Friday

A brief post today because it was a relatively normal Friday that is, if you consider a wake-up call in sub zero waters normal!

We really do want to try and keep going for as long as possible and over the last few days the temperature of the water has stabilized - and when we go in there is probably little difference between the outside early morning temperature (which often feels much cooler because of the damp from the condensation) and that of the water in the pool.  I am not brave enough to put my head under - I say it is because I don't want a reoccurence of my neuralgia but I never like putting my head under - John is not such a wimp and attacks the exercise with much gusto - the ensuing tsunami which can leave water fast approaching the conservatory is a project he is working on!  As the pool is so close to the conservatory anything movement in the pool can mean water making a bid for freedom and in the wrong direction.

We had our 'swim', a shower using whatever hot water was in the tank - it felt infinitely warmer than the pool so that was good and then went down to Emba via the recycling bins for our regular game of pickleball.  I smiled to myself the other day when Rob had done his recycling - he said that there must be someone else in Peyia who liked his real ale as there had been several in the recycling bin - I think that they were probably John's as I had done my recycling only just beforehand!

We had a good pickleball session, just five of us as Liselotte is away.  I have to take my hat off to Mum who plays a mean old game even at the tender age of 82 - what she may have lost in speed around the court she makes up for in sneaky shots!

We were having Aunty Joyce and Uncle David up with us again this weekend.  I had put our supper in the slow cooker and had chosen a Creamy Slow Cooked Pork recipe which was ok but I think I should have chosen a cut of pork with a higher fat content so make it a bit more succulent.  I had used a big old joint of pork loin which is probably better flash cooked rather than slow cooked - I thought it was a bit 'hard' but it got eaten all the same!  The star of the show was the vegan sticky toffee pudding which was just as good the next time round and I didn't know it but sticky toffee pudding is Uncle David's favourite.

We played a good natured game of Mexican Train dominoes after our dinner - god only knows Uncle David's logic because he never seems to have any system or plan as to how he is going to win the round but just occasionally, clearly by luck rather than judgment he does!  A wee dram seems to help - several wee drams don't seem to affect him either!

John has re-modeled the cat day-beds he made last year - for some reason the cats would always favour one cushion over the other even though they were bought from the same place at the same time.  We have put the blinkie Kaye knitted over the top of the cushions - this is the cats absolute favourite and as a result it is hitched to hell but neither Chivers nor Charlie seemed bothered as to which cushion was underneath.  The temperature outside is clearly dropping as the cats now tend to spend a lot more of the evening in with us - that and that fact that the other places that make them welcome on the estate no longer have their occupants - except we know that Persephone and Savvas came tonight as she sent me a photograph of Charlie's collar which he had left behind.