Daily life on a greek island through the eyes of a local-alien, still 'foreign' even after more than 40 years residence. This 'foreigner' is a local-KIWI-alien so there is a New Zealand flavour to my writing. Photo above is the tranquil view from Pukehina Beach, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand.
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
The calm before ...
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Town is quiet but down by the golf courses there is hectic activity.
Flower planters are being set out in front of the marquees, flags are being
run ...
Monday
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Three night shifts this week ( now thankfully split thanks to a lovely
colleague so I can make university tomorrow)
A night out in Liverpool, supper at Mowg...
Bullseye!
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I noticed recently that these two glass windows in our front door had
become a bit grubby, so I gave them a quick clean.
They are known as 'Bullseye' p...
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A stroll around the grounds of the Château de Bouges, about 20 minutes
south of Valençay by car...
These are photos I took in October 2005 with a Ko...
Another Monday
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Between the weather fluctuations and now the spring forward time change I’m
all at sea with my sleep cycle
I didn’t actually fall asleep until the wee sma...
Later
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It has been another good day here. 22C this afternoon.
I didn't go to my brother's because he is meeting midway between East
Anglia and the Midlands...
SIX DAYS TO GO
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*HAPPY 23RD BIRTHDAY TO OUR BONUS DAUGHTER... BRYLEE.*
*We hope you are having an awesome holiday with Dom, and you enjoy your
special day.*
*There's on...
From Field To Plate
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Here's what we had for our tea last night. Not exactly it was a few
nights back to be precise.
What's more important than the missus asking you in the...
The Orchid Show
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The National Orchid Show (named Orchids & More) has been here at Hamilton
this year, so I took the opportunity of visiting it.
Orchids may not be my...
Early Autumn Days
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These first few days of Autumn, a little decorating, a little gardening, a
little relaxing
Nights are drawing in fast, dark before the clock strikes sev...
My perfect fit
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It's been a very busy week for us. Spring is here so more people are
getting out and about. The days are getting longer and the morning are
getting ligh...
Something for Everyone
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A tiny selection of the nooks, alcoves and crannies in a 'collectibles'
shop in Marlborough.
The Cat's Whiskers (The Bees Knees)
(I think, but d...
WE ARE STILL HERE
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and spring is on its way although it doesn't feel like it today. The
N.S.W. Waratah are in flower and Doug took these photos from our kitchen
window. ...
Autumn Colour
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I took these pictures yesterday but am writing the post today. The weather
is the perfect Autumn weather- warm in the day, cooler in the evening.
Trees ...
William Wallis, Horeke
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This is one of the many sad tales belonging to the residents of the
Mangungu Cemetery in Horeke.
William Wallis was born 11th May 1815 in Poplar, London, ...
Untitled
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*I'm afraid that when I really want to write here again, I won't remember
the technique of uploading the posts, so this is an attempt.*
Life around here ...
Books 25 -30
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Abby Kane FBI Thrillers by Ty Hutchinson
Book 1: Corktown
Book 1. The Doctor Is Back.
In the quiet Corktown neighborhood of Detroit, a mutilated body has ...
I am tired.......
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See all that tsoureki? We made the dough, waited awhile for it to rise,
braided it, egg washed it, put sesame seeds on it, baked them, put them on
rac...
I must be getting old
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There is not a lot of stuff on tv here that interests me and Hubby doesn't
watch much at all. One thing we watch most evenings is 'The Chase' but the
adv...
Catching up!
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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 ...
Sunday
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Sarah and Paul are spending another day at the cottage scraping old paint
off the walls and sanding down. I can't really be of much help at this
stage ...
Mincemeat and Quince
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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.