Christmas Eve

 
It is Christmas Eve, a Sunday, and Mum was being entertained by Lilian today so we had the day to ourselves to get prepared for tomorrow.  Even though I have tried to prepare as much as I can in advance there still seems like a million things to do but we both felt able to tackle the day because we had all of it to ourselves so we started with a lie-in and safe in the knowledge that the second half of our Farmyard Thai takeaway was sitting in the fridge ready for us.

We decided that if we could get our chores done we would treat ourselves to a walk along the beach at Latchi and a coffee as it was a nice day.  In fact we were in two minds as to whether we should try a swim.  In the end we didn't because we could see white horses breaking onto the beach from up in Droushia and it was quite windy so we wimped out.  We mentioned to Gail and Pete that we were going down that way and they said they had planned to do the same with the dogs so if I was happy to walk with Hector and Dotty Dot we could walk with them and grab a coffee together.

It was glorious down on the coast and so we walked from just opposite the Eliofos Centre to the harbour and grabbed a seat in the sun and had a coffee and a muffin enjoying the sunshine.  What a bonus - the forecast is set fair for the rest of December which is good and means that we should get a little walk in on Boxing Day as planned which is a bonus.

I am getting better with Gail and Pete's dogs - it isn't that I don't like dogs, I do, but my previous childhood experiences have put me off.  We seemed to be surrounded by nutter dogs in my youth, dogs that were big, aggressive and unpredictable so scared the living daylights out of me.  Now I need to get to know a dog in my own time and make up my own mind how much interaction I have with them I definitely don't want to be jumped at or licked to death and I certainly don't want my leg humped!

John loves dogs - if it weren't for the cats we would probably have had one by now so he has to make do with Hector and Dot who benefit from him having a pocket full of treats to reward them for their good behaviour.

It was a lovely afternoon and as it was unexpected, even better.  We shall be seeing Gail and Pete tomorrow as they are joining us, Mum and Lilian for Christmas Day.

We returned home.  Took a look around the conservatory and lounge/dining room and declared we had done everything that we could do.  There was nothing left but for us to settle down with a good film - The Sound of Music which always makes me cry as it has such personal memories for me and my family - followed by the fantabulous remainders of the takeaway from The Farmyard and then finally watch The Great Escaper with Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson.  What a beautifully crafted film - I have wanted to watch that for ages and it was sheer joy to do so.  I hope Santa comes tonight and leaves some of his little helpers for tomorrow!!!!

Christmas Eve Eve

Christmas Eve Eve.  The weather remains stormy but due to be more settled tomorrow which is good.  We are trying to be organised so that Christmas Day isn't too frantic particularly as John will be missing for about an hour and a half doing his taxi duties.  

We were up relatively early because I had an appointment to see Dr Lykoudis to sign me off after my operation.  I had an appointment last week and forgot so I needed to make sure I went this time.  It was fairly chaotic when I got there - they do have an appointment system in that they can give you a time or you can request a time but actually when you get there it is every man (or woman) for themselves unless the doctor has clocked you coming in in which case he seems to have some sort of order in his head.  Dr Lykoudis signed me off saying that he hoped professionally he wouldn't be seeing me again and I said that those were also my sentiments but that whilst I was there I would just ask about my other shoulder which causes me pain after a fall.  He agreed that the symptoms and the resulting pain would indicate that it was indeed muscular and as a result could take some time to settle down.

Our trip to the electrical shop was a waste of time because it had closed for Winter - not sure why we hadn't seen the sign yesterday - but we weren't the only ones as Stelios who cleans George's pool was also waiting outside hoping to collect his wife's washing machine which had been in for repair.  Not sure he was going to be successful!!

I spent the afternoon doing whatever I could to prepare the food which we are going to eat on Monday, and cleaning and tidying so that there is less to do tomorrow which is Christmas Eve and a Sunday and we have the day to ourselves as Lilian is entertaining Mum.

My reward for all my hard work was that we were having a takeaway from the Farmyard this evening and we had ordered enough to two days which is about the best Christmas present anyone could give me.

The takeaway was absolutely fabulous - the satay sauce which we had with the starter was just on the brink of our pleasure/pain threshold!!!  We did manage to save half of our food for tomorrow but it was almost a struggle.

Tomorrow will be a busy day even with all the preparation we have done.  The 7 P's - Elena wanted them on her headstone - bless her - it was the anniversary of her passing today.  I still miss her dreadfully she was such a wonderful friend and she would have been so proud of the adults her children are turning into.  Bassam called in today to give us a present for Christmas, a bottle of red and a bottle of white wine from Vasilikon.  He is such a lovely man we really must try and spend more time with him next year because I guess that as the children are getting older and spend less time at home he can be a bit lonely.  

The 7 P's for those that don't know - Proper prior preparation prevents piss poor performance!
 

Christmas Fast Approaching

My preparations for Christmas Day continue.  There will be three of us not drinking during the day, Mum, Lilian and me, because I will be driving them back home later in the day.

I decided I should try and make something festive to drink and know that Mulled Wine is traditional but even though the alcohol can be boiled out during the warming process I didn't want to take the risk because (a) mulled wine doesn't taste so good if it is boiled and (b) I just don't trust my luck if I get stopped by the sneaky Astonomeia!!!

By definition wine is and alcoholic drink made from fermented grape juice and whilst this had red grape juice in it, it was completely devoid of alcohol so I probably should have labeled it Mulled Punch.

I did a tasting and whilst not packing the 'punch' of Mulled Wine it had a very similar flavour and will probably taste very nice when warmed.  Another tick in the preparation box.  I even remembered to go across to Lakis and Argy's to get everything out of the freezer so it could defrost naturally over the next day or so.

We had a very welcome visitor this morning - Rich came in for coffee and to take some soup and curry back with him which will come in handy because his Mum isn't feeling 100% and they are due to travel to Limassol on Sunday for a three day festive break.  We have told them that if they don't end up going we will happily plate up a Christmas Lunch for them and pop it round.  Originally they were due to spend the day with us anyway.

After a relatively bright morning the weather deteriorated as forecast and as we traveled down to Polis for some last minute bits and pieces the cloud was hanging in the valley and over the tops of the mountains.  By the time we got to Polis is was pouring with rain and we hadn't taken account of the time so the electrical shop which has our faulty dehumidifier was closed for lunch and it was so awful we couldn't be arsed to sit outside and wait for half an hour.

As I said I got all the freezer stuff out from Argy's and checked what was what and tried to put together a bit of a plan for Monday.  We have two turkey crowns and a gammon along with pigs in blankets, two types of stuffing and bread sauce and a myriad of vegetables and Gail is doing the brussels to save me the job (and the smell).  We certainly won't starve that's for sure!

We did a dry run on the table decoration.  John's new table top will make a huge difference to the amount of room people have which is great.  Hopefully people will love the decor and the ambiance and it will help to make our Christmas Day a little bit magical - something that you lose when children are no longer a part of your celebrations.

We ended the day with a trip out for a meal at Petradaki where we were meeting up with Marianne and Jeff for a catch up.  Blimey it was busy in there but I have to say the restaurant looked very festive and we had a nice leisurely meal, good food and good company!

Not such a nice day to go shopping

The weather forecast was not wrong - today started out brightly enough and then deteriorated badly and became stormy, windy and wet so completely opposite to yesterday which was one of the warmest December days I have ever known here.  I started the day with my regular physio session with Marios and Socrates.  Marios did extra work on my poorly shoulder (the one that was not operated on) and managed to find the tender spot and give it a right old pummeling so I am expecting to be crippled tomorrow.

I then shot off to Mum's - I had organised that we would go out for a cuppa and a bite to eat.  My thought was to go to the Begonia Garden Centre but Mum was worried she might be cold there so suggested Alpha Mega - the big one on the dual carriageway - apparently she used to go there quite often with Dad although I don't actually remember that myself.  Anyway we went to eat first in the cafe.  There was a lot to choose from in the hot trays although I say hot in the loosest possible sense as the food was unfortunately rather luke warm which was a shame because what I had was nice and would have been even nicer if warmer.  The portions were enormous and I mean enormous.  Mum had chicken schnitzels with roast potatoes and coleslaw and I had a chicken and mushroom cream dish thing also with coleslaw (our choice you could have had all sorts of veggies, rice, salad etc) and two bottles of water and it came to 12 euros!!!  We then had a wander around the shop which I have said to John we should go to once ever couple of months because there is quite a different selection of foods and I even managed to find some Blue Brie Cheese for Christmas which we used to get regularly and then it disappeared off the shelves.

The weather had started to deteriorate badly by the time I left Mum's but I had to call into Philippos's supermarket in Peyia to find some Ginger Wine for Sonia.  I eventually found it and there was a choice of either Stones (which reminds me of my lovely Uncle David who used to like a Whisky Mac at Christmas) or Crabbies - which came in a smaller bottle and was on offer with 30% off and according to someone I spoke to considered superior to Stones.  I bought a bottle for Sonia and a bottle for us so that when she comes for a drink we can give her a Whisky Mac which is a favourite of tipple of hers.  I also had to swing by Lilian's to pick up the dishes I had left there on Sunday.

John had been busy in my absence - he had been making pizza for our tea and he was ready and waiting for me to get home and shot out and picked up my shopping and then we finished the pizza making together.   After our lovely evening meal (John makes a damn fine pizza) I managed to get in touch with Hazel so that I could wish her, Jordan and Abi all the best for Christmas and the New Year.

A glorious day

There was just one word to describe today, Wednesday 20th December 2024, and that was GLORIOUS!!!  Not a cloud in the sky and temperatures which would give a late summer's day a run for its money.

Days like today are a bonus when we are so close to Christmas and fills you with energy so I was up early and getting washing done and out putting items in all the places where they would catch the maximum sunshine.  I am not sure that John intended the guy ropes for the outside canopy to be used as washing lines but they are perfect this time of the year when we got a good amount of sunshine in the area outside the kitchen door.

I have a rotary line - I am not a fan - I would so prefer to have a long line and to be able to watch my washing flapping in the breeze but the house and garden configuration just doesn't lend itself to a long line - that was one of the joys of living in our old married quarter we had a lovely long back garden and as a result a lovely long washing line.

Married quarters seems like a million years ago but it was the final piece to our moving abroad jigsaw.  It enabled us to save like mad and as a bonus led to a friendship with Laura and Mark which has stood the test of time.  In fact as I write this I am watching an episode of Escape to the Country where the presenter is showcasing an amazing restaurant called the Station Kitchen and this year we have bought them a voucher to go eat there!!!

We decided to go and get some fresh air down on the coast and take a walk down in Latchi as it was just too good an opportunity to miss.  We parked up on the edge of the Marina where there have been some empty shops with flats above all the time that we have been living here - they are now being refurbished and spruced up as is much of Latchi.  It will be very interesting to see the end results.

We wandered back towards where we had parked the car and decided to stop for a drink.  We went to the new coffee place next to Coffee Island - I think it is called the Harbour Bar or something similar.  John chose a frappe and I asked for a freshly squeezed fruit juice and opted for kiwi which may have been a bit of a mistake because boy was it on the sharp side!!!

Drinkies done we girded our loins and set off for Polis to do our last 'big' shop before Christmas.  We had a longish list but it was quite eclectic and contained numerous items that I needed to replace but not necessarily today.

Paps was, well not to put too fine a point on it, rather quiet which was a bonus - there isn't anything like the mad panic buying that I would have encountered in the UK.  

We got most of the things that I wanted save for sprouts which John and I weren't at all bothered about but we have guests on Monday who will be expecting those smelly orbs so I will go in search again tomorrow when I take Mum shopping.

We rounded off our lovely day together with a work's do at Fitos where we enjoyed a lovely late lunch together just the two of us - this is a rare thing nowadays!!!  John had the pork chop (carefully putting some away for Gail's dogs Hector and Dot to enjoy later) and I had the vegetarian plate - I still need to get my head around aubergine but I am getting better.

All in all a lovely, lovely day - I feel up to the challenge of Christmas Day now!

The carport is completed

Charlie has found my temporary washing up facility for Christmas Day.   One of the troughs is in full sunshine early in the morning and bless him, old soul that he is, he likes a bit of warmth.  I didn't have the heart to move him - I will just have to make sure I clean the troughs and leave them upside down until I need to use them on Monday!

I picked up Sonia and we went off to Neo Chorio for the final armchair exercise session of 2023.  The community centre here is in full on Christmas decoration mode - I can't be sure, because I haven't been up there, but I am guessing our centre has the lone transgender Santa with the black eyeliner that it always has.  Sonia is uncertain as to whether the exercise we are getting suits her needs having been left with some issues after a stroke a few years ago.  I shall be sorry if she decides not to continue but understand her reasons.  I am going to carry on hopefully although after todays session my legs and arms were killing me!!!

Sonia and I have been planning a coffee together after exercise for weeks but never got round to it so today was the day and we went to Noma in Latchi which is a very nice venue although the outside space faces North so was in the shade although it was such a beautiful day it didn't really matter to us and we sat outside having a chat and enjoying the view.

Back home John and Bassam had been working like Trojans getting the roof of the carport completed.  It has been a backbreaking job for John from removing the heavy terracotta tiles which he put up never expecting to take down and replacing with metal sheets that look like tiles.  

Bless Bassam - he came today to be John's little helper - they actually work well together despite different languages and different approaches to the job in hand.  Bassam would say that if he is in charge then he has the last word but if John is in charge then he has the last work except I had the last word today when I suggested that rather than buy another sheet to cover the overhang that the overhang get shortened which everyone agreed was a good idea - the overhang had only been there to support the terracotta tiles.

It was getting quite cool as the sun went down - clear blue skies equal cold nights now so I disappeared inside to make something for tea that would warm John up.  We had done a 'stock take' of the freezer and had removed some unmarked tubs and a pack of chicken thighs.  The tubs contained the uneaten curry and rice I had at Poppadoms and some pilafi from Paps along with some lentils from the last time I made Lebanese.  I made a Sri Lankan curry with the chicken thighs and had enough gram flour to knock up a few onion bhajis and it was absolutely delicious.  We were both absolutely knackered so our evening was a short one!

Out with Papa Elf...

Before we went out resplendent in our Christmas Jumpers I was involved in that age old festive tradition of cleaning the microwave and the oven so that I do not give our guests on Monday festive food poisoning.  I had cleared my potting bench and installed the two massive troughs that John uses to soak and then clean the barbeque accoutrements and we plan to hide our washing up in them soaking in some hot water.

It was a glorious day, possibly too hot for our wooly pullies but as we didn't know how long we were going to be out we knew it was likely to be a tad chilly at some point.  We had pared things down this year and simply asked neighbours if they fancied wandering up to Kaponas for something to eat and then we could decide it we did anything else otherwise we would wander back to ours for a drinkie or two.  Sadly Ellen and Richard couldn't make it but we wanted to have a get together because Nicky and Mark are going to the UK for Christmas on Wednesday.

We had a lovely time at Kaponas.  We sat at our usual table.  The inside of the taverna was all decorated for Christmas and it was warm and cosy inside.  We were in no rush so took our time.  Eleni brought a lovely platter of cheese, meat and fruit to the table whilst we decided what we were having to eat.  I had asked her to make some green eggs - I hadn't had them made by her before and they were delicious.  Very different to Marina's where the courgette are fried are caramelized, Eleni's were creamy and soft.

After our main courses we were given some lovely cakes - some sort of carrot cake like muffins and the traditional sugar coated kourabiedes.  It was a really really nice meal and everyone seemed to enjoy what they had ordered.

On our way home Gail persuaded some of us to climb the hay bales for a photo opportunity which she had wanted to do on our way out.  Pete and Mark chose to be photographers and I only managed to take part after a bunk up from John!!!  I gave my Velma shoes another outing because I thought they looked quite festive and matched the red on my top!!!

We decamped to ours for a few more drinkies and some laughs.  It was a lovely afternoon and evening and nice to get together before the silly season starts.

2023 is fast coming to a close, it has absolutely flown by.