I promise that Crete, part II will be later in the week.....

 

Tsoureki......for some reason we are doing 3 bake days of tsoureki, where we've only ever done two.  

Me and Fula, she has been doing this for nearly 50 years.  I love her, but she is kinda starting to forget things.  The bread last time could have used a bit more flour.  This time I'm gonna hang out at the mixer, and see how it is before we get it out and can't add anything.  I will try to take a photo of the huge bowls she likes to use.  The batch typically makes about 45 loaves.  Sometimes more, sometimes less ~ based on how much stuff she adds in addition to the recipe.  You know how yiayia's are (Greek grandmothers)......there is no way I know how to make it.  Even though I do.  And make bread every week.  Sigh......

 

Here's something for all of you who enjoy a cocktail ~ a prickly pear martini.  I made the prickly pear simple syrup for a friend, and she said it is really delicious.  She asked me how I made it, and after I outlined all the steps, she replied "a labor of love!".  Yeah, I don't think she's going to make any.  It's a lot of work.  But that color!  There's really nothing like it.  

In honor of Zoe's birthday, I made pupcakes for her and Demitri.  I even made the potato frosting!  As it turned out, she didn't like the frosting, so good for me, I won't need to do that step next time I make them a treat.

***I'm ending with this.......Lol!

 

Have a great week!

Love, 365 

At last.......Crete....Part 1

 

It's the color of the sea.......so uniquely beautiful.

 

Brief history of Chania ~ 

Minoan civilization: 2700-1450 BCE

Fell under Roman control: 69 BCE

Following the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Chania became part of the Byzantine Empire.

 The Venetian period, beginning in 1204, marked a significant era in Chania’s history. The Venetians fortified the city, constructing the impressive city walls and the iconic harbour that remains an essential feature of Chania, even today. They also constructed numerous buildings and churches, many of which still stand and contribute to the city’s unique architectural landscape.

1645, Chania fell to the Ottoman Empire after a prolonged siege. The Ottomans left a profound impact on the city, introducing new architectural styles and cultural practices. The Ottoman Era saw the construction of mosques, baths, and public buildings, as well as the conversion of existing Venetian structures for Islamic practice.

Chania remained under Ottoman rule until the late 19th century, when Crete gradually proceeded towards unification with Greece. Following the Balkan Wars, the city officially became part of Greece in 1913. In the 20th century, Chania experienced significant growth and development, despite the challenges of World War II, during which it suffered severe destruction. 

 

Cathedral of Eisodion tis Theotokou in Chania, Crete

The mix of architecture is evident and obvious when strolling through Chania today.

 It was cute to see these kids going through town, singing....

When the Ottoman's invaded, their social norms impacted the architecture as well.  The building at the top of the stairs had an open balcony at one time, but many were enclosed so that the wives of the Moslem men could "hang out" on the balcony without being seen.  

 

I love the different colored buildings along the harbor......

 

Crete was no different than anywhere in Greece : graffiti!

Gorgeous bougainvillea.....

 

I imagine many tourists took home a variety of photos of this cool lighthouse....

One of the shop owners brought his cute dog to work everyday ~ she was very friendly unless you had something with wheels on it, and then she went nuts barking.

 

One of my travel buddies and I stopped and let the little fishies nibble on our feet.  As you can see from the expression, it was a rather weird experience!  Our feet were smoooooooth after that visit.

 

It was a pretty hot day (I can't imagine what it's like in July, this was the first week of May).  

Ok, there are so many photos I want to share, I need to stop here......next time: The Minoans!

 *************************

I also want to share the final product after hours of embroidery:

Enjoy your weekend!

Love, 365
 

This and that .....and that.....etc.

 

Yesterday Zoē was sick...shaking, panting, not wanting to eat anything.  I contacted our vet, and he could not see her, so he suggested 4 different emergency vets.  Which Romeo didn't really want to do because of how expensive it can be.  I decided we would wait an hour or so and see how she does.  She did slowly improve over the course of the day, but I was really worried.  She's always so energetic and happy.  This morning she acted more like she normally does.  We did have to give her a "butt wash" because her stool was very soft and stuck to her hair.  Even though she was not enthusiastic about the butt wash, I explained that doggies that stay inside most of the time and sleep on the bed need to be clean.  :-) 

We have also been struggling with our wifi.  Many years ago I purchased a wifi extender from Apple that finally died.  Now we have to change the wifi to Romeo's system, as he bought one a few years ago and it's set up with a different password.  I haven't counted the number of characters in his password, but it takes me forever to enter it.  Most of our stuff will simply connect to it, but some items need the password put in.  Ugh.  In case you wondered, all of his passwords are ridiculously long.  

I did not go to festival baking Tuesday as we were waiting for a new battery for Romeo's car.  The price at Costco was too good to pass up, but they don't carry those in the warehouse.  It did come right on time, but with the battery and Zoē feeling sick, I didn't make it.  From what I heard, there wasn't much to do, and some of the helpers were complaining they were bored.  I am going today, but if there's not much  to do I will clean out the refrigerator, which seems to always be a disaster.  People just throw things in there and they sit until they get moldy.  Gross.  

This week (and next week too I think) we are baking cheesecake that has a baklava topping.  It's really popular, so we make a lot of them.  The only thing for the baking assistants to do is to put the graham cracker crust in the bottom of the pan, and that's it.  So they take turns and have coffee and snacks in between.  Romeo is disappointed because there won't be any leftovers, or broken cookies to bring home.  :-)

Next time I will continue with my photos of Greece...I think the next batch will be Crete.  

I just wanted to complain, haha.

Have a great week!  Love, 365 

  

Santorini and other tales from the oven that is outside.......

 

 

Everyone at festival baking is wearing these neck fans.  So yesterday I decided to give them a try.  There are 2 in the box for $30 at Costco.  We have a lot of gnats right now, so no matter how early you get up to walk the dogs, once you start to sweat the gnats drive you crazy buzzing in your ear.  I hate wearing bug repellant, so I thought these might help ~ and they do!  There are 5 speeds on the fans, and are rechargeable.  It also made the doggy walks more comfortable.

On to Santorini......

This is a cedar tree, or at least this is what our tour guide said.  Now, it doesn't look anything like a cedar tree here.  I was fascinated.  I know, it's boring to others when you get excited about plants :-). I checked with copilot, and the AI says its more related to a Norfolk pine.  Remember when those were popular as house plants?  The seed/cone (whatever you call it) was pretty big, like almost softball size.

 

I love this photo.  The black beaches were so pretty.  I picked up some small rocks to paint when I returned home.  One of our travelers had a gallon size bag of rocks and sand to take home!  Crazy.

We were at Kamari.   I could seriously live there.  I couldn't afford it, but I would love it.

Yep, that's my spot.....

One free afternoon, some friends invited me to go with them to a wine tasting.  I am not much of a wine person, but it was amazing.  I haven't ever had white wine that I thought would be worth drinking, except at this place.  This young lady was our guide.  She was a little goofy, but fun.

 

 

The ubiquitous view at Oia.  It is a beautiful place, but even when we were there it was crowded and busy.

This kitty posed for us while we were all snapping photos.  Did I mention how many cats there are running around in Greece?  They are everywhere!

 

This is the sunset we went to Oia to see.  Beautiful.  Of course there are many (many!) shops in Oia.  

It was a beautiful evening.  This was one of the few nights we didn't eat Greek food ~ everyone was in the mood for pizza and beer.
 

This church and plaza around it was our meet up place before leaving.  

 

It was a beautiful place ~ a shoppers paradise!  

Have a great week!

Love, 365 

 

 

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