Rudi

 A Christmas bazaar 

A lovely time to catch up with some of the expats, rummage through clothes, books and knick-knacks, have a laugh or two and drink mulled wine in the sun

All for the good of this fellow

Dear Rudi needs a supply of medecine which is not cheap

These two make it all happen

Cecile provides the space, whisks up a merry brew and keeps us all jolly and bright

Jan, in that awesome pink hat brings it all together, encourages us to rummage and organises Rudi's daily dosage

Hobnobbing with friends

I found some nice lightweight shirts 

Books and a Xmas coffee mug

Curtains anyone? 

Rudi taking a break

 Isis.. Our Belgian goddess 

Isis gives up her office for the bazaar 

She's Rudi's Mum and looks after him day to day

I had a lovely few hours socialising with people who speak english

Winter

 Most days the sun shines.  Lucky for us. Our hot water is heated by solar panels.  In the summer the water is boiling. In winter there are very few days when it's not hot/warm enough for a shower. 

Empty beaches

Sometimes it rains

But mostly the sun will shine

Winter sun.  Sun 'With teeth' they say here

There are a few winter swimmers but they don't sit around to sunbathe afterwards

One water taxi waiting to cross the strait 

A virtually empty yacht harbour

Blue skies and blue sea

The car ferry coming in from the mainland village of Galatas

No lines of vans and trucks

A few motorbikes and cars and foot passengers like me

Can Pigs Swim

 Pigs Can Swim dammit

There's a huge wild boar problem across on the mainland. They're breaking down fences, destroying olive trees, digging up gardens and threatening the human population.

There are none of these pigs on the island. Yet.

This hog was photographed midway between the mainland and the island 

The longest distance between island and mainland is only 400 metres, the shortest crossing is half of that

We don't want wild boars, hogs or anything of its kind over here

Unfortunately I couldn't find out what happened to this hog. I hope the photographer turned him back

The worst we've got are woozles which eat wires in the cars engine. And darn cats

Festive Stuff

 

Youngest grandchild is 17, oldest 24

I still hang up their 'stockings' They're my grandchildren so of course they're good kids all year round. Right???

 Santa fills their stockings with Chocolates and goodies every Xmas Eve

 

Christmas assembly line

Most of the cakes K bakes are given away . That's the Christmas tradition here

First on the list are the recently bereaved.  It's not done for them to make sweets the first year of mourning

English mince tarts

Most of these are given away too

But I ate quite a few so

I have to make some more

 tomorrow. 

I don't like the Pastry although I've dived into YouTube looking for the best recipe.  Judy in England has given me her traditional recipe. 

I'll let you know how it goes

The filling is homemade by me.  I've eaten a few spoonfuls of that too.

It's very moreish*. 

 

*I looked up that word. It's one my mother used.  The meaning? 

You just want more and more

....... Obviously

Before Xmas

One of the traditions at New Year is to hang a large bulb called a Boska on the front gate. It is wrapped in silver paper and decorated with a red ribbon

They bring good luck. As do pomegranates 

Normally after New Year's I would throw it onto the compost heap. 

But last year my daughter Elli told me they keep theirs all year, still wrapped in silver paper.  It not only lives all year without watering but starts growing again in time for the next New Year

 It has indeed sprouted a green leaf.  I was amazed.  

I rewrapped it and it's good to go for another year. Not quite as leafy as last years

Cheerful, festive red peppers in the garden

My NZ niece Julie is hanging a blue and white Greek eye on her kiwi Christmas tree

Pickled onions ready to go

My thick Christmas folder

With

Traditional NZ/English recipes

Recipes from my childhood

Lists and more lists

Xmas supermarket shopping list

Xmas eve prep list

Food that should be on the Xmas table list

 You don't know how easy it is to forget the Yorkshire puds, garlic bread or even the gravy when there is so much variety. English and greek

Then there are my blog posts from xmases past, printed out for posterity 

It's a very thick folder

Delivery from Vaso's trees

The smell of Christmas

Orange juice and zest goes in almost every Xmas sweet, Greek or foreign

Real Greek

 My traditional Greek has taken over Christmas and Easter baking. 

He bakes authentic festive sweets. Not his mother's or his sister's recipes. He does a deep dive into  Greek cooking sites and follows the recipes to the (Greek) letter . 

It has been many years since I've made these goodies.  I didn't mind at all giving my place in the kitchen to someone else.  Especially when he's a dedicated follower of Greek tradition. 

In years past he supervised the grandchildren as they followed his directions.  Now he's by himself, though I do help a little to clean up.  It is still My kitchen 

Cinnamon, orange and walnut biscuits drenched in honey syrop* 

This year's batch of melomakarouna were delectable. 

The best he's made

They weren't too big, too sweet or too syropy

And I've eaten quite a few dammit

Real Greek men do cook

And they wear an apron

He weighed out every little lump

But didn't follow the recipe

Instead of 30 grams

Every morsel was 40 grams 

And he was right

40 grams makes just the right sized bite

These are kourabiethes

Almond and butter biscuits

Which are sprayed with rose water and covered in icing sugar

*syrop or syrup?? 

Nens Dressings

 I didn't realise just how confusing this sign could be.  It was posted, in days of yore, outside every church and monastery 

A notice like this is still posted at the entrance to our local Monastery. However nowadays it is written in correct English. 

No Admittance into the church to women wearing trousers (men's dresses) 

Here is cousin Caroline at our local Monastery covering her 'men's dress' with a wrap around skirt. 

These long skirts are provided free of charge to those not dressed correctly

One size-fits-all long trousers for the men

Entrance is also forbidden to men wearing shorts

Or

Anyone in a swimsuit

Women with sleeveless tops

Short skirts . They should be below the knee

At the Meteora nunnery we visited earlier in the year with my brother and sis in law we were inspected by a nun as we entered. We were dressed modestly but in trews. Karen donned a wrap-around and I had brought a black slip-on skirt for the visit. 

Apparently it's not just about covering your legs but also keeping the distinction between male and female. 

Good luck with that

However..... 

Local churches are far more relaxed. A few years ago there was an Archbishop who encouraged people to attend church telling them to attend

'as you are. In pants or skirts, tattoos and earrings' 

I nearly always wear 'women's' trousers (slacks, pants or trews). 

The English in menus used to be very badly translated.  Something of great amusement which I miss 

You'd open up a menu to find offerings like 'Grilled lamps'. 

I wish I could remember more. 

Every Greek child learns English at school now and most go on to earn at least one higher certificate. There's no excuse for badly translated signs or menus. 

 

Church Tales

 More 'fascinating' church tales.. 

A tiny white church up the road, dedicated to Greek Saint Nektarios, had its fiesta recently . We went to the early morning service. 

 We sat outside on plastic chairs.  The best place  to see comings and goings and chat with neighbours. I stand up and sit down according to K's nudges.  It's still all Greek to me. 

Cat in charge of the icon

It was an interesting service 

The cat  wandered in and out. 

The priest was from a small village half an hour away, brought in at the last minute.  Quite a character. 

He wandered in and out of the church as well

The first time he came out, leaving the chanter to chant his bit, it started to rain. Then it suddenly stopped and the sun came out 

He turned around to all of us standing outside and said

"This is the weather when foxes get married"

We looked at each other amused.    Very down to earth.  

Next time he came out was with some holy bread, looking for one of the women to cut it and bring it back . Squares of special Holy Bread are given to those who take communion.  He looked at me, and looked away. A foreigner wouldn't know about these things.  

He had a chat with a couple of children and strolled back to work. 

Next time he appeared outside he looked at everyone one by one, we were only a dozen, and told them they had to go in and kiss the bible. Once again he skipped over me. I stick out a mile as a local alien. 

Towards the end of the service two, Greek, women cut big loaves of sweet bread into chunks. It's cut on a table outside after candles have been lit and the loaves have been blessed. The sweet bread represents the 5 loaves which fed the 5,000.  The bread is placed in wicker baskets and we all grab as much as we can. It's delicious!

Some are homemade but nowadays you can order 5 loaves from the Baker if you want to make an offering. 

In days of yore I've made the Holy Bread and the 5 loaves. No more.

This driftwood decor is at a taverna next to the graveyard. We all went here for our demi-tasse cup of Greek coffee traditionally served after a funeral. 

After a funeral, at a nearby cafe or taverna, everyone is offered a small gritty Greek coffee, a dry biscuit and  a glass of brandy or liqueur.  In days of old the coffee was always without sugar, bitter, to fit the circumstances. Nowadays we have a choice, sugarless, medium or sweet. 

We sit around with friends, hear the latest gossip, have a few tots of brandy, even at 10am, line up to offer a few words of sympathy to the family and are on our way. 

Winter Olympics 2026

 November 26

The Olympic flame for the 2026 Winter Olympics was lit at Ancient Olympia, home of the original games. The first games took place here in 776 BC

The ceremony came and went without us noticing.  Our news channels have been too busy with national strikes, farmers stoning police, political scandals, family vendettas and shoot outs. 

The ceremony at Ancient Olympia is to light the Olympic Torch. It's supposed to be lit by the sun but this year they used a back-up flame.  The ceremony was moved inside the Archeological Museum at Olympia because of heavy rain.

 For 9 days the flame was carried through Greece and finally to the marble stadium in Central Athens. There it was handed over to Italy, the 2026 host country. 

 

The flame was formally handed to the Italian Olympic Committee and is now on a 65 day journey through Italy.

The winter Olympics begin on February 6 at Milano-Cortina

These are the 4th Winter Olympics to be hosted by Italy.

All these skiing, snowy events are not high on our viewing programme but they'll help get us through some long winter nights.

We'll be on the lookout for NZ, Australian, Greek and even English athletes. 

Sunshine

 As I predicted. We woke up to sunshine. A bit cold but it's still early.

I've put a load of washing on. Later we will go out and get  a few supplies. 

Bread and wine

It's Saint Nikolas fiesta day. 

Happy name day to my niece Niki. 

Saint Nik is patron saint of the Navy and all those who sail the seven seas. 

Are there only 7?

There's a big church service at the Navy Base here. K should have attended but we were just a little late this morning. 

Farmers further north are still revving their tractors.

On the island it is a beautiful day .  Blue skies , warm sunshine.  Calm seas. No yachts tied up.  No cafeterias bursting with noisy gatherings. Empty shops and roads.  There is peace in the air. 

The valley near us called Fousa. Full of grapevines, olive trees and sheep.

Today nearly all the water has disappeared.  The land just soaked it all up

The fisherman's harbour

A bougainvillea still in glorious colour

Ks little blue and white boat

Byron.. Not the Poet

 Dismal

Bleak

All good words to describe today's conditions.....

Darkness.....    Byron 

The bright sun was extinguish'd, and the stars

Did wander darling in the eternal space

Rayless, and pathless, and the icy earth...

Byron is revered in Greece 

He's a hero who gave his life for Greek Independence 

And now he's a bluster and a blitzkreig

The storm has brought flooding all over the country. My grandson Jamie sent us a video of the street where he lives in Athens. It turned into a fast flowing river taking everything with it.  Thankfully he lives on the 2nd floor.  No school for him for a couple of days. 

I bet by the time you read this the sun will be shining again. 

We have over 300 days of sunshine a year. So they say. 

What to do

Decorate

 We have 5 boats which light up.   

6 o'clock sharp our house  turns into a Greek Xmas  wonderland

Lots of lights on the tree too

NZ Keruru 

Native Pigeon

Our NZ Christmas cloth

Thanks Jules

Meanwhile, back in the hinterland Thousands of tractors have cut off main roads and all the northern border crossings

Farmers are waiting for EU reparation for damages from flooding, fires and livestock culling because of sheep and goat pox

In our house 

No flooding 

No culling

Just a little bit of imbibing

Kronia Polla

Kala Christoyenna