Bubble and Squeak

Bubble and Squeak
Originally uploaded by lindabaddeley1.

How we miss Democracy Street. I wonder how those young cats are. They were being fed by us and at least two other neighbours and seemed to belong to about three, possibly four households. I wonder where the marble came from for the floor. it seems almost a composite. The white marble is Kavalla from Euboea and it looks like low cloud, but the other ... ? It matches the cats and must have been made in some ancient volcanic cauldron - cooled, heated up, cooled, tasted, then brought to the boil and simmered a million years before being laid out in a Balkan baking tray, buried in earth for 30 million years, then raised from the depths by tectonic movement where it surfaced amid one of the mountain folds of Greece and took the name of the region where the quarrymen decided it'd serve for our floor. In the meantime I'm calling it Bubble and Squeak Φυσαλίδα και τρίξιμο
So what has this to do with Greece? Greece is called Hellas [Ελλας] - from two antique words - "hel" the root of the Greek for 'shining' (hel-ios = sun) while 'las' is the ancient word for 'stone'. I checked this with a man.

E-mail from Corfu

Dear Lin, The front part of the roof has now been pointed up with cement, to give a neat finish. The wall inside and the plasterboard wall have been taken down, and the arch started. ... We should start on the floor and stairwell next week. That will all be belt sanded down and left until we can find something to put on it instead of varnish, ... consensus is that varnish will scratch. I have a builder friend over from UK says there's something called Russic oil, which you put on by cloth very thinly then leave for five days before applying the next coat. This seals and protects the wood from stains and scratches. Outside, the garden area is 90% completed. The orange tree has started to produce lots of leaves, but no branches. We can wait and see what happens. We should also start and finish the steps next week. I think Squeak is pregnant, so am keeping it out of the house. If it is a boy, then it is just getting fat from too many biscuits and sandwiches. Will keep you updated, Best regards G, M & B