Fisherman's Wharf

~At the fisherman's wharf on a cloudy day~

Captivated by the Sunset

 It was just another busy evening. The children were outside chasing toads- letting out sharp squeals whenever one slipped away. Then I heard the word "lizard"- which lead to more squeals of delight. Inside, I was trying to tidy up and  finish some chores I had neglected earlier. I had a headache. I walked out on the balcony to collect laundry I had hung to dry early that morning...it had to be dry. I looked out toward the sea when I was intrigued by the sunset. I left the laundry, took a deep breath and leaned over the rail a bit so that I could capture some fresh air breezing by. It was a wonderful moment, I was captivated by the sun as I patiently watched it disappear behind the hills across the sea. Was it 10 minutes? I'm not sure, but it was enough and although my headache hadn't subsided, it was less intense and I felt a sense of calm. 

    

Timing is everything...

 For a few weeks I drove passed this field, admiring the colors each time. Looking forward to passing each morning I kept in mind that I wanted to stop and take a photo one day, so finally,  I did. (obviously)  I'm glad that I didn't wait another day because the morning after I took the photo I noticed that the field was barren, it had been cleared for planting. Timing is everything.

First Poppy for Mama

I have to be the luckiest mother on the planet, I'm convinced. Last Sunday my kids took a walk with Kosta to visit neighbors. I have to admit, I almost pushed them out the door, I couldn't wait for some time alone, if only for an hour. I spent a whole hour by myself basking in silence while enjoying a coffee outside and checking my email without little people asking me how long it would be before they could have their turn at my laptop. When they wait for their turn, they hover and count the minutes.

 "Mom, you said five minutes." 

"Mom, you said five minutes ten hours ago!" 

"Mom, you're not being fair, you'll never finish!"

As the hour of my temporary freedom came to a close I could hear the giggles and squeals of my kids running home. The little voices drew near and by the time they reached our gate all I could hear was "Mama, Mama...come here!" My first thought was that they must have found another animal along the way. 

I opened the door, walked down the steps and Izabella was running up the walkway with a small bunch of flowers in her grip. She said, "Mama look! The first red poppy, we found our first red poppy of spring and picked it for you, I know you love poppies mom."  She's right, I do love poppies. 

I immediately put the flowers into a vase and on the coffee table. I looked at the sweet little bunch of flowers and naturally, had to take a picture. Foti watched carefully as I snapped the pictures and then tapped me on the shoulder. "Mama, can I hold the vase? I want to hold it so you can take a picture of me with the flowers...so you can remember that we picked them for you." You know what this does to a mother's heart, don't you? It melts it. My heart just melted. Of course my little monkey can hold the flowers. 

He was so proud to have helped gather flowers for me. After I took a few pictures he wanted to  have a look ( digital photography is the best thing that's happened to me and children's college funds!)  and the one above is the one he has approved for posting. Izabella & Alexandra had already taken the two laptops available while I was busy so they weren't interested in the flowers anymore. It's the little moments like these that remind me of just how lucky I am and also how wonderful my kids are. I am definitely the luckiest mother on the planet. 

Related Post:

 Looking for a Poppy

Puppies at the Supermarket

Last week we as were leaving a supermarket, we spotted these two adorable puppies sitting near our car. They seemed apprehensive about our presence as they ran to hide as we approached. I could see their heads peeking from the other side of another parked car. Since we just bought dog food and treats I decided to share some with these sweet little faces. They were very hungry, so much so that they were shaking as I put the food down. Fed and happy I earned their trust and was able to get a few great photos of them. 

How can anyone not love this face? 

Hoping for more food.

 As I look at these photos I sense sadness in their expressions. Maybe it's just me, but that's what I see. 

After the food, we also gave them treats. Foti enjoyed treating these puppies and asked if we could take them home. I wish that we could as I do really hate seeing so many stray dogs here but we can't. I do hope someone takes these puppies in. 

Have a nice week and since it's already March...a great month!

~καλό μήνα kai καλή εβδομάδα~

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Scruffy Puppies

Tortalitza the Tortoise

Tortalitza  out of hibernation.

The weather is getting warmer and signs of spring are abundant. Almond trees are blossoming and my daffodils have bloomed. Another sign that it's getting warmer is that we can now find our tortoise "Tortalitza" roaming around the garden. She's come out of hibernation and is now ready to eat my lettuces once again. Whenever I plant any variety of lettuce she prefers it to the other green plants or weeds that I'm not growing to eat.  Izabella is so happy spending time with her tortoise and by now it seems the tortoise is happy to see her. Foti has a tortoise named "Skorouli" but he's a little more evasive and difficult to find. Maybe he's still hibernating, hopefully we'll find him soon because the property needs to be tilled. 

Izabella took her to visit the neighbors & she peeks from her temporary confines. I do think she's adorable. 

Tortalitza is a Spur-thighed/Greek tortoise. You can find tortoises wandering the countryside and often stopping traffic. We don't take special care of her since we let her live in a natural environment in our garden. Although, we do make sure that there's always water available and that she's locked safely in her portion of the garden. If she wanders away from her enclosed space, Tarzan gets a hold of her and chews on her shell as well as tosses her around like a ball. We found Tarzan with her last year and he seriously damaged her shell. You can see the damage that he incurred in the first photo. She's healed well and again, we need to keep her out of his reach. 

Izabellae enjoys Tortalitza's company

Our weather forecast for the weekend is fantastic (15 C/59 F) and we're planning to spend most of our time outside and Izabella will most definitely be enjoying the company of her tortoise. There's a lot to look forward to. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

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"Tortalitza" the tortoise

Snow on Apple Trees

Growing up in Wisconsin meant that snow was an inevitable part of winter . We waited for the first snow, hoping that there would be enough accumulation to warrant a day off of school to play and drink hot cocoa. Deep snow. Fluffy snow. Snow that packed well to make snowmen. I remember sitting at our kitchen window, my little nose pressed against the cold glass gazing into our back yard, waiting. I felt like that little girl once again, as I anticipated the snow last weekend.

Although I would consider the amount snow that accumulated  a light dusting, it was enough for me. As you might have noticed I took a lot of photos last Saturday morning. I think I took about 170 or so within an hour, easy. So here's a photo of our apple trees with snow on them because I love the effect of snow on trees, especially in black & white.

Snowy Saturday Morning

View from Foti's room

All week we anticipated snow on Saturday. The children were excited and kept reminding us that it might possibly snow today. It's exciting because snow isn't typical for the area that we live in. In fact, the last snow that we experienced was two winters ago, our first winter in Greece. So, this morning I wasn't able to sleep in  like I'd hoped but instead, I had to get up and dress everyone to enjoy the snow. I didn't mind. The kids were ecstatic. So we got dressed and went outside to play in the snow. Well, the kids played. I took photos. Enjoy...

Izabella and Alexandra happy in the snow. They were so happy to pose in the snow. But, we had some difficulty taking photos because...

Tarzan kept jumping in and around the shots.

 Some of my lemons covered with snow.

My foot in the snow. Not the best choice of footwear given the little holes in the shoes. They're usually great for running outside or doing chores, but not in snow! My feet did get a little wet.

Foti posing in the snow. At first I was going to crop out the dogs but decided to keep them in so you could see how chaotic it was. They were having a blast running around and playing and again...

getting in the shots.

A branch from my daphne/ laurel tree covered in snow.

Gigi, looking out for Tarzan.

Tarzan took a moment from playing to lick snow off of a bench. I understand, I love eating snow too!

A calendula flower covered in snow.

After a while, I found Gigi waiting in front of the door. She had enough-time to go in where it was warm and cozy.

Inside, the kids were treated to hot chocolate and tsoureki to warm them up. Most of the snow has started to melt now, I'm glad that they were able to enjoy a snowy Saturday morning.

A Man and Two Dogs

Yesterday, as we were out for a walk and I came across a man and two dogs. As he gazed into the sea through his binoculars they sat quietly with him. Although they appeared to be loyal, I'm not quite sure that they belonged to him as they spent a lot of time wandering and then near us. Nevertheless, they were lovable.

The average dog is a  nicer person than the average person. 

~ Andy Rooney

Church at Sunset

Taking a walk at sunset one evening I took a few photos of a church. This is one of my favorites.

Have a Wonderful Weekend!