Month: July 2017

A beautiful morning sky to get up to.

This was at 4.45, as we had our journey back home. We left for the airport and again flew with Atlas Jet who now seem the best for us. Everyone now has to change planes at Istanbul anyway. All laptops now have to go into cases and not into the cabin and everyone is searched at Istanbul. If by mistake you have your laptop with you it is confiscated and put into the hold. I don’t quite understand that one because if it was a bomb, what difference would it make?!

Anyway, it was a good flight, well as good as they get when you are sick of flying! Mal fell over at Passport control, caught his rucksack as he was going under some ribbon! He was OK more embarrassment than anything else but I think caused by tiredness, We need to get home to stop working and get some rest!!

We drove from Stansted back to Torin’s for the night. We watched  the very long  Nadal match and now he is out of Wimbledon!

Thought for the Day – “If you get tired learn to rest not to quit.” ~ Banksy

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The potter wasps do like our bookcase to build their nests amongst the books!

If you are not careful and they fly into you, they dob you with the clay! Quite interesting with the wildlife making their home in/around our house! The house gecko, potter wasps, carpenter bees(we have now got rid of them!), cicadas and chameleons amongst many others! Thankfully I haven’t seen any snakes yet.  Oh yes and I found this broken legged locust in the bathroom yesterday but he seemed to manage to still jump and I later found him eating my rose leaves!

We went over to see David and Kenny. Kenny is looking much better but has some awful bruises on his back. We then went for our last Sunday lunch at Acmenya and my last brandy sour, before we started all the cleaning and packing before we leave. There were very few people in there today. Ali was next door in Lahmucan Evi so we collected a menu from him to give to David and Kenny and checked and yes they do deliver, so it will be handy for them with Kenny so restricted.

I think we have worked far too hard this time and maybe next time come over for longer and actually have a bit of a holiday! It’s not just the working but the exceptional heat.

Thought for the Day – “There comes a day when you realise turning the page is the best feeling in the world because you realise there’s so much more to the book than the page you were stuck on.” ~ Zayn Malik

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David called round in the morning to give us a report on Kenny. He has such a heavy plaster cast on that he can’t even manage to get out of bed on his own. But he is beginning to eat a bit now, so that’s good.

I think the heat/sun and all the work started getting to me as I felt quite sick and a stomach ache in the morning. Mal carried on painting and did get it finished. I was ordered to stay in with the air con on! For the first time we both had a short siesta in the air con, I did feel better after that.

We didn’t have much food in so said we would pop out for a quick meal. We decided to go to Sea Point as we hadn’t been there for a while. If I say they were not that busy for a Saturday night, now hear the tale! We sat down and a young waiter started pouring us water from a small bottle. I hate that when they charge you when you haven’t even asked for it, so I said we wanted a large bottle not a small bottle so take it away. He did bring a large bottle and finally we were not charged for the small bottle. BUT we did order a pint of draught Efes and a coke. We waited and waited and then gave up any dreams of getting them. We did get bread and olive paste and humus.  After quite a long wait my chicken sis and Mal’s swordfish arrived and I have to say the food was really good. Half way through our main, one of the waiters pushed a trolley right next to Mal. It was piled high with dirty plates and the rubbish bag at the end where they tipped all the leftovers in was right alongside Mal and it smelt. We gulped our food and asked for the bill. The waiter asked if we wanted anything else and we said no because we didn’t like being sat next to a smelly trolley. I asked him if they did that every night, just left dirty plates stacked on a trolley in the middle of the restaurant and he said *no” and moved it! Yeah, you guessed it the Efes and coke were on the bill. When we told him we weren’t paying for drinks no one bothered to bring he just said OK, I’ll change the bill!!  What a shame as the food was good, a pity the staff weren’t up to the same standard. Needless to say they lost their tip!

Thought for the Day – “Think a little less, live a little more.”

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What a surprise, the Cyprus talks have failed again!! Turkey are never going to agree to withdraw troops I am sure! And if the UN go, the Turkish troops will still be here. Maybe the EU will invite North Cyprus to join, then direct flights…..wouldn’t that be good, then maybe we would stay here!! All things change as they say.

Meanwhile, more work to do trying to beat the clock before we return to the UK. At least it is a little cooler, not much but a little. I hear it is also warm in the UK.

In the evening we went to Almond Hotel. We don’t go there often enough, it is such good food and we were sat right next to the pool.

We both had the lamb and chicken kebab which was really good.

Thought for the Day – “The moment you start acting like life is a blessing, it starts feeling like one.”

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Back to work early this morning. It seems very quiet without Torin! Mal was painting and I was gardening, both of us finding the shady bits as the sun moves round.

I think I forgot to mention the other evening we drove past 6 puppies almost opposite David and Kenny’s house. We believe Sergay’s wife and grandsons had put food and water out for them. On the way home Torin got out the car and said he couldn’t leave them in case they got run over as it was getting dark. I know this happens all the time and I told Torin I can’t have them as we’ll be going back to the UK soon. Anyway, he was prepared to spend the night with them, looking after them!!! Thankfully a lady, Jackie, stopped and said she had noticed them earlier and she would take them as she had a compound in her garden. What a relief that was!

Late morning I had to paint around the window frames as Mal doesn’t like fiddly painting. I don’t mind the painting at all, it’s the balancing on the ladder on gravel I don’t like and it doesn’t help the paint drying on the brush! As Mal said if we still lived here we could do all this in sensible weather!

I also did a bit more in the garden. The cicadas are very lively and noisy this summer. They also seem to throw themselves at you in the garden when you least expect it. I hate them, especially when they hit you!

We were a little bit exhausted by late afternoon and went in for a swim BUT the temperature has dropped a bit.

In the evening we went to Charcos, they cook the best sea bass and they are always huge. As Cristina says, if they are small they dry up. They really are the best sea bass on the island and fresh daily. Mal had the sword fish and said that was equally good. Cristina was suffering with her face and is on antibiotics, poor thing. Celal wondered why we were leaving “early” but we told him we have been working on the house and have more to do, so can’t stay up all night!

You can see by the size of the large fork, how huge the sea bass was and how meaty it was. Our 3 course meal with drinks less than 100tl!! No wonder we love this place so much.

Thought for the Day – “Life is so much brighter when we focus on what truly matters.”

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We were up at 4.30 to run Torin to the airport for his flight back home. After dropping him off we went to Girne so that we could pay our electricity bill as soon as Kibtek opened (7.45). Of course we were there far too early so had  a wander around and then looked for somewhere to have a bit of breakfast. Most of the places around the harbour were still closed. There was a place open at the bottom of the high street but breakfast was 50tl for one!! We walked along to Beyti and I have to say that was so much better.  We chose the Menemen  which was really delicious. I gave Mal the chips which were on the top!

We then went to Kibtek and put credit on our electricity account and then on to Alsancak Beledeysi to put some more money on our new water meter card! We also paid this months land tax.
Mal did some of the pointing (Torin doesn’t like doing the fiddly bits!) and then we went over to see David and Kenny. Poor Kenny he has the most enormous plaster on his arm which is really weighing him down. His knee is still swollen too and of course stitches in his head. David can’t sing the state hospital’s praises enough. Kenny had two X rays, 3 blood transfusions, a CT scan, his arm plastered, stitches and all his food when he was in there and the total bill was 600tl (£129). It makes me wonder why people here are paying £150 a month for health insurance!! Our experience of private hospitals here is not good but we never considered the state hospital. Now let’s look at the queues for QEQM in Margate now they have transferred much of Kent and Canterbury over there and people are waiting hours just to be seen. It does make you wonder. Kenny has even seen the Orthopaedic Specialist who does all the private ops anyway!

More painting and then in the evening we went to Tervetuloa. It’s always a huge meal there which we had forgotten as the meze, main course, dessert coffee and brandy are all included in the price. Mal managed it! I had the molohiya which was delicious. Surprisingly there was only one other couple in there. They strategically placed a very large fan by our table which was lovely apart from the fact every time it moved round it blew my hair near my mouth just as I was about to eat! It was nice to feel cool though.

Thought for the Day – “You can destroy your now by worrying about tomorrow.” ~ Janis Joplin

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Happy 7th anniversary to Lou and Rhys. We phoned them in the morning. We had sent them a voucher for a really nice restaurant in Canterbury and they booked to go today.

Oh dear, Torin’s last day. He was hoping to have a bit more relaxing time I think. A pity he couldn’t stay as long as us but then we always find more to do! He worked hard and the afternoon was so humid again so we were all dripping. I was carrying on with the gardening.

His last evening Torin wanted to go to Blue Song again. We chose a table at the beginning of the restaurant out of the sun’s heat. Our usual waitress wasn’t there and what a difference that made!  I ordered a brandy sour and had to send it back and ask them to put some brandy in it! I have never had one quite so orange!

Margaretha came into the restaurant with two friends so we chatted to them and Mal and Torin scooped up their bones at the end of the meal for her dogs! The service was rubbish and in the end we got up and left, we weren’t even offered coffee and brandy! It just goes to show what a difference the waitress Zoe makes(and she makes a perfect brandy sour).

Rather sad Torin has to go home.

Thought for the Day – “When you talk you are only repeating what you know; but when you listen, you learn something new.” ~ Dalai Lama