More than half way through August already, another week gets going...
Sunday 16th
Sunday morning I woke around six thirty. It was a tad cooler than it had been. So once again I walked to the Salt Lake park, and explored a bit more than I did last week. I won't go into detail, as I wrote an entire extra post about the upgraded Salt Lake (or Pattichio) park. But here's one photo I took, showing the nature garden, and the steps to the bridge:
By the time I got home, it was getting hot and humid. Another morning in the air conditioning, where I watched some of the church livestream. We'd decided to get a rotisserie chicken from Metro for lunch again, along with various leftovers from the previous week; I knew it would last us at least three meals. We had quite a lot of new potatoes left over, so I sliced and refried them, along with some onions. We ate about half of those.
I read, I browsed online, I researched a few things that I found interesting. I wrote forum posts, I finished and uploaded last week's blog post, I did Duolingo. I watched some of the livestream from my son's church in the UK.
It was a relaxing afternoon.
After eating in the evening, we decided it wasn't too humid. Richard said he'd like to see the Salt Lake Park changes and features, so we had a longer walk than usual - again, written about in detail on the post I wrote specifically, but here's one picture I particularly liked, taken from the bridge:
When we got back, we played a game of Azul. That made Lady Jane very happy:
Monday
To my surprise, the temperature was as low as 23C on Monday morning when I got up around 6am. I opened three windows and set a couple of ceiling fans going, to circulate the cooler air. The inside temperature had been about 31C.
After I'd done my favourite NYT puzzles, and read for a while, I went out for a short walk to Achna Discount and the froutaria for some more supplies. Not that we needed a whole lot. One thing I bought was a bag of oats, so I could make some more muesli for my breakfast.
In the afternoon, Richard went out briefly and came back within a few minutes, saying it was raining! I hadn't noticed; I had been finishing the blog post about the Salt Lake Park. This wasn't just a few drops like the previous Friday's rain; it was sufficient that the whole street looked wet. And unlike what usually happens with the first rain in September or October, it wasn't followed by sunshine; the day remained cloudy.
I could smell the petrichor quite strongly, but the day did not become unbearably humid. Instead, it felt somehow lighter and fresher.
Was this the beginning of the end of Summer...? I thought it unlikely. Just a glitch. This was the forecast for the rest of the week:
As the rain stopped, I remembered that I hadn't hung out the morning's laundry - not that it would have suffered much from a few minutes' rain. So I did that, then made a couple of salads for the evening, to have with our cold chicken and cold refried potatoes with onions.
In the evening we drove to the marina, where Richard has free parking, then walked along the sea-front, around the port, and up to the PO Box. I hoped my books might be there, or at least a slip saying they were to be collected, but there was nothing. As is usually the case.
Then we walked back; although it wasn't too hot (28 degrees, according to my phone, and the sun had gone down by then) it was getting very humid. So we didn't walk further along the Mckenzy promenade. We were both very tired by the time we got home.
Tuesday
Despite the unexpected rainshower on Monday, I decided I should probably water the plants anyway, though I used only three full watering cans rather than four. Then I went for a walk, along some of the main paths in the Salt Lake Park; it's much quieter in the mornings, and I only saw two or three other people.
My phone said that there was a 25% chance of rain, but the sky stayed clear and the temperatures rose. I made one more salad - a variation on something similar to coronation chicken - and decided to have a piece of Arabic bread, from the freezer, to go with our evening salads.
Mid-afternoon, I was typing at my computer when I heard a buzzing noise and Lady Jane came bounding in. I assumed she was chasing a fly, although I wondered how it could have got in the house. We have windows open in the daytime, but only ones with mosquito nets to keep insects out (and to keep Lady Jane in).
Then I saw that it was in fact rather a large wasp. I don't like wasps, but don't wish them any harm. And I knew that wasp stings can be quite nasty. So I shut Lady Jane out of my study, and opened one of the french windows that leads to the little balcony outside.
The wasp kept buzzing against the glass of the other door, which I couldn't open. I didn't want to try to direct it in case it became aggressive. So I sat down at the computer again, trying to keep half an eye on it... and suddenly the buzzing stopped and there was no sign. I assume it finally found its way out.
I was greatly relieved.
And no, I didn't take a photo of the wasp.
So I shut the door, and let Jane in, and went through to start thinking about putting things out for our evening meal. Only to discover that we hadn't wiped the table after lunch, and there must have been a couple of drops of something from lunch which were evidently very attractive to ants.
I hadn't seen any for a couple of days, and hoped they had moved on. I was wrong. There was a little train of them climbing up one of the table legs, and hundreds - I am not exaggerating - of tiny ants crawling around two places on the table.
I realise it's somewhat ironic that I let a wasp out, but showed no mercy with these ants. I wiped them all away with kitchen roll and a lemon-scented kitchen spray that (at least in theory) disrupts their pheromone trail. Then I used Cleankill on the table legs, in the hope of deterring any future ants.
Eventually we sat down to eat, and then decided just to go for a short walk, to (and around) Salina Park, which takes about twenty minutes in all. And since we hadn't played Cities and Knights for some weeks, we had a two-player game. We developed house rules for this many years ago and find they work well, though we don't often play with just the two of us.
And for anyone who's remotely interested and has read this far, we had, unusually, what amounted to a draw at the end. Richard had the harbourmaster and took the longest street, and announced that he had 16 points (which is what we play to in a two-player game). I hadn't been counting my points at all, but I had two metropolises, so thought I might have about twelve. Turns out I had sixteen points too, and must have gained my sixteenth point on my previous turn when I built a settlement. So I should have won, but didn't declare it.
Lady Jane, who had been half-sleeping in the box lid, recognised - as usual - the game-putting-away routine. She closed her eyes and feigned deep sleep for a few minutes, so we wouldn't get her out of the box.
But then came her dilemma, as happens quite often: should she stay in possession of the box, or get out and have a few more crunchies? (I believe the official name is kibble).
She chose the latter.
Wednesday
I got up before it was light and read for a while, then went for a half-hour walk locally. I didn't much want to, but it's a good habit and probably beneficial long-term.
Nothing much planned for the day in what was expected to be a very quiet week, although I wrote plenty on Monday and Tuesday. After making another salad for the evening, and putting on laundry etc, and looking at some puzzles online, I uploaded another recipe to my somewhat sporadically-updated recipe blog.
Then worked a bit on photos before updating this with Tuesday's happenings. Or non-happenings. Not a lot goes on in Cyprus in August. In addition to many people travelling, a lot of businesses close for a couple of weeks.
Unsurprisingly, it was hot again.
I made one more salad to accompany those remaining, a sweet potato salad with chopped peppers and peas. A variation on one I've previously made using black beans.
In the evening we went for a short walk to Salina Park, then came home and watched the excellent film 'The Help'. Based on the book, it's extremely well done. We saw it first 11 years ago, and still found it moving, shocking in places. Above all, totally engrossing. It's a long film and by the time we'd watched a couple of 'deleted scenes', it was almost 10.45pm. Well past my usual bedtime.
Thursday
I slept well, but didn't wake until 7.30am. By that stage the sun was up and it was too hot and sunny to think of going for even a short walk. I did manage to water the plants, as the sun had not quite got around to them.
Somehow, waking up late leaves me feeling tired - almost jet-lagged - for hours. It's good that I didn't have anything much that I had to do.
In the afternoon, Richard told me that the servers that had been used for the family websites (and some others, including the local Anglican church site) had stopped working. They are owned by a US company which had promised free access for life. But apparently they had changed their terms and conditions recently, without much warning (Richard did eventually discover an email; but who ever reads emails saying that t&c have updated...?). They want him to upgrade to a paid version.
He had to pay something in order to get access back - which, he was told, could take 24-48 hours - and started looking for alternative, EU-run companies.
I realised about 5pm that, having got up so late, I hadn't made any new salads, and we needed a couple to supplement what was left from Wednesday. I was running a bit low on fresh ingredients, and was still quite tired, so I made two very simple ones: canned salmon with corn and peas (in a bit of mayonnaise, with dried dill), and an apricot/cucumber/cashew salad in vegan yogurt.
We did go for a walk in the evening, along the main Salt Lake Park paths; about 2.5km in all. But it was hot and sticky, even leaving at 8pm, and he wanted to continue some work after we got back. I finished the book I was reading, then took a cold shower (not that the water is ever truly cold at this time of year).
Friday
I didn't wake quite so late as I did on Thursday but it was still nearly 7am by the time I went out to the fruitaria. I bought fruit and veg for the weekend, plus another Greek yogurt (not vegan) for my breakfasts.
I hadn't heard any more about the parcel of books I was expecting from 'World of Books' - a week earlier I had an email asking me to confirm the delivery to the Post Office. So - as it was far too hot to walk - Richard drove me to the Post Office. I first checked the box to see if there was a slip; there wasn't, but there was a single parcel, not one of the two I had been emailed about.
So I went inside, having written down the two delivery codes sent me. The postmistress and assistant told me that there was a power cut, so they couldn't check anything on their computers. I thought I would have to go away... but this is Cyprus. They asked me my name, and searched through the parcels piled on the shelves. Thankfully there weren't a lot. When I said it would be from 'World of Books', they managed to find the two parcels.
Then came the problem of how I could sign for them, as this usually happens electronically. One of them said she would write everything down on a piece of paper, and then enter the information into the system once the power was back. They asked if it was okay by me if they just put my initials, and of course I said that was fine.
I was very pleased to have the books for next year's reading group, sent directly to Cyprus (albeit at rather high delivery cost, since each item had the three euro customs charge included).
Despite a couple of minor tears in the larger package, everything was in good condition, some of the books looking almost unread.
There's still one which hasn't yet arrived, plus one that I will have to order directly from Amazon, and one which I have already.
I catalogued them in GoodReads and LibraryThing, and then added them to my shelf of reading club books. It's quite satisfying to be prepared (mostly) well in advance.
In the evening, after writing a book review, I remembered that - once again - I had not made the day's salads first thing. I wanted to bake some potatoes, too, for a change. To do that I use the microwave and then the air fryer. Our air fryer knob has fallen off, so I have to use pliers to turn it, but that's a minor inconvenience.
I had to steam some broccoli to make a simple salad with tomatoes and onions. I also put together a grape/avocado/walnut/fake feta salad. I thought that would also be quick, but unfortunately the grapes I had bought had seeds which weren't obvious when I held them up to the light at the fruitaria. Grape seeds can be eaten, but don't taste very nice. So I halved all the grapes after washing them, and removed the seeds, which took a bit of extra time.
I was very warm by the time I'd finished, as I forgot to put the air conditioning on in the kitchen.
But it meant that, in addition to the potatoes, we had five different salads for our evening meal including those left from previous days. Out of mild curiosity, I mentally totted up how many different plant-based products we were eating, and it came to twelve in all: potatoes, broccoli, tomatoes, onions, grapes, avocado, walnuts, peas, sweetcorn, apricots, cashews, sweet potato. That's not including the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic granules or herbs that were used, or the coconut in the yogurt.
We don't have any difficulty eating thirty different plant-based products per week, as is a current general recommendation for a healthy gut.
I was a bit disturbed to discover another large wasp buzzing by a window in our dining room. I was able to open it and it flew out, which is good. Perhaps it was the one from earlier in the week, which had hidden somewhere; I never did see that one fly away. I hope so, as it feels a lot more concerning to have two different large wasps manage to get into the house within a few days.
It was still hot and sticky by 7.30pm but Richard had had enough of working; the websites were mostly back and functioning again and he needed a break. So we walked to Salina Park and did a couple of circuits, then home again. I was dripping by the time we got home, and had a cool shower before we sat down for a couple more episodes of 'Yes, Minister'.
Saturday
Another hot day... no surprise there, then. I went out for my standard 2km walk along shady streets locally, then - after collapsing in a heap, somewhat, and reading for a while - made some more oat milk. And gently boiled some lentils which were part of that day's extra evening salad.
Saturday was humid, so once again I did minimal housework, gradually, with forays into the air conditioning to cool down in between tasks. Thankfully it's not too dusty at present, so the many book shelves don't look too bad.
The only unexpected thing during the day was another wasp buzzing around the dining room door around 5pm. Once again I opened it, and it flew away. I began to be a bit concerned that there might be a wasp's nest somewhere close.
In the evening we did another short walk to Salina Park. By the time we got there I was so hot and sticky I sat on one of the benches and watched the fountains, while Richard did a couple of circuits of the park. By the time he found me again, he'd also met some friends who we hadn't seen for a while, so it was nice to stop and chat for a few minutes.
Then back home to the air conditioning, and another episode of Doctor Who (series 8).
My phone told me that our district would be cooling over the next couple of days. I had a moment's enthusiasm, then I checked the weather app.
It told me that the temperature had reached 36 (feeling like 41 with the humidity)... and that it would be 'only' 35 on Sunday and Monday.
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