LEO'S HOLIDAY

 

It was great that, after the disastrous nature of last year's holiday break, we had a lovely week when son, Leo came to stay. No hospital visits to negotiate this time round! We tried to fit in as many easy trips and visits as we possibly could without tiring out K altogether and we both really enjoyed Leo's company and the odd little jobs he could help us with around the house. We both said after he left that either he had grown, or we had shrunk … sadly, I think it is the latter.

We started many mornings with my Cretan breakfast which comes highly recommended: A small spoon or two of muesli, covered by fruit juice, covered by soft fruits like strawberries and bananas, covered by Greek yoghurt, drizzled with Greek local honey and topped with chopped walnuts. Its a fabulous breakfast and keeps you going well until lunch time! Leo said that he usually made smoothies, but he seemed to enjoy it too.

New use for walking frames!

We had two swims and went fishing over the week on the hotter days in Panormo and Bali.  On Saturday drove to meet Anna at her summer house at Filaki and onto the Avocado Shop at Lappa followed by a great warming meal by the Argyropoli Springs. This shady spot is usually a great place to visit in the heat of the summer and the weather had started off fairly fine, but got really cold up in the mountains and we needed warm jackets and coats that day. We played Scrabble at Camping Elizabeth and found lots of great places for meals out. Leo hopes to bring a few friends with him when he comes to see us next. He seems to have a mad few months ahead of him, so we don't expect to see him here for a while.

On Thursday the CIC Archaeology group met at the Folk Museum in Rethymnon to hear a couple of talks. One about a conservancy project on an interesting site at Kommos and the second from our friend Don Evely about Minoan Wall paintings. The illustrations of amazing subjects on plaster walls was fascinating from a design perspective but the mechanics of pigments, lime plaster processing and the difficulties of the artform were resonant with me, because we are wondering how best to deal with the covering of the surface over our old stone walls. All the materials we have tried so far have been shortlived, so it may be that the Minoans could teach us a thing or too about lime plaster instead of modern plastic paints, which simply peel off in a matter of months.

The Kafeneon

The weather has been cloudy and rainy for a couple of days, but it did not spoil our plan to drive into Rethymnon to see Anna before Leo went home. The traditional visit to Ali Kebab was a must and a try out on Anna's new exercise bike. 2 minutes pedalling and I all but fell over as my legs were so wobbly and then quite a long walk to the far end of the Marina Car Park – full to capacity. There were so many tourists in town because the weather was too windy and dark for the beach. Kimon had a nice, quiet time back at home.

Panormo from the headland

Today was a full one before Leo's flight left Heraklion at 10 p.m. He had said that he would like to walk round the headland to the East of the harbour at Panormo and our friends Brod and Carolyn said that they would like to join us for the ramble. So we met up at the kafeneon at 9.30 a.m. for small Greek coffees, all served with large glasses of water and then strode off, leaving K behind for an hour or so while we toiled up the slopes, through the roped off gateway and up around the headland taking backward glances every now and then to admire the view of the village from above. The weather was the best we have had for quite a few days and I started to think about sun burn after we had been steadily climbing for half an hour or so. The walk ends in a bit of a dead end – large rocks, slabs of shiny basalt and flocks of goats playing “King of the Castle” on unlikely outcrops of stone. The air was alive and buzzing with wheeling birds, tiny blue butterflies and masses of insects along the way among the scrubby plants, mallow and gorse. We seemed to have herded all the goats as we walked and they were now all at the far end of the path in very inaccessible places. We hoped the shepherd would be able to find them again. Far below us, the waves crashed round the many rocks and you could see for miles in every direction. Mount Psiloritis had misty clouds caught up in the folds of the peaks. It was a great opportunity to chat and fairly easy walking but we felt well exercised when we collapsed at Vinzi's Cafe on top of the battlements for cool Freddocinos and milk shakes on our return to base camp.

Misty Psiloritis in the Clouds

After a farewell lunch at the Fanari, we got home and had a go at putting up a large sail which had arrived from the UK via Amazon. Two stepladders, 4 large clips, 2 pieces of rope and a lot of huffing and puffing later, it was sort of how we wanted it, but will need some expert fixing. We just hope that the temporary knots will keep it anchored until we can catch a passing expert and get him or her to take a look at it.

We sadly took Leo to the bus stop at 6.00 p.m. to catch the bus to Heraklion and a taxi to the airport. The week had rushed by all too quickly and we hope that it won't be too long before we catch up with him again. The house seems more empty and I am drifting round tidying and putting things away somewhat glumly. However, at least he had a much better break this time around and it was such a joy for us. It was good, too, for Leo to see for himself how K had improved over the past few months.

ELECTIONEERING

Passion Flower - Easter Sunday

  As far as the locals are concerned, there is no sense of irony whatsoever in two of the village men arriving on Saturday with a wheelbarrow full of whitewash and brushes to paint the fronts all the old stone houses and decrepit walls all around the oldest part of the village. K and I looked at one another and realised that election time is near. First of all a weeding and strimming party circled the lanes of the village for a tidy up and then the whitewash! This always seems to happen before the election takes place for the new Mayor and a community wash and brush up is always a good way to gauge community feeling. The paint mix was thin and the coating fairly rudimentary but it is so much more effective and useful than knocking on doors and doling out pamphlets! We notice that the kafeneon of our dear friends Kostas and Angeliki got special treatment with a large white circle painted around the mulberry tree on the roadway outside the kafeneon because that is where their little table and a few chairs live in the hot summer months.

Our scruffy decorator!

Meanwhile the swallows are all busy with their young in nests, tucked away under the eaves and in porches of the houses hereabouts. One nest is perched precariously on the junction box of an electricity cable on the house opposite and we spend quite a few moments watching the comings and goings of parent birds as they sit on their eggs and try to keep their strength up by taking off now and then to catch a few flying insects. Then they sit on the electric wires and chatter loudly. Just one bird seems to sound like a whole crowd of them.

Prayer requests in Panormo

Christos Anesti!  Aliethos Anesti!  After having to make do with the Sunday Service on Radio 4 for some time, I actually got to Church Proper last Sunday, the week following Easter. The door of the little church in Panormo usually open and can be visited for quiet time which is nice, but it is not like belonging to a church family. The English Church is about 40 miles away and not easy to find, so it was lovely that a bilingual friend, Martha wanted to visit the church and once she knew where it was, offered to drive a couple of us there. I picked up Ann and parked in the Marina Car Park in Rethymno. Martha met us there and drove to the Apokoronas. It was sunny and cloudy all the way there, thundered and lightening'd throughout the service, and was sunny all the way home in the car. The poor vicar had to shout to make his voice heard above the heavy rain as it beat down on the tented area. I was bemused to see that they were having their APCM after the service and, having given advice to many beleaguered PCC Secretaries in my former life about just such meetings, was very glad to make a rapid exit! If I had stayed, I would have probably have been tempted to interfere. I did take a free copy of the European Anglican though, which made interesting reading.

Easter meal out in the Arcouda Kipo = Bear Garden!

Back home, the terrace looks much better with some new soil and plants in the terracotta pots and a coat of paint on the front walls. The garden chairs have been given a wash down and we wait expectantly for some reliable sunshine, but it is a bit slow in arriving this year. The weather has been undecided for a few weeks now. After the success of the scream (screen) door (see blog for 2012 when we could have started a whole new business), K set about constructing a screen for the window so that we can keep out the insects in the summer but also use the quick release mechanism in case of violent summer storms which mean that the screen frame can be taken down and the windows closed to keep out the rain. All the methods we have tried so far (new each year) have not given us this option, so we are working on a new design for 2014. The shading canopy for the terrace had been soaked and washed after the neglect of last year but still looked terrible, so we need to work on a better scheme for the roof terrace and find a design which stands up to the strong winds and harsh sunlight. As there isn't much at the moment, it is not our first priority.

We had our first supper get-together for a long time on Wednesday and cooked a meal for Liz and her sister, Steph. Liz has come every morning to give K his heparin injection or to teach me how to do it when she is not available. Every morning for 5 months is a real gift of time and commitment and we were indebted to her. K's DVT seems to be better, at least, so that is something to be very grateful for. We await an appointment to see the Neurologist to see whether he is likely to get any improvement in the leg, which is dead from the knee downwards and will see the Professor of Urology at the Hospital next month to discuss radiotherapy. It was with great relief that I boxed up all the disinfectants, disposable gloves, Betadine, wound dressings and first aid stuff that we have been using for the past few months and put them away upstairs for the time being. All the supplies have been fairly costly, plus 75 euros every 20 days for the injections (this is 25% of the real cost) and which all mounts up in financial terms.

Last of the wayside flowers!

There have been various forms of admin to deal with as well. Social Security IKA books needed some sort of adjustment (we take them to the Doctor with us every time and it affects treatment and costs for prescriptions) and went back and forth between us and the office twice, the French Government are still wondering whether I am alive and writing to my father's address in England instead of our address here to find out. We have an issue over the phone bill which will mean a trip to OTE in Rethymnon to sort out and another trip to the Health Centre in Perama to sort out K's next lot of prescriptions. It takes a lot of juggling with diaries and calendars to keep on top of it all.

I still have not had a swim this year and I need the exercise badly, but it won't be long now, we hope.

Kalomina!