Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! The kids have been waiting for this day for the whole
month! We've had our decorations around the house since the first week and I
bought the pumpkins about 3 weeks ago. They wanted to carve them immediately but
I made them wait until last night because our weather here is so mild that they
would have been eaten up by critters and bugs before Halloween arrived. Besides,
we had to wait for Kosta to come home to help us carve them. He was in Milwaukee
for the last month and just arrived home on Wednesday, so we've had quite a busy
week. Here are some pictures from our pumpkin carving last night...

The kids waiting to get started...

Iza "gutting" her pumpkin...

Foti watching Kosta cut through what I consider one of the thickest
pumpkins I'd ever dealt with...

Foti with his finished pumpkin! (Iza's is the one at the
beginning of the post)

Tonight we're having a small costume party complete with a candy hunt. We have scary sounds, candy corn and other snacks. We're lighting a bonfire and ending the evening with walk through our haunted woods. This little party is just a warm up for the years to come! So, if you celebrate Halloween enjoy yourselves!

****I also want to wish little ALEXIS a very Happy Birthday!****

My husband and his "double"

There comes a time in most of our lives when someone approaches us and claims that we have a twin or a "double". I've had this happen to me throughout most of my life. First, I have a younger sister that could have been my twin. People that don't know us very well always get us confused and if they realize that we're not the person that they thought we were, they usually stand in shock with their mouths wide open. In fact, I've been sworn at by someone that thought that I was my sister. They called me a b#!%h...in a friendly sort of way, wondering why I was supposedly ignoring her. And, we have some uncles & aunts that we rarely see-they almost never get our identities straight. It's always fun to laugh about the confusion.
Next, there are those random people out there, the ones that look like me that I always hear about but have never actually seen. When I had a stint as a waitress many, many years ago an Arabic family kept telling me how I resembled an Arabic actress, they almost didn't believe that I wasn't her. Yeah, I'd give up my great actress job in Saudi Arabia to wait tables in the U.S...not very likely is it? Anyway, I still don't know who they were talking about. The incidents are countless in my life.

My husband, on the other hand, has only been mistaken for one person in his entire life. He's been mistaken for Greece's Prime Minister...for years! So many people have approached us and asked questions and/or pointed out the resemblence. A good friend of mine, Phivos Nicolaides, took the time to create a post on his blog- dedicated to sharing with the world just how much my husband resembles Greece's Prime Minister.

Have a look at his post for yourselves!

Thank you, again, Phivos!

Sunday Celebration

These guys can make anyone smile...except for Alexandra! She was terrified of the clown on the stilts. Can't blame her, really.

Friday Evening at the Beach

Living so close to the sea gives us ample opportunity for discovery. This last Friday evening our neighbors were on their way to the beach for an octopus expedition and they invited us along. While Mr. Neighbor snorkels for octopus Mrs. Neighbor spends her time quietly on the beach either reading or picking up the trash. (There's always plenty of trash, you'll see.) Sometimes they'll take Iza & Foti with them to keep Mrs. Neighbor company. I'm always invited but I usually decline as I always have so much to do and I can't fathom spending my time lollygagging on the beach. Well, this time I decided to join them and even Alexandra was able to join in the fun. We got our collecting jars and our bags and met them at the beach.


As soon as we arrived, the kids started digging up shells and sifting through the sand.

A little while later, Iza spotted a blueish jellyfish at the shoreline. Can you see it? Of course, we had to get it for her.

There's always enough garbage to collect and use for viewing our specimens.

The kids were thrilled with this discovery as we haven't seen a jellyfish this big all summer.

When Mr. Neighbor emerged-his net was full. Yes, it's all octopus. At the time he didn't have a count of how many he caught. Last week he speared fifteen in just under an hour. Kosta has definitely met his match!

Off in the distance there were two men fishing near a fire to keep themselves warm. It looked so relaxing. It's too bad there's so much garbage on the beach. See the garbage?!

The kids wanted to see how many fish that they had caught so we walked over to find out. At that time, they hadn't caught any. But, their night had just begun. Armed with their beer, cigarettes and a fire they were set to last for hours.

The night might have been young for the fishermen but it wasn't for us. So, we gathered our things and headed home. On the way to our car the local sheep herder passed us with about one hundred sheep. The kids just loved that!

Two big bags of trash were collected and left at the proper trash bin. That didn't even put a dent in it but it's better than nothing. The kids were happy to have new shells and also to have inspected a jellyfish.

As soon as we arrived home the kids went to play hide and seek with Mrs. Neighbor. We enjoyed some chocolate and then it was time to go home and get cleaned up for bed. I was gifted three octopuses. They're in the freezer with the other three that we were gifted last week. It'll be really nice to bring those out in the middle of winter.

In the end, I'm happy that I took the opportunity to join our neighbors at the beach. I'll have to make sure to join them again instead of just sending the kids along. It was refreshing.

Olives

We've been picking olives for curing this week...hence my absence from the blogosphere.

I hope that everyone has a great weekend!

"Tortalitza" the tortoise

Here it is..."Tortalitza"...that's the name of our newest resident. If you would have told me two years ago- that my oldest daughter would become the princess of all things reptile in Greece; I would've never imagined it. Tortalitza arrived last Sunday. Iza is thrilled and actually obsessed with her new friend. Although the chosen name sounds feminine, the gender of our little friend has yet to be confirmed.

Foti was interested in the tortoise shortly after it's arrival but could care less about it now. Alexandra loves it. She points at it and screams, "toi toi"! (how cute is that?) I didn't really mind its presence at first but then I read up on how to care for it. First things first...everyone and I mean everyone... told me to feed it grapes and apples. Wrong! I read that fruit should only be given to the tortoise as a rare treat as it may cause the thing to have diarrhea. Not on my balcony! So, I snatched the apples and grapes that had already been provided. I'm going to pat myself on the back here because I knew better and put some romaine lettuce out for it, not fruit. I have some tortoise knowledge tucked away up in that mushy brain of mine. As I looked for information about it I discovered that it's a Spur-Thighed or Greek tortoise. It was difficult researching it though, because most of the information regarding care is directed toward people that purchase these tortoises at pet stores. This tortoise was picked up from of my mother-in-law's, aunt's farm. Hence, it was wild. It was moved from one outside location to another and I have no intention of having this little reptile join us in the house in an enclosed environment. We have it confined in our garden for now and there's plenty of greens for it to eat.

Gigi doesn't like Tortalitza at all. She barks and barks...and barks at it. Although I've locked her out of the garden, she's managed to wiggle her way through a hole in the gate. I heard her barking for about 10 minutes the other day so I went outside to see what was going on. She was digging a hole in front of it and barking incessantly. So, I picked up the tortoise so that Gigi would follow me. I tricked her out of the garden. It was difficult handling the tortoise because its hind legs would jet out and scratch my hands. As soon as I passed the gate I took a step back, put the tortoise down and slammed the gate shut. So, I went back into the house and within 5 minutes Gigi was at it again. I built a barricade in front of the gate. It's now blocked by a huge wooden case and a small barrel. Going into the garden won't be easy anymore. I'll have to make a new enclosure before the spinach and romaine start to grow.


So, now we have a tortoise.


On a positive note-receiving this tortoise helped me persuade Iza to donate the Balkan Green Lizard to her classroom. She's donated a toad, a lizard and a walking stick kind of bug. She really wanted to keep the lizard. So let's see -lizard or tortoise? I'll take the tortoise!


One more thing...and I'm not joking....she found a snake in our empty pool this afternoon (only in my life -right?) I took pictures but I haven't uploaded them yet. I had to convince her that this creature could actually be dangerous but she kept insisting that she wanted it. Now she understands that it could possibly harm her so she's stopped begging for me to catch it. The snake is still in the pool. I have to muster up the courage to help it out.

I'm submitting the photo of Tortalitza to the Camera Critters meme. I guess that there's never a shortage of critters around here. :)

It's still raining...

We had a little break filled with sunshine on Friday but it's still raining.

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Some updates...

The kids really enjoy their new school. So far, I'm not sure what I think. The kids have been fighting on the bus so I asked the bus driver and the teacher on the bus to separate them. I don't care if they're siblings...it's best not to stick them together on the bus right now. It's been a week since their "separation" and things have gone well. There's an open house this week and I'm looking forward to meeting some other parents. Last year their school was so far away that it was difficult for our kids to get together with other children to play. What I really need is to find playmates for Foti. Since moving here, there's been a shortage of boys his age in our reach so I really hope that he can find some friends at this new school.

Iza has provided the class with a toad and now they're studying frogs and toads. That's pretty cool. Yesterday we caught a baby Balkan Green Lizard (thanks for pointing us in the right direction Syd), and soon it will be off to visit the classroom. I took some pictures last night but they didn't turn out because the flash reflected off of the glass jar that it's in and made things a little blurry. Finally, we are expecting a tortoise to arrive any day now. Iza is extremely excited about that. I think that it will be cool to have a tortoise hanging around here.

Gigi is recovering from an injury. Thursday morning I noticed that she was hopping around and she just wasn't herself.. I took her to the vet and it turns out that the tendons in her front left paw are stressed. It could have been caused by anything but who knows what for sure. So, the vet gave her an injection to ease her pain a little and I've been giving her an anti-inflammatory. The kicker here is the other part of her treatment. I'm supposed to keep her inside either on a leash or locked in a bathroom where she can't jump up on anything ...for a week! Ok, I want to do what's best for Gigi but after putting her on a leash for half a day she stressed herself out by crying and trying to get off the leash. She was so stressed that she made herself sick all over the rug. I put her in the bathroom and I thought that she was going to knock the door down. So, we're letting her recover in our company. She does hang out on the couch more than anything and we're trying to keep the kids from playing with her as much as usual. She seems to be better but only time will tell. She's wormed her way onto my bed these days. I always said that I love her but there's no way that she'll sleep on my bed, well, I'm all talk. How can I refuse her warm little body at my feet?

Friday we put together a new bed for Foti and he won't come out of his room. He loves it. We painted his room last weekend. What colors? Spiderman red and blue. Yes, we took a Spiderman doll to the store and chose the colors that way. Here are some photos from their adventures in painting last weekend....

That's all for today. I hope that everyone is having a great weekend!

Gigi sniffs out a Hummingbird Hawk-moth!

Monday morning Gigi was running around grunting and semi-barking. She paced back and forth around the couch. She jumped on the couch and then she jumped down. All that I could think was, "What now?!" So, I was pleasantly surprised when a little Hummingbird Hawk-moth fluttered itself up against our window. That's what Gigi was after! It was adorable to watch her with the moth because although she seemed irritated that she couldn't catch up to it, she was curious at the same time. I'm glad that I was able to get a few shots and this one is my favorite. There's never a dull moment en mi casa! Ay!

Thanks to Maria V's nudging...and I mean that in a good way...I'm going to participate in Camera Critters Meme. So, this is my first entry. I hope that everyone enjoys this picture.

Thank you for the inspiration Maria!

Did I say that I wanted rain?

I should be careful of what I wish for. Our rain that was so welcomed last Monday night brought more rain and wind on Tuesday. After Alexandra prepared out dessert consisting of Iza's flip flop, the skies grew dark.We were getting ready to run to the grocery store for a few things and just about to get into the car when -WHOOSH! -a strong gust of wind blew in, tossing light items around the balcony. We turned around and went back up the stairs into the house, the kids were screaming with excitement and a little bit of fear. These winds that we get here are really powerful. Shortly after we settled inside the rain started falling. I shouldn't say "falling" because it was actually pouring.

With a combination gale force winds and pouring rain there was very little visibility...sheets of rain were coming down. The electric was blinking off & on so I quickly switched off all of our power strips in order to avoid any future problems with our electronics. This storm only lasted about 20 minutes, but in that short amount of time here's what happened...

First, our power went out-here's a picture of some of my candles. It brought back memories of spring.

Next, our bathroom drain on the first floor backed up. Yuck. Iza discovered it as she was walking toward the bathroom. She slipped and fell only to blame Gigi. "Mom! Gigi peed on the floor and the whole bathroom is wet!" Hmmm...first, the dog doesn't make those little mistakes anymore and second, she wouldn't have filled the whole bathroom. Time to investigate. It turns out that so much water came down is such little time that the drain on the porch outside of the bathroom backed up our drain in the bathroom. Fantastic. Mopping by candlelight was something I had never experienced before.
After the storm ended it was bedtime. Iza and Foti thought that it was cool to fall asleep by candlelight so they went to bed without much coaxing. Alexandra, on the other hand, wasn't letting us out of her sight. So, she fell asleep on the couch with Gigi.
Kosta and I decided to go out on the balcony to see if anyone else had power. It seems that everyone in the surrounding area had it except for our little neighborhood. I took some pictures of the moon since the sky was so gorgeous after the storm.
The flash from my camera drew our neighbors outside. They suggested that we join them for a glass of wine on their porch. What a great idea, but we had our kids sleeping in the house and we couldn't leave them. Their house isn't that close to ours either. "Achh-Seri...den birazi...ela atho"... ("Achh! Cheryl...it doesn't matter...come over!") Well, yes, it does matter and thank you for the offer! We both declined. Besides, Kosta was waiting anxiously for the power to go back on so that he could get back to work. That brings me to his phone call to DEH.
After three hours without power we decided to call the power company, DEH, to see if we could be given an estimated time for the power to be restored. Well, since our home phones don't work without power he used his cell phone to call. He called an "emergency" number, the only number available for us to get in touch with anyone at DEH at that time of night.
Before Kosta could say anything the man that answered the phone started yelling at him. Here's how the exchange unfolded:

K: "Hi, I'm calling because our power went out a few hours...(interrupted by yelling man)

DEH: " You can't use this number, you're not calling from a land line!"

K: "That's because my land line doesn't work without power..."

DEH: " I don't care, you can't call from a mobile...go to a periptoro!" (periptoros are stands on corners and elsewhere that sell newspapers, magazines, cigarettes...etc. It's like a convenience store.)

K: (getting very irritated)" Listen to me, I don't have a land line that works and I'm nowhere near a periptoro! Are you going to help me?"

DEH: (shouting so loud I heard every word clearly from the other side of the room)"I can't help you!" Click.

The guy hung up.

After a few choice words in both Greek and English Kosta hit redial.

The same man answered.

K: "Was I just talking to you?"

DEH: (yelling) "Yes! You can't use this number!"

K: "What's your boss's name and number?!"

DEH: "I'm the boss!"

K: "No! (now yelling) I want the name of the person that will be there in the morning!!"

The man at DEH shouted two names, his and his superior's and hung up.

After that, Kosta just vented his frustration and then we started laughing about how ridiculous the man's behavior was. If we really couldn't call that number then why was it working? And, if the man wasn't crazy and actually spoke to Kosta instead of shouting at him, things could've been a lot different. So, let's say that we couldn't use the number because their system tracks where the calls are coming in by phone numbers...that can be explained in a civil manner with understanding. But, the man was a beast. That's how most things work here. A lot of yelling and screaming for no good cause. At this point we can only laugh. It's time for DEH to invest in an automated answering system.

So, I went to bed shortly after midnight. Apparently, the power was restored at around 4:00 am. The next day we heard that one of the utility poles was damaged by the storm. So, that was that.

Finally, we've lost a lot of apples and peaches due to the high winds. We had a full peach tree before last Sunday and as of Wednesday there were only about 10 left on the tree. I went out and tried to salvage what I could from the ground but there weren't too many left untouched by the birds or insects. I guess if you snooze you lose! :(

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Since last week it's been windy and cool. The temperature during most days has been in the high 60's. We've had our fireplace burning since we haven't ordered diesel for the boiler yet. It's been refreshing. We've been wearing our socks and slippers and I've been forced to dig out the kids' fall clothes, something I just wasn't prepared for. Oh, wait, back to slippers...the kids are wearing theirs and I've been wearing just socks because Gigi takes mine outside all of the time. For almost a week I've been asking myself out loud, "where's my other slipper?" I hadn't been able to locate the other one until late last week. It appears that Gigi has found a new spot to hide our things...under the bushes that line the driveway. Here's my missing slipper. Cold, wet, muddy and alone...under a bush.

I personally like the leaves that have gathered inside.

Have a great week everyone!

September Rain

The rain has been in the forecast for a few days and we've been anxiously waiting for its arrival. I didn't water the garden for two days in anticipation. Yesterday, we stayed in all day as the clouds seemed to drift past us. We heard rumbles of thunder in the distance and the strong winds cooled us all day. Finally, our storm arrived during the early evening. As it hasn't rained here in well over one month we were all giddy when it finally started pouring down. Although this is the beginning of a long, wet winter we welcome the rain.


After the storm passed we dug out our long sleeved pajamas and the kids cuddled on the couch. I made a hearty dinner that included pork schnitzel and white rice, a meal that was a little too heavy to eat in the heat of summer. Autumn is one of may favorite seasons in Wisconsin and yesterday's storm brought a coolness that reminded me of home...I'm loving it.

Bee in Flower

It's been a while since I've posted pictures of flowers and other things around home. As the weather is cooling a bit I enjoy being outside so I'm starting to stop and notice the little things once again .

Garden gate...

Here's a gate on the property that we never use. I think that the vines curled around it with their orange flowers are beautiful.