A few more pics...

Happy Easter!

Well, it wasn't such a happy time for the lambs of this world and the next... Easter is the biggest holiday in Greece, and everyone takes off to the villages that their parents and grandparents live in, a sort of exodus to the country type deal. We took part and went south to the small town of Kavasila, located about 60km south of Patras, to spend the weekend with the Mixalopoulos (sp?) family. We arrived Saturday evening in time for the lamb preparation, and we saw it all - from hanging in the industrial fridge to the table to be seasoned, skewered and sewn up... to the pit where it was roasted for six hours on Sunday morning. So Saturday night was the seasoning, skewering and sewing part... which was followed by a midnight church service that was very nice. We didn't take any pics, but it involved some chanting and lots of candles... very nice. After that, everyone took off (almost running) to break the fast of Lent and eat the first meal of Easter around 12:30am. THEN... we went out to the bars as most younger people do.. to arrive home to light the fire for the lamb. Nick's dad got up around 5:30 and beat him to it - he takes pride in doing so every year - we got home around 6. After a few hours of sleep we were up to observe and take part. This involved: eating meat and lots of it, touring the village to say hi to friends and see how their lambies are doing, and ... drinking drinking drinking - our first glass of wine was at 10am. So here are some pics... Hope everyone had a great weekend!!!

Porto Katsiki

This has to be one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen... and yes it was worth being meleed in with all of the Greek Drivers and their exodus out of the city into the country. It took us close to five hours!!! to get there, but we forgot about that as soon as we saw this beach. There were no people as it's way too early for the Greeks to go to the beach, which made it even more spectacular. The water was cold but refreshing and it was hot out so.. no worries.

Going Batty at Alaska's Matanuska Glacier...

A Few Weeks Later...

How well do we know our family's past, history and heritage? My grandmother Doris Hamblin passed away last week and though, of course, it is a very sad occasion for the family I know she is in a better place. She struggled for the last 10 years or so with Alzheimer's and found daily life very challenging as most of the wiring that guides her (and our) every day activities had all but vanished... I can't imagine how difficult it was for her. What was so enlightening though was how she was able to hold on to memories from long ago - growing up on the farm with her brothers and sisters, and hanging out with friends at the lake. I loved seeing her black and white pictures, the old school bathing suits and poses... and knowing that we share something more than genetics... Having lived in many different countries and in different societies/cultures... I know that all across the board humans feel the same emotions.. seems very clear and obvious but.. sometimes it's not. It's neat to think about her growing up with her group of friends, going to the lake, joking around... and that there is an interconnectedness there with my life and my friends. So... as I was saying at the beginning.. how well do we know our own history? There are so many stories that make us who we are... so much to explore.

On another note, we just got back from a trip to Thessaloniki where we ate too much, drank too much, and second-hand smoked too much... there is no respect for non-smokers here, which is very sad because kids are exposed to it relentlessly. I'll have to snap some pics of the play/daycare place next to my gym... there is a cloud of smoke hanging in there that never dissipates. It's disgusting. Not much else is new here, we are trying to figure out when the season will be over for Steve and hopefully find a few days to visit an island and soak up some sun before we head home. They need to win on Saturday or they're relegated to play downs... which would be a catastropha! because it would most likely mean that everyone is out of luck for the last four paychecks, doh. We're looking forward to Easter - it's the biggest holiday in Greece and we hear the festivities are not to be missed. Apparently the spit is fired up around 7am on Sunday, and the poor little lamby is roasted all day long. It may push me over the edge to vegetarianism. A bientot...

This week...

Sugar cookie self-portraits

HELLO! There's not too much news to report, life in Greece is slow and fairly uneventful... I've gotten back in the swing of things with yoga, cooking .. and eating. What is it with the magnetic impulse between me and the kitchen? I know it increases with boredom and especially with idleness... I miss having a library here, if there were a library down the block I would migrate there. Speaking of books, I went to buy a french paperback this morning, and... they wanted 15 euros from me! No no no.... for a 200 page paperback, that was the thickest I could find for the least amout of beans. So.. the net will have to do I suppose. Here is the latest chocolate wisdom we have unwrapped, and a few old pics. Cheers ")

LOVE IS A SPONTANEOUS GRASS, NOT A GARDEN PLANT.

THE IDEAL HUSBAND IS UNMARRIED.

THE HEART HAS ITS REASONS WHICH REASON DOES NOT KNOW.

Some pics from Prague and Vienna

Me and Wendy....
Sipping some healing sulphur water at Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic
Me and Marie

Me and Doug outside the Hofburg in the Heldenplatz... just in front of the statue you see in the next pic...
March 1938

Back to ... reality?

I'm back from Vienna and Prague, home from vacation and back to... work? Hmm.. I don't think so. Anyways, I had an awesome trip. I flew into Vienna and took the bus to Prague (40 euros round trip, very good deal) to visit a friend from last years team in Southern France... We relived the fabulous times we had with our team and our outstanding coach... how we miss the French! Just kidding. They're not all bad... ahem, umm anyways, it was great. We ate a lot, and I mean a LOT, drank, went to the gym a few times and cruised around Prague. My french was rusty, as was hers, so we invented a handful of new mots, all of which I'm too ashamed to share... very ridiculous. So after five days I took off back to Vienna where I met up with an oooold friend from Gonzaga who just moved there, Doug Griffin. We had lunch and caught up on the last seven years, had some Czech spirits and a beer in the Heldenplatz in front of the Imperial Palace in Wien (where, as Doug pointed out, 70 years ago Hitler stood to announce it's "annexation" of Austria, Anschluss), sat out a rainstorm in the city's oldest cafe (so they say) and ??? reminisced. Next on the program was visiting Chris and Marie-eve, also friends who I met last year in Cannes, in Amstetten. He is playing vball there and she is long distance with her MBA program, so they are both busy busy. I was only there for two days, and we did much of the same - eating, drinking, laughing.. that sort 'o' thing. It was great as well. Then back to Athens on Saturday where two lovely surprises were waiting for me: warm weather and Steve.. yay... The last few days here have been super warm, upwards of 20... very nice. I don't have too much on the agenda now, getting through some thick books, new culinary adventures, yoga and waiting to hear about school. I have my fingers crossed for City Planning at the University of Manitoba.. hopefully I hear something soon. One more thing to share - Steve has a super-fan from last year in Cagliari, Sardinia... she is Buddhist and claims to have known Steve in another life and has given him a bunch of Buddhist paraphernalia .. random, but anyways, she sent him a package for his birthday with a bunch of stuff, including: a messenger bag, a small stuffed animal, several printouts of Buddhist teachings and words of wisdom, chocolates (Bacios), and stuff to make lasagna!! Bechamel sauce, tomato sauce, lasagna noodles and instructions. My point is that I ate a chocolate! No, and it came, as they all do, with a fortune. Read, and learn. Synonymous with Buddhist teaching? Not sure...

FOR EVERY WOMAN THERE IS A SEDUCER. HER HAPPINESS LIES IN HER MEETING HIM.

ATHENS

THE TENTOURA PROJECT

Tentoura is a delicious liqueur native to Patras that we love so much that I'm going to try to make it at home... danger! yes yes yes.. yum yum yum. Cinnamon, cloves, a bit of ginger and ??? Hopefully it's successful, I'm kind of winging it. Keep you posted. Dinner time.

HI! Let's see how this works.. the first post. I'm in Patras, Greece which is about 200km west of Athens on the (in the?) Peloponnese.. very nice country, very nice. This pic was taken just before Christmas down by the port on a clear day, as you can see.... The mountains are periodically covered in snow - now not at all - the ski resorts (YES! there are ski hills here, small ones though) are all closed much to the chagrin of... the 4 skiers in town. Anyways, the city is nice, lots to do.. I guess. Greeks looove going out for coffee, even more so than North Americans... it's a bit ridiculous. A minimum of one hour must be spent sipping coffee, meme si c'est un cappucino and you have to drink it cold for half an hour. Anyways, the coffee is good and the people are nice... most of the time. The food is awesome - they love eating here more than any place I've been which is fine by me.. and ?? Steve and I like it here. It's also the first year that I'm not playing on any team which is a bit different for me but I'm enjoying it. Anyways, time to get din dins on the go, so until next time, cheers... ")

A litte something about me...

About me: I'm a 30-ish (agh!)... autodidact who loves reading, learning, language, food and laughing... yay! I'm a former professional volleyball player looking for a new career. In the meantime, I hang out with my best friend and boyfriend Steve as he continues to pursue his volleyball career.