| Friday, September 29, 2023 at 8.50 am The rain has abated for now and the ground is drying out. We've even got sunshine (and hot water). Although lightning was forecast, we had none nearby but we could see it out at sea. Showers are forecast for later today. Despite the horrendous floods on the mainland, we had very little here on Crete. You can read the Greek news at https://www.pronews.gr but you'll need a browser with translation. |
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| I went onto the balcony to search, once again, for a place where water might be getting into the pergola. You can see the pergola tiled roof in the photo. When I bent down, I could see a hole in the tile beneath the bottom step. This must have been where the original fence was fixed before the green fence was cut away to install the metal steps to the flat roof. I filled the hole with sealant and also sealed cracks in the corner where the skirting tiles had been broken away. |
| At noon, I rode to the Café to join Billy and his son & wife, visiting from England. Shortly after I returned home, it began to rain. This time no rain entered the pergola but it wasn't heavy rain so I don't know if I've fixed the problem. __ Saturday, September 30, 2023 My computer reminded me to check tyre pressures so I measured the mobike and pressures were down by a third since last Saturday; maybe partly because of the lower temperatures - only 18°C. So I wheeled the mobike closer to the car and plugged the tyre pump into the car's cigar lighter socket and pumped up the two tyres. Then I measured the car tyre pressures; same problem so I pumped them up too. While I had the pump out, I decided to check the spare wheels. I have two in the Honda: one is the standard size spare wheel that sits in the boot and one is the miniature "toy" wheel underneath the boot floor. Since the boot was full of tools and junk, it took some time to empty. The standard spare wheel pressure was only 2 psi low so I topped that up and then measured the miniature. It measured 11 psi but it should be 60 psi so I connected the pump and left it going while I fetched the vacuum cleaner because the boot floor was covered in gravel. As I finished sucking out the boot, the vacuum cleaner slowed and there was a smell of burning enamelled wire. Iliana, having detected the smell, came out of the house and said, "Oh, good. I wanted an excuse to buy a new cleaner!" The mini spare wheel well fills with water after rain so I have drilled holes to let it drain. However, it is never completely dry so I can't keep metal tools in there and I've been simply throwing them onto the boot floor instead. |
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| I wanted to tidy them and put them in one place so I cut a piece of plastic (roughly with an angle grinder) and screwed it in place to form a side pocket. I put the jack, tools and tyre pump into this new space and threw the burned-out vacuum cleaner into the boot for recycling next time we go out. We'll buy a replacement next week. It needed a new bag, anyway. |
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| The full size spare wheel is kept in the red bag. We use it quite often (Cretan roads are covered in nails) and the tyre is usually muddy. The mandatory fluorescent tabards are stashed in there, too and jump-leads in the black bag. In the well of the mini wheel underneath are: tow-rope, tyre repair kit, red triangle and an out-of-date fire extinguisher, which I must remember to replace. |
| By the time I'd finished, it was after noon and I hadn't even had breakfast. So I rode to the Café to join Billy and his son & wife from England. There I ordered a coffee and a plate of sausages. Back home, I spent the afternoon at the computer. The day has been tolerably warm, reaching 24°C, and sunny with only a few clouds, mostly over the mountains. |
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| Sunday, October 1, 2023 I took a walk around 8 am as the sun was appearing. |
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| I dropped a bag of kitchen scraps off wit h our German neighbours who have chickens. |
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| This is a "many-legs" in Greek but we call it a "stinkworm" because it exudes a stinky chemical if disturbed. |
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| I dropped a second bag of kitchen scraps off at Cliff's house. There was no sign of life and no dogs barked, so I crept away, quietly. |
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| Unsure if Stelios Café Bar in Georgioupoli would be open, we drove to Kalyves and went to Stella's Café opposite the church. There was a service in progress with lots of sad wailing from the loudspeakers. https://youtu.be/4mEc6HrXgJA |
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| Breakfast was produced very quickly! Back home at noon, I rode to the usual Café for coffee with Billy and his son % son's wife. In the afternoon, Iliana went to the neighbours' house and I had a nap. |
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| Monday, October 2, 2023 I awoke at 8 am, showered and then made porridge for breakfast. I spent all morning researching. At noon I rode to the Café. Billy was there but his son & spouse had gone to Almyrida to spend the day on the beach. |
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| We watched the usual traffic chaos. Billy told me that he planned to go to Souda the next day to get his dogs vaccinated against Rabies and to do shopping. (We don't have rabies on the island AFAIK but Billy thinks that the vax is mandatory.) |
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| Back home, Iliana had already left for her weekly "knit & natter" group meeting in Kalyves. I screwed an off-cut of rubber hose to the new porch support. It acts as a soft bump-stop for the fly screen door. On the ground is a large rock but I need to fix something soft to it as well. Unfortunately, I have only the one off-cut. |
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| Tuesday, October 3, 2023 I walked to the supermarket around 10.30 am to buy fruit. The mail hadn't yet arrived and I'd forgotten to take egg boxes. I also forgot to buy milk. So, I returned an hour later on my mobike, stamped the newly-arrived mail, bought eggs and milk and returned home. Then I set off for the Café. As I left the village, the heavens opened. I stopped and put on my waterproof jacket. |
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| When I reached the Café, people were cowering under the parasols across the road. Petros was lowering the blind. The rain stopped after a few minutes and Chris arrived. We saw Billy's car go past with his son driving. A few minutes later, Billy phoned to say that they'd done the shopping but the Rabies vax wouldn't be available until next March. So his dogs have a reprieve. |
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| Back home I bagged the mobike in the hope that the switches and instruments will last a little longer. |
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| I found an email from our German neighbours to say that they had a bottle of sheep's milk for me. So I walked up the road to collect it. They wouldn't let me pay. Then Iliana went to visit the neighbours and it was time for my weekly Skype conversation with my UK engineer friends. |
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| Wednesday, October 4, 2023 I awoke late and had a shower. I did research until 10 am when the hairdresser arrived to do Iliana's hair. I went out for a walk. |
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| I set off to walk and stopped in the village to speak with Thanassis who is in the process of building new cabinets for his kitchen, which he's gutted and replastered. |
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| I walked to the highest point and then back again. I arrived home just as Iliana was leaving to have lunch with friends in Vrises. She asked me to bring the washing in when dry. 23°C in the shade at 11.30 am. Blue sky with fluffy clouds. Misty mountains in the distance. |
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| I brought the washing in from the lines and then rode to the Café for coffee with Billy, his son & wife. The plumber phoned to say that he'd come around 4.30 pm so I rode to Vamos to take cash from the ATM. I couldn't get yoghurt in Vamos so I texted Iliana to ask her to buy some in Vrises. However, I found a tiny pot in a supermarket on the way home. |
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| Iliana arrived home shortly after I did. The plumber and his mate arrived at about 5 pm as I was editing The Friday Afterlife Report. |
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| The plumber pulled out the cooker and disconnected the gas pipe. Iliana and I set about cleaning the fetid, greasy mess that was exposed on the tiles and on the sides of the adjacent cabinets. |
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| The cabinet, gas bottles, filter, pressure regulator, pressure meter and transfer switch pipe were installed. The plumber checked for leaks, found a tiny one, and tightened the connection. He drilled a large hole in the base of the cabinet so that, in the event of a leak, the heavier-than-air gas would descend to the ground, making an explosion less likely and making it more likely that we'd smell it. |
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| The plumber suggested that we paint the cabinet to match the wall. |
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| I asked him to come back some time to extend the roof drainpipe beneath the cabinet and out to the gravel garden because last week when it rained heavily we had a pond to wade through. I also want him to service the hot water system on the roof because I just realised that it was installed three years ago and hasn't been serviced since! |
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| Iliana was up at the crack of dawn, put clothes in the washing machine, fed the cat and went for a walk. The temperature was 16°C when she returned at 8 am as I got out of bed. Brrr! I set off for my walk after 9.30 am when the temperature had risen above 20°C. I took the same route as yesterday, climbing to the highest point, overlooking Rethymno. |
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| By the time I returned, Iliana had taken the car to go shopping. I used kitchen degreaser spray on the new cabinet, scrubbed it and then hosed it down and left it to dry in readiness for the primer coat of paint. |
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| At noon I rode to the Café for coffee with Billy and his son & wife. We observed the usual traffic chaos. At 1 pm I headed for Georgioupoli and ordered breakfast at Stelios Café Bar. Stelios was there, eating lunch, but he looked gaunt, weak and had no appetite, following his hospital stay after he was knocked off his bicycle by a car. His wife, Georgia, told me that the doctor says that it will take two months for the physical breaks and bruises to heal and possibly a year before the headaches stop, as his brain had suffered bruising and bleeding. |
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| As I rode home, I passed Iliana driving a friend to Georgioupoli. She didn't notice me. Back home, I set to work painting the primer coat onto the galvanised cabinet. |
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| The streaky result. I did consider using a sponge roller but the paint was drying so quickly that I don't think it would have worked. |
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| I have some acrylic paint to match the wall but I don't know if it's the correct type for the cabinet so I'll have to ask the painter. I cleaned the brush in paint thinners and then washed it in the sink with detergent. After that, I washed the dishes and fed the cat. Iliana arrived home after 5 pm and started to cook dinner for herself. I ate yoghurt and banana while watching YouTube videos. |
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| Friday, October 6, 2023 Iliana made herself a cup of tea and went back to bed for an hour. I took a walk around the village, climbing once again to the high point. As I approached home, I noticed the familiar blind spot that heralds a migraine attack. I'd had my last magnesium capsule at 8 pm last night and I hadn't eaten breakfast, so I took two magnesium capsules and waited twenty minutes till the flashing zigzags disappeared. There was no headache or other effect and I felt fine. |
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| I went into the workshop to look at the old PIR LED floodlight, which had failed. The plastic lens in front of the PIR detector had crumbled. I had nothing to replace it and no way to test the PIR circuit so I removed the PIR modules and rewired the lamp internally so that I can connect it via a switch to the 220v mains supply and operate it manually. It appears to be really well made so I'll find a use for it. |
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| At 9.30 am, Iliana left for Rethymno and I rode to Kalyves to buy paint. On the way home I spotted "Takis" (Dimitris) plucking a chicken that he'd just dispatched, so I stopped for a chat. |
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| Takis went off to fetch another chicken and this one arrived to eat the feathers and innards of its mate. I decided to leave because wasps, flies and mosquitos were swarming around the chicken remains - and me! (This is typical of the Cretan way of life. Some twenty years ago, the EU paid for an abattoir to be built to service the area. Technically, it's illegal to kill your own animals but nobody used the abattoir so it closed. Recently it was converted into holiday apartments.) |
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| Back home, I used a small paint roller to apply the paint, which matches the wall colour. As soon as it was finished, I put the paint away and rode to the cafe, arriving at 12.20 pm. Billy arrived shortly afterwards, then followed by Karen, Brian and Dave. Mrs B. was there with an American/Greek lady from the village and I chatted with them until they left. |
| At 4 pm I went for a soak in the bath because my back was aching and I felt tired. (You don't need a photo.) I awoke at 5 pm, dressed and opened the gates in anticipation of Iliana's return. I washed the dishes and then settled down at the computer. We had a Skype conversation with our Polish friend, Tomek in Munich, at 9 pm to discuss a possible visit. |
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| Saturday, October 7, 2023 I set off for my walk at 7.30 am and was greeted by the usual angry hounds. |
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| Most of the land is rocky with little topsoil. The road was cut into it here, so you can see it quite clearly. |
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| A cloud with odd striations. |
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| Back home, I set off for Rethymno at 9.10 am. The road had been ripped and tarred in readiness for this ancient machine to lay down asphalt. |
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| The left turn that heads down "seven bends road" towards Georgioupoli and the National Road. |
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| I drove all the way past Rethymno and then turned off the National road at the junction signposted for Spili and into the car park of "Bikakis" Café where I was to meet Dave & Veronica from England. They are here to complete the sale of their house. I have known them for decades and this might be the last time they visit Crete. We chatted till 1 pm and then bade our farewells. |
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| As I was driving home, the engine warning light came on so I pulled into a lay-by, connected the OBD2 device and read the code on my iPad. As usual, it was the O2 sensor so I reset the fault and continued home, stopping in Georgioupoli to buy lemons and figs. The plumber phoned to say that he'd be at our house by 5 pm. |
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| He arrived at 4.50 pm and turned the roof drain spout through ninety degrees. You may recall that it had flooded the path during the heavy rain. |
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| He added a long pipe to lead the water to the front of the house, where it could drain away more easily. |
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| On completing the pipework, the plumber and his mate went onto the roof to service the hot water tank. It requires a replacement zinc anode every two years and fresh corrosion inhibitor. |
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| Sunday, October 8, 2023 Iliana complained that there was no hot water. She hadn't realised that the tank had been emptied by the plumber in order to replace the zinc anode. She set off to walk in the direction of Georgioupoli. I followed half an hour later in the car and collected her on the way. No walk for me this morning! I stopped to dump the rubbish and recycling waste. |
| We parked and walked to Stelios Café Bar for breakfast. Stelios was there with his arm in a sling and still not looking well. Our friends, Carl & Caroline, joined us for breakfast and we chatted till noon. The Café was quite busy because today is voting day (local elections) and many people came to eat after voting. Back home, I washed dishes from yesterday and then rode to the Café in Litsarda for a drink with Billy and Chris. Brian and Karen joined us and we didn't leave until after 2 pm. I rode home and, as I was cutting away weeds from the electricity pole in our garden, Anya, one of our German neighbours, walked down the road to give me a box of eggs. As I went indoors and started on research, Iliana went over the road to chat with our neighbours. I don't think she'll be swimming there any more this year because the pool temperature has fallen to 20°C. __ Monday, October 9, 2023 Iliana put clothes in the washing machine and then went out for a walk. I had a coffee and then hung the clothes on the lines as the sun was rising. She returned at 8.30 am. |
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| At 9 am I headed for Kalyves on my mobike with Iliana's broken car key. I found my exit from the village blocked by a tree-felling team and had to make a detour. |
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| I left the broken key with the locksmith while I went across the road to the hardware store to get a can of paint. I got the closest match I could to the almost-terracotta tiles and then went back to collect the new key for 15 Euros. |
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| Back home, the tree felling was complete and one worker was sawing the wood into logs. |
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| I painted the new section of drainpipe to match the tiles and the wall. I'm not good at painting but it will do. I found an email from our German neighbours, which informed me that the loaves were ready for collection. I walked up the road to pay for them and chatted for an hour. |
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| I road to Carl & Caroline's house to deliver Iliana's old iPod speaker system, which I'd located in the workshop and tested last night. |
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| I returned home with their non-working system, which I might be able to repair, but it's clipped and/or glued together so I might end up destroying it. It doesn't light up and, although it produces enough power to light up an iPod Classic with a discharged battery, it won't charge it. So I suspect a power supply fault. |
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| There was no obvious way to dismantle the unit but, after examination, I decided that the front panel was glued in place and was hiding screws. So I used a spudger, a sharp penknife and a glue spreader to lift the panel off. It took about ten minutes. |
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| With the panel off, I removed the eight pozidriv screws. |
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| I checked the lithium battery and it showed no charge so I tested the external plug-top power supply and found that it was dead! I should have done that first. |
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| I connected my bench power supply to the DC input and the unit worked fine. So all it needed was a power supply. |
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| I found a 12v 1.5A PSU in my junk box, cut the plug off the original (dead) PSU and soldered it to the "new" one. So I screwed the unit back together, refitted the front panel with the original glue, which was still very tacky, and gave it a final test with my old iPod Classic. |
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| Tuesday, October 10, 2023 Iliana and I set off for an early walk around the village. The crashed Honda has been moved from the crash scene to the opposite side of the village outside a mechanic's workshop. |
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| You can see from the shadow length that the sun was just rising. At noon I rode to the usual Café. Afterwards, I took the repaired iPod speaker unit back to its owners in Kokkino Horio. They talked at me until 3.50 pm, when I suddenly remembered that I my weekly Skype call was at 4 pm. So I hopped onto the mobike and arrived home 7 minutes late. |
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| During the Skype call, I did a job for Billy, which involved threading a hole in a chrome-plated brass dome and threading a brass rod to fit in it. I tapped the thread in the hole but I couldn't get the die to start on the brass rod. It just kept slipping and all it did was to grind a shoulder on it. My engineer friends suggested that the die was a cheap thread-cleaner and I needed one with a gap in it. |
| Wednesday, October 11, 2023 I had boiled eggs and sauerkraut for breakfast and then rode to Vrises to buy an 8 mm thread die with a gap. The man in the tool shop was his usual rude self and said that he didn't stock thread dies. So I asked the hardware store owner next door. He raked through his stock but couldn't find an 8 mm die so he said that he'd order one. I asked him to order a handle/holder, too. I bought cheese and returned home. I spent the rest of the morning deleting obsolete pages and links from https://www.The-Cool-Book-Shop.co.uk |
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| At noon, I set off for Kalyves to collect Researcher Bill, who had offered to buy me lunch in return for a ride to the airport. I collected him and loaded the car with his rubbish and food from his freezer, which he couldn't use. We dumped the rubbish and continued to a local taverna. |
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| We started with split-pea purée and I ordered lamb. Bill had pork on a stick with vegetables. For pudding we were given slices of Halva-with-semolina and ice cream. After lunch, I drove Bill to the airport for his flight home. |
| Back home, I received a call from the hardware store. They had located a slotted M8 x 1.25 die for me. 
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| So I rode to Vrises, collected and paid for it and then returned to my workshop to thread the brass rod. It's amazingly easy when you have the correct tool! However, I couldn't get the die to fit in the holder so I used a Mole Wrench. 11 pm: Iliana just returned from the airport with our son's family. (A different son from last time.) I'll be sleeping on a mattress on the office floor. |
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| Thursday, October 12, 2023 I awoke at 6.30 am. I'd slept well and my office "bedroom" was neither cold no uncomfortable. The only problem I had was the Hard Drive cooling fan noise so I disconnected it, as it's not needed when the temperature is below 30°C. |
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| At 10.30 am, when everyone else was finally ready, we drove to Georgioupoli for breakfast. Afterwards, we took a walk down to the promenade. |
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| On the way back to the car, we went into the children's play area. |
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| We drove to Lake Ayia where it was raining and had drinks in the "Enasma" Café. When the rain stopped, we walked along the boardwalk alongside the lake. As we turned around to return to the car it began to rain again but we had two umbrellas with us and didn't get very wet. |
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