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August in Review

September 7, 2012 in Camping News, Campsite Improvements, Den, Environmentally Friendly, Filo Sofi, Frugal Living, Fun Stuff, Making & Baking, Nature, Organic Gardening, Reduce Reuse Recycle, Team News, book review by fullmonte | 1 comment

Growing Green

A combination of poor supervision of volunteers, relentlessly hot weather and lack of time has meant that the garden has been systematically under-loved.  Despite that, this month we’ve been picking:

  • Rocket
  • Silverbeet
  • Aubergines – Stripey & Black Beauty
  • Peppers
  • Chillies
  • Onions
  • Courgettes
  • Marrow
  • Pumpkin
  • Tomatoes – regular, cherry, plum & green grape variety (the latter 2 popped up from seeds in the compost…)
  • Fresh herbs: chives (garlic & ordinary), parsley (curled & flat-leaved), tarragon, sage, rosemary, lemon thyme, thyme & basil

And we pulled a few carrots, including the Atomic Reds (RH side) …

They are still forked, despite sowing the seed in a bed that was deliberately NOT manured.  We think they are forking for moisture…  They weren’t watered deep enough, soon enough.  We are trying to correct the problem, watering well now and keeping the new garden shade structures over them to retain moisture and have decided to leave them longer to see whether they will grow bigger & fatter.

The tyre wall continues to provide colour & interest – even the Asters have finally got going now.  And as the photo belwo shows, it’s getting hard to see the tyres…

In the last few weeks the Tobacco plants have finally shot up with some diligent watering by Steve & I and lots of compost tea.  In the photo below they are poking their heads about the ‘fake’ tobacco plants, Nicotiana, all of which nature planted as I didn’t sow a single seed…

Baking & Making

I’ve really enjoyed living off the garden this month and cooking with whatever we have a glut of…  Pumpkin harvest led to Pumpkin & Sage Risotto (of sorts); since we probably picked 100+ chillies these past weeks, I’ve been pretty much spicing everything up a notch and tomatoes have been roasted, sauced and eaten raw & lightly seasoned by the bowlful.

Cat, Kate & Yvette fininshed making another notice board from corks and it’s hung up in the basement adorned with useful info for our guests.

Feelings & Musings

To be honest, at times this month its felt as if we’re coming undone – the threads of the rich (but fragile) tapestry have started to unravel…

We were feeling a little frayed at the edges at the beginning of the month, just before volunteers left.  Sharing space with folk every day for weeks & weeks gets wearing, no matter who they are.  It’s great to have helping hands but the hands come with mouths to be feed & characters to be accommodated  – some are more voracious & demanding than others…   It’s also a stress keeping people busy.  So, in some ways it was a relief to be back on our own again at the beginning of August and be focused on keeping the campsite clean & tidy and our guests well provided for.  Although at times, as the month unfolded & proved to be noticeably busier than last year, we did feel a little overloaded.  Once again the Dutch came in their numbers, some with kids in tow, and the Germans kept coming too.

Our waste water disposal system started to fail.  A couple of the filtration baths started to back up and plants had to be dug up to free the roots choking the pipes.  The area around the baths started to stink.  Surreptitious attempts to cure the problem failed.  We tried to mask the smell with fragrant incense (‘for the mosquitos, don’t you know’) and soldiered on.

We had a few episodes of illness during the month which was most unsettling.  We agreed to welcome these boys, Louis & Will, and let them stay for free in return for “bringing music & joy” as they so boldly claim!  Instead they turned up weak from tummy bugs, having had stuff stolen in Budva and used the camp as a place to rest & recuperate before they set off on their bicycle tour again. Oh well, here’s hoping we get a good write up on their blog eventually!

Then one of our guests – our celebrity guest -  fell ill.  Well, I say celebrity guest – he was named Tom and he was a baker, so we called him Tom Baker… anyway, he succumbed to the Boka bug that seems to be bothersome in August.  He came to us looking like he needed a holiday & being already run down made him more vulnerable.  He suffered from vomiting & diahorrea and his temperature rose dangerously.  We installed him in the basement, in the cool & near to the facilities and took his distressed wife to get thermomenters and medicine.  For 3 days we let him sleep, kept him rehydrated and tried to calm & reassure Franske.  He got through it and recovered slowly but it did feel like Camp Red Cross for a while there, especially when 2 German girls turned up and Ana was ill too.  I mixed up some potions to unblock her sinuses and banish the flu germs and got them on their way again.

Living in a field became tiresome as critters of all kinds made a nuisance of themselves.  The edible doormice popped up all over the place – the sounds of them scampering about in the gutters, gnawing the roof timbers and squeaking drove us slightly mad.  Occasionally they would stare down at us from various vantage points, taunting us brazenly.  Creatures (and not necessarily the same ones) were taking chunks out of the tomatoes, picking off the best figs as they ripened and re-designing the edges of the material we used to cover the sofa…

Bettina & Birgit, a couple of lovely German ladies & their dog Krummel, were living in a trailer tent adjacent to our caravan for a while and a mouse or 2 decided to join them there, getting into dog food and other goodies.  The mini drama did encourage them to completely clear out their camp & establish a new one in a tent instead so that there was finally room for the trailer tent of Jonathon & family, on their way to us for the second year running from Croatia.   And after that we ensured that all food stuffs were stored in the basement.

When bags of food stored in the basement were nibbled through too and my pumpkin was found, violated, it was clear we had a problem there too.  Anything edible was put into cool boxes and other sealed containers and we hoped that depriving the beast of food would send it scurrying away.  Piles of chewed plastic indicated that plan didn’t work.  Nothing for it but to take EVERYTHING out of the inner basement and uncover it’s hiding place.

It’s not often Steve is disappointed in me as a partner in crime.  I muck in pretty well with most jobs and am pretty tough but I totally blew it during the ‘Incident with Ratty’.  Spider, scorpions, snakes – I can take them all in my stride, but a rodent running towards me in a confined space… Nah!  I totally lose it.  Scream.  Run out the door and shut it behind me, just as the bugger was making its bid for freedom.  To be fair Steve had told me we needed to catch the culprit rather than let it go so my thoughts were: “Don’t let it out, don’t let it out”.  But it did mean that we then had to start emptying the outer basement too until we finally chased it out of the door.

Then there was this drama to contend with and we really did start to lose the plot.  The 12v lighting stopped working, doubt was caste on the safety of our electrics and even the generator packed up!  The worms in the worm compost got drowned through watering too often and draining off too infrequently; half the tomatoes started to die having been unwittingly butchered by Cat who couldn’t tell an inter-nodal shoot from a main stem and most of my squashes withered on the stem.  At this point all thoughts of eating healthily and looking after this temple of a body went to ‘hell in a handbag’ as my mate would say…  Since most guests were self-sufficient and demand for the Dish of the Day waned, I stopped cooking and defaulted to junk food, washed down with G&Ts to calm the nerves.  Half a stone heavier, bloated & lethargic, I’m paying the price for it now.  Laying in bed last night  (a proper-sized bed in a real house with no fetid-footed hubby sweating beside me… a PROPER night off!) groaning at the pain in my gut, I had an epiphany about my re-addiction to sugar.  Time to dust off the Detox Plan and reign myself in…

If you’re feeling dismayed about our drama-filled August, don’t be…  We’re not.  Much.

We’re pretty good at mending & making do these days so we’ve been picking up the loose threads and patching our life back together.  We have syphoned out the grease trap completely and all odours have gone.  The rodent situation is under control – glue traps were employed, former hang outs (under the sofa, unsurprisingly) cleared out and there is an increase of owls in the vicinity.  We remain optimistic about the situation with Inspectors and even feel relieved – we knew we’d get busted someday so now we can stop waiting for the worst to happen and deal with the reality.  The 12v lighting was easily fixed, the generator has oil in it now so is working again and we’ve even revived the worm compost.  I’ve pulled up most of the tomatoes so we have less to water these days and am looking forward sowing fresh crops of herbs and veg.

Reading

I finally finished “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles”!  Weirdly, trying to recall the sense of it some weeks later and the traces of it are already weak…  I liked the main character, Toru, a great deal.  He was refreshingly easy to get to know and enjoyable company but somehow this made the weird things happening to him/ around him seem too incongruous at times.  I liked the detail about the little routines in his life and the ordinary moments guys like Toru must experience all the time and its a welcome change to see these being paid attention to, cherished even.

Haruki Murakami’s writing style is very accessible – his words (& Jay Rubin’s skill in translating his words) are, mostly, perfectly formed.  There is an easy grace about the prose and this book has pages & pages that flow with a gently captivating rhythm.  But.  Then there are sharp corners that cut me and left me confused and a little vexed as the ’story’ jutted off at an odd angle.  The inter-weaving with ‘other worldly stuff’ didn’t always work well for me – ghosts & spirits and mend-melding could get a little wearing…

“I’ll skin you alive!” is not a phrase I can use lightly after reading this book.  I spare you details and don’t wish to spoil the stories within a story for others, but there are some descriptive passages in this novel that have left an imprint – simply written stuff it may be, but it is powerfully evocative at times.

“Hunting & Gathering” by Anna Gavalda was a breath of fresh air that I breezed through after release from The Chronicles.

I enjoyed the characters immensely – especially Philibert and Mamadou.  Paulette’s portrayal wrung my heart; Franck was infuriating but smolderingly gorgeous and Camille’s waif-like persona became more substantial as she found the strength and inspiration to feed herself in all good senses of the word.

The tale was well-paced and rewarding.  It’s been a long time since I read a good old love story and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Well-crafted Ms Gavalda!

And now I’m half way through Isabelle Allende’s ‘City of the Beasts’…

Work

Work projects took a bit of a back seat for most of the month as our focus was on keeping the campsite ticking along and trying not to lose the plot!

Nik made a welcome return to the camp for some stone walling, which was very much appreciated:

And towards the end of the month, fresh volunteer blood arrived in the form of Andy, an easy-going English dude helpful, strong and hardworking.    Once he’d got into a routine with pumping water every morning, helping watering the garden & taking Daisy for a walk, the first major project was emptying the grease trap and flushing our system clean.

Our next volunteer, Yvette from Holland turned up a few days after Andy.  She turned out to be a competent seamstress and was up for the task of patching together material from old sail bags and tents and making a cover for the small gazebo frame:

Meanwhile Andy got involved with re-building stone walls and Steve finally found someone else, other than Nik, patient enough to work with him on this:

Play

Cat turned 20 on 1st August and it was the perfect excuse to throw a party.  We already had quite a few folk on site and everyone decided to join us for the BBQ, plus more people turned up during the day and we invited some of the friends that Cat & Todd had made locally so there was 25 of us crammed round tables stuffing our faces & toasting Cat’s transition from teen to Twenties Queen!

The food, if we do say so ourselves, was extraordinarily good…

There was a mountain of washing up afterwards though but  Kate, Yvette and Todd managed it all with smiles on their faces:

Daisy had a couple of playmates in August.  First came Krummel, originally from Bosnia, but adopted by Bettina & Birgit in Germany.  She was an abused hound and was very nervous around people but she soon mellowed out and Daisy adored her.  And adored the treats and attention from Birgit & Bettina…

Then came Ganga, Ana’s hound – another German adopting a Balkan dog, this one from Croatia.  Now Daisy was the bigger hound and got to be Top Dog for a bit!

Nature Watch

It’s been hot & dry this month, although it did sputter with rain halfway through the month for a wee bit (Nigel, who visited us in May and returned again in August is now our Rain God because his visits have brought the only periods of precipitation in the summer!).

With all the drama and hard work I lost enthusiasm for taking photos of all the amazing things around us but here’s a few nice shots (taken, for a change, by Steve) of what’s been buzzing about us…

The bird life has been fantastic this month – the skies have been alive with the flitting & swooping of Spotted Fly Catchers, Swifts & Swallows and various Warblers and Bee Eaters have been frequent visitors too.  Not to mention the owls (calling very close but still Steve has been unable to spot them with his super long range torch!) and the various birds of prey…

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Reasons to live in Monte #3

April 15, 2012 in Den, Filo Sofi by fullmonte | 1 comment

An Obituary printed in the London Times…..
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense ,who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

- Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
- Why the early bird gets the worm;
- Life isn’t always fair;
- And maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn’t defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death,
-by his parents, Truth and Trust,
-by his wife, Discretion,
-by his daughter, Responsibility,
-and by his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 5 stepbrothers;
- I Know My Rights
- I Want It Now
- Someone Else Is To Blame
- I’m A Victim
- Pay me for Doing Nothing

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

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Reflections & projections…

January 24, 2012 in Campsite Improvements, Den, Filo Sofi by fullmonte | No comments

It’s that time again, when the old year rolls into a new one and amidst all the drunkeness & hype, there’s time to pause & take stock.

Looking back on the year that was, I find myself smiling a lot.  We came a long way in 2011 and made some happy memories.  The arrival of a small puppy rocked our world a little but now, a year old, Miss Marmite is fully part of the gang.

We achieved so much with the helping hands of willing volunteers and friends and transformed the campsite with gravelled paths, bright white paint, shaded gazebos and grounds filled with colour & scent.  Children came & conquered.  Friendships were formed & forged.  Lives were changed a little and sometimes a lot.  Our fledging business got a little more grown up and so did we.

Late last year, we finally got around to poring over the records we’d kept last season and doing the sums.  We had 120 paying visitors on the campsite, an increase of 100% on 2010.  Our guests came from 24 countries and the naturist/ clothed split was roughly 50/50.  We made some money – more than 2010 but not enough to comfortably live on for a whole year.

With no interference from cows & goats, the garden flourished, despite the frazzling heat.  And the scores on the doors were:

  • 61 kilos of tomatoes
  • 26 kilos of onions
  • 12 kilos of courgettes
  • 10 kilos of carrots
  • 5 kilos each of pumpkin, marrow & beans & salad greens
  • 50 chillies
  • 5 melons

So, what lies ahead for 2012?

Well, February brings a few days work for me in the UK.  We had vowed not to spend a penny on campsite improvements this coming year, because there wasn’t any to spare, but the income from my consultancy job will enable us to do a few small things.

The priority is to improve the kitchen.  We very much hope to be cooking for larger numbers this year and I will need extra work surfaces and an additional large gas burner to make life easier.  Our improvements will put the shared space out of action as a seating area, so we’re planning to revamp and tart up the basement to have a dry, comfortable area to dash under cover if rains stops play.

We’re going to cover a couple of the raised beds with shade netting this year to improve the chances of success on the veg front.  And we’ll plant the fence beside the workshop to start to grow a natural screen.  And then all our focus will be on rebuilding or topping off stone walls – we need to secure and tidy up our terraces and create new levels so we can start to even up the ground (having one’s chair at a jaunty angle gets a little wearing!).

We’re hoping to have a new home on site this summer, our caravan, which will give us a comfy space to retreat to and release more room for tents.

In the immediate future, we’ll be focusing on training Daisy.  We want guests to love her, not to be scared or annoyed by her.  We’ve got a big task ahead to empty all 5 baths in our greywater system and reconstruct with layers of gravel, decent quality soil and plants and relay the irrigation pipes in the raised beds.  And, as our visitors repeatedly told us last year, we need to make signs, directing people to the campsite once they come off the main road.

People around me are resolving to do things and mostly it’s about stopping doing things.  They’re going to: stop eating chocolate, stop smoking, stop getting blind drunk, whatever.   I’m not one to make resolutions.  And honestly there’s not much I want to resolve to change.  I’ve already given up cigarettes and caffeine.  I eat natural, healthy foods in a healthy way.  I’m no Jennifer Aniston but I’m comfortable in my own skin (well, truthfully I’m not comfortable with the wrinkles but they are beyond a new year’s resolution).

I’m incredibly lucky and I don’t want to push it, however my dream is for more for 2012.  More guests, tents, nationalities, volunteers, kids and dogs; more veg, fruit, flowers, herbs, shrubs & trees; more eco projects attempted; more meals cooked; more beers drunk; more campfires lit; more music; more singing & dancing; more laughs, more games, more hugs.

I dare not predict this.  It’s not a projection.  It’s not a resolution. It’s just a hope.

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December in Review

January 10, 2012 in Den, Environmentally Friendly, Filo Sofi, Frugal Living, Fun Stuff, Making & Baking, Reduce Reuse Recycle, Team News by fullmonte | 1 comment

What’s fresh?

From the store:

  • Kale
  • White cabbage
  • Rastan
  • Blitva

From the garden:

  • Green leaves (rocket, nasturtium leaves, parsley, dill, mint & young leaves of pak choi & silverbeet) – just enough for salad.
  • Strawberries
  • Small handfuls of purple sprouting broccoli

Sowing & Planting

There’s no activity in the garden right now.  We haven’t got the all-year round gardening thang sorted yet.  We will have to dig up the raised beds very soon to uncover, clean & reposition the irrigation pipes so the few remaining plants (brassicas & leeks) will have to be pulled soon.  We can probably plant veg that enjoys the wintry days in the new beds created by our beloved Spanish wwoofers in the summer, in the bo-flo-grove, but the issue with that whole area is irrigation.  It’s a time-consuming mission watering up there & until we get this sorted we won’t invest much green love.

But I do have a plant success story of sorts.  I have been trying to grow passion flowers for our friend Michelle for about 2 years now!  My cuttings keep getting frazzled, eaten or drowned.  Against all advice, I took more cuttings in early Autumn and this month I finally have 2 strong & vigorous passion flower plantlets, just in time to be Christmas gifts.

Baking & Making

With all the preserves cooked & jarred, this month’s work was putting together small Christmas hampers for friends.  Labels were made from old Christmas cards and jars were adorned with recycled wrapping paper.

Reading

The cover of the Flamingo proof of Anthony Doerr’s ‘The Shell Collector’ that I’ve been reading boasts the quote: ‘A show-stopping debut, as close to faultless as any writer could wish for’.  I find it hard to argue with that.

The short story from which this slim, yet weighty collection gets its name is a beautifully crafted tale.  Simply told but with complex layers: the shell collector’s blindness in which he sees more than anyone; those that are sighted cannot see; things (shells, life?) are uncovered & then hidden; found & lost again.  Something about the style is achingly sad.  It left me in awe of the dangers lurking in the sand and the sea and of Doerr’s knowledge.  What came first, I wonder, his passion for shells… or was it the idea that begat the insight?

‘The Hunter’s Wife’ is a powerful tale.  Eerie, strange and dark. I felt chilled and mournful the whole way through it.  ‘So Many Chances’ has a different feel, with it’s focus on young adults and somehow therefore, hope.  And the ending is triumphant, if not exactly happy.  ‘For a Long Time This Was Griselda’s Story’ is brilliant.  Deeply unsatisfying & unsettling – but brilliantly so.  The juxtaposition of the extraordinary & the ordinary is uncomfortably compelling.  I was astonished to find I sympathised with both Griselda and Rosemary and thought they were both so right & wrong at the same time.  ‘July Fourth’ is a breath of light-heartedness, poking fun at Americans.

‘The Caretaker’ is a dark, blood-stained tale that ranges from the horrors of Liberia to America & back.  There’s so much death & suffering & the disturbing images follow me around.  The innocence of youth lights up the end of the story and some simple lines about Joseph & Belle eating a melon together really get to me.

‘A Tangle by the River Rapid’ is a mere splash of a tale but still manages to surprise.  And ‘Mkondo’ ends the collection in a rush of aliveness.  The images he conjures of Ward wooing Naima are enchanting – running for his love!

You think about all this and then you remember that this is the first collection for this young writer.  Jeeps, I can’t barely wait to read him as he grows.  This is astonishing work Anthony Doerr!  Bravo.

“The Memory Keeper’s Daughter” is a tidily put together tale by Kim Edwards.

It was an easy & enjoyable read  but the ‘absolutely mesmerizing premise’ that the cover boasts about is strangely dissastifying.  For me, some of the key events are just not quite believeable.  I can’t put my finger on what’s wrong exactly but something doesn’t add up.  The author wants us to believe that a doctor could act so shockingly and that a nurse would be so brave & so reckless, before we’ve really come to know these characters and can see such potential and people in the book change greatly as it develops that it feels surreal.  Despite this, there are some well written passages in the book: Norah dealing with the loss of her daughter; Paul as a troubled teenager; the stories that David’s photos told.

Jeanette Winterson’s “Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit” is a completely different basket of fruit.  It’s describes as “a few days ride into the bizarre outposts of religious excess and human obsession” and a love story too, which captures the themes brilliantly.  It is funny and sad and something about Ms Winterson’s style (no nonsense & delivered straight, in a world of nonsense & crookedness) is deeply affecting.  The few lines that she writes about the key character’s real mum turning up made me want to howl with pain.  This book was written over 30 years ago and I can only imagine what a stir it created way back then – lesbians and blasphemers!  Whatever next!  Fantastic, raptuous read – apart from the odd side tale that interweaves occasionally and which I sometimes struggled to ‘grok’.

What’s the vibe?

Warm. All the hard work earlier this year (insulating the entire house & roof and installing a wood-fired chimney) has paid off.  Topla 3 is finally living up to it’s name: it’s warm & stays warm.  This is in no small part due to the immense amount of sun we’ve had for December.  The glass has been heating up the whole house beautifully as temperatures inside the house rise to 24 degrees C at times…

But chilled too. December had a nice relaxed pace to it and we successfully juggled being sociable with hibernating as a family.  We hung out with a lot of good people and had some extraordinarily good times.  Sometimes it feels like we’re dashing about trying to fit everyone in, but this month’s interactions were pretty laid back, as people and scenes flowed in & around our cosy world.  We floated about in a haze of woolly jumpers and thick socks, being snuggly.  And as the month wore on the winter bingeing ramped up with goodies & treats galore.  We ate, drank & smoked too much but revelled in the freedom we had from reality in the name of the festive season.

And very loved. Events this month have reminded us of how lucky we are.  The Christmas cards, the presents, the generosity of friends new & old, the cuddles, the kind words, the chink of a champagne glass as we toast to happiness – these are a few of the many ways we know we are cherished.  It’s heartwarming & humbling.

It has to be said that for most of December we’ve been in denial of the ‘real’ world, happy to pull the wool over our own eyes and bury our heads in Christmas pud.  It’s been a proper holiday in that sense – no responsibilities other than keeping us all warm, fed & watered.  It’s the time of year when we traditionally stress about making it through the next few months until the pennies start to flow again but we put all that worrying on hold for a bit so as not to sour the dregs of 2011.  Hopes have been raised & dashed about getting well-paid work in the UK so I’m saying no more about it until the fat lady’s stopped singing but in the meantime, cash has been trickling in from Father Christmas and other unlikely sources.  And the arrival of a very promising enquiry in our inbox just after Christmas for a 10-day tent hire helped us hope that all will be well.

Listening to

‘Blowback’ by Tricky – a chocolately vibe.  ‘Odessy’ by Fischerspooner – very lightly trancey. ‘Global Culture’ by Aphid Moon – feet-tapping stuff that made me crave for rave.

Marie & Jan, an inspirational German couple we met this month, gave us a homemade CD of Quadro Neuvo’s “Tango Bitter Sweet” – it’s heady stuff, very mesmerising…

Fun Stuff

It’s been a bumper month for fun times with fun folk.  Early in December, girlies congregated for a pottery afternoon in Dobrota, where we played with clay under the chatter and laughs.  And afterwards, four of us (in the “No Kids, Only Dogs” Club) enjoyed a night of bubbles & giggles.

Mel & Blanty visited for some home-cooked veggie food and an evening full of music & story-telling as we got to know these new friends better.

Carrie’s popped over for some pre-Christmas busy-ness on her amazing project.  Her house is looking awesome and we got loads of stuff done and managed to squeeze in a great evening at Fi & Dave’s where Matt joined us for an epic Tac-Tic session.  The booze and munchies flowed and much merriment was made.

Matt was home alone in Monte due to Amy & the girls being in the UK preparing for the birth of their 3rd child, so we enjoyed some drunken Bridge sessions and a wicked Thai Curry.

Danny’s party has become a December tradition and this year I was one of the last to bed and the drunkest… AGAIN.  Hover over the photos for more…

A week later after recovering from hangovers, packing Matt & Nik off to the UK, winterising the campsite (water & solar PV turned off), getting a turkey from the local butcher sorted at the last minute, picking up Christmas parcels from the post office and packing up ours & Daisy’s stuff and all the Xmas extras, we moved into 123 Dobrota on the outskirts of Kotor to keep Maxi company.  Daisy was delighted to have a new pal and, bar the odd snap at her silliness, Max was very obliging.

We & the turkey joined Jen, Nathan, Katie & Tim at Michelle & David’s house in Muo on Christmas Eve to prepare for the following day’s feast.  The only bird we could get at short notice was 11 kilos (plenty for the mere 6 meat eaters amongst us!) and Nathan went to work on it, stuffing and seasoning, whilst veg were peeled and chopped.  We sensibly left early to avoid an impromptu session and banging hangovers on the big day and Steve & I rushed back to our Christmas jigsaw:

Christmas Day dawned damply so the planned dog walk (an attempt to get all 5 of our canine companions to get along and run off some steam so we could get drunk with impunity) was cancelled.  That left several hours to wake up gently, make Skype calls to loved ones, do the 11 o’clock toast (with Vintage Port – what else!) and open the few pressies and cards that had made it to Monte.  We headed over to Muo for 2pm and got on the bubbly.  Here’s  Jen, me & Katie with our unspeakably generous and gorgeous hostess in her outrageous Christmas costume before the food & drink orgy:

We sat down to dinner at about 4pm and OMG, was it worth waiting for!  The turkey was cooked to perfection and was absolutely bursting with flavour.  Here’s a picture to get you salivating:

After dinner it was time for Secret Santa and pressie swaps. We were spoilt rotten by good friends.   Even the dogs were spoilt with treats from Mother & Father Christmas (Michelle & David), especially Mollie who got a brand new outfit for Xmas!

And the evening gently disintergrated from there…  There were many highlights in this amazing day:

Not least Nathan agreeing to wear the other Santa costume Michelle had bought:

And boys vs girls heated game of Articulate!:

A really rousing rendition of Twelve Days of Christmas, much to the bemusement of Tati, who had joined us when we were all too drunk & hyper to make much sense.  No-one took pictures because we were all too focused on getting the words and the actions right.

And some seriously competitive Table Football games:

There are so many stories untold in photos never shot, whilst we busied ourselves with bubbles & chocolate: of wigs & dogs, dancing & singing, hugs & nonsense.  It was a lovely, lovely day right up until it ended sometime in the wee hours of Boxing Day.

As well as bags of presents, leftover turkey and chocolate, I left Muo with a snotty cold.  It was a good excuse (as if I needed one) to snuggle up warm in Dobrota and do as little as possible.  We watched films, stuffed ourselves with Xmas treats like Stollen and Mince Pies (thank goodness for the “feed a cold” adage) and finished the jigsaw, with one piece missing (we’re still not sure if Daisy ate it!):

Tim Time

Can’t think of a single story to share with you & as I’m keen to get this posted (already 10 days into 2012!), I’m moving on…

One Green Thing

Recycling paper bags that the local supermarkets put our dried nuts & fruit in, as chip degreasers.  Put chips in bag, sprinkle with salt, shake.  Sorted.

Weather Report

Overall December has been warm & dry.  But there have been a fair few days of crazy weather and as the month has worn on, the days have become chillier, the nights positively Bbbbrrrr and the chance of wind & rain increasingly high.  There were a couple of mentally windy days & nights with gusts of up to 70 mph, which blew the big metal gate to our parking area at Topla way back (and this is a gate that takes 2 hands to manoeuvre and slides back on runners) and blew the windows open in the house.  It’s days like that we think “Thank God we don’t live on a boat” & rush off to check in with the Monty B crew.

But, I have no doubt that our December was sunnier and full of more stunning days than the ones we left behind in the UK and we still get a kick out of that and remember how lucky we are.

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