OMG!!!! I found this unpublished post when I sat down to write today… I’m so embarassed! LOL Actually, I’m not surprised. Things just get away from me…

So anyway… here is a post from over a month ago! I’m adding updates in italics to make it more current.

Meanwhile I’ll get to work on the next post…

Even prickley weeds have beauty.

Things have been busy lately. As if you hadn’t guessed given the resounding silence of late…

All good though. Only the odd minor drama…

I’ve moved into my new place. That’s if you don’t count the boxes I still have in storage, but since I haven’t yet had the energy to tackle the storage space in the basement I can’t bring them over yet. Its the thought of creepy crawlies or mouse droppings that’s keeping me from the task. And the heat. Then there’s the fact that I’m expecting visitors and 47 boxes in the middle of my living/dining/kitchen area will make life a tad difficult.

My visitors have come and gone. The boxes are still in storage but I’m counting the days till I can bring my stuff home. And my brother cleaned out the creepy stuff in the basement store room so its clean at least.

I’ve ordered my Ivar bookcase from Ikea (now that was a nightmare with their site taking turns recognising me or telling me I didn’t exist or I didn’t have a valid phone number??). It should arrive right when I have my brother staying. I can see it now… “hey bro, since you’re not doing anything…” hahaha

Somehow I don’t think that’ll work…

I got my bookcase up, decided I needed more bits. Its a work in progress.

I got a new coat of paint on the interior before moving in. And already have one scratch on the wall.

New light fitting with entirely the wrong globe. I hadn’t bought globes and the electrician picked these… hm…

The electrician came and changed the wall light fittings to ones I bought and put in some extra power points. He also put a couple of lights under the kitchen cupboards so I can see to burn food and wash dishes.

I got more appropriate light bulbs and I like it so much better now.

I bought a rickety rusty old bench for outside as a work bench and moved the outdoor setting to out the back cause the front is impossible to use.

So far all I’ve used the bench for is potting plants, but thats ok. And what you can see is actually the neighbour’s back patio space. The unit is unoccupied and while its in bank repossession limbo I’m spreading out that way… the area beyond the fence you can see with all the pretty plants is the other neighbours. Much bigger than my patio… I’ve now put up a bamboo screen for some privacy.

I borrowed my uncle’s water pressure cleaner and cleaned the worst off the front porch. On the negative side: the resin coming off the pine tree next door is unbelievable. That space is unusable without a sail or a pergola. I’m opting for the sail this year and see how it goes. Till I get a sail up I can’t even clean out there cause its a waste of time and effort. Not to mention white spirit, which I’d rather not throw around on a regular basis.

The lock on my bedroom window broke so its either open or closed, no in-between…

Thankfully that fixed now and I’m waiting on a quote to get security screens on the front door and window…

My suitcases are here… feels like home!

My car still runs but the back driver side door stopped opening. The knobs on the back seats both broke so I can’t lay the seats down to put big things inside. And I live to transport big things… Occasionally the radio turns itself on out of the blue… I’m sure that one day the lock and/or door handles will come off in my hands… eh. My car has character, what can I say?

The back door is fixed. Thanks to my brother. But the back seat issue remains.

I miss my Amarok. The quiet of WindDancer Farm. My poodles. Working from home.

Pay that matches cost of living – more or less.

Bureaucracy that makes sense.

Sigh.

Still, living on a greek island has its good points.

Like the sea. The views of the sea. Life by the sea. Swimming in the sea. And did I mention the sea?

I’ve got the most romantic mosquito net over my bed thanks to a good friend. Thank you Barbara!

Thats it for this post.

More coming. Soon I hope…

z

It seems I have a house! Well, a unit to be exact. A one bedroom unit with a nice livingroom/ kitchen area, a decent sized bathroom and a tiny back courtyard I need to partition off if I want privacy. Plus a shared porch out front with a sea view (not the one pictured), providing you’re happy to ignore the traffic on the road below.

All in all, its a nice little place and its MINE. That in itself goes a long way to making up for its shortfalls: the fact that its not a detached house with a yard on a quiet hillside with views for miles and the sound of cicadas instead of cars…

I’m signing the paperwork this Monday but the bank cheques have already been drawn up. Yay for me.

This where the long wait and wading through red tape to buy a place end, and the adventures of setting up a place begin.

Fun things like getting internet – a 5 week wait apparently. If the legal crap hadn’t taken months, this and getting tradies to do work on the place would have been easy. Now, as peak season breathes down our necks, there’s buckleys to none chance of getting a tradie to do a job at a reasonable price… and I want air conditioning!

Plus getting power switched on in my name… theoretically that should be easy, but I’m in Greece… Water… do I need that turned on and in my name also or is the mains just turned off? I have no idea.

This and many new and exciting things await me as I learn all about being a home owner on one of the most popular islands in Greece.

z

Trying to catch up on the blog, I thought I’d mention the sirocco that hit the island of Paros about a week ago. Paros almost got blown all the way to Thessalonki. Seriously. It was one vicious wind, worse than it was even in winter. Not cold. Just incredibly windy.

Trees came down all over the place, leaves and broken twigs filled the small cobblestoned streets, anything that wasn’t tied down was lost. I found clothing around the neighbourhood, blown off clothes lines. My uncle lost the eski off his verandah – it was found in two pieces in parts of the surrounding neighbourhood.

Like anything, its a matter of perspective.

To me it was noisy and annoying, but no big deal. The window in the 2nd bedroom blew open and I couldn’t get it shut, but hey, no worries. I fixed it the next day. The bigger deal was the alarm or phone that rang every 5-10 minutes in a neighbouring house all night long. Timed perfectly so that you couldn’t get to sleep cause you were waiting for the next ring, then just as you were slipping off it would ring again. Grrr.

But to other people, the sirocco was a lot more trouble.

To my uncle Taki it meant a whole lot of work. He complained that all day he was running around with a screw driver in his hand, fixing things which the wind had blown open, blown apart or blown away.

To my uncle George it was a disaster. The wind had broken his apricot tree and he’d lost all his tomato plants.

Everyone has a different perspective.

I’m glad those winds don’t happen often but its ok. I’m used to strong winds. I lived in Tasmania where sometimes buildings would lose their roof.

z

ps… still haven’t met my toy poodle yet…

Yesterday was a day of adventure.

First mom came by work and said I just HAD to go to church to see the taking down of Jesus off the cross. So I got off work early to go cause it was happening at 12pm according to mom and the church Easter program.

People worshiping at the cross.

I stood in the church for well over an hour listening to the chanting (ok, mostly nice), people watching, thinking about things I should not be thinking about in church, breathing in someone’s stinky breath and/or farts (not sure which was worse, actual farts or farty breath)… I swear. I believe the priests print out a schedule and then delay delay delay cause they enjoy having a full church. Either that or they all just have Greek timing…

And when they finally took Jesus off the cross it was a huge anti-climax. I filmed it. It took 23 seconds. One priest climbed on the ladder and unscrewed the bolts holding the figure of Jesus on the cross, another stood below with a sheet, the first guy lowered him while the second guy threw the sheet over him and carried him away…

Wow. I waited over an hour for that…

Apparently it was another hour before they brought Jesus out and placed him in the Epitaphio which they then walk around town at night.

Obviously I didn’t stick around for that bit. I went home for a nap, knowing I’d be out for the Epitaphio procession at 12am.

Yes, you can tell I’m not overly religious. I’m greek orthodox as all greeks are. Born into it, christened into it. But going to church is pretty much something I only do at Easter, rarely at Christmas plus the occasional wedding, christening or funeral.

Yet greek Easter is something special for me. Probably cause the rituals are so lovely, and because we always spent Easter on Paros when I was growing up and its really beautiful here. I’ve tried attending Easter celebrations other places but its never as good as on Paros.

It could also be cause for 2 years I joined the choir and got to know the hymns sung at the procession of the Epitaphio on Good Friday. I was so looking forward to it. Its been many years since I was on Paros for the Epitaphio.

So all was going well last night till we (Zefi, her daughter Marouso and niece Eleni) and I decided we’d go to Marpissa to see the Epitaphio there first cause they also do re-enactments, living art, something I’d never seen.

I must explain here that different regions or villages have different times for their Epitaphio. Marpissa is at 10.30, Prodromos at 10 and Parkia at 12. We thought we could do both Marpissa and Parikia.

Marpissa and Prodromos are 2 small villages on a mountain top on Paros, right next to each other. We got confused in all the traffic and parked in Prodromos (which also does living art) but decided to stick to the original plan and go to Marpissa. So we walked.

Only about 1.4 klm but it felt like a lot more…

Once there, we joined the throng, we didn’t even see the Epitaphio let alone hear the chanting… If there was any! It was not much fun.

The resurrection of Lazarus.

We managed to see 3 of the tableaus before Marouso tripped and sprained her ankle. That was the end for us. We put her in a taxi with some others and got them to drop her at the car while we walked back.

Palm Sunday

Mary Magdalene.

The plan was a good one. Take her to the medical center, which is right next to the church of Panagia where the best Epitaphio in the world is. It wasn’t till I started searching to show you what I mean about what is so special about Good Friday on Paros, that I realised not all Epitaphios have a choir singing hymns… The best example I could find was this and this, not exactly the same…

I was so looking forward to it, it had been millions of years since my last easter on Paros.

We piled into the car and about 1klm out of the village I hit what I thought was an average pothole (they have a magnetic force field I am powerless to resist). Turns out it was a mile deep crater with edges like shark teeth that could have swallowed an entire Volkswagon combi van…

I blew out both tyres on the right hand side of the car.

Flat. Pancakes. The car was sitting on its rims.

Who has 2 spares?

I didn’t have a warning triangle. I didn’t even have my paperwork in the car cause I’d taken it to work yesterday thinking I should have a photocopy of it all for home just in case, then changed bags and left it at home along with my drivers license.

And we were on a hill, on a curve. And greeks drive like maniacs.

So we did the best we could. We took turns signalling oncoming traffic using our mobiles and calling anyone and everyone who might have advice on what to do. I didn’t know if I was covered for roadside assistance with my temporary insurance, we didn’t know if there was roadside assistance on Paros, I know nothing Jon Snow.

I think over 100 cars went past. Most slowed as we signaled. I swear some either ignored us or sped up at the lunatics waving flashlights in the dark. I was abused by one idiot for not putting out a warning triangle… like “yeah moron, what do you think the waving of mobiles is all about??? We just like playing chicken with traffic on greek mountainsides?”

Only 3 cars stopped to offer help.

Wow.

If I was in Tasmania (I’d have called roadside assistance for one thing) but I’d have had almost everyone stop to give me a hand.

In the end the fire brigade turned up cause the message they got was that we were in a ditch and had one person with a broken ankle… one of the guys was royally pissed off and stormed off in disgust when it turned we weren’t lying in pools of blood.

Two of the other guys stopped traffic and rolled the car to a little spot on the side of the road where we left it and got a ride back to town.

Oh, and the police called. Turns out they got the same message. They wanted to know if we were hurt. They ran the license plate and said the car was still registered in the previous owners name. What fun. Now I have to chase that up too. That was meant to have been done the by the day I picked up the car weeks ago!!!

Upshot? I didn’t get to see one single Epitaphio.

Happy Easter. Hopefully the Anastasi tonight will be uneventful.

I won’t be driving anywhere!

z

Its been a while since I last posted. I’m back home in Tasmania, back at work (flat out) and up to my elbows in chores to do… There really is no rest for the wicked – I must have been very naughty in a previous life!

So while I catch you up on everything that’s happening in a suitably vague way, I’ll share these photos I took on my last day on Paros.

As part of the Paros Festival there was the opportunity to visit a few of the old mansions in Parikia. Absolutely gorgeous… yet falling apart from lack of maintenance for most of them.

You know how much I love old places and old things.

You’ll notice a lot of window shots. There’s something extremely beautiful in these old windows with their damaged timber, chipped paint and the sunlight streaming through.

Not to mention the floorboards… I’d adore those floorboards in my home…

Even the old concrete sink. A bit more shallow than anything we’re used to these days, but so big and wide.

So, what’s been happening in my life?

Well, its cold… Got back from 30 plus degrees on Paros to single digits in Tasmania. A bit of a shock to system.

Meanwhile I’m mourning my tan, which is fading fast. By the time the weather is warm enough here to expose flesh I’ll be pastey white again. Sigh.

The dogs are all well and happy to see me. The horses, turkeys, ducks and chooks don’t care if I’m here or not, as long as they get fed.

Ungrateful sods…

Work has been flat out. Grooming daily. Of course that means so much less time to do housework and craft projects.

I miss the crafting.

Not so much the house cleaning…

Its good to be back home though. There’s nothing like being in your own space, surrounded by your own stuff and poodles!

Though I would seriously love some free time to create.

No worries. It’ll happen… one day I’ll start something and then I’ll start another thing and before you know it I’ll be sharing new projects!

z

There is no place in the world where I love the view as much as from the back porch of my uncle’s house at Souvlia – a little hill that juts out into the water at the entrance to the bay of Parikia on Paros.

I always dreamed that one day I’d be able to have this view every day of my life. Its so peaceful, the cicadas, the sounds of the ferries coming and going from the port are dulled by the sea and sun. No wonder I sleep so well here.

When we were kids we used to see Souvlia as a type of prison. Its 3klm from the town of Parikia and there was nothing for tweenies and teens to do up here. We all wanted to be where the action was – the bars and clubs and boys!

Instead we felt we were exiled on this lonely little hill. Sure, we could swim in the bay below and we did that pretty much all day. But at night we wanted excitement and a social life.

Now all I really want is to sit here and enjoy the view with a good book or good company, both of which I have here.

The first week on Paros was full of catching up with old friends and the 2 cousins who live on Paros full time, the second week was just me and mom and now I have one cousin to hang out with and another arrives at the end of the week. I am having a great time.

Though as I mentioned before, I sleep well. I’ve never been able to nap in the afternoon – siesta time. When I was a kid it was the time I’d lie restlessly in bed reading books while mom slept. When we stayed in town at my grandmother’s house my brother and I would sneak out and explore the streets of Parikia.

Now I sleep every afternoon, and sometimes I sleep well into the evening. Unbelievable. Yesterday mom woke me up at 7pm and I thought it was 7am…. I’ve never slept so soundly in my life!

Those were the days… back then farmers would roam the streets in the early morning with their donkeys laden with produce or milk and call out their wares as they wound their way round town. I made friends with every single donkey, obviously.

As for the friends, its funny now to be friends with the guys I grew up around. The thing back then was to walk along the ‘paralia’ (esplanade) arm in arm with a girlfriend and walk past the group of guys who we secretly had our eyes on. They would call out to us to come join them, comment on our beauty and we’d hold our noses in the air and pretend not to hear them.

Back then my nickname was Australia for obvious reasons and so we’d stroll by and the boys would call out ‘Hello Australia! Come join us for a drink’.

Now I catch up with these guys I’ve known since I was 10 years old and they’re like old friends though we never really hung out together.

Its all one big family in a way, everyone knows everyone or knows your family. Like any small town. I used to want to move away from a small town where everyone knew who I was and what I was up do. Now I find comfort in it.

Plus now I just don’t care what anyone thinks of me. Not that I did back then, but my parents did, which meant I had to care too if I wanted to ever be allowed out again!

Hence quite a bit of sneaking around happend back then…

I think I better get going. The sea is as smooth as glass and it beckons…

z