Oh dear. I'd forgotten what it felt like to be cold.
I'm jet-lagged and so can't sleep, but I'm not up for posting about the remainder of the trip, so I'll do that tomorrow.
20090718
20090709
Heat Went to My Head
The paving was completed yesterday (I'll take some photos in the morning), and this morning Takis and I swept up all the excess sand, which was very hard work, and though we did it early in the morning it was insanely hot. We both ended up a bit gritty.
We also decided to clean the terrace, which had got thoroughly filthy while the men were working. I swept, scrubbed, and sluiced with a broom, while Takis sprayed water, and then I mopped up the excess. The end result was I got very over-heated, and ended up feeling quite funny. Thankfully collapsing into the sea fixed that, since I was getting decidedly fizzy in the head and green around the gills, and couldn't think. Unfortunately the over-heating also meant the sun screen I slathered on before going to the beach was all sweated off the moment it was applied, so I'm sun-burnt too.
I'm going to pace myself better next time!
We had a barbecue the other night. I have to say that Greek sausages are the best in the world. They don't taste of meat at all, as they're so spiced and seasoned that they just taste of yumminess. Very nice!
We swam at the near beach today, as it's been getting crowded, noisy, and very sultry and the more sheltered far beach we usually go to. It was a nice change, and the cooler water and breeze were very welcome.
Tonight we're eating at home, and Friday we're going down to Paralia for Pikolia (pre-dinner munchies but generous enough to be considered a meal if you order the right stuff).
Saturday we're having an early birthday dinner with Jacqui and her family.
On Sunday we're having a quiet one, since we go to Athens on Monday morning. We're there for two nights before flying out to Singapore, where we transit for 12 hours, then on to Auckland, where we hang around the charming Airport for a few hours, and then fly back to Wellington.
I'm burnt, tired, salty, and still feeling a little bit icky, so I'll stop there. Needless to say the time between this and my last post has been lovely, but I don't really feel like detailing it, so I'll stop now.
We also decided to clean the terrace, which had got thoroughly filthy while the men were working. I swept, scrubbed, and sluiced with a broom, while Takis sprayed water, and then I mopped up the excess. The end result was I got very over-heated, and ended up feeling quite funny. Thankfully collapsing into the sea fixed that, since I was getting decidedly fizzy in the head and green around the gills, and couldn't think. Unfortunately the over-heating also meant the sun screen I slathered on before going to the beach was all sweated off the moment it was applied, so I'm sun-burnt too.
I'm going to pace myself better next time!
We had a barbecue the other night. I have to say that Greek sausages are the best in the world. They don't taste of meat at all, as they're so spiced and seasoned that they just taste of yumminess. Very nice!
We swam at the near beach today, as it's been getting crowded, noisy, and very sultry and the more sheltered far beach we usually go to. It was a nice change, and the cooler water and breeze were very welcome.
Tonight we're eating at home, and Friday we're going down to Paralia for Pikolia (pre-dinner munchies but generous enough to be considered a meal if you order the right stuff).
Saturday we're having an early birthday dinner with Jacqui and her family.
On Sunday we're having a quiet one, since we go to Athens on Monday morning. We're there for two nights before flying out to Singapore, where we transit for 12 hours, then on to Auckland, where we hang around the charming Airport for a few hours, and then fly back to Wellington.
I'm burnt, tired, salty, and still feeling a little bit icky, so I'll stop there. Needless to say the time between this and my last post has been lovely, but I don't really feel like detailing it, so I'll stop now.
20090707
Floating
I bought a Li-Lo-type thing the other day, and today I took it with us when we went for our morning swim today. It was wonderful. Unlike home, Kyparissi's beaches are often like mill ponds, so you can use small, inflatable 'craft' without risking your life in the surf. I blew the thing up, took it into the water, and basically spent the morning floating, occasionally 'falling off' to cool off, but otherwise quite content to just drift. The water was so still that an algae bloom developed about ten minutes after we went in, so I managed to stay above that and yet not over-heat. It was wonderful. I'm taking it to the beach again tomorrow morning.
Over the past few days things have been fairly routine, though yesterday everyone but me went to the craphole (Malaoi). I spent the morning at the house, since I couldn't be bothered walking down to and back from the beaches, and ended up having a long, and somewhat inarticulate conversation with one of the men working on the garden, while they stopped to drink the beer I gave them. It was rather lovely, as I know about five words of Greek and Mihali (no proper idea of the spelling in the Roman alphabet, but the 'h' bit is pronounced like the ch in the Scottish 'loch' - "mee-ha-lee") speaks no English at all. Much gesticulation and mime was involved, and Mihali found me very amusing. I doubt my wit had anything to do with it though. Perhaps the grimaces and dancing around did the trick...
They're almost finished with the paving. The gate materials have been ordered, and more pavers are the only hold-up with the 'flooring' part of it, so I imagine it'll all be done by the time we leave. I hope so!
Last night Pip and Chris came over for drinks, bringing their ailing notebook with them. It wasn't really ailing, but it's seriously RAM-deprived, and was chocker-block with antique error and update log files, temporary files, and failed virus definition downloads, so we cleared some space for them, and advised they consider it a brick and get a new machine. We then all went out for a lovely dinner.
They also brought us a brand new barbecue to break in for them. We're giving it a test-run for dinner tonight, and then some other night Chris and Pip will come back and we'll demonstrate how Greek BBQ is really done!
On Sunday the beach was packed with weekenders, so it wasn't as nice as usual, but we swam and had a nice time, and Chris was back in the water, with one arm, and two fins. He did well and it was nice to see him actually out of the house.
Tomorrow we're forecast to have over 40 degrees, so I hope the recent run of humidity buggers off. We're all thoroughly sick of being soggy!
My birthday is on Sunday, and we're having dinner with Jacqui and her son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter. I'm really looking forward to that.
Right now it's siesta time, so naturally Chris is working, and I'm blogging. Maybe next time we shouldn't bring computers...
Nah! I'd go crazy.
Over the past few days things have been fairly routine, though yesterday everyone but me went to the craphole (Malaoi). I spent the morning at the house, since I couldn't be bothered walking down to and back from the beaches, and ended up having a long, and somewhat inarticulate conversation with one of the men working on the garden, while they stopped to drink the beer I gave them. It was rather lovely, as I know about five words of Greek and Mihali (no proper idea of the spelling in the Roman alphabet, but the 'h' bit is pronounced like the ch in the Scottish 'loch' - "mee-ha-lee") speaks no English at all. Much gesticulation and mime was involved, and Mihali found me very amusing. I doubt my wit had anything to do with it though. Perhaps the grimaces and dancing around did the trick...
They're almost finished with the paving. The gate materials have been ordered, and more pavers are the only hold-up with the 'flooring' part of it, so I imagine it'll all be done by the time we leave. I hope so!
Last night Pip and Chris came over for drinks, bringing their ailing notebook with them. It wasn't really ailing, but it's seriously RAM-deprived, and was chocker-block with antique error and update log files, temporary files, and failed virus definition downloads, so we cleared some space for them, and advised they consider it a brick and get a new machine. We then all went out for a lovely dinner.
They also brought us a brand new barbecue to break in for them. We're giving it a test-run for dinner tonight, and then some other night Chris and Pip will come back and we'll demonstrate how Greek BBQ is really done!
On Sunday the beach was packed with weekenders, so it wasn't as nice as usual, but we swam and had a nice time, and Chris was back in the water, with one arm, and two fins. He did well and it was nice to see him actually out of the house.
Tomorrow we're forecast to have over 40 degrees, so I hope the recent run of humidity buggers off. We're all thoroughly sick of being soggy!
My birthday is on Sunday, and we're having dinner with Jacqui and her son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter. I'm really looking forward to that.
Right now it's siesta time, so naturally Chris is working, and I'm blogging. Maybe next time we shouldn't bring computers...
Nah! I'd go crazy.
20090704
Improvements
Chris is suddenly making good progress, so he can sit up at the table for longer, and move around more. This is a relief.
The welders, who've worked at a rate of microns for days, have had a tongue-lashing from Yanni, and have stepped the pace up today. They didn't show up at all yesterday, and though the gap in the constant arcing and grinding was a relief we all just want them to finish and go away now.
Once they're done the paving slabs can go in. It'll look wonderful!
Takis, Marie and I are working to the usual routine of swimming in the morning, though without Chris, but Chris has been going a bit mad, being stuck inside all day. I'm thinking a beach lounger on the terrace might be a plan this afternoon, just for a change!
The other day I heard a bell outside, and looked out the window, assuming a sheep had got loose, and it was a mule, trailing his lead rope, and looking suitably sheepish. He skedaddled pretty smartly back up to his paddock when the welders showed up to start work, but it was a funny little encounter. I'd heard him whinneying before, but hadn't actually seen him until then.
The welders, who've worked at a rate of microns for days, have had a tongue-lashing from Yanni, and have stepped the pace up today. They didn't show up at all yesterday, and though the gap in the constant arcing and grinding was a relief we all just want them to finish and go away now.
Once they're done the paving slabs can go in. It'll look wonderful!
Takis, Marie and I are working to the usual routine of swimming in the morning, though without Chris, but Chris has been going a bit mad, being stuck inside all day. I'm thinking a beach lounger on the terrace might be a plan this afternoon, just for a change!
The other day I heard a bell outside, and looked out the window, assuming a sheep had got loose, and it was a mule, trailing his lead rope, and looking suitably sheepish. He skedaddled pretty smartly back up to his paddock when the welders showed up to start work, but it was a funny little encounter. I'd heard him whinneying before, but hadn't actually seen him until then.
20090702
Slow Pace
We've been taking it easy since Chris crashed. We've been seeing a lot of Glikaria, a cousin of Takis's, who has a lovely house in the same part of the 'greater village' (Vlisi), hasn't been in the village until recently this visit...and is lovely herself.
Chris isn't in great shape, but I'm hoping will get over the bump during the weekend. These things seem to be exhausting and agonising for days, and then suddenly things improve dramatically, so I'm hanging out for that switch.
We've booked a hotel in Athens for a couple of nights before we go, and will hopefully get to see the new museum and will naturally catch up with the other counsin Glikaria there.
Tonight we're going to have sovlakia, which is lovely, and of course dead easy for Chris to eat with one hand.
More later...
Chris isn't in great shape, but I'm hoping will get over the bump during the weekend. These things seem to be exhausting and agonising for days, and then suddenly things improve dramatically, so I'm hanging out for that switch.
We've booked a hotel in Athens for a couple of nights before we go, and will hopefully get to see the new museum and will naturally catch up with the other counsin Glikaria there.
Tonight we're going to have sovlakia, which is lovely, and of course dead easy for Chris to eat with one hand.
More later...
20090629
Chris Update
It sounds like it wasn't a dislocation (probably a sub-luxation), but there's a hairline fracture, so my years of expertise will be brought into play anyway. Chris is okay, but seriously handicapped. The good news is he'll be over the worst before having to face the long-haul flight back.
Staircases to Hell
Chris is now banned from using staircases in Europe.
It must be the whole being upside-down thing, but he fell down stairs at Annika's in London last time we came, and this morning he's done it again in Malaoi. Last time he earned himself a huge haematoma on his thigh, and this time he's dislocated a shoulder, an injury I'm intimate with, and do not envy him.
I had a lovely morning, tidying up our room, then wandering the two or so kilometres down to Paralia for a few hours on the beach. I walked back up the hill with a bottle of frozen water (in case of any hot-headedness), and had lunch, wondering why T&M&C weren't back from town yet, and then I just had a call from the hospital.
Crazy!
Yesterday I didn't go to the beach, because of the previous day's sun-stroke, but had a good day nonetheless. We had a quiet night.
The funny thing is I had a bad feeling about today. I had awful thoughts of another fire on the road to Malaoi or a car crash, but didn't say anything, because it always seems so melodramatic to mention these feelings. I wish I had now. Maybe Chris would have seen the water on the steps if I'd 'done a Cassandra' before they left.
It must be the whole being upside-down thing, but he fell down stairs at Annika's in London last time we came, and this morning he's done it again in Malaoi. Last time he earned himself a huge haematoma on his thigh, and this time he's dislocated a shoulder, an injury I'm intimate with, and do not envy him.
I had a lovely morning, tidying up our room, then wandering the two or so kilometres down to Paralia for a few hours on the beach. I walked back up the hill with a bottle of frozen water (in case of any hot-headedness), and had lunch, wondering why T&M&C weren't back from town yet, and then I just had a call from the hospital.
Crazy!
Yesterday I didn't go to the beach, because of the previous day's sun-stroke, but had a good day nonetheless. We had a quiet night.
The funny thing is I had a bad feeling about today. I had awful thoughts of another fire on the road to Malaoi or a car crash, but didn't say anything, because it always seems so melodramatic to mention these feelings. I wish I had now. Maybe Chris would have seen the water on the steps if I'd 'done a Cassandra' before they left.
20090627
Too Much Sun
Yesterday I spent the morning watching the men level the section, in preparation for laying the pavers down next week, and didn't wear a hat. I got mild sun-stroke, and had a pounding headache for most of the day. As a result I didn't write anything down about the previous days, so this is going to be a patchy post as I plumb my memories.
We have swum the last few mornings, we've had lovely propera, salad, hot cheese*, and the usual beer at lunch, and we've taken it easy during the afternoons. One night Chris made us goges for dinner, which was wonderful, and last night we had dinner with cousins (and met another cousin - inevitable) at the cafenion, which is famous for its spitted chickens (we of course ate one). Chris has been working a lot, but has managed to swim several kilometres this week, and I've had a lovely time too.
Barry and Jane left for Georgia, where Barry's educational psychology has been put to good use 13 years running.
We met Jacqui's son, and hope to see more of his family before we go, and I think apart from Chris and Takis going to Malaoi tomorrow we have no concrete plans for a while. Chris has some pictures of the progression of the landscaping he will post at some stage.
* Hot cheese is a chilli cheese spread from Northern Greece - very yummy!
We have swum the last few mornings, we've had lovely propera, salad, hot cheese*, and the usual beer at lunch, and we've taken it easy during the afternoons. One night Chris made us goges for dinner, which was wonderful, and last night we had dinner with cousins (and met another cousin - inevitable) at the cafenion, which is famous for its spitted chickens (we of course ate one). Chris has been working a lot, but has managed to swim several kilometres this week, and I've had a lovely time too.
Barry and Jane left for Georgia, where Barry's educational psychology has been put to good use 13 years running.
We met Jacqui's son, and hope to see more of his family before we go, and I think apart from Chris and Takis going to Malaoi tomorrow we have no concrete plans for a while. Chris has some pictures of the progression of the landscaping he will post at some stage.
* Hot cheese is a chilli cheese spread from Northern Greece - very yummy!
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