Workmen

Our chimney cleaner has a vaccum cleaner and scoops up any mess he makes. He even polishes the inside pipe, which is our wood-fire chimney. 

However, not all workmen consider the aftermath as their business. 

 Workman no. 2

Darn this one 

He cemented some holes that had appeared between the flagstones. 

All the stones are now covered in a film of cement. It can't be scrubbed off but we're hoping heavy winter rains might wash the worst away. 

He threw the leftover cement slush over the geraniums and the container he used ended up in the garden too. 

But

He's a cousin and cheap

Thumbs up and a bonus for this young workman

He brought our first load of oak logs 

And stacked it without being asked

Greening Begins

 My garden

October 13th

Brown and dry with a suffering lemon tree

November 13th

Nasturtiums and oxalis are growing like mad. The lemon tree is finally looking healthy and happy 

There's a pot of basil in there too.

Anything green is welcome

Red hot peppers and mint which is loving the constant rainfall

Tomato plants growing in a pot where I buried the leftovers of a greek salad

We've had quite a lot of rain and the temperatures are still in the early 20s.  Perfect growing weather.

Around About

I'm walking in the neighbourhood again. It's been months since I've been out on foot. It was just too hot.  I was looking forward to seeing the changes. Changes?  Naa, nothing much has changed.  

Mother Nature is changing the landscape from brown to green. The herd of wild goats has grown in number. The group now includes a number of spirited youngsters. They leapt nimbly up into the olive trees.  

The owners of those  trees will be out with shotguns if they see those hijinks.  Olive harvest is just beginning and the goats will be shaking  all the olives to the ground.  And harming the trees 

The old farm house is still used as a chicken run.

Too small really for restoration. One room up, one room down.  

Down in the misty damp valley in the winter

The old church dedicated to St John

With a cypress tree almost growing out of its wall

Clumps of pink cyclamen are everywhere but these yellow crocus are special.

Halloween on Poros

That was it...

A trial run for Xmas. Homemade Bailey's.

The whisky is not Ballentines but 2 bottles of 40 years old whisky which had been opened and not sealed properly.  Only just drinkable. Perfect for adding condensed milk and coffee and stirring it all about.

Some of the old whisky went into a trial run of Xmas cakes too. 

October

 It got cold very early this year. Early October we had high winds and rain and thought about ordering our first firewood.  

Now the weather has changed again. A bit of rain but it's still warm.  There are yachts anchored in the bay below. Tavernas are slowly closing but there are plenty of visitors about.  Lots of tourists on quad bikes, still wearing shorts and Tshirts. 

The ants had seemed to be bunkering down for a long hard winter. They were furiously collecting every crumb these last months. They've since  disappeared into the depths of our walls and whether they can forecast the weather remains to be seen. 

Last week our woodman conducted a huge double trailor off the car ferry and up to his wood-yard near us. 

We learnt the double trailor was carrying 20 tons of  oak logs from Northern Greece. We are expecting a load soon. Our woodman isn't in a rush to deliver but K  wants our supply ready and waiting in case there's a sudden cold snap.  We are first on the list, he says. I wonder what it will cost this winter. 

Some much needed rain.  We got a good soaking. 

Is this a joke? 

Salted caramel? Yes. On icecream

Marmite? Yes. On toast. 

Together?  I wouldn't buy it but I'd be interested in a taste test

Rodi (pomegranite) festival

Pomegranites are big and red and right in season.  Down the coast at Ermioni  there are large pomegranite orchards and a yearly festival. 

There was a bicycle tour around the seaside town of Ermioni, a treasure hunt, a concert of course with Greek music and dancing.  On offer were lots of edible goodies made with the pomegranites and litres of fresh juice to taste. 

A wonderful souvenir made by a local crafter. 

A hand designed piece of Greek marble made into a fridge magnet. 

Thanks Judy and Steve

A Little Bit of This.......

A few photos 

Lemons lemons everywhere

This photo was taken at the beginning of summer.

Slowly they all fell off the trees and none of them had much juice.

Now we are buying lemons.  Almost 2 euros a kilo.  At least they're local and not from Egypt or South Africa.

Hopefully some decent rain will liven up growth and production on our trees.

Cat deterrent 

A board full of sharp sticking up nails. He doesn't like cat fur on his bike seat.

Koliva. Memorial wheat. It cannot be thrown away if we don't eat it all.  I put it out on the wall for birds, crows and sparrow's .  Or the cats? 

First in first served

Together with the bag of funeral wheat we are given a small loaf of sweet bread. Boy is that nice. Soft and full of greek flavourings.... Mastiha and mahlepi. 

It tears apart easily and is often dipped in the cup of greek coffee offered after a funeral or memorial 

Tuna

Wrapped in baking paper with slices of lemon and oregano

I cleaned out our knife drawer.

These are the extras.

3 cheese knives which we never use.  I left  2 others in the drawer.

All these got wrapped up and put  away at the back of a cupboard. I'm not allowed to get rid of them although we have another half a dozen big sharp knives still in the drawer , 2 more wooden spoons and a huge selection of spatulas. Someone loves knives and kitchen utensils

SS

Christmas is coming

And the goose is getting fat

Time for 'Secret Squirrel' 

To put our names in a hat

Yes. It's Secret Santa time.  Our Greek family is doing the secret gift exchange for either the  3rd or 4th year. Everyone gets one gift. 

We draw the names  now so we have plenty of time to consider the gift and find it or get it ordered. 

It's been very difficult to get all the family together this summer. Some of the family we haven't seen for a month or more. It was a busy summer.  

Then half disappeared off to Athens for work or study. 

This long weekend everyone is on the island so our not-so-Secret Squirrel wrote out the names and put them into a jar.   She's in a central position down on the harbour so we all pass by at our leisure and draw a paper with the name of one of 11 immediate family members . 

 

K and I went in and...... I drew my own name.  I was tempted to keep it. I know exactly what I want. 

But I  took another twist of paper.  

I sent a photo to our Secret Squirrel of what I would like. Someone's going to get my name in the next few days. She can whisper in an ear

Jamie  chooses his Secret Santa draw 

With Aunty Danae and Mother Elli

It's all supposed to be secret but if you've got no idea then hints are discreetly asked for, or loud calls for help!

 

There's a limit of around 20 euros so we are not emptying any kids piggy banks. 

Last year Clever Clogs George, after the draw, asked everyone which was their favourite tipple. He got his gift answer without anyone knowing the recipient. 

Look what I just found!

Next year I'll print out a dozen of these. And leave them somewhere for everyone to secretly peruse.

Xmas is coming folks!

PS Secret Squirrel really has nothing to do with it but he's another SS and I remember him with fondness. 

So here's another video

28th

 Huge celebrations in Greece and Perth today. 

28th October in Greece is a national holiday celebrating the time in 1940 when Mussolini got the boot. He wanted to walk in and take over Greece. Instead the Italian army was forced back over the mountain border into Albania with their tails between their legs.

Long live Greece

The ragged old flags

EU and Greece

All seen better times

And today downunder my brother Paul is celebrating his birthday

One of many 😄

And many more of them bro

We were very happy to have Paul and Karen with us on Poros this summer

Here they are with son in law Kyriakos and his water taxi Socrates

School children getting ready to parade

We still have one granddaughter, Luli, in the celebratory parade and we'll be clapping her again on 25th March

It was a beautiful sunny day on Poros.  The yacht harbour was full

And, as we can't have a blog post without Poppi, here she is!

After the official event there's the rest of the celebration.

A glass of wine and a plate of traditional Greek mezethes (snacks) on the waterfront with friends and family

The cafeterias were full

And because I love country music

Here's Johnny Cash singing about his own 'Ragged Old Flag '

We are flying our Greek flag as usual on the flag pole at our gate.

And the NZ and Australian flags!!!

Family

 Most of the grandchildren are back in Athens now and the rest of the family here are still working. It's a longer season this year. Poros is still full of tourists, yachts and quad bikes.

Julia and Caroline stayed at Aegean Villas. Across the road from the beach.  It was a bit cold for swimming but they dipped their toes in.

These are the rooms, half hour walk from the main harbour.

Aegean Villas. Right beside the sea in Askeli. Across the road from a cafeteria and taverna. Two minutes away from a supermarket and bakery.

Several lots of  visitors have stayed here in the last few years.  

They didn't manage to meet much of the Poros family but got to meet my 2 daughters Elli and Danae. 

When we drove around the island they saw the family compound where D lives

 Family houses all the way down

Left and right

Uncles and cousins and Aunts

One day I drove them up the steep road to the family compound where E lives above the harbour

That's where we used to live. You went in through those 2 blue doors which clanged shut like a prison cell. M in law downstairs, sis in law across the yard. Now E has her aunt downstairs and 2 cousins next door. 

And up on the roof the most wonderful view you can imagine. 

Me with my kiwi sis in law. A few years ago. The view never changing

Epidavros Visit

 One place everyone has to visit, after they see the island, is the 2,500 year old theatre at Epidavros. It's only an hour away.  

Famous for its incredible acoustics.  You'll see a tourist in the middle of the arena drop a coin and look up at a friend right up the top of the seats to see if they've heard it hit the ground. 

Not likely with all the people there and the constant chattering and murmuring of tour guides. 

Performances of Greek dramas and comedies still take place during the Epidavros festival in July and August. 

The ticket is 20 euros which seems a standard price for these ancient sites.  I only pay 10 euros because I'm an EU pensioner. 

I had to show my Greek ID card and was a bit worried when I couldn't find it in my bag.  Fortunately they accepted my driver's licence. 

I've been to Epidavros many times but not in the last 10 years. We usually sit and have a coffee while friends and family do the touristy stuff. I enjoyed seeing it again. 

K was supposed to park, go and buy a coffee from the canteen and wait for us. The canteen was closed and he had to wait, very patiently I might add, for 2 hours while we wandered around. No coffee, no water, no company. Not easy for him. 

Caroline had been there before and was quite happy to see the sights again 

Sitting on ancient stones watching the parade of tourists.  And parade they did. Tour groups from all over the world dressed in the most intriguing clothing and footwear. We observed the passage of gesturing, photographing, clapping, posing humankind. 

I could have sat their for hours watching them all. 

Many climbed up those dozens of marble steps to the top of the theatre. The younger fitter ones leaping up without fear. 

I was fearful just looking up at the steep stairway. I have climbed up there. I've even been to a performance here. But not for many years. 

One thing I've never done is wander round the rest of the ancient site. It's known as the Aesclepion, a healing centre and a sanctuary. It's a large area with a stadium, temples, large dining areas, hostels for those hoping for a cure. 

It was fascinating to walk around with Julia and Caroline and listen and learn from their comments. Julia especially, having worked all her life in the health field, had some interesting insights. 

It was quite an outing and we were more than ready for food and wine, K especially. 

We drove to the outskirts of a small village, Adami, and found a taverna which has been a favourite of ours for many years. 

It's run by a family, daughters taking orders and serving, Mama in the kitchen, one of the men manning the grill. A granddaughter brought our drinks and basket of bread. 

It was  Sunday and it was buzzing with Greek family groups, from Pappou and Yiayia to babies in  pushchairs. 

K and I did the ordering. 

K kept an eye on what others around us were eating and got us a good traditional meal. 

The feta is from village goats, wine from local vines, greens from the fields, or weekly market. 

Greens. Radicchio I think.  Served with olive oil and lemon juice. 

Lamb chops, cheese pie, grilled rissoles, and tzatziki. And all a lot tastier and cheaper than Poros tourist tavernas. 

Definitely K approved. 

After the main course came the sweets. On the house. 

Syrupy orange cake and this dessert called mustolevria.  It's made after the grape harvest with grape juice and is pleasantly refreshing. 

Poros Visit

                                           My english cousins have just spent 5 days getting to know our island and my Greek family.  They've been reading my blog for years and have both visited Greece before but not Poros. Now they have 'hands on' experience  of the tales in my blog posts .

It was a wonderful 5 days of speaking in the english language and seeing Poros through foreign eyes.  K cooked for them a couple of times and introduced them to his traditional dishes.  And he washed the dishes too. Our mechanical dishwasher has finally given up after 15 years. 

Julia and Caroline admiring the scenery up at the Monastery

The peaceful Monastery courtyard.  There was a monk up on the balcony having a quiet coffee and a chat with a friend.  

He had no problem with us .  Caroline and I donned wrap around skirts to hide our 'manly' trousers.  

Men in shorts are not allowed into the church area either.  This is the first time I've ever seen long trousers provided to cover up men's legs.  Quite amusing.  They were big baggy trews with elastic waists.  One size to fit all.

I thought their problem was women's legs

From the Monastery we took a drive all around the two islands.  The smaller island, Sferia, with it's old town and harbour and the bigger island, Kalavria, with the tourist resorts and the pine forests where we live.

Clumps of pink cyclamen have appeared under the pine trees along the sides of the mountain road.  

We drove up past the ruins of the Temple to Poseidon and stopped to admire the view reaching as far as the coast of Athens.

Then on around the old back road, now in need of repair.  It was originally built as a fire road, was tar sealed and is fast turning into a narrow track with dangerous curves and big potholes.  The view out across the bay to the mainland though is quite stunning.  

Fortunately the weather was mainly fine and they had clear blue skies and calm blue seas.

First stop before civilisation was to take a photo of Teacher's Island with its picturesque white church.  Onward past the ruins of the old Russian Naval station, Love Bay and into Neorio.  Neorio is a long-ish bay popular with Athenian visitors, many of whom have houses there.  

We stopped to see Danae and Yianni's family compound. They live down a short driveway with family houses on either side. 

Then on into town, around the harbour and home in time for tea....

K was waiting for us, not in the best of moods. 

There was a power cut while he was cooking and he hadn't been able to cook the sardines.

The stuffed tomatoes were ready though and after a few irrate phone calls the power came on again, just in time to finish off the sardines, baked in a lemon sauce.      Delicious.  That's the best way he has cooked them!

Home with the Master Chef

Julia, K and Caroline

I had my photo taken too!

One of the wonderful presents they brought us

British soap.  This one had the most delightful name.  I could Not put this one the blog.  Plus a huge jar of 'real' (not NZ) marmite and the softest silk scarf I have ever had the pleasure of wearing.

More to come.....