We visited a favourite
taverna on the edge of the sea yesterday … Bar Eleven. (Not sure
of the origin of this name but it has always been a favourite haunt
for Ladies Lunches.) The two day cyclone in the winter swept flood
waters down the mountains, destroyed road bridges and by the time the
torrents reached Bar Eleven on the mouth of the river, the flood
waters swept away most of the taverna with it. They have completely
rebuilt the seating and outside area and, newly landscaped, it looks
wonderful but must have cost a small fortune. We gathered on its
first day of opening to celebrate the 1st June in the
beginnings of sunshine. We are still not in Summer weather, even
now. The skies are heavy with dust and mist each morning, but we are
opening windows, cleaning away layers of grime, putting in the
mosquito screens and emerging like timid butterflies from our winter
coverings. The UK in the meantime, we hear, is still enjoying our
weather!
It is almost easier to
ignore any news coming from the UK now. I had a huge argument with
the powers that be at our UK borough council and the un-charming (=
rude) person on the end of the phone who wanted to erase me from the
electoral register and deny me a vote. If ever there was an
indication of what an unpleasant time EU nationals are having in
Britain these days, this was it. I did not get to vote in EU
elections, even though I am entitled to in every way, was frustrated
by obstruction and obfuscation at the town hall. Elections took
place in Greece too last weekend, but not knowing the language or
anything about Greek politics, it seemed better to stick to the
election process I am familiar with - thus losing any chance of a vote. I live and learn!.
On the plus side, we
have been trying a new regime of medication for Pa Crozier because
his previous meds were not working. We have to jump through a lot of
hoops to get the prescriptions fulfilled, but the local health
authorities are being very kind to us as the pills are eye-poppingly
expensive. I feel as if I need an armed guard with me when I go to
pick them up from the health insurance office. We are juggling with
maths, calendars and counting pills to try and work out how to get
four weeks off for Pa Crozier in England for Leo and Harri's wedding.
We keep looking at our mid-riffs and hoping that all our clothes
will fit. Cretan food is certainly very fattening and our enforced
incarceration during the winter has made exercise much more
difficult.
The tourists are here
in large numbers, much increased traffic on the national road,
beaches full of sunbathers and swimmers and the towns busy with
pedestrians. Our garden came back to life with great panache as the
warm weather returned and the hibiscus bush is offering large red
blooms new each morning along with the jasmine bush and the bay tree.
I can't keep up with the grape vine trying to stop too many new
shoots from stealing all the goodness from the grapes which are
forming under the canopy of vine leaves. Up on the terrace, I
managed to put up the rather faded old umbrella, which had rested for
a year or two while we looked for a heavy duty umbrella stand. It
now gives us lovely shade and is firmly anchored with five guy lines
to keep it from parachuting off the terrace in strong gusts of wind.
In the long line of “things to do” is a collection of old tiles
which I want to break up to make a mosaic table top. I am in need of
the right materials to make the table top permanently sealed before
any progress can be made. Visits to the paint shop are quite tricky
in Greece because none of the materials do quite the same job or have
the constituents we are used to. A paint called Monotiko,
(translated as insulating) does not immediately make sense to the
unwary.
I am tasked with making
a large carrot cake as part of the wedding day preparations. I have
been practising this and the resulting cake made for the CIC Fund
Raiser at Camping Elizabeth sold out very quickly. Yum! I am just
praying that the final effort for the big day works just as well. Converting ingredients for 2 x 9 inch cakes to 3 x 10 inch has exercised a lot of grey matter! My
suitcase will look odd with cooking cup measures, cake lifters,
wedding clothes and rose petal confetti (gathered from next door's
garden) tucked away in the corners. Thank goodness my hat is already
in England. Pa Crozier will be in a suit for the first time in
YEARS! Let's hope it all fits!
Busy, busy, busy!
Kalo mina from Crete!
