Mould after the recent flooding. The water came pouring through the walls in the lounge and came in through the ceiling here. The lounge wall is sodden, has some sort of white stuff growing out of it.
Red wine, fish soup and spinach pie
2015 HERE WE COME
We have
snow all along the tops of the hills above Galatas. (the village just across the waters on the mainland) And it is COLD.
The day started off with heavy rain and my son-in-law Kyriakos decided
not to go to work.(Kyriakos runs a taxi boat from the island to the mainland)High winds as
well.No flying dolphin or boat today from Athens
but the car ferry is still working.We
are going down to Elli for New Years eve.Kyriakos (Elli's husband) is doing miracles with duck and salmon.He's cooking tomorrow as well.His mother lives next door to the cheap
german supermarket (LIDLS for those who might have seen it in Europe) so we get
cheap duck and salmon.One up for the
germans - but they still owe 'us' millions from wwll.
Anyway, no babysitting because Kyriakos has the kids so
I don't have to go down the mountain and we have settled in for the day with K's wine from his barrel(red from a cardboard box for me).
The wood burning fire which has an oven on top has already cooked a spinach pie
and I'm thinking of hot cheese bread as well.Our neighbour brought in a plate of xmas cookies - she and her sisters
are excellent cooks and these honey cakes and almond shortbread (Traditional greek ) are
just waiting for me to taste them.She
has decorated the plate with a handful of choccies so all is well.Can't 'do' cold without chocolate.
Kostas has made a big pot of fish soup......and we still
have Kyriako's cooking tonight. I'm stuffed just thinking about it all.
'Someone' won't be drinking too much tonight.The road down is officially closed but
someone (not us) keeps on pushing the signs out of the way and cutting the tape and we
all use the road, because otherwise it's an extra 3 ks.But after the floods the sides of
the road are falling away in places and there are piles of rocks and dirt. This
is why Greece will always be the 'problem child' lol. ps The 'someone' of course will be me. But Elli and I only have one bottle of sav blanc from Marlborough.One bottle between two, hardly enough to wet the larynx.
Up in the Balkans temps are down to -20 ... -10 in northern
Greece and snowing in northern suburbs of Athens.Weather getting better on Saturday and new
cold front coming in on Tuesday.Paul
and Karen, you might just see a totally different Greece - though you suffered
the 'cold of the bears' that time you came in November. Don't think we'll be
visiting the mountain villages or wine tasting.The motorway in the Nemea (which is where I thought we might go to taste
some good greek wine ....oxymoron???) is covered in snow at the moment and the
road waiting to be snow plowed.
If there are no boats when you arrive we'll have to come
round by car.But anything can happen in
the meantime.The sun may even
shine.We need that sunshine now to dry
out the rising damp in our walls.
There is a HUGE FEAR CAMPAIGN been launched by
Wolfgang Schroider (or whatever his horrible name is), all of Europe and the
rest of the world to make us vote 'correctly' in the elections at the end of
January.You can smell the fear (theirs, not ours).Will Greeks vote in a rebel who will bring
Europe to its knees?And these elections
are being held just because this parliament couldn't vote for the new President
who is just a figurehead and no-one gives a damn who he is.We're being taunted again with bankruptcy ,
an economy worse than some povery stricken African nation, being thrown out of
the European union, more pay cuts, no pension payments etc etcBut we've heard it all before, for years now,
before every major decision which affects the economy.Been there, done that.Who do we vote for??Haven't got a clue.
Hope you're all a little warmer than us and a little
drier.HAPPY NEW YEAR.HAVE A GREAT
2015....WITH LOTS OF LOVE, HAPPY FAMILIES AND GOOD HEALTH.
PICKLED OLIVES, RED PEPPERS FROM THE GARDEN
MINI XMAS STOCKINGS - 50 MADE, 20 TO GO
NELS AND ME AT A BAPTISM....HELL, I'M GETTING OLDER
KIDS IN THE STOREROM ABOVE THE BATHROOM
FRIEND YIANNIS, LYDIA, JAMIE, NATALI
DIY
-
There's a short flight of communal steps up to our row of four bijou
town-houses, on either side of which are some metal rails. I've been
threatening to...
A Small Black Book
-
Lying on a shelf, a small black book, unopened in the last couple of
years. Time to remedy that.
No photograph, because it really is just a small blac...
ANOTHER DAY OF CUTTING OUT
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*Well, it looks like another nice day out there.*
*Shame really, cos I'm gunna be inside cutting out bowl cosy's and batting
all day.*
*But, it won't...
Cobden Observation Post
-
We've been living in Greymouth nearly 2 years now and we finally got to
complete this walk to the Cobden WW2 Observation Post. It took about 20
minute...
Bank Holiday Carboot Antiques Hunt.
-
It's a Bank Holiday here in Ireland giving everyone a day off after Saint
Patrick's Day.
The weather forecast was not good but we still got up earlier a...
Weekend Roundup
-
Last night's 'Countryfile' weather forecast showed a little map that
recorded that our part of the country has enjoyed 110% of the average March
rainfall...
Burleigh
-
Washing crockery is mindful, especially when it’s hand painted *Burleigh
Ware *where you can see beautiful plants and flowers, designed with a
stroke of...
A metaphysical disagreement.
-
The policeman is due in the village this morning to examine the four bronze
age burial sites that the farmer uncovered over the weekend. Usually the
f...
Windows at Brioude in Auvergne
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One of the best *gîte* trips we've taken since moved to Saint-Aignan was a
trip to the Auvergne in 2019 — five years ago. It was actually our third
trip to...
Back Again
-
It's been a while since I've posted. We were away again for a couple of
weeks. Since I am such a homebody, I am very happy to be back in my own
home, in...
Continuum
-
Just now I have done one of the constraint writing exercises which is the
first part of our work this week. It may seem daft but I think to actually
do...
Easy Sunday mornings
-
Spending time with the feathered family
So much has happened here lately. A couple of shocks. Stating with the
alpaca. It hit me harder than I tho...
The Growing Season
-
The new spring grass is growing at a phenomenal rate, I suspect it has
something to do with all of the rain that fell throughout the months of
February a...
False spring is over.....
-
I took this photo of a ranunculus I bought a few days before. They are
such beautiful flowers ~ so delicate and brightly colored. I don't know
how lo...
Yesterday
-
It was Mother's Day yesterday, or Mothering Sunday as some call it and
originates from when women in service (maids and servants working in big
houses) w...
thoughts
-
What to write about now? Should I write at all or stop and stay with the
thoughts in my head?
These are such complicated days and probably some kind of ...
Patea Dam parking lot
-
Hubby has taken me to see so many places since I arrived here almost 18
years ago! It was a bit overwhelming at first and I asked sooooo many
questions! ...
Books 5-6
-
The Innocent by Posie Graeme-Evans
The year is 1450, a dangerous time in medieval Britain. Civil unrest is at
its peak and the legitimacy of the royal ...
Going Into Recess
-
Have you ever felt that sometimes your life has turned a corner? Or, as my
uncle used to say, started a new chapter in the book of your life?
After r...
Deaths of John and Emily Webster
-
In Pakanae Cemetery is this grave belonging to Mrs Emily Webster (nee
Russell), wife of John Webster, born 1829 in Kohukohu and married in 1855.
Her husb...
BUSY TIME OF YEAR
-
Well, we are always busy but at the moment it seems more so.
It has been hot and dry so watering every day. The tomatoes, in
particular, have done re...
Catching up!
-
Oh dear, nearly six months since I last posted a blog. It is not that I
have been bothered to write to you. Oh no. It is because words have been
absent ...
Mincemeat and Quince
-
The days are getting shorter and the trees are beginning to shed their
leaves. The quince tree has done magnificently this year. The fruit
enormous a...
I write. I create. I observe and record my life, after 40 years, in Greece. I love to create either with my handy craft, cooking or writing. Freeform always. Keep it simple, keep the interest, make it useful. I write about my garden sometimes, my grandchildren and the different culture and traditions. My New Zealand up bringing was so different from this way of life that I do truly feel like an alien at times. Greece is home but so is my kiwi 'homeland'. I am a citizen of both and an alien in both.