Finally back to Greece (twice)

Once again I'm back to blogging as today Halil came past to help in the garden however it's been a fun and busy few weeks so let's get on with it.

Hat on a basketball

A storm in the distance

Let's get weeds removed

A beautiful sunset

After work one evening Rosie and I went into town and met up with some people at the local basketball court and I played some ball, Rosie played with the other kids, and then played badminton with me. It was fun and hopefully we'll do it again. I've also been trying to get out into the garden regularly and get a load of weeding done to keep our flower beds looking nice. It has been such lovely weather recently also.

Getting to the beach nice and early

Out for food (I'm just out to shot)

Mike playing with Rosie

The tortoise crosses the road

We had a really lovely and busy weekend after this. I was up very early on Saturday and drove across to Greece to collect my friend and his wife who were on holiday and visiting us for the night. I spent a couple of hours on the beach, got to lay and read and swim a little before I headed to the ferry port and picked them up. I didn't get all that many pictures however we had a lovely time, including getting out for dinner to the restaurant and then a lovely long drive around to do some sightseeing before I had to take them back over to Greece to their ferry again. On the way home I stopped and waited while a tortoise crossed the road. I didn't ask it why it was going though.

Rosie with all the peas

A ladybird on a wildflower

Enjoying the weather on the patio

Put a new chair together

Loads of puppies

Snake skin scrap

There's been some harvesting going on the last few weeks and first off the peas were ready. Angela and Rosie went out with a pot and collected them all and then worked together to shell them all - a great result for a little work. We spent some lovely time sunbathing on the patio on the recliners and I put a new one up so we have one each; unfortunately Dutch then went and chewed the new chair which made me quite unhappy. It did warn us that we needed to keep him away from our new insulation tiles and the pool so we've delayed putting the pool up until we can fence it in; this fencing is now due tomorrow so hopefully soon we can finally put the pool up! Down at the farm there are more and more puppies all the time; they are very friendly and cute! I found a scrap of snake skin while watering which was pretty cool to see - Rosie was fascinated.

We set out the wooden track for fun

The strong winds took this tree down

Rosie chilling on Grandma's bench

Her first ever painted miniature

Here's a tortoise

We've mostly had absolutely glorious weather for the past few weeks however a huge storm did blast through which brought the most incredible winds before dumping a load of rain (very welcome indeed as this refilled our water collection, and soaked the ground really nicely) however the wind did break some branches on some of the tea trees and also took down the top off a walnut tree! Other than this, it's been lovely and warm and I'm gutted we don't have the pool up yet. We've seen a fair few tortoises around which is always exciting and Rosie does love seeing them just like I do. While watering I noticed one of the plum trees that gives an early crop was absolutely loaded with perfectly ready plums so I grabbed the harvesting bag and in about 30 minutes had 3kg of plums ready for preparation. I have since chopped all these and they are in the freezer. We have so much fruit this year it's going to be a bumper crop!

Early to the beach and how lovely it was

A flying fork

Mummy and Rosie burying me

I'm buried!

Sat in the waves having fun

She really does love the sea, and so do I

Panorama of the beach

Time for lunch

Yesterday we were up super early and out the door towards Greece; on the way we picked up our friend. The queues at the border were really long however they processed everyone super quickly and we were on the beach before 8am which is perfect. We had such a great day as the weather was perfect - hot but a breeze and lots of lovely shade as well. Rosie had a blast, she buried me and I got a fair amount of snorkeling done, though there was a strong current going across the beach so it wasn't as relaxing as it can be as I was swimming hard to stay still sometimes. Towards the end of the morning the swell built up and Rosie had a blast jumping in the waves and then just sitting down and letting them wash over us. It was so beautiful and a perfect day, topped off by a lovely lunch at a cafe next to the port. By the time we got home I was wiped out and slept for two hours straight!

There's an (empty) duck pond in there somewhere

Running water back into the pond

Cleaned out the dried up scum

Fixing the stairs

Trimming branches

Levering out a clump of saplings

Chopping down a dead tree

This area is looking so much better already

We have a lovely clean pond again

And so to today. I had a super busy early morning getting stuff done before Halil arrived and had just got outside to clean out the pond when he did get here. I swept out the bottom of the pond and collected all the material for the garden then started the tap to refill it. This took all of five minutes total. Inside Halil was working on fixing the one step on our spiral staircase where one of the welds had come loose. It did not take him long to repair this and then we were both outside back to the task of clearing the trees that are spreading everywhere by the driveway. We worked for about 2 hours straight and got another four or five trees removed. This time we did not use Thomas as the trees we are removing are so tangled with their roots it was crazy difficult to get them up. Halil also cut down and chopped up a dead tree we found. We've decided to leave the big trees for now and take all the sapling and spreading encroaching growth. He'll probably be back next Sunday for another session. I'm really enjoying working with him! During this time the pond refilled so now hopefully the ducks will enjoy it again.

So there it is. I may be back next Sunday with another update but I'm not sure. Let's see how it goes. Thanks for reading.

Back to Greece

Today has been a long and awesome day as we headed back down to the Greek coast for sun, sand, swimming and sea food. It was lovely.

"Take a picture, Daddy" - Rosie

Sat in Maisie waiting for Angela so we can GOOO

Straight in the sea and it was lovely

Very pleased Angela got to snorkel today

Rosie playing while the wave breaks

Rosie went and offered to share her toys with this boy

Rosie filling up her bucket and watering can

And then dumping the water into her hole

The day started early as alarms went off and we gathered ourselves, woke up (mostly) and got into Maisie for the drive down. Talking of Maisie it was very comfortable and lovely to drive in her to Greece so that was great; lots of space and the aircon worked great and she was very comfy to drive and be driven in. We got to the beach by about 8 or just after, once again, but this time we were far from the first and the recliners were all full by mid morning; the difference just two weeks can make. I was in the sea with Rosie pretty much immediately and we spent the day swimming, playing in the sand, swimming and playing in the sand. Angela got to snorkel this time as well which was a great thing, and Rosie got to sit and play very briefly with another boy on the beach before he was called away by his mum. Ah well. Rosie had a great time and we were sat next to some very nice English speaking Bulgarians who come from near where we live, and now live in the UK. It was a really lovely morning indeed. The sea was far choppier and had quite a swell compared to last time round but Rosie did very well after some initial reluctance and even though she got splashed in the face multiple times she was very good with it.

Rosie was most amused at the seagull on the umbrella

We are happy to be at lunch

Post-beach Rosie

Cheese and Honey and Sesame Seeds - lovely!

Angela with her Seafood Spaghetti

Rosie exhausted from the day

Once again at lunch time we packed up and drove from the beach back into the town and found ourselves a little cafe on the sea front. It was a great spot with a lovely fresh breeze blowing in and we could sit right overlooking the sea. Rosie was again looking at seagulls and counting them. We ordered a little too much again, but weren't quite as over the top as last time. I was mostly pleased that the place we chose did serve the amazing cheese and honey dish which I just love. Angela was very pleased with her seafood spaghetti and it was truly scrumptious. After dinner I went and had another nap under some trees while Rosie had some ice cream and then they did a wander around the town before nudging me to come drive home. Which I did, and again it was super comfortable. Rosie was awake all the way until past the border and then passed out and I was able to lift her out of the car and settle her on the sofa for more of a sleep.

Bekir still twisting barbed wire

Getting to the end of the day and the task

After we got back we all fell asleep but the workmen were still at it doing the barbed wire, working in the heat to get it done. When I woke I got them some ice cream to finish the day up. They had been looking after the puppies (though apparently Xena never wanted to go back inside) so they were really awesome today. They have finished all the barbed wire apart from the returns back to the walls. This needs a little work for something to attached the barbed wire to so that's for tomorrow. Then it'll be repairing the actual building and this project will be complete. Finally!

So there it is; another day, and what a great day it was. Thanks for reading. Back tomorrow.