Thankful Thursday

 Hello dear friends,

A little bit late, I am puting up my Thankful Thursday post. 

Today I am thankful for the time I spent this afternoon with F and J in our garden, seeing the beautiful colours of the Autumn leaves, looking up at the sky, taking stock of what needs to be done in preparation for the cold months. 

 I am thankful for the girls' good marks at school, and the appreciation of their teachers. 

I am thankful to God for showing me that I need not believe what I hear about people, but I must make up my own mind.

I am thankful for laundry, and blogging, and our shop, and the little moments that make up our days. 

May God's name be blessed always.

This Sunday and the next one we have local and municipal elections. Please say a prayer for my country. 

I have put up a post that you may want to read over at The Happy Turtle. It's about school and a piece of history.

Thank you for stopping by and commenting. 

And thanks to Laurie for hosting Thankful Thursday in November. 

See you next week!

Tuesday Garden Party-Chrysanthemums

Hello dear friends,
I am so glad you are here, browsing, reading and commenting.
Today I'd like to show you some gardening I did over the weekend. I love flowers and plants. I don't mind getting my hands dirty. Gardening is one of my favorite pass times at home.

This is the time of the year that chrysanthemums are in bloom.
Today, October 26th, is the fete of St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki, a 4th century military Saint. Together with St.George they are among the favorite Saints of the Greeks when it comes to giving children a name. Chrysanthemums, blooming around the Saint's day, are also called of St.Demetrius.

I always like having chrysanthemums around this time of the year.
Sunday we went to a nearby garden center. There were so many beautiful blooms around,

Rows upon rows of flowers, waiting for the people who would admire their beauty and pick them, perhaps with a companion, to bring beauty and colour to their homes.

 Red and crimson, yellow and orange, white and violet, so many colours for your every mood and fancy.

From these three, only one made it home with me!.. Which one would you choose? Such a difficult choice :-)

Then it was time to go to pottery fairyland. I would gladly spend an hour there! I got two pots, simple but nicely worked.

Here we are at home, ready to move to a larger pot.

 And here are my two pythoi. I love the handmade stamp at the bottom.

These pots come from the island of Crete, in the South of Greece. They are the best of their kind. With the influx of foreign super markets, we are being flooded with supposedly cheaper Asian pots, with a clay that is of inferior quality, not fired well, and as a result the pots are peeling off. Cretan pots, however, are affordable, hard working and very beautiful in their details. It is so rare to see Greek products anymore, I am thrilled when I come across them.

While we were hard at work, we welcomed a visitor from the neighborhood. Being hospitable Greeks and all, we offered the guy a plate of delicious cat food which he obligingly tasted with due appreciation..

And before we say au revoir, a song for Nature, in English, from an electro-pop Greek group. Find them on Myspace.



Linking to Tuesday Garden Party with thanks for hosting, and thanks to you for sharing.

Wordless Wednesday-An Autumn walk

Thanks for visiting my Wordless Wednesday! I shall pop over and see what you have been up to, too!
With Thanks to our hosts at the Wordless Wednesday HQs and 5 minutes for mom.
See you next week!

Skywatch Friday

Good morning, dear friends,

 

The Autumn skies are so spectacular, with beautiful cloud formations and vibrant colours.

What a great planet this is!

More skywatching at Skywatch Friday!

First cup of tea

This morning I had my first cup of tea. In the summer I had coffee almost daily, so unlike me, or at best a cold chocolate. But this morning, after I had my morning cappuccino, I felt the urge to drink tea. Just nothing else would do! It has been raining since noon, too. I was looking forward to the rain, but tonight I was wondering if it will keep raining like this until Spring!

Here is to Autumn!

First Day in School

Hello dear friends,
The school year began for us yesterday.
Education in Greece has five levels:
-Kindergarten.
-Primary School. It lasts 6 years, from 7 to 12 years of age. This is obligatory.
-Junior High School runs for 3 years.
-Senior High School , 3 years by which time one is about 18 and sits the University entry exams.
-College/University, 4 years+ on average.

F is now in the first year of Senior High School, D is in the third class of Junior High, and J is in the 4th year of Primary School.

Traditionally, the new school year begins with the blessing of the water.

It is quite odd, given the current political trends that the blessing of the water has not yet been suspended as anachronistic or insulting. Thankfully, both in the girls' school and in J's school the blessing took place yesterday. During the ceremony a bowl of water is blessed by a priest and it is then sprinkled onto the congregation with a branch of basil.

 I am going to show you the books and courses the kids will do this year in a following post. May God bless all of you and your families and lead us all on His way of Light.

Sunday before School

photo taken with Hipstamati a fun i-phone application for 60s and 70s style photography

Yes, it is officially Autmn time 2010. As of yesterday it began raining again. When it is Summer, I forget what Winter looks like here, and I absolutely hate sweating. But when it starts raining in this part of Greece, "it forgets to stop", as they say...
And yet, I do not mind that much. We had a nice summer, thank God,of which I promise to tell you more, now that we are heading back to the inside.
The children are going back to school tomorrow. We shall attend the blessing of the water, first in the girls' school at 8.30 a.m. then C will drive me to work and will attend the blessing in J's school at around 11 a.m. Some years ago we would have closed the shop and attend as a family. This year things are tight not just financially but also psychologically. There is a mounting tension within society. People are driven to hate each other. The marxist concept of social classes is divisive by definition, and it is at work right now.

Last night F and I had a lovely time watching Chasing Liberty. I love romantic comedies, and this one was very nice and romantic. I also began a new cross-stitching project, a lovely Autumn pattern of an apple pie. I shall be posting on its progress!

Today we had a lovely bbq, thanks to DH. I did some gardening.I renewed the plants in the girls' balcony and planted some seeds for leafy greens. And C got a lovely basil plant that is his favorite. I would also like to plant some chrysanthemums for Fall. Do you have a favorite flower or plant?



As I type J is watching The Pink Panther with Steve Martin. Very funny. You should see it!

I think I need some light hearted entertainment as we begin the rainy season!

Have a great week ahead,

Autumn moments

O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stainèd


With the blood of the grape, pass not, but sit

Beneath my shady roof; there thou may'st rest,

And tune thy jolly voice to my fresh pipe,

And all the daughters of the year shall dance!

Sing now the lusty song of fruits and flowers.
 
The narrow bud opens her beauties to


The sun, and love runs in her thrilling veins;

Blossoms hang round the brows of Morning, and

Flourish down the bright cheek of modest Eve,

Till clust'ring Summer breaks forth into singing,

And feather'd clouds strew flowers round her head.
 

"To Autumn" by William Blake (1757-1827)
(with gratitude to Merisi)

Enjoy the weekend

Sky Watch Friday-Blue autumn skies

A bright afternoon in autumn. More beautiful skies here. Thank you for visiting.

Show and Tell Friday-Autumn and Pumkins

Hello dear home making, life appreciating ladies,
It feels so good to be back into blogging and visiting you all again:-)
I so much love the Autumn! The air is fragrant and fresh, the rain is refreshing after the long, dry summer, and simple pleasures that are close to my heart such as cooking and dressing up with colorful cardigans get so much more interesting for me!

In this part of the world there is no such thing as Halloween, so there are no pumpkins around, nor tricks and treats and no Thanksgiving in sight. Gladly we do live in the provinces where finding pumpkins is feasible, though people often wonder why I have them on display. Besides, here are very few people I know of who like cooking with them.

My daughters always longed for some American celebration, but when they were younger I felt uncomfortable with it because there was no one else to celebrate with, so we were always postponing it. Now that they are quite grown up to ask and receive, gifts from heaven began dropping upon us, and I'd love to share them with you.

So, this is our entrance.
Our good friend Maria brought us the pomegranates from her husband's farm in Kolindros which is in Macedonia, Northern Greece. They are the most beautiful ones I have seen, healthy and juicy. Thank you, dear friend!

Just in time for celebration came a parcel from Lallee's Cottage. We all oughed and ahhed over the beautiful, juicy, crochetted pumpkins that brought such a festive flair to our entry hall.

Some other time in the past I would have wished I'd had made them myself. But time and some reflection upon life make me feel grateful for the lovely, creative people who add their skills of beauty and creation to my life. Yes, dear friends, blessed abundance doesn't mean making it all yourself and burning up in the process. So relax and enjoy, and be very very grateful for the beauty around us.

As some of you know, back in June we moved into our new home. During September we had the backyard planted with some trees and grass. We planted our aging fir tree and tiny apple tree. We also bought two maple trees. One turns yellow in the Autumn, the other red.

This is the red one, that has began shedding her leaves. Don't they look like jewells on the green grass?

Wishing you a very happy Autumn.

Fall Equinox

It is the Fall Equinox, today. The days will be getting longer, and we are entering into the winter season. interesting info can be found here, and here.

Let us enjoy the feasts of Winter.Happy New Season.

Seasonal Delights

As I was saying the other day, I have always looked forward to the Autumn/Winter season. I love the homey feeling, the deco options, the festive season, the freshness of the air, and cardigans thrown over our shoulders.

If you are in such a mood , why not subscribe to Seasonal Delights. It is a brand new on-line mag by Kelli of There is no Place Like Home and her husband Philip.

I was a little hesitant at first because I do not have the time for crafts etc. and beautiful as some publications may be, they make me feel intimidated. But this is not the case here. It is a mag with a helpful layout, easy to do projects, and some for the more skillful among us, as well as yummy tea time recipes. Plus it is a quarterly, so there is no rush. You can pin it on the kitchen board and then take your time and enjoy.

What I liked more, though, is the poetry and the little nostalgia it is infused with.

A very nice try! Thank you Kelli!

To subscribe click here.

Summertime...September

(Graphic by Irene's Corner-not me!)
Oh, it's the Fall!

Can you believe that summer is officially gone?

YesterdayI was watching an advertisement on TV. I was walking/running on the treadmill for the first time in the last two weeks, and I saw this ad for ouzo. There was a seafood pasta dish and greek salad and ouzo served on a beach front taverna. There and then I realized that summer was over and that we are entering the autumn.

I always liked the autumn/winter. As I child I was looking forward to the new school year, the new books and the new things to learn. I liked taking in the smell of the newly print schoolbooks. And I still appreciate a nice smelling copy.

Then , why is it that this year I am sorry that the summer is gone? Perhaps I was expecting some more fun, some more peaceful, contemplative moments. Or the air of insouciance lingering in the air: Pink and Green, flip flops, ice cream cones and nights under the jasmin and the honeysuckle.

At least the calendar on my sidebar shows the bears lazing on the beach. So, there is still time for a little sunshine.

Welcome September! Back to School, newly sharpened pencils and fresh notebooks. New calendars and schedules, and a little cardigan thrown over my shoulders. A glass or two under the stars, and the sweet sadness of what is gone and what is yet to come.

Oh, how I love you September. Happy new season.