Winding down

Well the goat finally left after a couple of days and I must say I rather miss it. In its place we now have this running around the living room

which, being considerably smaller than the goat, is quite difficult to find and could therefore be anywhere at the moment. I tried to catch it but the moment it senses footsteps it darts off under the sofa, they can move quite incredibly fast – good job really because if one of the cats found it…….well I think you can guess the outcome for the lizard!
It was Junior’s birthday last Thursday and my little baby is now 6. How time flies when you’re constantly being harangued by a chattering child. She grows more and more like me as the days go by, not physically, but in her manner and temperament (unfortunately), she is my own little ‘mini me’. This obviously leads to problems for both Sean and myself. I’m faced with a smaller version of myself who doesn’t yet possess the (modicum) of restraint which comes with age and Sean struggles to get anything his own way because it’s always 2 against 1.
Her party on Saturday was held at Englezos in town and we expected about 8 or 10 children plus some adults. We ended up with 15 children and not many adults as the parents obviously saw it as an opportunity to have some peace and quiet for a few hours’ and so left their charming offspring in our care. At the time Sean bought party blowers in England I thought they were rather a good idea but after hearing them being blown continuously by a group of children, I began to have second thoughts. The owner of the restaurant next door told them to be quieter but this merely incited them to louder and more prolonged periods of blowing. Telling a group of 5 and 6 year olds to keep the noise down is a bit like trying to stop a flood with a sieve. Junior enjoyed herself though and that is really all that matters.
The holiday season is definitely nearing its end now, with the restaurants at the far end of the harbour closing up and yesterday as we went to meet a friend for a drink in En Plo, we arrived to find the tables and chairs being loaded onto a truck. There are still some places open of course and with the weather still being bright and fairly warm it can be nice to sit out and have a drink on the waterfront (although I always have a jacket with me as I’ve become a little nesh!). The season seems to be over so quickly, no sooner have the first table and chairs arrived on the pavement than they’re being packed away again for another year. I doubt we’ll be here next year to see their re-emergence on the paralia.
As the holiday businesses are closing down, a new supermarket has opened, part of the Carrefour chain. What? A reasonably priced supermarket on Skopelos? Surely not, but in fact yes! Junior and I went earlier and it’s well stocked, with fruit and veg that don’t look like they’ll decompose the minute you get them out of the door, and good value for money. It was also full with curious shoppers but time will tell whether it manages to keep those shelves full and the quality high.