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
Bittersweet Paris
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Not as good as the *London *ceremony , The *Paris Ceremony *shone brightly
in spurts.
The galloping horse up the Seine was inspired, and literally took you...
SATURDAY....
-
*Stew is still snoring, enjoying his weekend sleep in. I'm just lying
here, thinking how I don't wanna get up, cos it's cold**.*
*I have no intention...
Drive thru
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On Tuesday the girls and I tried a new cafe just outside of town (photos to
come) and on the way home we stopped at the local KFC to get her husband
s...
Organic Lettuces For My Rabbits And A Slug Pub.
-
The raised bed is an old mini digger track that I repurposed.
I bought the organic lettuce plants specifically for my rabbits to eat.
They are organic ...
More chocolate.
-
We meet the German family. This morning the mother and the youngest are out
gathering wildflowers in the hedgerows. They already have a trug full.
The...
Nature on a Wall
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Hoardings around building sites are usually a 'canvas' for graffiti.
This one on London's Rennie Street (SE1) is a vertical verge - verge being
the word ...
Mennetou-sur-Cher: hemmed in or opened up?
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Mennetou-sur-Cher, pop. approx. 900), is located not only on the Cher river
but also on the Canal de Berry. The canal no longer carries commercial
traffic,...
Salt Lamp Warning
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A thick blanket of fog covered everything as we headed for the supermarket
this morning (I was a passenger).
On the way, we called in at The Herbal Shop &...
Summer Bedroom
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I have now moved my sleeping arrangements from the house to 'The Tower' as
I do most summers. It's a very friendly little building, with a large
sliding...
A New Arrival, the Village Show, and Winston
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Young Master William came into this world just one week ago. His journey
was a traumatic one, but mother and son are both doing really well and are
now...
Mushrooms
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Mosaic crochet is coming along slowly
The fibro fog is particularly bad right now. There is lots of counting and
I’m so bad I forget the number as soo...
CORNED BEEF
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After deciding to go with the butcher's recommendation for slow roasting
the corned beef I googled recipes to check on timing for my joint and found
a reci...
2 years old!!!
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My goodness, where did the time go! A birthday trip to the zoo with mom, dad,
grandma and some of their friends with little ones! Nana and grandad didn't...
The half-full glass
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I decided to choose the half full glass. All those good people who wrote
to me and cared, I will choose them.
I started writing this blog because I want...
Tuesday, July 9, 2024
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It was a lovely hot day. I went to a big farmers market with a friend and
bought a giant cauliflower, some raspberries, Ontario grown peaches (
surprisi...
The Beacons
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The Beacons are a prominent landmark near the foreshore between Napier and
Bay View. They were erected in what was then part of the Inner Harbour in ...
Japandi Bedroom Makeover
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*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...
Box factory fire in Kohukohu
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On 2nd April 1937 a serious fire occurred in Hokianga's Kohukohu. It is not
known how the fire started but it originated in the factory that makes
woode...
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 ...