It is over. Never again. We say this every year. Days of preparation. A day of celebration. Days of cleaning and picking up the pieces. This time I mean it. Next year I'm going to sit at someone elses feast. I'm going to dress up in my best clothes, arrive in time for the food. Eat, laugh, drink, toast the hosts. Then I'm going home to my nice clean house and my empty fridge. Maybe I'll even go out for coffee after the feasting. Maybe I'll join the throng on the waterfront in the evening for a g and t. Roll on next year's easter!
As usual when a family of greek extroverts get together the air was fraught with friction. Everyone yelling instructions, a few retreats with mumbled threats, dishes slammed down and small conclaves of grumbling serfs . Once the celebrations began, with the first tidbits from the lamb and a few glasses of wine all was well with our world again.
Next year.......
Blackening our doorway for another year. That must be eight years of crosses up there.
A little girl's fancy lambatha for midnight mass
Playing conkers with the red easter eggs.
A bottle of fancy wine for the end of Lent. Two of us drank this nice bubbly Asti. There wasn't all that much wine in the bottle though. It was a thick heavy bottle, very deceptive.
Basting the lamb with an oily rag on the end of a stick
The lamb is off the spit. Great smiles of anticipation!
Alas poor Yorick.....
The head of the lamb ready to go
Yum yum?
The first wave of visitors have a snack and a glass of wine before moving on to their own easter feasting
The potatoes were forgotten in all the chaos and were burnt to a perfect crisp. We'll do the same next year....oops, no we won't!!!!
As well as easter we had a very important birthday to celebrate. This was a mosaic refrigerator cake, one of many desserts. We all made one and visitors brought boxes of sticky syrup cakes and milk pie (galaktobouriko) . Kids went home sugar happy
Elli my dear, thanks for the mountain of dishes you washed, the armfuls of plates you carried to and fro, the bags of rubbish you removed from the table and the house, the dirty plates you scraped, the fatty baking dishes you scrubbed, automatic smile you had for everyone and your presence which gave me courage to continue. Danae thanks too for your support and all the clearing up you did too. So who's place are we all going to next year???
I say the same thing every year. It's like childbirth, though. We forget the pain and just remember the joy! Damn us!!!!!
ReplyDeleteLol. You know I was thinking just that as I wrote it. We'll see!!!!
DeleteI really enjoyed your Easter week LA. What do you celebrate next over there?
ReplyDelete21st May saints Konstantine and Eleni .... Thats half the family. Groan
DeleteOoh forgot 28 April wedding anniversary and 1st may for mayday but that's only making wreaths, no food involved, usually.....
DeleteLooks like it was amazing. Our Christmas is the same. All the women do the work, and feed 35 (not including the children under 5 as there arent enough seats for them... Peoples laps will do.) I have often thought of using paper plates but that would feel wasteful. Like Dave says what is your next event? Ours is Midsummer. Big families are the best. People dont know what they are missing.
ReplyDeleteAhhh Sol, you know all about it!! I guess big families are a blessing but hard work too in so many ways.
DeleteMidsummer is another festival here but much smaller
PS we do have a washing machine but that does only a small part of the work....as I'm sure you know
DeleteYou are so lucky to have wonderful daughters and big family.This post could be written also by an Israeli-Jewish woman today at the last day of Passover here.So much work before and after, but it is a joy to have the family around.
ReplyDeleteYes, Yael, that is exactly how it is. I really am lucky to have daughters....though sometimes they don't think they are lucky!!!!
DeleteYou have Passover now don't you??
DeleteYes, to day was the last day,and this year i was the one who came to enjoy other's hard work:)
ReplyDeleteLucky you! Hope it was a day of joy
DeleteYowza, what a feast! Sounds delicious! Thanks for popping by my blog today!
ReplyDeleteOver the top! But that's Greece. Enjoy life
DeleteI read and digest every single post!. In 2 years nine months I will live in gods country Greece.
ReplyDeleteFor now no choice work, work, work in NHS until I can get my greasy paws on my pension and lump sum.
There is no fun being money rich but time poor.
Just work, work, work🙁
Youre going to make that big life-move! Hope brexit doesn't make it difficult for you. So many English people already here. I guess there has to be a special deal for you all, and the thousands of Greeks in England too.
DeleteLife here has got to be cheaper. The pound and the euro are almost at the same level at the moment. Wine is cheaper for sure...and sunshine!
Keep repeating the mantra, 2 years 9 months and counting down!
Yep chanting the mantra. Brexit may make things more challenging. But may have a cunning plan grandfather was born in Southern Ireland part of EU, so I,m apparently entitled to dual passport Irish n UK. Golden ticket!. 😀
DeleteWith the pound and euro being almost the same makes cost of living about equal minus central heating costs, no council tax.
DeleteLove looking at little houses for sale in Poros on the Internet. Prob best to rent initially though. Keeps the dream alive.
Poros is not cheap, guessing as so close to Athens, Athenians love it to escape the craziness of the city. X
I,m not English. Scottish election in June just announced may help Scotland leave UK and assist my cause.
DeleteGreat to have dual citizenship. It might just come in very handy. I have too but don't have any valid passport at the moment.
DeleteSorry about calling you english!! You're not AT ALL.
I had a look at a site called spitogatos (house cat) which has Poros houses. Some of them are actually on the mainland looking across to Poros...the cheaper ones. Except the villa for 1,100,000. I know that one well. The land used to belong to my sister in law and I've been in the house many times. It has been on the market for years and he's asking far too much.
Most of these houses are being sold by foreigners and are quite expensive, cept for the first two. To get a real bargain you need to find a house being sold by a greek who needs the money!!1 Dont know any at the moment though I do know two english houses being sold. My friend looks after the houses. I'll ask her just out of interest.
You definitely need to start looking just to see how the market is though renting might be more hassle free!
Just looking for a little close to a beach shack, or studio apartment. Thank you for asking around.x
DeleteTried spitogatos, all in Greek no button for English got a bit lost. Right move, Brian's Greek homes, spiti mou ,all have have houses, flats in Poros Galatas in English, but guessing all used by non Greeks not a Greek bathroom in sight , fully modernised n expensive, but fun looking at.
DeleteI'll have a look at Brian's site. There are loads of foreigners living over there scattered around Galatas and a lot out by the Lemonodassos. I know two places out there on the market but once again being sold by foreigners so probably too expensive.
DeleteI don't believe a word of it; you'll be doing exactly the same next year, and loving it.
ReplyDeleteNoooooo! Well, maybe. I want to go to a small mountain village and have an even more traditional Easter, WITHOUT the hassle! We'll see
Deletehaha, it looks wonderful, tradition is so important to a family as is making memories with the youngsters...put your feet up now xx
ReplyDeleteCertainly a lot of tradition here and these kids are immersed in it. Life is different now though, all these electronics. Certainly their Pappou won't stop trying!
DeleteI remember my Aussie friends asking me why the entry was burnt lol
ReplyDeleteYup every year it's the same. And every year we think. Next year we will just go away
But we never do lol
Ke to xrono
I'm sure my husband will never go away (him being original greek) but I sure would!!
Delete