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
Helicopter season.
-
Another of those Scottish days. Bright and sunny in the morning, wet and
windy in the afternoon. I bring out the cushions for the garden benches and
t...
The Paris apartment where CHM lived
-
One of the apartment's most attractive features is that it has a back yard.
It's a small back yard, but still, a back yard in Paris! That's pretty
much ...
Pomegranates.
-
I'm always rather surprised and amused that I am able to grow Pomegranates
here at the cottage.
They have never managed to become edible, but I live in ...
QUARRY GARDENS (warning lots of photos)
-
The forecast looked good so we headed to the Gardens. Once again we had a
lot of rain at the weekend but it cleared for our walk. There was a lot of
colou...
C&nt
-
Weaver as a baby
I saw a financial advisor today.
I completed my application to the *NCPS (The National Counselling and
Psychotherapy Society ) *and pa...
NOT THAT PERSON
-
*What's the haps today?*
*1. The flooring guys come back to put another coat on the floor, in
readiness for the flooring to go down, probably on Frida...
Flowers In Killarney.
-
I always like seeing flowers in town centres. Particularly shops that pay
for floral decorations and patiently water and feed the flowers all summer.
H...
Mistakes.
-
Are not always a bad thing
I’ve finished the blanket for the new grandbaby.
One square is upside down
Didn’t notice until I had almost finished
I’v...
Hari Hari Mosaic Garden
-
On 2 of our travels further down the West Coast we have stopped into the
small town of HariHari. While the boys wandered off to look at something
nearby,...
Chertsey Book Barn
-
Part of the joy of travelling back to Mid-Canterbury is the opportunity to
call at the Chertsey Book Barn.
The building is an old railway goods-shed. I...
I'm already tired of summer......
-
Lots of Datura plants in the Sandia foothills. Pretty but very poisonous.
As you can see there are a lot of blooms, so there's always a show when we
...
Seeing Spots
-
If you are a regular visitor to my blog, undoubtedly you know we share our
property with White-tailed deer.
Several years ago I counted a herd of forty, r...
It's July!
-
It is now the second day of July and we've had some lovely hot days as
well as some big rains. This year I planted my vegetable garden in rows,
instead ...
It sucks getting old
-
I have spent the largest portion of my life healthy and unconcerned about
any problems related to my health. At 73, I thought I was doing quite well,
bu...
Books 4-8
-
Double Agent by Jack Mars
At the outset of the Cold War, in the ruins of postwar Europe, rookie CIA
Agent Tyler Wolf must navigate a precarious partners...
Friday prayers
-
Look at sales figures, origins, annual reports, statements from company
chairmen; become armchair investors and see what you would do yourself,
annual ...
Aoteaora's first Maori police woman
-
Evelyn Mete Kingi was born Evelyn Owen in Moerewa and has been described as
a woman of resilience and character.
She was born in 1922 and joined the thir...
Farewell My Friends
-
After blogging for nearly six years, I have decided to retire. Blogging
filled an empty spot in my life after losing my husband, but that has
changed...
Japandi Bedroom Makeover
-
*Do you want a break from politics and British summer weather? Read on...*
“Another mural? Are you pulling my leg?”
Colin was back last month to decor...
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 ...
Professing !
-
Actual professing.
There are times when every learned person has the duty of stepping up to
the line and of explaining the intricacies of life from the...
Internal Garden Monologue
-
If you had told me 5 years ago, I would be sitting in a house, at a table
over looking a front garden in Scotland, I would have laughed my socks
off. I...
A Note of Sadness
-
One of the problems about getting so involved with these m/s recipe books
is that I feel as though I almost know the women who wrote them. I can see
how th...