Fitting It All In.......

 
Hubby had a very busy Saturday, starting with shopping then home for breakfast. He loaded the car with garden tools and went to Daughter's to trim back her large hedge then home for lunch. Finally he mowed our lawns front and back. The rest of the afternoon he treated himself to watching the England v Ireland cricket, and this...

I enjoyed it too. 

End of September and we still enjoyed coffee morning in the garden, didn't even need a cardigan. 

Tuesday 7:30am yawn! Steve from AtoZ Energy Solutions arrived as Hubby had booked them for our cavity wall insulation top up. It had been originally done when the house was new 44 years ago and in the 40 years we have owned this house Hubby has done a lot of internal work that would have caused loss and compression so it's no longer effective. Hubby had gained four quotes from different companies, three of them wanted to suction out what was left before installing new, however this company said they use a product that is not only fully reconstituted plastic bottles but is also fully compatible with what's in there already, so more environmentally friendly, a lot cheaper and a lot quicker.

Thankfully he took a little time to have his breakfast and didn't set up till 8am which gave Hubby the opportunity to admire the equipment.

Then it was an hour of very very noisy drilling all around the house, 48 holes in all. 

This hose was long enough to make it all around the house and not lose any pressure. It took a while to attach the hose to each hole, pump the stuff and then to seal the hole 48 times, but it was so much quieter than the drilling that we didn't mind. Think he was here about three hours including two short coffee breaks and we were so pleased how hard it is to even spot where the holes were. Hopefully this will keep the house a lot warmer. 

Talking about energy money saving, we have signed into the British Gas Sunday saving scheme where if you use electricity between 10am and 4pm on a Sunday you get a discount. We got the statement for August and we saved. 49p! Of course that's the time our solar panels would be active if it's sunny and we had one of those weekends away. Maybe the dark and cloudy winter will save us more. 

NeighbourA came over to tell me that a local pharmacy is now doing flu and covid jabs without appointments, so we stopped there on our way home from a visit to the tip (we go to all the exciting places) and both had both jabs. When we got home I cancelled the booked appointments our surgery had made us as they were three weeks away and the day before our wedding anniversary, so let's get the sore arms and restless night over with now. Really lovely pharmacist did them, wrote down our details, then flu jab in one arm and Pfizer covid jab in the other. I just had mildly sore arms feeling bruised if touched, Hubby did get some shivering towards the evening. I seemed to sleep well. Friday morning I did feel really stiff, I must have found a position that didn't hurt and stayed in it. Hubby said he didn't sleep well at all. 

Friday evening I was meeting FriendLA she chose to book The Sorrel Horse but when I looked on Google to check my route and travel time I was confused by the directions, I've been there before but last time was a long time ago and not what I remembered at all. Hubby checked and said it was because of road closures and diversions. Knowing how bad my sense of direction is and how night driving isn't easy for me now Hubby insisted on driving me there and picking me up, I was so relieved. Had a lovely evening and we've already booked our next meetup when FriendHD can join us too. 

A busy week and looking like a busy October ahead.

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Viewings All Round........

 
Son is now free from covid so we caught up with our postponed visit and went to see their finished house makeover and it's lovely, they have done a great job of redesigning their home. They both look very happy. 

I also received my final birthday present, that hadn't arrived on time. 

Beautiful Waterford crystal bud vases and as you can see they are engraved. Treasures. 

Sunday we had our usual pack of chicken thighs to cook as part of a full roast and we needed an early dinner as Hubby's pool season has started again so he leaves home by 6:30pm. I got a message in the afternoon from O to say they were coming for a cuppa, "they" was O, Daughter, R and the dog, so lovely to see them. I normally do a full Sunday roast but to make life easy while they were here I found two potatoes big enough to jacket and I put them and the chicken in the oven ready, then at 4:30pm Hubby just switched the oven on. After we had waved bye to everyone Hubby and I agreed the smell from the kitchen was suspicious, we didn't think the chicken was off but we couldn't be sure and definitely didn't want food poisoning, so we settled on jacket potatoes baked beans and cheese. 

I finally had the head CT Scan requested by my surgery in July. This was a follow up for the mysterious migraines that suddenly started then and were almost daily. Of course they have almost completely disappeared so the scan will no doubt show nothing is wrong. 

R went back to work this week after her three week break, well deserved after the month long run at Sutton Hoo of The Winter's Tale. Straight back into the next production.

First this...

Then this...

Now gathering up the family to see when we can all go together. 

Sudden phone call on Thursday from Ipswich Hospital, "As you're due the next Cystoscopy sometime soon and we've just had a cancellation, can you come tomorrow morning?" Not something I look forward to and better not to have much time to think about it! Pleased to report still all clear yaay! 

Definitely changing to autumn weather now and Hubby is getting all the outside jobs done while he can, including for our neighbours. He's just driven off now to help Daughter cut back her large hedge. 

Hope you have good weather too. Back next week.

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Zakynthos (Part 2).........

 
Saturday 

All the others wanted to go into Zante and ordered a taxi. It's another hot day so Hubby suggested we stay behind and go for a walk locally. We were only heading into Alykanas (less than two miles I think) but we had only got to this beech (15 minutes walking) and I suggested a cold drink stop. We were served by one of last night's Greek dancers. 

Sadly for Hubby we didn't get much further after that as Hubby didn't want the heat to kill me off. It's about 28°C - 29°C so not awful by other's tolerances but my ankles are painful balloons. So a quick stop at a supermarket and back. Discovered tasty oregano flavoured crisps

Back at The Clio to cool off and have some lunch. While Hubby was watching sport on the restaurant tv I got curious and went back through my blog and realised that it's actually our fourth holiday here. 

We had our evening meal at The Clio so they could all be set up in front of the football, England v Ukraine which ended in a 1:1 draw. 

Gradually they all drifted off to bed and Hubby and I stayed up to keep K company as he was watching the rugby England v Argentina which was an England win 27:10.

There was some good oldies playing on the background sound system so I messaged the girls to say "you've all left me singing alone", but nobody got out of bed to join me. 

Sunday

Usual lazy morning, some were sunbathing round the pool (not me) then all walked down to the beach bar (avoiding all the tiny lizards)

for lunch and served by our lovely dancer again. When we came years ago we got friendly with a young beach waiter we nicknamed Muscles, he used us to improve his English, and we'd heard he still lives here and which bar he now works in, so we walked that way to say hello but he wasn't around.

A lovely meal that evening out then all back to the Clio for quiz night, daft, funny, entertaining and our team actually came second (well we were the biggest team). The prize was a meal discount voucher which we gave to L&K as they have already rebooked for May '24 coming with their Daughter, partner and grandson. 

We all headed up to bed at midnight. You know those hotel room activation switches where you put your room key in to switch the lights and sockets on? 

Well the lights went on then a minute later the lights went off, Hubby jiggled the key they came on then went off again and this continued for some time. Hubby went back down and found barmaid Lisa who came up and looked, jiggled the key and it did the same for her, then she removed the air con fuse from the fuse box in case it was that then jiggled the key some more but that made no difference either. She then went to consult Fotis the boss who said it would have to wait till morning and Lisa offered to find us a lamp or torch to get us through the night. While she was looking for torches Hubby had another jiggle or two and discovered a one cent coin lodged in the slot (the key fobs are magnetic and collect what's in your pocket) so he found Lisa and obtained a screw driver and fixed it. We got into bed just after 1am.

Monday

And today Hubby thought it apt to wear this t-shirt 

FriendsL&K had bought him this quite some time ago because of what he does for them, mostly IT, and it amused him. It also really amused barmaid Lisa when she saw it. 

Tuesday

Sadly our last day, however we didn't need to leave the Clio till 5.30pm and Fotis kindly said we could keep two of our four rooms so we shared for more comfortable last minute refreshing. 

I took some last pics of the view from our balcony

We all had a last lunch at the Clio and Fotis gave us all hugs (after we'd paid our bills) to say goodbye as he needed to go out. Later it was Leo that drove us to the airport. 

Hubby and I only had cabin bags so while the others had to queue for luggage checking in we whizzed through to the departure gates area and managed to save enough seats for us all. 

The usual delays of course, our plane was an hour late arriving then we were late boarding and taking off. We were still the expected three hours in the air and while we were up there we watched an electric storm going on a little to the side of us, it was amazing. Landing caused a problem as we couldn't pull up to a walk tunnel so had to stop on tarmac and walk quite a way in the rain then up some random spiral staircase before the long treck to passport control. We said our goodbyes to our friends at the baggage claim carousel and got the bus to the long stay car park. It managed to get a bit tougher still when a chunk of the M25 was closed and we had to take a very long diversion which unfortunately put us out into the ULEZ territory so £12.50 to pay.  We finally got home at 1.45am Wednesday. 

And it was lovely to sleep in our own bed! Home again!

Up normal ish time, unpacked, washing done (four loads) everything put away. Daughter popped in, out with friends Wednesday night as usual and quiz Thursday night and big Tesco shop on Friday so our holiday is now all in photos and stories. 

And a final little historic note for me. 25 years ago I bought my first mobile phone and decided on Pay-as-you-go tariff with Vodafone which, obviously with updated handsets as needed, I've stayed with ever since. This week I've now changed to a SIM only monthly tariff and found Lebara the best for me, which in fact still belongs to Vodafone. Shame there's not a loyalty bonus scheme eh? 

Hope you have a good week, I'll be here next Saturday, take care.

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Eight Go Greek.........

 
We have a dwarf apple tree that every year gives us a massive crop of fruit that unfortunately are usually all rotten just at the very core, so each year I spend days peeling, chopping and freezing to use in baking all year through,  filling an entire freezer shelf. 

However, this year no rot at the core but a harvest of only THREE APPLES. I peeled and chopped and immediately cooked them into two apple and cinnamon sponge cakes. Daughter came over with R and O so one cake was enjoyed and the other went into the freezer. 

Son and fiancé have declared all their house rebuild as finished, yaay, so we were invited over Saturday so I could see it all. However, Son messaged late Friday to say he now has a full on head cold and as we are about to go on holiday it's best we don't come. We've postponed till we get back. A sensible decision but disappointing of course. 

It did mean that packing could be done at a more relaxed pace over Saturday and Sunday. 

Discovered Monday afternoon that Son actually had covid, thankfully mildly, but still an uncomfortable inconvenience for him. 

Monday for us was coffee morning and my nails in the afternoon then buying the last birthday cards I needed. Not much else as it was all done but we do keep wondering what we've forgotten. 

Tuesday

Up by 6am although alarm was set for 6.30am. We'd planned to leave home at 8am but totally ready by 7.20am so we left and lucky we did as the A12 crawled far far longer than the roadworks we had allowed for. Took three hours to get to Gatwick. 

Found the other two couples we were travelling with in Weatherspoons and all had breakfast together. Of course we had a very long walk to our gate and then all boarded easily at 12:30pm. Hubby and I only had cabin bags so they went in the overhead lockers. Our booked flight time came and went and the captain apologised that other planes had jumped the queue so our flight to Zakynthos was late taking off rather than the 13.30pm on our tickets and it should have landed three hours later. We actually landed at 20.30pm local time (2 hours ahead) in ATHENS! We had diverted due to dreadful storms in Zakynthos making it unsafe to land. Pilot and crew kept us informed all the time and a while later we took off again and finally landed in Zakynthos about 10.10pm instead of 6.30pm. Sat on that plane for nearly eight hours for what should have been a three hour flight!  Don't know why I keep mixing the 12 hour clock and the 24 hour clock sorry. 

So this to see Leo was waiting for us with his mini bus and gave us all a big welcome of old friends.  Finally at the hotel at 11pm and we were given plates of fruit, toasted sandwiches and drinks on the house! Then we were checked in.

Our home for the next week is Clio Hotel a family run hotel that Hubby and I have been to twice before with friendsL&K who have been many many times, and they've also been with friendsL&M so we are all well known. This was the first time for friendsM&G although they have been to the island twice before.  The family are two brothers Leo (who also runs his own hotel nearby) and Fotis (runs the Clio), Silver (their dad who no longer works), Alexandra (mum who runs the kitchen) and not family but almost is Ellenor (cleaner who has been there for ever) they all gave us a huge welcome. 

Wednesday

All bar one made it down to breakfast and no plans for the day so nobody minded. Later six of us took a leisurely walk across the salt flats (flooded from the storms) to the main street of Alykes. We haven't been here since 2010 but it's all so familiar as the hotel and town have barely changed. 

Like my big hat? FriendsL&K bought it for my birthday. 

After a relaxing afternoon we changed and all of us headed out for dinner. 

Thursday

Happy birthday friendK. Breakfast was the happy birthday singalong. FriendM was missing as he'd been unwell all night. 

FriendL (his wife) had organised for a cake to be brought out around 4pm ish, so another rendition of the world famous melody. 

Dinner was his choice of venue and we all had great meals. 

From the restaurant we stopped at another bar that had a live guitarist and he was really good and got some of us up and dancing. 

Back at the Clio the remaining half of the cake was brought out of the fridge and it would have been rude to refuse. 

Friday

No rain and a bit hotter, but thankfully for me still a good breeze. Not as hot as the UK by the messages I was getting from E and K. A lazy sunbathing, swimming in the pool day was declared. I sat in the shade and Hubby was restless and a bit bored moving from by my side or back up in the room. 

We'd been saving ourselves for Greek Night at The Hotel Clio.

The meal was a BBQ plate with chicken pork and lamb, oven potatoes, tsatsiki, coleslaw and a brown roll, followed by lots of cut melon. The live music played the whole time. Then came the dancers. 

And they involved everyone

and there was fire dancing

A fun evening and late to bed again. 

We are here for another four days so you'll get the rest next week.

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All About The Birthdays........

 
My birthday flowers finally looked too sad to keep but two little sprays I really wanted to keep. I thought they were a type of tea rose but the stem is thornless and the leaves looked wrong, research revealed they are Texas Bluebells. I found out it would need rooting hormone powder (I don't have) to propagate, I also found out aloe vera gel (I do have) makes a good substitute. Thank you Google. 

Compost from our hot bin make these free plants, if they survive. Fingers crossed. 

12 days since the figs were picked and then put in a jar in the fridge and they came out much the same as when they went in WOW. Some had tiny white spots but that just wiped off. Actually I think they may have lost a little of their sweetness. 

 I would have left them longer as a first time experiment but we are going away and if I can't check them I might have lost them all and that would have been a shame. 

I've known friendL since we were at school and youth club together from age 11. Also born the same year as me so also celebrating her 70th. Together with other close friends and family we were invited to

Banyers House a lovely pub/ restaurant/hotel.

We gathered there Sunday afternoon and all watched as all her cards and presents were being opened. 

She loved ours and even wanted to wear the bow that came off our large bag. Part of the gift that I couldn't tell you about before was a Big Birthday Survival Kit, I'd included into a box things like Tissues=To wipe away any embarrassments, Camomile Tea bags=To help you relax after partying, Stapler Rubber Bands and Paper clip=To help you hold things together now...... you get the idea, I think there were 14 labels needed to be printed and attached to each thing. 

In secret with her husband and daughter the whole group of us provided photographs that her daughter collated into a memory book. 

Then everyone went to their rooms to get ready for dinner (except Hubby and me as we'd arrived ready 😉 ).

We carried on at the table till very late then all headed off to our rooms. We had actually booked all the hotel's rooms bar one. 

Then all down to breakfast together. FriendL brought her balloons to breakfast too. 

We had had a lovely celebration with this group for friendL but Hubby and I were not going home. Leaving Hertfordshire and heading towards our next venue we made a detour to Wroxham on the Norfolk Broads to look at the boats. That's a banana and caramel ice cream mmmmm.

Then we drove on to Gunton Hall holiday village it's aWarners holiday village for adults only. My usual group of six wanted this mini holiday to help celebrate my big birthday (belated as friendM had been away).

Our home for two nights were chalets 1, 2 and 3 in Sycamore block. 

We all arrived and gathered outside, some having a cuppa and some heading straight for a glass or two. 

Three course dinner and breakfast were included and all buffet style. Lots of choices so we were all well fed. 

There was lots of activities on during the day, but the weather was good and the grounds were lovely so we had a good walk round, the boys played pool, we all had tea and coffee on the terrace by the swimming pool and generally chilled out.   

One afternoon and both evenings after dinner we enjoyed the live entertainment. 

Apart from one little domestic (not us) a lovely time had by all. We may look at other Warner Hotels in the future. 

Home and it's full on packing as we are off early next Tuesday morning, so keeping fingers crossed cars, roads and airport etc all behave and you'll have something worth reading next week.

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