More of Our Summer

 

Good morning

Kalimera

From our neighbourhood

Summer is here.  It has been a bit cooler this week but the Cicadas are trilling merrily away and I enjoy the birdsong at 5am.  Days are long.

It's midsummer next week, the summer solstice,  celebrated on the 24th June here.  There are different traditions in different parts of the country, most pagan.  It was once time to light bonfires at crossroads and burn the MayDay wreath.  Fires are frowned on now at this time of the year.  Our children and grandchildren used to jump the bonfire to bring good luck 

We have our TV outside for evening watching, with a cover to protect it from the searing midday sun. Our Greek MasterChef is coming to an end so it's less boring as we anticipate the winner and we watch Greek Chase and Who Wants to be a Millionaire. I'd be glued to CSI and Bones but...we have different preferences. 

My garden has become a toilet for nieghbourhood cats.  

I keep a bag of rotten lemons to throw at them and hose them when I can.  They hightail it over the fence only to return again a little later.

We used to feed 3 or 4. Then new neighbours moved in and gathered all the wild cats that roamed free. We estimate there are about 14 and lately we've been hearing kitten noises. 

The neighbours have a much larger piece of land but our garden is the main attraction 

Fly swatters. 

 Flies can be annoying when we are eating outside in the evening. My brother Tony suggested I tried these.  They're like fans and generally work well.  From a Chinese online shopping giant for a few euros

My solar fountain.  A present from my dear daughters.  

Just Summer Stuff

How nice of the council to put up umbrellas on the empty stretch of beach just below my daughters house. There are a couple of benches too. Almost a private beach. 

I've told her she should put up a sign

'Bitouni Beach' 

And maybe a 'trespassers will...' 

 

Dear  Piglet

That's the name of his house. He believes his grandfather's name was Trespassers William. 

But of course you all knew that

The yachts are packed in along the quay now

The honey stand and our favourite honey seller. 

She has half a dozen different tasting honeys. It depends where her hives are placed, in amongst the orange blossom, beside a bank of wild thyme or in a field of flowers. She has lip gloss made from honey, a honey salve for cuts and burns and jars of honey comb. 

Our farmers market is getting smaller and smaller. Besides the honey stand there are only another 4

We bought honey with the flavour of thyme, our favourite.  Tomatoes, apricots, zucchini, eggplant and summer greens called vlita.
They had melon and watermelon too but we buy those from a grocer whose supplier brings   melons that are always sweet and juicy. They're sure to be good.  

Watermelons are 45 cents a kilo
Apricots 2 euros
I can't remember the rest. You look, you like, you pay. Or you walk away. 

Evening on Poros

   Photos of a summer evening

Thanks to Luli and others in the family for their photos of the sunset from a Poros Rooftop and the magical pathway of the full moon over the sea.

Au Revoir

 Lovely days with family have come to an end.  First my Australian family and now my New Zealand family.

The kiwis have left, flying South.  Kiwis are flightless birds but this bunch seem to have found some wings.

Till we meet again my dears ...some sunny day

Their last evening coincided with K's birthday.

We gave him a party and a birthday 'cake'.  He got to blow out a candle and after 'happy birthday' in English and Greek young Poppi sang it in Spanish.

The 'cake' was a tub of icecream with 0% sugar.  Great idea Danae.  Everyone could eat it.  And they did

We put up the big banner they brought last year.

'Happy Birthday Kostas'

with a photo of us both

K filled the table with pork and chicken and lamb and lemon potatoes.  And there was plenty more

The last supper

At Sofia's taverna

Piles of grilled chicken 'chops' (small pieces) and naturally a greek salad. 

That sign says

'if you didn't book you're not going to get a table'

It was the fiesta of the Holy Spirit, 40 days after Easter, and the island was FULL.  

We ate early, at 12 , so they didn't have to rush to catch the afternoon Flying Cat (Catamaran).  The greeks eat much later so the taverna was relatively quiet.

I didn't take any photos of them walking up the gang plank.  It was sweltering hot and there were crowds of holiday makers with their suitcases waiting to board.

Poppi went back to Athens with them and guided them through to their train to the airport.  She has another month of studies before the  University closes for the summer

The famous grouse... I mean chicken.  Rainy has been told by her doctor, so she says, to eat plenty of salt.  This is very own salt shaker, polished till it glowed in readiness for her arrival.  Now it's been put back somewhere safe till next time.  Will I remember where?

The gin and rum won't last till their next visit!

My 3 grandaughters

Luli, Poppi and Nels

When We Were Young

 For Family and Friends

My sis in law and brother Tony and Rainy brought with them a small bag of old photos. Many were those I had sent home over the years. Fortunately I had scribbled the names on the back. Some names fade into the ether. 

I got out my bag of old photos too. There were a lot of old black and white photos from our childhood and school years. 

I wish I had shown them to older brother Paul when he was here last month. It's fascinating seeing old faces and hearing what's happened to them. 

Tony and Rainy still live in the area where we all went to school. I have 3 brothers and we all went to Te Puke Primary School and then onto Te Puke High. My sis in law Rainy also grew up in the same area and attended Te Puke High. Another 2 sis-in-laws also grew up in The Bay, went to the same school. The Bay, that's the Bay of Plenty.  Hi Joan and Bev.

The School Anthem..... 

Aim High

In the battle of life 

Aim high

Do not shrink from the strife

When at home or at work

Never falter or shirk

Plus Ultra

Aim high...... 

How on earth did I remember that!  It's been 55 years. 

We had a wonderful time. Reminiscing. Not at school. 

So many have passed on, so many they still know well. We needed brothers Richard and Paul to fill in the gaps. 

Here are some of the photos. 

K and I 

1980 I think. On the terrace of our 6th floor flat in Piraeus

Paul and Karen on the same terrace in 1980

We were both pregnant with our first children, Elli and Stephen

Again, with Paul and Karen

On the island of Naxos

My father and mother with K

Eating stewed snails

On the island of Crete where we lived for 3 years

K and Rainy bbqing in our back yard down in Crete.

Rainy pregnant with Samuel John

We lived in an 80 year old house in the village of Mournies.  When it rained the bathroom leaked badly and there were big cracks in the floor boards.  Amongst other things.  Memories are made of this

Richard and Joan

1990

Island of Salamina 

Eating offal soup after the midnight Orthodox Easter service

The little Greek girls on their first visit to NZ

Pukehina beach 1986

Elli, Tony, Danae

The swinging 70's

Me on the left with 2 girls I flatted with when studying in Wellington

Around 1972

And the surfing 70's

Long haired surfing brothers

Richard and Tony

Boards stacked on their Ford surf wagon

Classic surfing photo. 

Off Island

 A visit to a local oil press and lunch by the sea. 

Tony, Rainy and Nels

Who did we meet on the car ferry? 

Granddaughter Nels. 

Nothing can be done in secret here. 

No need for secrets today though. It was lovely to have Nel's company across the straits. 

Strait or strait-s?  Both sound OK 

Visiting the oil press, off season, to pick up half  litre of Extra virgin very local olive oil for niece Julie. 

Local Poros Extra Virgin Olive Oil will soon be available in NZ thanks to her and husband 'Greg'. 

Thanasi, a friend of K's was only too happy to open up and show us around.  He filled up 2 cans from the huge tanks of oil.  

The day was a scorcher but the oil is kept at a stable temperature, beautiful and cool, in air-conditioned rooms. 

Here are brother and sister.... in-law, with a young man I once knew well. I used to cook his lunch at the Daycare centre on Poros 20 odd years ago. Such a nice guy. He said he didn't remember the cook but he remembered the great meals. Very diplomatic

 This younger generation is taking over the Press.

His father is Mayor of Poros. 

On the island we know everyone. If they're not Family they're friends

 

View of the olive groves down to the sea

Business done we went down to the sea. 

Another familiar face. Vangelis, a member of our extended Greek family. 

Once Chief of the Poros Harbour Police

An excellent lunch at a seaside taverna not yet discovered by tourists. 

We ate in the shade of mulberry trees and enjoyed the cool Sea breeze. 

Seabreeze, good taverna food with local extra virgin oil from another press close by. 

Wine from vines just down the road, fish from the sea a few metres away. 

Jan joined us for lunch and we just relaxed 

Every Day a Holiday

 

Cappuccinos hot and cold

2 tortoises scrabbling up the hot tarmac

Quad bike essential when you sister lives up in the hills. They always wear helmets unlike the locals and stupid tourists who ride too fast and don't know the roads. 

My family are frequent visitors. They know the roads, the beaches, where to eat..... And, most Important, where Not to eat. 

They eat at our place every day outside in the cool of the evening 

It's getting hotter and hotter. 

K' s fish meal. 

Yes, it's head of pig today. 

90% fat. The meat was good. 

Tomorrow the neighbourhood cats will love the leftovers. 

Al fresco

. 

Summertime Blues

Blue skies everyday

Perfect weather for new arrivals from Downunder-land

Walking the plank

Kiwis this time

My little brother and sis in law.

🎵🎶They both came back

Couldn't stay away!🎵🎶

I'm so fortunate that all my family love the island and we have visitors year after year

Greek cook in the kitchen

Concocting traditional Greek delicacies 

Stuffed tomatoes and peppers with an aubergine

 Obligatory Greek salad

And octopus

 Greek food, Greek wine

 A view of Greek olive groves on a warm June evening

The true taste of Greece