The picture was taken in Limnonari and as you can see, it was a beautiful sunny day. Both Christmas and New Year were fine clear days but the rest of the time has been rain, wind and then a bit more rain.
Christmas was spent quietly as is the norm with us, just eating chocolate and not doing anything too strenuous! Before Christmas, Jasper, the wandering cat, wandered once more and hasn’t been seen since. We’ve been looking for him but before he left I’d sort of come to accept that he really wasn’t cut out to be a domestic cat. He’d formed no real attachment to us or his previous surroundings and didn’t really behave as the other cats did. We thought his wanderlust was down to his ‘manhood’ but even when we ‘dispensed’ with it he remained the same, so I’ve just come to the conclusion that he’s happier being a street cat.
So, then there were 11 cats but sadly, since yesterday, we’re down to 10 cats. Our beautiful Benjamin, who we’ve had since 1994, died in the early hours of the morning. He’d been out of sorts for a few days and was losing weight and we could see that he was ready to leave. It was definitely easier having him here with us when he died, unlike his brother who died at the vets a few months’ before we came out to Skopelos. He was a great cat, so particular and private, a real joy. We miss him dreadfully.

Today, the Epiphany, was the Blessing of the Sea in town so we braved the rain (as did Bonnie) and went to see a couple of foolhardy young men jump into the sea to retrieve the cross thrown in by the priest.

As you can see from the people in coats, it wasn’t a warm day! Apparently there are normally more people jumping in but I think the weather deterred quite a few (not surprisingly). Junior wanted to throw sweets in for them to retrieve but we explained that it wasn’t a free for all and they wouldn’t just fetch anything for anyone! She got a bit bored then and started looking for Dolphins (which you can see all the time it would seem when you’re 5 and have a rather vivid imagination).
Junior is back at school on Thursday (praise the Lord!!) so maybe I’ll be able to crack on with my New Year’s resolutions which mainly involve me getting everyone and everything organised so that work and things in general run a little more efficiently and effectively. The jury’s out on whether I’ll ever be able to organise Sean, I’ve been trying for nearly 18 years’ with no luck!

Well it’s that time of year when you get a special dispensation to stuff yourself full of food and sweets, or is that just my idea of Christmas? I’ve never been one to go the whole hog with the big meal and Christmas pud - I’m not big on tradition. Apart from the fact that the weather has been better than it would be in England (although that has changed in the last few days), the fact that this is our first Skopelos Christmas hasn’t really seen us doing anything differently.
Junior finished school last week and the final day saw her school play being performed. She was very excited about this and had been practising her poem and Christmas songs for weeks. Dressed in a light blue smock decorated with olives, (she was ‘November’ - don’t ask!), she really enjoyed the performance although she pretended that she was feeling a bit nervous about being on stage in front of all the parents. This was blatantly untrue as the child is a born performer (I prefer the term performer to show off!) who told me the other day she’d like a twin sister, not because she wanted someone to play with, but because she wanted to see what she looked like from behind! I think it’ll be easier to get her a 360 degree mirror.
The following day was glorious and we sat outside the house having a drink with our sunglasses on, marvelling at the fact that it was the middle of December yet didn’t feel like it. Here’s a picture of the little Dot looking minuscule on the garden wall with an impressive backdrop.

The good weather was not to last and come Monday, cometh the wind. I’m not just talking a blustery gale, I’m talking lift you off your feet kind of a wind. Although the house faces the sea it seems to offer some form of protection from the worst of the elements so although we recognised it was windy (!) it wasn’t until we walked up the steps that we got the full force of the weather. Sean, being a tad heavier than I am, managed to retain his balance, whereas I had to grab hold of the walls to remain standing. Although it was exhilarating, it was also rather frightening and not something I would wish to repeat. On returning to the house I didn’t think I’d be able to make it down the steps and whilst Sean carried junior I had to grab hold of his coat to remain upright. Needless to say there were no boats that day! It’s still windy at the moment and the ferry is using Agnondas to dock in as it is a lot calmer than Skopelos port. Here’s the view from the garden wall on Monday.

I think we’ll have to scrap the idea of a picnic on the beach tomorrow and change it to a picnic in the house and a walk on the beach instead! Whatever you’re doing, and wherever you are, Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year from me, Sean, Junior and the animals.

Finally managed to sit down to update the blog after spending an age moving and sorting. You would think being seasoned movers that we would remember what a nightmare it us trying to do everything yourself and attempting what we laughingly call “an easy move” i.e. not packing everything in boxes - just sort of loosely putting it in a vehicle. Obviously we’ve accumulated a lot more stuff since our last casual move some years’ ago and also we forgot to factor in the steps. Oh yes, the steps down to the new house. Who needs a multi-gym when you’ve got a large flight of steps and a pile of possessions at the top. This picture will give you some idea of the task we faced although it doesn’t include the dirt slope before them!

Add to this the fact Sean had hurt his knee and I had blocked sinuses and conjunctivitis and you’ll begin to understand why it has taken me so long to do anything. Also this is the view from the living room window which tends to have rather a soporific effect when stared at for too long!

So, we’re mainly sorted now although Sean is currently in Ikea in Athens buying shelves and storage boxes so we can make everything appear just that bit neater (and so that we’ll be able to find things). He hasn’t made a special trip to Athens just to go to Ikea (he’s not that sad), he’s actually taken a dog to the airport! Ella (the dog) should have been on a flight this morning but Sean got a message yesterday to say the flight had been cancelled. Unfortunately he was on the boat at the time on his way to Volos so there really wasn’t much he could do about it.
On arriving in Volos yesterday evening he thought he’d go and see a friend and then head up towards Athens, however just at that moment people on motorbikes started throwing rocks through the windows of banks and shops along the road so he wisely decided to just carry on his way. On hearing about this, and the other riots throughout Greece, junior wanted to know when they would start rioting on Skopelos. I told her there weren’t enough people to bother rioting here to which she informed me there will be more people in the summer. True, but I can’t really see tourists wanting to hurl stones at anything but the sea!

Yes, we’re moving………….to the other end of town with an even better view of the sea.

Not bad eh? After much hair pulling (mine obviously as Sean has none to pull), and numerous offers from exceedingly generous people to let us use their houses temporarily, we finally found the perfect place. It’s perfect for quite a few reasons; the situation; the outdoor space; the peace and quiet. So how did we find the place? Well, it found us. The house belongs to friends who are having to leave for a few years’ and as they knew we were looking for somewhere else, they offered it to us. It’s a win, win situation as we get somewhere great to live and they get the house and gardens looked after, not to mention the seven cats. Yes you did read that correctly - seven cats, which with our five of course, makes the rather grand total of twelve! Apparently the seven at the new place are ‘mainly’ outdoor cats with the emphasis being on the mainly. The house isn’t big, so twelve cats running around inside is just not feasible if I wish to retain some vestige of my sanity.
Moving day is set for a week on Thursday and should be a lot easier than our last move which of course was over here from England. Having said that, the slope down to the house isn’t the easiest thing to retain your balance on, so trying to do it whilst carrying boxes and furniture could be interesting to say the least.
So that’s the major news of the moment and such good news that I feel a major weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Roll on Christmas!!

Well, things haven’t been great for the past couple of weeks, hence the length of time between posts, but things are starting to look up now so I thought I’d write something!!
The weather is still pleasant although we have had some wind and rain recently which helps to freshen things up and as we move in to winter the island takes on the appearance that I like i.e. things close down and there are less people about! Walking along the paralia which is nearly devoid of chairs and tables now, it is difficult to imagine how it was just a few months’ ago, and how it will be again come May. Obviously I like being able to sit at a cafe enjoying a drink in the sunshine but the heat in the high season makes that uncomfortable so I think I’ll stick with winter as being my favourite time.
In addition to the three cats we’ve added to the two we moved here with, we also now have a dog! I’ve always been a cat person and the thought of having a dog has never really appealed to me. However, it was the case, yet again, of not being able to ignore an animal in need. For quite a few weeks I’d noticed this dog hanging around and seen her sleeping on the beach. She started to follow me when I was taking junior to school and then following me back home where I would give her something to eat. This carried on for a while, with her just turning up for walks and food but the last week or so has seen her sleeping outside the door and not leaving until we go out for a walk. So, much to Sean’s despair (once again), I’ve given her a name (Bonnie), put a collar on her so people know she is being looked after by someone, and bought her a dog bowl. She is fine with the cats and has a lovely disposition but she is loathe to come in to the house unless I leave the door wide open, won’t get into the car and is rather wary of men. It all smacks of neglect and possible abuse but as I don’t know where she came from I guess I’ll never know!

I normally update this blog on a Monday but this Monday I was in no mood to post as little Jasper went missing on Sunday. This story does have a happy ending though so don’t be put off reading! He went out with the others as normal and they usually just scamper around outside, pouncing on leaves and chasing each other. When it was time for us to go out the other cats came in but not Jasper. We assumed he’d just gone to sleep somewhere and after a quick scout round we left. We returned later expecting to see him hanging around the door but there was no sign of him. I walked around shouting for him and banging a tin of food (which got every other cats attention) but there was no sign. Whilst I got junior’s lunch, Sean set off to walk the block looking for him.
The reason we thought he may have wandered away was because on the Friday before, taking junior to school, Smokey and Jasper followed us. While Smokey stopped at the end of the road, Jasper carried on following. I managed to pick him up and put him in my bag and when he escaped I carried him in my arms (being scratched all the time). Just near junior’s school he escaped once more and ran in to someone’s yard through a gate. I dropped junior off and then spent 5 minutes’ calling out for Jasper until he appeared. I carried him home and hoped that was the end of it. More fool me!
Sean returned from his walk without Jasper and so later on that evening we went for a family search, but to no avail. To say I was downhearted would be an understatement but I tried to convince myself that he would turn up sooner or later.
Monday was a celebration day at junior’s school to commemorate Ochi Day. This remembers the day in 1940 when the Greeks refused to let the Italians invade the country thus becoming Britain’s first ally in the Second World War. All the children had been given poems to learn and whilst a lot of the children refused to get up and speak, junior rushed up to the front when her name was called and gave a sterling performance (and no, I’m not biased!). This little presentation lasted about half an hour and then it was home time. So off we went, constantly scanning the area for a sign of a small tabby, and headed off for a walk up to Sendoukia where the pirate graves are - aha Jim lad. It was a very pleasant walk in glorious weather and when we got to the top I looked out at the view and thought what a marvellous sight it was to be looking at on a Monday afternoon.

It was one of those moments when it suddenly hits you that this is where we live, we’re not on holiday, and this is on our doorstep all the time. Brilliant!
The following day was Ochi Day and there was to be a parade in town, so hoping to get some pictures for the website, we headed down. I only managed a couple of pictures, this being one of them,

before I caught sight of the rear of a small tabby darting through the crowd. Just as junior was saying “look, a little pussy cat”, I was saying “that’s Jasper”. Junior and I set off through the people searching for him, thinking we’d never find him amongst the sea of legs, when suddenly we spotted him sitting down having a wash! I grabbed him and carried him to a flabbergasted Sean who got hold of him and escorted him home. He’s now sat next to me on the chair with little dot. From what we can ascertain he followed someone into town and just forgot how to get back home again. Needless to say that whenever we go out now, we make sure he’s safely locked up inside.

and this week we have two! How did that happen I hear you ask? Well it happened because this is Skopelos and there are cats everywhere. You may not see a person for miles if you’re out and about but you can bet your life you’ll see a heap load of cats and kittens. It seems that the ones out of town are more friendly and healthier looking, probably because they don’t have too many people around and live in groups with other cats. The ones in town breed like rabbits due to the lack of neutering (needless to say these two will be done as soon as they come of age!) and if they lose their mother or are rejected, then what’s to become of them? That’s how we came by Smokey in July.
I tried to find where the one who turned up on the doorstep came from but with no luck. He has been named Jasper and although he is the size of a small toy he has the attitude of a bull mastiff (except with Susie of course - the original tabby with attitude). The only thing that detracts from this ‘hard kitten’ attitude is that he likes to suckle any available piece of flesh whenever possible, and when I say any I mean ANY. Needless to say we all keep ourselves well covered when he’s around. So here’s a picture of the little stress head and don’t be fooled by  that butter wouldn’t melt expression, it’s all an act. So that was how we ended up with four cats but how did we end up with another one by the end of the week? Well, Sean came back from Volos on Thursday afternoon and as junior and I had walked to school all the rest of the week, I told Sean we should all walk together on Friday morning. Sean is a reluctant walker but junior insisted she preferred walking to driving in the car (that’s my little eco warrior) and so Sean agreed to a family walk to school. After dropping junior off we walked home a different way, which was Sean’s idea so he only has himself to blame for what happened next. Taking a side road off the main thoroughfare we saw a tiny kitten sat in the middle of the road and when I say tiny I mean minuscule. As we got closer we could see the kitten was very bedraggled with one eye closed which was oozing pus (I hope no-one’s eating as they’re reading this). We looked around to see if there were any other cats or kittens hanging around, there weren’t. Sean immediately went into stern ‘we can’t have another cat, we don’t have the room, we can’t afford it’ routine, which I did listen to before ignoring! I took my jacket off and wrapped the little kitty in to carry home. Once home, I cleaned him up (I’m assuming it’s a he but as he’s had rather a ‘dicky tummy’ I don’t wish to look too closely!) and got him some soft toys and a hot water bottle to snuggle down on. He’s now known as ‘little dot’ as that’s what junior said he looked like, I think he looks more like a rat but maybe that wouldn’t be such a good name! He’s looking a little less rat like now and has started to walk more like a cat rather than a drunken crab. His manky eye is still not right but it’s getting better, whether he’ll be able to see through it I don’t know. Here’s a pic of the little tyke - bless.

I know some people (Sean included) would say that there are hundreds of cats and other animals on Skopelos and that you can’t help them all. Well, that may be true but what type of person would I be if I walked past a helpless kitten in the middle of the road?
We are more desperate now for a new (bigger) place to live so that I can take in more cats (and dogs) - just don’t tell Sean!

With all this talk of the global credit crunch and the continuing stories of doom and gloom, it’s got me thinking about the possible effects on our life in Skopelos. We’ve noticed food prices rising but whether that is because of the tourist season or a general increase I don’t know. We don’t have investments so I don’t think we need to worry about the market crashing and we don’t have lots of money in the bank so the prospect of our local Agricultural bank getting into difficulties doesn’t overly concern us. We don’t own a property and I can’t see the slump in the property market affecting Skopelos as it appears to be a real estate bubble all on its own! Most of the people selling properties don’t seem to mind waiting a few years’ for a purchaser to come along and if that’s their attitude then they’re not going to lower their asking price just because the market has slowed. Some of our work is tourism related so if people decide not to holiday then that may affect us but I think in times like these, people still want to escape to foreign climes for their one or two weeks’ of sunshine. So all in all I think the credit crunch only makes me thankful that we left the UK when we did!
The season has now drawn to a close in Skopelos and the bars and tavernas are packing up, disappearing until May or June next year. There are significantly less people around and of course the beaches have become deserted, which is just how I like it. Saturday found us at Agnondas where the sun was lovely and bright and just right for sitting on the pebbles in your jumper! Junior enjoyed herself as per usual.
The weather has become increasingly windy the past couple of days and the boats have not been coming in to Skopelos Town since Friday or Saturday. Sean had to drive to Loutraki this morning to catch the Flying Cat to Volos where he is working for a few days a week. Apparently the sea at Loutraki and around Skiathos was as still as a mill pond, whereas Junior and I had to walk to school down by the sea dodging the waves!
Other recent developments, apart from Sean working away in Volos, include the need to now find another place to live. Whilst we’ve always been looking for somewhere bigger with more privacy, it has now become more pressing because the landlords wish to increase the rent. Obviously we are unable and unwilling to pay any more so it has to be full steam ahead in the search for a new home.
Another very recent development was the arrival last night of a little tabby kitten on the doorstep. I won’t go into detail as to how it arrived on our doorstep but needless to say it didn’t get there all on its own! It is a dear little thing who is currently sitting on my lap fast asleep. Junior was already in bed when the kitten came in but on getting up this morning she made no comment about the presence of another cat in the house. I asked her if she’d noticed a strange kitten in the living room to which she replied “Yes, it was waiting outside my bedroom door for me, it’s so cute, I think it loves me, what’s its name?” Apparently 5 year olds take everything in their stride! The kitten has no name yet until we can ascertain whether it already has a home somewhere as it is extremely friendly, knows how to use a cat litter tray and is very used to being inside a house. Junior will just have to keep her kitty name ideas to herself for now.

Well, it was the party on Saturday and the weather was glorious; I’d ordered it specially of course! I spent Friday and Saturday morning baking so that junior would be able to eat anything that was put in front of her as she can never do that at any other party. We bought some bananas and grapes as well as I wished to counteract the sugar rush with something healthy!
The party was at 4.00pm and we arrived at ‘International Cafe’ at quarter to, shifted some tables around, blew up balloons, put up party decorations and then…………ordered the beer! Well, I figured I deserved one…….or two. Including junior there were ten children and, over the course of a couple of hours, twelve or thirteen adults. Food and drinks were duly put out, junior opened masses of presents and then the children all ran off to blow party kazoos and pop balloons. I must admit I find the Greek way of partying most refreshing. We sat drinking and chatting and the children just entertained themselves. If we’d been in England, we would have had a party at the house and I’d have had to think of ways to entertain the little blighters as I doubt the weather would have been good enough to chuck them all into the garden to run around! Junior enjoyed herself so much she’s already requested the same venue for her 6th birthday party and it was such good value for money I insist she has it there.
If you wish to see a picture of my birthday ‘cake’ masterpiece then you’ll have to check out the vegan side of the blog.

And she did have a happy day yesterday. After telling me that she wouldn’t get out of bed until we’d woken here up singing Happy Birthday, she actually came running out of her room the moment she heard me get up. Presents were duly opened and for breakfast she had cake and chocolate soya milk! Well, if you can’t eat cake for you breakfast on your birthday when can you? She then went into school wearing a birthday badge and tiara which played the tune to Happy Birthday. She wasn’t taking any chances on anyone forgetting it was her special day! She had a lovely day at school, with all the children drawing her birthday pictures which the teacher then made into a book for Junior to keep.
We picked junior up at 3.15 and told her she could go wherever she wanted. She chose Limnonari and so off we went armed with books, swimming costume, crayons, paper, ball, bubbles and food. Junior likes Limnonari because there are always cats there who want to sit with you and yesterday was no exception. Also the beach is mostly sand which is a rarity on Skopelos. There were quite a few people on the beach though none dressed like us, we were in jeans and long sleeved tops whilst most others were in swimsuits. Junior immediately set to work dispensing with footwear and requesting more birthday cake, so here’s a picture of the half left with her candle on ready for her to blow it out - again.

It was a plain carrot cake as requested by the birthday girl. I have never met anyone with the capacity for carrot cake that junior has, it really is quite astounding.
She had a splash about in the sea, made some sand and pebble mountains, played with the pussy cats, drew some pictures and then decided it was time to go home. She rounded off her day by watching her 2 new dvds and then went to bed a happy 5 year old. Party on Saturday and more carrot cake - it’s great being 5!