Tuesday 6 December 2016

The day started out brightly enough but the weather forecasters got it absolutely right about today - bad weather was on its way and bad weather is what we got - all over the island.


With Christmas fast approaching we seem to have a lot coming up which requires catering!  I took the opportunity this morning to get some done and thank god for slow cookers - yes I have two of them and I wouldn't be without them nor would I trade in my two pressure cookers (old fashioned types which never let me down).  We have Sean coming for tea tomorrow as Sharon is back in the UK and at the weekend we have Mark and Nicky coming to stay and I don't want to be slaving over the oven.  I had planned a Thai chicken curry for tomorrow night - but Paps let me down with water chestnuts and bamboo shoots and I have planned pulled pork for the weekend.


As the morning began to wear on the weather deteriorated - Mum text early to say they had some rain in Emba - at that point we had no rain but heavy winds.  On days like this the conservatory comes into its own as any little bit of sunshine is magnified leaving the room feeling much warmer than the lounge.  We have always had a problem with this room in that the natural lay of the land is for any rainwater to want to come in under the door and make its way across the room towards the pool.  Before we covered this area this is exactly what the rainwater did and should have done but once it became a conservatory that was a pain and as the door opens inwards there was very little we could do about it other than put down towels as flood defences - when the weather was particularly bad even the towels would not cope and we would be surrounded by cold damp towels desperately trying to dry them and keep the water under control.  The fact that the water butt is located just outside the front door didn't help either as periodically for whatever reason (usually an errant snail stuck in the water pipe) it would overflow and tip a deluge of water outside the front door.  This year John has addressed the problem by increasing the bore of the pipe which is the overflow from the water butt and tiling the conservatory and raising the floor level - there is nothing more that he can do so if the weather today turned out to be as bad as forecast we would soon know whether or not he had been successful.


I was off to pickleball this afternoon - and finally getting my hair cut - woo hoo.  Mum and Dad were out for lunch and John is resting his limbs from sport for a few more days.  As I got my sports gear on the cats were bedding down for the day  they seemed to sense that the weather was going to get worse and bagged their favourite spots.  Minzer-Mou didn't look to impressed to be sharing the bed with Fatso but in fairness Fatso was there first.


As I walked out to the car we still didn't have any rain but the wind was really picking up - this was going to leave a right old mess as all the plants that are dying back in the garden will shed their leaves and most of them will end up in the pool.

I had to drive carefully down to Paphos as there were strong gusts of winds and where it had already been raining the roads were a bit slippy.

Winter has arrived with a bang - two days ago sunshine, short sleeves and shorts, today more like Nanook of the North!


Along the Tombs of the Kings road it was pretty deserted today - generally you see some hardy tourists wandering around but no-one today.  The sky was getting very grey and cars had their lights on and it was lunchtime!


On my travels I was pleased to find an oriental supermarket which was open and where I was able to get the water chestnuts and the bamboo shoots and a million other things if I had wanted and the woman told me that they are going to open another one near Kolios in the New Year which is good.


On the way home the weather really got bad and because of the lack of soakaways and drains there was a terrific amount of standing water on the road.  I was really glad to get home where John was waiting with the fire lit.  So far so good with regard to the conservatory - no incoming water at this stage and the rain was getting heavier and heavier.


This was the view of the remainder of my day - battened down, fire lit and TV on.  The weather did indeed get worse with gale force winds, driving rain, hail, thunder and lightning which went on for most of the night.  If we thought we had it bad then think of poor old Wendy and Bill - this link shows flood water passing right by their shop!!! Flood water in Pissouri

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