Women’s natural role in life. Reflections on International Women’s Day

Hello, All, and a special welcome to all you awesome women out there!

March 8 today, and on International Women’s Day, I feel I must salute you all. Every single one of us is special and well worth celebrating.

This is not a post about women’s rights, by the way. It goes without saying that both men and women should enjoy the same freedoms and the same benefits, both in the workplace and as citizens. This post is about the natural role of women in the world, and especially in the family in contrast to men.

I’ll also tell you upfront that in my Christian understanding and according to basic biology, I will be discussing the only two real sexes there are for human beings, which are male and female. Man and woman. If this offends you, please move on. This post is not for you and I’d hate to waste your time.

You know, certain cliches between the sexes are not so much cliches but amazing truths, and we all can see that when we ponder upon our differences with the men in our lives.

Man was made to be the hunter, the getter, the provider of food. That is why Nature endowed men with so much muscle, after all… Nothing in Nature is there without reason. Infinite Intelligence created it. It didn’t just happen by random. And so, it is with men. Things that for us women seem impossible are a piece of cake for our men when some elbow grease or heavylifting are required.

We, women, need to celebrate men for all that. Not to begrudge them or try to antagonise them about it. It is in their nature to be and do all that. Nature doesn’t lie and it doesn’t make mistakes. And it’s certainly not ‘toxic’.

As for us, by nature we are the givers of new life. It is we and only we who are equipped to bring a new human into the world. Everything else is an outright lie of devious individuals and systems that seek to ‘kill, steal and destroy’. It is but a wolf dressed in sheep’s clothing lying about ‘unity’, ‘acceptance’ and inclusion.’

Back to the raw, biological truth: Women have the exclusive ability to create new life and therefore they have the responsibility to protect and nurture it. Every woman is called upon to honor what Divine Creation has equipped her with. It has to be her top priority, in the face of any given dilemma.

We are built to reach our limits, and even go beyond them as we protect and nurture the lives of those we are responsible for. That is why we have all been created super strong inside. It is not a role for the weak. Down to the last one, we women have the immense capacity to multitask, to endure emotionally, and to keep on going, no matter how tough it gets. And, as we do all that, we are powered by love alone.

Those of us who raise children and have a day job, are often found awake and busy till late at night, long after the husband and the kids have gone to bed. Oftentimes, gone 11 pm, we find ourselves doing the dishes or making to-do lists, or taking advantage of the quiet in the house to do something for ourselves. Be it to type something important on the computer, chat with a friend, catch up with a hobby that gives us joy, or just to read a book.

And even when we go to bed, our brain will refuse to let go of our troubles and to quieten for a good while. It’ll pick this time to give us new things to remember to do the next day, and we’ll fall asleep willing ourselves not to forget them overnight.

Have you ever heard of a man doing any of that? No. You couldn’t have. Because they don’t. Men perform their duties in the day, and at night, after dinner, they go to bed and sleep like babies. But our minds are never carefree. Not really.

Men are just as able and intelligent as we are, but the tasks they perform for the family are mainly related to their physical strength and their endurance, let’s face it. They may help with the house chores and the kids, but we women are the managers of our homes and our families. It is our job to remember every little detail and to take care of the house and our loved ones, to the last trivial thing. And, of course, to feed, to show up, to selflessly give, even when we get discouraged. To always forgive, even when we get hurt, and to go beyond our physical limits. And, somehow, we always find the strength. Because we love. Because we care.

This is what a woman is and what a woman does. And this is why we get to have a special day in the year to celebrate us. So we can ponder upon who we are and what we’re here for. So we can remember to give ourselves a pat on the back. To look at ourselves in the mirror, if only just one day in the year, and say: ‘You’re kicking ass, girl! I love ya!’

So, you awesome girl, you awesome lady, I am sending you blessings and sisterly love today across the ether. This dark world often tries to pit us against each other, but we shouldn’t let that happen. We must resist. We must strive, more than ever before, to stay united as sisters.

Some of us have got things backwards, it seems, but there’s still hope, that we will all soon return to our natural state, having acquired a solid understanding of our natural role in the world and our natural, wholesome relation to men.

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Clean romance short read, FREE with Kindle Unlimited. It’ll transport you straight to Corfu to experience summer in an idyllic Greek seaside village. Visit Amazon

 

Kelly ran a marathon in Nafplio and wound up running a house. With a ghost in it! Both humorous and moving, with tantalising clean romance, it’s just the ticket to lose yourself reading! Read more on Amazon
Kate has a guardian angel. She just doesn’t know it. Plus, she’s falling for him. Delightful paranormal romance set on the idyllic island of Sifnos. The descriptions of Greek food will make you feel ravenous. Don’t read when hungry. You’ve been warned! OOOPPPPAAAAAA! Get it now on Amazon

Beach fun and sweet romance mixed with magic spells and bird shifters… The Raven Witch of Corfu is an original story that will rivet you with its unrelenting suspense. The final twist will blow your mind!
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Frantically waving to the world… 10 years later

I am feeling moved today, and a little overwhelmed. Yesterday, November 1st, marked 10 years since I sent out my very first blog post.

This month also marks 10 years since I published my first novel on Amazon (The Necklace of Goddess Athena), and consequently entering the indie publishing universe for one bumpy yet enthralling ride thus far. This is the picture I posted in that very first blog post 10 years ago… I titled it ‘Frantically Waving Across the Distance’ to introduce myself and ask the world out there to connect with me. Reading the short post now fills me with nostalgia, but also with amazement at how little I have changed since then in the way that I think and express myself.

The only things that make me cringe as I read it are the repetitive mentions to the tax office haha. But hey, in my defense, I wrote this at the heart of the Greek credit crunch and everything was about the lack of money back then. Oh, how little did we know back then about what really matters! But anyway, here is an excerpt, if you’d like to take a peek:

“Would you come with me for a quiet ride along the sparkling lagoon waters that lie ahead? You will find a lot of poetry here, not just in verse, but also in the way of my thinking. By the way, I’m not much of a talker. This quirkiness of mine, in a world full of loud and busy voices, has allowed me to learn more this way through my eager ears and my silence. Furthermore, I’ve always preferred the written word to speaking in order to express myself.

“Although I write novels these days, I started with writing poetry. I have been scribbling verses ever since I was as young as ten and often relished my solitude even then, armed with a notepad and a pen, writing about an anthill in my gran’s garden or about the moon on a clear, starry night. Join me as I experience the world, not through the tired eyes of the forty-something who has just been handed a tax note too many by the postman, but through the clear, full of wonderment eyes of the perpetual child inside me.

“Welcome here on my desert island and hop on that boat with me oh friend; let’s transcend magically the geographical distance between us as we cheer together as one: “Happy travels!” 

I would like to end this post by offering thanks. To all of you who stuck with me these last 10 years. Authors who mentored me, like Jackie Weger and Carmen DeSousa, authors who helped me tremendously along the way, like Nicholas Rossis and MM Jaye, and even more authors who trusted me by associating with me numerous times, like Amy Vansant,  SR Mallery and Chris Kallias.

Last, but not least, I thank the readers of my blog who have been sharing my posts, like Dr Glen Hepker, Annette Rochelle Aben, and Marina Costa, and, of course, the loyal readers of my novels, like Jean Symonds, Louise Mullarkey, Cheryl Worrall, and many many others. I could not possibly list everyone here but I will hold you all forever in my heart with sheer gratitude.

GO HERE TO READ THAT FIRST POST

 

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NEW! A historical paranormal romance box set. This is the timeless love story that will stay with you forever. Set in Moraitika, Corfu and Brighton, England. Visit Amazon: https://bit.ly/3HEvMPG
Clean romance short read, FREE with Kindle Unlimited. It’ll transport you straight to Corfu to experience summer in an idyllic Greek seaside village. Visit Amazon: https://bit.ly/3pAP3rf

 

Kelly ran a marathon and wound up running a house. With a ghost in it! Both humorous and moving, with delightful sweet romance, it’s just the ticket to lose yourself reading! Read more on Amazon
Summer love and a mysterious haunting in Corfu! Effrosyni’s debut romance, The Ebb, has received an award from Amazon! Check it out here

Beach fun and sweet romance mixed with magic spells and bird shifters… The Raven Witch of Corfu is an original story that will rivet you with its unrelenting suspense. The final twist will blow your mind!
Available in paperback , box set or 4 kindle episodes!
 
Planning to visit Greece? Check out our FREE guide to south Corfu!

 

For delicious Greek recipes, go here. Are you an author? Check out our FREE promo tips & resources here.

 

A day out on the Greek island of Poros and some tough days that followed

My husband and I had the most wonderful day in Poros earlier this month, travelling by coach with the local travel agent. We drove to Galatas and Palaia Epidavros too. We stayed in Poros for about 5 hours, and meeting painter and author Pamela Jane Rogers made it even more special for us. She gave us a private tour around town which was more than we could have ever hoped for.

What an honour for us and what an awesome lady she is. Pamela is a permanent resident of Poros for over 30 years now. You can see her artwork HERE. She took us inside so many of the little shops as we walked around the lanes, chatting to the locals.

One of the shop owners turned out to be Magda, a friend of mine! She used to have a shop in my town of Nea Peramos! Couldn’t believe it. Magda and her family are very talented, by the way. She, her husband and their children make various crafts to sell them in the shop. Organic soaps, knitted bags, woodwork and a lot more. Their brand is called Olive Lab and you can shop for their products online. Highly recommended, folks. Everything is top quality and perfectly natural!

SEE MY PHOTOGRAPHS FROM POROS

 

This is the cutest thing I’ve seen all month. I came across these kittens while walking around the lanes of Poros. Such a precious finding! I guess I saw them in the nook where they lay because I was looking for them, if that makes sense. My husband, Andy, and our friend, Pamela, were walking beside me and they’d have missed the kitties had I not shown them. It would have been such a shame. It was cuteness overload and we all need a dose of that daily, don’t we?

I do the same all the time now, looking for cuteness and beauty, whenever I walk around the seafront in my town. I make stops to take pictures of the sea foaming as it reaches the sand, of seagulls perched on the top of the fishing boats, and of the dramatic colours of the sky at sunset. Sometimes, I don’t even bother with the camera. I’ve come to find that the most precious ‘snapshots’ are those I take with my mind…

And I need these ‘snapshots’ more than ever before right now. They help my soul stay afloat, it seems.

Life has got too complicated for me since my father, Fotios, fell ill with depression last Fall. Even more so than when he was undergoing cancer treatment earlier last year, believe me. I had no idea, and neither did he, what it entails to have depression. It is not just a disease – it feels more like a monster, an entity, seeking to take your life, to destroy you. And it has an energy that affects those around you too.

This energy has permeated my being too by now, and it’s only recently that I realized. I am not saying I’ve got depression, no. Just that it’s got to me so badly that my innate propensity to feel and express joy has waned to unprecedented levels by now. This energy is dark and sticky…

If you’re spiritual like me and have a strong connection with your own ‘inside world’ and your own energy, you may understand when I say I can feel it. It seeks to weaken me from the inside, I can tell now, but I am holding strong.

Twice in the past two months, I’ve fallen ill with infection, and I never used to get sick for years on end. Bugs or viruses – no problem. My immune system kept them all at bay. Including covid. Throughout the scary period of 2020-22 I didn’t get as much as the sniffles. But upset and stress weakened my immune system to the point that, right now, I am wide open to it all, it seems.

As I write this, my voice is completely gone with laryngitis, a first in my adult life! It’s been 5 days now that I cannot speak, but I see a silver lining in this too, the way I try to find one in all negative things.

Not speaking out loud for days eventually shuts down your internal voice too. I just realized today and found it to be quite a blessing. It is so relaxing to tidy up a room or brush your teeth or wash the dishes and actually think of nothing! Mindful washing? LOL! Yes, it’s a thing. And I love it.

So I use these days of aphonia to reap a benefit. I do soul-searching. I ask questions. And I’ve found new guidance for my life, having also had some new insights about what I am doing that’s wrong and how I can change tack.

For starters, I know I will never let depression claim my father’s life or let its dark energies get to me again enough to make me ill repeatedly.

Prayers welcome, if you believe in a higher power. We are visiting a third psychiatrist next week. So far, two doctors couldn’t help my father, Fotios, increase his appetite to a level that can actually help him gain weight or even have a hearty lunch on any given day. I pray with all I got that this time we will find the right protocol.

If you have someone in your life with depression, or an elderly person who lives alone, know that the simplest thing you can do to help is say a few positive words to them. Loneliness is painful, really painful. Consider giving them five minutes of your time for a quick chat on the phone if you can’t drop by. It’ll make their day.

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Get Effrosyni’s FREE books with your signup to her bimonthly newsletter! Fun news from her life in Greece and a load of FREE kindle books in every issue! http://bit.ly/2yA74No

NEW! A historical paranormal romance box set. This is the timeless love story that will stay with you forever. Set in Moraitika, Corfu and Brighton, England. Visit Amazon: https://bit.ly/3HEvMPG
Clean romance short read, FREE with Kindle Unlimited. It’ll transport you straight to Corfu to experience summer in an idyllic Greek seaside village. Visit Amazon: https://bit.ly/3pAP3rf

 

Kelly ran a marathon and wound up running a house. With a ghost in it! Both humorous and moving, with delightful sweet romance, it’s just the ticket to lose yourself reading! Read more on Amazon
Summer love and a mysterious haunting in Corfu! Effrosyni’s debut romance, The Ebb, has received an award from Amazon! Check it out here

Beach fun and sweet romance mixed with magic spells and bird shifters… The Raven Witch of Corfu is an original story that will rivet you with its unrelenting suspense. The final twist will blow your mind!
Available in paperback , box set or 4 kindle episodes!
 
Planning to visit Greece? Check out our FREE guide to south Corfu!

 

For delicious Greek recipes, go here. Are you an author? Check out our FREE promo tips & resources here.

 

Old village-life photos #Moraitika #Corfu

The writing says: Cultural center of Moraitika, a calendar of memories from our village. 2020 wishes for health, love and progress.

Late last year, I was contacted on Facebook by Mrs Aglaia Anthi, President of the cultural center of Moraitika, Corfu. She said she’d seen some old photos on my website and asked for permission to use them for the 2020 calendar of the cultural center. I was thrilled and, of course, I said yes.

Last January, she sent me a copy of this beautiful calendar which I am thrilled to share today. I meant to do it back then but, sadly, I was in a bad place at the time, caught up in my late mother’s daily cancer fight. When I received the calendar, I took it to her bed to leaf through, and she cried to see the photo on the first sheet, which depicted her grandparents, Stefanos and Olga Vassilakis. She kissed their faces on the photograph whispering, ‘i nouna mou, o nounos mou…’ (the Corfiot words for ‘my granny, my granddad). The memory still causes my heart to twinge with feeling. My mother passed away on February 12, and I am comforted to think she is in her grandparents’ and her parents’ arms right now.

Without further ado, here is the calendar, sheet by sheet. I hope you will enjoy it.

January-February. Caption: The first priest of Moraitika and his wife (Stefanos and Olga Vassilakis).

My great-grandfather was also a teacher of Moraitika. The house he built for his family still stands on the hill near the church. Part of it was used as the village school at some point. He is buried in the church yard. For more photos and information, see my post about the two churches of Moraitika on the hill.

 

March-April. Caption: Kato Vrysi.

Or how the locals pronounce it, ‘Katou Vrysi.’ Loosely translated, it means, ‘The tap downhill’. It is situated on the side of the main road outside the dilapidated estate behind the Coop supermarket. There is also an ‘uphill tap’ called ‘Panou Vrysi’ which is at the edge of the village on the hill under a big plane tree. This is why the locals also call it ‘O Platanos’ (The plane tree). For detailed directions to Panou Vrysi, see my guide to Moraitika.

 

May-June. Caption: Old estate houses of the village.

The building on the left is the Papadatos estate house. This family also owns the little church of Agios Dimitris nearby (my great-grandfather is buried outside the main door of this church). The building on the right is the Koukouzelis estate house. Today, the grounds are used by the council for cultural events (concerts mainly). For more info and photos, see the same post about the churches.

 

July-August. Caption: Moraitika wedding of Kostas and Eleni Vlachos.

My uncle Kostas passed away a couple of years ago, but Aunt Leni remains active at her old age (born 1933), and still helps out at her seaside apartments of ‘Nea Zoi’ (beside Caldera on the beach). See my guide to Moraitika for these establishments. Here, below, follows an excellent commentary about this photo by my Aunt Leni as relayed by her daughter-in-law, Spyridoula Vlachos:

‘The wedding took place in 1953 in the village of Episkopiana. This picture was taken at the look out near the St Nikolaos church in Episkopiana that no longer stands. This is the area of the old estate home of Patsos that is now inhabited by the Tata family. After the wedding took place, everyone set off to Moraitika on foot, where the reception party would take place on the village square. On the front, walked the organ players and the priest who held the bible, then followed the bride and the groom, with everyone else behind walking them. Back then, the way to Moraitika was via the estate of the Kapodistrias family. In this photo, Stamatis Vassilakis’s daughter, Marika, is pictured beside the bride dressed in white. She had got married just a week earlier and was pregnant with her first child.’

Re my Aunt Marika (daughter of Great-Uncle Stamatis Vassilakis): She was one of my favourite relatives of the Vassilakis family. She had the heart and the soul of a child. I still recall so vividly the last time I saw her, visiting her in her house after a long while during my short stay in the village. It was a couple of years earlier, just months before she died. She was confused with dementia and didn’t recognize me when I approached her. Still, her good heart must have done, because she kept holding me, her eyes sparkling with love and delight while saying, ‘I love you! I love you!’ I’ll never forget her face that day; so innocent, so loving. Somehow, she is the only one whose name I didn’t have the heart to change in my largely autobiographical novel set in Moraitika, The Ebb.

Back to the wedding photo: Great-Uncle Lilis, a teacher, stands behind Aunt Marika. Behind Aunt Leni, the bride, on the right, is the groom, Uncle Kostas. To his right, stand Aunt Olga, and Great-Uncle Kotsos with Great-Aunt Rini Tsatsanis from Messonghi. The girl with the frizzy hair beside them is Maria, Lefteris Kosmas’s sister (he runs Leftis Romantica). My mother, Ioanna, is pictured further right as a little girl with her hands on her waist.  

September-October. Caption: Group photo of members of the Vlachos and Vassilakis family.

My great-grandmother’s maiden name was Vlachos, and her wedding to Stefanos Vassilakis bound the two families together as one with great relations. This photograph was taken outside the Vassilakis house (late 40s to early 50s). She sits at the center dressed in black, as befitted a widow at the time. My great-grandfather passed away in 1944, and she did in 1953. The building shown in the background is the Koukouzelis estate house as mentioned earlier. The mulberry tree they’re sitting under still stands today and so does the olive tree on the right.

Pictured from left to right: Back row: Great-Uncle Antonis Vassilakis, Aunt Olga (Lilis’s daughter), Great-Aunt Irini, Aunt Dina (or Beba, Lilis’s daughter), Christos Vlachos, Tsantis Vlachos. Middle row: Great-Uncle Kotsoris (Kotsos) Tsatsanis, Great-Grandmother Olga Vlachos, Angelina Vlachos, Great-Uncle Lilis Vassilakis and his wife, Great-Aunt Fotoula. Front row: Great-Uncle Stamatis Vassilakis. Behind them, the children Petros and Sofia Vlachos. Petros used to run The Crabs restaurant on the beach (now Caldera, run by his son Christos). On the right of my great-grandmother, you can see Evgenia Vassilakis (wife of Stamatis) and her grandchildren, Vasso and Stefanos Moraitis (both, Marika’s children).

November-December. Caption: Washing in the ‘mastello (old Venetian word for ‘wooden tub’).

If my memory serves me well, ‘Forena’ is a nickname for the woman pictured  here. I think she lived or had a shop in the old days on the upper square of Moraitika where the Village Taverna is. This square was always referred to by my grandparents as ‘Foros’ (a Venetian word meaning market or square, in my understanding).

The rest of the caption reads: ‘Open-air barber shop (Pippis, Kapouas, Tatsos, Lopi, Sofia).

For more photos and info on the Vassilakis family and my old summers in Corfu, see this post.  To follow my blog and be notified of my new posts, go here.

This is it for now, everyone. I wish you a wonderful summer, and hope you’ll get to make lots of new and exciting memories – be it in Corfu, or your own corner of heaven 🙂

 

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Summer love and a mysterious haunting in Corfu… Only $0.99 for a limited time!

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370 pages of Corfu summer bliss! This beach romance will make you fall in love… Choose between the paperback , the box set or 4 kindle episodes!Did you enjoy this post? GO HERE to follow this blog and get to see all our future posts! To grab “Facets of Love” for FREE, go here! Planning to visit Greece? Check out our FREE guide to Corfu! For delicious Greek recipes, go here. Are you an author? Check out our FREE promo tips & resources here.

Thanksgiving / Black Friday Greek book deals

What better time for a writer to give thanks?

Caught up by the Thanksgiving spirit as the great American holiday approaches, I find myself counting my blessings, here too, on the other side of the pond.

This month marks six years since I started out as an indie writer, knowing no one at the time who could teach me a single thing or give me even the most basic of tips. As I taught myself Twitter, blogging, and a staggering amount of other things, it is no surprise to me now, thinking back, that I used to wake and go to bed daily feeling the trepidation gnawing at my insides like a wild animal, to say the least. I got two frozen shoulders triggered by stress since then to prove it – but I soldiered on.

Luckily, my persistence and resilience paid off and, soon, I found a series of mentors who sent me off on my way with newfound confidence. Later, the gifts of partnership and friendship with a plethora of incredibly talented authors followed and, ultimately, I found the best blessing of all – the opportunity to connect with a multitude of people online who later became my loyal readers and supporters.

I am marking Thanksgiving this year with a series of Greek kindle deals at 99c. The Amulet and The Necklace of Goddess Athena are 99c only on Amazon US and UK. My other deals are available on all Amazon stores. All episodes of The Raven Witch of Corfu are 99c each worldwide.

Enjoy my sunny stories if you decide to give them a go, and know that I appreciate you greatly. I value every single one of my readers, and every single one who has ever subscribed to my newsletter, showing an interest in what I do. I am fully aware I am just one among the vast amount of authors floundering in the Amazon Ocean, trying to get their books and their own name out there.

Every new reader that comes my way gives me the encouragement to keep going. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

My offers will end on Black Friday. Enjoy your escape to sunny Greece and Happy Thanksgiving!

Visit Amazon

 

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NEW RELEASE BESTSELLER! 370 pages of Corfu summer bliss! This beach romance will make you fall in love… Choose between the paperback , the box set or 4 kindle episodes!Did you enjoy this post? GO HERE to follow this blog and get to see all our future posts! To grab “Facets of Love” for FREE, go here! Planning to visit Greece? Check out our FREE guide to Corfu! For delicious Greek recipes, go here. Are you an author? Check out our FREE promo tips & resources here.

An effective way to beat stress

Today I want to talk to you about stress and how to fight it effectively and naturally. This is a revolutionary new method that is free and easy to use, and it works like magic… Millions are using it all over the world every day. It has transformed my life… and so I feel compelled to share my experience with you, hoping it will help you too.

Those who follow my blog are familiar with my harrowing health issues for the past five years. Thankfully, it’s all behind me now and, being one to always see the silver lining, I’ve come to consider it all a precious life lesson.

The great Ernest Hemingway once said, ‘We’re all broken. That’s how the light gets in’.

And it takes one to become truly broken to know how true that is.

Through my five-year-long streak of adversity, I’ve emerged a new, stronger and wiser person. For one, I’ve learned to take it easy, and not to be so hard on myself, fully aware now that all my health issues were triggered by stress and my own wrong attitude.

But you know what? Stress can’t touch me any more. It’s because I’ve learned a new skill that made a huge difference, and I am thrilled to write about it today to share it with you!

I’ve recently had the honor to be invited to Colleen Story’s amazing blog, “Writing and Wellness”. If you’re struggling with stress and overwhelm, by the way, you’ll do well to read her blog (and to check out her books too, if you’re a fellow author.)

Colleen and I chatted about my personal struggles, how it all began for me, why, and what it entailed. In the process, I shared all about the specific skill that helped me to battle stress effectively for a change.

We all have to face stress, and it’s detrimental to our health more than we realize until it’s too late… That’s what happened to me. Don’t let that happen to you too. That’s why I am sharing. Knowledge is power. I urge you to google the stress hormone ‘cortisol’ in relation with cancer and autoimmune diseases, for instance…

Avoiding stress means avoiding mortal risks. And that is why I regard this skill I’ve picked up as the most important one I’ve learned my whole life. And this means a lot, believe me, as it’s coming from someone who, at the tender age of 18, was picking up books like the Jose Silva Mind Control Method and anything I could find on self-hypnosis and meditation. I never stopped picking up mind-hack methods since then, but this one turns out to be the most incredible and the most effective I’ve ever known, including NLP.

Check out my chat with Colleen here and see if my new skill can help you out too! It also works wonderfully to ease physical pain among other things.

Feel free to comment below and share about your own experience with stress. And if you use my method, be sure to return here and let me know how it went 🙂

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The old church of Moraitika, Corfu and some village history

On the hill in Moraitika, at the center of the old village, there is a small church that I used to visit occasionally for Sunday mass during my long summers in Corfu in the 1980s.

This old church — Agios Dimitris — was still in operation back then, and it was the only one in the village at the time. It was erected by the Papadatos family, whose (now derelict) estate house is situated behind it.

One of its early priests was my great-grandfather, Stefanos Vassilakis. He and his wife Olga built a house for their big family a stone’s throw away from the church. Part of their house was used as the school of the village. Other than his two main professions, my busy great-grandfather also worked his own land (situated in two different parts around Moraitika: behind the Coop supermarket, and on the side of the mountain over Miramare Hotel).

Many of the elderly locals still remember him working his land. Apparently, he did this wearing his priest’s robe!

During the German occupation, he was in his bedroom on the upper floor one night when he heard the unmistakable heavy footfalls of military boots echoing from outside. It sounded like a band of soldiers rushing down the lane. This was a scary time for the locals so, unsettled, he hurried down the internal staircase so he could peek through the front door. In the commotion he missed his step and fell down the stairs, breaking his leg. Sadly, he suffered complications from the fall which led to his death at the age of 70.

This is a picture of my great-grandmother, Olga Vassilakis (nee Vlachos), with other family members. Being a widow at the time, she was wearing black and the traditional headscarf. She is pictured with her son-in-law (left) and two of her children at the doorstep of the house in the 1950s. The locals referred to her as the ‘Presvytera’ or the ‘Pappadia’ – both names meaning ‘wife of the priest’, with the latter title being less formal.

This photo was taken in the 1970s on the same doorstep. Sadly, I never met either of my great-grandparents, but it’s a consolation to know I have lived all my life treading their footsteps. In this photo, I am photographed with my sister and a few members of the Vassilakis family.

Interesting tidbit: According to my grandmother, the name Vassilakis originates from Crete. Other than Moraitika, the name is also met in the villages of Zygos, Valanio and Sinarades. The Vassilakis of Moraitika originate from Sinarades where there’s a legend about the family name! According to Granny’s story, at some point the Vassilakis were split into the ‘rich’ ones and the ‘poor’ ones (our family came from the latter sadly 😛 )

So how did some of the Vassilakis got rich? Well, legend has it that a man from the family once found pirate treasure in a chest on Agios Gordis beach and took it home! The pirates came back to get it and searched high and low but never found it…

Here, my great-grandmother is pictured with family (both Vassilakis and Vlachos) before the Koukouzelis estate. Again, sometime in the 1950s. Would you believe, the mulberry tree on the left and the olive tree on the right still stand today. This yard has been both my ‘dining room’ and playground as a child for many blissful summers, more often than not, under the generous shade of the mulberry tree from the 70s onwards.

Interesting tidbit: If you’ve visited Moraitika in the 80s-90s, you may be able to identify in the above photo the late Petros Vlachos who ran The Crabs (Kavouria) on the beach at the time. He’s a little boy in this picture (front row, crouched on the left of my great-grandmother.

Visitors to the hill in Moraitika today may recognize the Koukouzelis Estate House in this photo. The whole property was acquired by the council in the recent years to be used for cultural events. It is situated very near the church.

Interesting tidbit: The name ‘Moraitika’ is derived from the word ‘Morias’ which is another name for the Peloponnese (the part of Greece that looks like an inverted hand). The first inhabitants of Moraitika were emigrants from Morias, and the people were referred to as ‘Moraites’, hence the name.

This picture was taken in the lane that leads from the old church to the Koukouzelis Estate.

The derelict stone wall with the window is part of the estate. According to one of my cousins who ventured inside once as a child, there was a large library behind this wall. Now, with the overgrowth of bushes and creeping vines that have accumulated over the years it is impossible to decipher anything when peeking through the window.

This is the same lane looking towards the old church (yellow wall). You can also see the belfry of the current church of Moraitika that stands beyond it. This one was under construction for at least one year back in the 1980s, something that used to worry my grandmother a great deal… You see, she was convinced that it attracted all sorts of evil spirits while it stood as a building site.

Oftentimes, we’d hear the shrill cry of a certain kind of owl at night that Granny called a ‘strigglopouli’ (screeching bird). She’d always say it was a bad omen as, apparently, it signified an impending death in the village. She’d also say the sound was coming from the church building, which made sense as its roof was incomplete and thus open to the elements at the time, making it easy for all sorts of night birds to nest there.

The church of Moraitika is called “I Koimisi tis Theotokou” (The Dormition of Mary)

When the church was sanctified and began operating, Granny said she never heard those birds’ bloodcurdling cries echo from the church again. I never really believed any of that, but Granny had a way to tell these things and they always had my vivid imagination going!

This is a photo of my grandparents, Spyros and Antigoni Vassilakis. Granddad was a proper ‘papadopaidi’, i.e. the son of a priest, meaning he was an avid churchgoer and loved to chant at the church given half the chance. Throughout my childhood in Athens I remember him chanting on Sunday mornings as he listened to mass on his portable little radio. My grandparents lived in the city at the time but once they relocated to Moraitika in the late 1970s, Granddad became a regular visitor and an occasional ‘psaltis’ (church singer that chants the gospel) at the old church of the village and, later, at the new one as well.

The private church of Agios Dimitris opens only once a year these days – on its festival day on October 26.

This is the belfry of the old church. The year of its erection is 1905 according to the plaque you can see here. I find it a real pity that it was left to deteriorate in this manner – same goes for the old estate houses (Koukouzelis and Papadatos) beside it that barely stand. At least, the facade of the old church is kept tidy and freshly painted, and the tourists seem to be interested in my great-grandfather’s grave a lot…

I often see people taking pictures of it when I pass it by. Other times, I find flowers on there, and in the recent years, oddly enough, even scattered coins! I can only assume it is customary in a country somewhere to throw coins on graves. In any case, it’s a nice gesture and always makes me smile.

If you ever visit Moraitika, make sure to venture uphill to see the church yard and do take a walk towards the Koukouzelis Estate as well, if only to enjoy the sea view. The sunrise is always a good time!

If you ever visit Moraitika, make sure to venture uphill to see the church yard and do take a walk towards the Koukouzelis Estate as well, if only to enjoy the sea view. The sunrise is always a good time!

Many thanks to my cousins Evgenia Vassilakis and Sofia Tsatsanis who provided the old family photos!

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A highly recommended walk around Corfu town

I picked a cloudy day last August to take a long walk around Corfu town, aiming to visit places I hadn’t been to since I was a child. Also, I intended to find two old houses where I knew my grandmother and mother had been living in as children. One is situated just behind Liston and the other is in the old quarter of Campielo. I was pleased to find all the places I was after and I’m delighted to share my experience in detail today.

During the same walk, I also visited the Patounis Soap Factory for the first time, having discovered it in Hilary Paipeti’s excellent book, Corfu Off the Map. Its owners were very hospitable and even gave my husband and me a quick tour of the place.

Before I set off on this virtual tour with you, here’s a map of the town to give you an idea of our route:

The walk I did that day (with my husband, Andy) took us via the following places of interest in this order:

Sarocco Sq. –> Garitsa Bay  –> Anemomylos (Nautilus Cafe & the windmill) –> Liston & Pentofanaro –> Agion Panton Church –> St Spyridon Church –> Campielo (Venetian Well and Ypapanti Church) –> Spilia (New Venetian Fortress, Holocaust Monument and old coach station) –> Jewish quarter & Synagogue –> back to Sarocco Sq.

Andy and I parked near Sarocco (or Saroko – originally named ‘San Rocco’ by the Venetians). It is a big shopping area built around a square. It is also an open-air bus terminal for civic buses to the north and the south. From there, we took Alexandras Avenue past the post office, until we hit the water at Garitsa Bay.

 

This is where Douglas’s Column stands. Or, as the locals call it, “I Kolona tou Dougla”.

The sea view from this spot is phenomenal on any given day, but the clouds on the sky that morning made the view simply breathtaking… Not even the ongoing roadworks and the stacks of tiles we found there didn’t spoil the magic.

 

The view on the left from there is to the Old Venetian Fortress. On the other side, the coastal road reaches down to the end of the bay at Anemomylos (windmill). The windmill is situated at the base of a pier. At Garitsa bay, the sea is dotted with sailboats of all kinds. The fabulous zoom of my Canon Powershot SX610HS even captured the famous Yacht A that day, for which I was really pleased!

A walk around Garitsa is a joy of quiet, fresh air and enchanting vistas. On our way to the windmill, we encountered many locals dipping in the water for a cooling swim.

 

Just before the windmill, we stopped at Nautilus cafe for a coffee. It came with croissants, much to our delight. I highly recommend a venture inside the cafe, if only to see if you’ll sweat at all when crossing over the threshold (I did, but I’m weird like that, and I’m not telling why. You’ll just have to find out for yourselves 😛 )

 

Anemomylos offers equally spectacular views. Just like in Garitsa, the locals keep coming and going for their daily swim.

Here, I’ll give you a tip that a local gave me. See the picture above? After visiting the pier, carry on behind the windmill along the coast and you will soon get to a bathing area that was once accessible only to the Greek king and the rest of the royal family! It is situated near Mon Repos and was recently opened by the council. It is not possible to access Mon Repos from that side, but you’ll be able to visit the spot on the beach where the Greek royals once descended from the palace to dip in the sea. The booth where they used to change into their bathing costumes still stands! I didn’t get the chance to visit it this year as I was tipped off too late. I hope to visit next time, though, and I will share photos and more info then.

From Anemomylos, we headed back to Garitsa so we could get to Liston in town. On the way, I was delighted to identify the old house in Garitsa where I used to holiday with my granny as a small child. We were staying with her daughter (my aunt Stephania) and her family, who rented a flat there at the time. It was in the tall building on the left of this photo. On the green where I stood to take the picture, there used to be swings back in the day and I remember that it was very lush and shady there.

Granny used to take me there daily while feeding me ‘kolatsio’ (a snack between breakfast and lunch). It consisted of boiled egg and bread, more often than not. Almost fifty years later, the sense of place was so strong that when I stood in the middle of the now barren land gazing out to the Old Fortress like I used to as a child, the melodic cadences of Granny’s speech almost reached my ears again. It was an emotional moment for me as I miss her every day. That morning, she felt close. So very close again.

When we reached Liston and the Pentofanaro beside it (Five Lantern Post), we turned right behind Liston and then turned left at the first corner. That’s Agion Panton street, named after the church of the same name that you soon come across on the right.

Just after the church, I came across the old edifice that Granny had pointed out to me in the past – the house where she grew up, and which my mother also knew as she used to visit her grandparents often there as a child. Her grandfather (my great-grandfather, Nikos Kopsidas from the island of Lefkas) would meet her at Pentofanaro every Sunday (when she’d arrive from the house in Campielo that I’ll show you later), then escorted her to this house for lunch.

 

Many a time over the years when Granny and I walked past the house, she’d point to the door, then up to the 5th floor to tell me this was where she ran from to St Spyridon Church whenever the town was being bombed during WWII. One fateful morning a miracle took place in the church to protect the people inside from the bombs. My granny was inside, a teenager then, and witnessed it. She loved to tell the tale, which in time I’ve also heard from other locals in the town. To hear all about it, you’re welcome to read this post that shares other miracles of St Spyridon too.

 

Going back on ourselves from Agion Panton street, we headed for the lane that runs past the back of St Spyridon’s church. From there, we hurried past the busy olive wood artifact shops to follow the sign to ‘The Venetian Well’. It was just a few seconds away from there, at the heart of the stunning old quarter of the town called Campielo with its picturesque lanes and antiquated Venetian edifices.

Next, we had to ask a local or two in order to find Ypapanti Church in the same area. My mother had told me that the house she was raised in stood right across from that church. I’d never seen either before and was getting excited as I followed the locals’ directions ambling along picturesque lanes and down old marble steps.

Finding the church proved easy enough, and it was quite close to the Venetian well.

 

I identified the house easily. My mother had mentioned there were vaults and an external staircase, as well as steps behind the front gate. I took the third picture standing at the front door of Ypapanti Church.

 

Moved by the forlorn spectacle and the realization that I was treading on the footsteps of loved ones from another era, I went on my way reduced to silence and, through the back of old hotels, quickly emerged onto this stunning square.

You may recognize the setting from one of the scenes from The Durrells. Supposedly having traveled to Athens, Lawrence Durrell was having a coffee at the square in said scene. In reality, this is the square of the Metropolitan Church of Corfu (or Mitropoli). It is the beautiful pink building in this photo.

 

By that time, Andy and I were parched from the long walk so we headed towards the old port. At the New Fortress we turned left into Spilia. This used to be the coach station of Corfu back in the 80s. I have myriads of fond memories from arriving here on the coach from Athens every summer with my sister. The moment we’d step off the ferry, we’d rush to Spilia to take our luggage off the coach and we’d be met by a sky full of starlings chirping overhead. These moments used to signal for me every time the beginning of a long blissful summer.

I hadn’t visited Spilia in years and was astounded by the change of the setting. The coach station building is now derelict, and the place where the coaches used to park side-by-side was now taken up by tables and chairs from a number of cafes. A monument of the Holocaust also stands there now, honoring the memory of the multitudes of Corfiot Jews that lost their lives under the Nazi regime. This place was apt for this awe-inspiring monument, seeing that to the left of the square, stretches out the Jewish quarter of the town that’s built around a Synanogue.

FACT: The name Spilia (cave, in Greek) is owed to a known cave in the vicinity. It is situated near the New Fortress that towers over this area.

After a much-earned stop at Spilia for ice cream, we took the lane past Marina’s Tavern (used heavily for lunch meetings by the Durrells production team, or so I heard!) to the Jewish quarter and the Synagogue. The road led us up ahead to Theotoki Street (where Hondos Center and Public are). From there, we turned right, back to Sarocco.

With Alexandras Avenue and the post office behind us, we headed up, along the right side of Sarocco square. Asking at a cafe for directions, we found the Patounis Soap Factory just a couple of doors away. I say ‘factory’ but its facade is only small with a typical shop front door so keep your eyes peeled.

This traditional family business has operated in Corfu since 1891 and is still being run today by the descendants of the founder (5th generation), who use the same methods and tools as in the olden days. To our delight, they welcomed us warmly and offered us a tour of the place, during which a lovely young lady of the Patounis family gave us a proper presentation as well.

 

Luckily for us, we caught them on a production day. The factory’s main worker (who, they said, is a bit of a gem and quite irreplaceable to them) was working hard in the background as the very interesting presentation took place.

There is a shop at the front, where we chose some products to take home before leaving. The company produces 4 different types of soap. We learned there are locals who can’t do without them, and not just for washing themselves. Depending on the type, some are good for washing dishes, others for doing the laundry. All soaps are made with pure ingredients, including natural oils. For more info on the company and its products, go HERE.

I urge you to visit the Patounis Soap Factory at first opportunity, if only to sample the truly warm hospitality of its owners. And, if you have a book to spare, ideally short reads for kids or picture books, consider donating one for the small library that operates in the factory!

I hope you have enjoyed taking this walk with me around my favorite town. I highly recommend that you try it too, as it combines the bustle of market areas and touristy lanes with the charm of quiet, forlorn streets that have the power to take you back in time. And let us not forget the ample sea air you would be getting at Anemomylos and Garitsa Bay! Even if you follow my advice to walk to there and back from Sarroco (or Liston) and leave the rest for another time, I am sure you will consider your time well spent. As for how long it takes to visit Anemomylos from town, I’d say about 30-40 minutes either side at a comfortable speed.

Have you ever heard of Spitseriko, Corfu’s secret spice mix for pasta? Centuries ago, it was made and sold only by pharmacists in Corfu town. Find out all about it IN THIS POST and where you can get it today!

 

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Remembering my grandparents, Spyros and Antigoni Vassilakis

Spyros and Antigoni Vassilakis

Today (May 2nd) marks one year since my granny’s passing and the memories are flooding in. Granddad passed away back in 2010 on May 5th. As a result, early May for me has become a time that inevitably brings me sadness, but somehow floods my mind with loving memories and fills my heart with blessings at the same time too.

Last summer, having inherited my grandparents’ house in Moraitika, it was hard opening the door and finding an empty house inside for the first time. What’s more, I was burdened with the gruesome task of having to go through my grandparents’ belongings, deciding what was to keep, what to throw, and what to give to charity. The task took days, and it was a surreal experience. Being interspersed with short bursts of summer holiday fun, it felt odd to do this too but, somehow, my mission was accomplished. At the end of my holiday I had given loads of clothes and medical equipment no longer needed to a couple locals who were grateful to have them, my husband and I had scrubbed dirty and moulded walls and ceilings clean, the house was tidy and aired after having being left uninhabited for a long time, and our minds were enriched with beautiful new holiday memories.

I share with you today a couple photos I took while sorting through my grandparents’ personal belongings. I found these in their aged bedside cabinets.

I quickly recognized all the items in the above photograph from old memories and was deeply moved to see Gran Antigoni had kept a couple of the handkerchiefs I used when I was little. The moment I saw them I remembered them as mine. Those among you who have holidayed in Corfu in the 70s and 80s may recognize the item in the middle as a pill box. They were all the rage in the 80s, being sold in many shapes and with various depictions on them in the souvenir shops at the time.

As for granddad’s things, the only item I didn’t recognize was the binoculars. They are dented, as you can see, and you couldn’t see much through the lenses, but he must have been fond of them as he kept them all the same. I can only imagine how many years he must have had them! As for the torch, granddad had a few, and this one is the oldest I remember and probably his favourite! It’s the one he used during our annual ‘pizza nights’ at the beach when the August moon was out – a memory that made its way into The Ebb, the novel I wrote to share my love for my grandparents with the world. Speaking of The Ebb, Sofia’s dented fork is also real… and I have proof. Scroll down below to see a photo of it 🙂

Granddad Spyros, born in Moraitika in 1913, was one of the children of Stefanos Vassilakis, the priest and teacher of Moraitika in the early 1900s. Granddad never had an education beyond elementary school but his impeccable manners towards family and friends as well as his loving, giving heart were prominent parts of his character. During the forty odd years that I was blessed to have him in my life he’d always been upbeat, sweet and loving and I never witnessed him lose his temper or fight with anyone, not even when he had every right to. And believe me, in my typically dysfunctional Greek family he had many opportunities to act that way.

Being the son of a preacher, Granddad spent Sunday mornings sitting with a radio and chanting along to the priest and the hymn singers. He also chanted in the church with gladness whenever asked. As I share in The Ebb, he had an odd affinity for the TV remote control, driving Gran to a frenzy. Actually, all his eccentricities that I share in the book are true, and he was a man who loved to laugh and entertain others too. Near the end of his life, he kept asking us to be merry when he dies, saying he wanted people to laugh, not cry, at his funeral. I last spoke to him (on the phone from Athens) three days before his passing at the age of 97. His mind was crystal clear, his voice jovial, like a young boy’s. His answer to my question ‘How are you?’ was a hearty laugh and the typical answer, “Got to be here another day!”

Granddad loved a good joke. Once, when he was well into his 90s, we were sitting around the table and he was laughing his head off with his own morbid joke. He had recently paid the council for a family grave and had had it decorated with the marble top and cross, and even his own picture, ready for the big day! Apparently, a local had passed by and seen the grave and told another: ‘Crikey! When did Spyros Vassilakis die? I never heard!” Someone had told Granddad and he relayed it around the table, laughing heartily at the ridiculous notion someone had thought him dead, even though he had set the scene perfectly for anyone to be fooled! And that was Granddad. He had this wicked sense of humour that often annoyed Gran and led to those ‘fights’ at the table that always caused me and my sister to exchange glances and chuckle no end.

Granddad also loved to joke with his friend Andriana, a local woman, and mother of Leftis from Romantica. Granddad and Mrs Andriana had approximately the same age and often joked with each other, betting who would pass away first! As he lay in his bed towards the end, Granddad heard the church bell toll intermittently in the typical single strike that signalled a death in the village. He turned to Gran and said, ‘Andriana’s gone’, which was indeed the toll of the bell for her passing, but we will never know if it was just a guess or if he knew somehow. The next day he died too.

Above all Granddad’s delightful eccentricities, one stands out for me as the most endearing: he always carried a little plastic comb in his shirt pocket and loved for me and my sister to comb his hair when we were little. Ever since I remember myself this ritual kept going strong. When I stayed or visited his house in Athens as a little girl he’d sit on his armchair, pat his shirt pocket and give me a cunning grin. I’d then rush to him, take the comb from his pocket and begin to comb his hair for a long time, the longer the better for him, but it was something I enjoyed too so much that time just flew. Often, before I knew it, he’d be fast asleep while I did this, sometimes even snoring loudly! He’d often wake up a little later to find he had all sorts of plaits braided on his head with colourful plastic hair clips at the end of them. He had the softest, snow-white thin strands and to this day I remember how they felt in my hands.

Outside the house in Moraitika – early 2000s

When Granddad passed away in 2010, I asked Gran if she had one of his combs to give me. She gave one to me and one to my sister and we both treasure them. Often, when the going gets tough in my life, I take it in my hands and tell Granddad my troubles. It always helps me to soothe any kind of heartache or mental strain – the comb having been established as the ultimate symbol of his love in my heart and mind.

I was deeply moved and very fortunate to find these old documents in an envelope in my granny’s bedside cabinet last summer. Time had rendered them gossamer thin but the writing is still legible in most places and it’s been preserved quite well despite the dozens of humid winters. These documents were my granddad’s call to military duty twice: the first in 1935 and the other in 1945.

The document of 1935, when Granddad Spyros was 22, had him registered as a coffee shop seller who was assigned to serve as a telephonist in the Communications Corp (I translate all this to the best of my ability seeing I am not familiar with military jargon). The rules that were mentioned overleaf state that the person called to duty was obliged to appear on the date specified. It was also stated that a delay of one day in showing up would result in imprisonment, while a delay of two or more days would automatically declare the person a deserter, which was punishable by death, or a life sentence in prison if evidence was put forward for their defense. There was also a clear instruction in bold to treat the assigned post and the document itself as confidential.

The document of 1945 called my granddad to duty in Acharnes, Athens in September 30th, 1945. He was 32 at the time. The document listed the same kind of rules overleaf, although with less severity compared to the other document. It was also stamped in Patra in October 1945 and there’s writing beside it but sadly it’s impossible to make out what it says.

What I do know about granddad’s service during the war was that he fought in Albania and when released from duty he returned to Corfu on foot. I also know that in Corfu he was stationed in two places: the (Venetian) Old Fortress in Corfu Town and in the Palace of Mon Repos in Kanoni. In the latter, he served as a cook and rubbed shoulders with Greek and English officers.

Gran is pictured with one of her brothers and her father in Corfu town

Gran Antigoni was born in Lefkas (Lefkada) in 1924. Her father, Nikolaos Kopsidas from the village of Karya, Lefkas, owned two inns in the island capital but a devastating earthquake that destroyed many buildings in town, including his two businesses, forced him to leave the island and seek a new life for himself and his family in Corfu. Granny was about four when she moved to Corfu. Brought up in the ancient quarter of Campielo of Corfu town, she spoke melodically, her vocabulary rich with unfathomable Italian-sounding words dating from the island’s occupation by the Venetians. When she was nineteen, one of her brothers made friends with my granddad who was thirty years old at the time. Granddad would often say that when he first led eyes on my demure grandmother she was wearing a long pleated skirt and the sight made him loose his mind (‘tin itha ke vourlistika’, were the exact words!). The rest is history, as they say.

From left to right, Ioanna, Gran, and Stephania

Granny lived and breathed for her daughters, Ioanna (my mother) and Stephania, who were also brought up in Campielo.

When I came to be, it was a story of love both ways. Granny and I soon developed a very strong bond. When I was little I’d often stay in her rented house (in Athens back then) and I was so attached to her I called her ‘mama’ (mum) and refused to fall asleep unless she held my hand. Gran would often laugh and say I gave her a hard time back then, seeing that as soon as she moved her hand away from my grasp I’d snap my eyes open, which meant she had to give me her hand and wait for me to fall asleep all over again.

 

Although my grandparents lived in Athens when I was little, we often visited Corfu in the summer to stay with my aunt Stephanie’s family in Garitsa (coastal quarter of the town next to Anemomylos). My grandparents had inherited a small quarter of my great-grandfather’s house in Moraitika but they needed to build upon it to make it a proper home with the necessary commodities first. They managed this in the early 1980s so I began to spend my summer holidays for three months at a time in the village as of then.

In The Ebb I share many of the terms of endearment Granny used to address me. There is an entertaining one I didn’t share, which tickled my husband’s funny bone so much he uses it for me now. The term is ‘kontessa’ (countess), my granny’s way of teasing me whenever, as all kids occasionally do, I acted lazy or self-indulgent. Every time Andy calls me that now if, say, I snooze a little longer in bed, there is a tug in my heart, but the feeling is wonderful, knowing the term  of endearment survived, somehow.

In the recent years, I’ve been blessed to have had Gran stay in my house in Athens for a month or so at a time during the winter. Back in 2011 when the above pictures were taken I had a dog, Nerina, a sweet and benevolent soul. I guess she must have found in Gran a kindred spirit, as she’d follow her around the house, especially when Gran cleaned fish at the sink as you see in the above photo. To stretch her legs, I often took Gran to the seafront for a stroll and as Gran loved eating fish, she often proposed we buy some for lunch straight from the fishing boats. On sunny days, more often than not, she would suggest a walk in the fields around the house to pick wild greens. You’d think a 90-year-old would cringe at the thought but Granny was tireless. She didn’t mind at all bending over for an hour to pick greens and often did a little gardening too, picking sprouts of spearmint from one place to put them in a new spot, or just watering my plants. She loved to be around plants and did the same in her tiny yard in Moraitika till the day she left it behind the last time.

 

My grandparents’ children, Ioanna (my mother) and Stephania

 

When Gran and Granddad started their life together in the 40s, times were hard. If they needed to visit Moraitika from Corfu town, they often walked the whole way. That’s a 45 minute ride in the bus today! As a young married couple they lived in Campielo as I said before where, to make ends meet, Granddad used to do deliveries for a refreshment company. He made the deliveries all over town riding a horse carriage. During the summer, he worked a lot more hours to meet the higher demand, often on all days of the week. He’d leave home at first light and return after dark when the kids were in bed. As a result, his little daughter, Stephania, called him ‘o babas o chimoniatikos’ (winter dad) as this was the only part of the year where she got to see him.

Later in life, to seek a more secure future, my granddad took his family to live in Athens where he worked at the Skaramangha shipyard. In my debut novel, The Necklace of Goddess Athena, I mention the scrap fabric pieces that the workers used to clean their hands from the dirty work. Granddad would often take the odd scrap home and Granny made clothes for their children from them.

Back in Moraitika is where sheer bliss began to pour into my life. Roughly from the age of 12, I began to stay with my grandparents nearly every summer from early June to early September. I played and swam daily with a multitude of cousins and village children and as neighbours I had a host of great-uncles and great-aunts who’d each inherited a part of my great-grandfather’s big house. Every morning would find me and the other children playing with a ball or cards under the mulberry tree or on the cemented step that can still be found today outside the house.

The mulberry tree in front of the house always causes myriad fond memories to come to surface. This lane that leads to the village church has been my playground for many happy summers.

Towards midday, we’d all descend to the beach in large numbers for our daily swim. In the afternoons, after our siesta, my cousins and I would go for long walks accompanied by my grandparents or the odd great-uncle. One of them, Great-Uncle Lilis who was a retired teacher at the time accompanied us in our walks military-style, shouting out ‘ena-dyo, en-dyo’ to give the marching rhythm but of course we kids laughed it off. We did find it endearing though so from time to time indulged him by parading like little soldiers for him as he followed last on the side of the road, supervising us.

Most of the time, we’d walk along the Corfu-Lefkimmi highway and stopped at Messonghi past the tiny bridge near the turn off to Agios Mattheos where the petrol station is today. Beside it on the corner, there was a cafe owned by my uncle Thanassis Tsatsanis from Messonghi. This was our resting place for a refreshment or a sweet before our long walk back home on the hill in Moraitika.

All the things fun I just mentioned, interspersed with out-of-this-world good meals prepared by my granny only repeated themselves the next day and the next after that, for three months at a time. I am sure, therefore, you can imagine my joy every time June came when I was a youngster, and the absolute heart-wrenching sorrow that hit me when September arrived each year and it was time to go.

As I have said many times and also recorded in The Ebb, Gran Antigoni was an amazing cook and prepared her meals in a tiny kitchen barely big enough for two people to stand in it. These photos from the early 2000’s serve as proof!

 

Speaking of proof, here is a picture of the dented aluminum fork described in The Ebb. Every summer, on my first day in the house, Gran would take it out of her ancient cabinet drawer and set it in front of me at the table with a glint in her eye as Granddad chuckled. You can imagine what it means to me now they are gone. I took this photo last summer, and it was quite emotional when I set it down on the table to eat with my husband, without either of my grandparents present for the very first time. But of course, their love remains inside me, safe, where neither time nor death can ever take it away.

Below, I share a couple videos from happy days with my grandparents. These were taken in the summer of 2004.

The two first videos feature my conversations with my grandparents as I take the video and Andy and Granddad watch Gran BBQ fish for our lunch. During that time we elaborated a lot on the fact Granddad was difficult to cook for because there were many foods he didn’t like much (fish and meat included). I then tried to convince him to have some fish but he seemed intent on only having the boiled greens and skordalia (garlic dip) that were to be served with it. By the time Gran serves at the table, she and I have managed to annoy him somewhat to a hilarious effect right at the end of video 3.

“San polla de lete?” (Don’t you think you’re talking too much?) quips Granddad in his typical mock-stern tone. It made my grandmother and I laugh many times as we watched this video together after his passing. Grandma would laugh while her fingertips caressed his face on my tablet’s screen, the words ‘Spyro mou…’ issued wistfully and repeatedly from her lips.

I hope you’ll find the videos entertaining, even those among you who don’t understand much Greek, if only for the mannerisms and the real-life depiction of a typical ‘row’ between my grandparents at meal times as described in The Ebb.

 

I truly believe that Granny and Granddad were sister souls. They were married together for 67 years and remained in love till the last day when Granddad died peacefully in his bed in Granny’s arms. Granny often relayed how he opened his eyes and gave her one last, intense look, before he closed them again, this time, forever. Granny said it felt like he was aiming to take her image along with him.

Last year, my grandmother’s parting words to me were said over the phone and during a rare moment of lucid thinking as osteomyelitis had long begun to cloud her mind since her fatal fall. Even though she kept silent or mumbled to herself whenever I phoned the old people’s home in Limnos where she spent her very last days, during that call I was lucky to make out these words: ‘Na eisai kala kyra mou, na eisai panta kala’ (may you be well ‘my lady’, may you always be well). I knew that day this was goodbye. And I was right; she died just a couple days later. I do hope in her heart she knew I was there when that happened, if only in spirit.

Goodbye Grandma. Goodbye Granddad. Until we meet again.

 

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Wondering what Moraitika, Corfu is like? Visit my guide to Moraitika and marvel at the endless possibilities of summer holiday fun on offer.

 

A scary Christmas and an angel message

Angel stories spirituality

Hello All and Happy New Year. After a major surgery and a scary month that I like to call The Athens Hospital Tour Under Christmas Lights, I am back and, this time, fixed for good. Mind you, I’ve never felt more broken than I feel at the moment.

For one, I am suitably shocked still, seeing that I nearly lost my life last month due to severe anemia from my perimenopausal menstrual problems. The doctors at Tzaneio Hospital in Pireas saved me literally in the last minute when I was rushed there one evening with hematocrit 15.5. As they set me down on the operating table for an emergency D&C, I overheard the surgeon say it was a miracle I was alive as it was. When I was brought round afterwards, I heard the nurses discuss how scared they were to see I’d gone ‘white like marble’ while I was under. These shocking words were etched in my brain for eternity, as you can imagine.

A month later, and after a total hysterectomy, I am home and recuperating slowly. Christmas has been a blur and, despite having planned to visit Athens to see the Christmas lights more than once, I wound up visiting only city  hospitals three times throughout the Holiday Season, twice in an ambulance. Through its back window, and as its siren screamed in my ears the second time, I saw the Christmas lights in Omonia Square and my heart sank. But I knew that day there would be better days and so it happened.

My physical ordeal (and mental angst) ended in exactly one month – from December 7 when I visited the hospital the first time until January 7 when I returned home after the hysterectomy.

But I’m thankful for this gruesome month. For one, it has caused quite a stir in me. You hear this in movies often, when someone escapes death and they say they feel like they’ve been given a second chance. This is exactly what this feels like to me. I remember the first time I left the hospital, right after the D&C and the blood transfusions. It was sunny that morning. I felt the warm sunlight on my face and it felt like a caress from God Himself.

As gooey as this may sound, it felt like the sunlight was giving me strength, welcoming me back to life. And since that day, I still can’t help thinking that every day is a gift now. And do you know what’s really scary? The fact that I’d never realized my continuous bouts of iron deficiency anemia involved a mortal risk. My doctors and many older females in my social circle had advised me to just be patient; to take my iron tablets and hope the ordeal will end earlier rather than later. I imagine many women must have done the same and maybe lost their lives, unaware of the risk involved just as I was. But I was lucky. Had I not decided to call a microbiologist to come home that day and check my blood, I’d never have known my hematocrit had dropped to 16 from 37 in just 5 days. Had it not been for her to alert my family to call an ambulance I would have passed away that evening in my bed, thinking it was just another hit of anemia that was causing the migraines, the weakness, and the scary palpitations.

If you’re a woman nearing 50 and battling with excessively heavy menstruations and anemia, please, do not sit patiently and suffer it. Seek help now. Take drastic measures. The doctors I’d been seeing never alerted me to the mortal danger involved. I pray yours will and that my experience will serve to help you one day to fix yourself in your own good time.

Angel stories spirituality

It is not often that I choose to share publicly harrowing experiences of my life. But I made an exception today for two reasons. The first was to warn other women, as I just have. The second was to share, for those among you who believe in angels, a third angel message I received while in hospital before the op.

In my previous post, About Hardship, Angels, and my New Book, I shared two angel messages that were given to me in my tiny office at home. Both messages came just before a major hardship hit my life and they gave me the strength I needed to endure. In a way, it felt like my angels (whom I’ve always felt by my side) said to me, ‘You are not alone. We are here to see you through.’

The third message came in my hospital room and this time I even had a witness. My husband, Andy, was there and he was shocked to see what happened. It was the first day, one day before the op. After sitting around the room for a while waiting for instructions and to get my blood checked, I decided to sit on the bed. As soon as I did, a man walked in whom I knew from my first stay in the hospital. The kindly man rents out flat TVs to the patients for a small fee. After I accepted his offer for one, he left a Post-It-Note-sized piece of paper that advertises his service on top of the a/c temperature control on the wall by my bed and left the room, promising to return soon with the TV.

About thirty seconds later, and while my husband was standing talking to me from the foot of the bed, the note the man had left flew off the a/c temperature control, floated in the air away from the wall and landed on the bed beside me, its blank side up. I remember vividly following it with my eyes as it approached the bed, then landed; it flew ever so slowly as if hanging in mid-air, taking its time. Here I must explain that there was no open window, hence no draft, and that the bed was not near the wall. The distance between them allows a large bedside table to fit in comfortably, so the natural thing would have been for the paper to land on the floor instead.

After both my husband and I had gasped for air, staring at the piece of paper that had landed by me smoothly as if brought there by an invisible hand, my husband said breathlessly: ‘It’s from your angels, isn’t it’?

I only nodded, as I was choking by then, full of trepidation for what awaited me the next day.

Angel stories spirituality

And with that, I will leave you here, wishing you health and joy this new year and always. Personally, I intend to make 2017 the best year I’ve had in a long time. My happiest thought right now involves the summer swims in store for me, both in Corfu and in my little seaside town. Daily. Without another scary pause. Ever again. Month in. Month out. Freedom from this self-induced prison and fun times at last. Again, if you are going through this too, I beg you – don’t suffer it. Do something about it today.

There is a silver lining to every cloud. There is always a rainbow after a rainfall.

God bless you all and thank you for reading. If you’ve been through a similar situation, had a hysterectomy, or have an angel story/message to share, please add a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

 

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