YEAR END

Just last week we were puttering along through the olive groves in the sunshine weaving around large 4x4 trucks parked on either side of the road where the terraces of olives grow right down to the road-side. Indeed, this is a new road cut through prime olive growing land, so we are travelling through the thick of Milopotamos Olives. The open backed trucks sported all the trappings of the olive picking season: plastic crates, frayed baskets, big black nets, sacks and barrels, generators and long sticky whizzing things stacked in the corner along with trident like forks for hooking the leaves and branches and disgorging the olives. To be honest, the weather had been so dry that the olive crop looked to be very small this year, but everyone was out while the weather was fine to gather in what there was. Up until 30 November, we were surprised each day that the weather was blissfully sunny and fine. 

 Not until the last day of November did things change. The winter storm clouds gathered and the rains came with a vengeance with crashes of thunder and lightning flashes to cut out all the electrics momentarily before cutting back in again. It does havoc with the internet and anything happening on the laptop! However, we are masters at quickly unplugging everything we can reach because we have heard of households who have lost every piece of electrical equipment after a lightning strike! Scary!

Sleep is always very disturbed while the deluge is on. Water spouts from the flat roofs cascade into the alley ways below and pipes gush rivers of water down the hill. It’s a jumbo version of Japanese water torture. Driving the car, even on the National Road is a bit of an adventure with large lakes and rivers plunging down from the escarpments, washing rocks, mud and other slippery debris across the road. Usually police cars patrol up and down to slow the traffic to a reasonable speed but there are still lots of mad drivers going way too fast. Using a slower moving car as a pilot is a good way to deal with the conditions. In this way, you get a preview where rivers and plumes of water are likely to cause problems before you reach them. The rain has cooled the temperatures down rapidly and the mountains have disappeared between their grey cloud blanket for a goodly while. Boo Winter!

Cold weather means lighting the fire and doing stay-at-home things. Making Christmas cards and putting a new sewing machine through its paces. We have been doing a lot of home cooking and baking and have been busy round the house to keep the circulation going. It is amazing how quickly we turn from sandal weather to double socks and crocks attire!

Since many of our number are returning to Blighty for the Christmas season, many groups will organise early Christmas parties to catch people before they fly home. Therefore next week will be Christmas Party Fest with something happening nearly every day! I am soundly ignoring 2^nd December which is supposed to be my “Name Day” in Greece, because it is much too close to the festive season to get attached to.

Each time K visits the little kafeneon … nearly next door, he arrives home with a pocketful of oranges or mandarins. These are a free gift from Kostas, who must have orange trees somewhere, although we have never really found out where his trees and “zoa” (animals) live. We had a great afternoon last week pollarding the tree outside the house and, as Tassos (who is painting the house next door before his family move in) had borrowed our step ladder, we needed help from other people. Niko the Wood backed his ancient 4x4 Toyota (30 years old but still going strong) directly under the tree and started sawing bits of branches off. Then Tassos appeared with the step ladder and climbed further up the tree to do a bit of lopping under Niko’s loud, shouted instructions while we picked up the twigs as they rained down on our heads. Our friend Steph and I stripped all the leaves from the branches and put them in buckets for Angeliki’s goats. Finally, all the wood and sawdust was swept up and thrown in the back of the truck to be taken to the garbage bins at the edge of the village. It was great to have got that job out of the way and not have loads of dead leaves to sweep up every morning. By next Spring, the tree will have grown back as strong as ever and will make a handy umbrella of shade outside the gate.

Local produce!

This morning is the first time I have woken up to a cold start and realise that the woolly hat and bedsocks need to be sorted out. We are so glad for a good supply of logs this year and our trusty log burner. Kalomina! Keep warm in December!