Rainy Day in the City

Artist - Czizek Karolos 

Μακεδονικό Μουσείο Σύγχρονης Τέχνης

It's been raining for a few days...a day planned  in the city turned into a few hours at a museum. I had a lovely day despite the horrible weather. 

Alexandra's Kite

My little Alexandra flying her kite on Clean Monday. 

Carnival/Apokries 2012

Carnival season is over once again, it has passed quickly. It seems the older the kids get, the more hurried my life gets...I know, it's inevitable. This year we had several parties to attend so the kids were able to wear their costumes more than once. 

Alexandra's first costume- she dressed as a princess- not a particular princess- just a princess. She became irritated when people would ask her which princess she was. 

The wigs don't stay on long once they get to the party- we're quite familiar with Princess Alexandra. 

Izabella's costume - the package said that it was a rock star of sorts, but no one could figure it out. She's not interested in anything girly so this was perfect for her. 

Alexandra as Hannah Montana. 

Foti dressed as Anakin Skywalker again this year, he loves Star Wars. He had a fantastic time throwing confetti and other party paraphernalia at me. 

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Clean Monday

First Day of Lent 

  After all of the parties and other carnival activities we always look forward to Clean Monday/Katheri Deftera so that we can fly our kites and eat lagana. Traditionally, lagana is only eaten once a year.

The forecast called for rain, and it did rain all morning. The picnic we planned to attend was scheduled for 11:00 am but we decided to forgo the picnic and just wait for the rain to stop so that we could fly our kites. 

It turns out that it stopped raining around noon so we decided to venture out for our lagana and also pass by the picnic. Lucky for us, the picnic was still in progress-although there were very few people out. We tried to fly our kites before we ate our food but funny enough, there was hardly a breeze. So, we ate. 

Enjoying our fasolada. 

The fasolada at our local picnic was made by my friend's father. It was delicious & warm, perfect for such a gloomy day. 

Foti loved the fasolada. LOVED it. 

Someone brought an empty yogurt container so that they could take some fasolada home- what a great idea! Anyway, look at those huge pots of fasolada and that beautiful, homemade Imiglikos. The wine was sweet and went down easy- too bad I had to drive and fly kites or I might have indulged in a second cup. 

Picnic fare...taramosalata, picantiki salad, olives,  Makedonikos halvas and lagana to accompany the fasolada. Everything was tasty. 

After the picnic we drove to a different beach to try flying our kites again. It was a little easier to get the kites up in the air this time but much more difficult to keep them flying because it became extremely windy. 

Crash. 

Iza's kite flew very well. 

***

After spending a few hours in the cold wind we returned home to eat more of the traditional foods. I originally planned to make more salads but since we had already eaten a little at the picnic, we didn't need much. I made fasolada early in the morning and it was simmering for hours. I've been using my friend Maria's recipe for the last few years and we love it. Although, I have to add that I didn't use celery in this batch and I was worried that there might be a difference in taste. It wasn't a noticeable difference and it turned out absolutely delicious. 

Alexandra loves lagana! 

***

~Kali Sarakosti~

Kitten by the Sea

I met this adorable kitten one morning in January. She belongs to the fishermen nearby and she's incredibly friendly and always happy to see me. 

In The Fog

Yesterday morning as I was getting the kids ready for school I noticed that there was a dull gray light seeping between the slats of the closed shutters- instead of the golden-pink glow that I've been enjoying for the last week or so. This could only mean one thing- and that's fog.  I love fog. Some people find it dreary and depressing but I find it tranquil and beautiful. After I dropped the kids off at school I had about a half hour to take some photos. I couldn't wait. Here are just a few photos that I took yesterday morning. 

On the way to school...

Near the sea...

Here's a barrel left by fishermen, the coals still smoldering from earlier in the morning. 

The red boat  of which I've taken so many photos, now I have a photo of it in the fog. 

At home...

A walk through our olive grove. 

The field- normally we have a view of Mt. Olympus & the sea. 

Tarzan looking out into a field of fog. 

And finally of my favorites from this shoot, a spiderweb made visible by the moisture in the air. I would love a macro lens for days like this, I can only imagine how beautiful this would be if the droplets were apparent. 

~

Autumn Leaves

"The leaves fall patiently

Nothing remembers or grieves

The river takes to the sea

The yellow drift of leaves."

-   Sara Teasdale

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All of these photos were taken around my home~ the colors are beautiful & rich, I love it.  

***

Flavors of Autumn

Peppers & tomatoes at the end of their growing season. 

 Chestnuts are available at the laiki.

Our pomegranates are so sweet and juicy, mice have eaten most of them before we could pick any.

Mr. George gave us beautiful grapes from his vineyard. 

My neighbor is growing pumpkins. 

Apple-Cinnamon muffins...the children's new favorite treat.  

Persimmons...so sweet and beautiful. 

The best dessert I've has this autumn...κυδώνι με χαλβά (baked quince with halva). Absolutely dreamy. I can't wait to recreate this dish.