spring in Crete!!

seems spring isn't making its warm appearance here in the pacific northwest any time soon.  i have reports that the sun and flowers are abundant in Crete and that's where i'm going!!  count down is under way and i think i've finished all those errands, after a lovely lunch today with Linda at the Mad Greek Tavern where of course we had gyros (almost as authentic and good as what we get in Greece), but no retsina or ouzo.  i just can't drink that good stuff early in the day because it is so nap-inducing for me.  too much to do before nap time!

~(this was thursday)~

the roof outside my window

and then today (it's actually friday now) there was hail... a lot of it and it went on for 1/2 hour or so, with bright sunshine interspersed.  and it was really cold this morning... 36F when i left home at (believe it or not) 7 freaking a.m. and i got up at 6a.m. and it was DARK, baby, DARK.  so i guess i haven't been missing anything by sleeping til 9a.m. most days.  yes, retirement is marvelous!  the only reason i was out of bed at this horrific hour was an 8a.m. appointment in north portland with my pulmonologist, routine visit and the only time he had available before we leave.   i most likely would not have gone in if his office hadn't called me 3 times in the last 2 months to tell me it was time for a 6 month follow-up visit.  his office really stays on top of things... and this is Kaiser.  and i don't care what people say about HMOs and Kaiser, i think it's damn good medical care!

close-up of the hail

i'm definitely not looking forward to our flight on Wed.... according to our flight schedule, it will be 24 hours from when we leave portland til when we land in Hania, Crete... a long 24 hours spent on planes and in airports.  but so worth it when we get there!  i was really worried that all that time spent sitting on planes would really aggravate the sciatica, but that may not be a problem, as i ordered a TENS unit from a medical supply place and it came today.  it's the same kind of electrical impulse muscle stimulator that the chiropractor used on my back, which helped a lot.  i tried it out tonight and it helped!!!  i think it's a winner.  now if TSA doesn't over-react and want to confiscate it, i'll be fine.  i'll take all the paper work that came with it, plus the letter i got from my doc today which says that it's a medically necessary treatment that i should use in flight!  so, stay tuned... and if you have any comment or advice on this, please let me know.

here's Bloumosifi taverna where we'll be eating dinner a week from tonight!

and this is Yanni, our favorite waiter at the taverna.  we met him about 3 years ago when he had just come to Vamos from Syria.  my heart goes out to him for what's going on in his country, where his family is.  i'm really looking forward to seeing him.