LIVING ON A KNIFE EDGE

When we talk to our friends here, one of the things that many ex pat families share is the almost constant sense of anxiety about other family members far away, especially elderly parents. Most of our friends have had to organise flights home for emergencies and in all the contingency plans we made when leaving for foreign climes, it never occurred to us that we would have to deal with emergencies at home and here in Crete at the same time.

Many of our friends here share problems with any property they may still have in the UK; worry if a letting agency is charging a lot for doing very little, damage to their home, a caretaker or tenant who is not covering their expenses, not co-operating or, in our case, refusing to accept the four months notice we gave to terminate the rental agreement in September last year so that we could move home and seek treatment for cancer in the UK.

As we started out, people had told us that the treatment in Crete was very good indeed … and this is true. Certainly the speed and efficiency of the diagnostics were amazingly efficient. All we had to do was to make our way to the correct clinic or laboratory in various parts of Rethymnon and Heraklion, pay our fee and gather the results in one folder to take to a Specialist for further consultation and treatment. All achieved in 20 days.

The hospital situation was a bit different, but we have covered all that ground before and, in spite of my desire to get back to the UK after our many gruelling weeks at the hospital, and seek some English speaking medical and nursing advice, we were stopped in our tracks by not having a home to return to and needing specialist disabled friendly arrangements in place before we threw in the towel and retired “injured” to the UK.

So it was a cause for rejoicing a week or two back, our son got back from Crete to find the key to the UK house in a brown envelope at his home address in England. It had taken eight months without income and bearing the costs of two houses, court proceedings and a lot of work done by kindly young people on our behalf in the UK and other family members (who had all sorts of more important things to worry about). We realise that we had travelled too far down the treatment path to stop now, because we hear that UK doctors are reluctant to receive back patients to the UK and often ask them to wait six months before they will consider treating them. It has been a walk along a knife edge for months now dividing pockets of stress into separate compartments and trying to deal with one thing at a time. Since we are nearly at the point of getting radiotherapy for K, we decided to wait until after the next hospital visit here in Crete to see how the land lies. We hope and pray that things go much better for us this time around. Another cause for celebration is that the owners of the Zimmer frame phoned to ask if K still used it. He had actually progressed to crutches a few days before so it was with a certain amount of thanksgiving that we could return it and know that another person would feel as supported as we had.

Meanwhile, Crete is still having odd weather. Rain and cloud in late May and early June is almost unheard of and grey, cloudy skies – full of desert sand to coat every surface of the house and garden – all make for lots of hard work and cleaning. Our terrace is like a sandy beach after the last lot of winds and rain. The car looks as if it has been on African car rally even after a dousing with the pressure hose. I am glad that nobody can see me watching TV in a warm woolly, socks and gloves this evening. We have been so cheered up by seeing videos and photos of the grandchildren far away “down under” and wondering when we will get the chance to catch up with them again.

As K's birthday approached after such a dodgy year, we wanted to celebrate in a way that marked the occasion (SURVIVAL) without wearing the pair of us out completely. Almost by accident, we fell in with the idea of a pancake brunch on Saturday morning to which five of us tucked into freshly made pancakes from friend Ian's first class frying pan, just squeezed orange juice, fresh fruit salad, delectable maple syrup, bacon, sausages, birthday cakes and, having enjoyed all the food and opened goodies, drove down to Panormo to have frappé coffees and milk shakes at our favourite Vinzi's Cafe up on the ramparts. Two more friends turned up after their lunch – so by a chapter of good effort, lots of humour and pure accident, it made a very nice day.

Archive photo of Panormo last year!

We are now resting a bit and girding our loins for the next stage which will mean driving to and from Heraklion each day for radiotherapy treatment for four weeks, if they give the go ahead. This is a round trip of about 40-50 miles around the mountains. We may have ex pat folk around to help us, so we are trying to keep upbeat and hopeful.

We have been so busy, we cannot believe that it is June already (definitely not flaming and somewhat miserable by Cretan standards) but anyway KALOMINA!

LEO'S HOLIDAY

 

It was great that, after the disastrous nature of last year's holiday break, we had a lovely week when son, Leo came to stay. No hospital visits to negotiate this time round! We tried to fit in as many easy trips and visits as we possibly could without tiring out K altogether and we both really enjoyed Leo's company and the odd little jobs he could help us with around the house. We both said after he left that either he had grown, or we had shrunk … sadly, I think it is the latter.

We started many mornings with my Cretan breakfast which comes highly recommended: A small spoon or two of muesli, covered by fruit juice, covered by soft fruits like strawberries and bananas, covered by Greek yoghurt, drizzled with Greek local honey and topped with chopped walnuts. Its a fabulous breakfast and keeps you going well until lunch time! Leo said that he usually made smoothies, but he seemed to enjoy it too.

New use for walking frames!

We had two swims and went fishing over the week on the hotter days in Panormo and Bali.  On Saturday drove to meet Anna at her summer house at Filaki and onto the Avocado Shop at Lappa followed by a great warming meal by the Argyropoli Springs. This shady spot is usually a great place to visit in the heat of the summer and the weather had started off fairly fine, but got really cold up in the mountains and we needed warm jackets and coats that day. We played Scrabble at Camping Elizabeth and found lots of great places for meals out. Leo hopes to bring a few friends with him when he comes to see us next. He seems to have a mad few months ahead of him, so we don't expect to see him here for a while.

On Thursday the CIC Archaeology group met at the Folk Museum in Rethymnon to hear a couple of talks. One about a conservancy project on an interesting site at Kommos and the second from our friend Don Evely about Minoan Wall paintings. The illustrations of amazing subjects on plaster walls was fascinating from a design perspective but the mechanics of pigments, lime plaster processing and the difficulties of the artform were resonant with me, because we are wondering how best to deal with the covering of the surface over our old stone walls. All the materials we have tried so far have been shortlived, so it may be that the Minoans could teach us a thing or too about lime plaster instead of modern plastic paints, which simply peel off in a matter of months.

The Kafeneon

The weather has been cloudy and rainy for a couple of days, but it did not spoil our plan to drive into Rethymnon to see Anna before Leo went home. The traditional visit to Ali Kebab was a must and a try out on Anna's new exercise bike. 2 minutes pedalling and I all but fell over as my legs were so wobbly and then quite a long walk to the far end of the Marina Car Park – full to capacity. There were so many tourists in town because the weather was too windy and dark for the beach. Kimon had a nice, quiet time back at home.

Panormo from the headland

Today was a full one before Leo's flight left Heraklion at 10 p.m. He had said that he would like to walk round the headland to the East of the harbour at Panormo and our friends Brod and Carolyn said that they would like to join us for the ramble. So we met up at the kafeneon at 9.30 a.m. for small Greek coffees, all served with large glasses of water and then strode off, leaving K behind for an hour or so while we toiled up the slopes, through the roped off gateway and up around the headland taking backward glances every now and then to admire the view of the village from above. The weather was the best we have had for quite a few days and I started to think about sun burn after we had been steadily climbing for half an hour or so. The walk ends in a bit of a dead end – large rocks, slabs of shiny basalt and flocks of goats playing “King of the Castle” on unlikely outcrops of stone. The air was alive and buzzing with wheeling birds, tiny blue butterflies and masses of insects along the way among the scrubby plants, mallow and gorse. We seemed to have herded all the goats as we walked and they were now all at the far end of the path in very inaccessible places. We hoped the shepherd would be able to find them again. Far below us, the waves crashed round the many rocks and you could see for miles in every direction. Mount Psiloritis had misty clouds caught up in the folds of the peaks. It was a great opportunity to chat and fairly easy walking but we felt well exercised when we collapsed at Vinzi's Cafe on top of the battlements for cool Freddocinos and milk shakes on our return to base camp.

Misty Psiloritis in the Clouds

After a farewell lunch at the Fanari, we got home and had a go at putting up a large sail which had arrived from the UK via Amazon. Two stepladders, 4 large clips, 2 pieces of rope and a lot of huffing and puffing later, it was sort of how we wanted it, but will need some expert fixing. We just hope that the temporary knots will keep it anchored until we can catch a passing expert and get him or her to take a look at it.

We sadly took Leo to the bus stop at 6.00 p.m. to catch the bus to Heraklion and a taxi to the airport. The week had rushed by all too quickly and we hope that it won't be too long before we catch up with him again. The house seems more empty and I am drifting round tidying and putting things away somewhat glumly. However, at least he had a much better break this time around and it was such a joy for us. It was good, too, for Leo to see for himself how K had improved over the past few months.

ELECTIONEERING

Passion Flower - Easter Sunday

  As far as the locals are concerned, there is no sense of irony whatsoever in two of the village men arriving on Saturday with a wheelbarrow full of whitewash and brushes to paint the fronts all the old stone houses and decrepit walls all around the oldest part of the village. K and I looked at one another and realised that election time is near. First of all a weeding and strimming party circled the lanes of the village for a tidy up and then the whitewash! This always seems to happen before the election takes place for the new Mayor and a community wash and brush up is always a good way to gauge community feeling. The paint mix was thin and the coating fairly rudimentary but it is so much more effective and useful than knocking on doors and doling out pamphlets! We notice that the kafeneon of our dear friends Kostas and Angeliki got special treatment with a large white circle painted around the mulberry tree on the roadway outside the kafeneon because that is where their little table and a few chairs live in the hot summer months.

Our scruffy decorator!

Meanwhile the swallows are all busy with their young in nests, tucked away under the eaves and in porches of the houses hereabouts. One nest is perched precariously on the junction box of an electricity cable on the house opposite and we spend quite a few moments watching the comings and goings of parent birds as they sit on their eggs and try to keep their strength up by taking off now and then to catch a few flying insects. Then they sit on the electric wires and chatter loudly. Just one bird seems to sound like a whole crowd of them.

Prayer requests in Panormo

Christos Anesti!  Aliethos Anesti!  After having to make do with the Sunday Service on Radio 4 for some time, I actually got to Church Proper last Sunday, the week following Easter. The door of the little church in Panormo usually open and can be visited for quiet time which is nice, but it is not like belonging to a church family. The English Church is about 40 miles away and not easy to find, so it was lovely that a bilingual friend, Martha wanted to visit the church and once she knew where it was, offered to drive a couple of us there. I picked up Ann and parked in the Marina Car Park in Rethymno. Martha met us there and drove to the Apokoronas. It was sunny and cloudy all the way there, thundered and lightening'd throughout the service, and was sunny all the way home in the car. The poor vicar had to shout to make his voice heard above the heavy rain as it beat down on the tented area. I was bemused to see that they were having their APCM after the service and, having given advice to many beleaguered PCC Secretaries in my former life about just such meetings, was very glad to make a rapid exit! If I had stayed, I would have probably have been tempted to interfere. I did take a free copy of the European Anglican though, which made interesting reading.

Easter meal out in the Arcouda Kipo = Bear Garden!

Back home, the terrace looks much better with some new soil and plants in the terracotta pots and a coat of paint on the front walls. The garden chairs have been given a wash down and we wait expectantly for some reliable sunshine, but it is a bit slow in arriving this year. The weather has been undecided for a few weeks now. After the success of the scream (screen) door (see blog for 2012 when we could have started a whole new business), K set about constructing a screen for the window so that we can keep out the insects in the summer but also use the quick release mechanism in case of violent summer storms which mean that the screen frame can be taken down and the windows closed to keep out the rain. All the methods we have tried so far (new each year) have not given us this option, so we are working on a new design for 2014. The shading canopy for the terrace had been soaked and washed after the neglect of last year but still looked terrible, so we need to work on a better scheme for the roof terrace and find a design which stands up to the strong winds and harsh sunlight. As there isn't much at the moment, it is not our first priority.

We had our first supper get-together for a long time on Wednesday and cooked a meal for Liz and her sister, Steph. Liz has come every morning to give K his heparin injection or to teach me how to do it when she is not available. Every morning for 5 months is a real gift of time and commitment and we were indebted to her. K's DVT seems to be better, at least, so that is something to be very grateful for. We await an appointment to see the Neurologist to see whether he is likely to get any improvement in the leg, which is dead from the knee downwards and will see the Professor of Urology at the Hospital next month to discuss radiotherapy. It was with great relief that I boxed up all the disinfectants, disposable gloves, Betadine, wound dressings and first aid stuff that we have been using for the past few months and put them away upstairs for the time being. All the supplies have been fairly costly, plus 75 euros every 20 days for the injections (this is 25% of the real cost) and which all mounts up in financial terms.

Last of the wayside flowers!

There have been various forms of admin to deal with as well. Social Security IKA books needed some sort of adjustment (we take them to the Doctor with us every time and it affects treatment and costs for prescriptions) and went back and forth between us and the office twice, the French Government are still wondering whether I am alive and writing to my father's address in England instead of our address here to find out. We have an issue over the phone bill which will mean a trip to OTE in Rethymnon to sort out and another trip to the Health Centre in Perama to sort out K's next lot of prescriptions. It takes a lot of juggling with diaries and calendars to keep on top of it all.

I still have not had a swim this year and I need the exercise badly, but it won't be long now, we hope.

Kalomina!

PERAMBULATIONS

Home-made Easter Chicks from Makers Sessions

The spring has been criss-crossed by lots of happenings and travel back and forth between Crete and the UK, so the blog has been a little quiet lately. Mrs Crozier swapped home nursing in Crete with Mr Crozier as patient and flew home to the UK where Gramps Crozier had just emerged from hospital for the third or fourth time after a nasty fall at home and large bump on the back of the head. True to form, our great ex-pat buddies in the CIC helped us out and kept K well looked after and amused while I did battle in UK with a very reluctant, feisty 93 year old at home who was clinging on to his independence with every fibre of his being. He looks much better; the rest of us are exhausted!

Meals out in Panormo

Surreal-ly, the weather in England was every bit as warm as Crete and, with the central heating going day and night (a luxury which we don't have in our little stone house here), I was MUCH TOO HOT! It was unbearable and I had to keep retreating into the garden to cool off. Lots of cooking, shopping, haircuts and wound dressings later, I arrived back in Crete just in time to celebrate our third Easter and looking forward to it immensely along with 48 hours sleep to recover from life in the UK. On a sober note, we spent our first Easter in Crete with UK friends who came to stay with us, enjoying the first few months of retirement and throwing a house warming party. By some quirk of fate, out of the five of us who spent the time together, two more are being tested and treated for varying forms of cancer in England and one guy had a serious problem and was rushed back into the hospital after a biopsy. I could really sympathise and know what everyone was going through. We could not believe that the one single lady and two couples were all dealing with these issues with such synchronization. Growing old isn't for sissies is it … or may be we should never have foraged/stolen those prickly pears?

Makers Cafe ... on a very wet day!

Easy-jet from Gatwick arranged their flight to take off at 7.25 a.m. Which meant arriving at 5.25 and getting up at silly o'clock. My system was creaking alarmingly at all the strange, greasy food items available at the airport and on board, but the plane arrived on time and a friendly taxi driver met me outside the arrivals exit. The flight had been wonderful and from my window seat I had been able to see the Alps, Venice, some Eastern European mountainous land (easily identifiable by the immense paving block arrangements of fields and growing areas in the valleys). Athens, Piraeus and Santorini floated below us in a haze of ethereal blue as we flew over but there were quite thick clouds over the mountains of Crete and though warm and bright, it was not as sunny as it had been in England. Despite all this, it was great to be home.

All the roadsides were carpeted with poppies, mimosa, broom, yellow clovery flowers and masses of bright fluorescent daisy type weeds. The swallows were busy and herds of sheep and goats were moving about the mountain paths as we travelled. I swapped conversation with our lovely taxi driver whose father had died after an operation in the previous year and I was able to sympathise having marked the anniversary of my dear Mum's death at the beginning of April. We talked about hospitals, village life and the journey back to the village went very quickly. We will certainly recommend that driver to our friends because it was a steady, comfortable drive with no dangerous overtaking on blind bends or fast speeds with a charming host. Wonderful.

Shop windows ready for Easter

The house was in good shape and coming back to it with new eyes, I realise that we definitely need to get the supplies of exterior paint and interior paint in stock for a spruce up. Once this has been done, we will think about replanting the terrace pots which suffered from neglect last year. There had been one of the archaeology talks and trips in my absence, which I was sorry to miss but it had been very popular and many more people are beginning to take an interest in Crete's ancient past.

We have to make our own Hot Cross Buns!!

The economic worries are still having a marked effect on Greek people though, so we ex-pats need to keep the situation in mind and the impetus going to help our communities as much we can.

More about Easter events after they have happened.

Keep Well and Kalo Pasca!

NOT BLUE SKIES AGAIN!

Well, as we predicted, the lovely days of February, when all the snow on the peaks of the mountains melted away in the hot sunshine, came to an end in March when winter arrived! Lots of rain, wind and dark cloud drove us back indoors and we started making calculations about the log pile and whether we would have enough to get us through the cold weather. We didn't - so Nikos the Wood was asked for another load. It is a bit of a puzzle because we don't want any wood left during the summer so that the walls in the porch can be cleaned up again and get a new coat of paint. Log piles are very dirty and dusty and take a lot of cleaning up both from the fires inside and the residue outside.

So we have been occupied on inside things – mainly knitting for new babies due in the family or for jumpers, scarves and blankets for the Red Cross but it has kept us busy. Kimon has spent almost entire days doing his job of cleaning out the log burner and fetching logs – one by one – for the wood basket. I also tasted the new marmalade recipe … Tutti Frutti. I am pleased to report it a success on our morning porridge.

Last Friday we drove to the Lab in Perama for K's blood tests. These have to be done every time he sees the Professor at the hospital in Heraklion. We had sent the Prof a large list of questions in preparation for our appointment so that he had a chance to think about them in advance. On arrival at the hospital, we dropped into Gregory's Coffee Bar opposite the hospital and said our “Ti kanete – how are you?” to all our friends who looked after us so well when we were “installed” there for a couple of months last year. The cinnamon mini doughnuts were just as good as we remembered them and the sun was out for the drive there and back, which made the journey round the mountains and coast a bit easier. I am getting much more confident behind the wheel, which is just as well.

K's PSA reading was down again starting with a minus, which was what the Professor wanted to see. This means that in spite of all the horrendous problems with the first prescription of hormone injection, which caused a bad reaction and the horrible abscess, the second type (three monthly, not in his abdomen) still seemed to have done its job.  Even so, he thought K needed to be a bit more robust to begin radiotherapy and as the hormone therapy was working he did not think there was any need to rush. But, as he said, the hormone was only putting the cancer to sleep, the radiotherapy was needed to stop it dead. So we will see on the next visit in June. We stopped on the way back from the hospital at one of the few tavernas open during the winter and had a celebratory souvlaki and chips with Greek salad! All these outings would make you think that we are hopping about like mountain goats, but the truth is that walking is a big problem still for K and he is getting about with a walking frame better, but his progress is still very slow. We are wondering whether aqua-therapy would help get some more strength and confidence back and encourage nerves to regenerate as his left leg is still completely dead from the knee downwards.

Back in the village, the schoolteacher has been ill and there have been far more children around than usual because when this happens school is cancelled! We called at the shop and Kostas had damaged his shoulder and Maria had a cold, so we realised that Cretans do not “do winter” with any sort of relish although we were amused to hear how much they like grey skies! Such a change from boring old blue. Our French friends turned up to borrow English books to read. The house, which they are building, is turning out to be a long drawn out nightmare and will not be ready to move into until September. They were moving from their rented flat because it was very damp and the owner had just installed rabbit cages right outside their window. They had moved to another flat which was just as wet and could not work out why Cretans co-existed with all these leaky buildings! We sympathised and thanked God for the umpteenth time for our good friends who coated our roof back in September. This is the first winter it has not let in a drop of rain! We know now that we need to do this every Autumn to prepare for the deluge. This summer we will be busy because all the internal walls will need attention – we will have our work cut out.

On the hillsides, the yellow clovery carpet is now widespread under the trees and along the roadsides. The wild flowers are so bright with daisy like flowers and mallow everywhere. There are lots of busy sparrows about but no swallows yet. We know our noisy neighbour will rejoice loudly on their return. I am looking forward to getting some pot plants for the terrace and front porch as the only things to survive after our absence last year are the geraniums and some larger shrubs together with a scattering of buds on the grape vine. All the lavenders, basil and other herbs have died and the pots need new soil to replace all that has been dried up or washed away. A trip to the garden centre is planned on our next fine day.

MARMALIZING MOMENTS

 

Through this winter, we have marvelled at a bumper year for all citrus fruits which look amazing. Everywhere we go, we spot cheerful masses of colour where orange and lemon trees are laden with beautiful fruits set against the glossy dark leaves of the citrus trees with a backdrop of clear, blue skies. We do not have a garden, but enough of our friends round and about have been puzzling what to do with their hoards of goodies and we have been lucky enough for a few bags to come our way. Fresh oranges taste delicious and make the most sensational orange juice, but it is the time for the preserving pans to come down from their high shelves, to be dusted off and all sorts of bubbling brews to begin. This seems to keep us ex-pats deep in huddled conversations for hours before it even begins. Earnest discussion about recipes, where to get muslin for the pip bags, whether to include the rind or not and whether to ditch Mrs Beeton's Lemon Marmalade recipe altogether which insists on the overworked cook changing the cooking water three times during the process.

Lake Kournas for Anna's birthday

Meanwhile in the Crozier establishment, Ma Crozier (= me) has adopted the same recipe each time which I discovered by mistake in my first year in Crete when some visitors turned up in the middle of the process and I had to turn the stove off. As the cooled fruit was easier to pulp, it produced a great batch of marmalade. Accordingly, I have adopted the same plan ever since – henceforth known as the “slow method” which is at complete odds with fast and convenient food. This year I have made 5 or 6 batches. 4 orange, 1 lemon and with the last bag of bitter oranges grew a bit adventurous and attempted tutti-fruiti marmalade with added cranberries and kiwi fruit. It's quite a labour intensive and sticky process and I am glad it is over for another year. I solved the pip bag question by using sterile gauze, as our boxes were no longer needed for wound dressings.

The only (slight) downside is that everyone is at the same game and you cannot give a pot of marmalade away for love nor money because everyone's larder shelves are heaving with them!

Party time!

Away from the kitchen, we have kept rather quiet about weather during February because all the news footage from the UK looked dreadfully wet and horrible while the weather here was absolutely sensational and we were soaking up unexpected heat. Some people got their shorts out and decided summer was here already, but K and I knew that we were not out of the woods yet awhile! Beautiful, clear sky days led to chilly evenings and we kept the log fire burning at night to ensure that the house lost no chance to keep warm and dry. However today is cold and we donned our thick jumpers and warm socks again before lighting the fire early to keep ourselves cheerful. As K is up and about more, the downstairs bed in the living room has been put away and he can take a more active role in keeping the home fires burning.

This weekend is Carnivali. Most of our friends will be going, but it is too complicated to get a car into the centre of town and too much jostling in crowds for K at the moment, so we will be at home doing something else this year. We know lots of people taking part, however, and there is a lot of evidence of masks, plumes, wigs and decorations around town. Friends are puzzling what costume to wear and what they can cobble together for their children at school. Odd figures appear striding about in silky cloaks and pirate hats. Ladies decide to dress their hats with flowers and fruit like Carmen Miranda. Giggling girls pass by with pom poms or horns on their heads. Four young lads today appeared to have painted their dark hair yellow. The week before carnival starts, huge papier mache figures from previous year's floats are placed in prominent spots around the town and we can enjoy all the fun from last year all over again.

Giant, sleeping courgette outside the Marina Car Park!

I was told that Orthodox faithfuls eat no meat at all for 40 days before Easter and this started just over a week ago. However, in my shopping trip to Perama, I distinctly smelled barbecued pork and other meaty dinners from various homes, so I guess this is not the general rule any more. The lady who told me said that she was not religious, but keeping to fresh vegetables, pulses and grains for this early Spring season was a good, healthy thing to do. I think she is probably right.

Birthday Cake ... BEFORE

The garden with the olive trees is now closed to us. I went to see whether there were any flowers on the trees earlier in the week and the gate has been padlocked shut; I am guessing that the owner must have reclaimed it in our prolonged absence but a quick visit to talk to us would have been nice because we spent quite a lot of time on it. They do things differently here and it must mean that the owner's health is much better this year so I am not entirely sorry that we have one less thing to worry about.

Birthday Cake ... AFTER!

BUSY BEES

Anogia - looking towards the snowy mountains

 K and I are recovering from a very busy week when there has been something happening away from home every day. You will gather from this that the patient is very much better after a nasty three weeks at the beginning of the year. Now that things are healing up and his medication has been changed, he has been up and about inside the house and in the car for one or two outings. This, together with some unexpectedly warm sunshine for February has cheered us up a lot.

Katerina, one of our Greek friends from the “Makers” sessions, organised a trip up to see the snow at Anogia last Sunday. Once-weekly into Rethymnon for “Making Bees” with kindred spirits has brought me some very welcome respite from sick-nursing and floor mopping! Kimon was going to come on the trip, but then remembered how steep and precarious all the roads and steps were there, so stayed behind. We had a fabulous morning up in the snowy sunshine and ate lamb cooked in a special way at one of the tavernas with a spectacular view of both mountains and the distant sea. It really helped to lift the winter blues. We all brought back tubs of galactabourika – a wonderful egg custardy dessert which K enjoyed whole-heartedly for his tea.

View from Roumeli

On Monday we went to kind friends for a very British lunch (including steamed treacle pudding!) On Tuesday I joined some pals for some retail therapy to a shop called Praktika near Heraklion. We found a cross between B & Q and John Lewis, with a small coffee bar at the entrance – so we started the day out with a cappuccino in the too hot sunshine. The next day, I had to get up at the crack of dawn to make the annual trip to the IKA office to renew our books. These are equivalent to Social Security books which grant equivalent medical treatment to patients as people of the same age in Greece. As all pensioners get free medical treatment, the books are very valuable to have and need to be renewed every February. Therefore, the entire elderly population of Greece queue up every February to get their books stamped. We were musing over how we would change this system while we waited with scores of other people. I was able to do Kimon's for him and it was the usual bureaucratic bun fight with Cretan ladies masterminding ways to jump the queue. There were four of us ex pat ladies in a huddle with a pile of books for selves and hubbies and Margaret had kept a copy of her completed form from previous years which showed all the workings in Greek. Your name, your father's name, your mother's name. Date of birth and residence. My passport had been renewed so I needed to give the lady a copy of my new passport. Margaret also had a new one and had to go off to get it photocopied and I just managed to stop the lady behind the desk fastening Margaret's copy to the back of Kimon's form!!! We staggered out of the office and sunk down thankfully for a cup of coffee and a biscuit glad that “IKA Books at Dawn” operation was over for another year.

When I got back and started getting logs from the log pile, I was set upon by a very ferocious and dirty looking cat hiding under the tarpaulin. I realised the poor thing was dreadfully sick and in agony. Sadly- or mercifully- the cat was dead by morning and I set about with double rubber gloves, a large disposable bed pad sheet (left over from hospital) and a woven sacking bag from which our logs had been delivered to wrap up and dispose of the deceased. Everyone knows that I am not a cat person, but the poor thing had been in a terrible state and a neighbour said that he had lost his cat as well. Poison had been put down somewhere to “kill mice”. We don't think so. I would have chosen a much more merciful way to control the cat population and there are organisations which organise the neutering of village cats. I think I need to find out more about this.

Thursday and Friday were taken up with our 'Makers' Session followed by haircuts by one of the ladies who is a retired hairdresser whilst our energetic Zacharoula turned up on Friday morning to help in the house. Zacharoula is training to be a nurse and is working for the organisation Voithia sto Spiti (Help in the House). She energetically tackles some work to keep the house clean and tidy and it saves my back a bit. Eventually, I think we will need to find a proper cleaning lady to do the heavier tasks as looking after K and myself is harder than it was.

On Saturday, a bag of lemons which had been looking at me reproachfully for several days went into the preserving pan. The fruit was so young and the pips so small that the batch did not gel very well, but K and I are really enjoying our toast and marmalade in the mornings. Then, Kostas our neighbour, turned up with 10 lovely fresh eggs. These delicious offerings – all different colours and sizes - were very welcome for breakfasts and home made cakes.

Although the house is quite warm in the mornings, we are not counting our chickens about the future weather, February and March can still get very cold and wet – so we will not put away our winter coverings for yet awhile. My portion of the roof painting has leaked a lot through the bathroom ceiling during the heavy rains while the main section of the roof tackled by our fantastic friends from England back in September has stayed dry all winter. Meanwhile, news reports about flooding from the UK are horrendous – so we hope that you are keeping warm and dry, wherever you are today.