Friday, 18 May 2012

have moved down under

It's been so unbelievably cold these days,
it feels like October!

I had to take my tomato seedlings inside
 to protect them from the cold and the wind.
I started dreaming of dryers again.
I have so much  laundry to do and no idea where to dry it!
Just when you think you don't need socks anymore...


Anyway, it's Friday afternoon and we have the whole weekend ahead;
the weatherman said that we 'll get our spring back soon
so it's all good.

I'm making some cupcakes with my super fast cupcake maker
as soon as I go offline;
Friday afternoon = coffee + cake + crochet. Nice!





Weather permitting, I'm planning to spend some happy time
surrounded by pots, compost, flower seedlings and, of course,
my precious helper tomorrow!




I'm leaving you today
with my beautiful amaryllis, which is exactly as old as my son;
it is now two plants since I separated the two bulbs that were formed
and planted them again in autumn. Clever me!



Have a great weekend!
xxx




Friday, 11 May 2012

wishing you...


...
a fabulous weekend
and a wonderful Mother's Day with your kids.

xxx

Thursday, 10 May 2012

till next year

Did you know I love asparagus?
A simple dish of boiled asparagus with olive oil and lemon
is heaven on earth for me.
Together with gridled mushrooms, it's one thing that hardly ever makes it to the table.
So I thought I'd make them last a little longer, by making this great asparagus tart, the 'Jamie way'.



They did last longer... a little longer ... a whole day.
Yes, I ate almost all of it on my own in just one day!




Why is the asparagus season so short?



Wednesday, 9 May 2012

words on a simple life

Are you familiar with this book?

I bought it a few days ago and was very glad to see
that the first quote of the collection was by a Greek writer.

How simple and frugal a thing is happiness:
a glass of wine, a roast chestnut, a wretched little brazier,
the sound of the sea....
All that is required to feel
that here and now is happiness
is a simple, frugal heart.

Nikos Kazantzakis
(1885-1957)

This hasn't been an easy day for me. A stomach-ache kept me up late
and woke me up several times during the night
and, at work... this day counts in my book as a very bad one; patience? what is that?
Then this amazing shower came and washed all the negativity away!
So invigorating!
I'm much better now -and so are my plants, which had a good wash from the city dust.
Happiness is indeed a simple thing!

Then I opened this book and a thought crossed my mind:
at these challenging times for my country,
it's good to remember that there have been people, Greeks, who led the way to many others. Who were inspiring; leaders in their own way,
who made my country famous.
I'm sure there will be more in the future.