have Kenny at her disposal to go and visit her friends on a day without us, we are not sure whether that will be Sunday or Monday.  Her visit will be brief as she does not arrive until tomorrow evening and returns on Thursday but I know there is, along with Graham's birthday celebration on Wednesday, a couple of places she would like to visit.  We are going to do Argaka and Pomos and have a meal at Fitos one of the days which is going to have to be Tuesday.

It is quite rare that we have guests stay with us nowadays.  The weather has been quite changeable so I don't know whether it will feel warm or not.  I have opted for layers on the bed so she can at least throw stuff off and then grab it back as the temperature dips overnight!  

The biggest battle is to keep the cats from investigating the spare bedroom.  Sneaky buggers will wait until my back is turned and then find a way in.

So I made some oat biscuits with the macerated Kumsquats - this is before they went into the oven.  I wasn't sure about them as it was a Turkish recipe without any dairy but it was easy enough to make and actually it cooked up well and they tasted lovely.  So much so that I am going to have to put a lock and key on the biscuit barrel if there is to be any left for our guest as John keeps 'sampling them for quality control purposes only'.

We had to take a trip down to Paphos to get John's bike and to call into the bank and, as we were parked in Sklavenitis, to do a bit of shopping.  John was ecstatic to find one his favourite wines Castile Maison was on offer so we cleared the shelves because we were having a takeaway from the Farmyard this evening - Gail and Pete were buying it as a thank you but we were having it at ours because they are in the midst of building works again.  We then called down to say our goodbyes to Karen who is leaving on Sunday a little earlier than she had planned.  Dip will go back shortly afterwards.

We took the road less traveled on our way home - we found another way to get to Kathikas via Akoursos that we had not used previously.  The countryside was stunning but it wasn't quick - a very long and winding road as The Beatles would sing!  Still we haven't gone off-piste for ages and whilst we still have Kenny it is good to do so although maybe not with both John and Pete's bikes on the back!!!

Our takeaway was amazing - not having had one for a while it tasted doubly fantastic and we had a great night with Pete and Gail.  The on-offer wine went down a treat but I will probably pay for that tomorrow!

A Thursday down in Paphos

I am very proud of my poinsettias.  Both gifts from my sister.  The large red one was from the Christmas before last, the white one from last Christmas.  They are both still going strong towards the end of April!  I keep them in the dining room out of direct sunlight and in the cool.  When they do eventually lose their leaves, as I am sure they will, I will cut them back and put them outside and hopefully they will come back again like the red one did.  I don't give them any special care save for making sure that they don't fully dry out.

When I left to go down to Mum's today the weather in Droushia was reasonably bright but as I drove down the hill it worsened.  This was just outside Kathikas and it was like a scene from Gorillas in the Mist and it just got worse in fact the weather deteriorated island-wide so it was hardly daylight and chilly.  I had actually managed to get a hair appointment today so was going to Mum's early so that I could spend time with her before going to Lumi's for 2.30pm.  I had made Mum some pate a couple of weeks ago and so we had agreed to have that with some toast for lunch so I stopped at the fruit seller on the Coral Bay junction and got some fresh local strawberries to have afterwards.  

These weekday visit have a familiar pattern as I take Mum around Paphos to do her shopping and then we either have lunch out or back at hers.  Today she wanted to go to Paps, Lidl, Sklavenitis and the Bank.  It gives me the opportunity to go to shops I don't normally use.  I have to say I am quite liking Sklavenitis for quite a few things and it is normally easy to park there.  

The Bank was a bit of a challenge as the ATM was on a go-slow - so much so that I actually went inside and asked one of the members of staff to come and take a look.  She agreed that it was but probably that it was just 'tired after being used to excess over Easter'.  I was glad that it was me hanging around waiting for the money to appear and not Mum.

So I spent about four hours with Mum before I had to leave to get a long overdue hair cut.  In the front garden where Mum lives there is the most beautiful rose which looks like the petals have been splashed with paint.  Interestingly it has taken on this colouring over a number of years as it was not originally like that.  Mum seemed to be in better spirits today than when we went down on Sunday - apparently her back was really playing her up.  I wish she would say as I cannot always guess what is troubling her.

Lumi gave me a good old 'Summer' haircut for which I was grateful as I prefer my hair short, short.  I managed to quickly call into the Chinese shop so I could top up on ingredients which I use all the time.  It is much cheaper to go to the big shop on the dual carriageway down from Debenhams Roundabout.

Traffic was awful on the way home - Police were doing spot checks so everything was crawling along the Mesoghi Avenue.