NZ Artiste

 Traditional maori weaving.

This summer my brother and sis-in-law brought some of our favourite kiwi treats and necklaces made with seaglass and shells. The spirit of home.   

 They also brought with them these beautiful woven bags

They are woven by Bay of Plenty weaver Rawina Gray.  She has been weaving for the past 20 years, taught by her grandmother

A kete

I love these woven bags but sadly never knew the Maori name for them

Thanks to Rawinia's story I now know their correct name and history

'They are woven from natural NZ fibres, leaves of flax, harakeke, pingao from the sand dunes and kiekie, a plant from the bush' 

Aren't the colours stunning!

This bag has been created using a special flax dye

and has been 'hijacked' by my granddaughters who are sharing it between them.  

Rawinia writes

'To me these kete represent the land, the sea and the air.  Flax is abundant here (in New Zealand), feathers representing wildlife (our Maori cloaks are adorned with feathers) and the paua shell*, a seafood found in the waters of Tauranga/Te Puke area in the beautiful country we live in,  The handle of the kete is fibre extracted from the flax leaf, called muka.'

*paua  - abalone

A kete I have since my days at Te Puke High School

The mother of my best friend Gwen was Maori.  A lovely lady.  She made the most delicious fried bread, Paraoa Parai, and she wove this bag for me.  It's over 60 years old now and has followed me around the world.  The bag has begun to fray and I need to find a way to preserve it for another 60 years.  Maybe put it in a glass case

Thanks kiddos and thanks Rawinia.  These kete are now cherished by kiwis living on a Greek island.

All in A week

This week and a bit of last week

One morning we were startled by 3 gunshots very close at hand.  All morning there had been sounds of a goat bleating so we knew what had happened.  A goat had encroached on our neighbour's land and paid with its life for the invasion of private property.  

This guy has warned us that he'd shoot at anything that entered his territory.  Unfortunately there's no way of warning the goats.  The property is fenced in but they just butt it down.

He's been brought up on the land so the goat was hung up, skinned and butchered and left to 'ripen'.  That's country life.  Illegal, but who's going to know.  The goats are wild and fairplay.

We were given a leg of goat a few days later.  I hope it's not tough and smelly.  It was a big billy goat so probably needs a bit of boiling.

The closest fire this year.  

Away on the mainland, very near one of the villages and across the road from the house of a family friend.  Fortunately it was put out in good time and the wind carried the smoke away from the village.

The last of our monthly meetings with grandchildren, and their Mums at the Navy beach.  The canteen/taverna closes down in a few days.

Papous has been very happy this summer to be able to gather all the kids together.  It hasn't been easy.  They are all either working or doing summer school.

They'll all be here till the end of September.  Then summer jobs finish, universities open and there is work to be found in the big city.  

Kiwi friends sailed in on a yacht for a few days of Poros life.

That looked like a stable concrete quay.  It wasn't!  A passing hydrofoil caused enough waves to move the whole darn structure.  I thought I was having a dizzy attack and scuttled for terra firma after the photo.

And just look what they had in their suitcases.

A kilo of the best NZ peanut butter and real NZ marmite made by the Sanitarium Company since 1919.  And that wasn't all

I had just finished a jar of vegemite .  It was the first time I could tell the difference in taste.  There is a huge difference.   I was loving the vegemite but after a few days I was firmly back on the Marmite wagon.

Thank you so much Jenny, Roger and Lynley.  

Jenny for knowing what we need (also Raro drink powder and a New World shopping bag!)

Lynley and Roger for hauling it all across to the other side of the world.

These two are seasoned sailors.  They hoist the sails and, hopefully,  run before the wind .

Blue skies and fair winds to you and your crew as you sail around the Greek isles, on your annual Greek Odyssey. 

Life on a small greek island was not just coffee drinking and people watching this week

Wild Life

 

The insect invasion this year is from these jumpy things

They come in various sizes and colours

One of them landed on my back the other day, a long legged grasshopper, and it was so big I felt that someone had clapped me on my back

On the other hand there are very few wasps, flies and mosquitoes

Cicadas are still in full chorus but are no longer deafening

These last few days the weather has cooled down.  No need for fans and aircon.  The cicadas can feel autumn in the air

The ants are on a feeding frenzy.  Not a even a shadow of a crumb is left un-gathered.  I thought a dish left in the oven would be safe from them. No, they got in there in their hundreds.  I left a chicken out on the bench to defrost, in a big bowl.  They'll even eat it frozen. The bowl has to be full of water but even then a few hundred will sacrifice themselves trying to swim across to the chicken.

We were given a jar of NZ peanut butter.  Lovely stuff, made from real peanuts and nothing else.  I opened it and screwed the lid on again, tightly.  No problem at all for the ants.  They got in through a tightly closed lid.  That went into the fridge, as did absolutely everything else in the food range, from the sugar jar to bread, biscuits and a container of rice.

So why are the ants gathering supplies in such a frenzied manner.  Does this mean a long hard winter?  They know something that we don't.  

Our first wood supply is coming mid-September although hopefully we won't need to light a fire till November.

The cats are having their own feeding frenzy.  Lately they've been invading the compost pile.  They chew on watermelon rind, tomato skins and rotten grapes.  They are fed by our new neighbours everyday so they're not starving.  

Summer Lunching

 

Our cruise destination

A quiet rather old time taverna

Local Aliens
Linda and Jan 
The only time we seem to get together over the summer is for a meal out.  Jan's days are occupied looking after strays and her own menagerie and I spend most of my day taking care of my own 'stray'.  Add heatwaves and my summer sluggishness and so the days pass in a daze.

Time out for a simple meal, a glass of wine and a catch-up on gossip is essential.

Jan 

and K

looking happy before the barrage of English language

We do try to keep him in the loop with a bit of Greek and a translation here and there

The boys

K and K

Captain Kyriakos our charming s-in-law and cruise director

In the shade of the cypress trees

The beach below is a narrow piece of sand where locals can swim in peace away from the throngs of small children and noisy parents at the main Aliki beach, 50 metres west

Most of the usual clientele sit along the back wall.  They can check out the action from there, watch who comes and goes with whom

Wine is drunk from these very traditional glasses.  We got a half kilo jug of the local white.

 Note - wine, and other liquids, are sold by the kilo and not by the litre. But they're more or less the same. 

These traditional taverna chairs are still in use in most tavernas. I remember them from 50 years ago. They're the most uncomfortable chair imaginable. They dig into your legs and numb your bottom. 

We all think they're still in favour at most tavernas so you don't spend all day there. An hour sitting on one of these and you need to move on. 

The loos are down the alleyway. Perfectly acceptable. The doors lock and they are clean.

Traditional taverna meals. Not a large menu. You ask the young girl what's available today.  Whatever is fresh and local. No frills. 

Most of the menu is fried. 

Piles of potatoes which we managed to plough through, little fried fish served without the head. The rest of the fish is eaten in one chomp, backbone and all. At least there are no eyes looking at you. 

A big Greek salad with lots of feta, olives and good olive oil. 

Cold watermelon to finish off. 

On the house 

Our own traditional Greek

Socrates 

the only water taxi I will travel on

Kyriakos holds the boat steady and with one hand helps me over the big step. 

Disembarking at the other end was a bit more difficult. It was a long way down from the doorway to the quay.  I managed it.  Dragging my leg over the ledge in a most ungainly fashion 

I won't be sailing on any little boats again... until next year

 

Socrates on the Sea

 Socrates, ancient Greek Philosopher, Teacher and Scholar

Poros water taxi

Son-in-law Kyriakos 

 Captain of the taxi boat

Socrates

Socrates

Greek blue and white

Ship shape and Bristol fashion

This month he is doing the Aliki route

A trip  down the harbour and across to the mainland beaches of Plaka and Aliki

Pulling out from the harbour

Passing the red 'submarine'

the Church of the Holy Cross

and

the old slaughterhouse

Onwards into open sea

First stop Plaka Beach

Crowded today 

A dip in the sea is the perfect way to cool off

Beside the beach is a typical greek seaside taverna

Traditional Greek summer dishes, jugs of wine, cold Greek beer and good prices

The first rocky outcrop around which Kyriakos manoeuvres safely with years of practice

Past the small island of Bourtzi

with the remains of ancient fortifications 

The first fort is believed to be Byzantium built in the 7th century

Rebuilt by the Venetians in 1687

The remains you see today were built in 1826

During WW11 it was used as an ammunition depot by both the Greeks and the Germans

Within swimming distance of Aliki beach

And here is Aliki (aliki is the greek name for a salt marsh)

The beach has hardly changed since I brought my daughters here 40 years ago.  Umbrellas and sunbeds are  rented out now, cheek to jowl. 

Back then we brought our own umbrella and a towel to spread on the sand.

The beach is ideal for families with small children.  It's sand all the way and the water is very shallow.  You need to wade out quite a way before the water gets deep.

There is a taverna at one end

And another taverna on the other side

Fotini's taverna where we were headed

More of that tomorrow

Time

Greek time.....  I've just read somewhere on the web

'Greek time is just english time but delayed by an hour'. 

We have found, to Kosta's huge annoyance, this is the norm.   He keeps 'english' time and gets very annoyed if he's kept waiting, whether it be be 5 minutes, an hour or a week.  We have walked away on occasions when one of his friends or acquaintances has failed to show up on time.

Woe betide tradesmen who are late.  Although anyone dealing with him knows by now that either you come, at least on the day you said you would, or you ignore his phone calls and go into hiding.  

We all have our own rhythm.  Some live a more relaxed life and having to be punctual just causes extra stress.

This 'maniana' philosophy however causes everyone else a lot of stress, especially if you urgently need a plumber or an electrician. 

  Some people are always unreliable.  They just can't help it.  They don't even realise they're late and causing exasperation in others.  When they eventually turn up all is rosy and they'll have every excuse under the sun, if pushed to account for themselves.

Every year around this time we're invited to celebrate with extended family and every year we arrive at the appointed time and every year, including this one, we wait and wait, drinking water and dragging on a cigarette till someone else arrives.

We know the scenario but we hope, against hope, that maybe this year things will be different.

They weren't.  They were worse.  We sat by ourselves, watching every passing car, eyeing every pedestrian and expecting a miracle.

The table was set.  We weren't in the wrong place and I hadn't got the time wrong (hallelujah.  I would have been in deep s***)

Almost an hour later everyone started turning up in dribs and drabs. 

We finally ordered, got the food and left an hour later to catch the last car ferry back to Poros.  

Lovely food, loving family but not at all a relaxed rendevous for us.

Watching the sun go down

As usual we said nothing.  No complaints.  They were nice enough to invite us and feed us.  But next year I'm going to catch some nasty lurgy and pass it on to K.   

Why don't we say anything?  They're family.  It's our own damn fault for always turning up on time.

And the next day I got a phone call to say how wonderful it was to see us and thank you so much for the freshly made sticky cakes and liqueur I brought as a gift.

It was all very genuine joy that we could be together, even if it was for a short time.

As the say here

Tin na kanoume

What can we do

 and 

shrug the shoulders.

But

next year........ 

15 th August

The festival of the Virgin Mary

Panagia is the greek name for the Virgin Mary

The most important Greek festival.  Athens empties as everyone returns to their villages or islands or goes on holiday.  This year it's on a Friday so it's a long weekend, and a Public Holiday. 

Poros is overflowing with cars, bikes and people.  Roads are almost impassable with cars parked on either side and anywhere that a car can possibly fit.   Even the tiniest space will have a car squeezed in to it, under trees, in front of fire hydrants, rubbish bins and even the car ferry ramp, when it's not in use.

We went down to the harbour at 8am when the supermarket opened.  Boxes were piled high outside, crates upon crates of fruit and vege.  All waiting to be put away inside.  The staff couldn't fill the shelves fast enough.  

We got what we wanted and got out.

Up in the hills there was peace and quiet

There's a road block and only residents like us are allowed in

The pine forests are tinder dry

As you've no doubt read there are horrendous fires raging in different parts of Greece, all fanned by high winds.

15th..morning news

The fires are slowly coming under control. 

 

Celebratory meal in our house

Lamb and potatoes

Overnight in the slowcooker

With garlic, thyme, oregano, bay leaves, wine and bone broth

Today is an important name day For those named Mary, Maria, Panayiota (female) Panagiotis (male) 

And any other name related to the Virgin Mary. There are many. 

We will be celebrating with the extended family tomorrow. 

Today is Friday and although it's an important feast day Friday is a day of fasting. So although we will be eating our lamb today many in the family will not be eating meat or animal products. 

Some in the family have been fasting for the last 14 days. Again, not us. 

Tomorrow we will all be dining together, eating lamb chops and pork souvlaki