Christmas 2023

My sister returned from Arizona to host Christmas dinner this year. The decision was made to enjoy a meal of lasagnas and salad instead of a traditional turkey dinner. I decided to incorporate turkey in my lasagna creation along with sausage, mushrooms, zucchini and the usual tomato sauce with herbs. Unfortunately it was a tasteless, dry dish...but... fortunately my niece brought her huge casserole of delicious lasagna!

My brother-in-law's parents, aged 94 & 95 were unable to join us because of illness. There were ten of us around the table this year including my one year old grandson. Despite suffering from pink eye and a cough he was in good spirits and high energy throughout the visit.

Franklin enjoying Christmas

Sunrise

 

John always loved to watch the sunrise when we arrived on the island. Theo suggested that I join him this morning to remember John as the sun rose over Amorgos.

He brought a thermos of hot tea and we sat at our usual spot as the sun peeked over a distant island. We reminisced a bit and enjoyed the moment. It was a perfect morning with calm waters. This afternoon I will board a Seajet to Naxos and then Blue Star Delos to Athens. Farewell Amorgos.

The last day

It is so hard to believe that I have been here for a month! Even with Covid, the days have flown past. Today I will enjoy a swim at my favourite beach and dinner with special friends.

Morning coffee at Jazzmin 

Recycling of bottle tops

Morning backgammon

 

Diego and Theo enjoy a morning game of backgammon (tavli) before the Cafe/bar gets busy. The aroma of baking drifts up from the underground kitchen as these two battle with the dice. Theo is a master at this ancient game and Diego is an apprentice.

The sun continues to shine on us and the days are warm but the evenings require a few layers of clothing.

This week I will take most of my clothing to Kristina who makes rugs from discarded clothing. Her creations are gorgeous and useful.The colours and fabrics blend to make rainbow rugs!

Maybe I will dip into the sea today.

Recovering

 

Yesterday I visited the medical centre in Chora and was examined by a Doctor who appeared to be around 14 years old! He was so young! On these islands the doctors change every year and seem younger every year. After a thorough examination of my BP, heart, lungs and throat he declared that I was in great shape although still testing positive for Covid. He explained that there was no protocol anymore for isolating and I was free to wander around. Apparently Covid is now considered to be just another flu type virus.

I was ecstatic to be free but also concerned for my friends so I joined them for coffee but kept my distance. My euphoria was short lived as my energy level dropped and I rested for most of the afternoon. An early night and a good sleep helped immensely.

Today I shared time with many friends, again at a safe distance, as they are leaving the island tomorrow. They will be missed during my final week on Amorgos but others, who prefer the island in October, are arriving.

It is pomegranate and wine making season. 

COVID cont’d

 Well, let me state that this is not fun! Fever, headaches, stuffed up and now the extreme sore throat has started. It is impossible to imagine how many times, in just one hour, a person swallows! And how painful it can be! Honeyed herbal teas are all I can manage right now.

My friends have brought me everything I could possibly need including an oximeter for measuring my oxygen levels. On the table in front of me I have Kleenex, paracetamol, panadol extra, depón, propolis throat spray, effervescent Vitamin C tablets as well as the emergency supplies I brought from home.

Mata, a dear friend, brought me pasta with homemade sauce which I am unable to eat. If you know me well, you know that I love pasta in any shape, form, flavour.

Theo has been bringing me honeyed herbal tea from his cafe in the mornings and has offered to bring anything I want…maybe scrambled eggs this morning would slide downs easily.

When I could keep my eyes open I finished reading The Time in Between and A River Runs Through It. The next one waiting on my table is A Farewell to Arms by Hemingway. Not exactly uplifting. Thankfully I have Netflix for respite from reading.

Meanwhile the sun is shining, the days are gorgeous and I am grateful to my friends for their support.

View from my kitchen window 

COVID

 

I have tested positive for Covid!

FISH FEAST

 Last night I was invited to a fish feast.

One of Greece’s top Free Divers was visiting and offered to share 

his daily catch from a spear fishing expedition.

Nicos eating choice pieces from the head of the largest fish.

There were nine fish of various sizes and types.

We couldn’t manage to eat them all so one was given 

to the host of the restaurant that had grilled them for us.

Early morning competition

 

Early morning backgammon competition with Diego before customers start arriving.

Love the architecture!

Summer days continue

 Hot days with daily swims and dinners with friends.

View of Chora from the windmills.

First drawing

 

Hot days

 

Another hot day with no wind! Yesterday I went with a friend in a small boat to a sandy beach and enjoyed several swims. Today I decided to wander around Chora and do some drawing.

I have two secret spots that  are usually shaded. Today they were not shaded so I moved to an outdoor cafe  to sketch one of  the churches in Chora.

 

A visit to Vroutsi

 This afternoon I drove to the village of Vroutsi to visit my friend

Every village holds reminders of past lives. Once a cafe, this door locks in the memories of a vibrant community from yesteryear.

Waiting for my friend to arrive from her daily morning swim,

I was drawn to the contrast between the aging door 

and the vivid laundry of today’s life in the village.

Chora colours

 Yesterday morning I explored the pathways of Chora in search of colour

Wind…wind…wind

 This village of Chora, set high on Amorgos, experiences more weather extremes than other communities on the island. Since I arrived we have endured constant winds from the north. Most of us already wear warm clothing, especially at night! 

Skies are still blue with clouds racing across in tune with the winds. Morning coffees are shared on one of the terraces at Jazzmin.I have not attempted a swim in the Aegean yet but if the winds lessen today I’ll be tempted.

 

Arrival

 I arrived on Amorgos 34 hours after leaving Vancouver on Sunday. Fortunately a few hours of sleep onboard the ferry rejuvenated me enough to handle the half hour drive in my rental car to the village of Chora. The little orange Fiat Panda had just enough gas to get me there. My companion for the drive was my friend Buket who had surprised me with a visit from Istanbul. We arrived in Chora at 3:30 am on Tuesday. My apartment was waiting with a dish of fresh fruit, bottled water and a carafe of local liqueur.

After a brief sleep I wandered up to Jazzmin Cafe for a warm hug with my friend Theo. This is the gathering place for a group of very special people. They soon started arriving with more hugs. What a wonderful reunion that will continue during my month here as more friends continue to arrive.

Jetlag demanded a lazy day after breakfast, unpacked, picked up a few groceries, napped and finally walked up the pathway to Fotodotis for a dinner of eggplant salad and grilled sardines. Delicious!

More reunions with friends from Amsterdam and farewells to others who were heading home to England.

At the end of a very long day it was time to enjoy a long sleep(hopefully).

August

 

It has been a busy, hot and smokey month. The wildfires in BC have created very smokey skies and challenges with breathing for many people. Outdoor exercise has been limited to short walks for groceries and visits to the library on a quest for the perfect book.

Before the smoke descended on the Fraser Valley I had another overnight visit with Adrian and Franklin. It is amazing to watch his growth, not only in movement but also in his comprehension.

He is a delight!

My sister and I made a short trip to Vancouver Island to sort through photos and slides left behind by our sister who passed away last December. We decided to scan the slides at home and view some of them with my aging projector. Hopefully it still works!

I also visited family in Comox and gave a little demo on sushi making to my grandson and family. 

Heather, August and I enjoyed a walk through the beautiful gardens at Filberg.

Only 20 more sleeps until I leave for my second solo trip to Greece. I had hoped to make this trip next spring to celebrate my 80th birthday but it looks like hip replacement surgery will be on the calendar for next spring. So, I decided to travel while I am still able to enjoy the experience.

This time I have decided not to stay in Athens at the front end of my travels. Instead I will go from the airport by bus to the port, Piraeus, and kill time until my ferry leaves for Amorgos. That will mean a 4-5 hour wait in a cafe/restaurant which could be tricky. I might have to move around...a coffee here, a salad there, a coke at the next. On the ferry I will have a cabin and a chance to catch up on sleep. By the time I settle into the cabin I will have been awake for 27 hours. It is another 9 hours onboard until we reach Aegiali on the island of Amorgos. After disembarking I will find the car that has been left for me and drive 1/2 hour to Chora, the village where I will spend a month. Whew! Am I too old for this?!

Crazy Sock Day

 

A recent painting inspired by  

CRAZY SOCK DAY.

My niece's daughters dressed for the competition!

Busy days

 

It has been a busy time with travels to Vancouver Island, visits with friends from Salmon Arm and babysitting 8 month old grandson Franklin.

A gorgeous float with my son-in-law and grandson on his 14th birthday in Comox.

A great visit on Granville Island with special friends from Salmon Arm.

Franklin is spending the day and night with me today while his parents move to a new condo.

He has just started to crawl and weighs 22 pounds...a challenge for his Nana to lift him!

 

It is predicted to be a very hot day so the small AC in my dining room wall 

will be blowing cool air later. It should be a fun...and exhausting day!

50 years ago

 

I realized this morning that it has been 50 years since my first visit to Greece. I immediately searched for the diary and budget books that I had saved to record that special trip.

We arrived in Athens on October 27, 1973. It cost 3 drachmas (12 cents Can) for the bus ride from our campsite into Syntagma Square. Our first stop was American Express to retrieve mail from our families. We thought that it would be a good idea to purchase a Greek Monopoly game to refine our non existent knowledge of the Greek alphabet and language.

During the next two weeks we visited Sounion and travelled back and forth into Athens for mail and delicious donairs. Everyone, except me, decided to sell their blood for 320 drachmas each to help cover the cost of a ferry trip to Crete. I declined because my menstrual cycle was late and I was worried about pregnancy. The ferry was 1100 drachmas($44 Can) for our VW van and the two of us.

Our currency consisted of AmEx travelers cheques and a $4000 Letter of Credit. When we had used all of the travelers cheques we were forced to find a bank in each location. We would present the Letter of Credit to a bank clerk along with our passports as ID. Then we would wait while they placed a telephone call to our bank in Vancouver before giving us the requested amount of cash that was held in trust. Everything is so much easier now!

Because we were determined to keep our expenses to a minimum I kept track of every cent that we spent. Free camping on a beach at Agios Nikolaos on Crete helped to extend our stay in Europe.

Everyone except me was a smoker so part of our expenses went to purchasing cheap cigarettes. It was very uncomfortable when six people crowded into one of our vans to play cards in the evening with the confined space full of cigarette smoke!

On November 17th we learned of a 4:00pm curfew due to the Athens Polytech uprising in protest of the Greek military junta. For several days we stayed on the beach and did not walk into town but, finally, on Nov. 19th the curfew was lifted and we went in search of groceries and water.

We stayed in Greece, mainly on Crete, until January 7, 1974 when we crossed into Turkey to continue our adventures.

I will be returning again in September to celebrate my 50th anniversary with this special country!

Foot fetish

 

Was I ever this flexible?

Morning coffee

 

I finally decided to tackle another painting. It has been months since any inspiration has filtered through. It was the shadows that attracted my eye and I decided to pick up a paint brush again. 

There is truth in the saying "Use it or lose it!" 

On Tuesdays and Fridays I drive to Joy of Coffee in Murrayville for morning coffee. There is a regular gaggle of mostly men who meet there every morning. I usually sit on the periphery and absorb their discussions but sometimes I allow myself to get sucked into the topic of the day. Gerry always hands me a copy of the Province when I walk in. Lisa and I exchange greetings and she gives me progress reports on the plants in her nursery greenhouses. Brooke, the server, shares updates on brunch locations that she has visited recently. Ron, the owner, talks about his upcoming cruise with the group. Every time I walk through the door I feel welcomed.

So much has happened

So much has happened since my last entry three months ago. 

My youngest sister Tara returned to her home in Campbell River after the second surgery to remove regrowth of a malignant brain tumor. Unfortunately her feeling of euphoria did not last. Two days before Christmas she was readmitted to hospital with difficult symptoms. On December 28th she opted to end her struggles by using MAID. We were with her as she made a peaceful exit from the ugliness of cancer.

Fortunately we have had the joy of a new arrival to buoy our spirits.

Frankie continues to delight us with his relaxed and smiling presence.

He is already three months old and enjoying his new jolly jumper!

Life goes on with daily walks, volunteer work and baby visits.

I have been selected as a member of ARCH, 

a City committee that is dedicated to Arts, Culture, 

Recreation and Heritage in Langley City.

 There will also be a solo exhibition of my paintings 

at the local Community Centre/City Hall 

from the end of May to July. 

Life is good in Langley.