what do you do

when you are really hungry and sitting at a cafe and someone hasn't finished their delicious treat and it is just next to you on the table and no one is sitting near you. let me tell you what you don't do. you don't eat it. even though you want to because someone WILL see and they will judge you.

the only time i have kind of done this is on an aeroplane where i was starving and had actually eaten the aeroplane meal and wanted more dessert and the person next to me was sooo obvsiously not going to eat hers and i just kept looking at it until she asked if i wanted it. and i said yes, but you can do whatever you want on an aeroplane cause you are a million miles in the air and probably drunk  or tranquilized if you have any common sense.

I'm in Greece.

On an island called Kalymnos. When I get back everyone will say oh how was Greece and then I will say oh it was great etc etc. You know what I WILL NOT say is, "oh it was great, wonderful food." That is a thing you are NEVER ALLOWED to say about a holiday because it just means you are quite boring. Like the highlight of your holiday was just eating food. Maybe it's not a real thing, but Joris and I have decided it is.

Also it's probably quite lame that I am writing a blog post while I am on this nice island.  I feel like that is the first thing I would think about a person who was on the internet when there is a beach about 1 minute away. It's the same as when you call someone who's having a party to find out the address or if they need ice (that NEVER happens. no one has ever called me during a party to find out if i need ice) and they answer IMMEDIATELY. that is not a party you want to go to.

 SO
GREECE

i've always wanted to go on holiday to a greek island.  i've always thought i would come back all bronzed and dreamy.  I'm more sort of dark white at the moment and I look a bit dirty. It was a pretty last minute decision to come to Greece  I'd thought I'd take my holiday in August, but Joris has had reeeaaalllyyy bad hay fever. Like not leaving the house because of the dangerous pollens hay fever. So he basically went ok I'm going away because this is unbearable and then I went ok me too and now we're in Kalymnos. It's way better not to plan holidays because I think you can get very confused about all the places you could go and where you could stay and it just becomes overwhelming. Joris is finishing off his thesis so I really, really have a lot of time to myself. We're in this tiny village called Massouri. There is a beach and a few little supermarkets which are really just corner stores and then a guy with a fruit truck and some restaurants and bars. My best is that there is a bar on the beach called super mario. My real best is that one of the restaurants has a sign outside that says "take away all the sandwiches." So I really spend my days doing nothing. Joris and I go for a morning swim and then he works and I read or lie in the sun or do "important" things on my computer. Then we have an evening swim and then we have dinner. It's great. It's a real holiday when you have nothing to do. Anyway.Here is a list of things I can tell you about Greece:

It's really hot
Dolmades are actually eaten warm
There are feral cats everywhere
NO ONE speaks english
I haven't even seen one pita bread
It has the nicest beaches for swimming. Nicer than any other beaches I've ever been to.
Roxette seems to still be quite popular.

There's way more stuff, but I want to go to the beach now so I'm going to stop writing. 

Here are some pictures:
 

making beans. "gigantes" beans.

outside out apartment

feral cat

View from our balcony

 

Beach

so it's been a while

which means i've probably lost all the 6 people who actually sometimes look at my blog, but i thought i should start writing again cause ya "creative outlet."

it's almost christmas which i'm VERY excited about because I LOVE christmas. i think i am one of the biggest fans  of christmas that i know. For someone who is so mad about christmas i have made VERY POOR CHOICES OF BOYFRIENDS because they have all treated christmas with a seriously raised eyebrow. So when I told Joris all the things that would have to happen in order for christmas to be the festive occasion I have grow accustomed to he went ya ok, but i seriously think he is lacking in enthusiasm. He thought Christmas was on the 24th of December. This is how Joris would be about Christmas if he were a cat:

You see the Withers christmas is a series of LONG ADHERED TO TRADITIONS. so firstly there have to be sweets in bowls everywhere leading up to christmas. The christmas cake has to be baked all together with everyone taking a turn to stir the mixture and make a wish. Obviously my mom has to bake a million mince pies and other "holiday biscuits" Then there's the decorating of the tree. Then there's Christmas eve where my dad reads the christmas story (no one else is allowed to read it, except for the one occasion i got the chance to because of withers related christmas eve drama) Obviously the soundtrack for all this is kings college christmas carols. One year john tried to put on Fabios christmas hits which was met with VERY LITTLE LAUGHTER FROM MY FATHER. Then my dad hangs a very special decoration on the tree.  Then we all say something nice about each other ( a tradition created out of necessity given all the christmas eve drama) then we all go to bed and await our christmas stockings and then in the morning it's down to the christmas tree for presents (i get to read the labels and the youngest child hands them out) Basically it's a long process that no one else could really get into unless they were a withers. So I thought ok obviously all this will be done in amsterdam cause ya keeping the withers christmas going. So far i have :
- no christmas cake
- no mince pies
- no christmas tree
- no stockings
- no presents for anyone who will be there for christmas day

I do have an advent calendar though and every morning I say with great enthusiasm Joris lets see what's in the advent calendar and he takes out some sort of sweet and goes oh great and then forgets to eat it. 

So I have no idea what Christmas day will bring. I feel like I could turn into a massive sulky brat if things aren't done properly, but really it doesn't matter. Maybe Joris and I will start our own traditions. Like eating steak for Christmas because we have no oven. And giving each other useful gifts like ice trays. And having a christmas tree with no decorations. In a way it's kind of exciting.

i am reading an article about the sex life of the deep sea squid

and here is a quote from the article which is find HILARIOUS


In a report published in the journal Biology Letters, the authors claim the behaviour "exemplifies the 'live fast and die young' life strategy of many cephalopods"

it's really great to imagine all these squids just you know being a bit like gangsters or something with weird hats and cigars all just swimming around going "yeah i don't care about nothin, live fast, die young. "

LOOK HERE IS A MOUSE THAT WAS TRAPPED IN A POT.

it's really, really gross. joris threw it in the river. i hope it's dead now.

i can ride my bike with no hands

this just happened so ya you heard it here first. hot off the press.

the next thing i want to learn to do is sort of lift the bike up while i ride. joris says i won't be able to. he's probably right.

joris killed a mouse with his foot. (in socks)

that's all. what more can i say about that really.