and a happy new year to us all

Posted on January 6, 2026 by zefiart

Its been less than a week of 2026 but so far nothing has gone as planned… Ain’t that the way?

I’m still in Athens. Pinned down under the obligation of caring for my mother, who, when I arrived before Christmas with the idea that I’d spend the holidays with her and return home, was up and about and doing well. She’ll be 94 later this month, so she has aches and pains, can’t get around much without a walking stick and an arm to hold on to, but we’d gone to the supermarket together, and the visited a friend, she’d get out and sit in the little park opposite our house and enjoy sunlight on a warmish day.

Then she went to make the bed and either fractured a rib or tore some ligaments or who knows what. She’s old. She has osteoporosis. This is nothing new. The last time this happened the doctor warned her that it can happen at any time – from a cough or a sneeze or turning over in bed.

At least this time its nowhere near as bad as it was last spring. She thinks it is. Telling everyone who will listen that she’s never had pain like this in her life. I have to remind her that its not as bad. And she’s healing way faster. But pain killers won’t help her. She doesn’t want opiates (and neither do I, they almost killed her last summer). And calling in doctors to tell her the same thing over and over won’t help either.

Its age. Its osteoporosis. Its something she has to live with. She’s alive and she still has so much zest and interest in everything.

She is the most stubborn woman I know. In both a good and bad way.

The good: the physio she saw on Paros would come in and do some exercises with her, leave her with a program to do to keep her strength up and she does them. Every single morning.

The bad (as I saw it): when I was a kid she refused to let anything get her down. We’d go on holiday – the place we booked had no hot water? I’d whine about ‘this stupid place’ and carry on. She’d put on a pot and heat up water so we could stand in a tub of warm water to wash. Ooh, her positive outlook made me so angry! LOL

“Life is what you make it” Garrison Keillor said his mother would always say in his Lake Wobegon series.

And that’s right. Life IS what you make it.

Every day you wake up and make a choice. You can be miserable, hateful, angry, or happy, go with the flow and other hippy things.

Yes, I want to be home on Paros, creating stuff, working on my own home, swimming in the cold sea even, just being myself in my home. I want to be working on the Art From Trash Exhibition which has been my dream since I moved to Greece. But here I am, back at the kitchen table in the house in Athens, pretty much stuck here caring for mom. I knew this was part of what I signed up for when I moved to Greece but she was so well for so long I kinda lived in denial.

My life isn’t my own. I can’t make plans and that’s so frustrating. But there’s nothing I can do about it. I have to find ways to make it work, live with what life throws at me.

Its not easy. And yes, I feel trapped by the situation. I can choose to be bitter or angry or I can choose to get on with it and adapt.

Back when I worked with people with intellectual disabilities I (too often) worked with the high support needs folks. I hated it. Absolutely hated it. I would dread going to work on those days. Then one day I sat in my car and told myself that I could go in there and resent the entire day, or I could go in there and have a positive attitude. I chose the positive attitude. From that day on I’d go in there and offer to help with the horrible jobs, take someone to the toilet or all the other unpleasant things I disliked taking my sense of humour with me. The days went faster, I had more fun with my co-workers, and I felt so much better at the end of the day.

So, choose to be positive.

Life is what you make it.

PS. And don’t hit people when they tell you, like I used to feel like doing to mom… She’d say ‘smile, you’re so pretty when you smile’… I just wanted to thump her.

OMG where have you been???

Posted on October 2, 2025 by zefiart

Yes, yes, yes. I know. I’ve been busy, I was abducted by aliens, the internet was playing up, the beach called, my suit didn’t get back from the cleaners, I was having an existential crisis and wondering whether I even wanted to keep blogging. Other things seemed more important.

Then for some strange reason, tonight, I had the urge to post again. Not that I have much of importance to say… just the usual rubbish I write about.

But for anyone out there in cyberland who may have been missing me, I am still here. Still alive. Mostly. Ok, I’m fine, I’m just being dramatic. Mom is fine. She’s been getting better all the time. I tell you, I’ve never met anyone as stubborn as my mom. In the best way. The doctors brought her back from the brink after she lost 2 of her sisters within a month of eachother (the youngest who dropped dead of a stroke without warning and the oldest who’d faded away over 6 years with dementia in a nursing home). The doctor and the physio visit to check up on mom regularly and she does whatever they tell her – she gets up every morning and does her exercises.

*I* don’t do exercises. Mom, at almost 94, does.

Ok, so I have been exercising. Before summer I finally decided that joining the gym (and actually attending) would be a good idea so I began pilates. Then soon as aqua aerobics started I switched to that. Let me tell you, nothing is as good as working out in the sea. No matter how awful or painful something might be, its better in the water.

Once aqua stopped mid September, a friend and I continue doing our own workouts. We meet at a convenient and protected beach and swim and work out with our leg and hand held ‘weights’ (of course they’re foam, not metal, we’re not suicidal!) So I’m keeping fit(ish).

I’ll be taking mom back to Athens soon, she insists, she’s getting better, I can’t refuse to let her go to her own home. And once I get back I’ll reinstate my gym membership and start doing some weights as well as pilates. And the plan is to keep swimming through winter. Its meant to be great for your immune system. Not to mention your skin.

I tell myself I’m going to swim in winter every year and soon as it gets cold I bundle up and pack away my swimmers. But with a partner in crime who actually swims in winter, I think I might be able to do it this year…

I have ordered a neoprene swim jacket. And a microbre hooded poncho I can wear and change under. That might help.

Stay tuned.

We’ve had a very busy summer. The entire family from Australia came to Greece this year. Everyone except for my brother and his partner. But my niece and nephew came, heaps of cousins came, my niece brought her partner and kids, my brother’s ex wife and her new partner. The place was hopping.

Its one reason mom bounced back. All those people to see. Especially the great grandchildren. So gorgeous. So cute. So loud…

On other fronts, work has been okay. Grooming dogs and doing workshops. All good.

Very little creative time. Too much happening to concentrate on creativity. But I have begun needle felting again, plenty of painting stones, some smaller stuff. You know… I have to do something or I go crazy.

I leave you with a photo of the most recent needle felted creations for Christmas… made by upcycling felt dryer balls by needle felting and adding accessories (bought and made).

Hopefully I’ll be back again soon, with catch up posts.

Till then,

z xxx

Shared at Funky Junk Interiors Upcycle Ideas Party

why i’ve been missing in action

Posted on March 18, 2025 by zefiart

I’ve been in Athens for more than a month so far caring for my mother. If you remember, she’d been unwell all last summer from various falls, COVID, pneumonia and pain. She recovered enough to return to her home in Athens and was even able to walk to the little park opposite our house to enjoy the sunshine on nice days.

In October she fell again and seemed to recover quickly from that till about mid January when the pain became unbearable. Of course she kept me in the dark as to how bad it was and luckily her friends and neighbours helped her with things like the housework and food preparation.

She was taken to a doctor who told her she needed to either stay in bed* or put on a brace. My mother refused both options. Stubborn.

*Bed was not an option in my mind. At her age, bed rest for any period of time means she’d never get up again.

When I learned how bad things were I came and began to care for her. She’s in a bad way. She has multiple osteoporotic fractures in her spine from the various falls (or just from living, according to the doctor) and there is no real ‘fix’.

Alternatives were bandied about (mostly by hopeful me) like a cement like substance injected into the vertebrae to tie them together, spinal fusion, anything, grasping at straws, but the doctors all say that due to her age (93) these options are not really viable. They say they can cause more problems, may not in fact help with the pain, and put her at risk of complications.

So, it seems pain killers and management are the way to go.

hmph.

Mom has had issues with constipation all her life due to a genetic issue, so taking opioids is not an option at all. So she’s living on Paracetamol.

She’s been fitted with a brace that she’s been told to wear for a month, then have another MRI to see how things are going.

Right. As if old fractures will heal after all this time… allow me to be skeptical.

Mom is wearing it and complaining, naturally, but she has no choice. She doesn’t want to take the pain pills either for fear of constipation (though with various stool softeners, that’s not an issue) and because ‘they don’t help at all’. She’s also refusing to do more tests cause she’s ‘not a guinea pig’ and its too painful to go have the tests done.

I don’t blame her… she can barely go from one room to another without intense pain and wearing herself out, imagine having to go to some lab in a taxi then wait her turn, and then get on a metal slab… but… what can I do?

Its been bad enough mom called/calls/wants me to call various doctors as if someone will tell her something different. sigh.

We’re in Athens for another month now, then I’m taking her to Paros. I don’t believe she will get any better, so I may as well go where I have some chances of earning money. Its either that or I give everything up and stay in Athens. Not that hasn’t crossed my mind…

I’m a bit depressed. When I arrived I’d brought needle felting stuff and I’ve made a few critters which I can’t finish cause I don’t have all my stuff here to finish them. Plus I ran out of steam. I started trying to paint and feel like an untalented hack. Nothing works. So I care for mom and watch a lot of stuff on Netflix.

As if that wasn’t all bad enough, last Friday my mom’s youngest sibling – her closest sister – had what we think was an aneurism. She’d been complaining of headaches and was leaving a friend’s house when they found her lying unconscious on the ground in the orchard with multiple broken bones. They flew her to Athens to an intensive care unit where she never woke up, dying 24 hrs later. It might sound harsh, but she is lucky she passed away and didn’t linger. She was already struggling with the beginnings of dementia, broken bones and whatever other issues she may have had wouldn’t have left her with much quality of life.

So, my life currently revolves around caring for mom. She can barely stand using a walking frame or move without intense pain from her back down her legs. She’s getting weaker. I dress her and put the brace on for her in the morning and undress and remove it at night, I prepare her meals (and let me tell you, I never liked cooking much… especially greek food!) she spends most of the day in the living room where she sits or lies on the couch all day.

At least she has friends and neighbours visit her here and help the time pass. And she has the phone almost permanently attached to her ear. With her sister’s death the both the landline and mobile have been ringing constantly.

I have no inspiration. I want to go home but worry about how I’ll manage to work when mom needs me at home so much. I can groom from home, or I could go out and do max 2 dogs but my time away from home will be limited because she will need help.

I’m speaking to someone about removing my bath tub and putting in a shower so she can get in and out. And I’m trying to figure out how I can make my tiny home more comfortable for the two of us.

So, that’s my news in case you were wondering. Hopefully I’ll get inspired again and finish my felted critters or do something to share. Till then… its been nice knowing ya!

ring around the rosie. again.

Posted on November 5, 2024 by zefiart

It’s been an ‘interesting’ couple of days. Well, a month+ actually. But I’m pleased to tell you it’s nowhere near sorted out yet.

See, back when I first arrived in Greece almost 6 years ago, I got my aunt #1 to sign a power of attorney for me to act as her representative for all things legal. She was already showing troubling signs of dementia and I needed it done before she lost it entirely.

Well, all went well for a little while. And then I found out that power of attorney here in Greece has a shelf life of TWO YEARS.

Yes. You read that right. Two years. Like she’s gonna get better in two years and take over her own affairs.

My aunt is now in the nursing home and, although she does have moments of clarity, she is far from being ‘of sound mind’. I was told that the only way to get to be her ‘guardian’ now would be to go through the court. Uhuh. Like I have the money to do that. Maybe not even the time… who knows… I know the courts are notoriously slow here.

Aunt #1 is now totally wheelchair bound, unable to support herself on her stick thin legs. She is so weak she can barely talk. But she’s clinging on to life and is eating and happy to see us when we visit though it’s horrible to see her like this.

When I decided that the best place for her was the nursing home (seeing as she needed round the clock care) I rented her apartment to pay for the nursing home. Back then it was easy. I had power of attorney to sign anything necessary. And back then we didn’t need a energy efficiency certificate for the house in order to rent it.

NOW however, we do need it and about 1.5 months ago I asked my engineer’s company to organise one for me. It’s part of what they do after all.

1 month, 4 texts, 1 conversation and 1 email later I finally received the certificate and checked it. The address was wrong and the photo of the property is wrong. Not only did the idiot who did it put the address down as the corner of x and xx streets (which is mom’s house, my aunt’s house faces only one street) but the google maps photo he included in the certificate was of the house OPPOSITE.

I replied, telling him where he was wrong, included a picture of the actual house and waited. And waited. And waited.

I still haven’t got a new one.

What I did get was an email asking me to get my aunt to sign an official declaration and have the signature authenticated in order to produce the certificate.

Funny. They didn’t ask for that first time around… another mistake? Or did some law change again? Hard to know in Greece.

So, I called the guy and said my aunt can’t possibly go sign the thing in front of a legal witness.

He suggested I speak to my/her accountant. Which I did. They say, yes, they can do it through the taxation department as they have all her log in details, but we need a telephone in her name.

Now, we took away my aunt’s phone even before she went into the nursing home casuse she would call people at all hours and tell them everyone had abandoned her even we’d just been with her for hours.

The accountant said, just go buy a phone in her name. So I went. And was told I need a declaration from her saying she was authorizing me to get a phone in her name.

Ring around the rosie indeed.

Why on earth do you have to get a new power of attorney as a carer/responsible person for someone every two years? Maybe everywhere. How would I know? It just seems stupid, dumb, foolish, irrelevant, ludicrous, senseless, brainless, dim, dopey, deficient, idiotic, imbecilic, meaningless, mindless, moronic, needless, nonsensical, obtuse, unnecessary, pointless, puerile, redundant, simpleminded, superfluous, useless, and a waste of everyone’s time.

As for needing her signature for everything, ok, I get that, but it just brings me back to “Why on earth do I need a new power of attorney????”

Who else would be responsible for her? My 93 yr old mother, her sister, or me, her niece. She has no children.

At least we don’t have to worry about her property after she dies. She has a will. But it would be fun times if she didn’t, thats for sure!!!

Holy cow.

It’s so much fun living in Greece.

a family wedding

Posted on June 30, 2023 by zefiart

Last Saturday was my niece Marouso’s wedding. The wedding was held at the small chirch of Agia Anna, at the top of the hill just at the end of the town of Parikia, with a glorious view of the sunset.

The reception was held at the Parasporos Beach Bar which is very close to my home. The weather was stinking hot that day and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who wished I’d brought my bathing suit with me…

The decorations were absolutely stunning. The theme was bougainvillea, a bloom that’s very greek island, and the colour chosen by the bride were fucsia, pink and gold. The beach bar is all white, set right above the beach, so the setting was gorgeous.

Bright colours are not usually my thing, but it worked so well. The bride is into more exotic colours, and it was her wedding after all!

But the reason I’m sharing this on my blog isn’t about the wedding and how pretty it all was… Its about my mom. Here she is with my aunt, the bride’s grandmother.

My mom is the third sister in her family. The older sisters are 95 and 94, mom is 90 years old. Here she is on the dance floor… The one wearing trousers.

They played a couple of Cycladic numbers, ‘balos’ its called. No matter how tired or unwell mom may be, she can never resist dancing balos. I filmed this one short video of her and the bride’s grandmother, then joined her. She’s pretty amazing, don’t you think?

(ftou! ftou! ftou! – spit so you don’t give her the evil eye!)

I had an older video of mom dancing with a man older than her, but can’t find it… sorry.

Balos is my favourite of all greek dances. I’ve mentioned it before. Its got a jaunty rhythm and its a couple’s dance, unlike most greek dances which are either solitary (like the zembekiko) or the other ones where people dance in a line or a circle.

Balos starts at about 5 minutes into the video.

Its a pretty, flirty, courting dance where a couple dances around eachother. Such a lovely dance… that and the fiddle, no wonder I am so into rockabilly!

radio face photo display

Posted on November 2, 2021 by zefiart

This is something I finished a while ago, but it started back in Australia when I found this old Philco radio face in a tip shop. Soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to display photos of my dad in it.

I brought all the way it to Greece with me, I was that sure of what I wanted it to be.

Somewhere along the line I printed out the photos of dad I wanted to display, photos taken from the age of 14 to about 23 going left to right.

In order to finish it I needed knobs. I couldn’t find anything like that here. Perhaps I’d have had better luck in Australia where such things are tip shops and op shops abound, but here… not to lucky.

I ended up buying some new knobs off ebay. No idea what they’re supposed to be used for, I got them for the cream colour more than anything. I glued them in place and now the radio face is in my bedroom on what will ultimately become my gallery wall.

Here you can see where it is, next to the tea bag dress I made for the Art From Trash competion in Australia a few years ago, and above the memory box I made for my grandparents. On the other side is the memory box I made for mom and dad.

I want to make more of these – I have the clothes from my baptism and think a display box with them and photos from the day would be nice, plus one with childhood photos of myself and my brother growing up in Griffith NSW… I’ll get to them one day!

For now I’m just pottering along, living and creating!

lockdown free (for now)

Posted on May 3, 2021 by zefiart

This post is a day late, but its to be expected. Greek Easter is a huge thing, bigger than Christmas. It was a big day for me, my first swim for the year, a family get together, lots of food, a nap cause the weather continues to be unseasonally and oppressively hot, then we girls got together again with mom and an aunt to make more goodies. Paximadakia this time. Two different types. One was my aunt’s recipe, one my mom’s.

Who had time for blogging?

Lainee, bored of proceedings, takes a nap.

But today we wake up to a country where you can sit at a cafe or restaurant again. Restrictions still in place, but the lockdown is over and tourism opens officially on the 15th of this month.

I remain skeptical about it all as new cases in Greece remain well over 1000 per day, but hey, who am I anyway? Just a cynical blogger, not a government official…

Whatever.

If you’re looking for me I’ll be somewhere along here.

I am so looking forward to having a coffee out with a friend or two over the next week. Its what I missed most – being able to have a coffee seated somewhere that isn’t my house or my car!

a great day – lockdown 2 day 170

Posted on May 1, 2021 by zefiart

The eggs were dyed. And then some of them were hand-painted. Turns out the dye on the eggs isn’t very stable… Everything I painted white turned pink no matter how many layers I gave it. Live and learn. Next time I’ll try a white marker and see if that stays white.

Still, they turned out ok more or less. Please ignore the one I tried to do. That didn’t work well at all!

Meanwhile the cookies were a great hit. Here are the guys having a drink with the tray of finished cookies between them. So many cookies. Quite a few had already been gifted by then too.

The spanakopita turned out great, though I think I prefer it with less filling as it stays crunchier longer. Too much filling and it goes a bit soft. Me like crunchy pastry. Click here for the recipe.

Next time I make spinach pie I’ll make individual small ones. That way I can freeze some to bake at a later date instead of making a big tray and having to give most of it away cause how much spanakopita can one person eat? (In my case its A LOT, but maybe not the whole baking tray.)

Other than that it was a great day. I loved spending girl time with Zefi and her daughter cooking and chatting. I was even going to go for a swim with them but I discovered that I’d put three bikini tops in my bag and NO bottoms. Ooops.

Next time.

junk4joy

painting, recycling, creating and living on a greek island

Category Archives: family