Summer Journal 2012, July 17

Journal Summer 2012

On Tue, Jul 17, 2012 at 3:40 AM, < agkefalas@charter.net> wrote:

Closed Kiosk in Ierissos, Greece

I promised Barbara and Rafe I would give them my perceptions of the Greek Economy. I've seen four signs so far: 1) Much less "traffic" in the Athens Airport when I arrived, 2) Stell's niece, Mary talking immediately about how her pension has been slashed (she was a principal), 3) People leaving Halkidiki on Sunday night to return to the cities (they used to stay in the tourist spots for weeks- now they are down to weekend visits), and 4) Stell's reporting that Kostas and his brother Harolobus have almost no real estate business. Definitely there don't seem to be the presence of so many "big flashy cars." Many people are asking me about the austerity circumstance of Greece.  Yesterday I took this photo of a kiosk that has closed - this means at least one and probably several people don't have a job.   I'm half way through Midnight in Paris (a murder mystery based on a true story loan from Addie), and we started on the new books of poems from Julie Bailey. Good Poems, American Places pulled together by Garrison Keillor. The introduction was tremendous and we've read the first two poems.

The workers are here again this morning working on the Parents Temple, which is amazing, and the awful space in the middle of the house that used to have dirt and failed attempts with plants has been replaced with a lovely large tiled floor and will offer room for a small table and two comfortble chairs. It looks so much nicer. It was my idea, and I have absolutely no design savvy, so I'm really pleased that it worked. The weather is slightly cooler today. I'm sure in a few hours we will head to the village for the ouzo-swim routine. last night we had dinner at Mitakos with Stell's niece and nephew, Demetra (she's gotten really fat), and Nikos, the lung surgeon who smokes. They brought their dog to Demetra's sister, Mary's, and it peed all over the place. Nikos refused to travel from Athens here with the dog, so he flew, and she took the train with the dog. Also, two of Aggelos' daughters, Zoie and Ireni, were with us. They bought a house here in Ierissos. They return to Chicago on Thursday. Ireni works for Teach for America in Baltimore, and is working on a master's in urban studies at Johns Hopkins. Zoie is in her second year at the University of Illinois. Sophia (who had already left before I arrived) is a high school senior. Aggelos, their father, will come in a couple of weeks.

Malcolm, we had ouzos at Sultana's and she looks great. I didn't pinch her for you. I'll do that later. Went by Maria's pizza last night and saw Aggelos. He was in rare form. While we were there Stella Kokini, the professor phoned from Thessaloniki. She'll be here in the village in a few days.

Stellios Foras did a wonderful job painting the house inside and out and sanding and refinishing all the wooden floors in the bedrooms and study. It really looks like a new home. I have to clean all the windows - no small task, but it will be "good for me". Of course I had tomatoes and feta for breakfast. I'll take some photos soon. The huge cow herd is still nearby and one small goat herd. It is so delightful falling asleep to the sound of those bells in the distance. Last night while I was reading the first poem, the coyotes started howling. I guess they were offering their critique of my reading. Today is the lykee (the open market). I have to get some laundry detergent. That's my news for now. Hope your day is good. Love, Margaret

July 18, 2012

Ad,

I love the idea of the Parent's Temple, and at this moment the men are installing the tiles. I will take a photograph shortly and send it to you in the next few days. You should be here- warm afternoons squeezed between cool mornings and evenings. I'll probably wash a few windows before we go swimming. Here are some photos I took yesterday of Stell and an old grey mare we see on our drive to and from the village. She looks a little neglected so we stop and I toss a little hay over the fence to her. All's well. I will finish Midnight in Peking this morning and start Born Round. Love, M

Beach Bum

Horse Asking for Hay

Foras and Demetri working on Parent's Temple

The guys are finishing their work on the temple today.  When Paris and Carrie come they will be asked to do some painting, I am responsible for the photographs of the parents to be placed inside, and Aggelos will be asked to work on the path to the doorway.  Nothing grand planned for today - ouzos, swimming and some grocery shopping because we used the last coffee filter this morning, and life without coffee would be near intolerable.