New Toys

Don't you just love when new products finally arrive at your local crafts stores. If you are like me, you sit at your computer and drool over all the sneak peeks they tease you with. My mind whirls with ideas. When they finally arrive at the stores, I am like a kid in a candy store. I can hardly make a decision as to what to buy first. On a recent visit to my local Joann Fabric Store, I was delighted to find a display of the new Sizzix die cuts. I stood there for several minutes just looking at their cuteness. There were snowflakes, gingerbread men, Christmas trees, presents, wreaths, holly leaves, cups of hot chocolate, and tags. They came in all sizes--little Sizzlitts, original sized dies, and the new Bigz dies. Can you see why I was so excited and why it took me so long to make a decision. Well I finally narrowed it down to two. I choose.........I quickly took them home. I couldn't wait to play with my new toys. I opened the Christmas tree die first gathered all my Christmas paper together and began to create. I distressed the background card stock just a bit with some sandpaper and added some stitching to give the card a homespun look.

The possibilities with the bird and vine die are endless. Oh of course he can be "the partridge in a pear tree" for your Christmas cards but he can be so much more. I thought it would be fun to cut the vine from a piece of vintage sheet music and the sweet little bird from a simple piece of pattern paper. For the background of the card I used my Cuttlebug embossing folder in the textile pattern. Finally to secure the sentiment to the card, I added a bit of stitching.

I had such a good time creating with my new die cuts. I hope you get a chance to see them in person. They are wonderful. Oh and did I mention there is a whole series of Halloween dies too but that's a post for another time...............

My Greek Family

My Greek Family--a family that I had known only through pictures, stories told to me by my father-in-law and my husband, and brief phone conversations. Each year at Christmas I would type a letter summarizing our year and mail it off with photos in hopes that they would get to know us a bit better. A family that I loved but did not really know and were so very far away. When we decided to travel to Greece this summer, that was one of the things I was really looking forward to---getting to know this family that I had heard so much about. I now find that this is one of the things I miss most about Greece---my family. Uncle Nestor----stories about him are legendary. Such a fun-loving, easy going, good humored man. He always had something up his sleeve to make us laugh. Because Uncle Nestor lived in the States for about 10 years, he was able to speak English very well which made it so easy to get to know him better. One evening after dinner, we were all relaxing and enjoying each others company. Uncle Nestor came from the kitchen with two dinner plates. One for himself and the other he handed to my son. He told Alex that he was going to preform a trick and Alex would be hypnotized. Handing Alex the plate, he told him to hold it chest level and to focus only on his eyes. He then instructed Alex to do as he did. Uncle Nestor began to rub the bottom of his dinner plate with his fingers. Alex did as he was told and rubbed the bottom of his. Uncle Nestor then took his finger and ran it along his face. Once again Alex did the same. It became very clear to all of us what Uncle Nestor was up to. All of us except Alex. This was the result of Uncle Nestor's plot.While in the kitchen he had secretly placed ashes on the bottom of Alex's plate. This is just one example of Uncle Nestor's humor. It was also Uncle Nestor who drove us safely all over Greece in the rented van helping to make our trip so amazing.

Thio Dimitri----It was at Thio Dimitri's home where we gathered everyday for our meals. I will never forget his beautiful patio where he built an amazing outdoor sink and the lovely awning that shaded us from the sun.
He also had a silly side which showed up in the funny faces he would make for all of my pictures.

It was Theo Dimetri who woke early each morning to visit the market to purchase the food for the day. He worked so hard keeping things in order to help make our vacation perfect.

Aunt Angie and Thia Anna----I don't think I have ever met two such special ladies. Aunt Angie is married to Uncle Nestor and Thia Anna is Thio Dimitri's wife. I could write forever about all the thoughtful things they did for us. I really don't think they sat for 5 minutes at a time busily caring for every one's needs. All of the delicious meals that I spoke of in the last post were made by these two ladies. When laundry needed to be done, they not only washed our cloths but ironed them to perfection. I so appreciated them and all the love they put into everything they did.

There were so many cousins to meet and get reacquainted with. The last time my husband had been to Greece was the year before we were married. That was 23 years ago. He had alot of catching up to do. As for my son and I, we had a great time meeting and getting to know each and everyone of them.
I am so grateful for the opportunity to meet and get to know each and every one of them. They are truly special people and are not just relatives who live so very far away----but have now become FAMILY.

A Taste of Greece

When people learn of my recent travels to Greece, one of the first questions that I am asked is "What was the food like?" Well I can answer that in one word.....DELICIOUS!!! Each meal was equally wonderful----I don't think that I could choose a favorite. Thia Anna and Aunt Angie (Alex's two aunts) are amazing cooks and worked so hard to prepare fabulous meals for us. Each day there are two meals---the larger meal is eaten around 1:00 o'clock and the other is eaten later in the evening around 9:00 or 10:00 o'clock. After morning coffee the preparation for the lunch meal begins. A trip to the market, butcher or fish market, and bakery is a must to purchase all of the ingredients. On Wednesdays an open air market (called the Lykee) is held just several blocks away where wonderful produce, fresh herbs, eggs, dried beans, or fish can be purchased.

The trip to the market was like a buffet for the senses. Watching the activity of busy shoppers, listening to the merchants encouraging shoppers to stop and see their wares, and oh the wonderful fragrant smells of sweet peaches, ripe olives, and fresh herbs. On the days that the Lykee is not open fish can be purchased at the fish market.

Yes that is octopus which I did taste and was surprised to find that it was not as bad as I anticipated. At this point you may be wondering if fish is all that we ate. Oh my no!!! The most delicious chicken with lemon potatoes, chicken with okra and eggplant, lamb with eggplant, stuffed peppers and tomatoes, pasta with meat sauce, tomato salad with feta cheese, and roasted beef with pastitso. One evening we had a special treat. Uncle Nestor and been to the butcher and purchased a smorgasbord of meat to be grilled. Lamb chops, pork, chicken, and a yummy Greek sausage which was grilled on a little grill right on the sidewalk.

Poor Uncle Nestor---it was about 100 degrees in the shade the day we grilled.
After each meal fresh fruit is served. Usually watermelon and honeydew. So full of flavor and sweet unlike anything we have here in the United States. In case you are wondering---the desserts are unlike anything that I have tasted before. Wonderful almond cookies covered with powdered sugar, cakes covered in coffee flavored whipped cream with cookie centers, and this delicious tort that reminded me a bit like Taramasou.

Now that I have made you all hungry, I will share an easy recipe so that you can experience your own taste of Greece.

Grilled Eggplant Dip

6 small eggplants

6 fresh cloves of garlic finely minced

1/2 cup of olive oil

1/4 cup of salad vinegar

salt to taste

Wash and place the eggplants on a heated grill. Grill until soft---about 25-30 minutes turning often to grill evenly. When eggplants are soft, remove from grill and immediately run under cold water to remove the skin easily. Once skin is removed, place eggplants in a food processor and process until the consistency of oatmeal. Stir in remaining ingredients and refrigerate for about two hours to let the flavors intense. Serve with pita or bagel chips.
ENJOY

A Charming Post

I have really enjoyed writing about and sharing the adventures of my recent trip to Greece with all of you. It has been nice to hear from so many of you though blog comments or via e-mail that you have found them enjoyable to read as well. Believe me there is so much more to share but I thought I would take a little break this evening and share some recent projects that I have been working on.

As many of you know I love to work with paper---scrapbooking, card making, altered art projects--- as long as it involves paper. But from time to time I feel adventurous and like to try something new. I have always admired those sweet soldered charms and several months ago I thought I would try my hand at it. I wasn't sure that I could actually use a solder iron. The only experience that I had with soldering was in high school in my Technical Education class. Let's just say those poor little electrical circuits that I had to solder needed some work. But this time would be different---I actually wanted to do a soldered project. I set to work doing some research and with the help of a wonderful lady named Robin and her etsy shop Glass Supplies I soldered my first charm. I was hooked. It took some practice but I was so inspired by these tiny pieces of art behind glass I made charms for everyone.

These little charms were made from vintage handkerchiefs.

When I found this piece of vintage lace at an estate sale, I knew it would make a beautiful charm. I completed this cheery little charm for a weekly challenge with my friends at Etsy Cottage Style.
This next group of charms were inspired by my son. Alex is a junior at North Allegheny High School where the tiger is the mascot. He also plays on the football team. Being the proud mom that I am, I wanted something to were to his games to let the world know that he was my son. I created a charm with the tiger paw on the front and his name and number on the back. After wearing it to his first scrimmage, I have been happily soldering many more for all of the other proud moms.

Just so you don't think I have abandoned my paper projects, I will share some photos of a sweet little nursery banner I created for a local craft fair that I will be participating in.

I hope you have enjoyed this little break from my Greek travels. Stayed turned for further adventures...............

Horefto--The sequal to Platania

I thought my next post should be about my trip over the mountain to the beautiful beach, Horefto. In keeping with the theme of our trip--all places worth seeing were above sea level, we headed back up the mountain. This was the trip I had heard so much about and truthfully was not looking forward to. I did not ask the elevation of the mountain but when we traveled half way up the mountain to visit the little village of Makrinitsa, the elevation was 2400 feet above sea level. Knowing that we were going to have lunch at the top of the mountain in the village of Hania, it was not hard to figure out that I would be about 5000 feet above sea level. Going on my past experience with this mountain travel, I knew the final destination would be well worth the trip. So I once again got into the van, closed my eyes, and held on to the headrest in front of me and tried to focus on the amazing beach I would soon be relaxing on. I could feel the warmth of the sun on my arm shining through the window as we drove. As we traveled higher and higher I noticed the change in the temperature. The air was becoming much cooler almost cold on my skin. When I could no longer feel the sun, I opened my eyes to see where it had gone. It was then that I realized that we were actually driving right through the clouds. I don't think there are words to describe my feelings at that moment. I could hear the whispers of my husband and son as they were in awe of the view. "Shhhh, don't tell mom" I believe was the reaction of my son. I became much braver as we began our decent and was able to open my eyes. WOW the Aegean sea, with it's many shades of blue was breathtaking. As the waves reached the shore line, they crashed into rows of pure white. I don't know if it was the relief of finally reaching sea level or the amazing beauty right in front of me that actually brought a tear to my eye.

We had such a lovely time at this beach. The waves were much too strong for me to attempt swimming but I enjoyed watching Alex and his cousin, Dimitri braving these giant beauties.

We walked the beach, soaked up the sun and had a yummy snack of grilled pork, fresh tomatoes, olives, cheese and bread to hold our growling tummies until we reached the restaurant at Hania. As the time to leave neared, I tried to take in as much of the view as I could. I really could have stayed there forever. But with the sun so very intense and with my skin starting to sting, I finally realized it was time to leave. Back up the mountain we headed. As we traveled on our way to Hania, we came upon a roadside restaurant filled with the happy sounds of a baptism celebration. Greek music played loudly as guests laughed, talked and of course danced. We stopped for a few minutes to watch and enjoy the music. Because everyone is like family here in Greece, no one minded that we took pictures.

When Uncle Nestor took my hand, I almost couldn't help myself not to join in the dance. The restaurant at Hania was just as I expected--wonderful. I selected a sausage and pepper dish and was not disappointed. It is amazing that no matter how nervous and stressed I get being at such high elevations, it never seems to effect my appetite.

Another wonderful adventure in Greece.