Seriously horrid!

The temperature has dropped down below 10C and it is blowing and raining. The forecast is for winds gusting over 100km/h tonight, which is around 60mph. I have taken down the awning (great joy!) in the pouring rain. All the Small Dogs are in their beds and Boris is ‘sharing’ the bed with Luis and Fido.… Read the rest

Less than dry

It was dry this morning so our walk went fine. Rain was forecast for the morning but it didn’t arrive until the afternoon but came with a vengeance. Of the 4mm forecast, a mere 17.2mm fell in quite a short time. Some of the leaks, previously considered fixed, could not withstand the heavy rain so there was a little internal humidity.… Read the rest

Express train

When I first came to Grammeno in 2013, I recall comparing the sound of the sea to an express train. That train is back again tonight, as the wind is from the south, blowing the sea up the beach. The prevailing winds are from the north and the east.

A few spots of rain to start the day, in the early hours, but nothing to compare to the 7mm we had yesterday.
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It is raining

We’re having a bit of rain right now so I have been using the opportunity to check all of the various leak repairs. Everything seems fine although there is still a little bit of water seeping through one of the bolts holding the awning bracket in position. The front one, which was discharging water onto the foot of my bed appears fine thanks to all the silicone sealant I have squirted in.… Read the rest

Just a little light

Just a little light in the western sky as the time approaches 18:00. All dogs have been fed and have even enjoyed some extra rice which I boiled up when I did Dave’s. I used white rice this time to see which Dave prefers. The others will eat almost anything, especially the Small Dogs. I throw the Small Dogs banana skins, orange peel, cucumber skins and also Olive pits from my olives.… Read the rest

Roof painted!

Well, nearly anyway. I have painted the expanded foam which Antonis put between the awning box and the roof and given most of the roof a second coat. There should, hopefully, be no more leaks although I need to finish off a small part of the roof when I get some more paint. We might have some rain this weekend so I’ll know if my work has been successful.… Read the rest

Luis is licking my toes

Up early this morning as Antonis was scheduled to pick up Obi and I at 08:00. Sure enough, just before 08:00, he turned up with his brother Nikos in the back of the car. We travelled to Chania and had interesting conversations on the way as Nikos speaks just as good English as he.

There was hardly anyone waiting at the vet so Obi was seen very quickly.
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Another lovely day

On Sunday night Antonis appeared with a 20kg box of red wine for me to try. I said I really only needed one litre, but, like everything else he does, it has to be bigger. I was able to test the aforementioned wine and can conclude that it is possible to drink a few glasses without any adverse effect the following day.… Read the rest

Grammeno weather

I’ve been doing a little more to my weather site today.

and have fixed a couple of problems with sun and moon rise.
There was a beautiful dawn today followed by an equally beautiful sunrise over the sea.
Only one more month until the shortest day and it will be all downhill to summer!
On our way back from the Dave walk, we encountered the Greek guy sitting outside his cabin.
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Obi’s trip to the vet

My injections are now a thing of the past as I have finished the course. In fact, I went on longer than the prescription as there were ten of them in the packet and the prescription said only seven. I didn’t see the point in paying for ten (€45) and throwing the others away!  The application was incredibly simple as each one was loaded and ready meaning it was a matter of just removing the protective cap over the needle and pressing the plunger.… Read the rest

Obi operation scheduled for 12:00

Obi is scheduled to have his tear duct put back tomorrow midday. Antonis will pick us up around 10:30.

It’s cooler this evening and I’ve got socks on as my feet are cold

I may need to consider putting on winter clothes fairly soon.

Tomorrow is a National Holiday as it marks the Athens University uprising during the time of the colonels.… Read the rest

Death to flies!

They’ve been driving my crazy for a few days so I looked on the Internet. A spray bottle of bathroom or kitchen cleaner seems to do the job. I used Daisy kitchen cleaner and they dropped like the proverbial. Washing up liquid and water also works when put into a spray bottle and aimed at them.… Read the rest

Door shut!

For the first time this autumn I have shut the van door as it’s too chilly outside. I have been in since I fed the dogs as even the tent was too chilly to be sitting outside. It seems that winter is on the way. With the door closed, it is still 22C in the van so no need for any heating for a while.… Read the rest

Plenty of flies on us!

Since the rain came, so have the flies. They seem to love the awning tent but congregate on the magnetic fly screen in the evening. Presumably, because it is warmer in the van. I have retaliated with a DIY fly trap made from a 1.5l water bottle containing a sugary solution and rotting meat. So far there have been few takers.… Read the rest

No more rain today

The rain last night was quite short-lived and amounted to approximately 0.2mm. Things were reasonably dry when we went out this morning.

It has been sunny and warm with some clouds later in the day. I was sitting outside in the sun but found it too warm for comfort.
Ursula and Tony got their car back from the garage this morning and have reported that they are now in France.
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First proper shower

For over a week I’ve not been able to have a decent shower and wash my hair. Today I had a long hot shower and washed my hair.

I removed the dressing after the prescribed twenty-four hours. So now I’m clean.

Antonis came to stop my leaks but had to go home as he was feeling sick.… Read the rest

It’s pouring but then the forecast said it would

Chania was warm and sunny this morning as Antonis slept in the car as I had my staples removed. We’d previously visited the vet who said that Obi would require a small procedure to fix the problem with his tear duct. He is scheduled in on Friday at 09:30. Antonis’ girlfriend returns from Athens later in the morning, so that fits in well as he would have to come to pick her up from the airport anyway.… Read the rest

One week on

With the correct number of dogs, I set out for the morning walk, keeping them all on their leads until it was time to let them off. Boris seems to enjoy having his walk with all the other dogs and is certainly wearing himself out with all the ball throwing I do for him. The others rush around, as usual, pursuing poor Micky back to the camping.… Read the rest

A change of pace

Following the Departure of Tony and Ursula on Saturday evening, I have changed my routine. Not going out to eat means feeding myself both in the morning and the evening. I used to eat a bun of some kind with a cup of tea when I took Heidi and Oskar to spend the day with them.… Read the rest

Moment of insanity

I took all nine dogs myself this morning. I cheated a bit because Boris was on his prong collar so was an angel, and I let the real pullers free as soon as I was through the fence. As well as my nine, there was Mickey, another stray who loosely belongs to Maria, when she happens to be here.… Read the rest

A night out in downtown Paleochora

At this devilishly late hour of 21:30, we have returned from a wild night out in Paleochora.

The dogs were all quiet so I have managed, with the aid of my steps, to get into my normal bed and hopefully will not have to get up in the night.

The drive back from the hospital was calm and uneventful, the complete reverse of that on Monday.… Read the rest

Leaving hospital

I’m sitting in the hospital entrance with my discharge paperwork and my meds. More injections for 7 days. Maybe I should let Dave get his own back?

Antonis called to say he’d left Paleochora for the airport. He will call me when his father leaves the airport for the hospital.

I should be back at Grammeno 90 minutes later.… Read the rest

Little did I know

After our phone conversation, I went on another walk. This time around the entire perimeter of the hospital in search of the hospital dogs. I eventually found them sleeping in the long grass in the sun. Following that marathon walk I came back to quickly pester the staff at the nurses’ station near my room. Unfortunately, they now know I can speak a little Greek so speak much less English.… Read the rest

Leaving tomorrow

The doctor has said that I will definitely leave the hospital tomorrow. Antonis’ father will take me back to Grammeno once he’s dropped Antonis at the airport for his trip to Prague.

Ursula will take me to the supermarket where I will stock up on food for the next few days.

They are packing up tomorrow and leaving for Athens on Saturday night by ferry.… Read the rest

Storm

As you can see from the picture I sent earlier, the storm has left more rocks poking out of the beach. It was supposed to pass by Crete but ended up passing over the west end of the island.

The sea is much calmer now and there is a lot less wind. Ursula and Tony were wondering if their tent would end up in Gavdos.… Read the rest