Memorial

 I was hoping K would attend an early morning memorial service for his cousin all by himself. But no, this time he expected his wife to be by his side. We were down there by 9, went into the church to light a candle. Then we went outside to sit on a wall. The church would get crowded later.  The service is broadcast through a loud speaker for anyone preferring to stay out in the fresh air.  K's sister joined us soon after and I got nudged  every time I had to stand up or sit down.  The services are mostly 'greek to me' though I do understand a little more now other than 'God have mercy' (Kyrie Eleison) and Amen

Our daughters arrived a bit later and we all sat on the wall and watched the people come and go, the little boys running up and down the church steps to let off steam and all the passers-by on their way to Sunday work.

Yianni, the friendly undertaker, had all the bags for the funeral wheat (koliva) piled up on a table outside.  He placed them this way and then that way, gave a couple of the sweet cakes, which are popped into the bag with the funeral wheat, to the street cleaner, and had several consultations with members of the family who came out to get a breath of fresh air.

The funeral wheat is in a fancy tray inside the church and is blessed during the memorial.   Yianni then grabs the tray and brings it out to shovel a few spooonfuls in a smaller bag.  The smaller bag of wheat, a sweet cake and a plastic spoon are placed in a larger white bag with a cross on it and handed out as everyone files out the door.  Then we all go off for coffee at a cafeteria nearby, paid for by the bereaved family.

This is where we hear all the family gossip and catch up on friends and relatives.  Each person is given a cup of greek coffee, a glass of water and on the table is a bowl of koulourakia (cookies).  Later a liqueur is served in small glasses.  It's a special liqueur called mastiha.  In days of old there used to be both brandy and liqueur and in bottles on the table and you helped yourself to as many glasses as you wanted hic.  More than once  I tottered out of a memorial coffee  with a slight stagger.  Memorials are morning affairs and we never eat breakfast beforehand

The small boy, grandson of the deceased, spent almost the entire service running up and down those steps.  Thank goodness he didn't have to stand at attention inside. He would have blown a gasket.

Classic Easter

 A beautiful warm day for a classic Greek easter.

We went to our daughters place to eat. There were so many cars parked all along the route in a lot of places it was one way traffic. Up at our local rural taverna we only got through with difficulty. There were cars parked for 100 yards on either side of the road. Heaven knows how they fitted them all in and they must have spit roasted more than 20 sheep and goats.

Classic photos following. 

Cracking red eggs. 

Before the feasting

Son in law cuts the Easter bread, made by me

3 spits of meat

Goat, offal and one of kontosouvli, which is pork

And a huge bbqed fish for one of the extended family.

We had four different salads including a classic Serbian/Polish potato salad.  Grilled asparagus and grilled halloumi. The halloumi/cheese was fresh from the farmers market in Nikosia, Cyprus.

Too much was eaten by all, of course.  'Afters', as my father would say, were halvas made by talented grandaughter and many different flavours of ice-cream. We tried the halvas and brought some ice-cream home, along with bowls of lamb and fish.

Today we celebrate Saint George. It's usually on 23April but it falls during Lent, as happened this year, then the feast day is moved to the Monday after Easter. 

Kronia polla to our grandson George/Giorgios plus numerous nephews, nieces  and relatives.

Today is also Anzac Day in NZ and Australia. Remembrance Day. I watched live broadcasts of services in Dunedin NZ and Cairns in Australia.  Very moving. I haven't seen a remembrance ceremony in many many years. The national anthems brought a few tears.

 

Thursday

 

The red eggs are dyed and polished, ready to be cracked and eaten  after the midnight mass on Saturday 

Hotcross Buns

 Today I finally got around to baking my hotcross buns.  I made the dough yesterday and after a couple of rises and punching it down I left it in the fridge overnight for a long cold rise.  This morning I divided the dough into 12 pieces, roughly formed them into balls and baked them.  Oh boy, that smell of baking buns is devine.  They came out soft and spicy and incredibly fluffy.  I know from experience that when they cool down they also become far less fluffy so I just tore one apart and savoured every bite.

I was going to make hot-without-the-cross-buns but had a look at Nigella Lawson's recipe.  She always goes for ease.  Every other recipe says to pipe the cross on to the buns.  She says dribble the mix on with a spoon.  Splendid.  Looks good I think.  

Unfortunately when I took some down for my daughter I was reminded that today, Holy Wednesday, is a day of strict fast and no-one can eat them because they have eggs and butter.  Hadn't considered that.  Never mind.  They're even better toasted and spread with butter and jam.

Yesterday was Holy Tuesday, the tradiontal day to make easter cookies, called koulourakia.  So the kids gathered and they baked about 80 koulourakia.  Enough for 4 families.  

The girls did all the work and cleaned up afterwards.

The big boss made sure that all was done in a ship shape and bristol fashion. 

Rolling out the dough and shaping it into all sorts of braid and snail shapes

The first batch out of the oven

Official tasters hard at work

The cookies passed the test though we may have to make another few batches at the rate they are disappearing

You can't leave our house without eating so the big boss was also frying piles of kalamari and potatoes for the workers

The kalamari was from New Zealand of all places.  I couldn't believe my eyes when K brought them home and I saw the label.  They were cheaper than the local ones and we had a crowd to feed but heavens to Betsy, here we are in Greece eating NZ squid?

What's Up. Bombay Duck and More

It's Holy week leading up to Orthodox Good Friday, the candlelight parade, Saturday midnight mass and soup made from sheep's guts (to put it literally) and then on Sunday the huge celebration of the resurrection with spit roasting of lambs, or a goat in our case, drinking, dancing and cracking of red eggs.

K will not be eating fish or meat this week but has decided he will eat cheese, but not eggs.  A moderated fast.  Unusual for him.  However, on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday he will follow the strict rules with no dairy or olive oil either.  Today he's having spaghetti with a tomato sauce, grated cheese on top, greek salad and taramasalata which is made from fish roe.

This morning he phoned the pharmacy and we have an appointment for our 4th virus shot.  We'll be getting the vaccination Tuesday after Easter. 

Prices are rising but  not enough to cause panic and there is no panic buying in the supermarket.   Everyone is simply checking the price of goat and offal and the cost of a lettuce for the weekend celebrations.  Lettuce is one of the main ingredients in the soup that we eat at midnight on Saturday.  It's 50cents a lettuce or thereabouts which is fine.  Freezing weather affected lettuces for a while but that was ages ago.

Lamb and goat meat has risen from last  years price of around 9 euros  per kilo to 12 euros and is expected to rise to at least 15 euros a kilo.   I haven't checked petrol prices.  We put 20 euros of petrol in the car and it lasts a week or more for our shopping trips.  Otherwise K goes out on his motorbike which is much cheaper to run.  As long as there are no more trips into the city for hospital appointments petrol is not a problem.

There has been a price rise for vegetable oils, sugar and flour. There were limits on what you could buy in the Athens supermarkets but here prices aren't that more expensive and there is no shortage.  The big German supermarket Lidl has had massive fines for unnecessary price rises.

  I have stocked up on noodles.  I read in an online NZ paper that their instant noodles come from the Ukraine and there will be a big shortage soon.  Instant noodles are the only taste of Asian cuisine that are available to me so I bought the last 6 packets in our supermarket.  I hope they've been able to re-stock.  I will stock pile a dozen or so packets of noodles, noodles with spicy shrimp, noodles with wild mushrooms, noodles with oriental chicken flavour or asian spicy pork.  They all taste more or less the same but I pretend I'm eating won ton from the Pearl of the East or bombay duck from an authentic noodle bar. Dream on  

Souvlaki has gone up in the last 2 years from 2 euros for pita bread wrapped around gyro with lashings of tzatziki, tomato, sliced onion and fried potatoes to 2.20, then 2.50, now to 3 euros and it will be 4 euros by the summer,  It's still a cheap meal in your hand.  I haven't had a souvlaki for almost a year but the grandkids eat them now and again.  Its the most popular fast food.  

Winter has suddenly re-appeared.  The last two days have been cold and wet.  I had cleaned up the fireplace and taken up the small rugs.  Fortunately we bought a last load of wood a few weeks ago so we had a supply for the beginning of next winter.  Yesterday we lit the fire and again today.  Weather clearing from Wednesday, so they say.

It's a nasty red rain covering us with a layer of Saharan dust which has turned into sticky mess.  I had just cleaned the last lot off the car.  Now I'll have to do it all over again, when the sun shines.

I have been following a series on TV presented by actors Timothy West and Prunella Scales.  Really interesting and their accents and english manners are charming.  First of all they were in a narrowboat cruising England's canals, then the Broads.  They popped over to cruise the French canals, taking  time to sample local wines, onto the River Douro in Portugal where they supped marvellous Port (wine) then to Italy where they sailed into Milan.  I have an idea they were going to South America but missed today's episode.   On Sunday I watched Timothy West playing a Vicar in a Hercule Poirot mystery.  He made an excellent Vicar.

On Youtube I'm watching an Australian series called The Extraordinary.  They are true life tales and supernatural experiences.  Right up my alley.  Thank goodness its raining today and I can sit and enjoy a good show, even if it is on the small screen.

Palm Sunday

 It's Palm Sunday in the Orthodox world. 

This year the Orthodox church celebrates Easter one week behind the Western Christian churches.

Yesterday was the Saturday of Lazarus.

This a photo from days of old.  These grandaughters are lanky teenagers now.  But in those days of old Papou showed them how to make paper Lazarus dolls.  They're like paper puppets and move up and down.  Probably representing the rising of Lazarus from the dead.

Last year, having nothing better to do during quarantine, I baked Lazarus cookies. My traditional person likes to keep tradition alive.  It was fun for the grandkids too.

This week, called Holy Week, they'll be up to bake traditional greek easter cookies with their traditional Papou

Today, as I mentioned, is Palm Sunday and one of the days during the 6 weeks of Lent that everyone eats fish.  K is cooking fish soup made from salt cod, which has been well de-salted.  

In Greek Orthodox churches today the faithful who attend are given small crosses made from palm branches.

Sea Views

Oh it has been so nice and quiet.

But on today's walk out in the wop-wops 2 unknown cars passed me and two tourists on bikes.  The 2 foreign girls hailed me with a cheerful 'Kalimera' so I answered with my own loud 'kalimera', even though 'kalimera' is good morning and it was 6pm in the evening.  Good on them for learning a greek word.

It's easter hols for a lot of the world and greek schools close tomorrow for 2 weeks to celebrate the Orthodox easter.  The island is going to be full, especially for the greek easter.  We are a popular destination, a greek island close to Athens.   One you can drive your car to.  Darn it

A greek beach in winter with a lone fisherman.  A peaceful way to spend the day watching the waves and waiting for a line to to start jiggling.

Next month it will only be late night fishing.  Day time this beach will be crowded

Looking towards the big tourist hotel on the point.

That's where I worked the first summer I arrived in Greece

Looking across the bay to the main town

Another empty beach where soon there will be lines of sunbeds and baking bods