crossing stuff off. slowly does it.

Posted on December 10, 2023 by zefiart

I did actually manage to tick a couple of odd jobs off my 563m long to do list over the last few days.

Firstly, I finally hemmed the living room curtain I pinned up sometime in summer. I did it so long ago the pins had all disappeared as I pulled the curtains back and forth over that time, so I basically had to do it again.

Plus, with winter upon us, I needed thicker curtains. I went to Jumbo and bought the thickest curtain they had (which is not that thick at all, but a velvety texture) in the neutral shade I wanted. I figured I could double up the curtains, the thick one behind against the window, the thin summer curtain in front. Double protection from the cold.

Should work, right?

This is the curtain rod I made myself during COVID lockdown when I couldn’t buy anything. I made the backets from some old bits of wood I’d scrounged from somewhere and sacrificed a wooden broom handle for the rod. I put some vintage knobs I’d bought in Holland on the end as decoration. I’m very happy with my DIY curtain rod.

Well, I laid the curtains out on my bed and began to fold, pin and trim off excess. My way. ie use my eye and do the best I can and expect that it will work out okay.

Then I got out mom’s old Singer and got to work.

Mom’s old sewing machine is almost as old as I am, she used it to make us clothes when I was a tiny tot. It’s the machine I learned to sew on, but I hadn’t used it in decades. In fact, I think I was the last one to use it back in the late 70s and it had sat in a closet in our house in Athens since then.

I’d taken it to be serviced when I first got here, thinking I’d keep it in Athens and have my own on Paros for sewing projects. Thankfully I had brought it to Paros on a trip at some stage, cause my old Singer (almost the same age, bought at a trash and treasure market many years ago in Canberra) blew up this summer. The motor is cactus. Apparently, I can buy a new/second hand/ motor on ebay, but so far the ones I found are in England or the USA and the postage will kill me.

So, I’m trying to figure out how to use mom’s again now.

Its way fancier than mine ever was. Dad was a great believer in buying the best you could afford so mom got the top of the range. Mine was fully manual. Basic. Mom’s is smart (for its age!) and can do things like automatic button holes… If *I* knew how to do them, of course.

Anyhow, I hemmed both curtains and washed the summer one which had been dragging along the floor for months (not that I needed to really, I’d cut off the dirty bits!). I then hung them both up together and let the washed curtain dry in place.

I was told by a seamstress neighbour in Athens that it was the best way to do it – wash and hang. Easy. No ironing involved. And that suits me just fine!

Here is the window before and after:

I forgot to mention I made a ‘pelmet’ of sorts from the offcut of the thicker curtain… I’ve been told that if you really want to keep the cold out you need pelmets. Well, I don’t want pelmets, but figured something over the top of the rod would suffice. We’ll see if my theory is correct soon enough.

It’s downright ugly, but if it does the job and cost me nothing but a bit of experimentation, so I’m reasonably happy with it. I’ll be happier if it works, balancing out ugliness with function.

I still have the blackout bedroom curtains to hem. I’d forgotten about them while I had my sewing vibe going. Groan. I knew there was something else I had to do…

The other thing I ticked off my to do list – I finished the bathroom window.

I think I mentioned it before. There were a few gaps between the tiles and the bottom bit of window frame and ants were getting in. I asked my cousin (who was painting my shutters at the time) to have a look at it and when he pulled it off, we found there was an empty gap behind the trim. Just a bit of rubble and a hollow.

Wonderful.

So he put in a strip of wood to seal it off and painted it for protection. It was then up to me to finish the job.

This week I finally found a small piece of MDF thin enough to fit in the gap between the tiles and trim. It was too big a gap to fill with sealant alone. I cut a couple of pieces and used small nails to hold them in place, put the trim over it all and sealed it all with waterproof/paintable acrylic sealer.

Next step would be to sand the entire window and paint it. But for now, at least its a finished looking window again. That’s something.

Yesterday I realised time is running out fast. I had thought ‘Oh, three weeks till I leave for Christmas is plenty of time to get a ton done…” and now I’m leaving in a week and my house still looks like a bomb exploded.

I have a huge canvas I’ve barely begun working on, on the easel in the middle of the living room. I have to work around that. I have the suitcase I’m taking to Holland on the floor and am tossing items into it whenever I come across something I need to take with me there or to Athens. I have the sewing machine on the kitchen table along with all kinds of smaller things I have to either do something with or put away. I have the clothes airer in the living room cause it’s been too wet to dry anything outside. My grooming table, dryer and case are also in the living room cause I’ve been grooming away from home, or at home – which entails taking most things out of the bathroom to fit in the table and dryer. There are boxes with items to sort, put away or get rid of. Some things that need to do to my storage room in the basement. Mom’s ceiling fan which needs to go in my bedroom ceiling. And a whole lot of my own work/art which I have been photographing to put online to sell.

I need more space.

Then again, I’m sure I’d fill that up as well. But it would be nice to have separate places for all the things I do. You know, like dedicated areas…

Hey! One of my neighbours is renovating so I’m going to pick up a ton of old timber bits and pieces! More to add to my collection of stuff. However, this is stuff I can use to make a workbench and a dog drying bench for my eventual grooming room!!!

All good.

NOTE: Just putting it out there… does anyone know how well insulated a refrigerated container might be? I figured it would have to be very well insulated as they are meant to keep things cold even in the hottest temperatures. Will I need extra insulation on it in order to live and work in it in summer? Does anyone have any ideas? I’ve tried looking it up but have had no real luck.

TIA.

the container

Posted on December 8, 2023 by zefiart

Let me remind you of where we left the container…

It’s still there.

Or at least I THINK its still there. We’ve had thunder, lightning, pelting rain, constant rain, hail and all sorts since last night. And the night before. And all day today.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the container hasn’t slid down into the shrub…

Anyway, this is part of what I had begun writing last night, before I lost it all and before I was hit over the head with money owed for car registrations (and rates!!!!) and lost all will to live.

I’d been out to visit the container and measure the area inside to figure out what will be the best/easiest/cheapest way to line the floor. And perhaps the walls? Not sure I’ll need that, but I’d like to at least line one wall cause its so nice to be able to put up hooks and shelves and its so much easier to do on wood.

I also met up with the engineer and discussed the solution to the container position problem. Apparently the diggy-diggy man was appalled when he saw it. He said they should have brought it out with a bigger crane. Duh.

He will fix it. He’s got a bigger crane and when he starts work on the concreting he will move the container.

So it will be after Christmas before its in place. IAt least I hope its in place by then. It won’t be if this weather continues.

This is the floor of the container.

Its worn in quite a few spots but the worst is near the door. I’m not sure the best way to tackle it, but I will find a way. I have faith in my imagination.

Watching YouTube videos on how to fix up containers and tiny homes gives me plenty of ideas… I just need to find the right materials, tools, and power to be able to do it.

Its not like I can build stuff in my back patio, carry it through the house, transport it in my tiny car, then take put it where it needs to go… A generator might be an option I need to look into but it won’t do for months on end. I’m told they’re expensive to run… let alone buy…

I spent one morning this week applying for water and electricity for the site. I’m told it will be summer before we get power there (odd since its supposedly quick to get ‘construction’ power…) and there are about 5,345,246,294 applications for water before ours.

Well, water can be sorted with a tank. I think I have a handle on that.

All in all, the application process went really fast considering this is Greece. Surprising.

Of course I’m also expecting the cost to be surprising, and not in a good way.

What can you do?

Right now I’m living according to Field of Dreams. “Build it and they will come.”

Only in my case its more like ‘Start and you will finish.”

angry

Posted on December 7, 2023 by zefiart

Partly because I spent ages typing up a post only to lose it somehow. But mostly cause of the freakin’ way things work in Greece.

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate this country?

How nothing seems to make sense here?

Please tell me… is there another country in the entire world where you don’t receive any kind of notification to pay your car registration? (Don’t answer that, I’m sure that some tiny deep dark forest country in the middle of nowhere doesn’t notify you either.)

Australia made sense.

I’d get a notice to pay my car registration. And I’d get a bill for my rates. A letter to remind me to register my dog’s with the council every year. A letter that it was time to do my taxes, and a letter that it was time to visit my dentist.

Here I get notification from my accountant to pay my self-employed insurance, do my taxes and pay my bill. I get notified to pay my rates. I get notified when my car is due for inspection.

But apparently I have to remember to pay my car registration every year, without any reminder notice.

Ok, maybe I’m a total idiot. Could very well be. I mean, I drive a car, shouldn’t I think of things like that? Well, frankly, no, cause I’m used to receiving notification that car ‘rego’ due!

As a result, I didn’t pay one year, so I had to pay double. Luckily my cousin Zefi told me about it today, so I was able to pay this year’s before December 31 and get fined again.

Seriously, it makes no sense to me. They have an online tax platform in Greece and they keep track of every single cent I make or spend. They have a projection of how much it costs for me to live and I have to show that I make at least that much or I’m in trouble, cause where am I getting the extra money?

Yet, this one thing, they figure I can take care of myself. Oh boy were they wrong. Then again, they were right. They got double out of me.

Zefi had to go through every single year to find where I’d missed a payment. Yes, you read that right. She did it for me cause I’m allergic to this crap.

How does anyone keep track of anything?

I’m really sick of how this country works.

I love living on Paros, but Greece is making me lose my hair.

home again, finally

Posted on November 27, 2023 by zefiart

Its been a hectic couple of weeks. I’ve been to Athens and back twice, but I’m finally back home… though just for another 3 weeks. Then I’m off again.

And to think I had promised myself that THIS winter I would stay put… but you know what they say – we make plans and the universe laughs.

So, the weather has been awful on Paros (and most of Greece for that matter) the last few days. I was lucky, I was in Athens while all hell was breaking loose on Paros.

This is normally a square where people walk, not paddle…

I got back at the tail end of crazy winds and storms. In fact, I wasn’t sure the airplane would be taking off as planned, but it did. However, when we arrived at Paros airport the pilot informed us that the conditions were too dangerous to land, so we’d circle over Antiparos for 15-20 minutes to see if the wind dropped and the runway dried. Otherwise we’d be flying back to Athens!

Ugh.

Luckily, the wind dropped, the runway dried and we landed with only minor bumps and a lot of crossed fingers. Do people all over the world applaud when the plane lands? There was a lot of whooping and clapping, let me tell you.

Soon as I got home I got busy putting away all my summer/autumn clothes and bringing out winter clothes. It was about time. The day before I left for Athens, November 19, I’d been swimming with a friend. I suspected our swimming days would be over by the time I got back… I think they very well might be, though we may still have a few days of 20 degrees C to look forward to. I kept out one bathing suit, just in case.

Anyway, thought I’d touch base so as not to do another disappearing act. While away I’ve been on the phone with the container guy, the diggy-diggy guy and the crane guy trying to organise the levelling of the ground, a load of gravel to be spread where the container would go, and finally, the delivery of the container.

Its been like trying to organise a barrel full of monkeys on red cordial.

Why on earth did I think this would be a good idea?

Oh yeah… if you don’t take chances you’ll never achieve your dreams. And I dream of a studio. And workshop space. And to no longer live so close to my neighbours I can hear them flush their toilet.

breaking ground

Posted on November 16, 2023 by zefiart

And I mean that literally.

This week we broke ground on our land at Agia Irini on Paros. This is land dad bought and left to my brother and I, to one day build homes on Paros. Something he never got around to himself.

Its been a long time coming, this dream of building for ourselves. We applied for a building permit about 18 months ago, and we finally got it this month. Things in Greece tend to move lightning fast… like molasses in a snowstorm.

To be honest, I’d never really liked this land so much, its in a valley, with no view of the sea and pretty close to a small beach. I always dreamed of a house on a hillside with expansive views of surrounding islands and no neighbours…

Well, having dog-sat and groomed in places high up on hillsides, I’ve changed my mind. Being on level ground is so much easier than having to drive up steep hills on narrow (and often really bad) roads. And being close to the beach is ok, I guess (beaches tend to sprout loud beach bars and traffic, ugh.). Its not a particularly nice beach though, so here’s hoping…

But our land is only slightly inclined and, with about 4 acres, our neighbours are at a comfortable distance – which isn’t something I can say for my little apartment…

Here are some pics, though for now all there is to see is a lot of dirt, a shallow hole – and a LOT of rocks:

The rocks will come in really handy for rock gardens and pathways, and the soil is really good so I’ll be able to have a lovely garden again. Dad bought the land off one of mom’s cousins who used to grow hay for his animals. Don’t ask me how he plowed such rocky ground…

Since I moved to Paros I’ve really missed my garden in Tasmania, and my plant collection is getting a bit too big for my tiny place. I’ve been collecting plants for Agia Irini since I got here! Some bought, most from cuttings or from seeds. In pots and planters all over my small terrace and patio.

Since we don’t have the view, I can’t wait to create a garden paradise for us. It won’t be the same as the lush english garden jumble of plants I had in Tasmania, we don’t get enough rain here, but it will be pretty for sure! More succulents and herbs, plus at least a couple of gum trees (eucalyptus to you non-aussies!). And perhaps a few fruit trees. I already have 2 small fig trees waiting to go in the ground.

And just when I thought I had nothing more to share on my blog, here is something new! Lately I’ve been so busy with work and life in general that I haven’t been creating much to share. Or feeling like sharing my boring life…

Now I have something to be excited about. In fact, I have had a lot of trouble sleeping lately as my mind has been whirring and grinding with thoughts, decisions, stress, choices, worry, ideas, etc. However, I think I have finally started to sort things out.

Sort of.

Kinda.

Its not at all sorted really. I mean, I still have a ton on my plate and a long way to go, but I’ve made my first step.

Next to work out the rest… like how to afford to build more than a concrete frame… but thats something to worry about tomorrow.

For now I made one decision that I’m very pleased with. I’d agonised over this for a long time, but I finally made the leap. I bought a container.

Its an ex-refrigerated container with lined walls inside and a side door as well as the back doors. And a big hole where the refrigerator unit used to be – ie a window! (sort of. up high.)

Still, its a container and its mine. And once the spot is levelled, it will be delivered and plonked there.

Its going to be storage for the time being and later it will be my grooming room! I’m so excited. I won’t have to wash dogs in my poor destroyed bathtub any more and groom them under an umbrella in the back patio.

It will take a lot of work, but I’m looking forward to fixing it up and making it work. I am so looking forward to putting a garden around it and create an outdoor shady area.

I’ve had a dream of having a studio, grooming room and workshop for so long, and this is the first step in that direction. Now I’m putting it out there to make the money to make it all happen.

still positive

Posted on July 29, 2023 by zefiart

And I don’t mean that in the good sense.

I got sick last Sunday 23/7, and I’m still positive 7 days later.

This is not fun.

I managed to avoid the dreaded bug for 3 whole years… yet now, out of nowhere, I got it. I not only got it, but it got me good too.

Almost a full week of headaches, body aches, sore throat, chills, sweats, fevers, coughing, and just for a little added fun – some rather unpleasant bathroom excursions.

My tastebuds have gone on strike… All I can taste is salt, sugar and vinegar, nothing else. Water tastes foul so I’ve been drinking juice and watered down juice just so i can keep drinking fluids.

I’m feeling better today, the fever stopped yesterday, and the sore throat stopped today. I was feeling a little hopeful that I might be able to go see my brother, but no… I’m still testing positive.

Which sucks, cause Peter is only here for 2 weeks and I’ve been sick… and we have so much to organise and talk about… and frankly, I want to spent time with my brother before he goes back to Australia!

Anyway, I just thought I should send a quick heads up to let you know I’m not just being lazy this time.

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!

life is good

Posted on June 30, 2023 by zefiart

But its damned hot.

I do not do well in the heat.

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.

ios for the day

Posted on June 13, 2023 by zefiart

Last time I was on Ios was in the early 80s. A LONG time ago.

Back then I was a punk and my boyfriend and I camped at Mylopota beach, behind the Far-Out beach bar and spent the day on the beach and nights at Chora on top of the hill, drinking and generally having fun. Back then it was THE party island, and I remember it being very busy. Then again, I think we were there in July and August which are generally busy months in Greece.

It’s still got the reputation of being a party island so is frequented by a lot of the younger crowd, but the island is changing, going more upmarket and much nicer than it was back then.

This time I took a day trip to Ios with friends, and we hired a car to explore a little more of the island. The one thing that hit us straight away was how quiet and peaceful it was. Made me think that this is a place I’d love to get away from it all and just relax for a while. Apparently their season starts at the end of June, unlike Paros which now seems to be busy from April till the end of October.

Ios is little more than a rock. It’s a decent size island with great roads and almost nothing on it. We hired a car and drove from one end of the island to the other, so we saw a LOT of rocks.

We were lucky enough to run into a goat traffic jam. Poor things must eat rocks.

We visited Homer’s monument/grave, whatever. The story is he was probably buried here…

It’s like the Small Wall of Ios on the way to the site.

With a shady spot on the way back for the weary traveler.

A marble monument marks the spot. But the beauty of the site is the view and the rock piles.

It’s a great spot, right at the top end of the island with expansive views. People have made it even more beautiful by leaving behind little rock piles. I can boast having been there and leaving 2 small piles of my own!

The biggest, welcome rock pile when you arrive.

After our visit – this is one of my rock piles.

On the way to Homer’s monument, we had quite a surprise when we came across these 4 marble statues (or parts of marble statues). Maybe someone can explain this one to me? I can’t find any reference to what this first one is meant to be… Prudes may want to skip the next 2 images.

We felt like we had to visit the beach at Manganari, apparently the bluest clearest waters on the whole island. I don’t know about that. I still think Mylopota is the best beach. Manganari is shallower and I prefer beaches that get deep faster. But its deinitely a quieter beach. There’s almost nothing there and its so far away, I doubt many people will make the drive there!

(Ok, to be fair, we did go to Manganari from Homer… its probably a lot closer from town.)

I do know that the cost of the umbrella and 2 sunbeds at 10e blew my mind. Its been years since they were so cheap on Paros. Maybe its cause its still early in the season for Ios.

One place we stopped at was Skarkos.

Skarkos is an early Bronze Age settlement on the island of Ios in Greece. Owing to its well preserved state, Skarkos is one of the most important prehistoric sites in the Aegean and especially the Cyclades.

Of course, we decided it wasn’t worth walking uphill in the sun just to see rocks when the arial photos do such a great job… At times like these you wish you had a drone!

A web image of the site from above. See what I mean?

We ran out of time so didn’t get to walk around Chora, the main town of Ios, but eh, once you’re walked the cobblestone streets of one Cycladic island, you’re pretty much seen what you’ll see. Though it would have been nice to compare Ios of the 80s with Ios of the 2020s.

The best place, in my opinion of course, was Mylopota. Its where my fondest memories of Ios are.It was so different from what it was in the 80s. We stopped at a great bar/restaurant to have breakfast because its where I was sure the old Far Out bar used to be. And I was right. Apparently, according to a local, the Far Out still exists but its bigger and better and further down at the other end of the beach now.

But for our little group of older, wiser, people, it was a lovely spot to sit and enjoy the view and atmosphere.

Turns out prices are comparable to Paros for food in Mylopota, but they know what CRISPY BACON is!!!

Crispy bacon is bacon that shatters when you stick a fork in it.

I love this beach. Not just for the memories or the deep water, but also because its one of my favourite beaches on a Greek island.

The clear blue waters of Mylopota beach.

Being inherently incapable of resisting blue waters, I had to swim. If I do a tour of the Greek islands, it will be to swim in as many beautiful beaches as possible.

A much busier beach lined with many bars, water sports and sun lounges.

All in all, it was a great day and I’m glad I went. Stay tuned for whatever islands we decide to visit next!

my lainee, the best dog in the world

Posted on May 20, 2023 by zefiart

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.

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 couch with my first teddy bear, now her bear.

Trying a new look with close clipped ears.

Sharing the couch with Erik, our kitten.

At the beach, with the wind in her ears, was one of her favourite places.

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.

Guess what mom just bought… a flower pot full of blooms!

Showing off one of her many winter coats.

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.

Sitting pretty in a friend’s framing shop.

In Athens, with one of my childhood stuffed toys.

Keeping an eye on grandma cause she’s always cooking something nice.

This is grandma’s chair, but she lets me sit here.

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.

Visiting my aunt, who never let dogs on her furniture before.

Sleeping at the office while I was at work.

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…

Hot rakomelo is great on a cold evening.

What? You ordered the mojito for me, didn’t you?

Well, maybe I can lick the cream off the top?

Nah… I don’t think I want the strawberry.

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.

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.

junk4joy

painting, recycling, creating and living on a greek island

Category Archives: greece