Early 2019 in Pics

A peek into January ... so far

Crocheting in front of the television

From chilling out to drinking up

I found some 2018 Beaujolais

Last year the beaujolais available in the supermarket was over a year old.  When beaujolais ages, which it apparently doesn't, they send it to greece where they'll drink anything with a french label.

Actually that last statement is totally wrong in this neck of the woods.  Locals will only drink local.  They know where it has been grown, who looked after the vines and how and what was added, or not added, to the barrel afterwards.

I'm sure Athens is a different kettle of fish.   A more 'sophisticated' society

The whisky is a good  Scottish single malt brought to us by our english neighbours who arrived for Christmas in the middle of our 'north pole' winter.   A couple of times over these last few weeks I have noticed that London has higher temperatures than us.

They also brought whisky and some good english cheddar for Vaso.  She told us about the whisky, with the enthusiasm of a connaisseur, that it was the one of the best.  

The master of the house (daughter's house) crosses and then cuts the New Year loaf.  

First piece for the Virgin Mary, 2nd for the house and then the family members from oldest to youngest.  The one who gets the coin has a lucky year.  We have so far cut two family loaves, 2 New Year cakes and yesterday the last which was a 'tourta' (cake with cream and filling).

K says the coin should be used to buy incense to burn under the family icons.  Yeh, right.  That was what his mother did.  The coin in the bread now would hardly buy chewing gum and certainly not incense.

New Years lunch.  Or part of it.  The tradition here is to cook pork with greens and thicken it with an egg and lemon sauce.  This is lamb.  Thanks to daughter and son-in-law we also had a very tasty roast duck and  pumpkin soup.  These three dishes have become a tradition for our New Years day dinner

Snow clouds come down low over Galatas and the mountains opposite

Enjoy yourself as you intend to continue for the rest of the year. 

On New Years day my mother-in-law told me you should not wash your hair, nor sew nor knit because you'll be condemned to keep on doing it for the whole year!  Yeh!~

The men party as they mean to carry on...........

The Eve

New Years Eve 
Here we go again, but at least not in our house.  The cooking and eating will be happening in my daughter's house, and they'll be doing the washing up.  Thanks Elli and Kyriakos.
And they'll be doing New Years day lunch.

Carol singing day again for small children who come knocking on the door trilling this day's song and banging metal triangles.  I don't know how much banging and trilling was done on Poros today.  No-one came a-knocking on our door out in the wilds.  It is pouring with rain and bitterly cold.

The carol (kalanda) today proclaims the arrival of St Basil.  My youngest grandchildren go from door to door and into every shop asking 'can we say it?'  A few people actually say 'no' having heard the same kalanda many times since early morning.  Not nice.  This is an age old tradition.  The housewife used to give the singers a sweet or cake, nowdays they get a coin.  The kids go in groups and can earn quite an impressive sum of money.  Xmas Eve they sing another carol and on the eve of Epiphany, 6th January.

Kosta is making bone soup today to keep out the cold and I'm making a 'vasilopita', the New Years cake with a lucky coin in it.

Tonight we have to descend to sea-level at 10pm to see-in the New Year with some of the family.  Ye gods and little fishes.  My traditional person would not let me miss this such important occasion but i would very happily stay at home, go to bed at 10pm and let the storm rage and the year change without my participation.  The year will change with or without my presence and what will be will be

10 hours later, still raining chair legs and snow falling on the hills around Athens

Happy New Year from sunny Greece

New Years's bread

2016

All our taxes have been paid for 2016.   Another year is almost gone and we survived and thrived.

The year is almost over 

 Time to make 

-Vasilopita. The cake or pie of St Basil (Vasili) whose fiesta is on the 1st of January.

 In our area this is a sweet cake  with a coin in it.  Elsewhere it maybe a meat pie or a loaf of sweet plaited bread.  The coin is pressed in after making the sign of the cross.  Of course the person who finds it in their slice is the lucky one for the New Year.  

The coin used to be put 'naked' into the loaf.  Nowadays it is 'sanitised' and wrapped in a piece of silver paper first. 

At midnight on New Years Eve the Patriarch (head of the family)  takes the knife, scores a cross into the cake and starts to cut.  The first slice in our house is cut for the Virgin Mary, then there is a slice for the house, the land, the animals and then on down from the oldest to the youngest.

- secondly we make another big loaf of bread to be cut at the meal on New Year's Day.  This time I'll make sure the dough is slightly less so it doesn't rise  up to the top of the oven.  This too has a coin hidden in it and the same ceremony takes place as with the Vasilopita.  Plenty of chances for everyone to find this year's coin.

Little hands poke hopeful fingers through their piece trying to find the lucky coin.  A clever patriarch will poke about too...before cutting the bread.   As he cuts the bread he is always on the lookout for a flash of silver (or bronze) and a very clever father with two children will cut the portions so the coin is in the middle of  his two little darlings' pieces....

and there will be no cries of 'but he got it LAST year, it's not fair'.

My mother-in-law would take the coin (whoever won it) and place it on the shelf under the icons on wall of her house.

Usually the coin will be just a 20c piece.  I may put a two euro coin in ours this year.  Then the receiver will be truly blessed.  2 euros is not to be sneezed at these days.

We had small children banging on our door once again early in the morning and singing us the New Year's carol.  

Festivities have started.

My best wishes for all of you.  May you enjoy good health throughout the coming year.  If you have good health then anything is possible.  A little bit of wealth always helps.  I wish you love and warmth and the company of those most precious to you.  Cheers.