Holy Monday

Easter Monday's main job was actually shopping for easter essentials and cleaning up after the Palm Sunday family fish BBQ.  

We have to make sure we have plenty of lettuces for Saturday's soup, dozens of eggs and red dye to colour them, sugar, flour and butter for the koulourakia, mastiha, machlepi and yeast for the tsoureki and the lamb or goat and it's guts have to be ordered. But more of those as we come to them through the week.

Before the BBQ I made all the lackeys earn their dinner.  

All the smaller rugs have been taken up and are now hanging over the fence to dry after a good scrub.

Outside sitting-place furniture was dragged out and hosed down.

Garden's were pruned.  Here the rose pelagonia (geranium) is being severely trimmed.  I have a great recipe for pelagonia liqueur which I will post one day

The neighbours had someone out strimming the drive.  They did a really good job this year.  The weeds have been shaved right down to the roots

Older persons were asked to 'please pick a bag of lemons'.  Some did it willingly and some not.  I forgot to take a photo of the mile high pile of pots and salad bowls they had to wash by hand.  Well done, girls.  Be here by midday on Easter Sunday to start washing the fatty easter plates (only the ones that don't fit in the dishwasher).

Our outside wall a dazzling white in the April sun and all the weeds were strimmed along our wall as well. We're neat and clean again and free of all the dry grass that becomes a fire hazard in the summer months.

The island is getting incredibly busy. There were lines at the supermarket check-out and I had to look before crossing the street to avoid being run over by a city slicker. 

The cities empty as everyone returns to their village or island to enjoy the pomp, pageant and high-old-time that is easter in Greece.

The whole of Greece comes together to celebrate this week.  In fact Greeks get together wherever they are in the world to rejoice and feast in exactly the same manner.