Apokries 2011~ Clean Monday

Cute isn't she? This was the first of many hats and masks that she would bring home from school during Apokries/carnival season, which has kept us busy for the last few weeks. 

 My little bird says, "Chiou, chiou." 

I'm on the PTA/syllogo at Alexandra's school and we made soutzoukakia sandwiches for the children on Tsiknopempti or "Charred Thursday." Tskinopempti is the beginning of Apokries/Carnival in Greece.  Each sandwich consisted of 2 small soutzoukakia  and fries. We served the children at around 11:00am because many of them are finished with their day by noon. Alexandra is always thrilled when I'm at school helping with these events. What's really cute is that a lot of the children refer to me as "Ms. Alexandra" because they don't know my name but they know that I'm her mother. 

She had a wonderful time. 

One week later we had a costume party to attend. The kids were so excited and  I have to say that shopping for new costumes this year was a lot of fun. Alexandra was an angel, Foti a ninja, Izabella was Hannah Montana(again), and I wore a festive hat that Alexandra selected especially for me. 

At the party. 

There was a clown that entertained the children for a few hours. Here's Alexandra with her "weiner." 

By the end of the night, the balloons lost their cool shapes...somehow. 

So the costume party was over and we had the weekend ahead. This year we didn't go to Kozani or anywhere to see a parade. The weather forecast  for the weekend was cold and snowy so we decided to stay close to home. 

And the forecast for Clean Monday/Katheri Deftera was even less promising.  

The morning was dreary and gray. I started cooking the traditional  bean soup, fasolada, early so that it would be ready and warm when we returned from flying our kites. It's tradition to fly kites on Clean Monday and you can usually look up and see kites in the air everywhere throughout the day-which wasn't the case in our area this year. Since we didn't fly kites last year because of the snow and cold we experienced in Kozani, we promised the kids that nothing would keep us from going out this year.

As soon as we left the house to fly our kites it started to rain, then snow and then it rained again. But it didn't matter, we were going to stick with our plans. So, we drove to a beach nearby and found a nice open area, which was easy since there was only one other family at that location braving the cold weather, it was very quiet. I have to admit that this was the first time in my life that I flew a kite on a beach over the water. Very cool, except when you see your kite going down! Luckily, we were able to maneuver our kites away from the sea a few times and I'm happy to report that none of them took a dive. 

Alexandra flying her kite. 

 It's the first time she managed to keep one up on her own. 

Foti is always totally into it. I bought him a new kite this year and he couldn't wait to fly it.  

Although we managed to keep this one up in the air for a bit, we were mostly disappointed by its performance. 

His old- but trusty Spider-man kite flew much better. 

Foti flying his Spider-man kite. 

 Here's a shot of Izabella flying her Dora kite. She's had this one since she was two years old. It's still flying strong, even in the rain & snow. 

Izabella taking a break from the wind and snow. 

It did get very cold and after about an hour of fun we were frozen so we packed up and went home where I immediately served hot chocolate and coffee, a perfect way to warm up. And since everyone was hungry it was time for lunch. 

I served lagana, which is traditionally served on only one day each year...Clean Monday. 

Here's the fasolada I made. I've used Maria's recipe for the last few years and the kids love it. It's just as delicious as it looks. 

We also had olives and a side of  "paprika" to spread on our lagana. 

And finally, Makedonikos Halvas. 

Izabella dips her lagana into her fasolada. 

After lunch we lit a fire and relaxed- watching the wicked weather outside while staying cozy and warm inside.  This was one of the the quietest Apokries seasons that we've had since living in Greece and it was wonderful. Kali Sarakosti.

***

~Kyra Sarakosti~

Alexandra's Kyra Sarakosti  ~with no mouth which represents fasting, her hands are crossed in prayer and she has seven feet to represent the seven weeks of Lent. A foot is removed after each Saturday that passes until Easter. 

***

Rain

For the more than a week we've experienced our fair share of rain. It has rained so much, everything is drenched and muddy. It's just messy and our roads turn into rivers, literally. Just Saturday night I went out with a friend and she offered to pick me up at home, and I had to politely refuse that she did because our roads are such a mess. It was much easier for me to drive out than it would have been for her to drive in. I don't want to subject anyone to these waterways unless it's absolutely necessary. 

Yesterday there was a break in the rain just before it was time to pick the kids up from school but it was a challenge getting to my car without getting my feet and  the bottom of pants completely soaked. By the time we got home there was a little concrete left above water so that we could get into our gate. The kids love when our road turns into a river, they like to throw small objects like sticks and leaves into the stream so that they can watch them get carried off into the field. They were very excited to pose for a picture with all of this water yesterday. (pretend you don't see the junk food!) 

About 20 minutes after we were home the water rushed down and took over the whole road. It's a good thing that we got home when we did because it would've been extra messy if we all had to wade through this  to get to our gate. 

And, when I say the whole road was a river, I mean it. It took about 4 hours for the water to clear. 

The kids ran inside to put on their rain boots so that they could splash around a bit. It was very exciting for them. I don't know how exciting it will be at the end of winter, but it is now. 

Here's Izabella showing me how much water accumulated in the wheelbarrow-again. This amount of water is from yesterday. It seems we've emptied it almost every day. 

And here's a picture of some pomegranates in the rain. Today the sun is shining and it's fairly warm-a welcome change.

What a difference a day makes. 

***

I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.~Maya Angelou

Spring...My Favorite Season

Spring is my absolute favorite season. It means that my birthday is near, days will be longer, the weather is getting warmer, I spend more time outside and I can start planting my garden. Most of all,  I love how colors- greens, yellows, purples and pinks emerge from beneath the brown and grey hues of winter. 

Even flowers that some may consider weeds are beautiful and vibrant. 

Our property turns into a spring wonderland that our children love exploring. Butterflies, hawk-moths and tadpoles keep them intrigued as they spend hours outside looking for them. 

Even cold, cloud covered days offer rich green views. 

The children love their independence- free of the cold, damp winter and not having to bundle up every day. 

As I look up through the blossoming trees the sky seems much brighter and  a bit more blue. 

Purple is my favorite color...

especially when it blankets the fields near our home. 

Wishing everyone in the northern hemisphere a beautiful Spring! 

Wintry Monday

 I had another almond blossom photo lined up for this morning but we woke up to cold wind and a mix of snow and rain. I took these photos on our big snow day and decided to post them in honor of our wintry weather today. However, this much snow hasn't fallen, thankfully.

And WINTER by Tori Amos is one of my favorite songs...

Have a nice week! 

~~~

Καλή εβδομάδα!

Early Morning Walk at the Marina

One thing I haven't done  in a while is post photos that I've taken on the same day as the actual post. I started this morning and I'm motivated to have this up before I go to bed only because today's weather is so spectacular and I want to share just how beautiful of a morning we had. 

Shortly after dropping Izabella off at school I was ready to turn the car around, go to the bakery and then head home. Given the fact that we've been stuck in the house for two days with another nasty virus and that the weather was so beautiful, I decided to take a ride instead. Foti and Alexandra were with me. Foti's school was closed for conferences today and Alexandra doesn't go to school yet.

So, we drove to a local marina to take a walk. It was around 8:30 am and the sea was calm... 

The sky was so blue. 

The kids loved to look at the geese & ducks that live at the marina. 

Fishermen cleaning their nets. As they tossed the fish & other creatures from their nets the seagulls were there waiting to collect. 

Alexandra  posing on a rock, squinting in the bright sunlight. 

A look off of the pier, the water was is so clear. 

I almost missed this as we walked along the pier...

I had to go back to look at it. Someone's boat has sunk!  I feel bad for the owner. We've had a boat sink once and it's difficult to recover and repair a sunken boat. 

Naturally, we were approached by a stray dog. This one was absolutely adorable and luckily I had some doggy treats in the car. This pup worked hard for a treat. It was so sweet and playful. 

The dog loved the attention from the kids. 

Beautiful purple flowers against the natural blue backdrop of the sea. 

And here's a very pleased Foti. He was so happy that he was able to see boats, fishermen, ducks, geese  and so much more this morning. He thought  we were only going to drop his sister off at school and return home, hence his outfit! I told him to get dressed and it's what her threw together for the car ride and I didn't have time to find him anything else.  Besides, it just doesn't matter. 

I hope that you've enjoyed  the photos from our walk. It was so beautiful and quiet. I plan on taking more morning walks now that spring is here.