More signs of summer

I might sometimes give the impression that Summer in Cyprus is a lengthy period of intense suffering, relieved only by air-conditioning and general aestivation.

To be sure, I don't do well in high temperatures or high humidity, and don't particularly enjoy July or August in this country. But, not everything about the approaching season is negative. A week ago I decided to abandon my jeans in favour of shorts - well, my shorts are mostly below-the-knee, so they're not really short, but they're a bit cooler, anyway. The ceiling fans give a pleasant breeze - it hasn't yet got hot enough to need air conditioning. This morning when I made the bed with clean sheets I put away our thin duvet, to be washed at some point in the next few months, and just put a top sheet as a bed cover.

Early mornings are pleasantly cool, and I've moved to my summer schedule of doing any housework or shopping, as far as possible, before 8.00am. I feel more lethargic in the winter, somehow; less inclined to get moving first thing. But in June, 6.00am or even earlier is an energising time of day.

Best of all are the opportunities for iced drinks. Soft fruit is abundant in Cyprus in the summer - peaches and apricots are just starting to appear inexpensively in the Froutaria, and watermelons have been available for a while. On Monday evening I made our first smoothie of the year:


It was watermelon and mango, a combination highly recommended in my Smoothie book; unfortunately we couldn't really taste the mango as the predominant taste was watermelon, but it was quite pleasant anyway.

Today I got out the frappé maker and after lunch we had the first frappés of the year. I'd forgotten just how much I enjoy them!