It was still pretty rainy yesterday so today was the first chance we got to dry out some of the cushions that had erroneously been left outside and caught in the downpour. It’s good to feel the sun again.

I did some more handicrafts yesterday and painted some more terracotta pots. I have varnished them so they ought to be good for light use ie nuts, crisps – thiings that can be rinsed rather than survive the dishwasher.

We were meeting Deborah later at the Wild Duck so we decided to have lunch there. Very nice lentil soup. Deborah came at 1pm and we went to see the olive tree that would have to be moved. Wow!!!! It is amazing and must be well over 100 years old. It has been lopped for transport and it will take about 2 or 3 years for it to grow a full canopy again. Hopefully we can help it survive transportation shock. It’s the right time of year for it to be moved anyway. We marked the north side as it is very important when transplanting mature olive trees to replant them in the same orientation north-south. It will be dug up, delivered and planted tomorrow. Lucy is buying us it – or rather paying for the transport and digging etc, the tree is free – for Christmas, so that is a really lovely present. We ought to be able to get a full year’s worth of oil from it in a couple of years. So excited.

Then, I got a call from Moda Furniture to say our two new pool loungers were on their way! So, Deborah and Bob went off to play canasta with Pamela and Linda and I came back home to get ready for that. The men arrived about 20 minutes after me and the two loungers are now by the pool. I need to get cushions for them now. We have guests 14th – 30th December this year so hopefully they will have some sunny days to enjoy the terrace. I doubt the pool will be in use!!!!

Habibi came up about 430 to look at clearing out our gutters which are blocked in some areas, clearly demonstrated during the torrents. He will do it on Sunday. We also discussed the positioning of the olive tree tomorrow and a few other gardening plans for this time.

Bob got home about 445 and Deborah kindly gave him a lift so I didn’t have to drive out again. Our freezer is playing up – man coming tomorrow – and we’ve had our frozen stuff in a picnic box with ice bags but that had melted overnight so he ran out again to Starlings to get more. I hope the freezer can be fixed tomorrow….

At 6 we had a video call with Stuart and Fi and heard all about their amazing cruise up into the Arctic Circle. The photos of the northern lights and the snowy mountains and little villages were truly amazing. They had a really good show of Northern Lights – spectacular.

For dinner we went out to Tervetuloa. I have had a special Christmas present made there of which I can say no more but the artist/owner is as thrilled with it as I am and I know the recipient will be too. So….. a busy day and so much looking forward to our tree planting tomorrow.