Cheese anyone??

Yes, it's a cheesecake!!
A delicious concoction from the best wedding in North Wales..
I'm sorry I've not been around, many reasons..but I promise to do better soon.
If anybody wants a taster of what's to come, go to
John and Lindsay's blog
Hopefully, I'llbewith you very soon
Byeeeee!!

Animal Farm...

I just don't know where the time is flying to..
I blink.. another week has gone by.. is it a sign of old age??
Geoff is working everyday,but we had a bit of a scare last week when he came home feeling rough.. as he has 8 or 9 people in the Land Rover 7 days a week, it's inevitable that he worries about contracting some nasty bug.
So, Thursday night, Geoff exploded from both ends all night.. nasty nasty nasty!, He looked awful and had to cancel the Friday's drive.
I nursed him all day, he didn't want for anything!! Such a saint, I hear you whisper!!
Saturday he was still not 100% but went off to work..
Saturday night, I felt rather weird..guess what!! All hell let loose, I didn't leave the bathroom all night...
Of course, morning comes and I'm left, home alone...
Today, my headache has gone and I've eaten toast but don't make me laugh, feel like I've broken all my ribs( from all that retching!!)
Enough!!! I hear you cry!!
Ok,so, above, photos are latest of kittens. Yes, they do leave the cage but I can't photograph them then as they run faster than me!!

These are some donkeys that live at a Donkey Farm above Ierapetra. It's a charity run by an English couple.
We go there to dig up the donkey poo for the kypos.

And lastly, look at Dewi..hasn't he grown!!
He's fine, loves to go on long walks, but can be a stubborn little (not so much little anymore) cuss!
We've only one angel fish now!
I'm on nights for a week now, then a plane trip to Wales, can't remember why though....
AAAAaaaaaaaggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh!!
I'm SO excited!!!

Why Don't I Keep My Nose Out of Things..

Ok, there I was waiting for a lift..
minding my own business.... a neighbour walks past with a heavy bin bag....we pass the time of day.... Only one thing.. I can hear a persistant meaowing, it's only when she passed I realised the sound was coming from the bin bag that she was the throwing into the communal refuse bins across the road.
With Leonie and Judith, we foraged in the smelly bin and amidst the maggots and other daily rubbish we found 4 kittens tied inside another bag.

We all know the Greek attitude to cats and dogs is rather, shall we say.....ok!... dubious.
But why, oh, why, didn't this woman, if she didn't want the kittens,drown them at birth.. they were well fed, cared for and tame and 5-6 weeks old. Instead she stuffed them in a plastic bag and then piled all her other rubbish on top and walked down to a refuse bin with them squealing..

They are being looked after and will be hopefully adopted by people in the Netherlands, Germany and other European countries.
The charity V.O.C.A.L. arranges fostering (which I'm doing, much to Dewi's excitement) and adoption. They also arrange neutering of cats .

Neither Geoff or I are cat lovers but hate the fact that people here are reluctant to have their cats and dogs neutered, claiming it weakens them. or, best of all, the males are not so macho!!

p.s.
As some of you may know Greece tried for the 3rd time to go smoke free from July..
We thought it was going really well, until we went to a reopening of a pizza restaurant, owned by a local Cretan . Brand new premises in the centre of Neapoli (not a tourist area)
The guy at the cash till, next to the sevice area, lit up!! He was serving all the takeaways with a cigarette hanging from his bottom lip..
It's count down to wedding now..5th Sept..
Really excited, Geoff has time off, we have the tickets to Manchester..
I've NOT got my outfit
I'm NOT at the weight I expected to be
but I'm still walking miles up mountains at 6.30 in the morning (and enjoying it)
Geoff is working every day with the Jeep Safaris, which is better than we expected at the beginning of the season.
I'm still cooking all the fab produce from our kypos and am planning to make jars of tomato sauce tomorrow.

To A Dear Uncle....R.I.P

Some of you may remember Geoff and I travelling across the island last summer to spend the day with my aunt and uncle who were holidaying in Agia Galini.
Sadly,I have received the news he died suddenly yesterday.
Paul was married to my mum's youngest sister and I've known him for many, many years. He was a quiet, gentle chap with a cheeky sense of humour and will be missed by everyone who knew him. My love goes out to Sue.
In respect, I shall not be blogging for a while.

Sue, Geoff and Paul in Agia Galini last summer.

Celebrations

See, I told you menopausalmusing, mad things...
Just to say, go look at John and his celebrations in France, looked like a wonderful time. Wine tasting and loads of fab food made by Lindsay. Congratulations John, looking forward to seeing you both at the do..

Friday Shoot-Outs.. Reflections.

I'm away from home working this week so I best be quick....

I'd have to have one of a pool!

Friday Shoot-Out. Yard Objects

My friend Jenny, visiting from England, relaxing in the shade, while I weed and water our kypos.
All important business is done over a Greek coffee. You can also buy anything you need for supper out of the back of a van while you're there...snails, raki?
A quiet,cool corner to relax and read.
Rather a bad photo but couldn't resist this al fresco area by the side of the road..
My neighbour Sofia, sitting outside her home, waiting to chat to anyone who has the time.
More important discussions.......notice the lack of women?? Probably, in the kitchens or working in the allotments.
A cool courtyard.

It's That Time of Year Again!

I've not posted much about the kypos, it's fine.. everything is growing fast and we spend an hour most evenings watering, weeding and gathering our lovely home grown produce..
But, as usual we have the glut of courgettes, too many to eat and I must say, I do get slightly fed up with eating them every day!!
So, I took Maria, Organically Cooked advice and did some batch cooking. I made 10, yes, 10 trays of boureki.

The longest job was slicing courgettes, courgettes and more courgettes and potatoes.
They are then layered, courgettes and potatoes. A layer of mizithra cheese, ( feta would be easier for anyone living outside Greece, I think.)with a handful of chopped mint. Then another layer of potatoes and courgettes. Top that with a layer of sliced tomatoes. Add some stock or water, some olive oil drizzled over the top and season with salt.
Bake until the potatoes are cooked, remember to check that they don't dry up, just add some more stock when needed.

They can be frozen uncooked or cooked.
No, I'm not the next Nigella. I promise I shall not make a habit of trying to run through recipes for you.. just thought this was worth a mention. Delicious!!

Lastly,couldn't resist showing this photogragh of these 2 enjoying a day on the beach, don't they look funny!! Geoff is looking out to sea...not leering at some bikini clad floozy!

Friday Shoot Out, Texture.

This is solid rock formations on the beach near us

My door knocker

A neighbours door.