Letters to a Friend

Well I got home in one piece and without killing anyone, the last part was very difficult mainly because there was quite a few people at the airport that were worthy and the family next to me on the plane father and daughter on the row in front and son and mother next to me, they were so loud I put my earphones in (not attached to anything) to drown the noise out, the mother couldn't speak without shouting I was beginning to wonder if she herself had a hearing problem, the son was invading my space and he was only slight of frame but sat like a 'bloke' knees wide and in my space, then as we were almost home, the father who had been clapping and snapping his fingers and singing on occasions throughout the flight decided to turn around and start fighting (in a non aggressive way) with his son, they were back and forth across the chairs until I decided enough was enough, I looked the father in the eye, he smiled (pillock) and I said enough in my best head teacher voice, he was quite shocked especially when I said it again holding eye contact, but he did sit down and never moved again until we landed, hooray!!! Now the other person worthy of my wrath was an Asian woman, I don't think I have ever heard anyone screech in such a fashion right through the departures to another family member who was somewhere in the distance, she then preceded to follow me through departures to security with her family in tow, and even with them stood next to her she continued to screech, what a racket, luckily I lost them at security could have been something to do with me forgetting my sunglasses were on my head and I had change in my pockets because I was placed in the xray booth and radiated, but it was all good no more Asian ladies screeching at family members. 

Once I drove home from Paphos there wasn't much else to do than throw dirty washing at the machine and jump into the shower before taking myself off to bed with my new book, I had managed to get half way through it even with the interruptions on the flight, but I could hardly keep my peepers open so I didn't get much more of it read before lights out.

Stitch was happy to see me, or really it could just of been the fact that I was rescuing him from the Doggie Hotel, I like to think it was the former, I took him home reminded him of all the training he has had and he fell right back in line no bother, I did however have to throw him in the pool as even after I asked them not to wash him they still managed to cover him in 'Eau De Man Dog', most unpleasant it is too, it's like the worst musky grotty aftershave smell you could imagine sprayed over your dog, so he went in the pool and then later in the afternoon as I could still smell it I hosed him as well just for good measure, so now I have a very clean dog who avoids me if he sees me heading towards the hose.

Well that's all for now, Tara x

Doggie's Day Out

Chasing Butterflies

One very tired hound

Saving Siri - I swear I heard him scream HELP

This morning after waking up way to late due to being awake in the middle of the night, which when I think about it was probably the early hours of the morning, I decided today was the day to find a waterfall, so Stitch and I packed up our belongings including the camera and headed to Troodos and Kato Plantres we drove past lovely scenery before we arrived at the car park in Kato Plantres and headed for the nature trail which was when I discovered my battery for the camera was in fact sitting at home in the charger, so now I'm lugging a camera plus extra lens just for the hell of it.  Now the sign said 1050m and I took no notice as usual of anything number related as we walked down the side of the mountain and eventually came to a little bridge across the stream, ok I thought to myself that was easy, and we carried on along the stream following the path, we met a few folk on our way who were heading back up the top and we passed pleasantries, even Stitch got into the atmosphere and sniffed everyone who passed, we came to what I thought was the bottom of the stream which probably when I think about it was the top of the waterfall, because from here we started to climb again, around the mountain we went until we snaked left and head along the edge and we arrived at some lovely steps that were put together with stone and cement, this was great because you rarely lose your footing on those things, unlike the tree roots and shale I had been stepping on leading around to them, our walk started down again and when it eventually arrived at a concrete path, what do you know Mr Whippy was waiting at the bottom, I declined! Stitch and I headed off towards the Myllomeris Waterfall, along another path of concrete which lead to steps in the rock and then a wee bridge before we were hopping over tree roots and voila there it was in all it's spectacular glory, the waterfall, a young family were there when we arrived and we chatted before I threw a couple of stones for Stitch which lead to him being submerged from the belly down, very odd it looked too as he just stood there, as if he was meant to be there cooling his jets ...

Whilst we were there a the young family left and another arrived I didn't take much notice mainly because when I said hello I was ignored by the fatherly figure so I guessed they were Russian! why is it that nationality are so rude, they never reply when your are courteous, and invariably ignore most kinds of communication, maybe I should try sign language

Now I have some very good friends from that neck of the woods and they are not rude, smile regularly and are always courteous so maybe it's the Cypriot Russians that are the problem, anyway Stitch and I continued to play around in the water, and all of a sudden a child (Russian) and adult male walked passed in their dookers and preceded to submerge themselves, well when I say themselves what I mean is Daddy pushed head of sonny under water until droont and then Daddy plunged himself in the water and then stood under the waterfall in all his glory....

Stitch and I decided there was way too much skin on show and we best leave, so now it was time to head back up the mountain, it sure was easier coming down the way, I was pecking the hound was pecking and you know when they say women glow, it is in fact a lie, I may very well have a face like an SOS flare but it was sweating and luckily for me I never leave home without kitchen roll to mop my brow, oh and clean up after four legs, but  today I would have been better wrapping it round my head, the kitchen roll not four legs... Part way up the mountain I received a text from my beloved unfortunately whilst trying to retrieve poor Siri I dropped him right over the side of the mountain, this was followed very swifty by Stitch who lost his footing, my only concern was I now had nothing to take the pictures with as Stitch was very quickly chasing all be it backwards Siri down the mountain, Siri went over the edge, luckily Stitch righted himself just in time and I'm sure will not be needing his nails cut anytime soon, I could do no more that coax him back up going sideways as opposed to straight up before we both had to go back down and round the mountain to find Siri. One should always be thankfully for even small mercies, and mercifully Stitch was unscathed and the battery pack Siri uses had saved him from a good smashing. There is a lesson there somewhere and I think it is never answer your beloved whilst on a mountain.

Stitch and I eventually made it back up to Kato Platres and headed back towards the Sturgeon fishing attraction we had passed earlier, we were off road once again and when we eventually arrived the gates were firmly closed, obviously there is a procedure for visiting tourist attractions in Cyprus I have not been made privy too, next up it was a winery and one of my favourite wines comes from this one, unfortunately after ascending the mountain once more on a different route we were once again locked out, I really have no idea how any money is made in this Country when most of the time the attractions are closed, has winter arrived and I missed summer! Or maybe it's a local holiday and I'm not local so no body told me..... we could do no more than head back down the mountain and home.

We arrived home and Stitch took his usual tour of the garden, and a lot of noise ensued, the black tom cat from next door is a hardy devil and will not be budged once he has found a nice spot in our garden, usually under a bush and just annoyingly visible enough for Stitch to get the scent and find him, so bark, bark, bark and that cat would not move, I managed to pick Stitch up at one point but that just allowed the cat to shimmy a little further into the garden so drastic measures were needed in the form of a water hose, yep I win the cat doesn't like water and shot off over the wall like a flash of lightening, that will teach it to mess with me and my hose.

Party in the Park, Forces Style

So after the power outage on Friday and having to go to bed with no air con, but with the switch on so if the electricity did spring to life at least I wouldn't resemble a dried out prune in the morning, and it did spring so I was quite refreshed kind of. Well it was 10.30 by the time I surfaced so I should have been refreshed....

The only reason I woke was that Stitch must have nudged his crate and the metal door rattled, poor thing I thought to myself he must be bursting, but no he ran around the garden checked out his Kingdom for cats came back in the house and pestered me for breakfast, that's some bladder control for such a little hound.  Once he was fed and watered he went off and watered the garden, which would be fine if he wasn't turning the grass yellow! I had missed a call from the Dark Lord so thought it best to call him back, my phone seems to be pleasing itself just now which means sometimes I can call out and sometimes I can't and sometimes it appears that when people call me my phone is off! most peculiar, so anyway I call the Dark Lord and received a nice invitation for a night out with his family I just had to prepare nibbles and what ever I fancied to drink as it was to be a Party in the Park.

I lay in the garden for a while, tried to take Stitch for a walk around the block, he got ten feet from the house and refused to budge I can't say I blame him it was roasting, and the heat from the road must have been scorching his very low slung underbelly as well as his paws.  I finished laying in the sun and sorted out my nibbles for the evening all very healthy too, carrot stick, cucumber and peppers with a bag of pistachio and almonds, nice and simple, I made a water bottle into iced coffee and I was set, I just need to shower, although why I bothered I am really not sure.

I arrived at the Dark Lords at a little before 4pm they were still getting ready which allowed me time to head to the supermarket where I picked up a naughty little treat in case the nibbles didn't do it for me, I headed back and we all bundled in the jeep and heading for Episkopi, we arrived and were guided to a parking spot and then it was all hands on deck, well except Jamie who is to cool to carry, and we set up our picnic area just left of the stage, as I said why I bothered to shower is beyond me, I was dripping from head to toe, the sun was to our right and I'm sure I must look like a Harlequin as I forgot to rotate, but at least my face wasn't the colour of beetroot (unlike the Dark Lord) the first group to sing were announced and and the boys with the big hats marched them in, then it was over to the kids, and then another and another band, some were made up of personnel from the surrounding bases, and other were flown in from the Uk, the music was great and the atmosphere was all very posh sitting on the grass with your picnics, umbrellas popping up to shade the babies or the adults depending on who needed it, there were a few rowdies but that will always happen when there is sun, alcohol and music. The children danced the adults followed and the sun went down way too slowly for a couple of very red skinned individuals, my favourite groups were 

1. I don't remember their name as I was in the ladies when they were introduced, but they were fantastic. Just googled and their names are Senis and Owen

2. Blues Brothers oh I do love the Blues Brothers and these two boys call the Blues Brothers Paphos were great, every song had me singing into my iced coffee - well it would be rude to drown out such good singing.

3. Take That 2 now they were flown in from the UK and it was so funny listening to the Gary Barlow character accent and all, I always thought Gary Barlow talked way to slow and listening to an impersonator doing it just exaggerated the torture, but they were a fantastic group of lads, and put on a magnificent show, how funny young Charlie asked why they were dancing 'like that', us oldies had to inform her that the original Take That danced that way, she was SHOCKED hahaha, love kids, hate getting old......