Tuesday 16 January 2018

In Winter Mode

What does one do on a greek island when the temperatures have gone right down to only 15o, when olives have been picked and you're full of coffee.  Be patient, carnival is just around the corner.   28th January is the start of the carnival, called apokries here.  It runs for three weeks and is really early this year because  Greek easter Sunday falls on April 8, almost a month earlier than last year.  




Watching movies is now something we do reguarly when we are bored with Masterchief gr no2, Money Drop, old episodes of Jamie and Nigella or long boring greek made programmes about Greece. 

 The english, americans and french make greek history come alive, or at least interesting with sharp historians and brilliant high tech reconstruction.  The greeks on the other hand turn their history into long, boring hours of dry documentaries often with very little dialogue and far away shots of heaven-knows-what, and get awards for it. 

Back to the movies.  K naturally wants action whereas I want comedy and light entertainment,  We rarely agree on a film and have taken to watching old Bud Spencer, Terrence Hill movies.  They pass the time and are preferable to Bruce Willis or Clint Eastwood in some predictable 80's drama.





We also play a greek version of Trivial Pursuit.  There are only a couple of hundred questions and after a few games it is a question of who has the best memory and can recall the answers.  Our authentic Trivial is in greek and must be about 40 years old.  A lot of the questions are ancient.  Which film won the most Oscars in 1976?  A Clint Eastwood probably.

Our days are taken up with cooking, hauling wood and finding ways to pass the time.  I write blog posts, read blog posts, read books, knit and generally enjoy myself in a number of pleasureable pastimes.  Traditional greeks need company and verbal stimulation and spend long hours on the phone trying to arrange just that or annoying their family with improbable scenarios involving whole roast pigs or trips to far off rustic eating establishments.

Fortunately for mental stability there is a regular mid week male gathering  with long hours of discussion and wine tasting.  Then there are the weekly soccer matches between Olympiakos and some loser team.  

We buy fresh fish from the fishing boats, when weather permits them to go out and fish.  Fresh fish are much cheaper at this time of the year when most of the tavernas are closed and there is not a big demand for the catch.  We buy a kilo of fish for around 5  euros.  A big bag of greens costs around 4 euros and we have a couple of cheap meals which will make any greek happy.




We eat a lot of lentils, dried beans and chickpeas as well.  Classic greek brown lentil soup (fakes), bean soup with carrots and celery (fassolatha) or boiled chickpeas (revithia) with lemon juice are on the menu a couple of times a week. 



  I have to remember to add some baking soda to the chickpeas when I put them to soak overnight or they can end up like bullets (so I'm told).  Chickpeas should be soft and almost mushy if cooked properly.

In the evenings now as the sun goes down we can hear shotguns going off.  Hunting is forbidden on the island but that doesn't stop them.  When we first came to live up here 9 years ago the fields around us were full of pheasant and partridge.  We would see them on the road, or admire their beauty as they took off into the sky.  They all seem to have disappeared.  Hunters at dusk are often aiming at small birds hardly bigger than a sparrow.  By the time they've been de-feathered there is not much left but a few bones.  

I enjoy these long winter days.  As long as our wood burner is sending out heat I am happy.   

















17 comments:

  1. Blogger doesn't have a like button so I'm telling you I like it in person. How cold wet and miserable does it get?

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    1. Not too bad actually. I shouldn't complain. We usually get two or three cold wet days and then the sun comes out and while it is still cold you can sit in the sun as long as youre warmly dressed. A bit like australia . Perth maybe

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  2. Terance Hill did not act for a long time after he'd lost a son in a car accident.
    Since 2000 he is in an Italian tv series called Don Matteo, where be plays the part of a parish priest who helps the carabinieri solve crimes. A complete different role to the spaghetti western.
    I enjoy your posts!
    Greetings Maria x

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    1. The originals of those films were in Italian. I presumed both Terrence Hill and Bud Spencer were Italian. Bud Spencer died not long ago I think. There was a big news item on him on greek tv. The greeks loved those movies and so did I back about 30 years ago.

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    2. Meant to say that the films we watched were dubbed from Italian to English with greek subtitles. I bet they are popular all over the world! Those two acted so well together

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    3. Yes both are Italian. Bud Spencer was born in Naples and was a champion swimmer before his acting career. I think he passed away in 2016. Terence Hill was born in Venice, a Veneto like me.
      x

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    4. Iwould like to see Terrence Hill in the tv series. I will look him up on google. Thank you Maria for all this information

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  3. It sounds wonderfully cosy. Winter doesn't last forever and we'll soon be posting about the early signs of Spring. I'm just reading an old recipe book about a cook who had to skin 40 rooks ready for a pie, I won't be making that, but my thoughts are turning to chickpeas and lemon. Stay warm.

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    1. Skinning anything would be horrid horrid horrid! And those poor rooks, there wouldn't be much left of them either with feathers removed.
      Spring flowers have already appeared. At least it will be 5 more months till the heat hits us. I love these months ... as long as I'm warm

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  4. I actually really like winter - it's the perfect time to hibernate. My other half is alot like yours, he likes the typical action moves that men like.

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    1. I definitely prefer chick flics. Love that NZ expression. Describes them perfectly.
      Glad you're another winter lover. I much prefer the cold to the hot. Only in NZ it seems to rain so much ... in the winter

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  5. I prefer the winter. I love having the fire going. It’s toasty warm and the slow cooker is on a hot beverage and either the iPad or a book is perfect
    My hubby loves watching shows about cars, or cars, or even cars!
    Me. Not so much lol

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    1. Cars come second here, after football. Both are boring!! Thank goodness for computers and books! We have a slow cooker but hardly use it. A beverage? Sounds interesting

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  6. I cheat, and buy my Chickpeas in cans!

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    1. We dont have that option though I know you can buy tinned ones in athens. Don't think I'll be allowed to buy them but I would if it was up to me. Quicker and softer. No hassle!!

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  7. Your Greek winter days sound similar to ours here in Spain. Nothing much happening outside the home, and most of the restaurants along the seafront are closed. However being a popular summer destination, and with lots of expats living here year round, we do still have a good selection of fruit, veg, fish and meat to choose from in the supermarkets. It doesn't seem to vary very much from season to season. This year, in an effort to keep the town "alive" through the winter months, three new camper van parks have opened up, and now those are full, the roads around the beach are nose to tail with vans of every size !
    The weather at the moment is perfect - lovely and warm on the dog walk this morning, no need for a coat. But I'm so glad of the central heating and fire, once the sun goes behind the hills opposite !

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    1. Sounds just like our winter except for the camper vans. No where to park them here.
      Only a couple of tavernas are open during the winter but no-one wants to go ut much at night anyway. We are waiting for those lovely sunny days. We're in the middle of a cold snap right now. It will be coffee on the waterfront as soon as it the temps go up a few degrees!

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