Resurrection and Salvation

 No, not that sort of resurrection and salvation.  I am talking about salvation from a mild case of boredom and a need to break out of it so I resurrected an old favourite hobby of mine which I haven’t visited for some considerable time.

Knitting.

Now, some people may think it is an old ladies pastime, which is as maybe and I do come within the ‘old lady’ category (although not gracefully accepted by me),  but it can also be fun and satisfying to create something which starts of as a bag full of wool, needles and the pattern, which can be deciphered by the clever ladies at Bletchley Park.

I visited a local shop, which has recently been taken over by a very helpful lady. She has made the shop bright, light and airy with tons of stunning colours and options in wool.

I have already completed the rib band on the back and progressed to the next size needles.

It also kept me busy, occupied and quiet for a couple of hours, for which Mr D was very grateful.

My weekend is going to be busy with rearranging bits in the garden.

The naughty lady at the nursery has posted on their Facebook page that the autumn veg is ready.  Well, it would be rude not to!

So a bit of shifting around and then off to the garden centre.  Will keep you posted on progress.

We decided last night to have fillet steak with a rather splendid Village salad picked up from Half Way House, a local Cypriot “eatery”.

Having spent some time cleaning the hob this week we cooked the steak in the Air Fryer, well, what an absolutely wonderful gastronomic affair.

After the meal we sat back to relax in the evening coolness when we ‘heard the plaintiff cry’ of our cat, Jazz. Well, as I have said before, Jazz doesn’t meow, she has more of a stuttering cough.

OMG, she was on the top of the car port!  Get me down NOW.

We have a vine growing up one side of the carport and she must of climbed up there, so we hoped she would come down the same way.

Sure enough, five minutes later she made her way down with all the dignity she could muster.

There is never a dull moment in this household!

Will get on with the garden now and send some pics soon.

Happy weekend.

Dragon fruit - how exotic!

 There has been so much going on lately that I seem to have been neglecting my blog, although I did start a draft about a week ago but when I went back to it this morning it didn’t make much sense (no change there then).

But my musings in the garden are still alive and well and in all the  chaos around I find it quite soothing just to wander aimlessly thinking how lovely it all is.

I am avoiding the plant nursery at the moment to give everything else a chance to grow, and this seems to be working.

I know from years gone by if I get impatient for a plant to come to it’s full potential I end up with spindly weak nothing.  Some of the plants in the garden this year are a couple of years old and really looking great.

I think I got this one in early spring last year, and it didn’t really do anything but I just persevered and this is the result.

Whereas the next one is a baby lavender bought a couple of months ago a working hard to get the buds blooming.

I have met a local (English) man who has lived in Cyprus for over 30 years and is a font of knowledge which has been very useful.

He was telling me about Dragon fruits and has promised a couple of plants together with a small palm tree for our back garden.

I tried to upload a picture of dragon plants/fruit to here but it wouldn’t work, but if you are interested please have a look on the internet.

Speaking of which, our internet still has not been sorted by the company but, in the meantime, we have a second company supplying us with wireless internet, which seems to be working fine.

Another thing was the washing machine packed up. We were going to get it fixed and got an man’ in.  He took the part away and it could have been fixed.

Mr D made the mistake of mentioning it to the dreaded landlord who seemed to take it all very personal and told us HE would sort it out.

So that was another 3 days without a machine.  He turned up yesterday with a new machine on the back of his truck, like the Clampets, fitted the new machine and left.

I put the first load in.  The drum is considerably smaller and a 40 degree wash took about four and a half hours!

I kid you not.

Apparently, if you want a ‘quick’ wash it has to be cold!

Daisy the dog had the delight of a cool walk this morning.  During the extreme heat she just sticks to the house and garden.

I was glad her harness fitted after a few months of inactivity.

I have resurrected my colouring books and have decided to try some felt tip pens to get a more vibrant range of colours.

Fingers crossed.

I have a call booked with my daughter in England on Thursday.  We have to pre-arrange to fit in with her shifts.  Not good news from England this morning.  The Johnson crew still don’t have a bloody clue as to what they are doing.  Closing pubs, bars and restaurants at 10 p.m.  like that is really going to make a difference.  

Not.

See you all soon, I’m off to hang out more laundry, before I get upset.

How did my garden grow?

 If you remember the nursery rhyme ‘Mary, Mary, quite contrary- how does your garden grow?  Well, my name may not be Mary but I am pretty happy with the way the garden has taken shape over the seven years we have lived in this house.

I was asked how the garden took shape, had it been planned or just evolved.

I did try to plan but found I could not be in charge of the plants when they would do what they wanted.

It was quite a learning curve being in such a hot climate but with some research, chatting to people to see what they do I have picked up lots of useful ideas and tips.

And not forgetting the lovely couple who run the local plant nursery for their never ending help and advise, I couldn’t have done it without them.

The main thing I have to remember is how quickly everything grows so my trusty secateurs are an absolute must.  And now with my garden gang as I call them I can’t wait until next year to have another go at a few things which were unsuccessful this year.

 The mainly salad part is based around a small tomato bed, which has been growing three different types of tomatoes and kept us going without having to buy any.  The same has been the case with some very powerful Spring Onions.

I grew far too many peppers which kept rather small, but very sweet and lovely to bake or chop and use as a dressing.

Chillies galore which have not been too hot.  I shall be drying them soon and then use as and when needed.

Next blog will say a bit about the flowers and shrubs.

Happy gardening, window boxing or just flower pots!

We have Internet......

 At last and with thanks to the great guys at Ecotech, who installed it today.

I won’t say what I feel about the lying, let-me-down, union run crowd at Cyta just yet.  There are one or two points still to be cleared up, not least our compensation.  

And just for the record they have still not repaired it although they did email Mr D to say it would be next week.

Thank you for the encouraging comments and I will get to work on the inspired blog tomorrow.

All comments welcome.

See you tomorrow. x

Wot - still no internet

We are now in the first week of September and the garden umbrellas are everywhere. We have finally got ours sorted to give us the right amount of shade and,more importantly, where we want it. The sun is lovely but sometimes not just in the place you want it! The garden, as I have said, is all but complete and we are thrilled with the results after so many years. Not a starchy showpiece but more like us- gently relaxed! Whatever that means. I will try and add some photos on this new app I am using. That is all down to the lack of internet. Yes, still...after all this time. Mr D has been looking at all sorts of alternatives but Cyprus does not have lots of choice like England. They don’t like competition here. I have been nursing a very poorly arm, which I acquired form Daisy Dog. She wanted to join us dancing around the kitchen (yes, you did read that right) and caught my forearm with her claws. Very painful and very ugly so no photo! Also with the addition of iodide it is a most peculiar colour. By any accounts we had a lovely 14th wedding anniversary and are happy with our lot. I miss my virtual gin and tonics with my daughter but am sure we will be able to resume normal service soon. xxxx My very good friend in England is having a really tough time at the moment as her mum seems to be taking broking bones-one way and another. We have been friends for over 30 years and always turned to each other in times of hardship. I know she reads my blog and want her to know I send lots of love. xx My aim now is to try and raise my audience for my blog by getting more people reading and if they feel like it sending comments as to what they would like to read about from my Cyprus garden.