The Cretan Dream realised ...

The nights are drawing in and some lovely cool breezes are taming the heat of summer baking and the tree outside our porch is dropping buckets of leaves day by day.  Any that fall which are still green are saved for Angeliki’s goats who are short of green salad this time of year.  

Sadly, Mr C has had to sacrifice his ‘mobility scooter with attitude’ and sell his lovely yellow quad bike.  It was a bit heart wrenching for both of us but with a new electric power wheelchair arriving any time, the only sensible thing to do.  

So our friends Kostas and Angeliki at the kafeneons/hairdressers mentioned that someone was interested in buying it and made a reasonable offer, so reluctantly Kimon agreed to it.  In his heart of hearts, he kept thinking that he was going to get better but the prognosis for cancer is not a good one and with Parkinson’s in the mix too, driving any motor vehicle has now been ruled out of the question (boo hoo).

The prospective buyer came round with a fistful of euros and a sheet of paper to indicate sale and receipt.  He tried to start it up but the battery was flat after several weeks of disuse so I plugged in the charger.  He came the next day with a petrol can, a set of jump leads of his own and a can of WD 40 as the gear lever was stuck in reverse.  And after an hour or so of work, it fired up beautifully.  

So today, we had to do the formal transfer at KEP , the Citizens Advice Bureau of Greece.  KEP is a great place for getting things done!  The new owner, Manolis and I donned masks and waited for our turn.  Where was the sheet of paper saying that I had my husband’s permission to sell his property?  Deeerrr!  We had every sheet of paper but this.  The official printed out a paper to be countersigned and stamped by the village president (!).  So I rushed back from Perama to speak to our Mayor/President in our village.  His wife filled in all the details such as passport number and gave the paper a bright blue village stamp and I rushed back the several miles to KEP in Perama.  I had his permission!  Next I needed a document from my accountant to show that we had paid the relevant tax on the vehicle, even though all the road tax was current.

I was fortunate that the accountant was across the road and  I dropped in brandishing the wish list from KEP.  Ah yes, she produced the paper but reminded me that we hadn’t paid our tax this year!  Ok, handed over money to the Accountant and tucked away this year’s tax returns,  Meanwhile,  Manolis was at the Pan Cretan Bank handing over a 39 euro transfer fee.  I do hope he thinks the bike is worth it!  

We have been up to our eyes in nursing care.  Following a ghastly two days in hospital, Mr C is having trouble in getting round the house and this is not helped by three steps between the kitchen/bathroom and the rest of the ground floor.

A box arrived mid week and I thought it was his new wheelchair arriving in the nick of time.  I was hopping mad to open a box containing a mobility scooter with handle bars and three miniature wheels which would be lethal in Crete.  They had sent completely the wrong thing.  We waited many weeks for it and what a let down.  It was gut wrenching, especially as Mr C had to see the back of his yellow peril before a replacement got here.

In the meantime, we are doing our best to keep him moving around with a transfer wheelchair and Zimmer frame.  We have many stops, hesitations and wobbles during the day but he is improved from last week and has started to enjoy food again, even though it has to be the consistency of baby food and half an egg cup full.  Home made lemon barley seems easy to swallow, so Ma C has been busy trying to make tasty morsels to keep him going.

 

 Life is hard, but we have found willing help which has made life so much easier and not so lonely. 

I have fabulous friends here who seem to know how to offer the best help.  One friend comes once a week and helps with moving and lifting, especially if we need to go to doctors or offices.  One retired nurse calls twice a week to help with his personal care.  Others make soup or sit with him, while I can do a bit of shopping or get my hair cut. Others adjust and go out of their way to include me in their meetings by coming close to me in the village instead of Rethymno.  Others pick up shopping or items I can’t get hold of.  Another lockdown could well put a stop to all that, however!!    I am so grateful for such thoughtfulness and pass on these nice offers of help in case anyone you know is in the similar situation and you want to do something good.  Loneliness is a killer too!

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PS  Very sadly, Pa Crozier died in Rethymno Hospital on 21 October.  The hospital were marvellous and tried to get his breathing going three times in three days, but it was clear that his time was up.  We are going through the motions of contacting people, doing all the administration, speaking to lawyers and accountants and organising a fitting farewell.  The lovely C of E Vicar came to Anna's house in Rethymno to give home communion and we said our prayers for Kimon and the family together.  A new granddaughter was born the day after his death and we have this to lift us.  I wondered whether the dream of the little stone house in Crete was at an end, but flicking through all the photos we have of the last 10 years, we can see that Kimon lived his life to the full and very nearly made three score years and ten!  We thank God for our good friends at times like this and that each photo we have shows him with a smile on his face.  

The electric power wheelchair ordered in August never did arrive.  It cost a fortune!  Covid is on the rise again.  Stay well, stay safe wherever you are xxx