Yeah to the Irish a**e!

Listening on the radio this morning. 

Dedicated to the hateful money lenders and warmongers toying with Greece, now Ireland, and probably Portugal and Italy.

Kiss My Irish Ass Lyrics
Oh the churchbells are ringin' in the schoolyard,
And we all went out those days
The bully said "Mick would you fancy a rumble?"
I said "Yes, it's time to play!"

Oh the nuns and the priests they grabbed their Rosaries
As they pulled our bodies apart
The bully said "Mick you lost the fight, but you've gained my respect!
You fight with so much heart!"

We're as stubborn as mules
With our blood on fire
When we ain't at Sunday mass
We'll look any man straight in his eyes and say
Kiss my Irish ass!
You better kiss my Irish ass!

Oh the husbands and wives, they had a neighborhood pack
They called the Mackeys white trash behind our backs (White Trash!)
I was way too young to understand that
But if I did, I'd given it right back

Oh me dad, he'd be drunk on the lawn,
Yelling and screaming like he do
But sometimes my old man felt what he was feeling,
Sometimes Mr. Mackey spoke the truth

We're as stubborn as mules
With our blood on fire
When we ain't at Sunday mass
We'll look any man straight in his eyes and say
Kiss my Irish ass!
You better kiss my Irish ass!


Oh me grandpa passed through Ellis Island,
From the greatest of the Motherlands
For he worked, provided for his family
He was a dedicated welding man
And he knew right from wrong like day and night,
He could whip any fool in a bareknuckle fight
He talked of country like he preached of God,
One hell of an Irishman!

We're as stubborn as mules
With our blood on fire
When we ain't at Sunday mass
We'll look any man straight in his eyes and say
Kiss my Irish ass!
You better kiss my Irish ass!


Oooohh, I'm of a distant relation to John Redman,
He was one of the greatest Irish Rebels of his day
One bastard to another, on down the line
And this is what my son will say:

We're as stubborn as mules
With our blood on fire
When we ain't at Sunday mass
We'll look any man straight in his eyes and say
Kiss my Irish ass!
We're as stubborn as mules
With our blood on fire
When we ain't at Sunday mass
We'll look any man straight in his eyes and say
Kiss my Irish ass!
You better kiss my Irish ass!

Sunday on the mountains

On Sunday morning, last weekend, my husband, his father and myself drove to his father's village.

 The road to the village is always the best thrill for me, as I watch the colours around me change from those of the city to those of the countryside.

 The leaves are long fallen and turn into a natural scrapbook.

I long to listen to the sound of the little rivers. Why do we always rush to the end of the journey? We must stop and listen to the giggle of the water.

The bridge, one of the two linking the village to the city world. Built some four decades ago. My father in law remembers the time when they had to cross the river to get on the road to the city.

 The bell, calling the old residents and visitors to the Sunday mass.

Depicted with a certain naivety but also with faith, Jesus Christ on the ceiling of the church.

Now largely abandoned, the village still provides shelter and refuge to the faithful few who call it home.

 

On our way home, sheep grazing quietly in the meadows.

Some goats, too. The mountain is their kingdom.

A kind of beauty that is original and untamed.

Nature has taken over the old gardens, creating her own wild tales.

I hope your weeeknd is rich in sights and sounds and the love of those you care for.

Wordless Wednesday-The footbal match

With Thanks to our hosts at the Wordless Wednesday HQs and 5 minutes for mom, and you for stoping by and commenting!

See you next week!

Thankful Thursday-Freedom

October 28, 1940

October 28, 1940: Italy invades Greece

The Leaders

The Women

The Art

Today, 70 years after the invasion of  Greece by Italy, followed by the Germans, 

I am thankful for

FREEDOM

 I am thankful for my late grand father and my husband's late grand father who fought in the war, in the Cavalry and the Artillery, and for my father in law who fought and was wounded in the war against the communist rebellion that followed (1945-1949).


October 28, 2010

70 years later, the government bans military parades...for financial reasons, they say...some say following orders to further attack our morale. But we march on...

...and say "OXI"~"NO!"

 "Protect our Nation, flag of the Cross"

And to you all, my dear friends, I say, protect your freedom, your Nations' freedom, your people's freedom. Believe that there is no one mighter than God, and to no one else do we owe our allegience.


With Thanks to all of you, and to Lynn for hosting and for your prayers.

A joke for my Greek friends

Hello dear friends,
Today I am sharing a joke from a Greek TV programme. It is impossible to translate in English, but it has to do with a farmer chasing ducks.



Smile, and the world smiles with you.

Our weekend

Hello dear friends,
I hope you enjoyed the weekend.
We spent Saturday morning at work. Then in the afternoon we drove to the bi-annual company conference.
It is a big company event and I enjoy meeting up with people from different Greek cities that we have known for a decade now, as well as the new blood from across Europe and from as far as the US and Brasil.
On Saturday night we had a buffet dinner. That is when we met most people and worked the room. We were very pleased to find our beds, although the kids did sleep in folded beds, unlike other years. The company is growing, so many more people had to be accomodated. I had bought the latest Martha Stuart magazine to keep me company in the trip. I rarely buy foreign press unless I subscribe because the prices are 3 times up the regular price, but apparently I cannot subscribe to MS, so I did splurge on this kitchen issue. Very handy tips, by the way. It encouraged me to tackle the food cupboard today as soon as I got home from work!

I barely opened the magazine, and I fell asleep. We had a hard time getting up in the morning. We went down for breakfast when most people were already seated. I was not hungry so I enjoyed some canned fruit and yoghurt and took my coffee in the conference room.
The kids are growing up, my friends, so all three sat in for the entire conference! A first!
The girls did not need the translations service. J understood some, but he did put the earphones on when the American representative spoke. I LOVE the spirit of America. It may not be in my blood as such, but I have grown up with it and my mom's nostalgia, and I can feel the shift in my perception whenever I meet the American "can do" attitude.
The American team had prepared a lovely video of New York and our shop-in-shop there. Very nice. I loved the music, too.
Then after lunch (some funny folkish vegetarian recipes-bad idea) it was C's turn to speak on sales techniques. He did OK.
By that time it was 6 p.m. and we had a 4 hour drive ahead of us. After the end of the conference I didn't have the courage to do any more PR. I did the basics and went to our room to pack up. We were quite tempted to get an hour's sleep (we were up since 8a.m.) but decided against it as we might wake up in the middle of the night instead.
We got home at 11.30 p.m. by which time I was so sick in the stomach from the undigested food and the turns of the road, that the only thing I wanted was to sleep.
I did leaf through my magazine, and I was ready to sleep. What gave me some much needed time to switch off the mind talk of the past couple of days, was prayer. I really enjoyed talking to God through my prayer book.
Today we got back to work. There are some things to be done before we get ready for the Autumn decoration, so we have to run! But we did manage to go buy the kids some school stuff in the evening. I always loved paper and pencil! Did you?

Enjoy the week,

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,

Hello, hello

Hello, dear friends,
Don't think I forgot all about you, or my blog. I am just in that familiar state where I think of a post, take photos for a post, then life takes its course and it's all somewhat out of date. But I will manage, I promise. Today I had a colouring and haircut that looks nothing like what i showed the hairdresser :-/ Oh well!..Tomorrow i have a dentist's appointment, so I am going into town. i shall take pictures of the Autmn shops, the main square, who knows, I may even post them!
See you tomorrow,

Royal wedding photos

Hello dear friends,

As promised, I am posting some photos from the royal wedding we hosted on the island of Spetsai, Greece a week ago.  

The Greek Royal Family. L to R, Crown Prince Paul, Theodora, Nicolas (the groom), Alexia, Queen Anne-Marie, Philip, King Constanine. Behind them, a protrait of his grandfather, Constantine, who liberated a great part of Greece from the Turkish  occupation.

The male members of the Greek royal family arrived by boat,

the "Afroessa", a present of the King to Queen Anne-Marie for her 60th birthday.

The Afroessa

From L to R: Crown prince Paul, Prince Philip, H.M. King Constantine of the Hellenes and Prince Nicolas.

 Queen Margrete of Denmark, sister of Queen Anne-Marie, and Queen Sofia of Spain, sister of King Constantine.

Crown Prince Paul with his wife, nee Marie-Chantal Miller, and their children.

Princess Alexia, her husband Carlos Morales and their children.

The groom, his mother and father arrive in church.

Q.Anne-Marie and P.Nicolaos

King Constantine and Prince Nicolaos arrive at the monastery church, following the island's bishop and clergy.

Inside the church of St. Nicolaos

The King and Queen

Nicolaos and Tatiana

Wearing the crowns

Notice in the photo above that the "koumbari", the best men, are supposed to hold something in their hands. They were in fact holding two crowns, exact replicas of those used in the wedding of the groom's parents.

However, these were photoshopped out of the photo, so as not to stir anti-royalist emnities.

Husband and Wife

In his speech King Constantine addressing his son, concluded: 

"The advice I gave to your brother in law, Carlos, when he married Alexia, I give to you, now:

"To keep your marriage brimming, 

with love in the loving cup, 

whenever you are wrong, admit it, 

whenever you are right, shut up".