Innovations: We installed nice looking
rustic bamboo over our porch when we first moved to the little stone
house because we needed some covering to keep the sun off the front
of the house and, having only visited Crete in holiday months had
erroneously thought that this would be the right answer. Several
winters in Crete (and last winter in particular) had changed my mind
completely because although the bamboo looked pleasingly rustic,
stood up to the Cretan winds and kept the porch in shade all summer,
the impact of tropical rainstorms plus so much dust and dirt were a
different matter altogether and foraging for damp logs in the cold
and wet, then sweeping and mopping the tiles every day during the wet
winter months was a miserable business when I had more important
things to do. Rik our friendly builder came to give us some ideas.
I just managed to get the water proofing on the main house roof
before the heavens opened for the usual October rains. After dodging
rain storms and horrendous weather for a couple of weeks, Rik rolled
up with some insulated porch roofing which is doing a wonderful job
of keeping the porch dry, the woodpile protected and there is even
room to get laundry under cover - just! Worth every euro and we are
pleased with it. We hope it won't be too hot and airless next
summer, but time will tell.
While all this was happening, great
friends from the UK came over for a week at the start of November. I
was worried because the weather had been awful and all the tavernas,
tourist shops and cafes had shut for the season and I wondered
whether there would be enough to keep everyone busy and happy.
Fortunately, they did not want to do anything too taxing, we took a
walk round the headland, paid a visit to the Makers Craft session,
cooked, shopped and strolled around Rethymno in really quite bright
warm days and even shocked the locals by swimming a few times! The
Scrabble Board came out with disastrous results! (I lost by a mile).
It was lovely to see them and the car behaved itself very well on its
way to and from the airport despite being a bit elderly.
Then we were getting all sorts of odd
questions about the house sale in the UK and we were grateful for
Leo's input about doorlock enquiries and double glazing attributes.
K and I looked completely clueless and slightly derailed by the
intensity of such questions. We hope we are close to exchange and
completion now. Wherever will we store all our bits and pieces while
we look for somewhere in Staffordshire?
My Greek is beginning to improve. I
managed to slowly translate a phrase made by one of our neighbours
when I commented on the heavy rain. “Creasoumay vrechy sto yelyes”
… after a minute or two racking my brains I realised that the
locals were pleased to have lots of water on their fields because
“they needed water for the olive trees” and to swell the olives
before harvesting. All the cafeneons are alive with the discussions
of the olive crop this year. There is a cacophony of vans and trucks
firing up and disappearing by 8,00 a.m. every morning with a
selection of sacks, nets, generators and twirly sticks which they use
for the olive harvesting. At night, a large buzzing noise from the
top of the village means that the Olive Mill (curiously painted vivid
green which can be seen for miles) is working long hours to give the
cold pressed oil. It is so good for everyone. We have new
neighbours in the run-down building across the road who spent a few
weeks restoring the house, replacing and treating the windows and
they eventually moved in. It is nice to see washing hanging up,
lights at the windows and a plant pot outside the front door. A
nasty dark storage cellar, home to cats, birds and other creepy
crawlies has now had wooden doors constructed and painted. It looks
much more welcoming now than in the time of the former tenants - roosting pigeons on all the window sills who made so much mess. In
fact, many of the empty village houses are beginning to be reoccupied
by newcomers. Nice.
We have also discovered and sampled our
village doctor who calls every Friday morning in an office just off
the village square. You queue for ages but she takes all the
prescriptions to the Pharmacy in Panormo and Niko the Pharmacist
drives back with the medicines and delivers them to the door later in
the day! How great is that? Kimon doesn't need a car or lift at
all.
I have been saving the best news until
last: K had the lowest (=good) PSA result of all today from the lab
– it had gone down to 0.089 – an improvement on three weeks ago
which means that something (we hope the radiotherapy or hormone
treatment) has made a difference. We are just thanking our lucky
stars and good friends who have cheered us on. Harvest Thanksgiving
has a real intensity for us this year. Yesterday and today I have
been making jars of chutney, marmalade, home made fudge for a table
top sale over the weekend, so life has been hectic and there doesn't
seem to be any let up. I'm looking forward to relaxing in front
of the log burner and a few sleepy, winter evenings but I don't see
it happening for yet a while!
