11th of the 9th

Schools around the country open today.  Not for lessons.  Today local Priests do the rounds of schools and kindergartens blessing the children and their teachers. It's a photo op for the Mayor and a few important persons who make speeches and bore the britches off the kids. 

A large bunch of basil is dipped in Holy Water and the children and their teachers and anyone close by are splashed and blessed. 

I've been to many of these blessings over the years, first for my own children and in later years to admire and photo the grandchildren.

We only have one granddaughter left at High School and this is her last year.   

Have your best year ever Luli. We know you'll top your class! 

 We will see the blessings on the news over and over again. Tv cameras show lines of school children at the big Athens schools and the tiny island schools where there may be only 2 pupils and a teacher. And a priest. That goes without saying. 

Poppi is coming up to do some work for us.  A few end of summer jobs that need to be done before she disappears off into Athens for another year at the Athletic Academy.

K is busy frying meatballs and potatoes so she doesn't go home hungry. 

I've printed a list of jobs. 

Outside jobs included storing away the big summer umbrella and hauling the heavy concrete base to its winter position under the outdoor table. Moving big ceramic pots to their sunny winter spots. Everything I deemed heavy she lifted as though it was feather weight. It would have taken me 3 days to do what she did in an hour. Oh to be a strong young rower. 

A major indoor task

Clearing, cleaning the shelves above the desk computer. There was 10 years of dust and rubbish. Even K got into the spirit of it all. We filled up a big bag of old boxes, papers, all sorts of wires, headphones that were falling to pieces. I was overjoyed to see those shelves cleared.  So much junk we had harbored for so many years. 

Gone. Gone. By golly gosh, All Gone

Decanting that huge jar of NZ peanut butter into smaller jars so the whole family can enjoy it. 

Changing over from flimsy summer curtains to heavy winter drapes. 

She stowed away some of the fans. It's still hot but comfortable now. 

She trimmed the white, late blooming, bougainvillia. 

She stowed away a few summer chairs. 

Good grief. It sounds as though we are ready for winter. No way. 

Next week we go away on summer holidays, knowing on our return we are ready for autumn winds and maybe the first rainfall. 

Thanks Poppi