About zefiart

Blogger, DIY-er, poodle lover, graphic designer, dog groomer, recycler, artist, wonder woman in my spare time.

i jinxed myself

Posted on August 8, 2022 by zefiart

You know how I said how impatient I was to get home and get stuck into painting again? How I was ‘in the zone’ after so long?

Ha. I jinxed myself, ’cause I haven’t touched a brush, pastel or bit of cardboard since. I haven’t even felt the urge to get up off the couch and touch my artwork… let alone tackle the paperwork I MUST do.

Mind you, Sunday was horribly hot. I groomed a dog in the morning, then rushed to the PAWS (Paros Animal Welfare Society) annual general meeting, then had lunch with friends and it was all I could do to get home and lie on my bed with the fan on. I got up around 6.30pm and did a few handy-type things around the house (maybe I’ll share one day, but they’re definitely ‘zefi’ things, ‘don’t try this at home’ stuff), before heading down to visit with my cousins for a bit.

Then today at work was a day from hell. Complete with a visit to the dentist at the end of it.

So, here’s something I prepared earlier. Prickly pear on marble. This is a larger piece than I normally do and right now its sitting in the office on the bookcase.

I should put a big sticker on it with a price. Maybe someone will buy it for the big villa they’re buying!

I mentioned the dentist, didn’t I?

You know how people are always saying ‘where did all the money you earned over summer go?’ (well, they ask me that!) ha. Today I paid 400e for a tooth. The one I had problems with before summer. I’m getting it crowned. The one I’d already paid 300e for previously for a root canal treatment. Whammy.

Next up: Implants – double whammy.

Unless I go for a dental plate. Great.

This post suddenly took a dark turn… time to get off here and do something useful. Maybe wash a dish or two. Maybe water the plants and fight the mosquitos. Maybe just lie on the couch and watch Netflix or Stremio.

Hey, now there’s a funner topic! What have you been watching?

Since I disappeared from blogland, I’ve watched a ton of stuff. I watched all of Chicago Fire till I ran out of episodes, and I have all of Chicago PD and Chicago Med on a hard drive thanks to a friend, so I have weeks and weeks of viewing ahead!

I watched Better Call Saul.

Misfits (an english series about people with odd powers).

I got caught up with Greys Anatomy and the Good Doctor. And the Walking Dead.

I’m currently watching Russian Doll, and started watching House of the Dragon.

Next will be the Umbrella Academy series 3.

I tried The Imperfects, but I’m not sure I like it.

See? I do stuff!

finally, a bit of time to make art

Posted on August 8, 2022 by zefiart

I know I’ve pulled the biggest disappearing act since Harold Holt went for a swim back in 1967… but I’ve had my reasons.

Did I mention I have a new job? Yeah, another summer, another job. But this time its a job that lasts all year round, not just the season. Which is good and bad. Good in that I have an income all year round. Bad in that I can no longer do what I please for the winter. No more galivanting to destinations near and far. No more free time to spend making art while the wind howls outside. No more time in Athens with mom. I have to go to the office every day, 6 days a week.

Yep. Not quite what I dreamed of. I don’t think anyone thinks “Hey, I’ll go live on a greek island and work in an office 6 days a week!” But I have dreams and I need the money. What little of it there is.

So, given the job isn’t going to save me, I’m still grooming. I bit the bullet and registered as a business – which basically costs me more than I make grooming in a year – but at least I am legal now and don’t have to look over my shoulder when I groom. And I can advertise and build up my business. So that one day I can quit my ‘day job’ and concentrate on the things I love: dogs and art.

I dream of a house with a studio on our land in a quiet area near the beach, where I can work with dogs and make art and make stuff and upcycle stuff and remake furniture and do whatever the heck I want to do in my own time far from the noise of the busy road and the obnoxious neighbours who have no respect for other people who may have to work the next day or whatever.

Remind me to tell you how much fun they are.

Its been a crazy summer. Working in for a real estate agency has been quite educational. I now hear someone mention a 250,000 euro budget for a house and laugh. I can’t help myself. Prices have gone so high that we have next to nothing (or at least nothing you would want to live in) for that much any more.

Sure, compared to other countries, we might still be cheap, but you don’t get much at the low to mid range any more. I’m so lucky I bought when I did. I’d be living under a bush on a blanket with Lainee if I hadn’t.

Rentals are an endangered species. It was already bad when I got here 3.5 years ago, now its impossible. Owners want to rent everything as an air bnb and no one wants to rent their property on a yearly basis. People are desperate to find somewhere to live that they can actually live in 12 months a year – not to move in in September and leave in June. Its ridiculous.

Anyway, I’ll get to a lot of that stuff in later posts. I have a ton of thoughts, criticisms, observations, social comments and other goodies to share.

For now I just wanted to show a sign of life to start with and share a couple of marble pieces made while my brother was visiting. Did I mention he came to visit from Australia? No, I didn’t cause I was in my disappeared mode at the time. Work, grooming, a visitor and the beach. How much more could I possibly do?

Turns out, I could do a few bits of marble. Not the best photos, but the are what they are. They are gone now – gifted.

After Peter left I went into a couch potato mode for almost a whole month. All I did was work/groom/eat/watch Netflix. Thats it. Oh, and go for a swim, water the plants and do the occasional load of washing. Having one of the hottest Augusts in living memory didn’t help.

Now, I feel rested and the weather cooled down a bit (though it will apparently heat up again) and I’ve got the itch. I’ve started painting again and suddenly I can’t wait to get home to get stuck into it.

Which is great!!!

Anyhow, its nice to be back! I’ll be sharing some stuff I’ve done over the last few months, but its not a ton.

a big fish called mitso

Posted on May 1, 2022 by zefiart

Finally. My big fish is finished!

I began this guy back in the first lockdown but got sidetracked with other projects. He did take a long time to make, but it didn’t have to be two years!

He began as bits of scrunched up newspaper, lots of masking tape and cardboard. Then came home-made paper pulp (with drying time) and air dry clay (more drying time). Then came the paint (yet more drying time). Then came the seaweed scales which meant collecting seaweed from the beach, washing it, drying it (still more drying time), cutting it into scale size and finally gluing them on one at a time with hot glue (at the cost of a few fingerprints).

Lastly came the base.

That was a hard one. Originally I wanted him on a block of wood but didn’t have anything suitable. Then I decided to hang him on the wall where he spent a while, not looking quite right.

Then one day while walking Lainee on the beach, I found the perfect piece of driftwood! Complete with nails and bits of paint. Perfect.

(Lesson 1: walk Lainee on the beach more often. Lesson 2: never leave behind anything which might come in useful one day.)

I already had some rusty bits of rebar (I mean, who doesn’t?) which became the official fish ‘holder uppers’. A bit of drilling, a bit more gluing et voila! Done.

I’m calling him ‘Mitso’. A good greek name. Mitso the fish is now sitting in Cecelia’s Art Gallery in Parikia, along with some of my painted marble. He’s waiting for his forever home if anyone is interested!

I must say, I feel a sense of accomplishment having finally finished him and moved him off my kitchen table!

Shared at:

cluttercore – well there you go!

Posted on April 22, 2022 by zefiart

What is Cluttercore? Embracing a Beautiful Mess!

I am vindicated.

Seems the new fashion is clutter! I’m way ahead of my time…

As you know, I live in a small apartment of 50m2 with one bedroom, kitchen/living room and bathroom and two small outdoor spaces. Uncovered, so useless for doing any work.

So, my home is a studio. I live, cook, and eat amongst my ‘stuff’.

A couple of weeks ago, in my efforts to get my art mojo back, I put away things I don’t plan on using again soon – ie all my sewing, textile and bead stuff. I still need to finish that job as there are still things around I can do without having at my fingertips. Plus, I’ll probably still need this and that again. Story of my life.

Anyway, all I want out at this time is my painting stuff: canvases, paints, pastels, easel, paper, marble pieces, rocks, etc. Anything I can paint on… or with.

The rest can all go in the wardrobe and outside in weatherproof boxes.

I really need more space… I sound like a broken record.

Anyway, my mojo is back. Where all I did for a couple of months after I got home from work or dog grooming was to lie on the couch and watch Netflix, now I come home and paint while listening to audiobooks (or watching Netflix). A much better use of my time.

I not only have my mojo back, but its a strong one. I WANT to paint. I love this feeling.

Also, its healthier… When I lie on the couch like a sack of potatoes all I want to do is eat and nibble… Not good. I’d lost so much weight after my surgery February last year I feel horrible about gaining half it back. Time to get serious about NOT nibbling.

So, I have stuff to begin sharing again now, its just a matter of starting to post again. Finding the time and energy between layers of paint or working.

Meanwhile, in the vein of a general life update, I’ve begun a new job… this isn’t what I really wanted, but its all year round so that’s good. Its an office job in a real estate agency.

The pros: They’re dog people and love Lainee, so she can come to work with me every day. I meet new people. Its a pleasant environment and I really like the other office girl. The boss is nice and his wife is nicer. Its airconditoned so I won’t melt in summer and its close to home. Plus its a steady income all year round. Its 9-3 every day except Sunday (having only one day off is a bummer), but then again, even most office jobs in Greece tend to be 6 days a week.

The cons: I really didn’t want an office job. Again. I’ve spent so much of my life behind a desk and in front of a computer. Oh well. A few more years… The pay sucks. I mean really sucks. But I’m meant to get a small percentage of the commission when a property sells, so let’s see how that works out.

And I have plans. Or dreams. Call them what you will, but I’m focussed on them right now. And hopefully, as Kevin Costner said, “build it and they will come”. We’ll see.

I’m putting it out there, envisioning what I want and if the universe hears me, it will happen!

NOT abducted by aliens

Posted on April 14, 2022 by zefiart

Thought it was time to show some signs of life. Albeit weak and tiny ones.

I’m alive.

I’m still a resident of this planet.

I’ve just been tired; fatigued; overworked; fagged; flagging; overtaxed; spent; worn out; all in; burned out; dead on my feet lazy; stuffed; dog-tired; done for; droopy; drowsy; played out; done in; haggard; narcoleptic; petered out; pooped; run down; tuckered out; buggered; worn out; prostrated; sleepy; knackered; bushed; beat; shagged; shattered; zonked; exhausted; fried; cream crackered; rooted; groggy; bust; jiggered; weary; apathetic; stick a fork in me – I’m done; bog-eyed; wall-falling; and many many more words to the same effect.

Not to mention lazy.

eating in the netherlands…

Posted on March 18, 2022 by zefiart

When in the Netherlands my food/breakfast of choice is cheese on sliced bread. I could live on it. It was the first dutch word I learned: kaas = cheese. In fact, soon as Inge knows I’m visiting she goes out and buys cheese – usually jong belengen (a young/mild gouda). I sometimes eat it plain on bread and other times with honey. If you haven’t tried that, do. Its a yummy combination.

A cheese shop in Zutphen. Look at the cheeses in the window upstairs!

While visiting the Netherlands this time I wanted to re-visit the comfort food I’ve tasted over the years. Nostalgia is something that comes with age…

I wanted some dutch fast food – like french fries called ‘patat’ or ‘frites’ met mayonaise – served in a paper cone or plastic tray, with a small fork and sauce of your choice – most commonly mayonaise!

No trip to the Netherlands would be complete with kroketten or bitterballen. They are virtually the same thing in a different shape. These crunchy delights are usually meat, cheese, and gravy that are refrigerated, rolled into logs, breaded and deep-fried until they develop a golden-brown color. You can now buy oven fried varieties for home which is great. I like mine on their own but the dutch usually eat them squased between slices of bread or in a bread roll.

These and other fast food can be purchased quickly and easily in automats… An automat is a fast food restaurant where food and drinks are served via vending machines. Amsterdam is now considered to be the automat capital of the world so they’re worth visiting at least once.

They don’t tend to have automats in smaller cities. In those you have to actually go to a fast food shop and order properly.

Other classic dutch comfort food includes stamppot or hutspot. Both are traditional dutch dishes made from a combination of potatoes mashed with one or several vegetables, usually carrots, onions, endive or kale. Its usually served with rookwurst – a smoked sausage, or a piece of braised beef. I’ve also had it with bacon bits, sauerkraut and pineapple. Its the ultimate winter food.

Let’s talk sweets… cause as you know, I have a sweet tooth… There’s the dutch pancake, pannenkoek, a big thin pancake (more like a crepe than an american pancake) that can be served sweet or savory. I love them with apple… must try it at home.

Then there are oliebollen – dutch doughnuts with sultanas, currants or raisins in them and are dusted with powdered sugar. Traditionally a New Year’s Eve treat, but at the Salamanca market in Tasmania a stall sells them pretty much all year round.

But we can’t forget the tiny dutch pancakes called poffertjes. These small, fluffy pancakes are usually served with a dab of butter and icing sugar and sold at festivals and street stalls.

I have a few favourite dutch biscuits… first are koggetjes, lovely thin crispy butterscotch cookies. Absolutely addictive and very sweet. I could only buy these in dutch specialty stores in Australia at a dutch bakery in Tasmania.

Another super crispy thin cookie is the kletskoppen – with peanuts. Only found in Holland it seems as I haven’t seen them elsewhere.

The most ‘dutchest’ of sweets is the stroopwafel. Two thin waffles stuck together with a layer of sweet caramel syrup. You can buy these all over the world now but are best fresh, hot and gooey from a street market or bakery.

And last but not least, speculaas – spiced cookies you can get everywhere and go so well with your coffee.

I really had to come back home in order to stop eating all this stuff!! Not to mention the licorice.

Back to eating sensibly.

visiting van gogh – my blog is still in holland while i’m in greece

Posted on March 16, 2022 by zefiart

I’m back on Paros and I haven’t yet caught up on blog posts from my trip. So in order to catch you up and move on, I figured I’d start with my last day which was a visit to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

I’ve always had a kind of hit and miss relationship with the work of ol’ Vincent, but there was plenty to see and it was actually quite interesting to see painting he did in his explorations of styles and colour.

I was particularly taken with this painting of red cabbages… perhaps due to my recent experience dyeing fabric with it… Nah. I think I just liked it.

One of my favourite paintings. It was funny to read about how obsessed Vincent was with perspective and how he used a perspective frame when painting. All I could think of was “where was the persepctive frame when he painted his bedroom”.

I especially loved this portrait of a boy…

… and this portrait of a man. Brilliant.

Of course, I loved seeing his tools as well.

Visit the Van Gogh Museum website if you want to see more.

Moving right along…

I have no idea why this trip was the first time I notice/saw/learned about the Stolpersteine –

“Scattered throughout Europe, planted in the streets and sidewalks of cities whose past is not forgotten, commemorative brass plaques eternalize the lives that were lost in the great tragedy of the 20th century. Called the Stolpersteine (in English: “stumbling stones”), the shiny bronze plaques commemorate the victims of the Nazi regime in more than 1,100 locations in 17 European countries.

More than 45,000 of these stones are solidly rooted across cities in Europe, including 916 places in Germany alone, where large strides have been taken to memorialize Jewish life, history and culture. Each Stolperstein commemorates a victim of the Holocaust at that person’s last known address. The plaque includes the victim’s name, date of birth, deportation date and death date, if known. In Berlin, more than 5,000 Stolpersteine have been carefully implanted in the city’s sidewalks and streets, serving as a constant reminder of the many valuable lives lost tragically during the Holocaust.”

Walking in the streets of the Netherlands, one often comes across a friend in a window…

Or some very strange friends in other windows…

Its always pretty on the narrow streets of old towns with their cobblestone roads. I’ve always loved them.

I saw quite a few buildings with text on their walls. Usually quotes from famous authors like the one below. (Don’t ask me to translate!)

As I’ve said before, the dutch are really good at combining the old with the new – below is the Zutphen town hall where they incorporated the original building into a modern structure with a glass ceiling, creating an interior courtyard with a lobby and reception for the new building.

The first time I ever saw large communal tables in a cafe was in the Netherlands – and I confess I love them. I love sitting at a large table in a cafe anyway, its way more homey than sitting at a tiny table for two. But I also quite like sharing a big table with strangers. I’m odd that way. This cafe in Zutphen didn’t have a huge communal table, but the the idea is still there. Sit and meet new people. Yay. (We didn’t. Inge had reserved a table for three of us.)

I don’t remember the name and don’t have any photos of it, but there was a lovely cafe in the Vondelpark in Amsterdam which had the best, huge, rustic table to share. I spent a lovely day rollerblading in the park with a friend and having a coffee to warm up afterwards at a communal table very much like the one below.

There were also countless hours spent sitting at communal tables in many cafes in Melbourne having coffee or brunch over the years… with rollerblades on and without. ah, those were the days!

Now, just for fun, here are photos of textures… I’m obsessed with textures… I have a huge collection of photos of walls, roads, timber, bark, etc… So, here are some dutch textures.

The external wall of a new house with some discolouration to make it interesting.

I think that wraps up my Netherlands trip.

From now on its back to boring ol’ me and my life and creations on Paros.

the best second hand shop

Posted on March 15, 2022 by zefiart

No visit anywhere would be complete (for me) without at least one visit to a second hand shop of any sort. Junky, antique, I’m there.

This second hand shop was in a town close to Inge’s place and since we were driving past… Well… we had to stop. Just like we had to stop at every single dog we met on a walk. For me, greeting dogs is part of the pleasure of being on a walk!

Anyway, this time I visited a fantastic second hand shop and made a wonderful new friend: a chi x papillon named Irco. Such a gorgeous boy! And small enough I could have fit him in my pocket…

But I didn’t. I looked around the shop, lost Inge a couple of times, and admired how organised the place was. It was huge but so well divided into sections you could find what you were after easily.

Keeping like things together, not only makes sense, but in the way of collections: a lot of any one thing can look amazing. Like the clocks and lamps. or this chest of marbles.

Or bikes for that matter!

And coloured glass.

Even pots and other kitchenware looks good ‘en masse’.

I saw tons of things I ~~would~~ could have bought if I lived there. Some I’d have taken to Greece too, but of course I can’t do that. Most trips these days are done with a single carry on bag of up to 8 kilos…. doesn’t allow for much shopping! Probably for the best…

Inge on the other hand, could buy anything she wanted and she found a lovely old mirror for her hallway. Just the sort of thing I’d have bought. I approved.

Being a Monday not many shops were opened so we weren’t able to visit a couple of others I spotted (I can spot a junk shop from miles away at high speed). Oh well. I’ll just have to come back!

I really would make a strange travel blogger wouldn’t I? More interesed in dogs and thrift stores than the things most people would photograph and share online… Hm… Guess its a good thing I’m not a travel blogger!

the zutphen wall

Posted on March 14, 2022 by zefiart

Zutphen is one of the oldest settlements in the Netherlands, and part of the old wall protecting the city still stands. I’m no historian so you can read about it here if you want to know more, but I just loved the old structure.

Its interesting how the end of the wall has been ‘finished’ with modern metal end, adding an element of the new to the old. I love the way the dutch seem to do that so well.

How lovely are the apartments that look over the canal. A lady sat reading a book in the sun on one of the balconies. A beautiful, restful spot…I do wonder how they keep these old buildings (or even new ones!) from crumbling from the constant moisture.

What is even more amazing (to me) is that parts of the wall are actually inhabited! Can you imagine living in something so old? I come from Australia where everything is relatively new so it amazes me that not only are there such old buildings in Europe, but that most of them are still lived in!

This balcony has a coat or armour for protection.

Plans change from day to day – we were meant to spend some time in The Hague yesterday but Inge’s daughter tested positive so that was off the table. Instead we babysat her grandaughter in Leiden for a few hours instead. Well, she babysat her grandaughter while I spent quality time with Pim, their cat.

Basically a quiet day with a couple of walks, no visit to the museaum we’d planned. Oh well. Next time. I know I’ll be back!

old fashioned candy store and a tiny museum

Posted on March 12, 2022 by zefiart

Who can resist an old style candy store? Not me, thats for sure. I always love visiting them and buying a small bag of something each time wherever I am.

This visit to the candy shop in Zutphen was no different. The old man that ran the shop gave us a taste of polka brokken, a brittle candy with a buttery taste and we had to take some home with us. In the traditional cone shaped paper of course.

Its not just the candy I love though. Its the smell, the colours and packages and jars in these old shops.

The paper cones hanging from above, ready to be filled with candy.

Next door to the candy store is the smallest museum – this is the first office of the now huge dutch insurance company Nationale-Nederlanden.

Its a single tiny room with enough space for one bookcase, a desk, a chest for keeping files, a coat stand and little else… so different to the company my friend’s daughter works for now.