Author Archives: zefiart

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About zefiart

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

paros day 10: a day late

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And saw tons of these wildflowers blooming… Not sure what they are but they look like a native/wild lupin.

So… I did continue my work on the current projects but nothing is finished yet. Everything seems to take so much longer than you think between cutting, gluing, drying, painting, drying…

However I realised yesterday that I hadn’t shared my new coffee table! Its is one of the first things I made once I got my groove back.

Firstly, some pics of the before: This is the coffee table I inherited when I bought the house. Lovely table but just too big for my tiny space.

One of the things I brought with me when I came from Australia was the legs off an old 50s table I loved. I mean I loved the legs, not the formica top. I always knew I wanted to make my own top for it and a round table to go into the living room here seemed the best solution.

This is the finished product…

Meanwhile, if you’re interested in the hows, here goes. I was looking for old timber and found some in the bin at the timber shop back when life was normal. I glued it together as the first step using my table clamps (cause ever girl should have those!).

Then I realised that one of the pieces of timber I had used had termites so I had to treat the whole thing and let it dry before drawing a circle and using the jigsaw to cut it out.

Naturally disaster hit about then as I left it where water leaked and the table split down the middle… one of the glued bits didn’t hold.  I knew I’d have to strengthen the joins anyway so I reglued and cut out some ply pieces to attach underneath to act as a sort of binding, plus to give the legs something more substantial to screw into.

I used a combination of dark brown wood filler and a light coloured one to give the wood more interest.

Then I used my power plane and sander to create a nice smooth top and edges. I love the look of raw wood.

Last I attached the legs. Love those legs!

Et voila! A gorgeous round coffee table made by moi!

And here is it in the living room. Small enough to get around. Big enough to hold the necessities (but not big enough to become yet another crafting surface!), and oh so pretty.

I’ll end this post with a preview of another little project… Can you guess what it will be?

Oh, and a Baileys of course… It helps me sleep!

z

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paros day 9: progress

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It rained all night last night. Not heavily, but enough that this morning I gave in to Lainee and drove the car to my temporary workshop. Then the sun came out of course, but Lainee was pleased. I contented myself with a short walk to the beach with Lainee and Spitha. 

Then I got to work. I feel like I’m getting somewhere now. The boxes/drawers I made yesterday were finished…

I’m using the MDF I bought for drawing boards for art classes that never happened. I guess I’m lucky I bought it. Soon I’ll run out of wood and although I’m told pallets are easy to find here, my car is way too small to fit them. I’m not sure what I’ll do, but I will soon need pallets to get with the next lot of things I want to make.

Using some more of the MDF I made the third and final draw for the bookcase and made another draw for the bottom of my new bedside table – it will hold and hide all the power cords:

I gave the curtain brackets their last coat of paint and will bring them home tomorrow (and the drill, and the drill bits, and the screws, and don’t forget the power cord with the australian plug on one end and the greek one on the other!) and hopefully will be able to put up the curtain and share pics. That will depend on whether my neighbour has finished with my ladder. Since he’s also spending time at home he’s been busy repainting his living room and needed the ladder…

Returning home I got back into my next project. There will be a detailed post on this later, but here is a preview:

This is the old key holder cubby from an old hotel I found at an antique shop. I have painted it and am now making little ‘drawers’ for it. Making those little boxes is doing my head in. We all know how great I am at measuring.

So basically, what I’m saying is that I have nothing finished to share but I do have a lot of projects in progress. And Lainee is keeping me company throughout.

Its late. I gotta get some sleep. Tomorrow is another day and I will have something finished to share!

z

paros day 8: moving right along

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Figured I’d write earlier today cause I’m actually in the mood to post right now.

This morning I woke up a little earlier than usual and was out the door with Lainee in tow, on my way to my uncle’s place to do some more work before 10am.

And I mean Lainee was literally ‘in tow’. When we got to the car she sat her little butt down and wouldn’t budge. So darn cute. It was like ‘Uhuh! I ain’t going nowhere without the car!’

I think these extra long walks might be getting a little much for her… She was really dragging today. Tomorrow (or this afternoon) I’ll be driving over cause I have things I need to pick up, but next time I walk over I might take her for a shorter walk and leave her home when I go.

The weather is gorgeous again so off we went after texting my intention to the hotline… we now have to text our name, address and reasons for being out to a free message service. You basically need permission to go out these days in Greece. These are the newest restrictions:

What to do before you go out?

1. Make sure you have some form of identification (I.D. or Passport) with you.

2. Download and print Form B from http://forma.gov.gr * and fill one EVERY TIME you need to go out.(Form A is for Employees, made once by the Employer)

There, you need to fill the reason you are out. These are:

1. To go to the Doctor or a health center FOLLOWING AN APPOINTMENT or Pharmacy.

2. To go to buy food, e.g. Supermarket, Bakery.

3. To go to the Bank ONLY IF YOU CANNOT DO IT ONLINE.

4. To go help people in need, e.g. elderly people, or go out for freelance work.

5. To go to ceremonies, e.g. Wedding, Funeral, Memorial Service

6. Physical activities/exercise, walking the dog. Up to two people, 1,5m distance between them.

Alternatively:

1. You can hand write the form (like Ipefthini Dilosi) and sign it.

2. Send an SMS to 13033 with the # of the reason you go out, space, your name and residence. E.g. 6 Nick the Greek, Parikia Paros.

If you need to drive, up to two people in the car.

The Police, Municipal Police and Port Police will be patrolling. Failing to follow the directive, has a fine of 150€

Don’t go out, unless you HAVE to. Stay Home!

Quite a lot to deal with huh? But I have to say, I’m surprised and pleased that Greece has acted so fast and taken extreme measures. I was one of those who thought ‘Phah, what a big fuss over nothing’ to start with, but I see the rapid rise of COVID 19 cases in countries who didn’t respond as fast or as seriously and am thankful.

So today I spent about two hours finishing up a few things I’d started, another coat of paint on the curtain brackets and started making boxes (for the drawers for my bookcase). Two of three boxes cut and glued. Tomorrow I’ll cut out the last box and glue it (I didn’t have enough clamps for all of them in one go).

When we got home it was just too beautiful to coop myself up inside so I made a coffee and had it on the porch out front. Lainee lay in the sun and we enjoyed some quiet time out there.

There is way less traffic out the front now, but this morning it seemed like business as usual when we tried to cross the road. I like this quieter version of Paros so much better.

I read a couple of blogs this afternoon and this post at Frugalwoods stood out with its ideas on how to help eachother during this time. I thought it was great and I agree with all she suggests. Unfortunately, with no income a lot of us can’t afford to order food in or buy things from local businesses. That’s the situation I’m in. I only buy what I need right now, and that’s mostly food for myself and Lainee. Oh, and the cat that doesn’t belong to me. And his friends.

I stress about finances a lot but I try to stay positive. I can’t stop my brain from buzzing at night and end up building things in my head as I lay there chasing illusive sleep. So far I’ve built my linen cupboard 3 times in different ways, reorganised my outdoor cupboard and moved it to 2 different positions so its not the first thing I look at outside my bedroom window… and moved pretty plants which have grown and flowered instantly to fill the spot where the cupboard is now creating a pretty view. I’ve painted rocks, painted some mixed media pieces and finished a papier mache bulldog I’m making for a friend. All while I lie in bed waiting for sleep…

Tonight I might try a bit of Baileys with ice. I think that will help. Or a cup of warm milk. Probably better for me but nowhere near as much fun.

Anyhoo, crafting awaits.

z

 

paros day 7: being productive

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It was a gorgeous overcast day today, warm, slight breeze, quiet… Just beautiful. Lainee and I walked to my uncle’s again this morning to continue work in his garage on the various projects I started. And this time I remembered to take my extension cord with the greek plug on the end so we had power!

I cut some odd bits of plywood to create shelves for this little stand thingy I got from what looks like a tip, acts like a tip shop but the owner treats like an antique store. Really. Its full of junk and he wants top euros for the crap.

Whatever. I picked this up on my last visit, it had only one half rotted basket in it, but I’m fixing it up. Details when I share the finished project, but what do you think… varnish the ply shelves or paint them? I like the look of plywood but don’t really like the edges.

I also continued with the painting. Right now everything is white as that’s pretty much the only colour I have. I can tint paint using my acrylics but am choosing to keep things simple for now.

My painting method is sloppy by design. The aim is to create a texture with the paint to make things look old, like they’ve been painted over 116 times in the last 6 decades. And treated badly to boot.

Since I had power and no curtain brackets, I made my own today. Of course I ran into problems. I always do. Sometimes its cause I don’t measure properly, can’t count, or am just a bit too carefree when I do things. As in ‘close enough is good enough’.

Let’s just say there was a bit of wastage involved. I obviously didn’t learn the lesson of measure twice, cut once. With me its more like measure twice, cut twice or more. Hopefully get it right second time. If not, sand and gap fill.

However today the problem wasn’t just with me. It was the tools.

Yeah. I know. A bad tradesperson always blames his tools, but in this case its true.

When I came over from Australia I brought all my tools… including my hole saw bits… When I was cutting a hole into the side of the kitchen cabinet to run the power cord through to the microwave, I bent the main bit which holds the round saw thingies. I did what you’d expect and rushed to the nearest hardware store and bought another set. Apparently I couldn’t just buy the drill bit holder thingy. I had the buy the whole kit.

This is what a hole saw kit looks like for those who don’t know. Except the one I have now is way thinner…

The kit I got is pathetic. I swear its made of tin. First time I used the smallest saw bit I bent it out of shape. Today I tried to cut a hole in a piece of plywood and this is what happened:

It just gnawed at the wood like a toothless beaver… Either this is the hardest ply on earth or that saw is pathetic. I’m going with the pathetic saw.

Of course I didn’t have my spade bits with me… man I miss having my own workshop where I have everything I ever needed and a lot I never did…

These are spade bits. Love spade bits… oooh yeah.

In the end I improvised. I used the jigsaw to cut out the crookedest semi circles you’d ever seen.

At least they fit the broom handle/curtain rod so I’m happy.

I mounted the brackets onto flat bits of ply so I can attach them easily to the wall, and voila. A couple of coats of paint and they’re ready to put on the wall.

Then I’ll have to figure out how to hang the curtain without rings, but I’ll work that out.

I always feel better when I’ve done stuff. Happy Zefi.

z

paros day 6: time flies

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Today was a great day. Lainee and I walked over to my uncle’s house to do some work, only to find I’d forgotten to take my adaptor so couldn’t do anything requiring electricity. Cause of course all my power tools still have Australian plugs on them! So no progress on the curtain rod today.

Still, I did some hand sanding and managed to get another coat on the things I started painting so I’ll have something to share soon.

Lainee and I took the scenic route there and back, along the beach and over the hill. On the way Lainee made a new friend. You can see part of golden retriever cross, Babi, as he digs his way to the other side of Paros. Lainee is too much of a lady to dig on the beach. (Though apparently not to much of a lady to roll in rotting meat…)

Today there seemed to be some lingering aroma around the couch so I’ve washed the throws. I think its fixed the problem.

Meanwhile I brought home the gap filler I couldn’t find yesterday and began working on the chewed up table legs. It’ll need at least one more go to fill in the chewed bits so the legs look normal again… We’ll see how that goes.

The weather was perfect this afternoon, no longer windy and it was beautiful out so Lainee and I went for another long walk. Its that time of year when I miss having a garden to watch come to life…

My potted plants are starting to get new shoots which pleases me. I’m getting photo updates of my seedlings and they seem to be doing well. Fingers crossed on those. Hopefully I’ll get them home soon and have flowers around me again.

Oh, and I didn’t burn the spanakopita last night! Did I mention I put in a ton of cheese (cottage cheese, feta, grated cheese) and thought it might be too cheesy. Turns out you can never have too much cheese. I could have put in more. I think it needed parmesan, something I always had in the fridge in Australia. (Put it on the shopping list.)

Other than that, not much to share… Its already 9.30pm. Time flies when you’re having fun apparently. Its too late to start anything new (project wise) so I’m watching Netflix. I’m on The Last Kingdom now. At least I’m catching up with my TV viewing…

How is your lockdown going?

z

paros day 5: making do

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Who knew my survival kit needed to include screws and nails of all sizes, hinges, dowells, brackets, paint, and a heap of other hardware supplies?

Well I do. Now.

Today I began my ‘make do’ and ‘make it work’ way of doing things.

I started fixing up a small side table thingy as my new bedside table, gave about 5 things I’m working on a light sand where needed and a first coat of paint*.

I also sorted through the rubbish pile at my uncle’s house for any timber (that hadn’t rotted and didn’t have termites) that I might be able to use to make the things I see in my head. I searched my easy to reach boxes for stuff I can’t find which I knew I had yesterday or the day before and ‘just put in a safe spot’ for later.

For instance, I’ve had some hefty gap filler since about this time last year – bought to fix the small table a friend gave me which had been attacked by her dog and his big teeth. I’ve been putting that thing in ‘safe spots’ for a year now. Today I decided to finally start on the table and guess what? Gap filler nowhere to be seen. I now have a small table upside down in the middle of the living room, waiting for me to find the filler.

Sigh. Guess I should have found the gap filler before flipping the table, huh?

I finished the doily curtain last night but still need to figure out how to hang it. Amongst the rubbish I found a broomstick I can use as a curtain rod, so I can tick that off the list. Now to make the brackets… I have some timber offcuts I was going to use for them. But…

My foraging was interrupted when Lainee and Spitha (my uncle’s dog) found something rotten and putrid to roll in. EEWWW. They both stank to high heaven and were so proud of themselves. I had to give both of them a bath with cold water just so I could stand being near them.

Gag.

Lainee is going to have another proper bath soon as the water heats up. Yes, cause this is the land of no-permanently-available-hot-water. We have to plan our showers here, at least 20min beforehand and turn on the boiler. And whatever you do, don’t let mom catch you forgetting to turn that thing off! I put mine on soon as we got home, after covering the couch with throws I can put in the wash in case there is leftover dead thing miasma lingering on Lainee…

Plan for the rest of the day: Wash Lainee. Make spanakopita. Don’t burn spanakopita.

Piece of cake.

Ah its all fun and games here on Paros!

z

paros day 4: destroying food

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Have you ever had one of those huge Pinterest fails?

Being stuck in the house can often lead to getting a serious case of the munchies, so there I was, trolling my food board on Pinterest. I had a couple of apples so I thought why not try these delicous looking apple cinammon chips?

Great idea.

This is what mine looked like:

 

Ok. So I wasn’t watching them. I sliced my apple up nice and fine (perhaps too fine), sprinkled brown sugar and cinammon on the slices, put them on a foil covered tray in a single layer in the oven on the temp recommended and waited. 

Then got bored of looking at apple slices and melting sugar that didn’t look any closer to cooking and stepped away…

Till the house filled with smoke.

Oops.

Well, the ones which didn’t burn to charcoal (the thicker sliced ones) were really tasty! I think I’ll give them another try… this time without foil which sticks to them, and on a lower heat.

Meanwhile remember all those lists of things to make? I got the lists out today and called the timber yard on Paros to order wood to make a linen cupboard. Nope. They’re closed. So I thought I’ll just pop down to the hardware store to pick up a few hooks, screws and a few bits and pieces to do other odd jobs. Nope. Closed.

So I took a walk with Lainee to think about my dilema. Time to think outside the box. Time to collect old pallets and recycle. Time to get in my car at the crack of dawn and locate free pallets…

The wind is still disgustingly strong. It really does put you off doing anything outdoors. My sweet peas are growing… With this wind I’m thinking I need to move them to the back where they’ll be protected. I won’t be potting up anything new till the wind dies down.

Oh, and without a flashlight I can’t go down to the basement storage area… hm. I think I’m being pointed very insistently in the ‘use what you have on hand NOW’ direction…

In that vein I cleaned the house and put up the new bathroom curtain.

z

paros day 3: keeping busy

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I haven’t yet worked on the curtain today other than to decide how I want to hang it and work out what I have and what I need to make it work. I think I got it now…

I also went around and looked at all the house projects I want/need to do and made lists of what they are and how to do them, putting stuff on the shopping list where needed.

I’m waiting for the weather to stop being so insultingly windy so I can venture into the store room in the basement (a nightmare*) and bring boxes out to search through them for all kinds of goodies I will need for current and future projects.

*The basement is a pit of must and dampness. Everything I put in there has been stored in plastic tubs and double bagged. That’s not the worst of it. The worst of it is that there is currently no electricity down there and therefore no lights. Ugh. And there are rats and mice in residence… Thus a certain reluctance to go down there…

My plan (hahaha, heard that joke before!) is to buy a good flashlight and go down wearing full protective gear, bring my boxes up to a non windy area and sort through what I need to re-pack and store and what I want to bring out.

Till then I make do and work on what I can with what I have handy…

Today so far I’ve hung a fruit label on my wall, decided not to hang the rest of them, did a load of washing, wrote a ton of lists and planned projects (ie worked out what I need to find/make/buy for each) and dug out a few odds and ends from the boxes I have within reach.

I walked Lainee up to one of the local roadside vegetable stores for some fresh vegies and made a red lentil soup for dinner. Its still early in the day so I have tons of work hours left to work on whatever I decide to do.

Meanwhile I made another bunny. This one is from new socks I bought while in Athens. Slightly different from the others, but its all about trying new ways to do things.

Sometimes I love small hand sewn or felted projects cause I can work and watch TV in the evenings.

Keeping myself to myself and being creative.

z

paros day 2: curtain in progress

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I’ve always wanted to make one of these doily curtains since I saw them on Pinterest a couple of years ago.

So firstly the inspiration…

(Clicking on the images will take you to my Pinterest page and you can follow the links to the original source.)

Anyway, I loved the idea of them, how old fashioned and romantic they looked… I began collecting doilies for the last few years in Tasmania and I brought them all with me to Greece cause I still planned to make that curtain… and with things the way they are, now seems as good a time as any to start.

I mean… what else am I gonna do, right?

I began today and I’m about halfway through. Mostly cause I’m working slowly, I stopped for lunch and took Lainee for a walk, and then the sewing machine went haywire.

…I was working on mom’s old singer and things were going fine… then while I was at the table piecing together doilies when suddenly the machine went bezerk. It began running full pelt on its own! I tried to stop it but it just kept going. I had to pull the plug. The thread all got tangled and broke, the foot plate wasn’t jammed… It was totally possessed!

Luckily I still have my old sewing machine here so I can continue working on it. Imagine if I’d already taken that to Athens! Disaster!

Stay tuned for progress pics. I still need to finish the sewing and then work out how to best hang it… I know I’m looking forward to seeing how I do that!

z

shut down

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So… no trip to Denmark.

It was really weird in fact. I left Paros on Wednesday morning last week thinking things were safe. Greece had 76 confirmed cases of coronavirus. Denmark had 34. Schools closed down all over Greece on Wedesday morning but I figured it was fine. I was still going on my trip. The risks were really low.

On Thursday Denmark’s cases were up to 250 or something. WTF? I began to rethink the trip. Friday the cases were up to 617. I cancelled my trip.

On the one hand I think I wish those figures had become available before Wednesday morning, I wouldn’t have left Paros at all. On the other hand I’m thankful I hadn’t left for Denmark last week… I’d have been suck there unable to come back!

In Greece the cases are currently in the early 220s. Not bad for a country like Greece with so many refugees (and others) flooding the islands from Turkey, Iran etc. Turkey seems set on starting a war with Greece in an underhanded way now – by sending over as many unwanted people as they can. They deny they have any problem with the virus, but how can that possibly be true when they are sending over Iranians and Iran is one of the top affected countries?

Its a mess.

In Greece all schools, unis and other educational facilities closed last Wednesday. Since then all shops except food stores and pharmacies are closed. All cafes, restaurants and other places where people gather are closed. I saw an anouncement that from tomorrow they’re stopping public transport. They had recommended people avoid buses and the metro but looks like they may be shutting them down entirely. The government is urging people to stay indoors, stay home and stay safe. There are huge fines and apparently jail time for those who don’t respect the restrictions. They keep saying its our own responsibility to keep ourselves and others safe. But of course there are those who think that doesn’t apply to them… young people are still gathering. I heard they will fine parents for letting their children out!

I was torn… stay in Athens to be there for my mom and elderly aunt, or go to my own home… In the end the decision was made by my mother. She’s afraid the ferries will be stopped so she wanted me to go to my own home. And I’d had a nightmare that I’d gotten the virus and while in Athens, in mom’s house, I cant self-isolate. She and my aunt need to stay as safe as possible.

So, I’m on the ferry on the way back home. Where I can work on my own projects and stick to my own space. Luckily I live close to a beach and can go for walks in the fine weather and I have tons of hobbies to keep me occupied.

And thank goodness for wifi and netflix is all I can say!

z