I have returned to my beloved Crete after another month in the UK, having spent a wonderful week with my new Granddaughter Neve and gorgeous Grandson Ralph. I also spent loads of time with my Mum, who I am so pleased to report, is doing really well!
The Friday after I arrived in the UK I hitched a ride with Zoe and Rich (who were attending a family wedding down south) to Emma and Ash’s new home on the military base. The house is a well-proportioned 3 bed semi situated across from a large sports field on a private road. Because we arrived at Emma and Ash’s so late, I didn’t get to meet Neve until the following morning. She is 6 weeks old and utterly adorable! She doesn’t cry much at all. Neve is just content to look at everything going on around her. Her little bright eyes are so alert! Ralph is lovely, gentle and caring around her! I couldn’t stop taking videos of the two of them!
Ralph is kissing his new baby sister, Neve!
Ralph is only two months shy of three years old yet he already loves and cherishes his little baby sister. He is always including her in his little conversations. ‘What about baby Neve?’, he will say… and you can see the concern in his little face. Ah bless… I do adore them both and am indeed blessed again to have had such a wonderful week with Emma, Ralph and Neve.
As always, Emma had already found some great places nearby, to take Ralph for some fun and adventure. For me too, because I loved romping about in the forest with him, finding all kinds of interesting natural treasures. This forest we visited was amazing, with towers and climbing ramps galore for kids of all ages to enjoy – all made from wood! There was even a ‘Musical Trail’, where you could discover all manner of strange musical instruments built into the surrounding landscape and make your own forest music! It’s hard to explain what they were exactly… but we had fun trying them all out!
At the cafe outside the forest with Ralph & baby Nev
We had a lovely lunch at this park and in fact, we had lots of lovely lunches on our days out. There were many facilities on the base too and Emma took me to the Community Centre and the Church group for pre-school children. Emma has made new friends already and it is so much better now that they are all living together as a family. I cannot begin to describe how wonderful this week with my daughter and grandchildren was. I hope to enjoy many more too… after all, Christmas is not that far away.
Sadly I was unable to see much of Zoe and Rich. What with their work commitments and the travel distances involved, we only managed a few hours over an early tea in Bramhall Village at Yardbird. It was lovely and gave us both one-on-one time together, which was great!
Ralph tries out one of the unusual musical intruments!
Back at Karen and Mike’s I spent lots of time with my Mum and a lovely evening with family friends, Caroline and Tony who kindly brought round a curry Caroline had cooked, because my Mum loves a good curry!
I also managed to hook up with my friends Jill and Ange, meeting Ange for a few drinks at the Church Inn in Cheadle Hulme and enjoying a Friday night out in Bramhall Village with Jill, where we had dinner at the Bubble Room. Really nice… and it was so good to catch up with close friends.
Now that I am back home I have started to look for a car to replace the yellow sport-modified Punto I have been driving around in for the last 9 years! It’s been all over Crete and had two engine re-builds as well as countless other parts replaced, so it has been a right old money pit! My Punto is now rusting badly and almost 20 years old! Time to trade her in for a new model and so I am looking. I have a dear Greek friend who has been in the car rental business for many years, and he is going to see if he can secure a good deal for an ex-rental. I am actually quite excited because it will be a great relief not to have to worry about the car breaking down again this winter!
On the swings together and I can act like a big kid when I am with Ralph!
I had half a day beach selling a couple of days ago and although it was cloudy for most of the day and the tourists were thin on the ground – I sold 3 of my Seashell Mosaics. On the social front, I went to Neisha’s Birthday Bash that night at Nikita’s. This is always a great venue for a party (both my daughters had their wedding ‘After Parties’ at Nikita’s). There were heaps of pretty tiny white lights strewn everywhere including the trees on the beach. Then there was the roar of the waves crashing onto the beach behind us – a stunning backdrop for any occasion! It was great to hear the band, Small Change again. They played at Zoe and Rich’s Wedding Reception earlier this year in May. They were brilliant as always and I danced lots. It was a good night but I am now coming down with a cold, which doesn’t surprise me after my Ryanair flight home last Tuesday.
Emma with Neve and Ralph
Looking to the immediate future… the big 60 is looming fast and I have found myself reflecting on the past 10 years and how I have successfully followed my dream of the way I would love to live my life. I was 50 when I moved to Crete and have since devoted my energies almost entirely to my art business, creating Seashell Mosaic Collages and ‘working with nature’. I have enjoyed every moment and aspect of my art. Yet now I have realized that it is time I put a little more balance into my life. I have been enormously happy and content on my own for so long but I finally feel ready and open to sharing this wonderful life with someone special. Whether I will meet that certain someone… well there’s a question? Because I truly believe that whatever will be… will be.