So here I sit now, on the beautiful balcony of my new home, writing up this post in the glorious sunshine! I still can’t stop pinching myself! Is all this really mine??? My new home is all and so much more than I dreamed it could be and I am happier than I can ever remember being! All my hard work has paid enormous dividends and fate has led me to my perfect place by the sea. I know that I can blissfully work, rest and play here finally and for the foreseeable future. What I had perceived as a complete disaster has turned out to be the biggest blessing in disguise!

The greatest pleasures I have had in my wonderful new home and will luckily always have, are the amazing views surrounding the house. There is just so much to look at! I can see the entire range of majestic White Mountains, which are uncharacteristically not covered in snow and that’s unusual for this time of year. However it’s not surprising with the hot weather we’ve been having. I can see all of pretty Almyrida including the spot where I pitch up to sell my seashell mosaics and collages on the edge of the beach. I can see so much of the ocean! I noticed stables below and two horses grazing in a field. Lush greenery and wildlife abound, including sheep that come to graze on the sides of the hill now and again. The bird life is fascinating to watch and there’s even a little rocky bay at the bottom of a small gorge. I feel truly blessed to have all this literally on my doorstep!

A very small part of the wonderful views as seen from my balcony. I need a panoramic camera to fit everything in – especially the mountains!

I have worked tirelessly for the last three weeks, organising, doing heaps of spring cleaning, packing and unpacking and ferrying all my stuff across – bit by bit. It has been marvellous to be able to do this move so gradually. Don’t get me wrong – it’s been a physically exhausting three weeks but it’s also been wonderfully rewarding. It’s   definitely been the most stress free move I have ever made.

Everything has worked in my favour – including the weather! February is normally the worst month for bad weather in the entire Cretan calendar year. Yet the last four weeks we have enjoyed temperatures of over 30 degrees, no winds and hours and hours of beautiful sunshine. I don’t think we’ve even had a winter so far this year! With an April feeling in the air, I have embraced the spring cleaning and happily walked things over to the new house instead of using the car, thinking how awful it would be if I had to move all my things in the wind and rain.

Almyrida Bay, as seen from my balcony – again this photo just doesn’t do it justice!

Blow me down – literally! The day I actually moved in, we had such strong south winds that I thought it would make it much harder to cart the furniture across and I was worried for all the friends who turned up to help. But everyone was brilliant and I am indebted to them for giving up their time and stamina for me. Nick has been great, both for his strength and versatility. He saved me so much time doing lots of things I just didn’t have time for or just couldn’t do physically, like putting up curtain poles and shifting smaller but really heavy items. Patrick, Mark, Jeff and Shanna too, were all invaluable in moving my main furniture across and all my plants too – including the ones in enormous pots! Thank God for Ian’s trolly on wheels!

Two days after I moved in the winds were still so strong, with lethal gusts and it brought to mind my thinking a couple of weeks ago; how I was looking forward to experiencing a storm in my new home. I am much more at one with the elements up here on the hill, but I am going to have to be much more careful when there’s a storm, especially about what’s on my front balcony looking over the sea. By Saturday night the winds had increased in strength and I got my storm. It was a windy storm with driving rain, but there was no thunder and lightning. Nevertheless, this being a strange new place to sleep, I was a little apprehensive about the damage that may be going on with my plants outside. Luckily they were in a sheltered area of my front balcony and out of harm’s way. Still, I got little sleep whilst that wind was gusting all around the house, shaking the water tanks and solar panels on their fixings, on the roof! But I also felt as snug as a bug in a rug inside!

Part of the front view of my new home.

The only thing that didn’t go according to plan was my internet transfer, not surprisingly! I was five days without it and was really missing my regular contact with grandson Ralph. I was also itching to show Zoe, Emma, my Mum and sisters around my wonderful home via Skype too. But now I’m once again connected and have been able to show them the wonderful place they will all be staying in when they come to Crete to visit. This is going to be very soon, when Zoe, Emma and Ralph arrive for a week in mid April. I am too excited for words!

I still have so much to look forward to, especially with the wedding. But for now I am back to work again and building up my stock of artworks for the coming summer season.  I am thoroughly enjoying working in my fabulous new environment!  Oh lucky lucky me!

Couldn’t resist putting up a recent photo of baby Ralph!