It’s been a weekend of various activities, including, taking a walk around the village on a sunny afternoon, playing cards, writing, of course, putting the washing out, bringing the washing in, putting the washing out, making plans for a possible winter trip at the end of the year, and carrying furniture around the village after dark.

Mind you, those ‘beach pants’ light up the place a little. (The chair is one of two Christmas presents for the courtyard). There are, or were, other items of clothing on sale from the man with the van who sells work clothes at Campos (the beachwear was an online order).

As for this week, I have made arrangements for some varied musical activities, starting today with an afternoon piano lesson followed by a walk up the hill to visit Steve and see how he makes his backing tracks. On Wednesday, we’re seeing George for an intro to playing the guitar, then there’s another piano lesson on Thursday. In the meantime, the estate agent is coming to photograph the house as it’s going back on sale, and I’ve made an appointment to see an osteopath in Rhodes next week. What with all that and writing another instalment of my current series set in the past, it looks like I’m going to have a busy week. And people ask, ‘What do you do in the winter?’

Enjoy the greenery is another thing.

And make the most of the good weather while it’s there.

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I have a quiet weekend planned. That is, a weekend where, apart from a few odd jobs, I have nothing to do. Next week is a little busier, and I will report on that as and when. Today, there’s not a lot to tell you. The Blue Star has just come in on its way to Rhodes, the sea is flat calm, as is the weather, and it looks like we are going to have a pleasant weather day. It was 16° yesterday, though it’s still humid, so the windows are misted in the morning, and the dehumidifier has come into play.

Yesterday, having previously laid down the hull of Titanic, we painted it, along with the decks, some mooring bollards, and other parts ahead of the build. We also started to rework Chopin’s Prelude in E minor and another piece, and had a good old chat about college, the summer, and what ‘beach pants’ to order online. That’s kind of how Thursday afternoons go in our kitchen. Meanwhile, outside, the plants are doing well, though this lot is boosted by the addition of Penny’s purples which we’re fostering for the winter. So far, everything is holding up well. Neil’s cut back the chillies and the rose, and the other ones aren’t doing much yet, so things look a bit baren out there, but hopefully, that will start to change as spring creeps in.

Right now, I shall be creeping off to do some work. After that, some reading, and I must get out for a walk. I woke up the other day with my lower back refusing to work properly, but that’s calming down now, and a stroll will help it, now that I can get from A to B without a fuss. Next week’s job is to order a new mattress.

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An early night led to a very early morning made more confusing because, when I gave in and got up at around 3.00, I sat in the living room reading for what I thought was an hour, only to discover it was still only 3.15. Then, I come in here to get this done and start the day because I may as well, and I discover it’s 4.30 and the clock on the piano stopped not long after I started. Then, I remember, I’ve got a fair old day ahead, what with needing to pick something up from the post office, a piano lesson and a couple of hours on the model building, and that’s on top of this morning’s typing. Maybe I’ll have a siesta before lunch and set things right again. This image makes me smile:

That was Boxing Day when both ‘boys’ were here for lunch, a film, and making a mess of our sitting room. There’s something homely about the way they both kick off their shoes as soon as they arrive and dive straight into bro talk on the sofa. Later that day, we had a piano recital with H and I performing a simple duet, followed by him playing two pieces by Burgmüller, one, a high-end grade three piece and the other, a grade four piece (mainly because the left hand is constantly playing back and forth over the right). We finished with both of us playing Fur Elise as a ‘takeover duet.’ (Where one starts, then the other takes the next section, and you swap back halfway through a chromatic run while keeping the temp and swapping places.) An afternoon film followed with much hilarity throughout the day.

And now, a village detail:

Incense, usually Frankincense if I am not mistaken, burning outside the super market (sic) on a Sunday morning – just before Christmas.

To finish this early morning nothingness, here’s a view which was taken a day after Boxing Day when the grey clouds and rain had moved on. The bright, clear view doesn’t tell the whole story; it’s been very damp so far this winter, and that’s starting to cause issues with mould in the bathroom for the first time in ten years. Having the ceiling redone in there is the next job on the list, and to see to that, I need to visit the Indian restaurant, but that’s another story.

Talking of stories, if you are into mystery and thriller novels, there are loads on this list to check out – and they’re all on Kindle Unlimited.

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We had a productive day up here yesterday. The other day I rashly suggested I might make some spicy beef patties if Neil would make the pastry because he’s good at that and I’m not. So, yesterday, he reminded me of this and after the morning’s work was over, we took to the kitchen for a rare event: both of us cooking in the same room at the same time. It was a surprisingly successful adventure, the patties were perfect, and I then went on to make lentil soup while Neil baked a cake – well, the oven was on for the first and only time this month, so we made the most of it. I tried baking a cake in the new air fryer the other day and it was a disaster, I think, because it was set to ‘juicy’ and not ‘crisp.’ I don’t know, too many choices.

Meanwhile, outside…

Actually, that was from a few weeks ago now, one of the ‘over the Christmas period’ photos, I think. Can’t remember. Anyway, it’s typical of the winter skies we see, the brief, pink sunsets and the chill in the breeze. The typical winter sky might be this one…

Which was taken outside Scena when I went to get some money from the medical clinic. No, it wasn’t a holdup. It just happens to be where the first ATM in the village ever was situated towards the end of last year. I’ve used it a few times recently, and it’s not let me down. It’s not even charged me for the service, which is a rare thing from a vending machine these days.

And this one is a rare treat for anyone who likes to look at the inside of a village super market (sic). No trolleys, of course, but we do have two aisles and a deli counter manned by finches who go by the names of Tina and Jenine, and you’re always guaranteed a laugh when you go in for sugar and gossip.

As for today, I feel a writing morning followed by a lazy afternoon working on my ‘side quest’ as the godson calls such things. While not rebuilding the Titanic, which is a two-man job, I am building a locomotive out of wood. This is a Christmas present that failed to arrive on time, so Neil told me what it was to be, and I went and ordered myself a similar thing from Amazon, and then the present did arrive and so I’ve started on it before the second one comes along. I shall be privatised by Easter.

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It was on that date (31st March 1909) that the Titanic’s keel was laid down in the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast (slip 3). Monday, 6th January 2025, the same thing happened in our kitchen. The winter build project has begun.

Yesterday afternoon was great fun. A piano lesson where we started on two new pieces, one from the course book, and another from a separate collection that’s also grade four standard, and that second piece is one my student must prepare on his own. At the Thursday lesson, we’re going to return to a Chopin piece (prelude in E minor) that he played a year ago, and we’re going to shift it up a level. After that hour, we spent two in the kitchen getting to grips with the huge 1/400 scale Titanic, doing what we can while we wait for the paints to arrive. (We could at least start an undercoat.)

Yesterday was also Epiphany, and it’s traditional for the one who rescued the cross from the sea to parade it around town and village where people are free to drop a donation to that person’s church. We just happened to be in the bar when the triumphant party arrived last night, but they were on such a whistle stop tour, I didn’t have time for a decent photo.

Today, I’ve woken up to a clear crisp sky, no breeze, a flat sea and a great view, but it’s not always like that. This, for example, was Christmas week.

Mind you, so was this cosy scene…

And now, on with the day. Writing, of course, maybe a trip to Yialos for one or both of us, and some more editing this afternoon. It’s Yiannis’ name day today, and we’ve been invited to go for a drink with him at the bar later, which we will, but it will have to be the last time this week. That, so far, is what today holds in store.

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