Mum made it!

29 - 30 Sept 2013

Up early on Sunday, luckily Mum  not arriving till 1300, so I fixed up the textiles we'd bought (on the last trip to the Lefkas to get the car to the garage).  I made it quite dark, to dissuade the hornets, and turned the impromptu bedroom into a yurt-type interior.  Cosy, anyway.  Hopefully the sailcloth outer walls will keep the rain out, since we didn't have any time at all to do the plastering we'd hoped for.

I also levelled out the floor into the loo, to avoid trips in the dark.

 

 Mum had a great trip up to the point of arrival at Preveza.  The airport couldn't find anywhere to put the plane once it had landed, so Mum had a long wait on the tarmac before being allowed out.  No worries, we were back here soon after 3pm and Mum wasn't too freaked out by the accommodation.

We had another visitor at the same time - this enormous moth, twice the size of the head of a fork, was stuck at our kitchen window, until the light changed and it was able to find the way out.

Lathing maniacally

Saturday 28 September 2013

Mum due tomorrow.  No bedroom yet.  We spent Saturday sawing, drilling, nailing in perfect synchronisation.  Luckily all the laths on the internal walls were the same length so we could get a production line going.  At quarter to six in the evening, I stopped long enough to take these shots of Mum's proposed bedroom:

Not quite ready yet ...

Farewells

Friday 27 Sept 2013

Rob and Tanya's last day.  On Thursday night Rob proposed and Tanya accepted, up in Dmitri's restaurant, which was lovely.  On Friday they arrived at Goat Bottom and had a look around, then we loaded up the Punto (which had had two trips to the garage to get its brakes fixed in the last two weeks), and drove up to Igoumenitsa to see them off back home.

Boat Trip

23 - 25 Sept 2013

Monday saw an impromptu gig at a bar, after a full day's lathing, and then Tuesday morning we set off for Kastos and a quiet bay.

Lots of woodwork

18 to 23 September

While we were away at Regatta, we'd asked Pete, Rowan's Dad, if he'd paint wood preservative on the mezzanine floor and walls, and a protective coat of varnish on the stairs.  It was one of those jobs that had got difficult as soon as we moved in upstairs, so this was a good opportunity to get it all done.

He was hard at it when we got back, and we all worked hard on Saturday, Dave and I building the walls for Mum's bedroom, and Pete reaching new heights with the wood preservative.

By the end of the day, we had the structure of the internal bedroom walls fixed, and batoned ready for laths.  Sunday we were working, and we'd promised to take Rob and Tanya out on the boat next week, so the pressure was on to get a viable room ready for Mum by next week.

Regatta 2013

18-20 Sept 2013

We didn't race this year.  The boat wasn't up to scratch, and we didn't want anything extra to worry about.  So we took 'Tropi' down to Sivota the day before regatta,with Rob and Tanya and Dave's brother, Pete, on board, and helped set up the stage.  Then we had a quiet night when everyone who was on the Committee boat next day left the village and just us and Pete were left alone.

Next day was bright and sunny, so we took a long walk along the coast, although Pete slipped on the way back and gashed his knee.  I'd found a footpath down the hill that wasn't really suitable for flipflops so it was my fault.  Oops.  Sorry Pete!

 At 3.30 the Committee boat arrived, and the peace was shattered!

 Edjukatid Porc did a sound check for their reunion gig

 with Dave in fine form for his screaming guitar solos

 Then the sun went down and a lovely full moon came up, and Steamboat Rooster opened the party ...

to wild acclaim!  (from others, as well as me!)  

Note the t-shirts on Vinny and Dave - concept by Rowan, design by me.

Next day, motoring back to Nidri, two years to the day since the wild storm in Vlicho, we saw these clouds streaming out from behind Goat Bottom mountain.  Bit worrying, but luckily it fizzled out.

Still lathing

Monday 16 Sept 2013

While Rob and Tanya were recovering from their journey, we continued with the house.  At this point there were two weeks before Mum arrived, to be our first proper visitor staying in the house.  (Richie camped out in the studio hut - due to his nocturnal activities).  We had no walls in the bedroom, and the rainy season had begun. 

We had finally run out of spare wood to make into laths, so a visit to the woodyard was required.  They did some precision cutting for us - with a chainsaw, but at least the short lengths fitted into the car, so the Punto wouldn't take off in a gust.  It was a day of strong winds, and more rain forecast, so when we got home we hoisted some old sails we'd been given, to protect the gable ends.

 West gable done

 Notso - outraged at being in protective custody

 East gable in progress

Emergency bale cover, before the sails were hoisted.

Animal update

Saturday 14 September 2013

All our little household, the cats and the chickens, are overjoyed to have the living room full of strawbales.  Schroedinger the white cat is clearly impressed with the effort we've put into providing a decent cat bed at last.

Meanwhile, Astro, the broody chicken, has finally started to emerge, but is now moulting, leaving a trail of russet feathers everywhere she goes.  On Saturday she was down to two tail feathers, so I took some photos to show Dave when he returned with Rob.

 This pic shows how dreadfully scruffy her bottom looked without its feathers.

And this is the last shot of two happy chickens - the next day there was heavy rain and Astro didn't come back from her walk in the fields.  Note to self: chickens get et at this time of year when it rains.  So now we have only one left - and I must keep her alive till Mum gets here on the 29th - she's so looking forward to having chicken(s) pecking round.

Astro

In Memoriam Mar 2012 to Sept 2013

Going for Rob

Friday 13 September 2013

We were looking forward to seeing Dave's son Rob and Tanya, his girlfriend.  They were coming at short notice for two weeks, staying on the boat, and taking part in Regatta.  Dave was a bit miserable that he wasn't meeting them at the ferry port in Igoumenitsa, and then took a last minute decision to go with the lads for the overnight trip via Parga to meet the 7am ferry.

He took off in the converted transit van, looking only slightly dubious.  This photo is funny, showing Neil's highly relevant tattoo in the foreground.  (It says 'thicker than water')

Straw Fever!

Thursday 12 September 2013

So we were just waking up on Thursday morning, thinking about putting the kettle on, a little concerned that the first rains of the summer were forecast for lunchtime, when my phone bleeped with a text.  I left it about 10 minutes, then when it bleeped again, I reluctantly scraped myself out of bed and went to answer it.  It was from Constantine, the architect.

"Bales are coming"
"When?"
"15 minutes"

Sudden frantic activity.  Up, dressed and laying out wood blocks across the living room floor to make a framework to stand the bales on, within moments.  With rain forecast, there was no time to lose, if a thousand euros of bales got drenched, the money would be wasted.

For once, Greek timekeeping was spot on.  Constantine arrived with the truck driver, to spy out the land, then returned with the truck, Another one to weave through our unfortunate orchard.  The rocks were in the way of a close delivery, so they just dumped the bales on top.

 08:08

 08:16

 08:18

 08:35

 This was where we thought - well, at least there's Constantine and the farmer and his helper to get all these inside before the rain - and then Constantine said - Must go - I want to get a coffee with the farmer, we've spent so much time chasing the bales by phone, I want to meet him properly.  Can't stay.  Oh, and he said some of the bales are very dense, up to 30 kilos each, and he made 4 too many, they're a gift ...

So we took a moment to look at 129 bales, and tried to think who we know who doesn't have backache (come back Richie!) ... and then began.  Dave worked out later it was about 3 ton of straw the two of us moved that day.

 08:56

 10:19 first teabreak

 10:20 happy scrabblers

 10:40 second teabreak

 

 12:12 lunchtime

 14:45 afternoon tea

(incredibly, still no rain, although dark clouds were massing over the mountains, giving me palpitations)

 14:46 a few bales still to move.  I was getting them from the receding heap to the door, and Dave was piling them up inside.  Every time he asked me 'How many left?  I said 'About 20'  until he came to check, by which time there were only about 20.  We did the last 40-odd together, on our knees ...

A few days later, when I was strong enough to lift a camera again.  The last seven are on the right.  I'd've left them out there, but Dave wasn't going to waste bales, so in they came, and we still had to find the energy to staple up polythene all round to protect them.  The rain started while we were still stapling.  What a marathon!

Our living room with straw installation.  I keep remembering big brother Nick saying scathingly as a child when I left his bedroom door open - Do you live in a barn?  How prophetic.