Back 'Home' in Australia

Back ‘Home’ in Australia

 A Warm Winter House

We are back in the Dandenong Ranges and I’m loving it, even Takis is tolerating the cold. It is difficult to please us both! I wilt when the temperatures go over 25, and he complains of a cold nose and ears when it drops to 20. One thing we have discovered over the years is that it is impossible to live with a perfect outdoor temperature all year round, even with our peripatetic lifestyle.

We arrived in Australia to find that there were morning frosts in the open, though under the trees in this part of the ranges it only gets down to 3 at night, rising to about 13 in the daytime. However our house is toasty warm with its gas heating system. I would love to add a potbelly stove to warm up the kitchen a little more sometime for there is nothing like a real wood fire to cheer one in winter.

In winter we can sit in front of the gas 'log' fire

At Christmas time there is no need for fire, so the tree stand there

Winter Warmth in Lemnos?

At the moment we don’t have the means to warm up the Greek house in winter. It has always been a summer holiday house since the days of Takis grandfather. To survive the island weather in our large three-story house on Lemnos which is (surprisingly for people who think of Greece as always sunny) very cold and windy for half of the year, you would need a central heating system, and or a couple of wood stoves. Perhaps one on the middle floor and another in the kitchen.

Lemnos? Perhaps a stove in the kitchen?

Lemnos? Or a real fire in the lounge?

Takis and Anestis at work we discovered an old fireplace behind the plasterwork

Family Celebrations in Aus.

What has been lovely for me, beside being able to enjoy a winter this year, is that we were only away for three months and I’ve arrived back before the grand children grow too tall, as it is one grand daughter is now taller than me (or have I shrunk?).

This past weekend I had a wonderful time with two of the grand children; it was my 75th birthday and they were here with their mother for lunch along with friends from Adelaide who were holidaying in the state came. Takis cooked Youvetzi, that Greek lamb and pasta dish (wonderful for the cold weather) and I made the sponge, cream and strawberry cake, mostly without sugar, so I could have a small slice.  My grand daughter was looking forward to ‘Grandma’s party’ (parties being a great thing for her, her last one was a roller blade party!) so I did my best without putting 75 candles on the cake. A neighbour had lent me a candelabra (very Liberace) that we put on the top, a great over-the-top celebratory candleholder for a 75 year old!

Then also I had so many emails wishing me well. It was all a bit of a dream, in fact I was just getting over jet lag, with only two good night’s sleep this week and only three hours sleep before ’the party', so I just drifted through the day on a happiness cloud. And to top my pleasure one or two of my daffodils are opening and the sun was shining all day.

Getting Older and Wiser!

I just read an article by David Brooks in our local paper, The Age: Why Your Elders are Smiling.

In this article he quotes an essay by Ezekiel Emanuel saying that all things considered he’d prefer to die around the age of 75! His argument was that he wanted to go with all his faculties rather than have a sad decline. But I absolutely agree with David Brooks on this one, (and I don’t always agree with Brooks), that you would likely miss out on some of your happiest years.

It seems psychologists also agree. Reasons? When you are older on average you are more relaxed, you don’t have to worry about the future as you did when younger, you get more pleasure out of present, ordinary activities. Brooks also adds that as you get older you more likely to be able to see things from different perspectives and learn to balance tensions, plus, you have the ability to deal better with the downsides of life and realizing that things will eventually change in the flow of life. 

Kalorizika: a good fate

 

Kalorizika: a good fate

Kalorizika :

This is a Greek term of politeness that is hard to translate. You might say it to someone who has acquired a new item, a new house, a new car. Speaking in English one would say: ‘Congratulations!’
Takis says it means ‘good establishing’, ‘good rooting’, others say it means ‘good fate’

'A house is not enough to ensure a good life you need a good environment and community around that house.'

 

We have now rooted deep in the soil of Myrina. I've gathered together a few of my favourite pictures to illustrated the progress we've made over the last fifteen years, as we've sent down roots on the island of Lemnos. 

The house before I knew it, about thirty years ago

 Our Old Greek House – rooted in history

Ancient houses on the island of Lemnos date back to the 3rd millennium B.C. There are archaeological sites at Poliochni and Myrina indicating there were ancient Neolithic towns here. There is another site, Hephaestia, which is a later, but also an ancient Greek town that was inhabited from prehistoric to post-Byzantine times.  The houses in these ancient settlements were made out of local stone with tile roofs; some were even two-story high. But it was at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century that more stately homes were built it Myrina. These were built by traders who’d left the island to work in Egypt and one of these was Takis grandfather. The architects of these houses used locally carved stone to build what were called then Venetian mansions. These houses were built as monuments to affluence and success in distant Egypt.

Our Old Greek Home – established in Myrina

Fifteen years agoTakis unlocked the door.

This year we at last repainted that door!

It was 2002 when I first travelled to Lemnos and got my first view of the house. It was winter when we arrived at the front door by taxi. At first glance the building looked imposing but on closer inspection the ‘mansion’ turned out to be less impressive. The stucco was stained, all the windows were boarded up and a very dilapidated balcony hung above the front door.

Our Old Greek Home – built and renovated by local Lemnians

 Takis had to get used to the local economy. He became familiar with the owners of the small shops and warehouses, and they became familiar with his project.  He discovered that he was known as ‘The Australian’ by the building suppliers. And it was because he got a firm quote for materials and then paid up-front, not waiting until the job was finished and then delaying payment or haggling over the price, he was soon not only welcomed he was respected.

Our Old Greek Home – surrounded by the past but established today

I was a devote collector of ‘Mediterranean-style’ pictures which I pasted in a book under various headings, ‘kitchen’, ‘bedrooms’, ‘sitting room’, etc. Of course I had to wait for the big projects (roof, floors, windows) to be finished before putting any of these decorating ideas into practice but this didn’t deterred me, for my scrapbooks of ideas could always do with a little more fine tuning. When the building work was finished I first painted the interior, and then began work doing the finishing touches. One of these was the painted the ceilings another was adding lace curtains.

What had fascinated me in pictures of old Greek houses was the way that the wooden ceilings and cornices were often highly decorated. During the 18C there were groups of craftsmen who travelled from place to place across a wide geographical area building these homes and other structures. Many of these sinafia were seasonally mobile teams, often they came from Epirus, western Macedonia, Thrace and central Peloponnese. It seems probable that these were the master craftsmen who then employed locals to work for them. I wanted to keep our house light and planned to paint walls and woodwork cream however I thought we could copy this old tradition and put colour onto the ceilings. Our ceilings are not as complicated in design or in colour as those of old but they give each room a distinctive atmosphere.

 

An Autumn Goodbye to Emerald, Australia

An Autumn Goodbye

 

 

In my last blog I mention the bright Autumn colours of the Hills, and that I would miss seeing the full glory as we’re about to leave Emerald for Greece. However I’ve just had my last walk around Emerald and I was pleased to see I would not miss Autumn for it had already begun up here in the Dandenongs.

 

We’ve just had the Catholic and ‘Western’ Easter. My son Chris came over from South Australia to be with us. He rode over on his motorbike (an eight plus hours trip). As our grand daughters were staying with us he organized their Easter egg hunt in the garden. And another day he took the girls to a nearby village to see a holiday film being shown there, and after the film they all boarded Puffing Billy to return home for lunch.

Easter is a big holiday for the children though perhaps not as big as Christmas. In Greece it is the other way about, Easter is a more important family holiday than Christmas. However there are events being organized. Our local paper has an article about the Easter egg hunt that took place in Emerald Lake Park. There was a big turn out of locals and visitors. In order to receive their eggs participants were required to answer six questions on a form - questions specific to some of the sites in the park. Many children and parents took this mystery tour, and then when they brought back their forms to the café they were given their helping of Easter eggs.

Eating at Home with Family and Friends

 Eating at Home with Family and Friends 

 

 Once in our Lake-side Holiday House

 

When we went to the old lake holiday house (now sold) we’d need to take food with us as though there was a small supermarket we could not buy everything in this small hamlet. We’d usually meet up with our children and grandchildren and meals would be simple and often outdoors.

The kids loved cooking and my grand daughters started young! 

 

Lemnos House Lunches

 

We had to eat outside until the Lemnos house kitchen was renovated. But now we have a kitchen with every convenience and can enjoy cooking up even difficult meals.

 

Some visitors offer to cook for us and take over the kitchen to make lunch for the whole group, numbering about seven or eight most days mid-summer.

Takis and I enjoy doing things from scratch - making our own pasta, or cooking up sauces or making jams and marmalades.When the grand children visited us in Greece they loved to help.

 

We eat our main meal outside on the terrace during the summer months and only come into the kitchen in October, as the days get cooler. Though, there are days in summer when it is too hot to eat outside!

After a while we got the old furno working and now visitors enjoy using it. We don’t use it often but we find it best to light it the day before to get the bricks warmed, and then relight it the day we want to bake. Visitors enjoy the effort and fund of cooking their own pizzas or bread.

 

Lemnos House Coffee Mornings

 

Lunches in Lemnos tend to occur at three in the afternoon, so we need a break between breakfast and lunch. This occurs at eleven, when all in residence come either into the kitchen or meet on the terrace for coffee. We seem to regularly have six or seven folk who gather with us at this time every day. This is the time when local gossip is shared and we catch up on local events.

Australian Picnics

‘Love is like a picnic, you can plan it but you can't predict the weather.’ Anon

 

Whereas in Greece we tend to go to a taverna for lunch in Australia we often pack a picnic lunch to have on the beach with the family. And unlike Greek summers, the weather is not predicable. So you do tend to check the weather report first.

Or, we might go on a drive into the country with a picnic packed in the car.

 

And of course we get together with the family for special occasions.

One special occasion when family and friends came was my book launch. Takis and I enjoyed sharing food we’d prepared and food helped to make it a special occasion for those who attended.

Australian ‘Bring a Plate’ Lunches

In Australia when a group meet for a meal they usually plan so that each contributes. That is what is meant when the host says ‘bring a plate’. This often has to be coordinated so that the menu covers salads, main meals and desserts. This is the way we organize large family get-togethers such as birthdays and Christmas lunches.

Takis and I also belong to a group that regularly meets in one or other’s house in this manner. This shared lunch usually turns in a loud talk-fest, as we are all interested in local politics, and as the meal progresses the conversations can get louder and louder!

But right now we are looking forward to eating outdoors with our Greek friends again!