The blog has been a bit
quiet over the festive period due to partying and dashing about, but
also Mr Crozier collided with a dehumidifier in the middle of the
night and had a bad fall a day or two before Christmas which cramped
our style a bit and meant that we had to stay at home. A couple of
weeks and a lot of moaning and groaning later, Mr Crozier is back in
the land of the living again and ready for some adventures with our
far-flung family abroad. We are encased in bubble wrap in the
meantime – just in case anything else happens!
Christmas and the lead
up weeks were just beautiful in Crete. We watched, enthralled, all
the snowscapes from the USA and the UK, while looking outside at the
pristine snow covered mountains sparkling in the bright skies around
us. I made lots of country walks with my energetic
friend-come-personal trainer and she managed to collect huge
quantities of driftwood from beaches and abandoned olive trimmings
from the hedgerows. These keep her stove going without any charge,
for the first part of winter at least. A few days ago, I parked the
car in the quayside with K enjoying the sunshine glinting on the sea
and took to the beaches on either side of him with large sacks to
collect washed up plastic flotsam and jetsam. A truly ghastly
prospect, right in front of our eyes, with plastic water bottles
being the worst culprits. Thankfully, Greece has brought in new laws
this January so that we all need to take shopping bags or be charged
at the supermarket for the plastic bags which they had been doling
out with wild abandon at every shopping place and stunning other
travellers from Europe by placing plastic bagged items into their
shopping bags! Aaghh! Hopefully, the message will catch on and give
people a chance to think about the use of plastic and cut down a bit.
I would love to sponsor kids to design enticingly large and
attractive beach bins so that they will be tempted to throw away
their rubbish, just to see how an animal's mouth will open or how
things would tip away a bit like a marble run. Just a thought!
Just for fun, I took some photos of our big day out! Guess where we are? Comfy
leather sofas, wall mounted TV, coffee machine, coffee table loaded
with New Year cakes and bowls of sweets? A new, winter taverna or
home from home? See if you can get a close up of the Christmas decorations ... it will give you a clue!
This is the MOT testing
station where we needed to take the car this week. It is so comfy there, its a bit like a nice day out!
The New Year break was
a bit more gloomy, with heavy rain and thunderstorms, which cooled
down the atmosphere a lot and made us bring out the stewpots and
stoke up the log burner. I have been learning how to make socks at
the Makers Group which is now meeting in temporary winter quarters
and almost next door to the wool shop in Rethymno, so it is an ill
wind that brings nobody any good with it! Remember NOT to order a
cappuccino, though … Mountain tea is a better option.
We kept warm on wet and
gloomy New Year's Eve making marmalade and spreading sticky mess all
around the kitchen. We have lots of boxes to tick and chores to
complete before leaving Crete for a few weeks. The dodgy electricity
supply means that the freezer needs to be emptied and turned off.
This action results in some strange and eclectic meals, but the first
one was a raging success. Some swordfish steaks defrosted and
oven-baked with the first home made chips I have eaten in years!
Today will be prosaic veggie pasta bake and we look forward to a
variety of ready made dishes – left over from previous cook days.
A rummage round the freezer uncovered all the black bananas from
the summer which ripened all too quickly and we will be making banana
bread later. A box load of home made pickles and treats made superb
Christmas presents from friends nearby. The post hasn't arrived yet
with parcels that K ordered ages ago for Christmas but we should know
this by now!
Crete is resting and
very nearly in hibernation. It was the busiest summer for many years
so all the workers are exhausted. However, there is a movement to
make Crete a winter destination also with more flights via Ryan Air.
Certainly this winter has been fabulous so far and would have given
anyone a welcome boost of fresh air and sunshine - but people who own
and work businesses here would be reluctant to do it year round as
the winter months are set aside for harvesting the olives and other
building and refurbishment work.
Intrepid CIC members
organised a swim on New Year's Day in Rethymnon and there is, of
course the annual blessing by the Orthodox Priest at the harbour
ceremony at Epiphany as he casts the Cross into the water to be retrieved by
young lads who dive in after it. The winner is rewarded by a year of
blessing – as the tradition goes. Otherwise, the port and harbour
are deliciously quiet and nice to walk around to enjoy sunrises and
sunsets as well as wonderful walks though the glowing abundance of the orange orchards
and the olive groves which have only recently given up their treasure!
