Catch up time...

Ah a nice quiet Sunday morning... looking out the window I can't help but notice the sun is rising in a very RED sky. What is that old saw "red sky at morning, sailors take warning... red sky at night sailors delight"? Hmmm.

So. This is going to be a longer post than normal, as I am catching up...

This evening it's time for another birthday party - my friend Sammy- only THIS one is at the beach in Avlaki (a 40 minute drive from here, near Casseopi.) It doesn't start until six, so this whole day is for puttering around until we have to leave.

The past few days have been strange for me. I am sure it's partly because grandson is gone and we really enjoyed having him underfoot. Partly it's because the Belgian cousins are still here (for another week- they leave next Saturday).

I feel lethargic and detached from myself, like I'm going through the motions of hospitality. I think that must be because we've just had people in the house with us for more than two months, and for two people who spend most of the year pretty much alone, that change is enough to fry the 'be nice' circuits in the brain, causing a lot of second guessing and self doubt ie: "am I being nice?", "was that sarcastic?", "why did that just piss me off?" etc.

This too shall pass.

As for a catch up: Benoit and the diving fiasco-

Sadly, there would seem to be NOTHING to recommend the dive school in Nissaki to ANYone who is interested.

The Greek divemaster is pompous, overbearing and even more subjective on time and space that most other Corfiots. (ie- the promised dive that Benoit showed up for at 10 AM that was to take place at 11 AM ended up taking place at 6:30 PM!)

As far as I am concerned however patient and understanding I could try and be, nothing made sense about this situation. And from everything I know about diving when you are licensed and certified - as Benoit is- it should have been a simple situation of renting equipment, going out for a dive with a boat and possibly a few other licensed divers and - 3 hours start to finish, done and dusted. [As Benoit did exactly that last year in Italy, and previous years in Thailand, Viet Nam and Mexico, I find it difficult to understand the challenges imagined by the Greek divemaster that caused this mistake.]

So FYI- and of course a note penned to my future referrals for guests... "Do not book diving for Nissaki. EVER."

~~~


On a lighter note, T and Jenny spent the afternoon Friday making free-hand designed lizard cookies (biscuits) for friend Sammy's b'day. (She loves lizards, what can I say?)

At some point the sugar must have gotten to them because things got a little strange for a while ... Suddenly it seems we were confronted with "the afternoon of the living cookie lizards"...

Fortunatly eating a few of them caused everyone to lose their panic and laugh at the strangeness of it all. (Which just caused more maniacal laughter due to sugar overload...)

~~~

Friday evening we went to Kontokali (Gouvia) near the marina and had a fish dinner at Takis and then went to listen to Roy and his band play Blues music. A nice mellow evening. We got there early when the band was just setting up in order to get a seat! Once they start playing, people are standing in the street (or dancing, as the case may be!)



A good time was had by all.

~~~

Yesterday was the day T took the cousins to visit to Paleocastritsa, and Angelocastro for the afternoon, while I made a birthday cake (actually TWO cakes as I dropped the first one and it broke beyond repair when I burned my hand whilst I was getting it out of the pan. grr.) I also made some Blue cheese salad dressing (sauce) as that was a special request by the birthday girl.

We finally have a picture from the mens bathroom at the Panorama restaurant --- the most beautiful view of the west side of Corfu!!!

Needless to say I will only include a picture of the window, and not the rest of the room!

They had a good time visiting Angelocastro which for some reason now charges a nominal fee to climb up to the top of the fortress, but ironically closes on Saturday in prime tourist season at 2:30 PM! Sometimes I just do NOT understand the Greeks love/hate relationship with tourism.

Another view:

~~~
Then last but not least it was time for us to have dins at home. I made BBQ'd ribs (did them Friday and left them to marinate in the sauce for Saturday dinner) And Jenny set about making her special Dauphinois potatoes. They are her unique creation. It's basically garlic, potatoes (sliced very thin w the mandolin slicer and layered), cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper and LOTS of cream - then baked at 170 for about an hour.

Last nights dinner was a feast. The potatoes were delish, the ribs addictive, and for dessert we had the broken b'day cake! I don't think we'll have to actually eat anything else til this evening!

So that's my catch up. I really can't afford NOT to write every day! Ah well.


[NOTE: Blue Cheese Dressing recipe posted in comment section]

~~~

Saturday- the quiet before the open house...

Yes. So this post "may" continue throughout the day, or not depending on how successful I am at putting together all the food for this BBQ-Do (not "DOH!"), which T and I have thrown together haphazardly over the past couple of days. It is meant to be a sort of "hello, back" to all the new neighbors, and a thanks for all their charming hospitality...

But of course parties entail planning and cooking. I must start this AM. on the early to do stuff. (Sometimes I DO wish things were as easy to throw together here as they are in some other places like almost any other country in Western Europe or any state in the US. sigh.)

For instance, to get the 'fixin's' for the Barbeque, I have to go to four stores. Well I probably don't have to, but I do have to go to the places that have the best meat: Sconto on the Paleo road (on the way to Sgombou), best veggies/fruit: Deillas in Kontokoli, best sausages and brats: Lidl (Paleo Rd.), most other stuff: Alpha Beta in Gouvia.

All the stores are on the east coast of the island (whilst I am in the center.) The distance isnt' great - the drive there is insane in the summer. [It has become the de facto "truck and bus" shortcut even tho it's barely two lane and one lane mostly- with a charming one lane bridge that I keep thinking will one day fall in with a bus passing...]

Shopping is always a bit of a challenge when living in a different country. Besides the obvious things of packaging in a different language, there's also the fact that people eat other things than what you are used to --- and they put them in cans!

When we first moved overseas in 1992 we lived in Izmir, Turkey. Same challenges there. Frequently you enter a store that on the surface "looks" very much like a good supermarket in the US. But then you realise that though the shelves are full there's really only a selection of three or four things there. (aside: Things are much better now with improved trade with Europe, really.)

Once, early days in Turkey, I went to a brand new Migros, (Swiss chain grocery), and in the canned section the shelves were stocked high, down the aisle, both sides: all with the same brand of tomato paste and canned peas.

Shopping here in Corfu is mostly OK, though of course selection in the summer time is much better than in the winter, because the tourists shop, particularly from the large marina in Gouvia - so in the summertime there are strange and wonderful things on shelves like nori, and white balsamic vinegar, and tofu. In the winter we're pretty much back to the simpler life of "tomato paste and canned peas" shopping.

The other bright spot all year round is the British Corner Store in Perema, which tho uneven at keeping the shelves stocked, will bring interesting things over from England... at a price of course. (Periodically I can satisfy my inexplicable craving for McVitties Ginger Nuts...)

Another thing that baffles me is how difficult it is to find a whole frozen turkey or duck! You really only find them in the stores at Christmas, (and then really only about two or three weeks) which means if you like Turkey or duck, you better have a freezer! (sometimes I get lucky at the British Store) The other option is to negotiate with a local to buy one and do the deed yourself.

When I get together with my friends who live on the island year round, we always compare grocery store finds.

So. Today I must make a chocolate cake for dessert (cream cheese frosting); fix up a batch of my famous BBQ sauce for the pulled beef that I made last night for sandwiches; trim 2 kilos of chicken wings, parboil them and make a marinade for them to soak in for baking tomorrow, (they are sooo good); and start the process for the baked beans which I will probably slow bake this evening through tomorrow morning. [we'll also be having hot dogs and brats on the grill for anyone who isn't happy with wings and bbq sandwiches]

Any and all leftovers will be used to keep visiting grandson from starving over the next week. He really DOES enjoy my cooking. (still I think he'd eat cardboard if it had hot sauce on it...)

Meanwhile...today, grandson is off to Aqualand! T is dropping him off and hopefully some friends will be joining him around noon (and maybe he'll be bored and want to come home with them when they leave around 3!) Grandson promised to take many photos of landmark "Aqualand" so there WILL be a post on that local miracle...

Let the games begin!! (oh yes. and the laundry... )

~~~

Grandson had returned from a successful day at gigantic water park! WITH NO PICTURES! Well ok. He bought this one "special" for me... I tried to explain before he left that I would probably never ever go there, so I really needed lots of pictures. Hmmm. I don't know if it's because he's 14 or because he's a guy.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I did 7 loads of laundry. (I do miss those marvelous HUGE washing machines from the States...) Anyway while this or that was simmering or baking I hung things up on the line so the sheets smell marvelous.

I've prepared a couple of pans of BBQ Beef, the special Boston baked beans are simmering (in the crockpot- I'm not a stickler for tradition), the chocolate cake is made and frosted, the chicken wings are parboiled and marinating... and tomorrow I make a giant green salad, pop the chicken in the oven around 4 and "ta-da!"

All that will be needed is a bit of warming up of the beef and we're ready to roll.

I may still fiddle with a recipe for chili to go on top of hot dogs. (I really miss chili dogs...)

So ... just discovered the sum total of my day is not quite finished as T has informed grandson and me that we'll be going out to dinner tonite at the marina! A nice treat for the cook and laundress (with the added bonus that we can buy a huge bag of ice to cool the drinks for tomorrow...) the man has a mind like a steel trap.

signing out (and looking forward to perhaps finding a good Chinese restaurant!).