Red Alert

 

*The time has come the Walrus said

To talk of many things

Of ships and shoes and sealing wax

And eating gingerbread

It's gingery and peppery . The best gingerbread house I've eaten.  K loves it too so thank goodness I don't have to eat it all by myself

Today is the perfect day for eating gingerbread and drinking mushroom coffee. For a start...... 

Last night we all got a Red Alert on our phones.  Extreme weather was on its way. Has arrived.  

We are now being battered by strong winds and rain. Schools are closed today.  I know, once upon a time we'd be battling through the storm barefoot to get to school. Times have changed.  But I must admit that we are seeing pictures on the news of schools with flying tiles and the front yard of the Primary School here floods in weather like this.  

I was going to open the Beaujolais. Vintage 2024

But today I need something to warm the cockles of my heart

I decanted a 'vintage' red, from a 5 litre jar to a smaller bottle and into my special wine glass, a present from a special friend.

The red wine was given to me by my son in law Yiannis . Yiannis gets his wine from a small village a few hours away where family grapevines produce excellent wine. It's a 'bold' tipple.  One glass and I'm glowing 

Meanwhile down under in the Bay of Plenty, NZ, they've also had a Civil Defence warning

Our family man digging a trench to divert flood waters away from their house 

The only difference are the temperatures.  It's probably in the 20s there while it's 7oC here.  

*I hadn't realised how many verses there were to this piece of poetry .

The Walrus and the Carpenter

By Lewis Carroll 

Worth the Google and the read

Ukrainian Freeze

 Ukrainian freeze refers to the polar weather  we are experiencing at the moment

The cold  snap comes down from the Ukraine, with temperature drops up to 10oC, gale force northerlies and snow on the peaks around us. 

I lit the fire at 11 this morning and brought in armfuls of olive wood.  It burns fast and I can see the huge wood pile going down, down. 

A big pot of traditional bean soup, fassolatha, went on the stove early in the morning.  This is Greece's National dish. Not moussaka. 

It would have been even better with a few pieces of sausage but I've eaten them all.  K approved of it as-is so all is well. We have some feta cheese and a tin of sardines to go with it.  Salted sardines are more traditional but he'll take what he gets today. 

Yesterday I was supposed to attend a memorial to commemorate the passing, one year ago, of an elderly aunt but it was just too darned cold. 

I would have had to drive down icy mountain roads to the harbour, huddle up against the glacial winds, take the car ferry across to Galatas and be blown along the waterfront to the church. My fingers would have turned white, my nose would have been running and I'd have been completely frozen when I finally entered the church.  Not to mention being vulnerable to all those seasonal bugs from the close company of a church full of coughing worshippers. 

So naturally I stayed at home. 

I did miss out on roast lamb and potatoes though.  The family had put in a large oven tray of meat before they left for church and they are renown for their excellent traditional Greek cooking.  Aunt Eleni, RIP, used to be head cook.   Her fried cheese bread was irresistible.  Thankfully she passed on her recipes, knowledge and love of cooking to others in the family. 

Daughter Danae has just added something which is worth noting.  Danae makes Tiganopsomo, fried cheese bread, and so do I sometimes.  I have even watched Eleni kneading and frying them but they just aren't quite as good as Eleni's .  Tasty, crunchy but her touch is missing .

She was a master chef and we were fortunate to have had her in our lives.  Eleni was the Aunt of our son in law Kyriakos and became part of our extended family only in the past 20 years

Poppi got another award yesterday

Her Aunt Elli picked it up for her. Poppi is at school in Athens

The Poros Rowing Club held their New Years cake cutting and Award Ceremony 

I'm not sure what the award was for exactly

She helps coach the younger ones when she's on the island too

Our house in the foreground amidst the olive trees

Under winter skies 

And underneath those abandoned houses on top of the hill

Winter Roads

 Walking in the wild.  

I walked slowly today but went further than I usually go.  The sky was blue, there was no cold wind, no traffic or people and I had no time limit. No one waiting at home, wondering why I was taking so long, worrying that something had happened. Nice to have someone back home, yes, but not the restriction. 

I had my favourite country and western music to listen to. And my tablet to take some photos on a wider scale.  The vistas aren't overly inspiring.  Roads and fields, green grass now instead of brown.  Scenery I've photoed over and over.   This is my turf. This is my life. 

The home run.  It's a steep hill as soon as I go out the front gate. 

5 years ago when I started my daily walks up here it took me 5 minutes with 5 stops to reach the top. Now I can do it easily in one minute

I've lost a lot of kilos in those 5 years and I'm a lot fitter

Coming back it's an easy downhill final 'run' 

After a kilometre the sea is on the horizon

The sea, the mainland and the extinct volcano above the village of Methana

A detour along the dirt road leading down to the fish farm

I count the power poles and try and go one further everytime I come along here

Or I continue down the tarsealed fire road round the back of the island

I usually go as far as the small chapel dedicated to St Antoni.  About 2 ks

And it just happens to be 17th January today and the Fiesta of St Antoni.  Happy name day to brother Tony

It would have been decked out in flags today for a festive morning service. 

Looking down over the fertile plateau of Fousa

The water doesn't drain easily from this flat area with its olive trees and vineyards.  In days of yore when there was a greater rainfall the grapevines were trimmed in January from a rowboat.  So they say

The abandoned houses on the hill, slowly falling in on themselves . Built without the correct permits.  Building was ordered to stop over 20 years ago. What a waste.  

Next door neighbour Hera. She follows me quite a long way, on the other side of a high fence. 

She's a malinois, dogs known for their ferocity. 

We get on OK. She gives a bark when she sees me. I speak to her softly and she stops and listens.  I am glad though to have that fence between us

A promise of spring

Extra.... Cold

The first snow fell on the tops of the mountains opposite Poros 

A quick cold snap is passing through.  By Wednesday it will all be over

Those clouds are dumping snow

So exciting for us

It doesn't happen every year

The view from Elli's balcony

I remember when we used to live there. Those snow clouds will leave a good covering

The olive groves at the top of those hills.  The olive trees like a bit of snow. The crop should be a good one this year

What to do when it's freezing outside? 

K cooked broad beans

And I made garlic sauce which always accompanies broad beans

The sauce is made from bread soaked in water, vinegar and plenty of garlic and olive oil

K eats it spread on bread

And he stinks of garlic for days

I made it good and strong

And while that was going on I kneaded a small loaf of bread too

Warm and cozy

All day long

With plenty of olive and oak wood 

Busy-ness

 

A load of olive prunings from the olive grove of a good friend of ours 

A thousand thanks for a load of cheap firewood 

He dumped the load and we paid a couple of young workers to come along with a chainsaw, cut it all up and throw it into our front yard

Hardly more than an hour and they'd cut it, thrown it all over the fence, stacked and covered it.  

They got a tot of raki  before driving off

A job well done

Christmas is officially done and dusted

Grandson Jamie came, taped up the boxes and stacked them on top of our big wardrobe

All the boxes used to go into our store cupboard above the bathroom.  Now the Grandchildren have flown it's just too hard for us to retrieve stuff so it's stored in plan sight 

At least we can reach things when we want it

 

Jamie is another tall grandchild and didn't need to climb our IKEA  steps to arrange all the boxes . Thank you Jamie for helping out your Nana and Papou...... Now that Poppi has gone 

Jamie has now also left for Athens before another storm came in

 

When K and I want something we wobble on a stepladder and hope nothing falls on top of us

 

Gingerbread Men

 Baking gingerbread men has become an annual tradition. Not for me. I just eat them....

Gingerbread is not a Greek Christmas tradition.  There are plenty of other syrupy, sugar covered sweets

 A few years ago powdered ginger was very hard to find and it was expensive. Greeks bakers use more cinnamon and cloves and two other spices mahlepi and mastiha. 

Most supermarkets do stock ginger now and even our little grocer has it, powdered or fresh. 

Of course when I googled I was not surprised to read 

'Recipes for Gingerbread originated from  Greece in 2,400 BC' 

My daughter Elli and the girls from her office have a gingerbread baking day just before Christmas 

Maria and Katerina make an amazing array of gingerbread

This is my little house 

If its anything like last year's it's going to be delicious 

Sometime I'm going to have to break it up and eat it

I'm not looking forward to that at all.   Last year's gingerbread house was delectable and I ate most of it by myself

Once it's broken up I'm going to be gobbling it down

Saint John

 

Saint John....Agios Yiannis in greek

There are so many different St Johns. Not all are celebrated today

St John of the Fleas 

Of the Fires 

Golden Mouth 

The Baptist 

Theologian and Apostle 

7th January is the big one. 

Today is my son in law's name day

It was warm enough for a BBQ

Yiannis looking after his m in law

Opening the Prosecco

Galaktobouriko, sweet semolina pie.  Really delicious and even better when served on a NZ Tui plate.

Thanks Julie

Thanks Yianni and Danae for a lovely day

There was music, there was talk but  it wasn't just a loud babble. I enjoyed being able to take part in the conversations today

There is a saying here

'A house without a John (Yianni) is not a home' 

Down in Australia my niece Gemma was celebrating her birthday today.

Many happy returns Gemma

So many of our family  anniversaries fall on the same day.  

It's not a coincidence.  Close families celebrate together

Last of the Seasons Festivities

6th January

Today is Epiphany, a national holiday. The island people head to the waterfront for a church ceremony, winter swimmers and drinks with friends

Last year the Blessing of the Waters was conducted from a fishing boat. 

It looks a bit top heavy with all the island's Priests, incense swingers, Mayor, Councillors and hangers-on

This year they brought in the big guns, the largest car ferry

Everyone of importance piled on board and the ceremony took place on the ferry, without it even moving out to sea

The cross was thrown overboard from the side of the ferry. You can just see it, attached to a long blue ribbon. 

This day the Orthodox church celebrates the baptism of Christ in the river Jordan. 

Crosses are thrown into the sea, rivers, reservoirs or lakes all over the country. 

After the blessing 3 white doves are released, symbolising the Holy Trinity. 

The cross is thrown twice, reeled in and the 3rd time......... 

 

A bunch of hardy swimmers dive into the freezing harbour.  The one who reaches it first lifts it high and is blessed for the year ahead

This year there were 12 who dove in,  boys and a girl

Then we all head off for 

The traditional 'aftermath' 

Ouzo, wine or raki with friends. 

 

The cafe where we gather is known for its good prices and more traditional mezes (small platters of food).  Local Greeks and aliens prefer it here where the wine is served in jugs and the raki and ouzo is by the glass 

There were no free tables outside so we sat inside. Smoking is not frowned on. Fortunately the doors and windows were open today. 

The crowd inside and the waiter are all old friends. There was a lot of shouting across the cafe, loud music and the booming laugh of our table companion. 

A bit too much for me.  

The noise in the cafe

Went round and round

Round and round

All day long

It was difficult following any of the conversations so I watched the activities outside, took a few photos and sent a post to Instagram. 

It was enjoyable simply to be in the company of daughter Elli, my son in law Kyriakos and to see K happy in this social atmosphere. 

7th January

St John or in greek Agio Yianni

St John is a huge name day.

Half the male population is named Yianni (John) 

The female version is Yianna or Yoanna

Happy name day to

Son in law Yianni

Friend Jan

Sister in law Joan

The Christmas tree comes down. The only decoration remaining 

Schools go back on the 8th

Winter routine begins again

Traditions 2026

2026

Honestly, as I write that date it seems to me as though it's something out of science fiction. I'm actually living in the year 2026. 

New Year Traditions  

New Years loaf with a coin

The first slice is cut for the Madonna

The second for the house and fields, olive trees, grape vines

Then a slice is cut for everyone in the family from the oldest to the youngest

The slice cut for Grandson George had the lucky coin

Grandson Jamie got the coin in the sweet cake I baked

Dear daughters enjoying yet another New Year's cake

George got the coin in this one too

K got the coin in the cake Elli cut on New Year's Eve

So much cake to eat

As usual we give away as much as possible 

Our lucky bulb, boska, hanging on the front gate

K smashed the pomegranate the next morning 

This is his first throw which only split the fruit 

It took a 2nd throw for the seeds to spread out over the flagstones

I left them there till the next morning and swept them into the garden