Peace

My favourite picture of the holiday, once I edited the chocolate off that is
beautiful Halle Balle Boo

We were all up early yesterday as it is eviction day, Nicola was on the bag packing, Glen was on baby patrol and bag buying in Limassol with my beloved and I was on Eva patrol with Stitch, after washing the floor Stitch and I decided to take Eva for a walk, so after sun screen was applied we took her out, we only got to the bottom of the hill before there was a minor complaint about how far we had gone, now the bottom of the hill is only about 100m away, but you had to forgive her as it was around 30 degrees with no breeze. We carried on our way walking slowly to accommodate little legs, Stitch had his rolled up lead thrown for him to chase, now I will never be a cricketer as I can't throw worth a damn, but this little lead all tied in knots is another of Stitch's favourites and I can actually throw it in a straight line, unlike anything previously tried (no throwing team sports for this girl).

Around 11.30ish we were all ready with bags heaved into cars, buggies crammed in boots and baby cots teetering on cases so off we went to Larnaca airport (Stitch also came to wave everyone off).  We arrived at the the car rental return the invaders boarded their bus to the airport and we drove along with the cases.  Once we arrived the cases were piled on a trolley and Stitch was placed in the hand luggage space with his lead tying him down just in case he decided to make a bolt for it, he aroused some funny faces as we wheeled him through to check-in with some people asking if he was flying too.  We met in with the invaders and handed them back their belongings but not before we had pushed them to the check-in desk, we said our goodbyes to one and all with promises of seeing each other again very soon.

We drove home and began the task of washing bedding and cleaning the house, my beloved headed out later on to meet friend and then bought the friend home, I'm just glad he only wants one dog or he would be bringing every waif and stray home he finds.  After the friend left Michael arrived and joined us for a beer whilst adding ingredients to his cooking pot (our pool), then it was supper for us and as we had been busy all day we decided that it would be nice to head out to the bistro where we ordered chicken kebabs and bloody lovely they were too.

Water Baby

The weather first thing was bright and sunny then it became cloudy and a little cooler but  this was just up Glen's street he decided this would be a great time for him to sunbathe, unfortunately for him by the time he finally decided it was his time to lounge in the sun the clouds had disappeared and he was destined to be ginger skinned with blonde hair for the rest of the holiday, my beloved and I lay out whilst the invaders then took themselves off to Limassol looking for bags.

By the time the invaders arrived back it was roasting and time for food so meals were prepared and then it was time to get back on that sun bed, poor Nicola not feeling too great decided to take a nap downstairs with the baby. Now poor Eva has had a real hard time with the ups and downs of life this week, she continues to believe she lives upstairs where in fact she lives downstairs, it doesn't matter that we all correct her, she just can't get her little head around the fact that she is in fact below stairs.

Today was the day, it was so hot I had decided that it was now or never with the pool and as Dad was inside and Mum was sleeping with Halle, and Uncle beloved was reading it was left to me to take Eva in the pool, now I approached this with caution as I hate cold water and swimming in it never has filled me with joy, but I walked down the steps and plunged in, joy of joys the water was lovely, obviously water heated from 30 degree sunshine is the way to go.  It was only when I was in I actually realised our pool is quite deep considering some of the home pools I've been in, once Eva was down the first two steps she was already out of her depth, we didn't care though we floated around with the pink ring, and the yellow seat and kicked our way from end to end, Eva giggling and squealing as we went.  We eventually came out dried off and headed inside, when Nicola woke she didn't believe I had been in the pool until I showed her the photographic evidence that is.

Our evening was spent at the Old Port of Limassol we ate at Castellos' and as is the Mediterranean way the plates were overflowing with beautiful food and the evening was warm, we finished off our evening at Cold Stone ice cream and that just about finished us off, every one but me that is, I must have three stomachs because I wasn't full and I had plenty of room for titbits when we arrived home, that and the wine and trying to watch a film that refused to stream properly was the finish to a lovely week with the family, so glad they came, SO glad they've gone, but sooooo looking forward to seeing them in Bahrain in October.

Eye Eye

couldn't get the children on board

Space Dust

We set off for Paphos just after breakfast and arrived as the sun was starting to boil, trying to walk between shaded areas was difficult and we relented and took rest in an Italian as we needed lunch and it would be rude not to partake of the very cheap drinkies the establishment was displaying on it's menu.

Three pizzas were order two adult one child, a Mushroom risotto and a carbonara, when the food arrived we realised our mistake, the pizzas were mahoosive and could have fed a coach load of people, but we ploughed through my beloved even managed to finish his although he left the crusts, apparently had he eaten the crust he would not have managed the pizza!!!

We then wandered around the stores on the harbour front and made our way to the Ice cream store, having spilt from the invaders my beloved and I were going to meet Julie from Turriff and when we arrived first to arrive was Carlo, Ian, Lauren and Skye who was sleeping in her buggy, then Julie, her Mum and Emily arrived Emily was also sleeping in her buggy, it was lovely catching up with the Grays' and the Hays' who are over for a wedding, Stitch did his usual and wound himself around my legs trying to have as little contact with any other humans as possible, well apart from one lady who on passing noticed him and was determined to speak to him, I lifted him up and he put his nose in the air and just sniffed.

After our catch up at the ice-cream shop we headed off to meet the invaders at the Mall and after Nicola and I had a quick shop minus the children and boys, three dresses later and I was a happy bunny, Nicola on the other hand was empty.  She did however try some dead sea treatments and was going to buy some on the way home, unfortunately we were parked the other end of the car park and we separated to meet at the exit, this mean't that Nicola walked back past the dead sea treatments and realised I still had all her money, I'm sure Glen was delighted but not so much when he was following us on the motorway with no phone and no money and a petrol light shining red on his dashboard.

For supper I made Thai Chicken and mushroom soup, now this is a spicy soup so I had to prepare and remove enough for Nicola who is none to keen on spice before I could throw in the chillies for the rest of us because we love the spice, especially Glen who complains he never gets curry because the only time he gets them is if we go down or he shares one with Craig (shame).

We spent the evening in watching Castle on the TV but not really following it, just supping wine and beer and chatting and laughing about the crazy antics of friends and family, and let me tell you it's the family that are the real crazies but you gotta love em. Why are they crazy? well Glen bought 

for Stitch because he thought it would be funny to see how he reacted, apparently he has fed it to all his dogs crackling candy over the years (he is evil), but I threatened him with being evicted should he try it with my baby.......

I Wanna be a Snowman

Sunday

So today was dog training number 5 for Stitch, so my beloved and I set off for Kolossi and arrived just before start time.  I really wasn't sure how Stitch would behave today as having spent a week cowering in corners or hiding in his bed I have hardly had time to train with him, you can't really train a hound who is constantly on the lookout for a small humans making loud noises.  Luckily my worries were unnecessary as Stitch performed perfectly on all his tasks, in fact every one of the dogs performed really well today, you can see the improvement in them all, even baby Cara is managing a sit stay, obviously not quite as long as the rest of the dogs but she is a terrier after all and a very young one too.

After lessons we traveled home and lounged around the pool with the invaders, Stitch now is quite friendly with Eva as she was pulling him around the pool in her little pink boat, and then later in the day she was throwing his stick for him, so now he has become quite friendly and doesn't run as fast when she comes around a corner, the baby is a different kettle of fish, he still won't go near her and runs and hides in bed if she is close, I'm sure if he could shut the door and put the shade over he would. 

My poor beloved is really the best husband in the world because when I don't sleep very well I have a habit of just talking to him, he always wakes and continues to talk to me even when at some unearthly hour I sing "I wanna be a snowman", definitely the song of the holiday, most people have summer songs from Ibiza or wherever they have been over their hols, for us it's Cyprus and Frozen hence the "I wanna be a snowmannnnnnnn".

I'm not dead yet so he must love me that beloved man of mine.

Monsters

The invaders were today trying to keep out of the sun, ginger has prickly heat, and Mrs ginger has caught a little too much sun on one arm, baby Halle is way to pale to be left exposed for too long and the only one able to get out and into the pool is Eva, oh and uncle beloved as he was dragged in to, we spent the morning lounging in and out of the sunshine before heading off to Paphos for some retail therapy.


We left Stitch at home and headed along the motor way, we arrived and headed to TGI Fridays for lunch and then dragged the boys around the shops eventually ending up at Jumbo a huge store full of everything you could possibly need at lookie, lookie prices (well almost), Eva found her Monster High dolls and preceded to purchase three with her own money, Honey Swamp, Elissabat and Robecca Steam, my personal favourite is Honey Swamp.

Honey Swamp

Robecca Steam

Elissabat

 We checked out a few more shops before heading home and the girls spent the evening watching Castle and the boys headed to the pub to watch the football.  Half way through the evening we were giving a wonderful firework display from somewhere down in Limassol, the beauty of being up high you get a great view.

More Mojito por favor

Today was beach day, so once breakfast was finished and the children organised we all headed off to the Malindi Beach, Stitch included as we decided he needed a walk and a little bit of dog time.  We parked up placed our towels on the beds and left the family to it whilst we took Stitch and his ball for a walk, he had great fun carrying his ball to the beach and then chasing it when we threw it for him, and he is getting so brave with the water now. We headed back to the sun beds my beloved drove Stitch back to the house as he can't come on the beach, dogs are barred from all the beaches and I'm sure he shouldn't even be on the one we take him too but we are hardcore and will plead ignorance, it's quite a shame for well mannered hounds  and humans who clean up after their dogs because they have no where to walk down the seashore unless they plead ignorance as well.

We spent the day drinking cocktails and lazing in the sun, my beloved had a moment when he upended his sun bed but let me tell you he may have dismounted unceremoniously but he didn't drop his garlic break, the waiter came running over but the rest of us just laughed including the people behind us. Did you know three slices of bacon doesn't soak up alcohol can you believe it, so this lead to a very tiddly Bina who when she arrived home threw her beloved hound in the pool!!!!!! Needless to say I spent most of my evening in disgrace and in the doghouse (again).

Money Does NOT Grow on Tree

Our day was spent lounging around the pool,  Eva was delighted with the pool and couldn't wait for Uncle beloved to get back from DHL so she could drag him in the pool, Dad was in with her first then Mum had a shot and all the inflatables were in the pool at one time or another, the beach balls tended to run away down the street, thats the trouble with living on a hill, someone always has to chase the runaway.

It was lovely being out in the garden for the day I managed a snooze after lunch along with the boys and then the girls took themselves to bed for a wee siesta too, this meant everyone was refreshed for supper.

Stitch spent most of the day avoiding the children which isn't easy when the baby is still trying to get into his bed, but only when he is not in it or that would be cruel (to Stitch obviously). We took him out for a couple of walks, not very long ones admittedly but it was a little bit of sanctuary for the wee hound.  Although none to enamoured with the invaders Stitch does seem to have taken to Glen (how very strange) and if Glen is sitting down Stitch now jumps up to sit with him!

After a trip to the supermarket which involved driving the very short distance we normally walk, Glen dove in the pool with Eva and came out with his wallet and all his lovely Euros wringing wet, I took the stack of Euros and hung them on the drier to let them dry in the Cyprus sunshine

Our evening was spent firstly taking our supper at Al Pesto an Italian on the seafront of Limassol, then back home for wine and a movie, and the movie of choice was Frozen, and each and everyone of us thoroughly enjoyed it, and most especially myself and Eva.

When are they leaving

Monday

Stitch was given a quick walk and another introduction to Maor then it was time to hit the beach, we bathed in the sunshine for most of the morning at Plussea Beach bar and took lunch in the restaurant.  We decided it was time to go home after lunch and see if the pup needed out, we then preceded to sun ourselves for the rest of the day, it really is a hard life.

Our evenings entertainment was Despicable Me 2, after we ticked of one of Maors bucket list for the holiday, a MochaFrapything from Starbucks,  having not had one since she left Canada quite some time ago, no Starbucks in Israel then.

Tuesday

We Couldn't decide what to do today as the weather was kind of all over the place, in the Troodos there was a threat of rain and we all knew the dog would melt if that were to happen, so we decided that it was best to take a walk around the streets of Limassol, this meant spending some pennies as you can't leave bargains in the shop that's just wrong!

After a lunch at Twins we walked back to the car and headed home to get ready for our trip back to the airport, we took Stitch with us to the airport so he could say goodbye as now he is quite friendly with Maor it only took him three days.

Wednesday

Our morning was spent getting the house ready for the invaders, floors were moped, beds were made and rooms were aired, then it was into the car, Stitch included and off to Larnaca airport we went, we arrived just after the invaders had landed but waited a little for them to come through customs probably all those electronic cigarettes they were carrying.

We drove in tandem home to Limassol and Eva was delighted with her first viewing of the pool, but then all she wanted to do was get in for a swim, poor thing had to wait until tomorrow before she could get a good swim as it was getting late and a travel cot was required for Halle and then we needed to eat, my beloved felt his throat had been cut, just the usually when he has to go more that two hours without food.

We spent the evening firstly in the Bistro for supper, Eva and my beloved ran around like a pair of children (not just one) at the play area beside the bistro and he was only allowed to stop once his food arrived, and after supper we sat at home in the garden catching up with the events of the last year in the family.  Eva and I took Stitch for a walk, poor Stitch is beside himself with worry just now, he hides from the baby and tries to run away for Eva, and as for the noise I'm sure he would be happy with earmuffs. 

I Think Stitch would look good in these

Graffiti

Sunday

We woke extra early and left Stitch in the house, we wasn't sure how he would take to our house guest or indeed if our house guest would like Stitch.  We set off for the Larnaca airport around 7.15 and just after 8am Maor walked through arrivals, it was like we had only seen her yesterday as we chatted and headed back to Limassol and her first introduction to Stitch.

As soon as we opened the door and introduced them the rumbling growl began, but by the end of the night we had introduced them enough that Maor no longer barked at him......

We left Maor to get a rest and headed out for Stitches lesson in Kolossi, he was star pupil until the last exercise when it was a stay whilst I moved away, now moving away is not a problem for Stitch ordinarily but a stay when I then change direction and it wasn't towards him made him leave his stay position and walk towards me, you could here the YES from the rest of the class as the star pupil got it wrong hahaha, but let me tell you the practice he had at home will get him back to top of the class next week, I'm not bitter!!!!

 Some of the good graffiti from Limassol

Chilling in the garden

We collected Maor dropped Stitch off and headed to Malindi for lunch, the wind was seriously high most of the morning and hadn't abated by the time we arrived for lunch, luckily we were placed around the back of the restaurant out of direct sunlight and away for the worst of the wind, after lunch we headed to the old port and Coldstone Ice -cream was required before heading for a short walk around the town, then back up to the house.  Stitch was glad to see us and we spent a pleasant evening watching Despicable Me on the TV, simple things...... Maor was on the Tequila followed swiftly by a slice of lemon to take away the taste, my beloved and I were on the wine just for a change and seeing as we are now buying 1.5lt bottles of the stuff it would be a shame to see it go off........

5M Badge

So the last few days have been spent either on the sun bed flattening out my rather bent back, or trying to find a seat that is comfortable to sit in, the sun bed wins every time and if I could bring it into the living room I would but I worried in case there are any bugs on it that I really don't want in the house, Cyprus being the bug capital of the world!!!

My beloved was poked and prodded, jabbed and measured the ecg machine was from a time when you needed an Ark not an umbrella and the suction cups looked none to hygienic, I have no idea, no do I want to know how many people had used them before my beloved and I didn't see any sterilisation techniques at all....(gross).

After the hospital trip because the whole medical couldn't be done in one venue we headed for food, having fasted overnight my beloved needed sustenance, he even moaned to the receptionist at the hospital about his lack of food and coffee, she laughed and said don't worry sir 20 mins and you can have your bacon sandwich.  She wasn't wrong either we were taken straight in for bloods and urine tests and out again before the blood congealed on his forearm.

Stitch has not been getting his usual walks of late, again mainly because of the back issue (mine not his), so he has started to act like a grumpy teenager, mumpfing and moaning and acting out, anymore of this and it will be a trip to the shrink for him me thinks. My beloved took him for a business trip the other day and he ran off, which wasn't far but when you have two cars coming the other way it was far enough, needless to say they fell out, and spent the rest of the afternoon peeking out the corner of their eyes to see who would break first (guess who).

Stitch has developed a lack of interest in his A' list food which is a touch worrying for a hound that weighs next to nothing anyway, so we have had to adjust his meals firstly we tried mixing in some of the other B' list foods which he ate leaving behind the A' list, then I gave him two bowls half each of A' list and B' list, he ignored the A' list and ate all the B' list so now I am on the hunt for another A' list with the same nutritional values because B' list just won't cut it (but he eats it go figure).

After basking in the glorious sunshine yesterday my beloved decided it was time for a dunk, this involved a jump into the pool as the water was not bath temperature by any stretch of the imagination and you certainly couldn't just walk down the steps, Stitch was then handed over and given his first pool swim, he did what most dogs do when faced with water he doggie paddled to the side and preceded to shake off all the water, he was then given another dunk and this time he swam his 5m, what a clever little doggie, he shook once again when departing the pool and all four legs were off the floor as it was a nose to tail shake, I'm not sure he liked it but he is now clean and at least we know he can swim.....

Ready for a his first dunk

We have now blocked the hedge so Stitch cannot chase the cats through and onto the neighbours garage roof, it was quite funny the first time he tried, it was a bit like one of those cartoons where a dog hits a glass window, he came to an abrupt halt at the large plastic box lid we had placed behind the hedge, and then preceded to walk up and down the hedge looking for another spot, thankfully so far there is no other spot, but I wonder how long it will take him to find one.

Dog Breath

So the last we few have been and gone in a flash, between sleeping and eating and the occasional walk with Stitch we haven't been up to much.  Precious paws has been avoiding the grass during the rainy periods and running around like a muppet during the dry times,  my beloved has been organising medicals and finally he should (I hope) get his medical today at 11am, now being a man that does not like needles, he is going to get some amount of blood taken for the tests he requires just to get his visa for Saudi, now it's not the fault of the Saudi's, it is in fact the company that require such stringent test, oh and he has had to fast so now I'm listening to a whinging Geordie because he wants coffee...........

The house is almost organised for the relatives arriving next week, two adults and two babies, think I may need a playpen (just for the adults of course). 

Stitch is currently lying in front of the window soaking up the sunshine, yesterday he finally decided to chew on the new antler chew I purchased for him, he has had it a week and has taken a wide berth of it ever since, it's a funny old chew in that if you drop it the noise is something akin to a brick being dropped and initially this was what put him off, but now he happily chomps away at it, apparently it's a great dental tool, personally I'm hoping it improves his dog breath because the next step is mint sweets! 

Stitch missed his training this week as there was no way my back would have coped with all the bending down during training (the down side to a small dog), but I have his homework most of which he can do anyway so we should be back on track next week, and besides after all the rain we had last week I really didn't fancy training in a muddy field.

Cheeeeeeese

So it was a wet and miserable day again, Stitch was needing a bath and he wouldn't even get to dry off in the sun, not gonna be a happy puppy.

A very strange thing with our house is the sinks, the kitchen sink and the basement sink are both square and on the small side, the sinks in the other bathrooms are very pretty to look at but are all very shallow, my beloved struggles even when trying to get a shave, trying to dunk his razor in a teacup basin just doesn't make for clean shaving, well imagine trying to bathe poor Stitch in the square sink, he just about fits in the sink but the tap over hangs and tends to bump him in the noggin, I prepared the water, did the elbow test and in he went well once I prised his paws off the four corners that is.   Once he was soaked the lathering began, head to toe in bubbles he did look cute, but definitely not happy! So now we have a clean dog who isn't talking to us AGAIN.

We headed out for a catch up with an old friend from Turriff who happens to visiting the island, unfortunately for Anne the weather has not improved much since she arrived and poor Anne and her daughter have been dodging rain clouds since they landed, and the forecast does not look to improve much before they leave.  We had a lovely chat over our coffees catching up on each others news, and the news from Turriff, I do miss home but not enough to be sharing their damned weather to be honest...... After leaving Anne we headed back to the car and Stitch who still isn't talking to us, probably because this dog hates the cold as much as we do and we did soak him before leaving, and if we dare open a window in the car when driving the look of contempt he gives up is enough to scare us into quickly shutting it again and apologising profusely.

We arrived back to Limassol and headed for food as we were both very hungry having missed breakfast and not bothering with lunch, it wasn't that we missed breakfast because you can't really miss something you haven't prepared, but our bellies missed it that's for sure and we were both suffering the groaning from down below. Chesters' was where we ate sitting in the outer undercover area, the rain had stopped by now but it was still too cold to actually brave sitting outside the under cover, we both ate pasta dishes to calm our groaning bellies and thankfully it worked because I was beginning to think about ear plugs.

Stitch had a late walk just before dusk which seemed to make him happier with my company, and the couple of bits of popcorn I threw him later in the evening bought him round toot sweet, he is now my best buddy again.  This clever little mutt now recognises the noise from the fridge door opening, I swear he nearly took off over my head when my beloved took a sneaky peak later in the evening, it is probably because you know who tends to share cheese with him.....

Under The Table

Hooray, the sun is up again and thankfully this means the hound will get out in the garden without having to be dragged, the pool man was round again and cleaning the pool not surprisingly after the downpour of rain yesterday, although it fills the pool the rain also brings with it an awful lot of dust and muck, so Michael began hoovering the pool and giving it a good dose of what ever it needed to brighten it up again, but let me tell you it won't matter how clean it is because unless that pool is heated to bath temperature I won't be going in...

We headed off down to Limassol and a walk along the front, Stitch was back in his harness and off we went sauntering the sidewalk in the sunshine, I did however forget my sunscreen so although it was a lovely day I was a little panicked in case of burning skin, we walked through the old town square and up around the little streets interconnected with tavernas and cafes, there are so many little places we have discovered that are hidden gems that unless you are walking you just would never find, we stopped off for a little drink in Mosaic a delightful little wine bar on one of the side streets and partook of a cheeky vino whilst deliberating our choices, 1/ do we stay out and drink ourselves into a stupor or 2/ have one, drive home and drink ourselves into a stupor,(AA required me thinks) difficult choices I hear you say, but really choice number one would have been the obvious choice but then that would have meant Stitch carrying home to very inebriated parents and we were quite a way from home, I think he would have needed assistance. Choice two seemed like the better option for the hound so we walked back to the car and headed up the hill again.  By the time we arrived home having been out most of the afternoon walking and talking it was after 7pm and the supper was thrown together before we sat down for a quiet night in.  

Poor Stitch thought his throat had been cut as supper for him was very late indeed, and the few peanuts he had eaten whilst we were in Mosaic had done nothing to stop the growling of his belly.  Once fed and watered he too settled down for a cosy night in. The drunken stupor never materialised which is probably a good job really for all concerned. I'm beginning to think getting to Saudi Arabia is a good choice for this family of very social drinkers, it will be like getting rehab but without the expense of booking into a clinic! And getting caught drinking would bring a whole new meaning to getting lashed.....

Always under the table

'They tried to make us go to rehab but we said no, no, no

Yes we been bad, but what choice did we have,

 we know, know, know'

Thank you Amy Winehouse

Scottish Weather

Wow we were woken by the loudest thunder clap we have ever heard, not even in Scotland where the weather can be mostly turbulent have I heard anything that loud, obviously this was followed by lightning and a deluge of rain which unfortunately lasted throughout the day, great for ducks but not for a dog that thinks he will melt, or who's paws are too precious to soak, I had to buckle Stitch up on his lead and drag him to the grass, I did let him out the front at one stage and he sauntered out but quickly turned back when he realised he had walked past the overhang of the house and the protection from the rain. One thing that did get the hound out into the rain was a cat, but you really do need to think safety first when chasing anything on slippery surfaces, Stitch went chasing after the cat which leapt over the steps, Stitch on the other hand came to a screeching halt (thankfully) before going over the edge of the stairs leading down to the street level.

The edge

The stairs

My beloved went down to town to meet a friend and Stitch and I were left to our own devices, for me it meant hoovering and cleaning, for Stitch it meant laying around the house dreaming of sunny days and long walks. When my beloved arrived home we decided to make a break for it, we bundled up the hound and headed out just as the weather was finally beginning to break and the sun was putting in an appearance, well it was about time it was only 4pm after all... We headed to a very late feed but whilst travelling the motorway we saw the Red Arrows doing their practice routines over Akrotiri, this was a little difficult to follow initially as it was ewww Red Arrows, building, ahh Red Arrows, tree, it was a bit like when you see flashing lights that make you feel sick as the view kept getting blocked by buildings and trees until eventually the road lifted up and over the lower area of Limassol and we had a clear view and no nausea.

Supermarket trips tend to be all about chicken in our house, chicken with veg, chicken with soup, chicken with more chicken,  still can't bring myself to buy beef here as I can still taste the last batch we bought and that taste still makes me feel a little icky, so chicken it is then, although we really should branch out and get some pork but maybe tomorrow, or the next day.  At the moment I'm considering asking the brother in law to bring over some vacuum packed beef when he visits in a few weeks, at least I would know it would be great tasting.

We had a few more visitors today and not all of them welcome, luckily for this chap I saw him before Stitch, although I'm not sure how he would have reacted to it, but I decided it was best not to take any chances, but have you ever tried to get a slimy beast like this to 'move along', it wasn't easy and resulted in my beloved getting a piece of board and getting the damned thing to hop on, unfortunately it kept hopping off in the wrong places.

New Balls

We headed off down the beach but not before the pool man came around for a visit and asked us out for coffee, we declined as the hound needed a walk and as I could do with a good stretch so we set off to the beach ourselves.

We arrived at St Raphael beach and headed in towards Limassol town, Stitch was kept on the lead as my beloved didn’t want to have to pick up a wet pup and carry him across the wooden bridges, well not until we were finished our walk and finished with the bridges.  We had a lovely walk and the temperature was just dandy, although the weather was overcast.  We stopped off for a cuppa half way along and to let the pup rest then headed back again,  Stitch was eventually let off the lead and as I had found him a new toy which was obviously lost out of some poor child’s pushchair (hope they don’t have worms) we threw the ball along the shoreline and into the water for him, great fun was had until my beloved had to wade in and reach it because it had got stuck and Stitch wouldn’t go into the water himself.  He did however follow my beloved into the water and promptly got wave crashed which resulted in him being momentarily submerged,  well when your only shin height it’s always gonna happen.

After a few more rounds of throw and fetch we headed for Malindi’s where my beloved could wash off the sand from his feet and we could get a drink, it might be overcast but man it was muggy, and all three of us were gasping.  The waitress bought Stitch some water and tried to get him to chat with her but as usual he just turned his back and sat there shivering, well he was soaked from nose to tail, I thought it best to put him in the car where at least it would be warmer, but not before he was offered a blanket by the waitress, obviously a dog lover.

Eventually when we arrived home I managed to find Mississippi Burning online and we got to see the end of the film, but not before trawling through numerous sights of a dubious nature, and having to close down adverts on every page I opened,  we really do need some kind of TV provider we have only been in the house a month and a bit and still we wait for Cyta to provide for us….. I have a feeling we will get to Saudi before we ever get TV again.

New Ball

Basking in Sunshine

It was a glorious morning so we decided there was nothing else for it, Obedience class for the hound was cancelled due to the tutor dropping a speaker on her foot (ouch) so a day in the sun was in order, my beloved and I settled down each with our own book and so began the basking.

Myself, I am reading a great book about Mossad, a book I purchased for my beloved whilst we were in Israel, it's great reading all the missions undertaken by the agents of Mossad, especially as I now have first hand knowledge of Israel, some of the road names and places, so many of the buildings now make sense to me as they are named after Prime Ministers or Agents and others of course who throughout history have given either their lives or skills towards the country named as Israel. It has also lead me to a greater understanding of the wars that Israel has battled through and continue to battle behind the scenes on a daily basis.

My beloved on the other hand is reading something by Karen Rose, well that is when Stitch isn't walking all over his book when he is stomach down on his sun bed with the book on the floor (obviously the hound thinks he should be getting more attention).

We had visitors around mid afternoon who arrived after a trip to Moni and the dog shelter where they took a couple of hounds out for a walk, after they left we showered and decided to walk our own wee hound and collect some ground coffee from Starbucks on route, the amount of coffee we drink I'm thinking we should be getting shares, or at the very least discount!

We arrived in Limassol parked the car and headed off along the promenade, we walked as far as the old port and sat at a little cafe on one of the side streets taking in the locals and sipping on our drinks, Stitch really doesn't like people very much, although they love him, he is just not comfortable with crowds, and two or more constitutes a crowd for this pup.  He sat under the table but was forever on the look out for on coming feet, eventually I sat him on the chair next to me, but this just meant he was now able to see more that just their feet and really didn't help very much. The only way he will take any notice of people talking to him is if he is being carried, it's a bit like when the children were little and someone they didn't know spoke to them, they would wrap themselves around my legs  trying to avoid having to speak to said stranger, now Queenie could be a little different and on occasions would speak to anyone believing herself to be on an adult par with who ever she was speaking with.

We headed back through the streets to the car and home again after a lovely walk through Limassol, supper was made and we settled down to watch a film called Mississippi Burning, having never seen this film before I was really enjoying it until it stopped at an hour and 29 mins apparently half way through and could we find a link to the second half, so now we have to investigate how to get the second half of the film, most frustrating.