Super Saturday

It is amaizing what happens when your mind settles and you accept who you are and where you are at both physically and emotionally. I guess we haven't given ourselves credit for what an upheaval we have gone thorough over the past year. Packing up 18 years of life in 3 weeks, shipping cats and furniture to Cyprus, trying to find jobs, and moving again 6 months later, constantly having something to do at weekends, pack boxes, unpack boxes,put up pictures, take down pictures, re arrange furniture, find new supermarkets, work out where the vets is, all these things take up a huge amount of time and energy when you come to a new place. For so long we have been so tied up with this, that as with the last post we even questioned whether we had come to the right place after all because within all the mayhem we had actually forgotten to stop and enjoy Cyprus for the stunning Island that it is. It really is beautiful with citrus and olive groves, grapevines and corn fileds dotting the ancient landscape, beautiful beaches and high mountains give it such diversity. Earlier in the week TBH ( the better half) had actually discoverd a resivor not far from where we are and so he decided that we were not shopping on Saturday, he very kindly did that for me on Thursday eveing saving us time and money, as there is a big supermarket on his work run so we did not have to use more fuel for shopping. Instead we used that to fuel a few trips this weekend. TBH had me up at the crack of dawn so excited to show me this new place he had found and determined to get to it early enough for there to be good light for the photos. He packed a picnic breakfast and we were off up the highway for 10 minutes before we meandered off road ( yes our little 2 wheel drive car does off roading very well) down alongside the old riverbed , then up the windy dust track to a ridge that bought us out to these beautiful views. Wow!

This is where we sat breathing in the fresh morning air and soaking up the scenery sipping Redbush tea. What a way to start one's day. After breakfast we drove back down and along the shores of the dam spotting Heron and Rollersbirds on the morning breeze. The peace and tranquility cleared the soul, allowing us to really enjoy that moment.

Eventually the summer sun's rays got too hot so we left the lake and headed to Skarioun a village closer to home, where on a previous occassion I had spotted an Olive Oil Museum. I was interested to see the history of Olive Oil, and this place tells the story to lots of international tourist and local school children, who come from across the Island to learn and understand about the art of making Olive Oil.

I have been on the look out for a locally produced extra virgin olive oil, to use for cooking, and am so excited that we have found this place. I shall use the EVOO with Lemon extract pictured above,as salad dressings and to coat chicken and pork, it has a beautiful taste and the citrus from the Lemon is really tangy. They also sell one with basil which I shall pick up next time I am there.
However, this little beauty leads me another step closer to simple living. I have decided to refrain from using commercial skin care products in my daily routine, replacing it simply with EVOO. It can be used to remove make up and as a moisturiser for your face and body, Yeah saves you buying all the different lotions for different parts of your anatomy. Your skin is the biggest organ you have and something like 60 percent of what you put on it seeps in, I figured it is worth looking after and avoiding the chemicals that are added to commercial skin care products. So before I slipped under the sheets after a Super Saturday I treated my skin to the delights of the golden liquid and smiled contentedly knowing I was treating myself better and at the same time supporting local olive production.

If you want more information about the Skarinou Olive Oil Museum visit,

http://www.cyprusolive.com/