HOME!

Charley and I got back home after an amazing trip. It was lovely and Greece is wonderful. Being gone so long was very relaxing and our routine was fun. We'd sit out on the balconey every morning having coffee, feta, olives, oj and a pastry or some sort. I even have tan lines on my feet!

You could strictly eat veggies if you want. There is a great variety and since meat is so expensive, people are very creative and so very yummy! I did eat goat, lamb and octopus. All were good?!! We did have a McFarm at the Athens airport and guess what it is? A burger with a spicey sauce and instead of hamburger, its pork sausage! Different and interesting, but I wouldn't call it great.

Coming home...I miss my family and my cats miss me. Last night I had 35lbs of cat on me the whole time. Fall happened while I was gone and somewhere under the leaves I think I have grass. I went searching for my girls yesterday. Was on my way to surprise Morgan at her office. Fortunately she called me and she was in court in Tacoma. So that didn't work. Went to Taylor's school....she already left, so that didn't work. Maggie called, we met for coffee. Finally a person to hug!

So listen everyone...Sheri, Morgan and Taylor...meet me here in an hour! Is that possible? No. What am I to do? I guess go make french toast and coffee, sit on my front porch and fill the recycle container with leaves. Good to be home!

Cigarettes

The world over here needs to catch up...smoking is everywhere. It apparently okay to hold your ashes over the grill, in a clothes shop, restaurant, actually anywhere you want. At first we wouldn't eat if the "chef" was holding a cigarette while cooking. Then we realized, we wouldn't eat. While shopping in the grocery stores (8x10 room with various food items) you can smoke there as well. Nothing like buying a new top and it smells. Crazy. Maybe we are the only ones who find this odd.

A dinner tonight with the aunties of octopus as the main item...I am looking forward to it. They are so cute and funny even if I don't understand everything said. You can pick it out.

Must go, off to a ceramic shop on the other side of the island and hopefully they are open. We called and they said it depends on the weather...questioned if sunny open? couldn't give us an answer. The stuff looks fabulous. Things you actually would like at home, nothing with a decal!

Miss everyone!!!

Greek Myths

Here are a few surprises for me and information:

- All roads in the town are actually sidewalks that cars feel the need to drive on and no where to park an actual car.

-Roads are like a driveway...the main road all around the island reminds me of the road to the Lake House. That quality. Also the island is a big rock. The roads have been blasted into the hillside and a bit of concrete splashed down and now its considered the road to travel on. You might see a guard rail or more often not...and if you happen to glance down, you are about 300-400 feet above the ocean water or gully. The goats seem not to have a problem but feel they have the right-of-way and this is another road concern. Need-less-to-say, you travel about 15mph and it takes forever to get anywhere.

-All Greek food is not just seasoned with lemon and oregano. It is very good and a great variety. Not a lot of meat is used and at dinners (I mean at the aunties houses) it reminds me of Grandma Nugents house....at least 3 types of veggies are served.

-Bread, where to begin. My weekness. Auntie bakes bread every other day. She has these great baking pans about 50yrs old and about 4inches high and they are square that take up the whole oven space. She fills these pans as quickly as I can put together a pie. Then when ready to come out of the oven, a large cotton cloth is put on the kitchen floor, upturn the pan and break apart the loaves which look a bit like our french bread shape. You keep doing this same process because you have 3 pans. One pan is for regular eating and the other breads are then spliced and put back into the over to slow bake to remove all moisture. This bread is now stored and used to "dunk"...you can buy it at all the bakeries.

-We picked up a hitchhiker...a little old Greek woman was standing by an old cemetary carved into the hill waving her cane and shouting. We stopped and fortunately we had cousin Chris with us who could understand her. She was just waiting for a ride to get back into town. Cute and very typical looking old gal. We sort of figured out from the conversation, that all her family has died and she visits the cemetary for a few days? or few hours? can't tell and then back into the city.

-Everyone is related somehow and everyone is a cousin. Amazing, got to be a little cross-breeding somewhere. Charley is a little sensative to my comments on this.

-Polmigranites (SP?) - they grow upside down on the branches,lot of volunteer fruit trees mixed in the old olive orchards. Other trees, orange, apple, lemon, lime, fig....speaking of fig...not bad. I think we have had them over ripe and the ones I've had aren't outragiously sweet.

-Lots of flies - crazy you would think we are in Montana on a ranch.

-Siesta - all shops close up about 3pm-6pm for nap time....and I mean everything. You can't even purchase a bottle of water.

Well this is longer than I thought, but I'll think of more Greek facts and report more later.

Where is Taylor?

Hey - I've been really good at keeping in touch with you guys and reading your blogs keeps me in touch with whats going on at home....but where are you Taylor?? This makes me worried, so please, please write about what's going on and if things are going allright.

Another quick Greek adventure....when on the computer, and even on the blogspot, you have to rely on your memory as to which buttons to hit as most of it is in Greek. Nice. So I'm hitting areas on the screen by color codes...many a time, I've had to start over because everything has been erased. Just another challenge!

Ikaria

Hopefully this is going to come through...even blogspot.com is coming up in Greek and I can only hope that I hit the correct buttons and in the right area.

So here is a story...back in Athens we are looking for lunch. You know when we all travel we want to embrace the culture etc. well, I've almost changed my mind and wanted to go to McDonald for a McFarm..whatever that is!

We look for a place for lunch and I just want a jambon and formage pie and what I end up with, oh God make me forget...on the corner inside the meat market a cafeteria where obviously the locals eat and of course Charley the Greek loves all of this and steps right up to the counter. The waiter, cook whatever speaks some English, we want a small plate of veggies and fish? We get, a great greek salad which is interesting over here as it contains no lettuce. Imagine if you will, says Rod Sterling, a plate with sauted ocra in a tomatoe sauce, fava beans, peas, spinach with rice. All yummy but swimming in olive oil. The next plate salt cured perch and smelt. Must have been fried maybe as well? A big plate all neatly displayed like a flower...face, teeth, eyes, bones, everything. charley is just popping them in his mouth - yummy - I cannot even try this stuff and as I am trying to consume the veggies I can't look too much around because there off to my left is a skinned goat hanging upside down and "looking" right at me with its beaty eyes, HELP!

All I can say is now that I'm in Ikaria and the aunties are cooking, it is normal again.

Greece

We ventured to the meat and fish market yesterday. I've seen a lot in SFO and even in Seattle at the Asian market, but it doesn't compare to the one in Athens.

Taylor would be currently in food therophy as I think I will be soon....can you imagine a tray full of either goat or lamb heads. These are skinned with keeping eye balls. Oh my god! And the fish, couldn't be any smellier. We have lots of pictures to share on this subject.

Athens is a very dirty city. They are working on restoring the ruins but down town there are many ghetto neighborhoods. At one time, we got ourselves in an area that a policeman had to escort us out of and as he said in Greek..."quickly".

Must go, but will share more later..

Greek Week

Today is the start of the festival. Charley has spent the last two evenings working to set up "his" booth. It always surprises me how much time is put in just to set the loukoumades (donut) maker.

For those of you who have tried these delicious treats, you know they are worth every calorie. I can hardly wait. I'm going on Sunday to work, eat and enjoy the entertainment. One thing I know he really enjoys is sharing his culture and traditions to those around him. He glows when he sees a face in the rush of people that he can sweep behind the scenes for a quick taste of Greek wine or a swig of ouzo. So Morgan, Tyler, Taylor and Dave get ready you will be embraced and introduced to many whose accents can be so strong, its hard to understand what is being said, so go with the old stand-by...nod your head and smile!

Along with the festival...I'm packing for Greece. I've not been on this long of a trip and afraid a carry on just isn't going to cut it. Charley has told me of the item that are a must to bring back and I need an extra suitcase just for this purpose. We still aren't sure of everywhere we're going as we so many choices being in that part of the world. I know a few days in Athens, ten days on the island to enjoy and take care of all the legal and attorney issues (hopefully they will know some English) and of course consumming a goat or two :( I always enjoy a farmers market, but that doesn't mean I want to have all of it for dinner. We'll take a ferry to Turkey, but where are we to go the rest of the time??? Rome, Croatia?? Stop off and see our friends in France? So many decisions and not much time left to really figure it out. I guess it is nice to be so flexible that if you find a place you want to stay for a couple more days, you can actually do it.

So while colleges are dealing with Greek Week so am I!