Adapt, adapt, I can adapt.

I re-did the budget to take account of paying 500euro every month to our agent in Greece.
I re-did it again to ensure we have the cash by August to properly start work on the old house, although I might not have told you the whole story there.

I did it again to account for Ahdel changing his job (less money but also less back problems)and not paying housekeeping for a couple of months.

Again for getting Ahdel's car on the road because getting work will be easier for him once he can travel.

Now, just one more change. Fahed's niece, the one whose father died earlier this year, phoned to ask Fahed to give her away at her wedding in July. She said that as he dad can;t do it then she wants her beloved favourite uncle to do it. Not the sort of request that you can turn down. So now I have to allow for extra cash & airfare to Amman in Jordan.

I can do it through the power of spreadsheets! Really have to make more effort with eBay, that's for sure.

Back to the old house. What started Fahed thinking about making the house liveable was this: last year we employed a guy called Ali who we found in the official 'waiting for daily work' area in Timbaki. We needed help by someone young and fit. Ali was amazing. He had no experience but he learned really quickly from everything that Fahed showed him. Ali has a wife and daughter at home in Pakistan, he came to Crete to work for two years to earn some cash and get his family a good start in life. I can't how much you can earn in Pakistan that it is worth travelling to Crete for the occasional day of work at 30 euros a day. Bearing in mind the recession and economic woes of Greece.

So last week Ali phoned up, his scratchy Greek had improved a bit and he wanted to know when we would be back. I like to think he missed us not just his improved cash flow when we are around (typical Northern Europeans we overpay and have a guilty conscience anyway). Fahed believes he can make one half of the old house okay for Ali to live in if he wants he could then rent bedspaces to a couple of mates for some extra income.

I do like a few challenges but i think I might be up against the wire for all of this seasons goals.