Monday before Christmas...

This morning I was up early as I been asked to go to the School to take some photographs of the village children on their penultimate day of term when they have a special day with a clown and a bazaar and Janet's husband dressed up as Santa Claus.   I was up too early really as I had a million and one things racing around my head - time is running out and I don't know how I am going to get everything done.  I saw 2.30am, 3.30am, 4.30am - get the picture!

I had asked Sheila to come with me to take some snaps and we bumped into Janet and John who were having an early morning coffee at Kaponas.  I was just dropping off a Christmas Card to Eleni and Grigoris.  I had to decline the invitation of breakfast when I saw the watery green soupy stuff that Grigoris was tucking into - it really didn't float my boat.  Janet gave me a card and this wonderful keepsake box Christmas decoration which was lovely and looks great in the conservatory.  Thanks Janet it was very kind of you and I hope you and John have a fantastic first Christmas here in Drouseia now you have got your heating sorted out!

It was pandemonium at the school as you can imagine.  It must be like herding eels being a teacher at a village primary school.  The kids seemed to be playing a sort of Greek version of musical statues/chairs which involved the children dancing to some exceptionally loud club/trance music which my friend Claire would have been familiar with from her days of being a DJ - then falling down when the music stopped.  No shuffling from one foot to the other for some of the children - no they were giving it large cutting shapes that hardened clubbers would have been proud of.

The children that were 'out' had lost interested and wandered off to play football and some deemed out were in dispute with the clown who was scary but then I think clowns are generally pretty scary!  Needless to say Elena's daughter Lola aka Superstar was pleased to see the cameras and once she started posing we had a stream of children all demanding we take their photograph.  Obviously we have to be careful about how and where these are displayed so I have sent them to the headmistress Paulina to deal with.

As Sheila and I started art early this morning we were both able to complete our respective pictures.  My first try at a person has turned out better than I had expected although she looks pretty different from the original picture that was my inspiration.

I am particularly pleased with the way that the metal buckets turned out which are in the front of the picture.  Now I have to find my next subject matter but fortunately that can now wait until the new year as we have agreed to miss next Monday and start again on 4th January.

I cannot believe where the year has gone as Art Mondays seem to come round so quickly!

I had a very pleasant walk home in the sunshine - December 21st and it is glorious - this is all good news as it means we are generating good quantities of electric even though it is the winter.

I managed to get Lou's blinis made - this is her and Hywel's 'one weakness' at Christmas and New Year when they sink into the hot tub with bubbles and blinis and smoked salmon.  These are made to a Russian recipe and are slightly underdone so that when Lou re-heats them they should be perfick or at least I hope so.

I quickly called into see Elena whilst Bassam was here helping John concrete a path - we were supposed to be having a stuffing-making masterclass but she wasn't feeling too good and had been hosting a cookery class in the morning.  Her students seemed to have had a lovely day which is good now they are experts in Finnish cuisine.

Belly dancing was cancelled today - a bit of a shame as it would be my last chance to get that particular form of exercise in before Christmas but as we were due to go to Elaine and Paul's for their annual Christmas Carol evening and we would have been late otherwise.  Only trouble was as the afternoon wore on I felt more and more tired and felt more and more like I was going to come down with a cold.

As always Elaine and Paul had pulled out all the stops and we had a trio of strummers to accompany our singing efforts!!!  The food was excellent, the decorations were AMAZING and the house was bouncing warm - thanks to the new woodburner.

Thank you Elaine and Paul xxxx