THIS AND THAT ....

We've had lots of trivial things going on recently and it has been hard to stay in one place long enough to put anything down for the blog diary. After a couple of weeks of freezing cold weather, snow and horrible torrents of rain, we were relieved last weekend that the sun made an appearance again and the temperatures changed dramatically within a few hours. We kept emerging from the house in thick layers of woollies only to find that the temperature in the car was boiling and we had to go back inside and rethink our layers again. K and I spent last Sunday down on the harbour wall with a thermos of coffee in Panormo while he fished and I did some painting. It was a glorious morning.

One of the things that has now become tricky is getting huge lumps of wood chopped into small enough pieces to burn more easily on the wood stove. With half a leg out of commission for balancing purposes, it is just a bit too risky to let K on the loose with an axe or chain saw. We made an agreement with Nikos-the-Wood to purchase a new chain saw for him in exchange for two loads of logs and he seemed to think this was a good deal. Monday morning was spent at the Store being given a detailed demo by the man at the agricultural counter while farmers came in and out with tools which needed fixing, oil cans for filling and driving away again with trucks full of equipment for the olive picking, which is very busy this year. We think that world forces have meant that Cretan olive oil is in high demand in 2015. Every truck in the village is off at 7.30 a.m. and not back until 4.00 p.m. We have been given two large water bottles of local oil as Christmas presents. It tastes wonderful – if only all this beautiful oil would help with the country's balance of payments!

Then we made the decision to have a proper Crozier kitchen fitted after an elongated delay and I unearthed some squared paper and started measuring and drawing. After marking the fixed points for the windows, doors and immovable objects, I progressed around the four walls of the old house in diagrammatic form. Inevitably, the old walls were so aged that when I got to the final corner of the room to complete the scale drawings, the edges did not seem to meet properly! Nothing is square, nothing is straight. I am so glad that I am not a joiner, but presumably they are used to it by now. Just as we had totted up the expense for this and needed to think about moving funds about, our son called from the UK to tell us that the offer for the house in the UK had been accepted and we needed to get on line fast to tie up loose ends. Almost synchronised to the second, the laptop developed a peculiar fault and told me my user profile had changed … (HOW AND BY WHOM?) ...so I could not use it. We needed to take the laptop to a knowledgeable guy who could twiddle about with it in Safe Mode and make the necessary alterations. It seems to be cured now. There is also a General Election in Greece tomorrow and although all the UK news agencies are “terrified”that Greece will leave the EU, no one hereabouts thinks that it will happen. We will see.

Minoan cup designs - Aren't they beautiful?

We heard from our friend Gianna on Monday, that her husband is out of Intensive Care but still quite poorly. I dropped off a ripple mattress the following morning so that the dreaded bed sores could be prevented and looked up the vitamins and food supplements which I had used for K to build him up and replace all the body weight lost while in hospital. Things are still quite tense, but Tony has three good nurses looking after him round the clock and Gianna (who is a marvellous cook) making wonderful soups and drinks at home and bringing them into the hospital to feed to him and get him stronger. Tony may soon be taken to a clinic in Chania for rehabilitation which we heard about last year. We are still hoping and praying for his complete recovery.

On Friday we paid a second, much more enlightened visit to the amazing Archaeology Museum in Heraklion. Explanation and signage had been much improved since my last trip in the summer and we had the input from Don Eveley, our friend from the British School of Athens, Archaeologist and former curator of the school at Knossos. My take on all the myriad of objects, so beautifully displayed was as irreverent as ever … would you use that portable clay stove for egg poaching .. how on earth did you get stored materials from the bottom of that enormous man size pithoi (terracotta ali baba style pots) .. did you have to suspend a small child by one leg over the edge with a jug or ladle … how did they fire such huge pots and what size of kiln would they use? Fortunately, as a group we had evolved and moved on from using limited brain power worrying about Minoan toilets and sanitation! As we progressed around the museum, the statuary section of the later eras gave us a long pause for thought and I stopped to take a photo of the bust of Caesar Augustus, simply because I had heard of him. The bust of Caligula was next to him and in spite of his reputation, he didn't look so very different from anyone who might be travelling on the same bus to work. Scary! The facilities at the museum were excellent and all the guides and people so welcoming and friendly but after two or three hours our feet were suffering, so we went for lunch in the busy tourist centre of the city. I had spent an inordinate amount of time snapping away at the ceramic designs to see whether I could get some inspiration in the colour choice for kitchen tiles – What a flibbertigibbet I am!

If anyone has seen the online version of a small heater made with two inverted clay flower pots, one candle and lots of metal nuts and bolts to hitch them together, and been assured that it gives off an impressive level of heat at minimal cost … look no further. I was intrigued to take a look at all the clay artefacts displayed so well at the museum and there is one design that looks as if it would do the same job. It made me want to have a go at creating one of my own, but there is far too much happening at the moment for potting 'Minoan' radiators. January is Marmalade Season. I had forgotten to mention that three people had dropped off loads of oranges for me to make marmalade and quite a lot of time has been spent spooning pips out of bubbling marmalade confections and sterilising jam jars. It is a great way to keep warm!

HAPPY NEW WELLINGTONS

Xronia Polla or Happy New Year from Crete. The festive period has been a little affected by strong winds, heavy rains, the usual leaks in various parts of various houses, and most of us stay at home indoors unless we HAVE to go out. The clouds parted for two days over the weekend so that we could take stunning photos of the mountains covered in snow and note that the white stuff was travelling down hill and coming towards us across the lower slopes! K and I were lucky that our neighbour Niko The Wood, or to quote one of our grandsons ...”Just in the Nick of Time” delivered a truck load of wood to replenish the wood pile. This was a big relief as the temperatures are forecast to plummet in the next few days. We cannot believe we have got through the log supply so quickly, even waiting until 5.00 pm every evening to light the stove, but it has gone in a short number of weeks and we are determined not to catch cold.

It is wonderful to be tucked away at home in a warm house. We skimmed through flooded roads to the CIC coffee morning today and it was truly soggy and filthy weatherwise, the torrential rain not giving up for a minute the entire day.  Thunder and lightning have been crashing about overhead all night long and knocking out the electricity and internet at regular intervals. Nobody can quite believe the winter rainfall in Crete unless they have been through it for themselves. I have a large torch to hand in case of a total break down of power. K couldn't get his gum boots on without help, so got completely soaked going down to the shop for potatoes. Damp cold is a bit miserable and I plan to bank up the log burner before bed so that it keeps the house warm for as long as possible. The fireplace is full of a very unbecoming collection of hats, socks and boots drying out.

Tomorrow is Epiphany. Apparently, the Bishop of Rethymnon will say prayers to bless the waters at the harbour tomorrow and throw a large cross into the sea for young men to retrieve. I hope that there are lots of hot blankets ready for those taking part. It sounds interesting, but unless the weather improves, I think we will have to give it a miss. There are also rumours that they will celebrate the festival up at the new reservoir near Amari; having no fear of the crocodile "Sifis" which seems have been abandoned there back in the summer and caused quite a stir in the news. There have been a number of unsuccessful attempts to catch it and lots of video footage which looks similar to the blurred images of the Loch Ness monster.  Anyone diving for crosses in cold water with even a suggestion of a crocodile deserves a medal!

We had good news of our friends Tony and Gianna. Tony is still in hospital but off the ventilator and recovering slowly. His experiences were so similar to K, that we know just how things are panning out, but he is in Rethymnon Hospital, not Heraklion, which seems much smaller and friendlier. Tony is getting good medical and nursing care, so there are less issues to cope with. We saw Gianna at the coffee morning and she looked very much happier.  We were all glad to hear that Tony had turned a corner. It will be a long road to recovery after such a long time in ICU and we are just praying that he will be protected from hospital bugs and gets home soon.  Christmas and New Year have been and gone without their noticing, so 2015 must get better for them.

It is now the morning of the 6^th and we woke up to find water all over the kitchen floor; we wanted to discover if it came from above or below the house, but the lighting was so dim, we could not see anything. Electricity seems to be on half power and nothing works properly except, miraculously, the internet. The microwave was almost comical in its pathetic attempt to get started and sounded like an exhausted gnat. Out with the camping gaz, extra duvets and thermals and on with the log burner! Hibernation seems the best option.

COOL YULE

Happy Christmas to all our friends. The Croziers have been a little preoccupied in recent weeks with various medical appointments and preparations for the Christmas holidays. Since we try to make as many home-made or locally produced gifts as possible, it takes up a lot of time in the kitchen or devising packaging. I had already decided to get small gifts from local makers or craftspeople rather than large stores with only partial success. We have been to a couple of craft fairs in the local villages, which are always good fun and where all the ex pats and local traders get together to sell their wares.

On top of this the weather has been stunningly good. Not warm exactly, but with deep blue skies, sparkling sunshine and gleaming snow on the mountain tops; lungs full of the fresh air each morning gives everyone a glad-to-be-alive feeling. It was too good an opportunity to miss getting heavy items washed, dried and aired and the house swept and mopped before earning some quiet time for contemplation or a “cup of coffee moment” on the terrace where it is warmer in the sunshine than inside the house.

Art School closed unexpectedly for a few weeks over Christmas, but the Makers Group organised a Christmas Meal in Rethymno for a staggeringly low cost and we had a chance to exchange cards, swap news and enjoy a large procession of meze dishes with a glass of wine and still be home at a respectable hour!

Building on last year's experience, I prepared a large dish of cakes and Father Christmas chocolates to have handy in case carol singers turned up as they did last year with lots of children, adults and tinkling triangles in the street outside the door. Predictably, this did not happen this year, so we have a large dish of cakes and chocs which I have covered up and will try not to eat in case they come at New Year instead!

We fitted in medical appointments all on one day in Rethymnon and K saw the Ophthalmologist and Urologist for eye examination and three-monthly injection. We are trying to get the process set in motion for his cataracts to be dealt with but it will be a while before he is ready. After several weeks of enquiries to Amazon, a box containing an aid to help with socks and stockings arrived, which helps with the putting on of things, but is no help at all in getting them off! The effort for both procedures is like an hour in the gym! We need a concerted Crozier effort in the innovations department as K wants to get as independent as he can.

Meanwhile, the fine weather has meant that the olive picking has continued and all the farm buggies and trucks set off early each morning and return when the sun is going down and the Olive Mill is humming until late in the night. A few small presents to our villager neighbours promoted many bags of eggs and litre bottles of the most beautiful olive oil, all fresh from this years crop (along with other offerings of home made wine and raki … help). Our friends Kostas and Angelliki seem to like English chocolates and a visit by the English Grocer to one of the Christmas Fairs, meant that I could get them a big tin of Celebrations – utter luxury for them! So the commonplace for us is in stark comparison again. All our friends enjoy Christmas here. There are no crowds, traffic jams or heaving shopping centres. We have been given gifts of chutneys, pickled onions, home made biscuits, hand made knits and beautiful cards. No one has much money, but all the creative efforts were lovely and very thoughtful. Our hosts for Christmas Lunch put on a most beautiful meal and laboured over home made gifts too! Other guests had made up Red Cross parcels, wrapped in brown paper and string and which contained an assortment of small items, similar to a Christmas stocking! It was lots of fun!

We have had some heartfelt prayer moments too. Not only to see and hear Christmas celebrations from round the world via on line programmes, but some CIC friends have the husband (Tony) in the intensive care unit in the local hospital due to pneumonia and they have induced a coma, done a tracheostomy and all the same procedures that K went through a year before. What a Christmas for his wife (Gianna) and how I sympathise with her! So we have made our way to the local church to light candles and pray for a swift recovery. I know that coming out of ICU to a normal ward in the hospital will be even more difficult for his wife and hope she will keep in touch with us. At least they are nearer to their friends in Rethymnon.

The sound of running water has stopped me in my tracks; it is now pouring with rain, so Boxing Day will be different from Christmas! We send you love and greetings for a joyful time and a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

HOME AND AWAY

 After a short second stint in the UK, Mrs Crozier is back in Crete unwinding.

The first few UK days were quite dry and fine which helped a lot and made things easier but later on, the clouds gathered and the weather started to get much colder. UK friends who helped give lifts, cooked wonderful meals and offered storage space were so appreciated. I even braved South Quay in Southampton on Black Friday weekend, which was a bit of a mistake as the crowds were so overwhelming and I didn't need any shopping. However the light lunch at John Lewis's Place to Eat in bright sunshine made it slightly easier and we escaped in one piece. Everywhere we went, the pressure of people and traffic seemed worse than ever and I was glad not to be driving.

House clearing was hard going, but the help offered was marvellous and the whole contents of the house in Hampshire were divided and taken away by vans and car to various new locations or for storage for a short while. The stress of getting repossession of our home and dealing with the aftermath made it very unappealing, so K and I were glad to cut our losses, sell up and prepare to look for somewhere away from the crowded South East. After a frantic week of packing and cleaning, I dropped off the keys at the Estate Agents to await completion the following day and set off for a stayover at Gatwick on Thursday night. Just as I was turning off my mobile to board the plane on Friday morning, the Solicitors called to say the transaction had completed. Brilliant. It had all worked out surprisingly well. I slept all the way on the flight to Athens and then after a short break at Athens airport was wide awake to Heraklion.

I was boiling on the plane in my winter woollies. The flight was stuffed to capacity with every seat taken for Friday night and so squashed that even if the Greek travellers had the self discipline to take one piece of carry-on luggage each, there still would not have been enough bin space for all the bags, bundles and boxes that people, air hostesses and strong men were trying to wrestle into the space above their heads. Since Aegean Airlines have started to charge for even one piece of checked luggage, it has caused mayhem on the planes and they are always requesting for people to check their hand baggage into the hold and pick it up at the carousel. I did not mind doing it, but would not always want to surrender my bag due to my odd assortment of ex-pat stuff which is sometimes quite fragile. On this occasion, it actually made life a bit easier.

I can't help thinking that the ground staff who operate the luggage scanning machines at the security department must see some odd sights. I memorised the peculiar assortment I had packed: coat hooks, a door knob, shaving oil, a new pan for the bread maker, new filters for the water filter jug, Christmas wrapping paper (found in the loft), various treasured bits which I thought had been disposed of, a hair dryer from the UK house to replace the one that had broken here in Crete and a small oven pan. You can buy oven pans here, but they only sell ENORMOUS ones, and K and I have no need to cook so much food at one go these days. Similarly cake tins and dishes all seem to be made for huge family meals rather than sedate suppers for two. There may be a lesson in that somewhere. Anyway, it was time now to think about Christmas Fare Cretan style and to make some homemade mincemeat (which I didn't have room for!)

The house was warm and welcoming on our arrival, K had lit the log burner which was warming the whole of the ground floor, my lovely friends who had met me from the airport brought a bag of the most beautiful mandarin oranges freshly picked from their tree as a gift and K had some food ready to cook if needs be – but the hour was too late to tackle a meal after all the journey food.

A stormy weekend was perfect for looking out the Christmas decorations

Cretan weather had been really hot in my absence and lots of people had been out in their gardens or on the beaches enjoying some warm December sun. I stopped off on the way back from the supermarket on Saturday and took a short walk down the sea wall just to sit on a bench in the sun for a few minutes, look at the harbour and count my blessings. It was so great to be back on this beautiful island to enjoy a lead up to Christmas completely emptied of the usual hassle. On Sunday the winter rain storms started up like an orchestra – loud thunder, dips in the electric power and heavy rain all night. We have been appreciating the new porch roof sevenfold! Enough for now; it is time to sweep up after the deluge!

HARVEST HOME

 We have had all our plates spinning on sticks for a few weeks now and I have had to keep running to catch up most of the time, so apologies for lack of blog jottings.

Innovations: We installed nice looking rustic bamboo over our porch when we first moved to the little stone house because we needed some covering to keep the sun off the front of the house and, having only visited Crete in holiday months had erroneously thought that this would be the right answer. Several winters in Crete (and last winter in particular) had changed my mind completely because although the bamboo looked pleasingly rustic, stood up to the Cretan winds and kept the porch in shade all summer, the impact of tropical rainstorms plus so much dust and dirt were a different matter altogether and foraging for damp logs in the cold and wet, then sweeping and mopping the tiles every day during the wet winter months was a miserable business when I had more important things to do. Rik our friendly builder came to give us some ideas. I just managed to get the water proofing on the main house roof before the heavens opened for the usual October rains. After dodging rain storms and horrendous weather for a couple of weeks, Rik rolled up with some insulated porch roofing which is doing a wonderful job of keeping the porch dry, the woodpile protected and there is even room to get laundry under cover - just! Worth every euro and we are pleased with it. We hope it won't be too hot and airless next summer, but time will tell.

While all this was happening, great friends from the UK came over for a week at the start of November. I was worried because the weather had been awful and all the tavernas, tourist shops and cafes had shut for the season and I wondered whether there would be enough to keep everyone busy and happy. Fortunately, they did not want to do anything too taxing, we took a walk round the headland, paid a visit to the Makers Craft session, cooked, shopped and strolled around Rethymno in really quite bright warm days and even shocked the locals by swimming a few times! The Scrabble Board came out with disastrous results! (I lost by a mile). It was lovely to see them and the car behaved itself very well on its way to and from the airport despite being a bit elderly.

Then we were getting all sorts of odd questions about the house sale in the UK and we were grateful for Leo's input about doorlock enquiries and double glazing attributes. K and I looked completely clueless and slightly derailed by the intensity of such questions. We hope we are close to exchange and completion now. Wherever will we store all our bits and pieces while we look for somewhere in Staffordshire?

My Greek is beginning to improve. I managed to slowly translate a phrase made by one of our neighbours when I commented on the heavy rain. “Creasoumay vrechy sto yelyes” … after a minute or two racking my brains I realised that the locals were pleased to have lots of water on their fields because “they needed water for the olive trees” and to swell the olives before harvesting. All the cafeneons are alive with the discussions of the olive crop this year. There is a cacophony of vans and trucks firing up and disappearing by 8,00 a.m. every morning with a selection of sacks, nets, generators and twirly sticks which they use for the olive harvesting. At night, a large buzzing noise from the top of the village means that the Olive Mill (curiously painted vivid green which can be seen for miles) is working long hours to give the cold pressed oil. It is so good for everyone. We have new neighbours in the run-down building across the road who spent a few weeks restoring the house, replacing and treating the windows and they eventually moved in. It is nice to see washing hanging up, lights at the windows and a plant pot outside the front door. A nasty dark storage cellar, home to cats, birds and other creepy crawlies has now had wooden doors constructed and painted. It looks much more welcoming now than in the time of the former tenants - roosting pigeons on all the window sills who made so much mess. In fact, many of the empty village houses are beginning to be reoccupied by newcomers. Nice.

We have also discovered and sampled our village doctor who calls every Friday morning in an office just off the village square. You queue for ages but she takes all the prescriptions to the Pharmacy in Panormo and Niko the Pharmacist drives back with the medicines and delivers them to the door later in the day! How great is that? Kimon doesn't need a car or lift at all.

I have been saving the best news until last: K had the lowest (=good) PSA result of all today from the lab – it had gone down to 0.089 – an improvement on three weeks ago which means that something (we hope the radiotherapy or hormone treatment) has made a difference. We are just thanking our lucky stars and good friends who have cheered us on. Harvest Thanksgiving has a real intensity for us this year. Yesterday and today I have been making jars of chutney, marmalade, home made fudge for a table top sale over the weekend, so life has been hectic and there doesn't seem to be any let up. I'm looking forward to relaxing in front of the log burner and a few sleepy, winter evenings but I don't see it happening for yet a while!

LUSTRAL BASINS AND OTHER LUXURIES

K and I are back after five days away from home in South Eastern Crete. The weather has been wonderful with bright fine weather – not too hot by day and cool at night. Perfect for travelling, walking and swimming. We were booked for an archaeological weekend at Kato Zachros and, as it is quite a longwinded journey with a few mountains to cross, we had booked a stopover night at Sitia in the East of Crete.

The road to Sitia was a bit gruelling and impatient Cretan drivers kept overtaking us on roads with hairpin bends. For one moment I found myself three abreast on a narrow road and with another car coming the other way and had to take evasive action very fast. I am always shocked that drivers think it OK to overtake cars which are already overtaking, but there is little or no fear, or indeed discipline at all among Cretan drivers. We were doubly glad to travel in one piece and for the rather old underpowered car to have made the journey safely.

We stopped for a meal break at the Panorama Taverna in both directions because the view was splendid, the parking was just off the road and the people were nice. On the island out at sea were more archaeological remains, but we had to read about them and move on this time round.

Sitia was wonderful for us. It didn't look so special to others, but K was able to come down in the hotel lift and walk straight out along a beautifully paved promenade to cafes, shops and kiosks as well as the harbour. There was disabled parking right by the beach. I could nip straight out in my swimming togs for a swim, just as the sun came up over the mountains and return back for a hot shower just in time for breakfast. Definitely our sort of place these days. The sea water is really warm at this time of year and the beaches nearly empty. With a number of prayers on my mind, I took a long walk up lots of steps to the church in the centre of town, but nobody was home.

We pressed on across more high plains, mountainous passes and small remote villages to Zachros and Kato Zachros. There is a small Minoan palace there which has been uncovered in the 1960s – late enough not to have been spoiled or desecrated. We could trace the outer walls of the palace, various wings, workshop areas and the remains of houses in a small town at a higher level. The port road was a raised paved roadway which continued to the sea (where a large taverna now sits at the water's edge). It was here we had a talk and our Archaeologist friend Don Eveley explained all about the remains, their significance and brought the town back to life for us. What to us looked like four straight channels of mud were the conserved remains of a potters kiln, a narrow dog-leg staircase down to a square hole below ground level a lustral basin*, and a few crumbs dropped in a number of the water filled pools and cisterns in one part of the site brought forth a whole colony of terrapins who poked their heads out of the water or basked on nearby rocks. He had obviously been there before! As a few of us sat for a rest on large stones under the trees, he explained that it was probably just at this spot where the craftsmen from the workshops on the outer skirts of the palace would have stopped to take a break too. Beautiful ceramics and artefacts had been discovered on the site which were now in museums locally and in Heraklion. K and I continued to be amazed by the beauty and sophistication of fine arts and crafts from 4,000 years ago.

We stayed at a place called Yiannis Retreat. It was a bit away from the sea front via a long, rough track but so worth the journey when we arrived with small rustic stone built cottages fitted out in the most imaginative way. We had everything we needed for a nice stay and much, much more. It was so quiet there that K and I fear that we were the noisiest creatures there.

On the way home, we spent two nights at Sissi which was also pleasant. K began to walk further afield with his crutches to get as much exercise as possible. I did some sketching but we did not manage to find a swimming or fishing spot; the weather stayed fine every day. We arrived home long before mid-day on Wednesday feeling as if we had been away for a year and much refreshed. The mini break was just what the Doctor ordered!

* Lustral Basin is the name given to a small oblong underground closet reached by stairs shaped in a dog leg. They are found in most of the Minoan Palace workings in Crete, near the centre of the building and not on the outer limits. Nobody is sure, but the name was given to these areas by Sir Arthur Evans who initiated work at Knossos at the turn of the 20^th century and believed them to be used for some kind of religious rite of cleansing. There are ledges all around the stairs and base for articles and remains of large bowls excavated in some. After so many thousands of years, we can only make mystified guesses about their use.  

HELTER SKELTER

 After a very busy ten days in England, Mrs Crozier is back in Crete and her feet still haven't touched the ground. Pa Crozier nursed his sore tummy and stayed behind, and we hope it will be over the worst very soon.

I wanted to catch up with my Dad. He has been well placed in a nice nursing home after all his falls and mishaps last winter, and is very looked after beautifully by the staff and family. It would not be his first choice, but he is beginning to get used to it and seems happier now that he has Sky Sport available in his own space. Waited on hand and foot with wall-to-wall golf – what could be better? Predictably, he would not agree.

wet wipes from the surface of the washing machine

If anyone wants to persuade a friend of relative to give up smoking, they could have paid a visit to our little house in England that had been rented out to a rogue tenant and had only been re-possessed in June. I could not sleep a wink the first night there because the smell in the house was so horrible. Every piece of fabric needed to be laundered, blankets, sheets, curtains and carpets. Every hard surface was stained yellow and had to be washed down with sugar soap or redecorated. And even after this mammoth effort and windows and doors open for 10 days, there was still the odd sniff of nicotine which we couldn't eradicate. It was a truly horrible job and heaven knows what the rogue tenant's lungs look like. Our son, who gained possession a few weeks ago did not waste any time and just threw away most of our household items at the tip because of the smell and grime. Even though the house was not directly trashed, it was ruined slowly and surely by indirect means and we left a warm and comfortable home but would never want to return to it after all this. We were not surprised that the Open Day arranged by the Estate Agents did not attract any buyers until after it had been completely cleaned up.

On the plus side, my brilliant friends turned up in good heart and got to work with industrial carpet cleaners for a second go at the carpets, sorted boxes, took things to the charity shop and the tip and invited me for lovely meals during the week, which put on some spectacular weather while I was there. We left the house clean and tidy, with an empty loft, a tidier shed and a garden which dear Liz had forked over, weeded and cut back in a startlingly short space of time. My brother and his wife worked tirelessly to clear and chuck things away and gave me lifts all over the place. As friends and family go, I think I have the best ever.

Art Class - Tuesday

Once back in Crete, the pressure was still on. First we needed to get the tyres fixed on the car because their service over bumpy tracks was taking its toll - they seemed to be going down each week and needed pumping up. Our Greek MOT was also due, so we needed the car to be shipshape in preparation for that. We steeled ourselves to cope with Wednesday which was exceptionally busy paying the water bill, visiting the bank, getting the tyres fixed and meeting friends at Vinzi's all by 11.00 a.m. Impressed? We were. We also were under pressure to get our house tax paid, because the Greek Electricity Board which used to collect it, did not wish to any more, and we needed to collect a form from our Accountant. Botheration, it was much simpler with the Lekky Bill! Our Jobs to do list has had “Find an Accountant” at the top of it for the last year or so, but other matters have got in the way, so on Wednesday evening, we were introduced to a lady accountant in Perama and her son, who translated into English for us, while we puzzled out how to make up for our tardiness. We have to go back on Monday with lots of papers and 150 euros. It seems as if we have been giving away sheaves of money all week. She also insisted that we keep a large sum of money in a Greek bank, which we have avoided for quite a while.

The next day, we took the car to IKTEO for its MOT and it passed with flying colours. So tick another job done. I have never imagined such a luxurious vehicle testing station. Leather armchairs, spotlessly clean floors and loos, colour TV, coffee machine and a sweetie bowl on the coffee table. Lovely and cool, it makes having your car MOT'd quite an experience. K and I read the paper, looked at the Aloe Vera plants growing outside for BioHerb products and had quite a nice morning until we had to hand over the next 50 euros!

Aloe Vera cultivation for beauty products

We stopped in Panormo on the way home, because it was a spectacularly lovely day, with sparkling sunshine, not too hot and a calm sea. I jumped in the harbour for a quiet swim – once round the buoys and back to the shore feeling much better for the exercise.

We have to go to Heraklion tomorrow for K's next injection. He has not really recovered from the radiotherapy and his tummy is still not working normally which means he is stuck at home feeling helpless still and a bit sorry for himself. I will keep on with the horrible low residue diet for a while longer and hope he gets over the worst of it soon. So an hour trip to Heraklion for an injection is not top of his “want to do” list. I really hope the Doctors can suggest something to help him over the tummy upset stage.

The weather is on the change and rains will soon be here

So, its back on the road again tomorrow! Kalo dromo!

Post script. Car behaving better with new tyres. Drove all the way to Heraklion and queued to see the Doctor while loud alarms were going off and I wondered why. We needed to get a prescription for the injection and then have the injection. The noise was due to a cut in the power and put paid to the computers printing a prescription, so we had to get the Doctor to call our Pharmacist in Panormo and on a promise (for very expensive medicines) the Pharmacist agreed to get the supplies so long as we drove back to Heraklion on Monday with the packs from him to have the injection and to return to the Pharmacy with the prescription paper, once it could be printed out at the Hospital. Exhausted, stressed out, broke through petrol wastage, queues and bad temper? Ggrrrr!