I'm already tired of summer......

 

Lots of Datura plants in the Sandia foothills.  Pretty but very poisonous.  As you can see there are a lot of blooms, so there's always a show when we walk by in the morning.

Because our dogs need a walk most everyday, there is no sleeping in much around here during these super hot days.  Yesterday was 101F (38.3C).  This is the first week of festival baking, which works out OK since the hall is air conditioned and it's way too hot after 10am to be outside.....even at 7:00am you can feel the heat and you know it's gonna be a hot one.  bleh. We have already baked over 3,000 koulourakia.  This year is the 50th anniversary of the St George Greek Festival, and I'm sure we'll have a lot of folks coming this year! 

We don't put sesame seeds on ours though.  They are so good, I don't miss them at all

I am currently embroidering this design on the back of my denim jacket.....

 

The goal is to finish it up by the end of the summer.  I have some down time during the hot part of the day, so I thought, why not?  This design really appealed to me....I love to read.  

                                                            The Island of Delos 

I am so glad I was in Greece while all the poppies were blooming.  

 

The Sacred Way ~ the lions were dedicated to the sanctuary of Apollo and the sacred lake of Delos.  Ancient history here ~ all this would have been new in the 6th Century BC.  And although these lions are replicas of the originals that are in the museum, it's amazing that all the artifacts, buildings, statues, etc. have been around since then.  

This isn't my photo, but you can see many of the ruins and the ancient port of Delos.  I am not sure because I am not well traveled, but the Aegean Sea is really one of the most beautiful.

 

Extremely weathered, but still amazing.  Not me, the statue, haha

One of the beautiful mosaics in Delos.  

My homage to Hermes for putting up with someone creating this hairdo.  Yikes......

 

A lone statue standing as a sentry, forgotten in time and nearly unrecognizable due to erosion.

Next time: Santorini!

Have a great weekend!

Love, 365 

 

Mykonos....

If I had a dollar (or a euro) for each church we saw on our travels through Greece, I may have been able to cover half of the cost of the entire trip!  There were plenty in Athens, but when we visited the islands they were much more visible.  Some were small; they were built to honor someone in the family, such as a loved one who died during war and conflict ~ but I imagine there were many different reasons for building these tiny memorial chapels.  Our tour guide mentioned that many are built as a private family chapel, or are churches that honor the Saint of a local village.  I also visited a few cathedrals, which were stunning.  

I am not sure if our guide was correct in saying that this small church was one of the most photographed in Greece, but it is near plenty of restaurants.   

This church (which is considerably bigger) is about 20 yards from the one pictured above.  The cafe owners were cleaning up and preparing for the influx of tourists that would happen a couple of weeks from when we were there ~ so there were some that weren't open yet, including around half of the hotels. 

Mykonos....

It's easy to get turned around, wondering where you are ~ but eventually you catch a glimpse of the sea and you're back on track.

Note the date on the door of this church (1816).  The inscription, color and door columns caught my eye.

 

Mykonos is so picturesque!  

 The Mykonos windmills were primarily used from the 16th century until the mid-20th century. They were built by the Venetians and were strategically positioned to harness the strong northern winds to grind grains like wheat and barley. The windmills played a vital role in the island's economy, particularly in the 17th-19th centuries, by producing flour for both local consumption and trade. While still standing and serving as iconic landmarks, the windmills ceased their operational use with the advent of modern technology and the decline of traditional grain milling.   **I wish there had been one that had it's sails intact so we could view them turning!

Colorful little Venice.  Later, there were 4 girls practicing their cheerleading skills right on this beach ~ in their bikinis of course!  It was really chilly too.

 

I have been playing around with Copilot ~ a new app on my iphone.  Hmmm, it made me look younger and skinnier!  I like it!

As Dave and Ruth are heading up the path, I had to stop and take a photo of this little shop called Happiness.  My own was thwarted, as it was closed.  😊. Ruth and Dave were very kind to the solo travelers like me, and often invited us to dinner, drinks, and a wine tasting.
 

The hotel in Mykonos was one of my favorites, and this was the view from the balconey.

 

 Our tour guide, Michael took us to the Lighthouse point to take these gorgeous photos of the sunset.  It was extremely windy and cold, so as we were waiting for that magic moment, we huddled on the side of the old lighthouse out of the wind.

And this seems a good place to stop for now!  

No, I did not post every photo.  There are too many!

Love, 365 

Athens.....

 

Before I get to all the Athens photos, I wanted to show y'all this "Minute Suite".  I had a 5 hour layover in Dallas, so I booked one of these.  All it has it a desk and chair (if you want a quiet place to work) and a sleeper sofa, with a nice blanket (that was warmed, which surprised me) and a pillow.  I booked it for 75 minutes, and rested.  Napped a bit.  Stretched out my legs and tried my best to prepare myself for the nearly 10 hour flight to Munich.  It was really nice!  

Before I made the mad rush to find my gate in the Munich Airport, I bought some water, and wanted so badly to get this apple strudel.  Look at the size of it!!  It was really huge.  I knew it would be too messy to carry and eat on the plane, so I didn't get it.  Wish I had!

 

The only stadium made entirely of marble.  The olympics were held in Athens in 2004 (and also in 1896, and deep antiquity, lol). 

The Erechtheion with the Porch of the Caryatids.

 

It was quite windy and chilly in Athens.  

The wind was trying to blow my hair off, lol.

 

Just one of so many wonderful cafe's as you walk around Athens...

On one of our afternoons off, a few of my fellow travelers helped me find this small chapel dedicated to St Kyriaki, one of my favorite saints.  

 

We took a road trip to visit the Temple of Apollo at Delphi.  Lots and lots of stairs as we walk through the archaeological site.  

The serpent column, made of brass ~ this is actually a replica, as the original was taken by the Ottoman Turks in 1453.  An artist rendering of what it may have looked like below...

The Sphinx of the Naxians.  Originally it was on a 41 foot Ionic column in fron the Temple of Apollo.  

Of course I shouldn't fail to mention the Oracle of Delphi.  Apparently she stood over faults in the earth where toxic gasses would assist in putting her in a transe like state as she prophesied.  

Athens was our first stop, and is a wonderful city to visit ~ there are tons of cafe's and restaurants (many of them outside), and shopping (jewelry, clothing, etc) and site seeing, as Athens is a historical city with lots of history and archaeology.  

Our hotels were all fantastic, which the exception of the first one in Athens.  It was very small, and my view was of the alley behind the  hotel.  It was also weirdly laid out, and I kept fighting with the glass bathroom door, haha.  It was a nice hotel, but I didn't like my room.  

I will post more soon!  There are many more :-)

Love, 365 

I'm still alive!......

 

I survived the loooong flight to Athens!  It was terrible.  I was stuck inbetween two young people, who were very kind and considerate.  The terrible part was being in the middle seat for a 9 1/2 hour flight.  

I don't know if EF Tours waited until the last minute to schedule our flights, but I was in the very back of the plane on every single one.  Which means it takes 20 minutes to get off as you are waiting for everyone else to grab their stuff and go.  If I do another tour with them, I'm going to schedule my own flights.  

Greece was so much fun though!  We did a lot of sight seeing of archaeological sites, did a driving tour of a few places, ate some really wonderful food.  I think I will be sad when I have kalamari here in New Mexico, because it won't be grilled, and it won't be fresh.  😔.  I could certainly live in Greece if it was possible.  

At one restaurant in Santorini I had the grilled, and imagine my surprise when they brought me the entire squid!! It was really good.  I just couldn't quite eat it all.

The flight home was just as awful, with the exception that I picked the window seats.  Still all the way back in the plane though.  It took 3 days to stop waking up around 2:30am.  I was still on Greek time I guess.  

Two days after I returned, the office called and asked me to fill in ~ again.  I said I would, and did so for a month, but I sent an email to the practice manager that I could not stay indefinitely and gave her an end date.  Luckily they hired someone a few days after the email.  Prior to that I had the feeling that feet were dragging, which prompted the email.  

I will post with more photos of Greece....I have a so many!  It was really fun. 

I'll be back!

Love, 365  
 

Blessed Pascha ~ Happy Easter!

 

Our kouvouklion this year.  We had to do it after one service and hurry up to finish before the next one began.  We were vacuuming and sweeping as people were walking in.  

There were three teenagers that came to help us, and I asked them to decorate the dome.  They did a wonderful job!

Despite the wind, only a few of the flowers fell off during the procession.......

As much as I enjoyed Lent, I am glad to have more free time.  I have 6 days to get ready for the trip, which is plenty....but there are other things to take care of.  

I hope you all are having a wonderful day!  Christ is Risen!

Love, 365

 

The Life List........

 

Lol, this seems to be ingrained in my genetics.  My younger son is the same, poor thing.

Saying no should take less effort than saying yes, and yet......I have a lot of trouble saying no.

I did watch a great movie on Netflix called The Life List.  If you have Netflix, check it out.

On the upcoming trip:

Romeo keeps telling me how bad the exchange rate is going.   I heard this morning that Trumped has suspended the tariffs (except for China) and so we'll see how that affects it.  

I read that I can take a quart bag of liquids, aerosols, creams and pastes, limited to 3.4 oz in my carry on.  I think I'm gonna have to do a test run on that :-). I might have to buy toothpaste there....haha

One of my Greek friends said I should start packing now.  Ugh.  Do you know how many times I will take stuff out and replace it?  I think I'm going to stick to 5 days in advance.  

Do not watch you tube videos of the street food in Athens.  It made me so hungry, even after I had just had dinner......

Have a great weekend ~ it's only 2 days away!

Love, 365
 

Baking and flowers and baking......

 

Our Philoptokos chapter bakes koulouria, and dyes eggs for sale before Pascha.  Last Saturday we baked 720 (or so) koulouria ~ we sell those by the dozen.  Tsoureki is on Monday, with the exception of the 15 small loaves I baked for the shut ins.  Egg dyeing is on 4/17, and our priest hands out the red eggs on Saturday.....or is it Sunday?  It's all a whirlwind.

We have so many icons that need decorating with flowers.  There are 3 of us, and each one of us is doing this at least once a week.  Our main source for flowers is Trader Joe's.  Sometimes the grocery store.  So, we have to buy the flowers 2-3 days before, then I go down to the church hall to do the decorating.  

Don't ask me why I volunteer for all of this ~ most of me loves it, some of me wants to take a nap......

In a bit over 3 weeks, I will take off for Greece!  I'm ready, but of course I haven't packed yet.  I am after all, a pro-crastinator.  

I dropped by the office to take them 2 loaves of the bread, and from everything I heard, it's still nuts.  Soooo, when I wake up in the morning, I will smile, stretch, and hang out in bed for a few more minutes 😊

Yeah, I can be mean....

Have a great rest of the week!

Love, 365

 

what the heck?

 

                                                     "So, we just standing here or what?"

 I have been pretty busy catching up with things at home since I gave my notice at work.  I actually DID enter all the appointments through June, which surprised me.   The last week I told them on Monday I was done by the end of the week.  I was only regretful that one of the docs was out that week, so I didn't get a chance to talk to him.  Then it was like the frying pan to the fire.

Firstly, I have had a migraine once a month for the past 4 months.  Normally I only have 3-4 a year.  The only thing I can chalk it up to is allergy season, which has been awful this spring.  I know the wind hasn't helped that at all.  One was bad enough that I had to have Romeo come and pick me up.  

Secondly, it seems like my baking friend and I aren't friends anymore.  Honestly I have no idea why.  We haven't really talked much the past 6 months.  This week she has been very terse on her texts to me.  I asked her a few questions and she responded rather rudely.  After today's response when I asked about a key to a closet at church, "I can't help you, and I'm really busy" I told Romeo that it looks like we really aren't friends anymore.  Which really makes me sad.  Seriously, it wasn't like I asked her for anything more than a key to a closet.  What the heck?   At this point I guess I'll just write her off and leave it to her to contact me.   :-(

Well, I have a mountain of laundry!  I am taking out the cold weather clothes out of the closet and putting the warm weather stuff in ~ which needs a little freshening.  I hope you have a great week!

Love, 365

 

 

 

It's never ever going to end.......

Zoe-Zoe (which is what I call her most of the time), disgusted with the orange buffoon, decides to take a nap.  And hopefully dream of chasing bunnies.

Yes, I am still working.  I should have been done a week ago.  I really didn't want to be there when the new office integrated into ours ~ with very little notice to their patients, which just adds....well, you know what it adds.  Starts with an f and rhymes with chicanery.  One of the docs asked if I could help out with training the new front desk person.  I said yes, but that I would have to leave every day by 2.  He was ok with that ~ that's how desperate he is for more help right now.  So I go in at 8, and work straight through until 2 (eating lunch at my desk) and then run out the door.  It has turned into data entry more than training.  We can't just simply combine their schedule with ours, at least not without having no computer for at least 4 days, and be ok with losing some of the data.  We just can't do that.  So now what I do is answer her questions about our dental program, and put their patients into our schedule.  

I haven't looked at how far ahead their schedule goes.  Right now I'm on April 1.  Seriously, I can't do this long enough to get it all in.  So my plan is to kick butt next week and see how far I can get.  If I can get through June, I'm going to hang it up.  If I can get that far, then the existing staff can enter it in during the time they normally gossip and drink coffee (which admittedly isn't happening much right now).

I should be able to earn enough money doing this gig to buy Romeo a new computer.  He wasn't able to download the tax program because he isn't able to update his computer anymore.  I want to do it on the sly and give it to him as a surprise gift.  Mainly because I don't want to get roped into doing our taxes every year.  

~ I just typed a sentence that started with "I'm not doing this for more than 2 more weeks" but erased it, since I started this with "I should be done by now". Ha ha

A couple of days this week we've had lots of wind and dust storms.  You can't drive anywhere without having tumble weeds rolling across the road.  And it's nasty being out in a dust storm.  I had an errand I was going to do after work today, but I nixed it in favor of trying tomorrow.  The past 12 months have not seen much moisture.  As I was sitting at an intersection, I could see dirt being blown into the air.  

Have a great weekend!  I'm ready!

Love, 365