Addition to the addition to my last post :-)

I have been told by someone that they could not find me on Facebook. I have just put the name 'Sandra Booth' in the Facebook search box & I came up as the top one in the 'people section' Just in case anyone is not sure which one I am I am posting a few of my Facebook profile photo here so you will know which is the correct person.
I have also been alerted that my Facebook settings may have been preventing people finding me so I have tweeked my settings so I should now show up on a Facebook search.

Addition to previous post

I have been asked by one of my readers how they can find me on Facebook. I am listed just as Sandra Booth, I must be the only one living on Zakynthos - :-)
Remember to add a short message to any friend request to let me know you were a blog reader.

A Long Awaited Post

Apologies to my blog readers that I have not been updating this blog. Since joining Facebook, that is now the main site I use for keeping in touch & also for posting photos etc. If any of my former blog readers use Facebook & would like to add me as a friend then please feel free to do so. It would be useful for you to include a personal message on any friend request, mentioning that you were a blog reader if I may not recognise your name as I tend to ignore requests from anyone I don't recognise.
Just to quickly update you - I worked for the Summer season at a pool bar & met many lovely people & made new friends. I move into our new house in June 2009, with my partner, Anesti. We celebrated being together for 2 years on Dec 7th 2009.
Life is still good here & I have just had a couple of interviews for job for the 2010 season. I was offered my 2009 job back again for this year but for personal reasons did not want to accept it. I applied for hotel reception jobs this year & as I have found in previous years they are very hard to obtain without a good knowledge of the Greek language. I am learning Greek, it is difficult but I am making progress with basic Greek. At the interviews the subject of my Greek language ability (or lack of it) was discussed & I worked hard to persuade them that I would be able to set up systems that would work for me in order to communicate. Just this morning (24th Feb 2010) I have received calls from both the hotels that interviewed me, both offering me the job so I feel very pleased with myself. I have accepted the job as one of the daytime receptionists at the Katerina Palace which is in Argassi. I will be starting on the 15th May through until the end of September (may run into October depending on how busy the hotel is)
So this could be the last post for a long time on this blog so I am going to say now - THANK YOU TO ALL THE LOVELY PEOPLE WHO HAVE FOLLOWED THIS BLOG & FOR THE SUPPORTIVE COMMENTS I HAVE RECEIVED FROM SOME READERS - YOU MADE THE EFFORT WORTHWHILE. I also hope that I have shown a few of you that if you have a dream, reach out & grab it & make it happen. No-one is more surprised than I am that I am where I am now - I could have found 101 reasons not to go for it but fortunately I did go for it & have no regrets.
Take care all xxxx

Dedicated To Daniel

IN MEMORY OF DANIEL

A dear, sweet, little boy who died suddenly on 20th April 2009.
I am posting again below, the photograph of Daniel & his mum, my friend, Joanne, that was originally posted on my blog on 1st June 2007. It was taken during one of their many family visits to Zakynthos.
I feel privileged to have known Daniel for part of his short life & will always hold my own personal memories of him. I would like to ask anyone reading this blog to remember Daniel's mum & dad, Joanne & Steve, in their prayers as they try to come to terms with the loss of their much loved son.

GOODNIGHT DANIEL & GOD BLESS

More progress on the house build

With the arrival of warmer weather there is now work being carried out on the new house most days. I met with the builder at the house yesterday to decide a few details such as where I want the gate, water tank, boiler house etc to be positioned outside. It's estimated that I should be able to move in around 10th May. As I will be working by then I have asked if it might be possible to start moving a few things in a little before that & my builder is happy for me to do that once the inside is fully completed. So here are the latest pictures:

Below - Coming down my new stairs, which will soon be stained & varnished, is Stavros who has been doing some final plastering work, painting & varnishing. He's got used to us just dropping in for a nosey around. He's a lovely guy & is always ready for a chat.

Below - The kitchen units are mostly all in now.

Below - The units I chose in bedroom 1

Below - The units I chose in bedroom 2

Below - Making sure the dishwasher (Anestis) will fit :-) ha ha

I'm getting really quite excited now that I am seeing everything finally coming together & I'm really looking forward to having visitors to 'my home' this Summer.

Job for Summer 2009

In my last post I said I would let you know where I would be working for the Summer 2009 season. I'm pleased to tell you that I have now secured a job working at the Exotica Hotel in Kalamaki. You will find me at the poolside snack bar taking orders & serving food & drinks, keeping tables clear & doing my best to keep all guests & visitors happy. My hours will be 10am until 6pm each day.
I know that many of my blog readers stay in the resort of Kalamaki when they visit Zakynthos so I'm definitely hoping to get to meet some new faces as well as catch up with old friends too.
It will be great if some of you manage to seek me out at the Exotica to introduce yourselves, say hello (or Γειας σου) & have a chat over a drink. You'll be most welcome to drop in & spend some of your holiday time around the Exotica poolside, I'd love to see you there.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE Summer will soon be here.

Spring Update

It's been a little while since I last posted an update so I will bring things up to date. After a wet Winter the weather is now starting to get a little warmer & dryer although it's still quite cold once the sun has gone down. The earlier wet weather had held up work being done on the house build but the last couple of weeks have seen some progress. The tiling is now done & most of the the window frames/shutters have been put in. Here are the latest pictures:

Below - Tiling almost complete - (still to be installed - shower over the bath, toilet & washbasin) the tiles are actually covered in building dust on this picture so the colour isn't clear

Below - 2 views of the living area


Below - Front door & kitchen area (kitchen is much much smaller than I'm used to so I will have to be ultra organised)

The inside painting is due to be started next week & the kitchen & bedroom units should be arriving to be fitted. The house exterior can't be painted at the same time as the inside as any remaining moisture would be trapped inside causing problems later. My builder has said that it will be possible to move in before the outside is painted & that this could then be done around June/July time. Although progress is moving faster now, I am not relying on moving in before the season starts - if that does become possible then it will be a bonus.
I've started looking & asking around about work for the Summer season. Last year I worked in Vasilikos but would like to secure something a bit nearer to home this year so we will see what comes up.
It will soon be Easter (ΠΑΣΚΑ) again (in Greece Easter Sunday will fall on 19th April this year which will differ from the UK) It really doesn't seem a year since the smell of lamb roasting on spits filled the air all over the island. Then before long the season will start & I will hopefully get to meet some of my blog readers once again. Happy holidays everyone & I keep my fingers crossed for good news for the euro.

Let Me Introduce You To Jack

Who is Jack? Let me introduce you:

Jack (or full name Jack Daniels LOL) is our new family addition. Many of you who are familiar with Zakynthos will know that the island has a population of stray dogs that have to survive by living on their wits & with the help of the local Zakynthos Animal Welfare volunteers.
I had decided a long time ago that I would like to have my own dog here & when the time was right it would be one of the strays that I would give a home. We look after one of Sia's (the landlady) dogs during the Winter when she is in Switzerland. Towards the end of 2008 Anesti & me took her dog, Chocolate, down to the beach for a good walk & while there we were joined by a group of about 5 strays. One of the strays stayed close to us for much of our walk & was playing with Chocolate. I immediately felt there was something special about this little black dog & something told me I thought he was the one for me. When we returned home after our walk I made up my mind that the next time we were on the beach we would try to 'rescue' him & bring him home. About a week later we were on the beach again & looked for our little friend but he was nowhere to be seen. In fact we didn't see any stary dogs that day & we heard rumours that poison had been put down by some unscupulous people to get rid of the strays. I felt gutted & really wished that I had taken him home the week before, I thought it was the last we had seen of him. A week further on & we were back on the beach & to my great relief he was there. We managed to get him into the car using Chocolate's collar & lead & successfully got him home.
That was on the 16th November 2008 & now he is settled here with us & is a big part of our lives, we just wouldn't be without him now. He is so good & is such a character & as you can see from the photo above, he has made himself at home. We definitely made the right decision in choosing him.