Time for lights out! What would you do?

Hi Lamby, can't afford a generator, the list of things needed is already out of control, but the man is maybe going to come up with a back up water tank for next summer as heatwaves are hard to cope with without water running, but would have been even harder without the electric to operate the fans.
I'm sure at the time of your alterntive living this kind of thing bothered you less, but I'm glad to hear you have a good leccie supply these days.
(Still waiting for an update on Gacey you know). Seriously interested.

Gimme a hint what discussion that was in and I'll go reply...I can't remember which one it was...

'fond memories of Maxwell' box 8 or 9, just moved it to the top of my started for you.

What are you doing up this early...it is 3:43 a.m. here now..my cold got me up, I was looking forward to my day off...but hack, hack, hack..hard to sleep! Hugs!

Good morning shirley, sorry your cold kept u from sleeping. Was hoping u would feel better today. I have no excuse for being up except i woke uo at 3:30 & here i sit just a mylotting up a storm.lol. Maybe i'll go back to bed in awhile. I want to get some more cleaning done & want to make my neighbor some soup, he just came home from the hospital yesterday, got to give my dog a bath, u know me always have something i need to do. I missed something else yesterday that i guess the painters took. I had a little tool box that ryan has always played with. he hadn't mentioned it in ages but did yesterday. I knew right where it was & when i went to get it, it was gone. Isn't that sorry??? hope u feel better, take care of yourself. love u.

good morning to you too Aunty, well the bag was all packed waiting just waiting for your invite when I discovered my sons passport has expired, so no leaving the country for us I'm afraid.

Dear Jo....another loss, shyte! I'm thinking, you better invite us all in the summertime, and we can bring our camping gear. LOL! I must get my behind in gear, as my passport has expired, too! Here it is such a rigamarole to get one, and very expensive, too! The prices shot up ten-fold, when Mr. Bush decided that all Canadians were terrorists. The entire process is around $500.00. Owch! Luv ya..and HUGZ!

P.S. Am going to do more drugs, (Cold FX & Contact (daytime) so I can alleviate some of these miserable symptoms, and accomplish something today!

here's your invite thea, comeon over.

Shirley, i;m so glad u didn't say your mr. bush, i'd had to get ahold of u, lol. i can't stand him till this say. Y'all better be saving up for those passports so u can come see me. I hope the meds help you. I think i'm getting paronoid. Went OUT TO MY FREEZER TO GET A BAG OF CHICKEN I HAD JUST BOUGHT TO MAKE THE SOUP & I CAN'T FIND IT. I HAVE BEEN BACK THE 2ND TIME TO LOOK. sURELY I'M JUST MISSING IT.

Yassou Aunty, did the missing chicken turn up yet in time for your soup?

I went back out there & locked the freezer which i should have had locked to start with & didn't even look the 3rd time. I am so totally disgusted w/all this i could scream if it would do ant good.Things could be alot worse & i don't mean to act like i don't know this but sometimes things just get your goat. Hopw ur day is going well & u got all through at the dentist. my monitor went out w/my computer last night so had to go to the dreaded wal-mart first thing this morn & get me a new one. The cheapest one which i got was still a hundred dollors pluc tax. )&^%&*^%

Dear Aunty we are perfectly entitled to rant about our little frustrations and annoyances without having to apologise for all the serious problems in the world. Losing ones chicken is a damn good reason to get annoyed, though not as bad as losing ones last packet of cigarettes. I read about your monitor last night and still can't get over that you were meant to get the thing to the car yourself.
Speaking of computer stuff as you shared your technophobia too but don't think it's anywhere near as bad as mine, when I was having problems with a virus invading the spare I had no intention at all of having mr computer fix it at 30 euros an hour round, and my man and his son told me to bring it up when I went and they'd load all this complicated stuff onto it. Well what I did was post a question on here about it, thanked the people for the technical answers I counldn't understand, and then fixed it myself with the greatest of ease by following to easy to follow directions of the great Stvasile here. Pity he couldn't sort a broken monitor for you Aunty.
Anyway I'm just off to get ready to meet up with my lovely cosy friend in the cafenion, t

Yassou niece, hAPPY THURSDAY TO U. Glad u were able to fix your own. i'm a geek when it comes to technology. lol. Hope u had a good time w/your cozy friend, lol.

Yassou Aunty, hope you're having a good day. I had the most delightful morning with my friend and then dropped by a friendly fishermans place as he'd invited me round for garden stuff, and came home laden with fresh aubergines, oranges and pomegrantes. Sadly the tomaotoes have all finished now.

I'm glad u had such a good time. How nice your friend was to share his bounty w/u. I will really miss tomatoes when they are gone & i'm sure it want be long. Have a good fri, YASSOU, AUNTY

Yassou Aunty, well ours are well and truly finished which is more than a shame as I was eating them with basil leaves and olive oil almost daily, and the only ones in the shops are beyond manky and have no doubt been sitting there for over a month getting resprayed with water each morning.
Now Zeph and I are in the middle of a nice little chat about your not Mr Bush over in the 'Prince of Darkness' where we are free to criticise such creatures without the political activists finding out and demoting our stars. I'm back off for another insult before the school run. Make sure you have a good weekend Aunty and have fun with your grandson tomorrow. Hugs

I eat them daily to when they are in season usually w/every meal. Thanks i hope u have a good weekend to. I hope ryan's game doesn't get rained out tomorrow. It has rained every day this week.We will both be disappointed if it does. hugs. aunty.

U need to move to TENNESSEE TO.

Good morning to you too pergammano, my question has been answered in your response to Aunty, you're up early not late. Suggestion for cold is tea made of thymne and a good dose of self indulgence.
Now you're all fully equipped whilst I'm not, I could understand it if I'd bought a rambling old place in need of modernasation but I expect more in a supposedly modern (coughs in laughter) country. If they are going to enforce the highest prices on Europe on us at least supply us properly.
I stopped using the wood burner when I had central heating put in, which doesn't work when there's no electric even though it's oil, and now the boiler is where I used to keep the wood supply. So curled up on a freezing cold afternoon with a couple of candles and a good book isn't much fun, as it will be dark inside in the afternoons with the shutters shut due to the wind. I can barely afford oil let alone the wood on top, so I suppose if it gets bad it will be back forraging for drift wood on the beaches, but that just tars up the pipes.

Morning, girls. thea, I have gone full circle, when I bought the house, it was about 20 years old, and had a "oil" furnace, the supply tank is 250 gallons, which costs in the neighborhood of a $1000.00 dollars to fill, and the ducting is such that I heat the basement, too...which I don't need to. A cold winter, and the tank needs to be filled 3 times, maybe more! TOO much money for one, little old lady to keep warm. I reverted to Wood heat...it keeps you warm in many ways, falling it, bucking it, splitting it, stacking it (lots of sweat equity) then hauling it into the house...and the final enjoyment, when it's burning! LOL!

On the Lower Mainland (around Vancouver) wood burning stoves are NOT allowed (City ordinances)....so when trees are taken down in residential areas, for whatever reason, it is advertised on Craig's List...as FREE firewood, my son, TJ peruses diligently, and then with the little dump truck I bought him last January, after work, goes and picks it up...and stock-piles it on a friends acreage! Each time he comes to the Island, he brings a load...and I just have to pay the Ferry fare, which is much cheaper than buying wood here!


thea...even tho' we have an abundance of driftwood here, being surrounded by the Ocean, we do not burn driftwood, as we are warned that the chemicals in the salt that has leached into the wood eats the fire pot of your stove! So, please check your stove carefully!

Is today your final Dentist visit? Rainbows to you! Cheers!

Hello again, slow to get here due to more powercuts. May I call you Shirley too as Aunty does?
I don't know how gallons and litres compare with oil costs, last winter I got 800 litres in at over £500 and eked it out all winter by only turning it on first thing in the morning and an hour at night,and being cold the rest of the time. But the wood isn't really much of a cheaper option as it's about £100 a load and sometimes they can try and sneak fresh wood in their. When I did use it a friend detarred all the pipes first for a safe flow and I used to collect fantastic wood chippings from a place that made doors and windows, as kindling. Usually though it starts somoking badly after a while as no one told me in the first place not to buy a Greek oneI need the oil heating first thing though when we get up at 7 in winter, not try to light the burner then.
Indeed the last dentists visit in a short while, how sweet of you to remember. And I'm not afraid either, which must be a first.

Of course, thea09...you may call me Shirley!

Now, you have got us all curious to see your wonderful new smile...and I am SOOO happy that it is not a stressful visit!

It gets really complicated converting metric to Imperial, as there are two metric systems, if you can believe it...in this GREAT big world, to further complicate matters! The first is the European metric, which Canada converted to...and there is 4.546 Litres to a gallon, the US converts tothe Asian metric...which is 3.786 Litres to a US gallon. 2.2 cm to the inch. I had to learn metric, at the ripe old age of 45, and it was hard, as I had to dispense fuel at the Marina in metric, overnight. Our temps are in metric...and when the US Border towns here our news broadcasts....they thing we are freezing to death, just a mile away. LOL!

thea, I was not worried about the tar build up in stove pipes, dear girl, the burning of the salt in the leached wood, actually eats holes in your pipes, and stove. So please be careful.

Just a little aside...but both Jo's and my sons names are T.J. Life is beautiful! Cheers!

Hello again Shirley, that sounds so much nicer. The dentist postponed me till tomorrow so some poor soul probably has an emergency, unless the power cuts are holding him up.
The metric conversion thing I'd done with. I grew up in England and when it went metric the only thing that changed was absolutely nothing, we all carried on using ouzes not grammes, gallons instead of litres, etc. Now I can't even remember what my weight was in pounds as it's kilos, but I still measure in inches, buy my petrol in litres, and weigh my oil in kilos. But I can bake in either pounds or grams as my scales show both.
I didn't realise something in wood could burn holes through cast iron. If I go back to the stove this year it will only be if someone dumps a few tonnes of free wood on my doorstep, I do like to roast chestnuts on the top.

Another bright new day...and hopefully your final visit to the Dentist, hopefully!Here they seem to find another excuse to have you back, just so they can lighten the load of money in your pockets. I usually have "two cents" worth in mine...and I pass it on verbally! LOL!

Just read some interesting trivia, the Greek mythologist, Herodotus professed the reason that Egptian men are bald, because they shaved their head from youth and the sun promoted head health! I am envious of you, living in such a wonderful place....Greece is one of the first places on my "Bucket List!" Cheers, dear thea!

Wonder why he picked on the Eygptians - there's plenty of bald Greek men aboutSore point with me at the moment, that one.
I don't believe the dentist will be happy with 2 cents, wishful thinking. Most expensive piece of chicken I ever had the misfortune to bite into

Good morning, dear thea...am back in myLot land after a whirlwind -- 5 day visit with my dearest son, which ended far to FAST! This big, old house seems so lonely with him gone. Empty!

I truly wish to thank you, for the wonderful gift..the golden pencil,(best response)..it is a wonderful way to start my re-entry to socialization! Thank you, truly, thea....and pray all has been great for you in the meantime. Cheers, dear friend!

Hi Mys, and a warm welcome to Greek life style. I think we've had three now today of about half an hour each so easily survived but I rather expected you would have things like that too. Gas? Gas? The only people who have gas installed out here can expect to see their houses blow up on the national news, trust this bunch to put gas in, not on your life. Lots of Greeks have those two ring gas hobs with a huge gas cylinder underneath but I went for a real electric cooker, not Greek style. Definitely will have to learn how to use those mini camping stoves though for coffee.
I really am suprised though how the Italians have managed to sort themselves out with these things better than the Greeks have, I didn't realise we were still on a pracitcal par as third world countries in some respects until I'd moved here, and the sad thing is it gets worse each year, rather than better. A solution has been presented for next summers water though so hopefully we won't have to endure that again.

Italy has moved forward very quickly in the three decades sice I moved here. Day to day life has altered and is nothing toho it was when I first arrived. The majority then did not have a washing machine whereas now they have everything that is available - too much sometimes.

Mains gas is available almost everywhere too now and it is more usual than eletrci for cooking. I changed to electric when I moved to where I am now three years ago and I am finding it cheaper to use than gas (though don't spread the word or it will go up!). People are mislead tothink that electricity costs more without considering that the electric burners retain their heat while gas stops once you switch off.

I think electricity only arrived in this village about 35 years ago and I know a few houses which still aren't connected. Here the electricity is horrendously expenisive and I felt it last winter when it the weather was too bad to use the solar for hot water, prevously I only had to heat it about 5 times a year with electicity but last winter it was every day. Of course we have all mod cons too, though a few prefer to retain outside bathrooms. One of the annoying things that always happens though is that every time there is building work they borrow someone elses electric and dig a big whole in the road which never gets filled again until two days before the tourists are due to arrive. But ask for something like an English toilet system and you'll just be laughed at, it's stictly nothing down the loo over here or the narrow pipes get blocked. We're still on cess tanks too but can't see that changing in the next decade.

Morning Mys, any ideas why Lamby has turned black overnight?

Probably saving on electricity...
the economic crisis is hitting us all

What can I say Zeph, in the UK if the water went off for an hour every few years with some road repair it was a national emergency, same with electric. Here we just put up with it. Why? Because there's nothing we can do about it. This is the land of chill and relax, it takes your food an hour to arrive in a ta irrverna, that's Greece. 200 people with tickets before your number in the bank, go and have a coffee and come back. But have you ever seen pictures of the place, I don't mean the cities but the Southern Pelopenese where I live, it's stunning, seas, beaches, olive trees stretching for miles, mountain, good friendly people, virtually crime free, all children brought up to respect all other people, unprecedented freedon for children, being known by everyone (being talked about by everyone being the downside), shops where one is greeted by name. So that's why we live here despite these constant irritations. And the Greek men are an added bonus

No, I don't believe I have seen pictures but, your town sounds like the town I grew up in well more like in the 1950's rather than the 1980's. It sounds like Leave it to Beaver or something. I lock my doors in daylight hours and have 2 dogs. We haven't had any problems but, that doesn't mean anything. Last year there was a murder a block up the street it wasn't random. I'm sure the men do add to things

My village sounds like the 1950's More like the 1850's Zeph. On my profile page there's a picture of the fishing village where I frequent the cafenion and get my free fish. Of course the cars prove it's not really the 1850's but apart from that and electric there's not too much change. One of my favourite places about 2 hours south from here only stopped hanging dead heads on the house walls mid century.

Also the restaurant there with the octopus drying on the fishing line is what we would call one of the fancier type places, so you can only imagine the back street ones.

Well that's a first for me I've never seen octopus hanging up but, then again I've never tried eating before either. Is it good? It's very pretty in your area. My city isn't that pretty, picture New York without the nightlife and that many skyscraper

Oh, I was wondering, do you use dial up?

Used to until the advent of ASDL last year, this is much better and doesn't go down as often, except when the shower water went through the wall into the electric telephone sockets.
Not many skyscrapers round here I'm afraid. As for octopus it's delicious grilled, or cold in vinegar. One of my friendly fishermen gave me one to take home but there was no way I was tackling cooking the thing, I took it round to my friends to share for dinner and let them deal with all the nasty bits of gut and and bulging head.

"cold in vinegar" please tell me that means cooked served out of the fridge?

Of course not, just give it a bit of a wash, throw the vinegar on and enjoy.

Certainly it's gutted and whatever they do with such things first, then boiled, not much idea how they make it actually as no intention of grappling with one of them in my own kitchen. Fish over here don't come in nice little trays in the supermarket, they come with all the gory bits inside.

Well nobody wants to eat the fish out of our lakes, they are so polluted from industry there's actually warning signs advising against eating them. I was telling rabbit about it this morning, in her old man in the sea.

I saw but didn't have time to join in, hopefully later. I also promised jb to give the secrets of the walrus to her there and then realised I need him for in here when I introduce the new avatar for this section. Now that's got you curious I bet Zeph.

When it comes to the rabbit, I just go with the flow.

Hi sunnysmiles, I know how much harder it was to cope with things like that in the UK as we always expected everything to function properly and weren't prepared for things not doing so. The no power in winter does get hard as it can get incredibly cold but it's not as bad if it happens whilst you're in a taverna as they'll have a gas ring. It's been off three times now, about an hour and half today, just a short reminder of what's to come. Generally it goes off and on a few times every day though which is really annoying as each time it triggers a burglar alarm on a house somewhere and it really carries. It's a holiday home but who on earth did they think would ever respond to the thing, it defies common sense.

It must have been even more difficult to get used to when you first lived there. It is annoying losing power as you cannot get on with anything you had planned but to happen so often, is it because the power supply isn't stable or new enough to maintain the power. about the holiday home, from what I learned from you about your area, I wouldn't have thought one of those was really a necessity.

Things like water and electric seem to get worse each year rather than better. It used to be we had no water in the summer on Sundays as it was tourist changeover day; this year was the first time it happened every single evening.

Re the burglar alarm, sheer stupidity. There has recently been some targeting of empty houses by illegal immigrants but the burglar alarm isn't going to stop anything happening as everyone would ignore it. It's sad to see crime start to touch an area which never had it though.

I know the tourists are obviously a source of money for the area but do they suffer the loss of water too or is it just the locals? Rather unfair if they don't. It's the same scenario here for burglar alarms, although we're in a town you hear them go off so often that you tend not to hear them after a while and take no notice.

The tourists stay mostly in the village in aparments or small hotels so when the water is short they get it first. I'm up a hill outside the village so ours is diverted down. Obviously when they are paying a lot for a holiday, and it's not cheap to get here, they should have first supply as keep the businesses and tavernas running. Personally I blame the restrictions on water on two things, rather than the tourists. The useless Greek pipes which lose so much water everywhere, and the influx of foreigners having stupid swimming pools built when the sea is practically on the doorstep. But I did the swimming pool/water rant ages ago in its own discussion.

I agree with you to an extent about it keeping the tavernas etc in business but I do think that when you visit a different country you should respect and learn the way of life, even if it is only for 2 weeks. If the tourists were educated or informed about the water supply they may be more sparing with it....we can only hope!

It's not the tourists Sunnysmiles,it's the ex pat pools and Greek pipes. Up where my man lives theres never any problem with the water and there's not a swimming pool anywhere.

Hi jellymonty, it sounds bad when you were out in south Africa, I'll have to ask my friend who moved over this year from there what it's like now. i know he thinks his actual living standards have come down in the world from what he was used to there, but not being held up with guns daily makes this place more attractive. Never been without power and water for more than 2 days at a time, that would be hard to put up with. There is no way I'd ever miss paying a bill here as the paperwork for a reconnection would be completely horrendous.

Hi stvasile, that sounds oh so familiar and I'm beginning to think it might be the year to get the burner cleaned out again but sometimes it smokes so bad I have to open all the windows in the freezing cold and head downstairs to breathe.
The wind is the worst culprit here too for knocking the electric off, for me it's no light, cooking, modem, the landline goes off and the mobile won't get a signal if the shutters are closed against the wind, oh yes the fridge and the freezer start defrosting themselves, even the water can sometimes be affected as an electric pump sends it uphill to the house. I really dislike a strong wind as it sounds so eerie up here and it can lift metal furniture up outside.
Let's hope we're both in for a calmer dryer winter this year, the last one was the wettest one here in 30 years and after 3 months of it the damp starts to penetrate ones bones, as well as the stone walls of the houses.

Last winter was pretty warm around here and quite dry... There was very little snow.
As I mentioned in a previous discussion of yours, we actually want some snow as it keeps the wheat from freezing (it always gets below zero degrees Celsius around here), but nonetheless, snowing calmly is preferred (the strong wind blows the snow from the field and piles it up on the road AND it disconnects power cables).

So the preference is calm snow, no wind, not too much rain. My chap is thinking about giving up on the electric actually and installing wind power on some of his land which could supply his own village, so I'm sure if he goes ahead with that one he'll be hoping for lots of wind around there. I would imagine the whole village will be intrigued by this development and run in terror away from the white giants on the hilltop. Actually it seemed to make a lot of sense if he can get it up and running as the electric is not only unreliable but very expenisive.

It's true that the alternative power sources are much better on a long term and are much more eco-friendly, and you do get the money back in time but the initial price you need to get the things started are prohibitive for the common people...
A more handy solution would be to get a small power generator. They function on gas, but for limited time, and are not too expensive. I've used one on the field to power up a pick-hammer, and it looked petty nice - 4 slots for plugs, but it was a bit noisy.

I have higher financial priorities than a generator I'm afraid, so will have to rely on candles and quilts in the winter here. I think an investment for those wind machines could do quite well in the area my man lives in as it is higher and windier than here but wonder at the level of bribes and paperwork which would have to be placed before it could become viable. One can't just put up anything one fancies on ones own land and the Greek authorities would no doubt be completly flumoxed by such a request as I don't believe any such things exist in that area. I'm sure an adequate bribe though could ensure their installation.

Hi Sunny, I distincly recall answering you here yesterday but there is no sign of my response. I hope that you are fixed up in an appropriate manner with necessary batteries and tanks. Some old houses here are only just having power installed as it is a relatively new thing in this area, about 35 years I believe since electric first arrived, but how quickly it has been taken for granted of course.
Apparently one of the higher villages, inhabited now by only old people, lost their water for 7 days a few weeks ago and no one uttered a word of complaint and just carried on in the heat with only the roadside spring water taps giving water to them. Different generations.

ahh!..hillside...spring water....sounds like heaven....will trade for it anytime..

Until you try to shower and wash hair under a public tap with no where to hang your towel.

surprise again...that is a common feature out here (but particularly amongst the economically weaker sections). might take a long time to get used to that aspect though... . but what the heck....when in Rome do as Romans do...

It maybe something I'd consider under a beach shower in the heat but not at the top of a hill in winter. Never. This is why I have a variety of offered bathrooms lined up in the neighbouring village as there water will be off at different times. I have been known to pop round with my towels and hairdryer before now.

okay that may be a better option...public bathrooms. sauna by any chance..?. but then i agree, life in hills may not be as one might imagine from a distant place. i might as well be more comfortable where i am...

..... .......

Hi SomeCowgirl, of course you're all for it when the power goes off as it does so so infrequently it can be a little adventure, time to light the candles and stare at the stars. When it's frequent its a pain, especially when it's really cold to start with in the winter.

As you're a greenie it may interest you if I repeat what I was mentioning to stvasile above, my man is considering installing wind machines on his land to provide power for his village. Now considering where this is this is a completely unique idea. Perhaps you'd be open to starting a discussion on the matter so I can gleam more information from people better informed on the matter than myself, drawbacks, advantages etc. If you do please pm me. It's something I don't know about so could do with a quick lesson on.

Look at this, three weeks ago and you were asking my advice and opinions. I'm sorry it took me so long to respond. I honestly don't know that much about wind power, but if I get the time I'll try to look it up. I'm still working on clearing out my inbox, in between doing this and that... lol.

Hi Amber, don't worry about that, I put a discussion up about it and it was done to death and I really don't want to revive it, all a bit technical.

You wouldn't think wind energy to be that technical, would you? I guess it is because there's a lot involved in it.