Cyprus, here we come!

The forecast for Harwich:

The forecast for Larnaca:

Hey, you know... we'll send a postcard, 'kay? ;-)

To be honest, we picked October for our second visit on the understanding that things would have cooled down a bit by then. I don't think we've seen 30° here all summer!

Now, frankly, I glow in the dark so... Hat? Check. Sunglasses? Check. Long-sleeved cover up? Check. Factor 50? Check!

I'll let you know how I got on. :-)

I ♥ Cyprus!

DH and I went to Cyprus for the first time back in March (I know, very late - took me ages to sort out the photographs). We have friends who sold up and moved out there last December and they invited us to come and stay with them.

Well, we certainly went at the right time of year. Everything was lush and green and awash with wildflowers,...
all the lemon and orange trees were in bloom and smelling marvelous (it seems like every street is lined with them and virtually every garden has one or the other or both),...and it was bright and sunny but not too hot.
We were only there for 8 days so we didn't travel too far afield -
Agia Napa,...Cape Gkreko,... around the towns in the Famagusta District... and a trip up to Salamis in Northern Cyprus.
Our friends said to come back in October - when it should, again, be sunny but not hot - and we'll all go off to the Troodos Mountains, the other side of the island, for a few days.

The people were so nice and friendly, there was hardly any traffic and the food was fantastic (if you're ever in Paralimni, go to Ttappis Tavern!). I told DH if we ever come into money I'm buying a holiday home there. I can't wait to go back. Not sure we can afford another trip this year but I'm saving up!

Been back a week...

...and I'm only now getting around to blogging. Blame jet-lag, unpacking, laundry, faltering attempts to get back to the normal routine. We're both still really tired and the weather's been decidely autumnal (read grey and wet) since we've been back, which doesn't help.

But we had a great time. It was so nice to see my step-dad and the new lady in his life. Well, not so new - they've been seeing each other for over a year now and they're getting married on 4 December! In Hawaii. Nice one! And I've seen the dress - it's lovely! Can you tell I'm pleased and excited?

I wish I could show you the beautiful autumn colours we saw as we drove over Stevens Pass to eastern Washington. Yellows, golds, intense oranges, and the reds were simply amazing. Sadly, no pictures of that bit - they wouldn't have done it justice anyway.

And to top it off it snowed! Ok, only for about 5 minutes, but hey, snow in September. I was thrilled! I love snow. I grew up in Canada - sue me.

This is the only "mountain scenery" picture I've got, taken in Winthrop at about 7am. It was cold. But it was great to be there.


















For now, back to the ironing.

I'm baaaaack!

Did ya miss me?

Actually, we've been back since last Saturday. We had a lovely, restful time in Cornwall but now I'm absolutely frazzled again trying to catch up with everything.

So this Saturday Sky is a bit of a cheat. It's not the Saturday sky here in less-than-sunny Essex but a Saturday sky - in gloriously sunny Cornwall. Showing a cliff face at Porth Beach, near Newquay, two Saturdays ago to be precise. If you look closely, towards the upper left-hand corner, you can just make out the crescent moon.





Catching up with my emails is taking the longest. If you've written to me I will - eventually - reply. The biggest problem - well, it's not really a problem and it's self-inflicted anyway - is the volume of emails I get from Gathering Threads, a thread crochet Yahoo! Group. Several hundred a day! But they're all so wonderful - interesting discussions about techniques, thread suggestions, lovely pictures of everyone's creations and then, of course, all those fabulous lacey patterns that I just have to try. Assuming I live to be 943.

Anyway, I hope to be back on schedule for next Saturday's sky. And once I edit the rest of my holiday photos I'll post a few more of those as well.

TTFN