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

It is the week end

Hello,
It has been a quiet day today. It is unbelievable, but we're a few days away from Christmas, and the shops are so quiet.

People in Greece get what is called the "13th salary" or "present", a bonus that applies to all working people, whether in the public or private sector (not self-employed people, though), and that is supposed to get the market booming. This is not the case this year. I never remember having a Saturday when nobody entered the shop. There is some movement in the shops selling clothing in the old town where most old-fashioned, low-budget shops are, but the rest is so quiet.

We shall be meeting for lunch with a family of friends at a local fast-food chain. They do some nice fresh salads and there is a salad bar where you may pick what you like. Our children like hanging out with each other, and C can talk politics with the husband, while his wife has a penchant for cloths. I do like clothes, though I do more catalogue shopping these days and tend to wear back elastic trousers, not Burberry trenches!

*Change of plans. C is an a bad mood and we'll be staying at home eating mil's defrosted spinach pie that C brought from Athens yesterday*.

In the afternoon F will be going to a party at a friend's house from her old school. I hope she enjoys herself. She has a very tight schedule at school.

This week she taught for the first time in a classroom. Next year she will be sitting exams for her final TEFL (Teach English Foreign Language) diploma, and her teacher asked her to teach at a pre-First Certificate in English class. I am so thankful to God for guiding her in handling the students so gracefully, taking into account that some of them are older than she is. They said they hoped they'd have a teacher like her all the time. I am also thankful that she enjoyed the experience. Sometimes she feels that her thinking in English and expressing herself better in English than in Greek is a handicap in her studies at school. It seems important to me that she has seen that she can do something positive with that "handicap". Her teacher suggested that once she finishes school, she might be hired by her language school as a teacher. Thank you, God. Please guide us with Your Holy Spirit to grow in wisdom and grace.

On Monday we have Boomama's Christmas Tour of Homes. I so look forward to it! I love the sprit of coziness that develops in the blogosphere these days. I have taken some night photos of our decorations, and I hope to take some daylight ones over the weekend.

Tomorrow we are hoping to go see Madagascar II. All kids from D's class will be going, and J wants to go, too, but D doesn't want him to sit with them, now that she's grown up, at 12 and he's 7. So we may go with him, and sit at a different set of seats to guarantee some privacy between siblings.*Update:Kids are so enthusiastic. It won't be on until the week after*.

There is 'Four Christmases' in theaters right now. I'd love to go and see it. C doesn't think much of seeing romantic comedies on the big screen, but is it the same, waiting to see it next year on DVD? I'd like to have some fun after all the gloom on TV. We'll see...

I shall be posting over at The Happy Turtle some deco ideas from websites, magazines and blogs. Stop over if you feel like it. I haven't figured out if I want to merge the two places, bringing together my lighter side with my home life. I think they'll take care of themselves, like my template did! LOL!

It is a strange feeling for me, but recently I have been feeling a self-contentment like none experienced before. I am grateful because as I approach my 40th (next year), I think I am finding some peace with myself and the world around me. It's probably the work of the Holy Spirit. I accept that I won't be doing some things I have wanted to do, or I might do them later, but that doesn't hurt as it used to.

I hope you'll all have a beautiful weekend. Take care and enjoy your loved ones. Let us also take the day off to reflect on these holy days and pray for God's grace in our lives. For healing to those suffering. For guidance to those striving. And for all of us to enjoy what God offers us in the everyday. Amen.

See you on Monday!

(All photos from our Christmas 2007 trip to Vienna)

Weekend Wishes

The post below made me think, today. I would like to share it with you and keep it with me for reflection over the weekend.

My dash is the small amount of time I have from the day I'm born to the day I die.The account of his life is short, yet powerful.

So all the days of Enoch were 365 years. And Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God; and he was not, for God took him [home with Him]. Gen 5:23-24 (AMP)

The last few days, I've been reflecting on these verses. What's my legacy? How am I spending my dash? What would my two sentence dash say? I don't know how long or short my dash may be. What if today is one of my last? Will I honor and walk with God in all I do? I must live each day as if it was my last. If I follow Enoch's example, I will walk with God in habitual fellowship and all the little annoyances of life will become insignificant.

So, what about you? How are you spending your dash?

(Full post by Jan Parish at Bold and Free. Picture by Kelli at There is no place like Home).

Have a lovely weekend.

It is the week end

It hasn't been a long week. We had a break on the 28th, Greece's national holiday commemorating National Governor Metaxas' refusal to let Mussolini's army occupy Greece.

Despite my great plans for the day, I spent most of it sleeping, I was trully lethargic.

But it was a crazy week with the most unusual clients.

I had also neglected my spiritual practice and I felt comfused with people and readings popping up with contradictory messages.

Today and tomorrow we are expecting some workers to fix the lighting and put together some Ikea bookcases that C bought in his recent trip to Athens.

Oh well, I look forward to a brand new week.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend. And God bless.

Enjoy the weekend

Hi,
We shall be at the company conference over the weekend and then off to Thessaloniki. I hope to stop by and see you again next Tuesday. Please pray for safe trips. Love you all.

(Photo credit : Melanie Falick)

Enjoy the weekend

Thank you for stopping by my place this week.Enjoy the weekend!

Enjoy the weekend

I so much love hearing from you! I enjoyed stopping by your blogs this week. I hope you all have a relaxing week end.
Here are some pictures of D and F that I took while we were packing from our old flat. Sister love...


I love you my sisters in Christ.

Enjoy the weekend

Wishing you a playful and enjoyable,

fragrant and romantic

fresh and cosy,
sweet and juicy weekend!

(Photos from Cookie magazine, Posie Gets Cozy, Rag and Bone and Paris Breakfasts. Thank you for being so generous with beauty! I owe you!)

Over the weekend

Hello,
I hope you all had a lovely weekend. It was hot over here, with the temperature in the 30C+. Quite tiring.

On Sunday morning we went to church and we ALL received Holy Communion. I am amazed by God's providence. It would have been unthinkable a few months ago. It only takes a little gentle pushing and it becomes a family habit that has even the most reluctant, following with patience. Once they come, God knows the way of opening up their hearts, our hearts.

Then after church we got some croissants and headed to our old home to pack some more stuff. We rescued a number of Roman Legionnaires who would otherwise be lost to J's Playmobil arena and found some bedding sheets that I had bought ages ago.

I forgot to say that on Saturday afteroon we welcomed F's godparents (her godmother is a cousin of C's). They have very classic tastes, but they were pleasantly surprised to see our home.

Back to Sunday, we had homemade lunch at home (how I love it, even if it is "just" pasta!). The older I grow (did I say that?) the more I love the simple things in life. When I first got married (fourteen years ago next month), I was preparing the most elaborate recipes, not to impress my husband, but because I thought that that was what was expected of me. Being the queen of home, implied perfection. Now, I do not strive for perfection, and whenever the whim shows up unwanted, I let it quiet and go away. I want the simple things, like dancing barefoot on the new home's slabs to the sound of Mary Poppins, with my loved ones and nobody to pass judgement on what I do or don't do. To me, that is Life, and I am deeply, humbly thankful for it.

I pray we will all enjoy the week ahead of us!

Enjoy the weekend

Relax. It is the week end!
(All photos from Posy. Isn't she wonderful, sharing with us all that beauty?).

Enjoy the weekend

Hello,
I didn't have the time to surf the web this week, but from my archives, I am sharing with you two beautiful watercolors, one from Paris Breakfasts and one of our favorite beach that I talked about in yesterday's Know and Tell.
Wishing you all a sunny, fragrant, pleasurable weekend.

Enjoy the weekend

Hello,
It is Saturday, isn't it? Already!
I missed Know and Tell yesterday. Sorry! We are in the final steps toward moving house. Please keep your fingers crossed and your prayers coming! Manymany heartfelt thanks.

Some beautiful pictures from me to you to set the mood for the weekend.

(From Grand Revival and Franje at Flickr) .

xxx

Spring Weekend

I thought I'd sign off the week with some beautiful pictures I caught in my net while surfing the web. A sniff of spring in the air, you say? Perhaps. It is still rainy, though. Should I opt for cozy winter pics, like this one?
Or perhaps, this one?

Put on a light dress?
Cheer up, home!
And have a fresh strawberry. Or two. And a madeleine. Or more.


Lure Spring home!
Relax and enjoy the breeze of life.

(Photos by Kate Forman, Sis Boom,Green Gate, Heather Bailey,Posy Gets Cozy, and Amy Butler).