Wine Time again in Limassol

Once again its the famous Limassol Wine Festival , the festival has been an anual event since 1961 , and was only not held during the period of unrest during the cicvil wars that occurred on the Island in they years 64 and 74 .
its a wonderful event and has much to offer both locals and tourists to the island alike.
It seems there is always food at any special event here in Cyprus and the wine festival is one of the best events to sample almost every traditional kind of food available and inside the grounds of the central Public Gardens many local restaurant and cafes owners set up tables and chairs or just serve smaller dishes from stands along the walkways around the grounds to cater to the fancy of all the people , which are many and can see in one night alone 15,000 visitors.
This year I went along with my cousin Sharon and her daughter Andrea , they have been before and liked it so much that they asked me to go along again with them , it was the first night of their holidays and actually the last night of the festival which had already been on a full week, so it was their last chance ,so off we went , we bought some of the wine glasses at the entrance and proceeded to the first local wine comapny to test the varieties they had , there must be 5-6 that are set up and all of them offering such a wide selection of differnt types , well I am preferring dry red wine , but found some nice Rose ones too , Andrea really liked the sweet white ones , Sharon being a diabetic was restricted to just a few sips , but siad she liked the white also , we all tried the Commandaria which is really sweet and is more like a sweet Sherry , that particular wine is used as the communion wine in the churches here and is quite often given after a meal here in Cyprus .
after testing the wine we followed the wonderful aroma of the local 'souvlaki ' kebabs being grilled on the charcoals and found ourselves a nice table to rest and eat, oh the food was so good, well we had pepsi with that as being the driver home after I had to take care ,
After finishing our meal we started to stroll around and look at various little shows and displays that were taking place, they have some short plays and also some traditional dancing and singing , one dancer realy caught our eye , he was in a huge barrel actually dancing and treading on the grapes ! and yes Andrea and myself maybe feeling a little happy form the samples of wine we had ,decided to go and get in the barrel and join him ( :



it was a fun night and really we had a great time , so did a lot of others and some of them I think had really been doing the rounds of the free samples more than once and saw some some of the tourists who could hardly walk in a straight line ! there is a water display near the entrance and over the week I think more than one person had fallen inside it , luckily its not so deep and there is always someone there to pull them out ,pity I didnt catch a few of them on camera.

There is a very nice web site to read more about the history and traditions of this event which I will post here below,

http://www.limassolmunicipal.com.cy/wine/4.html

anyone getting the chance to go there to the festival in future years shouldnt miss it, get your glass raise it and say ' stin ygia sas ' which translated is all the best to your health

Diet Prayer

Father, My soul is ripped with riot

incited by my wicked diet.

"We Are What We Eat," said a wise old man!

Oh, if that's true, I'm a garbage can.

I want to rise on Judgment Day, that's plain!

but at my present weight, I'll need a crane.

So grant me strength, that I may not fall

into the clutches of cholesterol.

May my flesh with carrot-curls be dated,

that my soul may be poly unsaturated

And show me the light, that I may bear witness

to the President's Council on Physical Fitness.

And at oleomargarine I'll never mutter,

for the road to Hell is spread with butter.

And cream is cursed; and cake is awful;

and Satan is hiding in every waffle.

Mephistopheles lurks in provolone;

the Devil is in each slice of baloney,

Beelzebub is a chocolate drop,

and Lucifer is a lollipop.

Give me this day my daily slice

but, cut it thin and toast it twice.

I beg upon my dimpled knees,

deliver me from jujubees.

And when my days of trial are done,

and my war with malted milk is won,

Let me stand with Heavenly throng,

In a shining robe--size small & long.

I can do it! If You'll show to me,

the virtues of lettuce and celery.

If You'll teach me the evil of mayonnaise,

of pasta a la Milannaise, potatoes a la Lyonnaise

and crisp-fried chicken from the South.

Father, if you love me, shut my mouth.

Thanks and credit to Peter Ustinov the author of this marvellous poem






I went to the local store today to buy a pair of blue jeans, well I went there feeling quite happy and looking forward to getting a pair at half price as the last days of the sales were on and I havent bought a pair of jeans for years , well choosing a few from the display rail in various sizes I went off to the changing rooms to try them , ( thank goodness they were not those communal ones)
first pair wouldnt go past my knees , the next ones got past my knees but got halted by the excess butt I have , oh the last pair nearly got there but then failed to get zipped up to the top even though I was lying flat on the floor and trying to pull in my tummy muscles !
defeated I resigned myself to missing the bargain priced jeans and thought about heading off to the new club that opened just down the road to my house , 'Fat Fighters ' but then decided to buy myself some comfort food ( chocolate ) and a drink and go home and read the glossy magazine I bought , full of super slim models without an inch of fat to be seen , why do these publications never show women like me from every walk of life that are a little 'cuddly' and a little less than perfect( ok a lot )
the diet can start on Monday , but which monday of which year , who knows , anyone out there who reads my blog that knows some kind of diet that has tasty food and doesnt leave me starving can you please let me have it ....I want some blue jeans !

They Live in our hearts

As long as we live, they too will live;
for they are now a part of us, as we remember them.
To live in the hearts we leave behind, is not to die.

The tide recedes, but leaves behind bright seashells on the sand.
The sun goes down, but gentle warmth still lingers in the land,
The music stops, and yet it echoes on in sweet refrains...
For every joy that passes, something beautiful remains.

The month of August will always be a month that in some ways remain more significant than others for both Chester and myself , its been 4 years now since both of us lost our spouses , the loves we had shared our lives with for so many happy years ,
never dreaming at that time in 2004 we would have another happy day without them , how wrong could we have been , well it certainly wasn’t easy , and for sure we spent many miserable dark gloomy days and nights grieving ,
Throughout that time I really did pray a lot to God , he is always there listening
Nicos and Gretchen , I believe with all of my heart that they were there in heaven together , planning a way to bring the two lost and lonely people they had left behind in the world together to share one very deep and devoted love , And they did , they made sure even though we were a huge Ocean apart that we found each other and found a love that could only be described as heaven sent

Today I didn’t want to stand at a graveside and be sad, I wanted to close my eyes and whisper a prayer of thanks for the love we had and the love we have received now , as the little passage above says in the last line
‘ For every joy that passes ,something beautiful remains ‘ and that beautiful something is the wonderful love Chester and I share today and forever more .


Nicos and Gretchen - , As long as we live, they too will live for they are now a part of us as we remember them.

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Bowie or Mercury ?

Bowie or Mercury

Only you - by JM and Aris

My son JM and his friend Aris performing at 'Spotlight' a small show for amateurs , run by Premiere Society a cultural society in Limassol .

2 wonderful years of love

Happy St Pats Everyone

St. Patrick's Day is with us,
The day when all that's seen
To right and left and everywhere
Is green, green, green!


OK so i'm not Irish ! ....but I do like to have a little fun on the day , well as you can see here I have been playing a little at dressing up ...thanks to my fun lovng Cowboy in USA who thoughtfully sent me this wonderful gift pack saying he always wondered what I would look like in Green hair !! ( : wonder if he is running yet ...
my son has just gone out the door with his best buddy Aris , who is half Irish ,they have gone off to a place called Molly Malones which is a super place in Limassol , as you can guess by the name geared toward the Irish crowd that live on the island ,but of course many nationalities are welcome....I have been quite a few times myself and they serve great food.....and yes tonight will be serving Green Beer well one of the things that may be on the menu tonight could be the famous Irish Stew.......anyone who likes to cook...here is the recipie :

Irish Lamb Stew
Serves 8
Prep time: 30 minutes
Total time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Ingredients :
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Coarse salt and ground pepper
3 pounds boneless lamb stew meat (preferably shoulder), trimmed of excess fat and cut into 2-inch cubes
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 large onion, chopped
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1-1/2 cups dark beer
1-1/2 pounds medium new potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut ? inch thick diagonally
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Preparation :
In a large bowl, season flour with salt and pepper.
Dredge lamb in flour mixture, shaking off excess.
In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Working in batches, brown lamb on all sides, about 5 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate.
Pour 1/4 cup water into pot, scraping up browned bits from bottom with a wooden spoon.
Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until water has evaporated and onion is beginning to soften, about 5 minutes.
Return lamb to pot; stir in thyme, beer, and 1 1/2 cups water.
Cover; simmer until lamb is tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
(can also be refrigarated, and taken later)
Add potatoes, carrots, and 1/2 cup water. Cook, covered, until vegetables are tender and stew has thickened, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Let cool completely before storing. Stir in parsley just before serving.

Well I have yet to visit Ireland , but my daughter who is having an irish boyfiend living in a town named Eniskillen , is lucky enough to be going there soon for a wedding , so maybe I will get to see some nice photographs later on and can post a few here on the blog......they say Southern Ireland is the prettiest part to go and visit ,but Im sure Northern Ireland has also some wonderful places too, I sure would like to add that to the list of places Chester and I plan to someday visit together ,

The irish have turned out quite a few famous singers over the years, they have actually had quite a few winners of the Eurovision song contest , Johnny Logan got first place two years in a row and a lovely girl named Dana won it way back in the very early 70's it must have been .....must go and check it on the You Tube sometime . im sure there are a few more but I havent got my thinking head on tonight, I got dizzy trying to do an Irish jig around the dinner table and bending down trying to find the lucky Leprochauns that my friend Paddy insist are existing LOL......OH well I guess I had better go and mail my cousin who is having a birthday today.....
just in case you are reading this Stuart ...Happy Birthday !!

well if anyone want to know more about this special day ,here is a page giving a bit of the history :
http://www.theholidayspot.com/patrick/historyofpatrick.htm

and just to finish off .......
May you be in
Heaven a half hour before the
Devil knows you're dead!

Green Monday In Cyprus (beginning of Lent )

The day after the Big carnival parade is the Green Monday, the first day of lent. The Cypriots are deeply religious and young or old, most fast during the forty day period. They go vegetarian for the duration. Green Monday is the first day of fasting. The many picnic sites are full of people eating, drinking, enjoying with friends and family and flying kites. Yes that is the tradition; the sky is full of colourful kites of all sizes.
Its a really fun day out in the open countryside and weather at this time of the year is just beautiful, And the table is laden with variety of salads, pickles, olives, breads and delightful traditional vegetarian and sea food preparations. All washed down with the famous Cypriot wines......In our case lots of it ; )


Well this year we were three couples and myself and all the kids too, we have been doing this tradition since 1984 without fail,we started off just 2 couples but as the years have gone by more and more of our friends have joined in until it has became quite a big group ! and the kids have gown up now but still love coming !



Here are 2 of our daughters ages 3-5 in 1990 Laura and Natalie

We were very lucky this year with the weather , it was absolutely boiling , and we had to have sme umberellas for shade !
we had a bit of fun this year too as one of the guys came in his carnival outfit , the parade was yesterday ,but I think Marios really fancied himself as a mexican bandit of some kind and was a bit reluctant to remove his poncho and sombrero hat !


Well over the years after we have eaten and had our fill of all the goodies like grilled squid , King prawns and other seafood stuff,







the guys would try to play a game of football with the younger boys and the woment would go for a walk around the country to try and burn some of the calories off ....well the most energetic thing we managed this year seemed to be the women lifting their wine glasses and the men sitting playing backgammon !!! old age creeping up ....even the kids who used to go and find frogs and other pond life to have some fun have grown out of those activities and were just lounging about with I pods in their ears .....oh well still we had a great memorable time, its so nice that in Cyprus the weather permits these wonderful days ....speaking with my mom in the UK today they were having Gale force winds that were disrupting a lot of things including the flights into some of the airports , well we had just enough to help fly some kites.

Well all in all we had a great Green Monday 2008 , I dont think I will be her next year , if all goes to plan I will be with my love in USA well I will not be here in body but in Spirit I think I will always be with my friends here in Cyprus , and who knows if Chester and I come up with the winning numbers on the Lottery then we mat just fly back and join them again ! but anyhow I guess I could always start a tradition over in North Carolina of having a Green Monday of our own ,



Well if you want to see more of our pics from todays picnic just click on the link here :
http://picasaweb.google.com/alison.markides/GreenMonday2008

Off to have a sleep now its been a long long day ......

Valentines Day...Candyfloss happy and in love : )

Hope my Smile says it all ,
I am very blessed to have such a loving and romantic fiance ,
these roses are so beautiful , what more could a girl want !
well just wishing they could have been delivered in person, ....
well not long now hopefully and there will be no more ocean between us
Thank you Chester mou x x x from your future Mrs ( :

The Moody Blues - Driftwood

Justin Hayward has an awesome voice , I could listen too it all day and night and never tire , this group is pure talent

Happy Shrove Tuesday ( time to eat pancakes)

Here I am trying to turn the pancake over in the pan ( :

I did manage but JM missed the moment , experts get them high in the air then catch them ...not me they usually end up on the floor !....well this one was ok and edible ; )

For a Little history on the day : http://www.pancakeparlour.com/Annual_Events/Shrove/shrove.html

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHESTER

Flying Birthday kisses from across the Ocean, wishing I was in the USA to give them personally ( : Love you x x x x x x
JUST JOKING ->