Month: June 2016

I received and email from Maria at Zampetas today, informing me that my awning and accessories have been despatched from the mainland. I enquired as to when they might arrive in Crete and was told Monday or Thursday. I think she means Monday or Tuesday, but what’s a couple of days? These items are so…

Adonis turned up this morning with lots of interesting things including some smaller water pipe, connectors, a tap and 25m hose pipe. I cut the pipe in half so now I have two shorter hoses which are more practical and convenient in this space. I can now water the puppies and the flowers and generally…

Yesterday I enquired of the supplier as to the whereabouts of my new chair ordered on 9 June and should have been delivered around 15 June. This chair is coming from Germany from the same supplier as I bought the other chair last year. Last year, it took a while to get here, but at…

The English couple, initially with daughter, who were here a couple of weeks ago, left me a box of 50 peppermint tea bags. I rarely refuse offers from people who are leaving as I simply pass on anything I don’t actually want for myself. I thought I’d try the peppermint tea and I am able…

LGL does not appear to have learned his lesson from his previous encounter with the Small Dogs in the ‘puppy’ enclosure. I have recently seen him wandering casually along the line of the boundary fence in full view. In reality, he should be renamed SLLGL (Slightly Less Large Green Lizard) since now he has no…

I’ve received several live weather reports from UK today which appear to bear out the ‘Flaming June’ expression. I’m sure all the water is good for the gardens and you can be certain of a hosepipe ban within two weeks. Here is warm and still windy, but less windy than the previous days. All the…

Sitting outside at 17:00, under the awning, with the wind howling and the dust swirling about me. The awning arms are creaking and groaning under the force of the wind however the rip in the east end of the awning material has not extended thanks to the two cable ties fastening it to the awning…

But not as hot as Saturday as today it was ONLY 38.2C for around 30 minutes from 17:30. This morning the Small Dogs were able to get a good run out and spent plenty of time off the lead playing in the sand, on the rocks and in the sea. There was only one person…

I think I may probably survive. You can stop building the kennels and dog runs now. It has been an interesting day with a new computer customer, Michelle, a French woman, Une dame d’une certaine age. She borrowed her friends’ laptop whist her computer was being repaired and just as she was about to return…

News regarding my pending demise traveled to Georgia who visited today threatening doctors if recovery wasn’t imminent. I assured her that I was going to survive and that the past couple of days have been more than a bit rough. During her visit she told Manos that I must have water for a shower and…

I am still alive today and feeling perhaps less dead than I did yesterday. All things being relative. It didn’t help having temperatures as high as 42.3C (108F) for a couple of hours in the afternoon. I ended up in the outside showers every thirty minutes to try to cool down. Even under my awning…

Over a month ago I started to make enquiries about costs and shipping for the new awning and tent for my van. I felt I wanted to get the decking completed first and then make the order for the awning. Of the companies I contacted, the Germans were unable to ship to Crete and one…

Suddenly, all the little chirpy things appear to have woken up! Coming back with Dave and Boris from their evening trot down to the beach, the place seemed to be alive with little insects chirping. I suppose they realise it’s a Holiday Weekend this weekend so are getting in some practice ready for the punters…

We had rain yesterday afternoon and evening. Only a few drops, but enough for me to move everything from the table. We didn’t have a lot of sun  due to the amount of cloud. And I may have forgotten to mention the wind this was quite strong but not excessive. Since the few drops of…

Monday, Tuesday, Saturday – they’re all the same to me as I do much the same each day. The sea is a little louder today as the wind is from the east so blowing the waves into the shingle beach. Boris and I went for a walk there earlier and I threw sticks into the…

It’s all quite Sunday evening here as the sun is moving round behind the trees, casting a shadow on the decking and the van. The ‘puppies’ are beating each other up and some of the customers will, no doubt, be heading home following their jolly weekend away at Grammeno. Dennis is working at the building…

After one week and one day of having a decking and associated awning erected above it, I can see a definite need for some additional shading. I’ve noticed that the sun has a habit of moving in relation to the time of day. It appears to rise in the east (northern hemisphere) and set in…

Friday night is music night and Friday is also Waitrose day. Two excitements in one day! But maybe there is no more music on Fridays now as that program was a while ago. The morning was sunny and warm but now the sky has clouded over and the wind has changed to the west. The…

I walked the dogs on the east beach last night and we investigated the dried-up river bed before making our way back. Both times, we went via the front gate and road which saves running the gauntlet of Mrs P and Maria who insist on leaping up to cuddle Obi (AKA Paris) and the other…

Manos came to see me earlier to tell me that Pantelis has left as well as the girl doing the bar. I understand that Pantelis no longer wished to be the manager so resigned, and the girl who helps with the bar apparently has sticky fingers. It looks as though Mrs P will either have…

Adonis came by earlier with some teak oil for the deck. He bought two tins and a roller so that I could apply it quickly. I started off thinking I would try it on just a couple of boards but ended up doing the first ten, until the tin was empty. The timber certainly looks…

A day of consolidation following the recently busy days during the decking construction. I ended up helping Adonis to finish off yesterday as he was starting to get a bit ragged and really needed to get away from the job. Since, despite my calculations, there was some decking left over, we used it to trim…

Adonis tells me the re-jigged frame is ready for wood tomorrow. The chances are good that I will have partial if not full decking by tomorrow (today for me) evening. Manos tells me he might be leaving although I have yet to hear the final outcome. Apparently he wants to spend time with his mother…

I understand it has been a little damp in UK today. Warm and sunny again here although a lot cooler than yesterday’s record high. As expected, Adonis arrived this morning to take down the decking in order to turn it through ninety degrees, adding some more strengthening to remove the springiness. Unfortunately the additional materials…

Adonis came yesterday evening to tell me that he is unhappy with the way the decking project is progressing: he wants to take it all down and start again. We are still short some materials which should have been delivered yesterday. He says he feels he will not be able to get it right unless…