This morning after dropping Lainee at the vet, Zefi and I did some more sight seeing. We walked around the Asteria and Vaporia areas of Ermouplis. It is the perfect day to sight-see, not too hot, not cold, not too windy.
Tons of beautiful buildings and picturesque streets. Syros is so different to most of the Cyclades because of its neoclassical and Venetian style.
Lots of narrow streets but I think we found the narrowest…
Good for that drunk walk home – staggering from one wall to another, no room to fall. Although, if you did fall, it might be a challenge getting up again…
Lots of pretty cats.
And a cat feeding station. I saw quite a few of them around town..
Plus more requisite window and door pics.
I just love these crumbling old buildings… though I really wish I had the money to buy and restore one or five.
Different shutters here too. These one hinge in the middle so you can open only part. Pretty handy.
We’re back on Syros again. This time with Zefi for company and its Lainee who’s going to hospital.
Soon as we got to the hotel Lainee made herself comfortable on Zefi’s bed. So much for mom and all the love and care she gets!
Then again, maybe there’s method to her treacherous little ways… after all, its not me who has to sleep with my knees under my chin on half a bed…
If you think a small poodle doesn’t take up a lot of room, just ask Zefi!
First thing we did was walk around town. I love the quiet streets and the old mansions in this non-tourist season. It really is a beautiful town. I’d like to see it in summer, cafes and restaurants open, to see some of the small streets come alive, despite tourists.
Zefi in her usual theatrical pose outside city hall. No cafes to sit at so everyone buys take away coffee and food and sits outside.
No photo collection of mine would be complete without a photo of an old door…
Or an interestingly framed photo. I’m never all about happy snaps.
Then back to the room for a rest and dressing change for Lainee. I love this photo. It really is like changing a baby, pulling on her onesie… and so much less disgusting than changing pooey nappies.
Lainee is so good, I flip her onto her back and she just lays there quietly till I’m done. I’ve even walked off to get something and told her to stay and she remains where I left her. She’s an angel. I can’t resist giving her tons of kisses.
She made a few new friends and left lots of ‘in your face Syrian dogs’ pees around town. She was a hit with people too with her onesie and little bands.
Pizza for dinner then some more napping for Lainee – always on Zefi’s side of the bed! Good girl Lainee.
I’m going to call these my Exploring Syros Series, kind of part of the lockdown series but separate as well.
Just a quickie today as I have a trip to Syros to get ready for.
This is the commission I had to have ready by Easter. Its a pic taken as I worked on it. I painted directly onto a couple of pieces of weathered timber I sanded down for that recycled rustic look.
Stay tuned to see after pics of the unit with this on the wall above the bed.
So… I hear that everything (cafes and restaurants) are to open from May 3rd. But till then, not much joy for greeks wanting to visit families in their village or their island. From this coming Monday travelling from one municipality to another is forbidden.
Yep. That makes sense.
Apparently, tourists can arrive in Greece, state where they are going and are only allowed to visit that one place on their trip. Not going from one municipality to another. Yeah, sure, that’s gonna happen.
Idiocy.
At least after Easter we can go out and have coffee at an outdoor cafe, or a drink and watch the sun set.
Whatever. I try to not listen to it all too much. I have enough on my own plate to worry about. I’m preparing to take Lainee to Syros for surgery and have my paperwork in order, hotel booked, will mask up and be as safe as I can.
Meanwhile here are two of the things I painted for my cousin Mina’s AirBnB unit. We chose a dark dark blue which wasn’t quite dark enough so I added black to make it look the way we pictured it. The room is still bare but its getting there.
She had a plate display rack made for the space over the kitchenette.
And had a built-in wardrobe put in and the mirror is already on the wall…
She’s updated the bathroom and bought new bedside tables. I’ll get photos once the place is finished. It will be really cute.
One of my commissions is artwork for the wall over the bed. Better get to it.
We’ve had a couple of glorious days in a row after the rain and wind so we’ve been taking advantage of it with long walks around the bay in the late afternoon. That way at the end we get to enjoy the sunset.
Its been me, my cousin Zefi and her mom. We walk and chat and its a nice way to get exercise, fresh air and just enjoy the gorgeous days when the sea is flat and before sun gets too hot.
Panoramic pictures aren’t ideal when seen this small, but I still insist on taking them.
And sometimes I see a door, window or broken down wall I just have to photograph. Love this old door right on the beach.
One thing about masking up is that you can more or less go incognito as Zefi proves.
Meanwhile, here is Lainee in her onesie, the first one I bought. I’ve been back and bought a couple more cause I figure they’ll be handy later too, to keep the stitches safe. For now I’m keeping her ‘crater’ clean and changing dressing twice a day. At least it no longer stinks.
So its back to work now. I have to finish so many things I have on the go, photograph finished things and start a few commissions I have. One is due by Easter, so in 1.5 weeks. Time to get cracking on that one!
Meet Monkey Boy. Well, its a dog with his toy monkey. The dog is one of my papier mache, fabric and clay dogs and I needle felted the monkey.
My first toy poodle, Timmy, had a rag doll I’d made years before I got him and he loved that long limbed thing. It was so much bigger than him but he dragged it around everywhere with him. He inspired Monkey Boy.
Other than that, Lainee’s growth more or less opened up to a crater the other night and when I checked it in the morning it looked like a volcano. Awful. And stenchy as hell.
So I took her to vet to get it cleaned out and to get her antibiotics. While there we did the blood work in preparation for surgery on Monday.
Poor Lainee. At least she no longer stinks, though it still weeps. I think I found a better solution though… baby onesies!!! Maybe she’s not so obsessed with licking it now the pus is gone, but at least she’s leaving it well enough alone. I think I’ll go buy another one or two onesies so I have a change for her. She’ll need to wear them to protect the stitches after surgery anyway.
She seems so much happier now the pus has gone. Fingers crossed for a non-eventful surgery!
Another day of sharing something I finished a couple of months ago. Maybe even three months now…
Anyway, meet my frisbee catching dalmatian!
Complete with a rolled leather collar. Mr Fancy Pants.
So, what’s been happening? Lainee managed to get at her growth again today and made it bleed so now she’s got a gauze bandage over it (hmph, nothing sticks to curly hair) and an ankle warmer* around her waist as a bandage. I hope it works. Its bigger than any bandage I’ve tried in the past but those didn’t work, so what the hey. And its firm… so HOPEFULLY she won’t be able to get past it to lick…
I hope.
Everything in the house is stained with pus and goop coming off that growth right now. Its awful and smells disgusting. But the worst of it is poor Lainee who seems miserable.
At least histology came back that its a benign mammary tumour, but they can turn cancerous and it has to be removed. Especially now given the state its in.
Meanwhile I found that the vet clinic on Syros has an ultrasound machine and can u/s her heart. Plus the vet that I used to take her to here now works there so she knows Lainee and her history. I’ve made an appointment for Monday morning.
I’ve mentioned before how stupid it is that Syros, the capital of this group of islands and only across from here – I see it from my window – an hour away by ferry, only has ferries going to it twice a week. What that means is that if you want to go to Syros for anything at all (court, hospital, any business requiring local government) you have to go to Syros for a couple of nights. In summer they have more ferries of course, but even then most of the time you need to stay over for one night.
My cousin Zefi will come with me for moral support and we’ll go on Sunday and return Tuesday night.
Fingers crossed for my girl.
z
*An ankle warmer is like a leg warmer, only smaller. I had a couple…
Getting around to sharing a dog sculpture I made a few months ago. I have more to share, some from before I got sick and others I finished since I’ve been back home.
This is a little dachie I finished with paper given to me by a friend.
As usual, he was started with toilet paper rolls, cardboard, wire, alfoil and tons of masking tape.
I build on the frame using a paper mache pulp mix and air dry clay for the details like the face and feet.
Looking at him again I’m thinking I need to do more with paper. Its different to the fabric ones. Effective and fun.
So, other than sharing another dog sculpture, what’s been going on?
Well, I made a spinach pie today (spanakopita) and its already finished cause I shared it with mom and the rest of the family. Must make another. Yum.
I also tried making the semolina pudding I love with Stevia instead of sugar. Everyone always says its sweeter than sugar so I put in less and its basically totally unsweetened. I may as well include a recipe for anyone who wants to try it.
Semolina pudding
This is a basic 1-2-3-4 recipe. The full recipe will make a bunt cake shape so its too much for me so I make half the amount.
1 cup sunflower oil
2 cups semolina (coarse)
3 cups sugar
4 cups water
Crushed almonds (optional but I love them)
Cinammon stick and cinammon powder for on top
Put the water, sugar and cinammon stick in a pot and bring it to a boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the suger.
Brown the semolina in the oil. It will seem like it takes forever to begin to brown and then will look like its going to burn suddenly. Just use your judgement.
Remove pot from heat and add the water carefully. It will bubble and spit. You’ve been warned. Stir constantly. Once all the water is added, add the nuts and put back on the heat. Its ready when it begins to pull away from the sides and separates when you pull the wooden spoon through it.
At this stage you can put it in a mould and let it cool and set. Or just plop it in a bowl and dish it up by the spoonful like I do. Sprinkle cinammon on top when serving.
Notes:
I always use less sugar. If the recipe calls for 3 cups, I usually use 2. Making half the recipe I use 1 cup of sugar instead of 1.5. I’m trying to cut sugar out of my diet but I have a sweet tooth so I need SOME sugar.
If you’ re a visual person, you can find a recipe on Youtube to follow.
I was talking to a friend about favourite movies and TV series yesterday and realised I forgot a very important film in my post about my favourite movies!!!
I’m not sure how I could forget this one. Its a Japanese film that I loved so much when I saw it that I bought both the DVD and the soundtrack. I’ve updated my post now so its there now!!!
Trust me on this. Even if you don’t like reading subtitles, this is one film worth seeing. Its funny and human and emotional and just beautiful.
I toyed with the idea of doing a post on my favourite TV series, but that would be ridiculous. So many… or is it? hm… Maybe about the older ones… Nah. Too many both older and newer…
Time to start watching another TV series now. I just finished watching The Serpent and am now on the Handmaid’s Tale.
No surgery. Yet. The vet thinks its too risky to operate on Lainee until we at least do an ultrasound to see the state of her heart. She recommends I take Lainee to Athens to a vet hospital there and do that and possibly the surgery there too if I choose.
I figure the fact that the vet is so reluctant to operate means its too risky.
I’m not really sure what to do. She can’t live with a fat foam collar on her neck forever, and wrapping or bandaging a growth on her stomach is impossible. Yet I can’t let her lick at the growth constantly and make it bleed.
What we decided to do for now is to send samples for a biopsy and start her on homeopathic pills the vet made up. She says the pills will most likely help with the itchiness or whatever it is that makes Lainee want to lick at it all the time. I’m not sure, but its worth a try.
Meanwhile I’m still waiting to hear back from the doctor in Athens regarding my stent removal. I have to go to Athens for that anyway… If need be I can take Lainee with me when I go and get her looked at at the same time.
junk4joy 