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?
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!
Yesterday I was in the sea cooling down for a total of about 3 hrs. Then I had to go out and it was not pleasant…
However it was fun. I went to see the presentation of a film made on Paros in the 40s, and see photos from before, during and after WWII. It was really interesting. You know I love old stuff!
Today I decided to stay at home as much as I can. I groomed a dog in the morning, and although its shady in my courtyard and there is a wind, it was still so HOT.
I came inside, had a coffee and got online and its already 4pm. I have no idea where the time went. I really need to set myself time limits on how long I am on the computer. Sure, it wasn’t all Facebook… I did a little research on paint pens. I created more ads for my FB Paros Dogs page and scheduled them for publication. (If you haven’t seen or liked it, please check it out, like and follow.)
OOOH. I just remembered… I have a ton of old family photos that I want to post on my FB albums… another reason to stay online!
Being dogless at the moment I’ve been able to do a bit of dog sitting, both in my home and in their own homes. Not that it was an issue with Lainee as she was so easy going and got along with all other dogs… but its so much easier when you don’t need to worry about things like that.
I’ve been a little creative as well, but this heat does my head in. I have to get off my butt and start a couple of new things I have orders for… plus two large canvases I need to finish. I will be sharing soon so stay tuned.
And… I have to update my Junk4Joy FB page – I put some stuff online for sale there and have forgotten to update it…
It never ends… Trying to sell is not an easy job if you want to keep up with all the social media. Especially if it doesn’t come naturally to you.
This is a photo of Lainee taken on a ferry trip we went on together with friends a couple of years ago. Somehow its the right photo for the start of this post, because it makes me think of rainbow bridges and travels to another place.
I lost Lainee about 3 weeks ago now, which is why I haven’t posted in ages. It has been very hard to lose her and the house feels empty and I constantly feel like something is missing.
Lainee had been having issues since about Christmas but the vets couldn’t find anything wrong with her. Still, she would be up and down, having diarhhea one moment, vomitting the next, but tests showed nothing. We were in Athens at the time so I took her to a specialist for an ultrasound and he said she had some sludge in her gall bladder but that shouldn’t be a problem…
On returning to Paros, more tests, the vet said her white blood cell count was very high, and kept getting higher, and thought it was a problem with her liver. So she went on antibiotics and pills for her liver, as well as daily doses of IV fluids for a while but continued to get worse.
I had originally tried a different diet for gastro issues, that helped, but then she lost her appetite. She ate boiled chicken and rice for a while, then stopped eating that. She was eating roast chicken ravenously when we decided to take her to Athens for another specialist ultrasound.
The second ultrasound, only a month after the first, showed her she had a cystocelle gallbladder and it had to be removed asap or she would die. I took her to the animal hospital that evening and they monitored her for 24 hours before surgery. I had googled it and there was a decent chance she would make it… however the first 72 hours were the most dangerous. However, they said that when they opened her up things were way worse than they expected. Her gallbladder was stone hard and stuck to her diaphragm and liver, and there were abnormalities on her spleen so they removed that as well. It was a HUGE operation.
She made it through the surgery and seemed to be recovering. Unfortunately, she went downhill and died 3 days after surgery.
Here are some memories of my baby girl.
When I first got her, almost exactly 4 years ago.Lounging on the aqua flokati throw at home.Snuggled up in our bed.Resting at home on a cushion made from one of my old jumpers.Laine always loved cushions and pillows. The more the merrier.What did I say, the more cushions, the better she liked it.On the new fluffy cushions.What? Is it morning already?I just love this silly face!On the couch with my first teddy bear, now her bear.On an armchair with the teddy.Where is Lainee?Trying a new look with close clipped ears.Back to bands!Back to being fluffy again!Sharing the couch with Erik, our kitten.On my lap, where she belonged.At the beach, with the wind in her ears, was one of her favourite places.She loved to run on the sand.She loved to lounge at beach bars.Always the best spot in the house.Lainee was a person. No lying on the floor for her. Chairs or couches were the only way to go.Out and about in the car, always on the way somewhere.Trying the new pompom look.Guess what mom just bought… a flower pot full of blooms!Showing off one of her many winter coats.Queen of all she surveyed.Looking pretty against the poppies.Out at another cafe somewhere, always with me.Lying on my coat when out at a cafe so no one would complain that she was on an armchair.On the ferry to Sifnos.In her small travel bag.Who’s the pretty girl in the mirror?Out in the wind on a winter’s day.Sitting pretty in a friend’s framing shop.Visiting family.Making their couch her own.In Athens, with one of my childhood stuffed toys.Spending time at grandmas house.Keeping an eye on grandma cause she’s always cooking something nice.This is grandma’s chair, but she lets me sit here.In Athens, keeping an eye on things.Visiting my cousin Zefi, who she loved, always wanting to sit next to her.Aunty Zefi doesn’t really mind if I sit on her cushions…Visiting friends – this is where I learned that she loved teddy bears.Winter in Athens… brrr, its cold.Visiting my aunt, who never let dogs on her furniture before.Just the cutest face ever.A happy face!!!!Sleeping at the office while I was at work.Her own comfy spot at the office.Looking over the landscape from a friend’s verandah.Lainee’s first visit to a cafe when I first got her. I think she enjoyed it!From then on, she loved going out for drinks…Or maybe a beer…Or cocktails…She especially liked the cream on top!Out for dinner with her aunty Barbara.Mmmm apple cider is good too.Where is my drink? I ordered ages ago!Hot rakomelo is great on a cold evening.What? You ordered the mojito for me, didn’t you?Thats for me?Well, maybe I can lick the cream off the top?Nah… I don’t think I want the strawberry.Coffee by the sea… what a life!I’ve finished my coffee. Can I get something to eat now?Lainee, after she’d had surgery to remove her mammary glands due to cancer.Yeah, she didn’t like the neck brace option almost as much as she hated the cone of shame.Right before her last surgery.
The above is one of the last photos I took of Lainee, the afternoon I dropped her off for surgery. I was sure I would have her back and that she would live another 2 years or so.
I have had her cremated and she is now close to me, where she always wanted to be. I couldn’t bear to leave her in a grave somewhere far away.
I try to remember the good times as much as I can.
I’ve been working hard in preparation for my open home/gallery idea. I’ve spent the last couple of weeks packing away all craft supplies I won’t need/want to work with till winter time, all decorative items that aren’t of my own creation, and everything else I generally don’t need handy.
Most of that I’ve packed into heavy duty plastic boxes and moved down the basement. I’ve donated a ton of stuff I don’t want and been ruthless about throwing away items as well.
I watched The Minimalists one night on Netflix and they were going on about how when you get rid of everything you don’t need and only keep stuff which ‘has value’, you free yourself and live better and have more free time…
To be honest, I don’t know how having less stuff in your life can actually give you more time, other than maybe not having to clean or dust as much (if that is something you do!). But I do agree whole heartedly that having less is always better for your mind and soul.
I am a collector, I admit. I love having collections of things which appeal to me, but when I moved to Greece almost 4.5 years ago, I got rid of almost all my collections. Even my extensive poodle figurine collection. I only kept a couple of figurines which meant more to me, ditto with all the other collections. I brough very little with me to Greece, including some things people won’t understand at all. However, they have value to me and that’s all that counts.
Over the years, as I said, I’ve always collected stuff. Partly cause I like to do things with the stuff I collect (remake, use them on things I create etc) but also cause I don’t think I would like living in a minimalist space. I like interesting things and love creating little vignettes with them. I like just looking at them. I love going to people’s houses and seeing that kind of ‘clutter’ as well. Going totally minimal was never going to be me, what with my collection gene and my art and craftiness.
However, in my ‘regular’ life, I am trying to simplify things. What I don’t use and don’t need is going or gone. I’ve been doing this periodically all my life. Once you begin to get rid of things it feels so good, you want to get rid of more. Its addictive.
Here are some pics of the first steps towards making my home a display for my work.
This corner near the couch has been started, with a few paintings on the wall. The more I sort out stuff, the more will be framed and hung, or put on the table to display. I also have some unfinished work I need to work on.
Behind my easel (with the STILL unfinished painting), I’ve created a little gallery wall with smaller artwork. Soon enough, all my walls will be covered with art (and nails)…
There is still a ton to be framed and space found to hang them.
The bookcase is roughly half display and half my office with the computer, printer, materials and other supplies. They may all be moved into the bedroom eventually… I have to see how I go space-wise. It really sucks having a tiny house.
Meanwhile, I do need to keep producing art over summer cause as things sell, there will be empty spaces which will need filling.
I HOPE things sell! I mean, that’s the whole point of having them on display.
Being that I’m not in the town with a door to passersby, I will be holding open days and art lessons to bring people to my home.
Fingers crossed on that!
Speaking of fingers, I got bitten on the thumb by a ratbag of a shih tzu yesterday. Three good punctures. He got me good, the little bastard. An elderly dog with a full set of teeth and very quick reflexes. Damn.
Its been days since I got back to Paros and I’ve been busy catching up, grooming, and now, I’m house/dog sitting again.
Meanwhile I’ve managed to convert my house into a removalist’s nightmare as I go through my stuff and sort. I’m sticking with my idea of transforming my living room (kitchen/studio/everything room) into a sort of gallery to show my work and invite people to see and (hopefully!) buy, instead of trying to find shops/galleries to sell through.
Along with trying to sell online… I’ve pretty much given up on the Instagram/Facebook shop idea, I just can’t figure it out and its giving my confidence no end of battering cause I’m not THAT stupid.
On the other hand, I see that WordPress has a commerce thing going on too… not sure if its available to the whole world or just the USA, or how it works, or anything at this stage, but I might look into that. Last time I tried it, it wasn’t ideal… Maybe this new version is better. Failing that I’ll just post stuff on FB and Instagram with a price and ‘contact me’ button. It might be better anyway, since I’m selling original artwork and not multiples of any one item.
So, in the vein of creating gallery space, I’ve been going through my house and pretty much packing away all my display items that are not for sale in order to replace them with items that are.
In order to do that, I got more plastic containers which I can seal things in to keep them safe from the damp and potential rodents returning, to store them in the basement. I’m also putting away all project/craft supplies I won’t be using over summer. Things like my fabrics, felting wools, etc. I won’t be needing those for a while, they are not things I use regularly. They’ll be put away and the space they took up previously will be used for the materials I do use, moving them out of the living room.
The suitcases under my bed, for instance, will now hold paints, paper, canvases etc, things I will continue to work with over summer. That way, the bookcase will be a display case.
At least that’s the plan…
Meanwhile, I’m keeping my little cubby boxes and drawers, and I’ve added another 4 drawers to the bookcase for all the tools and odds and ends. I found these little boxes at Jumbo the other day and bought 4 of them.
They’re pretty, but I’m using them as drawers so I had to make them fit in with the other drawers I’d made myself. I used old magazines and decoupaged them to the front of the boxes and voila – more drawers.
Once again, the photos are pitiful, mainly cause I do a lot of this stuff in the evening or at night. But you get the idea.
More to do. Lots more to do. So little time! Better get on with it!
I’ve always loved the idea of painting clouds, but had never tried it.
So today I thought it was time to give it a go.
This is how this painting started:
And this, of course, is it finished:
I am actually quite pleased with it.
I even started searching for other photos I’ve taken of cloudy skies but couldn’t find them. Hopefully I’ll find them tomorrow so I can try another one.
Its been a really busy day, and a very frustrating one at that.
I hate technology… I’m one of those people who hate getting a new phone/computer etc cause I have to set it up.
Computers and smart phones are meant to make our life easier, but things keep changing and every update and upgrade seems to make things more complicated.
It might be my age speaking here, but I remember this being an issue when I was much younger and working as a graphic designer. You’d just get used to a program and they’d upgrade it and things which worked fine didn’t work any more, things got moved to different places, new things (which were usually good) appeared and you had to re-learn everything again.
Or they stopped making a program you knew off by heart and you had to learn a new one.
I kept up. I did my job. Then.
Now, it seems every time my computer or phone runs an update things are different. Facebook keeps changing. And everything is somehow connected – which you’d THINK would make life easier, but it doesn’t.
Today I spent time trying to set up a Facebook/Instagram shop.
Its not the first time I’ve tried. I’ve spent hours on this in the last year or two. I did set up my Junk4Joy page as a shop initially but never did anything with it, then they changed their shops and added Meta and now its so much more complicated.
People keep saying ‘read this’ or ‘here’s a link’ etc. I’ve done all that. I’ve read stuff, I’ve watched Youtube videos. They’ll say ‘click on xxx and then select xxx’ etc but nothing on my computer, in the app or on my browser, is in the same place where theirs is!!! Even the wording is different sometimes.
Please tell me I’m not crazy.
All I want to do is streamline my FB accounts/pages, match up my Instagram account names, and have a shop where I can sell my stuff. Is that too much to ask?
Maybe I should just go open a Shopify shop, pay for it, maybe they’ll make more sense.
Mind you, that doesn’t solve my different accounts.
I need a fairy god-IT-person. Or a 10 year old.
Whatever.
I’m tired.
What I did manage to do today was close my Etsy shop for good. It did well when I first opened it, but kinda died.
Even that was a nightmare. In order to close the shop I had to first pay the AU$1.98 I owed them. Which I tried to do using Paypal… But Paypal won’t let me log in without sending a text to a phone I haven’t had since leaving Australia. There is no other way to log in. I can answer my security questions, which I did, but then they want to send me a text to the old phone and they don’t even give you the option to say “Hey dudes! I no longer have that phone so I can’t receive any texts! Is there another way, like, say, for instance… send me an email?”
No. That would make too much sense.
And unless I want to call Australia, I can’t get in touch with them. There is no ‘chat’ on their site and no way to email them with a problem. I can do a search for an answer in ‘the community’ but I can’t ask a question without logging in!
Can you say ‘vicious circle’?
I managed to close the shop by adding a new credit card to my account. How does that make sense?
I still have my CafePress shop, but I’ve barely added anything new to it in years, so its barely selling. I should close that too, but eh, it doesn’t cost me anything since they’re a print on demand company.
Remember when I wondered how you can be an artist and have an online shop/commerce site and manage all the posts and ads etc? Well… this is where I’m at. About ready to give up.
I swear, if Greece allowed street markets, I’d just sell my stuff at a stall. But there are no street markets in Greece. Only the farmer markets (laiki) in the cities and those are not for art and craft and handmade items.
A while ago I made a memory box for mom and dad – photos of them courting and a photo from their wedding day. Photos I’ve always loved.
I found the box in a secondhand store, and it had a glass front which slides out. All I had to do was paint it white, glue on a background I liked and then decorate it.
This trip while I was in Athens I found the wedding crown from their wedding in all the boxes I sorted through.
It’s yellow with age and has lost some pearl beads, but I like it as it is. At some stage I’ll iron the ribbon, but for now, I just popped it into the box for safe keeping.
For those who don’t know how Greek weddings go, somewhere among all the priests chanting and carrying on for what feels like hours, the best man or woman gets out these ‘crowns’ to crown and bind the couple together.
The crowns can be decorated in any way they want, but they are made to sit on the heads of the couple during the ceremony and have a ribbon tying them together. It’s meant to symbolize that they are now kind and queen of their own household. Apparently. I didn’t know that. I just read it on google…
During the ceremony, the best man/woman puts the crowns on their heads, then crosses them over back and forth so that each crown goes on both heads. Then the couple does the ‘dance of Isaiah‘ – where they move around the table with the best man/woman holding onto the crowns/ribbon.
Seeing as Greek Orthodox church ceremonies are all in ancient Greek, I can’t say I’ve ever understood a single thing they say or do…
But at least this bit of the ceremony had a bit of action, so it was fun.
Sort of like cricket…. I heard a comedian once describe cricket as so boring for so long that when something finally happened it was insanely exciting. Like that.
You can tell I’m not a very church-going person. There are a couple of ceremonies I like – Easter Friday is my favourite by far. I’ve always thought that other Christian churches I’ve visited were much more interesting. At least there the priest/father/pastor/whatever he/she is called speaks in English and gives a sermon that I can understand.
However, I digress. All I wanted to do here was share how much I cherish having mom and dad’s wedding crowns to add to my memory box.
‘I could go into the story of my life and the deep down reasons I’ve disliked (and even resented) Greece since first moving here as a 10 year old many years ago, but its a long story involving a child who felt like she was ripped from a town, a life, and a family she loved, moved to a foreign country far away against her will, where she knew no one and who’s people were cruel to animals. And who sincerely believed she would never again see the people and places she loved.’
I thought I’d share a song which totally encapsulated my view of the world at the time. I used to hear it and cry for everything I’d lost.
Sure, the song is in greek (so I’ll provide a translation below) but to me, it is everything I was feeling at the time.
I first heard it on the ship from Melbourne to Athens. The Patris.
The Patris is a very well known ship amongst greeks – It took so many people from their home towns all over Geece towards a better life in the 60s and 70s, including a lot of proxy brides sent to marry men they’d never met.
“… no one knew where they were traveling to – they were to be thousand miles away from their families, [they didn’t know] if they would come back home ever again.”
Of course, we were some of the few who took it going the other way – from Australia to Greece.
But for me, the feelings were the same cause I was too young to understand that the parting did not have to be forever.
Here is the song…
Here are the lyrics in greek (cause I know some of you will get a kick out of seeing greek) –
Χωρίς το σύννεφο βροχή δεν κατεβαίνει Ούτε το δάκρυ χωρίς καημό Χωρίς τον άνεμο τα δέντρα δεν λυγάνε Δεν σταματάνε οι πικρές δίχως γυρισμό
Αχ να μπορούσα τα λιμάνια να τα κλείσω Να σταματήσω τα τρένα στον σταθμό Να ‘χα τη δύναμη τα βράχια να κυλήσω Να μην αφήσω δρόμο για τον χωρισμό Να ‘χα τη δύναμη τα βράχια να κυλήσω Να μην αφήσω δρόμο για τον χωρισμό
Γιατί κοιτάς τα μάτια μου τα βουρκωμένα Που πας στα ξένα Σε ωκεανό Γιατί κοιτάς τα χέρια μου τα λαβωμένα Που πας στα ξένα και έχουν σφίξει κεραυνό
Αχ να μπορούσα τα λιμάνια να τα κλείσω Να σταματήσω τα τρένα στον σταθμό Να ‘χα τη δύναμη τα βράχια να κυλήσω Να μην αφήσω δρόμο για τον χωρισμό Να ‘χα τη δύναμη τα βράχια να κυλήσω Να μην αφήσω δρόμο για τον χωρισμό
And here in english (excuse the double line spacing, I have no control over the app on the tablet) –
Without a cloud there is no rain,
Nor tears without pain.
Without wind the trees don’t bend,
This anquish won’t stop without (a) return.
If only I could shut the ports,
(If only I could) stop the trains at the station.
If only I had the power to roll the rocks
So there is no road for separation.
Why are you looking at my tearful eyes,
You go to foreign lands, on the ocean.
Why are you looking at my wounded hands,
You go to foreign lands and I’m holding lightning.
If only I could shut the ports
(If only I could) stop the trains at the station.
If only I had the power to roll the rocks
So there is no road for separation.
——–
You may think this is melodramatic… but remember, I was a child of immigrants, who’d left their home towns and loved ones behind themselves, never knowing if they would see them again. They missed them and cried for missing them… I myself, never saw anyone from Greece, how was I expected to believe I’d ever see my loved ones in Australia again?
What made the goodbye infinitely worse was seeing my Uncle George, my favourite uncle, hiding behind a column as the ship set sail, crying… Proof positive I would never see him again.
Of course I was wrong. I’ve been back and forth between Greece and Australia all my life, but back then, this song hit me really hard.
I spent the whole of last week house/dog/cat sitting where I’d spent a month a couple of months ago. It’s nice, kinda like a holiday, but I sure do miss being home. Here is Lainee enjoying lying on someone’s couch for a bit:
So, when I got back home on Saturday I immediately began picking up where I’d left off in my organising and cleaning stint.
I’d already cleaned the living room and put down the rug for winter, cleared out and organised my kitchen cupboards, put away almost all my summer clothes, moved my outdoor furniture and fans to the basement for winter, and swept and threw out all the accumulated pine needles from the back courtyard and front patio.
This time round I did some laundry, a ton more dusting, put away the rest of the summer clothes which had been washed and were piling up in the bedroom, went crazy with the hammer hanging a few odds and ends on the walls and re-arranging others, found a home for some vintage encyclopedias I was unable to resist when someone was giving them away, and began a pile of ‘take to Athens’ stuff. Oh, and threw a big bag full of crap from the bathroom.
It felt great! I minimised all the products and crap I had in there, no more holding onto things I don’t use or things past their use-by date.
Did I mention we’d had another blackout while I was away? Well, second one in the last month. My freezer is now totally empty since I had to toss everything out. But I got some frozen Korean dumplings on the way home. Dinner! Yum.
Since the weather wasn’t too bad and I was in a working rather than lying-about-watching-Netflix mood (I did that too!), I trimmed some of my plants back for winter, checked on others and when I checked the dead lavender bush I had in a huge pot out the front, I found it came out in my hand without so much as a tug… It had virtually no roots at all. Strange I thought. So I began to dig at the soil thinking I’d put something else in the pot.
This is what I found:
EEEEWWWW. There were TONS of them. Big, round fat grubs, squirming and disgusting. I’m sure they might be full of protein and taste great if you tossed them in a bit of flour and shallow fried them… GAG.
I did a google search and I believe they are some kind of beetle larvae which eat plant and grass roots. YUCK. They were just horrible. I put them in the rubbish bin. I now have to throw out the soil as it may have more eggs in it (and it’s not cheap filling that pot) and treat all my other plants just in case.
Eeeewwwww. I’m still cringing.
Other than that, while outside, I checked the outdoor fairy lights and found they no longer worked. I guess leaving them outside for 2 years will have that result. Oh well. I got a new, smaller strand today … I won’t leave that one up for years. Or so I say now…
Other than that, I’ve been THINKING creatively but not actually put more than a few strokes on the canvas I’ve started or the two pet portraits I’m working on. Maybe tomorrow. I have a dentist appointment tonight. Nothing dramatic, but I’m sure my tongue can feel a hole which wasn’t there before… I probably lost a filling and didn’t notice…
The weather has been a bit erratic lately – warm and sunny one day, windy and cold the next, then warm and sunny again. However I think it may have finally settled into winter mode now… As long as it’s not raining I’m fine with it cause I don’t like walking Lainee in the rain.
Work has been busy, grooming has slowed down, so hopefully I can get back into my art in a real way soon.
In just a couple of short weeks I’ve gone from a strictly ‘work/home in pjs couch potato’ to ‘Ms Out-Way-More-Than-Is-Good-For-Me’.
The downward slide began last Sunday when, on the way home from visiting my newly widowed aunt, I was hailed over by a couple of guys I’ve known for years who were sitting on their patio enjoying the weather with a glass or five of tsipouro. (Think greek homemade hooch similar to italian grappa.)
I spent a pleasant couple of hours with them, getting home too late to do any housework and too drunk to do much else.
Did I mention I’d walked to my aunt’s? Driving may have saved me from drinking, but the way my day was going (too much beautiful weather to work) I doubt I’d have gotten much done anyway.
Monday I had a haircut… perhaps not a social occasion for most people, but my hairdresser is also a grooming customer and we’ve become friends, so our tongues got as much of a workout as the scissors.
Tuesday after a grooming appointment (which doubles as a visit to a friend, and her owner – haha!) I caught up with ‘the girls’ for drinks at the bar where we usually meet. That is a pretty much standard ‘every Tuesday night off season’ thing, but a lot of the time when its cold and miserable out and I’m snuggled on the couch with my poodle, I don’t feel like going out, so for me its more like every 2 weeks.
Wednesday I was invited out for dinner with friends I dog-sat for on top of the mountain… incidentally, where I am again right now. For a few days only this time. At least thats the plan…
Thursday is, from this point, on quiz night at the Jolly Roger in Parikia. Went with a friend last week and we came in 2nd. Of four, but hey, we still came in second. And I actually helped by answering FIVE whole questions she didn’t know the answer to. I just LOVE quiz nights so I think this will be the one thing I brave the weather for weekly!
I’ve joined a writing group called Bell Book & Candle which meets once a month on a Sunday evening, where we write to a theme, read our efforts aloud then share dinner and drinks.
I’m still waiting for info on some pilates classes I want to join, and I’ve been invited to join a couple more things.
There is a theatre group which does plays in winter (before COVID and again this winter I hope). There are dance lessons for tango in Parikia I hear, a greek dance troupe and latin in Naousa. There are a couple of art groups.
I would love to do a ton of stuff but I must remember that I need to work on my art as well, and in order to do that, I need a few restful evenings a week.
Who said there is nothing to do on Paros in winter? People think its dead once the tourist season ends and the shops close, but that’s when the permanent residents begin to get a life.
Life is different when you live on an island, or any tourist place I guess. Everyone is too busy during the season to have time to do much of anything but work. Then in winter, when they have the time, there is a ton to do if you want to do it. However a lot of people either leave to go to their ‘real home’ or go away for a holiday. And holidays can be long when you work in tourism 6-7 months a year, then have the rest of the year off.
That makes it hard for some of the groups who need to have a steady number of people showing up.
Still, its one thing I love about living in a small place – the fact that I know a lot of people and that there is always something to do if I want to.
And I love the peace and quiet here in winter compared to the crazy hell of summer.
junk4joy 