July 24 Aah! The sun, the sea and a little opera!

We went to Rafina again this past weekend. We go not only because it is beautiful but because Sophia is a very close friend of Theodosia and wants her to come, especially if she will help Alexandre with his mathematics study. They visit Sophia in Rafina every summer but this year more often to help Alexandre, until the end of this month when Sophia's family goes to another summer house on an island.

So I got to swim on Saturday evening, and twice on Sunday, staying out of the hottest sun and applying sun screen often. As usual we had wonderful things to eat: Sophia is a good cook. It seemed like we were eating about every two hours. I was feeling much better this trip than two weeks ago. Sunday morning at breakfast on their patio, there was beautiful music from Nikos' transistor radio (which has a piece of broken fence railing for an antenna). I asked him who the singer was and he could not say except that it was Italian opera. I am not an opera fan but it was very nice to sit there and drink coffee and dunk my bread. (See! I am learning to be Greek!)

I practiced my Greek with Sophia's daughter, Vangelita, while she practiced her English. Theodosia, who can not resist being a teacher, corrected and encouraged both of us. I said next time we would bring some board games. One does not need much Greek to play board games. I have a book in English about the Kennedys, that we picked up at a flea market for a couple Euros, to read during the afternoon naptime. I do not bring my computer to Rafina.

Today they predict extreme temperature for Athens, 44° Celsius, which translates to about 120, I think. This morning there is a breeze and I have my doors open to the balcony, but soon I will be forced to close them and turn on the A/C. Theodosia worries for her cats and wants to be sure they are inside. The cats here look a little different than in Kentucky. They are longer bodied and have larger ears. One of her cats is pregnant and growing bigger every day. When she sprawls on the marble floor to get cool, she looks like a bowling pin lying on its side with four little legs attached. Theodosia has put cardboard boxes all over the house in hopes she will have her kittens inside instead of outside. She loves her cats, all of which are strays she has rescued.