SPECIAL DELIVERY

 

Franklin RJ Maxwell has arrived.

Frankie was born on November 10, 2022 weighing 8lbs - 9oz.

His parents are euphoric and sleep deprived.

Nana is thrilled!

Special Amorgos events

 

John had requested that some of his ashes be delivered to friends on Amorgos so I carried four small containers in my luggage. One was for Buket, Shukru and Tuna, special friends from Turkey. They decided to scatter his ashes in Istanbul, a city that John loved. Another container was for Yorgos and he carried it to Crete for scattering...one of John's favorite islands. 

The other two containers were for our dearest friends Theo and Kalliroi who decided to remember John in distinctly different ways. Kalliroi invited a few friends to a beach on the south end of the island. She gave each of us a "wish rock" to throw into the water along with a wish. Sandra had made a series of paper boats with messages to float. They instantly became submarines with the first wave. Kalliroi read a poem before wading into the water to scatter John's ashes. After hugs and tears we drove to a small cafenion to toast John with raki!

Natasha, Marianna, Sandra, Kalliroi & Theo

Theo decided that he wanted to share his scattering of ashes with me at sunrise. John loved to stay awake and watch the sunrise after we arrived by ferry on Amorgos at 2:00-3:00am. It was our way of celebrating our arrival on this wonderful island that became our second home. So, the morning before I left Amorgos I met Theo at our favorite sunrise location, watched as the sun peeked above the horizon and Theo shared John's ashes with the island.

October 24 Update

 

It has been a busy time since arriving back in Canada. The next day, on October 12th, my youngest sister had her second surgery to remove a brain tumor that had regrown since the first surgery one year ago. She was released the next day and is doing well. For the next 11 days she stayed with my other sister who lives close to me.

We shared special time together with walks, talks, meals, shopping and napping during her recovery from surgery and my recovery from jet lag. On Friday, October 21st, she had a CT scan to check for bleeds and on Sunday, October 23rd, she ferried back to Campbell River.

I also returned to my volunteer position at Penny Pincher, a Langley Hospital Auxiliary Thrift store. It was fun to reunite with my co-workers. Most of us are either near or over the age of 70 and enjoy the opportunity to make a contribution to the hospital and to our community.

Now we are anticipating the arrival of a grand baby at the end of this month. Adrian and Marika will soon be delivering a grandson...a little Maxwell will join the clan!

, 

Back in Athens

Sailing at sunrise with Mata.

It was a long trip back to Athens with stops at 5 islands enroute.

Tonight I will have dinner with my friend Niovi

before meeting Theo, my 3rd adopted Greek son, for a glass of wine.

Tomorrow morning will be an early start

with a 4:30am wake up call and a 5:00am taxi to the airport.

Sunset

Reflection of the sunset

on a day of strong winds.

Last night

Last night was the final dinner of my Turkish friends visit. 

This morning they sailed back to Athens.

The month of October brings closure for almost all of the restaurants, bars, cafes in Chora. Last night this was the only place to eat and it was full of the remaining tourists. There are still a couple of shops open for business but I will be walking on empty pathways for my final days here.

Locals will soon be busy with harvesting of grapes and olives. Cats will be searching for their next meal after all the visitors are gone. The north wind will race through Chora bringing winter jackets out of storage. Only seven more sleeps on this rock in the Aegean Sea.

Karaoke

There will be a Karaoke party tonight at Tri Porto.

If Adrian was here he would do a stunning version of “Sledgehammer”!

Unfortunately I do not possess his singing ability 

so I will please everyone by remaining silent!

Salt & pepper

Breakfast at Jazzmin includes the choice of personalized salt & pepper.

My friend Theo, owner of Jazzmin Cafe/Bar, wraps photos of his friends

around the salt & pepper grinders. I was pleased to find my photo on this salt grinder!

Making fish

Yorgos is making wire fish while we enjoy the beach at Paradisia.

Morning coffee at Fotodotis with Buket, Mata and Trefunous.

Lunch at Tre Porto

View from the top terrace at Tre Porto in Chora

The owners will be closing Tre Porto permanently on September 30th.

The closing party will continue until the early hours of the next day

and include music along with karaoke.

It will be sad and fun at the same time for all of us!

Lunch in Langada

After my swim I enjoyed lunch in the small village of Langada.

It is the cluster of white buildings on the hillside.

Swim and lunch

Yesterday I enjoyed a swim at this beach in Aegiali. 

A unique ride

Where did this come from?!

Another swim day

It was a windy but gorgeous day for a swim today with my friend Kalliroi.

The path down to Mouros beach is well constructed

with many steps and railings.

Jazzmin

The stairway down to Jazzmin from the main pathway in Chora

Jazzmin is owned by my friends Theo and Yorgos. This is where I have my morning coffee every day and often share a glass of wine in the evening. John and I looked after this cafe/bar during the winter of 2006-2007. It was a fun challenge and an opportunity to meet many locals. Winter is harsh in Chora with cold winds from the north and even snow on occasion. The clouds descend and envelop the village.

Many games of tavli (backgammon) have been played at Jazzmin

Aegiali and Langada

It has been a busy few days while recovering from jetlag and catching up with friends that I have not seen for four years. Yesterday I enjoyed a swim in Aegiali on the north of the island before sharing lunch with friends in Langada. My friend Fotula has converted the old cafenion into a lovely small taverna.

This is the interior of her small taverna.

Restaurants, tavernas and cafes

This year there are many more options for eating in Chora but most of them will close at the end of September and remain closed until next Easter.

I have two favourites…Parvas and Fotodotis. The food is always traditional, nothing fancy and it is grown, cooked and served by the families. The 

portions are too large for a single diner so I have leftovers from the last two nights in my fridge…just right for lunches. Every morning I walk up the pathway to Jazzmin, the Cafe/Bar owned by my friends, for a daily coffee. The seating is shared with the Cafe cats, food is prepared in the underground kitchen and coffees are prepared by Theo.

Yesterday I drove to Vroutsi, a small village in the south of the island to visit with my friend Kalliroi. She lives in a lovely home at the far edge of the village with her cat. After a short visit we drove to a small private beach for a lovely nude swim…not another soul in sight! In the sandy portion of the beach we discovered a treasure trove of sea glass to bring back for my sister. Afterward, in the public beach area, we sat in the shade with homemade cheese pies and enjoyed the breeze. It is very hot these days with a constant wind from the south that helps to cool.

Chora

Chora is comprised of many narrow passageways and stone paths.

There are always surprises around the corner.

Somehow the cats of Chora always know the fastest route to food!

Chora on Amorgos

It has been a very emotional reunion so far on the island…many hugs and tears. I was up at sunrise thanks to jetlag and decided to walk down to see the sunrise. A serenade of doves and roosters accompanied me…not another soul in sight.

This is a carless village and during my four year absence they created a small parking lot. Fortunately my friend Theo was happy to carry/drag my suitcase from the car, through the gravel parking lot, up many stone steps to my apartment.

Up at sunrise on Amorgos

Ruins

I discovered this excavation while wandering in an area where there were no crowds of tourists!

Finding quiet places

Serendipity played a role yesterday when I wandered into a small taverna on a side street and met someone I had not seen for 18 years! She owned a small hotel on Rhodes where John and I stayed many times. We shared hugs and promised to have dinner together when I return in October.

Athens is overrun with tourists. The streets , cafes and restaurants are crowded. Every table has hand sanitizer and masks are requested indoors. Fortunately most of life takes place outside. The early part of my day involved finding quiet, shaded places for breakfast, lunch and drawing. I was pleased to learn that access is free to the Archeological Museum cafe and a bottle of water is only 50 cents. Outdoor seating is lovely. So far I have managed to find small places away from the crowds.

Friends have invited me to join them for dinner after their shop closes at 9:00pm but I am not sure that my internal clock and jetlag will cooperate. That is a decision for later. Now it is nap time.

First night

View of the Acropolis from my hotel rooftop..No zoom!

Only three more sleeps

 

Only three more sleeps until I fly to Greece. This will be the 16th time that I have visited this magical country. The first time was in 1973 when we travelled hippie style in a VW van. Next visit was in 1995 with a 13 year old son along as we toured the Pelopponese, Naxos, Santorini, Paros and Syros. During that trip we met Anna who encouraged us to visit "her island of Amorgos". So, in 2000, we finally set foot on Amorgos and have returned thirteen times since then. Our visits have ranged in length from one month to seven months. During the longest visit we managed our friend's cafe bar over the winter months. Ferries have taken us to explore thirty other islands and many special friendships have been forged over the years.

The difference is that this will be my first solo trip. I will be taking some of John's ashes for our Greek family to scatter in the Aegean. Traveling solo is not without some level of anxiety precipitated by the absence of John, Covid, airline problems and aging issues that could impact travel. This is probably my final trip to this Aegean island that has become our second home.

In Athens I will stay in the same hotel that we have used many times and the small apartment on the island is cozy and familiar. I look forward to sharing coffees, meals and stories with special friends.

The blog will be updated regularly on my iPad during this adventure (unless technology refuses to cooperate) and I invite you to join me.

His brushes

 

This morning I opened a package that contained brushes used by my ex-husband.

I often think of the times we spent painting together in his studio.

We were friends for 50 years and supported each other in our creative pursuits.

I am not emotionally ready to use his brushes in my paintings

but their presence will bring me comfort.

John's Celebration of Life

 

Yesterday was very special. We finally held John's Celebration of Life. An early morning scattering of his ashes took place under clear skies. In chronological order we took turns from August, our 12 year old grandson, passing the urn to family members and ending with the 78 year old...me!

Around 10:00am we welcomed family and friends to the Rotary Interpretive building at Derek Doubleday Park. Everyone mingled with beverages and cake in hand. Some had never met, others had not seen each other for years but everyone had known and loved John.

Heather had prepared a beautiful printed piece that memorialized her father.

Adrian wore one of his father's t-shirts while he shared stories and MC'd the celebration.

The t-shirt has John's favorite quotation by Nikos Kazantzakis

"I hope for nothing

I fear nothing

I am free"

Dave Clark, one of John's oldest friends from High School days

provided a few funny stories from their youthful adventures.

Chris, our son-in-law, recounted the experience of having John officiate at their wedding.

There were many other stories from family and friends that included peanut butter, shortbread, broken limbs, fishing trips and long distance friendships over the years. It was a wonderful gathering, spanning generations and full of love. I am grateful to everyone who joined us.

Walks in the HOOD

 

Gorgeous weather means wonderful walks with the air scented from blossoming trees and bushes! My right pupil finally returned to normal size about 48 hours after cataract surgery. It is amazing how much brighter everything around me looks! My paintings are completely different when viewed independently through each eye. Cataract surgery for my left eye will be on June 6th. That is when the eye drop confusion will really be a challenge.

The back side of Brogan's Diner...a Langley City favorite.

Inside you will find Elvis and an inviting stage for performers!

 

Cataracts and toenails

 

Ah!...this aging process is fraught with challenges. Cataract surgery for my RIGHT eye is scheduled for tomorrow. This involves a complex system of administering three different eye drops for a varied number of days...starting two days before surgery! So...I designed a special calendar for the five week period and yesterday morning I dropped the first drop into the LEFT eye! My mistake was easily explained by the placement of the three vials on the lefthand side of my table! So...I moved the vials to the righthand side of the table and, as an extra precaution, made a large sign that reads RIGHT! it seems to be working so far.

An additional complication will happen in two weeks when surgery is scheduled for the other eye. a second calendar will have to sit on the left side of the table with three new vials for the LEFT eye! It is a good thing that I do not entertain because guests would be subjected to my pharmaceutical table of contents!

A visit to the podiatrist yesterday confirmed that the large toenail on my left foot has a fungal infection. He prescribed a solution to paint on the toenail every night for one year! My pharmacist said "This is quite expensive!...$124 for one month of applications". I was stunned! He explained that it would probably last for more than one month because I was only painting one toenail! Can a fungal toenail kill you?

Sad

 

Those we hold in our hearts

never truly leave us.

I will cherish 50 years of shared memories.

Seattle

What a wonderful weekend! My son was at a conference in Seattle last weekend so my niece and I drove down to spend some time with him. It had been almost 5 years since we had visited with each other in Chicago...Covid delayed all plans to visit.

Between Mereille and Mitch they organized every detail of our visit.

UBER was a new method of transportation for me and very efficient!

On Good Friday we wandered down to Pike Street Market

and viewed the tasty displays like GUM ALLEY...

...and fresh produce.

Unfortunately the Art Gallery was closed but this sculpture

outside the entrance was very powerful!

Marika and Adrian joined us on Saturday

and shared the exciting news of their pregnancy!

On Saturday afternoon we enjoyed a fun time

at a downtown Ping Pong game centre.

In the Ping Pong Hall we were surrounded by a gallery

of interesting art that continued into the washrooms.

Downtown Seattle seemed sad due to retail and business closures as well as a large number of homeless people on the streets. When we travelled to other areas it appeared that small businesses were trying to recover from covid. 

The first night we shared dinner at Ron Mai, a small Thai restaurant owned by friends of Mitch in the Capitol Hill region. On our last night we revisited that area for a Mexican dinner at La Cocina Santiago owned by the same family for over 40 years. Both meals were very good! Mitch also took us to Shaker and Spear, a 5 star restaurant in downtown Seattle. The fish and seafood were amazing!!

An ANIMEE conference was taking place over the weekend so the hotel and the streets were full of weirdly costumed attendees. Their conference mandated mask wearing so the combination of costumes and masks created an interesting flow of pedestrians on the street. 

Covid restrictions have been totally relaxed so most people were unmasked. We chose to wear masks in the elevators and in congested public areas. At Spear and Shaker we were asked to produce proof of covid vaccine. I was pleased that mask wearing is mandated in all UBER vehicles...drivers and passengers.

After dinner, in the evenings, we reconvened in the Club Lounge on the top floor of our hotel and shared a nightcap along with stories about covid experiences, family updates and plans for the future. It was a very special weekend! Hopefully we will gather again soon.

Home from Mexico

 

It was a wonderful, relaxing time away from two years of isolation. It was great to be in the company of good friends and to socialize with a small selection of their friends who were triple vaccinated and ready to cautiously return to "normal".

A daily float while listening to the birds.

The house was built around the trees.

Looking back at the house from our evening G&T spot.

Our evening G&T location overlooking Los Arcos.

A day trip to Mayto Beach where the sand extended for kilometers.

I made three trips by bus into downtown Puerto Vallarta. Bus fare is 10 pesos (60 cents) regardless of whether you go for one stop or to the end of the route. You do not need the exact fare because the drivers will make change for you. Everyone is masked including the driver.

Walking around in the city it is obvious that Mexicans take the regulations seriously. They are always masked, unlike the tourists who roam around in various states of undress without masks. During my one evening visit to the downtown area I was appalled at the number of tourists crammed into and spilling out of bars without a mask in sight. My thoughts went to the locals who were working in these bars and risking exposure to the virus in order to make a living. I kept my distance with my mask in place!

The park in Central downtown Puerto Vallarta is being transformed 

with mosaics on all of the surfaces. It is stunning!

The adjustment to my release from isolation was interesting. Initially I was anxious, tightly masked in the airport and on the plane, using sanitizer on my hands and surfaces. Anxiety ramped up in the PV airport where everyone was masked but not observing distances. Eventually, after one week in Mismaloya, I relaxed enough to board a bus into town and to join my friends for a restaurant meal.

Preparing to return to Vancouver it took a while to complete the ArriveCan app and I was glad that I had taken all of my vaccination info. The pre-travel covid test in PV was easy (650 pesos=$40). They gave me a paper copy and emailed it to me as well. Westjet checkin was a disappointment. It took one hour and could have been handled much quicker with re-alignment of the checkin clerks. The line for those with boarding passes had one clerk and apparently most of us had already acquired our passes. As a result there were 150 in line for one clerk and the remainder in line for the other two clerks.

Thank you again to my hosts who treated me so generously!