We had a straightforward trip out to Cyprus on Tuesday with Turkish Airlines.  About an hour in Istanbul, just enough time to walk between the two gates and grab a loo break.  As soon as we stepped off the plane in Cyprus we knew we were here.  The breeze was very warm even at 815pm and it carried the smell of thyme and rosemary – the lovely aroma of the warm hills and countryside.

Mehmet, the lovely Gunray car rental man was waiting for us at the entrance to the terminal and we were soon on the way, 45 minutes after landing.  Not bad.

We were at the house for 930 and enjoyed a sundowner on the terrace before turning in.  We couldn’t see much of the outside painting which has been done over the past weeks but what we could see looked really good.

A small excitement then ensued when I heard a mewling squeak coming from the double wardrobe that serves as our linen closet.  I gingerly opened the door but the squeaking stopped and I couldn’t see anything amongst the piles of sheets and towels.  I convinced myself it was a bird outside.  Anyway, later on when Bob and I turned in, the squeaking started again and this time he went to the closet to investigate.  He moved a pile of towels on the bottom level and there, in the corner, were 4 tiny, tiny kittens!  To say it was a surprise would be the understatement of the year!

There was obviously no sign of the mother cat but I knew she couldn’t be far, so I put a towel in a big laundry basket and put them in that and took it to the pool terrace.  Put a saucer of milk down and left them squeaking away.  In the morning, mama had clearly retrieved her offspring and there has been no sign since.  They hadn’t been in there long.  There was little or no mess and they looked happy and well fed.  We now think they’d got in on Friday when the painter was finishing up and then Marion had locked them in (and mum out) when she came up on Saturday.  So they were undoubtedly pleased to see us when we let them out on Tuesday night.

Since then, we’ve been busy with getting the house “unpacked” and a few other tasks.

We’re painting the twin room while we’re here so we’ve bought the paint for that.  Bob’s got a bit of arthritis in his thumb and he needed a cortisone jab.  We had been trying for weeks at home to get it done at the surgery but when Bob eventually got an appointment, the doctor didn’t want to do it without an ultrasound guide and so he passed Bob to a centre in Kent that have this facility.  Unfortunately, they couldn’t see him till July so he came out here in considerable pain and with difficulties gripping.

So, yesterday, we went down to the hospital in Kyrenia where we have the health checks to see if they would do it.  Yes, but he would have to see the orthopaedic consultant who would want to do the injection himself.  Bob looked a bit crestfallen at the delay this might introduce to the process.  Oh, no… come back at 3pm today and he will do it.  Went back, the chap gave Bob and his thumb a thorough going over, sent him for an x ray (downstairs, immediate), looked at the digital results on his office display (immediate) and then gave him the injection.  Cost: £55 including the x ray.  Conclusion: money well spent and would be quite willing to pay for this sort of service at home.

I also asked about having a CAT scan out here as part of my annual health check and on consultation, this will be no problem either and a specialist will analyse it.  We are keen to do this, having had 3 friends, all non smokers, who died in the past 3 years from undetected, symptomless lung cancer.  By the time, they felt bad enough to go to the doctor they were already stage 4.  Our friend, John’s, oncologist said that everyone should have an annual CAT scan as it is the only way to detect lung cancer early enough to do anything about it.  In his opinion, it should be routine.  Obviously, this is not going to happen anytime soon on our struggling NHS, so we’ll be doing it out here.  Well worth checking out, wherever you go on holiday, but definitely if you come here.  Will let you know what it is going to cost.

Today we got the pergola drapes back up after their winter laundering.  Marion has had the poolside dining chairs covered and they look very nice.  When we were in Oman earlier this year, we went to the frankincense market and bought a bag and a burner.  Brought it out here and have been using it every evening.  It’s a lovely, lovely smell and one crystal lasts for a couple of hours.  The ceramic burner is really nice too.  I’m going to buy some more when we pass through again.

Weather has been fabulous so far.  The sky is absolutely cloudless and temperatures in the very high 20s/low 30sC.  Perfect swimming weather as soon as we can get clear of these jobs!!!