yassas souidiko spiti!

Good bye Swedish House in Kavala! Until next time.

last rays

These past days have been sunny and hot. I've been to the beach trying to store warmth and sunlight before going home to the cold north. But they're seriously rounding off the bathing season here too: chairs and parasols are removed from the beach - even the doors to the changing booths are hooked off and the shower appliances are taken down!

Saturday I saw a bicycle race through town. Well, not race per se, the contestants were children and their parents. Traffic was chaotic. You'd find it strange too in a town built on a slope stooping almost 90 degrees.

Saw a lady fall to the ground today, she was probably a diabetic. It was scary. I was the first one to kneel by her, and even though I've taken a course in first aid a few years ago, I just didn't know what to do. I checked that she was still breathing and stroked her and spoke to her until greek speaking people came and called an ambulance. It took ages until it arrived. Hope she's ok.

being tourist

love the packages and tin boxes but thank god I stopped smoking years ago (- check that decoltage to the right!) and I never liked Prince anyway




The Aqueduct, the Archeological museum, the Tobacco museum, the market on Saturdays. Being a tourist on your own is boring, no-one to share the experience with. But what I really wanted to do, is go to the mud-bath in Krinides (check the short video!), and to that I hardly think Mattias would have joined me anyway (?). If there's time I'll go tomorrow, otherwise next time...

à table with friend and foe

We had a big potluck dinner (knytkalas) to say goodbye to the Gopal-Cecilia-Milou-family. They were here at the same time as us last year. Milou has assisted me in my web camera chats with the girls in the evenings. When my questions bored them he teased them which cheered them up ;)





The gigantic bees live in a tree by the balcony. They have nothing better to do than pester us humans. One of the guests in the house is deadly allergic to beestings, he has to carry an antitoxic around his neck with him always. I let the bee have it his way this time.



Other forms of life: Life at the bottom of the sea (a little tribute to Rececka Törnqvist' song Good Thing, here sung by my namesake Sessyllya (!).

onetwothreefour

one strange fruit
two playful kittens
three piles of rubbish
four locked doors
five doves gave me the inspiration to do the black and white drawings. I drew a series of city birds three years ago and have wanted to draw birds again. Didn't know how to begin, the inspiration wasn't there. And then suddenly I was just at it.

only one

Only one week left - where did the time go?! A week ago I realized time's running up. Made a scheme for myself, work I must have accomplished when the day is through. Good, but hard to follow - there are just so many hours in a day and, what leaves the hand is not always what I had in mind. But I'm trying.

I'm so fond of this place. Sitting by my window or on the roof working, the constant sounds of the city below keeping me company. The swoosh of cars occasionally honking their horns, motorbikes speeding past the long stretch by the beach, dogs barking (no one minds, nobody hushes them up), children playing, birds chirping and singing long intricate melodies.

There may be a possibility that I can come back next year - with the family this time - I'm discussing ideas with Caritta, who used to teach art here. Nothing's decided yet, but it feels very exciting.

Oh, the love of paper... saw Paper Works over at Feltbugs blog.

remnants

Kavala was involved in the processing and trading of tobacco in the 1930's, the Swedish house where I'm staying was built for the Swedish Tobacco Monopoly. Everywhere around the city you see buildings or remnants of buildings from this epoch. Sadly they're just left to wither down. I walk around, the sights and especially smells evoke memories from a long time ago. There's something about this town that makes me feel so at home.

There's a constant flow of guests in the house. This evening we had a small gathering to say goodbye to two leavers and hello to three newcomers. Tomorrow there will be new arrivals.

Tobacco warehouse.


Aged beauties.



This must be Rapunzels house!

mission accomplished

Last year when Mattias was here, he made a fine drawing of the church across the street from here. The original will hang in the Kavala house, but Caritta (the commissary of the house) proposed a gicléeprint of it to the church as a gift, which they happily accepted. As The Wife of The Artist I was asked to hand over the print to the young priest, which I happily did. And Caritta held the print on the space in the parish house (?) where it will hang as soon as it's framed. So you can see for yourself Mattias!






Done for the day.