a new sea rope basket

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Remember the last sea rope basket?

It was only tiny and is now living in Norway.

This time I decided to tackle something a little bigger, more practical in size. I began with a piece of rope which was longer than the 5-6 inch pieces I normally find on the beach. I was lucky a couple of months ago to find two longer lengths of grey, so I began this one with one of those pieces to create the bottom of the basket.

By doing a little every night while watching Netflix I continued to build up the basket, adding in my small pieces as I went, adding colour as each piece was different.

The predominant colours are usually blues and greens, but you never know what you’ll find buried in the sand.

This time I’d been lucky enough to find some netting as well, which I decided to add to the top of the basket to add that whimsical feel.

Its not a huge basket. about 22cm diameter, but its about the same size as the first basket I ever made out of new cotton rope… (which I can’t seem to find on the blog, which means I probably never shared it… hm… must fix that.)

Its a handy size, I’ve used my first one to hold sunnies, makeup, all kinds of odds and ends. Only difference is this one is stiffer as this rope is harder than the cotton rope. Holds its shape better.

I’m actually very pleased with it. This little fella will be going into the art exhibition I’m planning/hoping to have next summer. A mix of art from trash, recycling and mixed media art. I’m excited by the idea of it and actually very eager to start working on ideas that keep me awake at night.

(If only my buzzing mind translated into more action…)

So. Other than this little creation, what have I been doing lately?

Well some small artworks on stone and marble by commission. Day to day living. Working. Swimming. Attempting to keep my home neat and tidy for when mom visits and failing miserably.

And Netflix.

I’m currently watching Salvation – just started last night. I like end of the world type stuff, call me crazy…

I watched The Glitch (wierd and sort of unsatisfying in its conclusion), The Code (which I enjoyed) and The Let Down (loved it). These three are Australian series and maybe part of the reason I loved them so much was that they’re Australian and I got to wallow in aussie accents and sense of humour again for a while. The Let Down is hilarious and SO Australian!

I watched Away (enjoyed), Snowpiercer (yep, end of the world stuff) and…

I know there were more since I last blogged about my Netflix habit… but right now my mind is blank. Aren’t you glad?

z

summer in october

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Its been seriously wonderful here for the last two weeks.

The weather has been perfect. A bit hot some days, a bit humid on the odd occasion, but generally its been just perfect.

When there’s been any wind its been from the south which means the sea on this side of the island is flat as a pancake, though most days we have no wind at all.

Swimming in the sea is like swimming in a pool… still, warm, and clear.

Its the kind of weather where you really can’t justify NOT going for a swim. It feels like a sin against life to stay home and watch Netflix or have a nap. In fact, I think it should be made illegal. Its October and the beaches are lovelier than they were in summer.

I continue to work at the ceramic workshop and every day I think I’m so lucky to have a job where I can paint all day. I love the atmosphere of the place, I enjoy being there even when I have days where time drags, my back hurts and I feel uninspired. Its more me than any other job I’ve ever had. Well, except for dog grooming, cause I just adore dogs and love meeting new dogs all day.

Generally, I love being on Paros even if things can be hard financially here – partly cause of COVID 19 and partly cause its Greece with all its strange enterprise-strangling ways.

I have been working on another sea rope basket, just needs a couple of finishing touches and it will be ready to share. Tomorrow I hope.

Surely the weather will change soon and I will feel more like staying in and doing something!

z

i am not a cat person…

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I’m not a cat person.

That doesn’t mean I don’t like, or even love cats. It just means I don’t want to actually OWN a cat. I don’t want one in my house, leaving hair on my couch or pillow or walking on my table and benchtops.

It apparently means that I’ll have cats living all around me, feed cats, look after sick kittens, take cats to be neutered etc…

This is what I see when I come home from work every day:

My neighour’s cats enjoying some sun or shade on my porch wall. Yes, I put the little rugs out there for them. I mean, I want them to be comfortable… I put them on my director chairs, and on the wall… I even provide a box for them to sleep in…

That tricolour cat has managed to sneak into my house and hide a couple of times. I come home to be greeted by her coming out of my bedroom stretching, saying “Thanks. That was a great nap.”

One of them, Gringia (which means Whiney), also enjoys my lemongrass.

So, for a non-cat person, I sure have a lot of cats around…

Anyway, we’ve had the most wonderful weather for the last two weeks. Amazing. Its now October and we’re still swimming!! Glorious weather, no wind, swimming pool calm beaches…

Obviously, with weather like that projects and housework take a back seat. This weather won’t last long… I’m gonna enjoy the quiet beaches for a long as I can.

z

folding stool upcycle

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I found this little folding stool in Aunt 1’s store room. Cute huh? I couldn’t resist it. Then again, I have no need of a little stool like that.

What I do have use for is a beach bed for Lainee…

Lainee is too much of a person to lie on the sand when at the beach. Till now she uses my beach chair when I’m in the water and then has a towel on the sand or the second beach chair I got for her…

She’s also been known to use my beach bag as a bed…

Last night I made a new top for the little stool out of an old pair of jeans. Making the top longer so that it would be lower to the ground as well.

I wish I could have re-used the fabric on the stool but I couldn’t think of a way to do it… there is no way to get the stool itself under the sewing needle in order to sew the fabric onto the metal frame.

I used laces from the jeans themselves (at the waist and legs) as ties for the back cause there was no other way to fit the top to the stool. This makes it more likely to loosen with use, but thats ok. I can retighten the laces as needed.

Not sure Lainee likes it yet. I put her on it for a bit last night and she was off it and back to the couch in a flash. However I will try it on the beach. I bet she likes it there.

z

PS. She likes it!

something small in grey

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I was given this little salt pig, or container or whatever you want to call it, by my french neighbours complete with natural sea salt they collected themselves here on Paros. Cute huh?

Only thing is, I didn’t really like the colour of the wood. So… I painted it grey.

The grey isn’t totally perfect with the cream, beige and brass fittings in my kitchen, but its one of my favourite colours. I have throws for the couch in grey… Plus I had it already mixed up in chalk paint for the wreaths I made for my cousin early in the summer.

And since I had the paint out, and I had some wooden spoons which were really plain and I love the painted handle look, I went ahead and painted them.

Much better don’t you think? Some of the wooden spoons are very old. Can you tell?

Of course now the problem becomes how do you store these in a way that shows off the painted bits? Without cluttering up the entire kitchen (which is cluttered enough already with a stack of marble waiting to be painted and my iron and a towel which acts as my ironing board).

This little project is something I did a couple of weeks ago but only just getting around to sharing. Its one of the few creative things I did for myself in a while. But it always feels good to do creative things, even small ones like this.

Being creative is good for my soul.

I am so looking forward to some creative time. Both for my home and art. Tons of ideas. Not enough time to do it all.

(Well there might be enough time if I didn’t laze around on the couch eating ice cream in the evenings.)

z

speaking of pandemics (and where the hell have I been?)

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I found out the other day that my dad’s grandfather and an uncle died of dengue fever when it hit greece back in 1927-28. Who knew? And obviously, a lot of people were lost during the Spanish Flu pandemic in the early 1900s. I guess we should count our blessings despite all the inconvenience and problems COVID 19 is causing us…

That said, this whole COVID 19 thing is really wearing thin isn’t it? Greece had done so well during the first phase. We had strict lockdowns, you needed to send a text explaining why you were out every time you ventured out of your home. You were only allowed to go out to shop, assist an elderly person, walk a pet or exercise, or go shopping or to a medical appointment.

Then they lifted restrictions and opened the borders.

Welcome to phase 2 of COVID 19. We are now heading back to strict lockdowns as the daily cases rise to levels never seen before in Greece.

Great job guys. Well done. And its not like opening borders helped struggling businesses… tourism was low, too many businesses suffered – so many places didn’t open at all cause the cost of opening was more than they stood to make.

Yet Paros was busy. Okay, perhaps not 2019 summer busy, but busy nonetheless. August only. I rarely went out in the evenings but there were people around when I did, and beaches were busy.

Having become somewhat of a hermit, I’m looking forward to some more quiet times ahead when lockdowns are put in place.

So what have I been doing that’s kept me away from the blog?

Well… in bullet points:

  • I started a job at Yria ceramics and have been working more or less 8am-2pm 6 days a week for the last month.
  • Aunt 1 has been moved to the nursing home on Paros. I went to Athens to pick her up in person. She is very happy and grateful and isn’t complaining a bit. Right. And pigs might fly.
  • I have a tenant in Aunt 1s house and so far all is well with that.
  • The bathroom apparently works.
  • I still have to sort out the issue with the other loser tenant who doesn’t pay his rent till he feels like it. I may have a solicitor lined up to begin proceedings to evict him.
  • I am currently on the mainland, having come here to attend some dog shows in the south of Greece with a friends. Fun was had, awards were won. Then there was an airport strike which only affected 6 airports in Greece… Paros being one of them. So a 5 day trip is now an 8 day trip.
  • When at home on Paros my days consisted of work, accompanied by Lainee, a swim, a rest, Netflix and the odd bit of socializing.
  • And mom. Taking her places, helping her with shopping. Eating the food she prepared for me when I could keep up with it. Thankfully Lainee and the neighbourhood cats helped with that.

So there you have what I did do. What I didn’t do was get online much, hence the silence. I guess I just didn’t feel like I had much to say so I didn’t say anything at all.

Hopefully now the summer season is over things will go back to normal and I can be creative (for myself!) again.

z

not happy jan!

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Now its all over and done with I think I can share the bathroom reno saga. I was just too upset about it and too stressed over everything to face it before.

To recap: I was renovating Aunt 1’s house in order to rent it out. The bathroom was the biggest project. I got three quotes and decided to go with one of them, a father son team, who came highly recommended by the lady who owned the shop I bought all the tiles and fixtures from. The shop came highly recommended by my cousin who’s always bought from them.

So, I was there when the bathroom started, then again when it was ‘finished’. Feast your eyes on the ‘finished’ pics below.

When i got the chance to actually LOOK at the ‘finished’ bathroom I was upset and pissed off. First thing I noticed was that the light ‘backplate’ was touching the mirror. AND the mirror was off centre. It looked squished together and awful. I tried to remove the mirror so it could be set lower and found that it was almost impossible to do. And that you can see the hole and wires behind the light/under the backplate. I spoke to the electrician, why on earth would put the light there like that? He said the mirror was already in place and he set the light as far as he could from the mirror and still hide the hole. I asked him to go back and fix the light. The mirror needed to be moved down and the light backplate moved to cover the wires/hole.

But that was the least of it…

The builder/tiler (ha) didn’t corner the tiles properly and ‘fixed it’ by painting the exposed edge when I complained. And take a look at the quad on the ceiling!!! I could have done a better job with my eyes closed. At the time he told me ‘thats the painter’s job, but I can do it for you’. I should have said no thanks.

He ‘trimmed the door’ using an axe. Or at least thats how it looks!!!!

There was grout missing in tons of places, cause he ‘wasn’t finished yet’.


I also noticed how many places the tiles weren’t straight on the wall. I DID query the lack preparing and smoothing the wall before laying tiles… also the lack of of waterproofing of the bathroom walls. But whenever I asked a question he was ready with an explanation – and of course never having renovated in Greece before and never having dealt with brick walls, I didnt feel condifent enough to say NO, this is wrong, do it properly… so now I have tiles in places where they are just NOT level. Oh, and he didnt use spacers either. he said he didn’t need them on the wall, you wanted the tiles as close as possile to eachother.

He got plaster or white goop or whatever its called all over the place. He obviously never heard of a damp rag to wipe it off before it dried to concrete.

He did a particularly great job on the window. I mean, metal strips are a great idea, but they dont meet! And look at that quad! And dried goop everywhere!

Where he put the styrofoam quad between the wall and ceiling he left fingerprints in the quad and tons of dried plaster everywhere. He never did put quad above the door.

Where the toilet joins the wall there is a small hole. there are places between tiles missing grout and places in the grout where there are holes.

Almost every wall he came into contact with has dings and marks, footprints or scrapes. Ditto some of the casings. Lets not talk about the cement like crap on the floor everywhere. Again, never heard of a damp rag…

The wall he built to divide the living room from the dining room was plastered over really roughly so the painter had a job of smoothing it.

I spoke to the lady who recommended – she said they must fix it at their expense. She showed them the photos and was really angry at the job that was done as its her reputation on the line too…  That would mean they come back and rip out tiles and start over. No thanks. That would have added another week or so to the house being finished and I couldn’t keep travelling back and forth.

I just got the painter to fix it as best he could. I know he does a good job. Even he couldn’t really fix it to my standards but at least it was passable.

I now dread the time when water gets through the grout and underneath and tiles start to pop off walls cause there was no waterproofing…

I blame myself for not being tough enough, but its hard to be tough unless you KNOW things for sure and I’ve never tiled or done renovation work on brick walls.

Anyway, its done now, finished to the point where its acceptable. And the house is rented. So at least MOST of my headaches are gone. Well… some of them. Getting the house rented was/is a nightmare in itself. Not the tenants. They’ve been great (so far, fingers crossed) but the paperwork required to rent the house. I’ve never seen anything as impossible as this. I swear…

Sigh.

Enough complaining for now. I have positive things to do today. Like repotting some of my plants.

z

the kitten

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This is Spartacus. He’s the tiny kitten I found outside my place, covered in ringworm.

I got him treated. I got him vaccinated. I washed him in special shampoo. I fed and cared for him while keeping him in isolation in my tiny back enclosed yard.

He got better, but not before infecting Lainee with ringworm which she is only now getting over. As for my ‘spots’… a staph infection, I can’t totally blame Spartacus as I could have got that anywhere from scratching at a mosquito bite and infecting it.

Anyway, mom was dead set against a cat and more upset due to him spreading his ringworm to us. In her mind he’s a filthy animal and needs to go.

When I found him I thought for sure I’d keep him. He was so tiny and helpless and cute. Of course as he grew and got stronger and healthier he turned into hell on wheels… due mostly of course to having spent weeks in isolation without enough human interaction.

So, I thought it was a sign for me to get a cat… an indoor house cat at that. Then I realised that he’d have to be an outside cat cause I often go away for weeks or months at a time. I can’t leave him in the house or in the yard even if my neighbour is good enough to feed him for me. He needed to be a free cat. After neutering of course.

Then one day my mom told me a neighbour told her that his brother was looking for a cat. Theirs had died and they wanted another… I was wary at first… but it turned out to be the best home Spartacus could wish for!

He now lives on a farm with an older retired couple who adore their animals. They live on Paros all year round and Sparky will be an indoor/outdoor cat. He’s now got playmates in all shapes and sizes. There are sheep, goats, chickens, a dog, a donkey and 2 cows. And he’s already chasing mice. They are besotted with him.

I’m so pleased. And really incredibly lucky. There are so many abandoned cats and kittens on the island, they could have gotten one anywhere, but Sparky was the lucky one.

z

its good to be home

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So, as you know, I’m back home now. It feels great to be back in my own place and back on Paros. I’ve been swimming twice and have been sorting and cleaning the house.

Before I’d left for Athens and the shows I’d ordered some cubbies/drawers from Jumbo and I have already put them to use, putting small things in them. The project isn’t finished yet, but here they are in their places in the house.

In the bathroom…
In the bedroom…
In the living room above the sewing machine table, next to the old hotel reception cubbies…
On the bookcase to hold office stuff…

When I say I’m not finished yet I mean I haven’t filled them all yet, plus I’m not sure if I’ll keep them all as they are or paint over the patterns, even just to fade the colours a bit. We will see. For now I think I’ll just make some simple labels so I dont have to open every single cubby when I’m looking for something.

Meanwhile, I’ve checked my plants, they’re all still alive. I do need to get some potting mix to pot up some more cuttings and repot some things. I found a stash of mixed colour and size rectangular pots in the trash before leaving so I want to use them for some of my succulents. I’d rather they were all one colour so I might try painting them… will see how that goes before I pot stuff in them.

I have tons of projects lying around taking up space in my living room but I managed to get rid of a few things…

For instance: the crocs I bought which arrived in the wrong size are now living on a friend’s feet. The foam for the antique Parian couch is now living on my neighbour’s outdoor couch (since the couch frame is still to be painted and will be put into storage till I have space for it). I’ve moved my storage suitcases (which were stacked next to my bed) to the now empty underbed space making them easier to get to and less bulky in the bedroom. I took some stuff to the rubbish cause I won’t use it, don’t need it. And I gave away some succulents I didn’t want…

I haven’t done a ton, but just those few things have made me feel better. I hate clutter and yet I live in a constant state of it given I only have a small place. Back in the old days of four bedroom houses with garages and sheds I could stash my stuff somewhere out of the way and close the door: instant neat and tidy home. Now I have to live with my clutter.

So… I better get to work on finishing some projects I’ve had on the wait list so I can rid of more clutter.

z

adventures in holistic care

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Back in Athens again. Only for a couple of days this time… in theory. But I have to be back at work on Paros on Monday so I can’t stay long anyway.

So, today I went to get swabs/tests done to finally get a definitive answer to what the spots I had were. They’re gone now… just scars remain, but I wanted answers. Lainee’s tests came back positive for ringworm, the kitten had ringworm, I was sure mine were ringworm too given the situation… but they cleared up with antibiotics, non antifungals… so… I wanted answers.

Got to the hospital 20 min before my appointment with my mask on. The guard at the gate said come back 10 min before your appointment. I made some calls and went back. He let me in and told me to walk all the way around the building to the back.

I went round the back and followed the signs up two flights of stairs to exam room 8 where my appointment was. I was told to go down 2 flights of stairs and a ramp to the main office to check in, then go across to another desk to get a printout to confirm I was there.

Back up the ramp and 2 flights of stairs to the office and was taken in immediately. Three doctors looked at my spots, which had healed, and said ‘well, they’re better, we can’t test them’ (!!!!) which kind of made my entire trip unnecessary* but they agreed, it wasn’t ringworm, it had been some kind of infection. If it came back, go on antibiotics again… thank you for coming.

Go downstairs to the main office and follow the red line to the end, then up the stairs to another office and give them this paperwork. I followed the red line for about a mile to the office. They gave me another paper and said go up the first staircase to the end to another office to get a stamp, then go down the second staircase to the bottom to pay.

By the time I reached the office to pay I was out of breath and said this isn’t just a hospital, its a gym as well. The lady there laughed and said, “Yes, we take a holistic approach to health”.

I didn’t have to pay, which was welcome.

All up it took 1 hour. 5 minute consult and 55 minutes of exercise.

So… back in Athens.

The house is still not entirely finished. The tiler came back today to finish the shitty job he’d done and put in the fly screens he ordered for me.

The plumber is coming back on Saturday morning to put a tray under the water heater in the loft so that if it leaks it wont ruin the ceiling in the bathroom. And put in a shelf over the sink.

The electrician is coming tomorrow to adjust the position of the light.

The painter is coming back tomorrow to finish up the lasts of his touchups and collect his stuff.

I didn’t tell you about the shoddy work that was done by the tiler. I was too upset. It was a mess. There were tiles which weren’t flat/lined up on the walls in places. I did ask when I saw him putting tiles on a wall that was uneven and rough… surely the wall has to be even before you tile…? I mean, I only know what I’ve seen and done in Australia where you put up cement sheeting and waterproof it… but he said that’s not how its done here where the walls are brick… what do I know? There were gaps in the grout, he trimmed the bathroom door with what looked like an axe. The cornice quad looked like it had been done by a three year old. There was cement hard grout and stucco or whatever everywhere. He hadn’t centred the mirror over the sink and put it so high the light had to go even higher… it was ugly.

The poor painter had damage to fix in places he’d already painted. He had to fix up the really badly cut and placed quad cornice. Its not perfect but it will have to do. I’m shit at cutting 45 degree angles but I would have done a much better job of it. The tiler said ‘its the painter’s job but I can put it up for you.” Wish he’d left it alone!

Anyway, once those last things are finished, the cleaner can come clean up the place and its ready to let.

I’ve had people enquire. Mom has vetoed most of them. We’ll see. People are asking so there’s no shortage of interest at least. If I dont find the right people before I leave I’m putting it in the hands of a real estate agent. Its a nightmare I really dont want to deal with.

I really don’t want to have to come back to Athens again till after summer. I’m over the trips.

z