May

At last...
spring is here, weatherwise, too !
May is my favourite month
- with flowers blooming and birds singing...
I love it!

These flowers are at my dad's,
where I spent the long weekend,
planting tomatoes, peppers and other nutritious veggies
and enjoying the colours around the garden. 
Lots of green, pinks and reds and white as well. 

A little fragrant bunch came home with me
and greeted me happily a few minutes ago when I came home from work.

Enjoy May!

Yiota

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

spring.... sort of

Spring is supposed to be sunny and warm, non?

So why does it feel like autumn?

Where has my spring gone?

A friend of mine who lives in Germany tells me they've stolen our spring!

It was a bit sunny today, but really nothing much -

nothing like the famous greek sunshine, anyway.

Well, trying to keep my spirits up, I decided to bring some spring inside -

and by that I mean inside our home

and inside my soul.

Our two-week Easter break starts on Friday.

All's good then.

Take Care!

Enjoy spring!

lately...

...it's all about flowers

and a lot of work.

Happy Spring!

(the book is 'Jamie at home')

spring!

My favourite season is here!

Not only because the calendar says so, but weatherwise as well.

Ah! I looooove spring!

The colours, the smells...

We're not fully into it yet, of course,

but when my son and I plant seeds and when we look for signs -and find many- I say, it's here alright!

Meanwhile, we've got one more week before the Easter school break and I can't wait to go to my village and see the green shoots from the bulbs I planted in November.

Take Care and have fun, my friends!

xxx

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

down at the river

We had a very pleasant and relaxing walk, all three of us, on sunday afternoon.

One that I cherish and keep close to my heart.

It will help these last five weeks go by faster.

xxx

in the back yard

Hello lovely people! I hope the second week of May is off to a
good start for you!

The weather's been crazy here. It doesn't feel like May at all;
more like November.

Saturday was fine, but yesterday it was windy and cold. We got about an hour of sunshine (kind of) in the afternoon and we grabbed the chance to go out for a while; and a good thing it was - it started raining as soon as we got back in.

Have a lovely Monday!

xxx


(PS. Any idea how to bring spacing back to normal?)

do crochet hearts grow on cherry trees?

Thank you Maaike for the tutorial!
~~~~~~

It's Mother's Day tomorrow. Here's a heart my son made at school...

and one that his teacher made for us, mums.

Happy Mother's Day to all you lovely mums out there!

xxx

May {right now} ...

Today was the first day at work after the two-week break.

I found books waiting for me here.

I'm excited about my new books! I need to show you what I've bought so far this year.

I'll go drink this coffee now and leaf through my books before I go get little one from school.

Have a lovely month!

It's a beautiful, sunny Monday here.
xxx

today

~a sunny yet windy and cold sunday

~ lots of time spent at the kitchen table

~ crafting and colouring

~ quite a lot of ironing, too

~ peter pan on the dvd

~ going to bed early tonight

~ a hot-water bottle will come along -in april, in greece!!!

~ my book (the happiness project) as well

~ alarm clock set for 6.30 a.m.

~~~~

have a great week!

xxx