spring clean(s)ing

 

 

I've never been much of a 'spring cleaning' person;

I've never had the patience or energy required for this.

So I just did a bit of cleaning here and a bit of decluttering there;

the result was a decent home but never a perfectly organised one.

Procrastinating is my middle name and as long as the flat is

clean enough to be healthy and messy enough to be happy

it was fine by me!

This year something changed, though.

I'm not sure I can put it to words.

It's this need I have for simplifying;

for having less stuff,

having fewer obligations,

having more time for my family and for me.

So before going away for the Easter holidays, 

I looked around for inspiration

- blogs, pins, spring cleaning lists-

and kept some notes on my,

truly inspiring, Susan Branch wall calendar.

My biggest challenges were the bedroom walk-in closet,

the kitchen glass cabinet (it's huge) and the balconies.

I'm proud to say I managed to do them all.

There are still cupboards and drawers to be sorted out

but I have a plan

and a whole month ahead.

Of course, with schools starting again on Monday......

we'll see. I'll keep you posted.

Wow! Look at how much I've already written.

And to think that it's the cleansing part I'm mostly 

interested in.

I'm trying to look after myself a bit (or rather a lot) more.

I eat healthily and try to walk as much as I can. 

(going to the gym is not an option for now)

I love seeing my fuel -salad-  all washed and ready to get in the fridge.

I make beautiful combinations; yes, beautiful.

I take my bowl to the study and search the net for spring images.

Finally, the most important part.

I seek inner peace.

I want to get rid of any past bitterness and find the strength in me to forgive.

I need to stop reproducing mean dialogues in my head.

It's the only way I can think of 

to move my life forward.

Cherishing the simple things and enjoying the gifts I was given.

Making others happy.

It's not easy. I've been through a tough period

and quite often I didn't even like myself.

So spring clean(s)ing it is, then.

Wish me luck

and do stop by.

I'll do my best to do so, too.

Take Care!

Yiota

lunch for one

some good news at the job front;
still waiting, though...

i was home alone a couple of days ago;
i often cook eggs for lunch when i'm alone.

call me weird, but i do like to eat alone in front of the tv sometimes.

 sometimes...

today...

...I discovered these in The Shell Seekers

(have no idea when I put them in there)

... I noticed one of my favourite colour combinations in my pan.

It's always the little things...

xxx

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

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?

life

lately, it feels like life is slipping through my fingers.

all we do around here is work and study.

no time to play or have fun on weekdays!

i still get excited when the time of year for spring bulbs arrives -

i'm a sucker for spring, don't forget-

and i'm over the moon when i get a parcel in the mail,

even if it's something i ordered.

and if you ask my little one, he won't complain for lack of

weekend activities - plays etc.

but a new reality has slowly set in.

i looked at my paperwhite today,

and thought that these should be the last plants i buy for a while.

i smile when i see my extremely cute, yet totally unnecessary, shabby-chic rabbit and mouse toys on my bedside table -yes, i really need to

stay away from etsy.

books and entertainment for my little guy

will be the last fortress to fall,

even if i have to eat pasta and rice every day.

- besides, i love pasta! ;)

oh, well! it's the weekend.

i'm sure i'll find something fun for us to do.

i wish i had more time to blog.

i feel better already.

take care!

xxx

so far today

Can you see how fresh the plants at the entrance to our block of flats look?

Can you see how grey and dark the morning is?

Yeap! We got rain! Lots of it. It started last night and kept raining until about midday today.

So refreshing!

What can a woman do when it's all fresh and cool outside?

Well, have coffee at the balcony, of course, enjoying some 'hooky' time.

Bliss!



And what can a mommy feed her little man, other than  warm, thick bean soup, loaded with

chopped veggies?

(have you spotted the sun-dried tomatoes my dad's made and the yellow carrot?) 

Yesterday turned out to be a good day, after all. I suddenly felt on top of things after having shared my miseries here and managed to do quite a lot of housework.

And now, my son's waiting for me in his room to de-clutter his book cupboards.

We need to make space for his school books.

Have a good day!

xxx

my {home-alone} sunday

some reading and crocheting

washing curtains, washing windows (the whole thing)  and putting curtains back up

 a simple meal for one :omelette with  pasta (angel's hair), spring onions and green peppers

a favourite film (you've got mail), coffee and a little treat

~ Can you tell by the way I write that I'm not really into words? ~

Have a lovely week!

xxx

lately in my kitchen...

~I've discovered the amazing aroma of fennel seeds and never looked back.

~ I've been using the two different kinds of basil I have in a pot.

 

~ I've been cooking lots of vegetable stews (veggies courtesy of my dad's produce).

~ I've been adding cherry tomatoes to almost every dish I've made. 

~ I've been chopping/  boiling /canning / freezing almost every day.

 

~ I've been baking and freezing muffins (in an attempt not to eat a whole batch in two days!)

 

~ And... I have no idea how many tomatoes I've washed, chopped, boiled, canned/ put in the freezer... All I know is that there are now 90 jars (big ones) at my dad's, twelve freezer bags ( quantity for one stew each) in my freezer and fifteen bags in my friend's freezer! And there's more to come!

melon anyone?

 

...straight fom my dad's veggie garden!

And like he says:

'what an amazing thing nature is: it does something different to form the skin, and then the flesh and the seeds! And everything has a different colour: cherries are red, melons are yellow, watermelons are green and red...'

today's colours

orange and green

When I'm in no hurry to go out or clean the house or be otherwise engaged

I find it relaxing to wash, scrape, chop fresh vegetables and herbs and stock the freezer.

 

This is just some of the 'loot' I brought yesterday from my village.

Happy Tuesday!

xxx

the colours of summer bounty

I sometimes know, when I prepare some kind of food, that as soon as it's ready, I'll take pictures of it.

This is not what happened yesterday with this Greek salad, though. I was setting the table for hubby to eat his dinner when I caught myself staring at it, trying to figure out what  it was that made it so special.

And then I got it. For one thing, it was the colour combination: white, red and green. So fresh and summery.

But it was not only this. You see, except for the cheese, everything else in the salad came from my dad's and in-law's veggie garden.

Home-grown veggies are delicious in a feel-well kind of way; do you know what I mean?

By the way, my dad has 350 (I know!!!) roma tomato plants; they're the best for tomato products and we're planning to fill lots of jars next month!

Take Care!

xxx

today

finding comfort in the little things

seems like the wise thing to do...

baking

having coffee

smelling the roses

smiling at the sight of something made for you with love

reading a book you've read many times before

hope you're having a wonderful sunday

xxx

saturday

you start the day with the best of intentions to make it a happy one...

~ you make french toast for breakfast

~ you read a great book with your morning coffee

~ you go out in the yard and really take in the enjoyment a six-year-old feels when jumping in the puddles (+ you don't have to worry he'll get sick when his trousers are drenched)

~ you hang the laundry out to dry and love the fact that there are green plants, all in full bloom, below

~ you plan a pizza evening



yet, at the back of your mind, there are always the stressful thoughts that have been bothering you for a while

~'where will we be in september? we'll only find out late august'

~'what will happen to my country, to our jobs, to us?'

~' how can we plan our future?'

and then the realisation comes: we might as well enjoy what we have in the present

have a gorgeous weekend!

xxx

sunday breakfast for two

{click on the mosaic for a closer look}

~ pancakes a la jamie for breakfast! yum! i love this guy! we have a date tonight at 8 (i hope i remember to switch on the tv!)

~ beef stew with green beans cooking as 'we speak'

~ lots of sunshine outside

~ i'm thinking of a walk by the river before lunch (we haven't done this for ages!)

~ and now it's coffee time

~~~~~

("mum, we didn't finish the book last night")

duty calls! coffee right after that!

have a wonderful sunday!

December 5th - grateful for ...

{ food }

there may be things better than beef stew and baked potatoes and home-made bread -- there may be.

~ David Grayson