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Lamb on the stove, a Greek Eurovision song from the 70s, and free books for all

Hello! Thought I’d share with you today my family recipe for lamb prepared on the stove with carrots and spices.

The sauce of this meal tastes divine, thanks to the aromatic spices. The tang of the fresh lemon juice added at the very end is all the money! Some of the spices in the recipe are optional, but I do recommend you use turmeric. I include it in most of the meals that I make. It enhances the taste and offers a wealth of health benefits.

You can enjoy this lamb dish with rice or fries. Personally, I prefer it with rice. Any rice suitable for risotto will do, but I’ve also tried it with Basmati or Jasmine or American long-grain rice mixed with wild rice (see picture above).

For the lamb, any part will do, but make sure to have some pieces with bones in them (shoulder or leg are great) as this adds extra nutrients and taste to the sauce.

GO HERE TO GET THE RECIPE

 

Earlier this month, my husband and I visited the annual local produce festival in Megara that took place at a beautiful park. A chef was making mussel risotto for everyone, and the adorable Bessy Argyraki gave a concert at the open theatre in the park.

I was delighted to see she’d brought along Tolis Papadimitriou, one of my favourite stars in the Greek TV comedy, “Mourmoura”. I jumped at the chance to ask him to pose with me for a selfie after his appearance. You should have seen me, smiling to my ears like a teeny bopper LOL!

Well, actually, if you check out the photos I took that night, you will see one of the selfies I took with him.

By the way, if you’re Greek and you can get Alpha channel’s Mourmoura, don’t hesitate to try it. The episodes have been gems ever since series 1. I don’t think I’ve missed a single one and I’ve watched 10 series so far, LOL!

Are you a Eurovision fan? Then, you may remember Greece’s first big hit in this music contest back in 1977 when Bessie Argyraki, alongside three other Greek youths at the time (Marianna Toli, Paschalis and Robert Williams), sang the beautiful, uplifting song, Mathema Solfege. The rest is history, as they say, seeing that all four youngsters developed in time into quite popular music stars in Greece for decades on end.

Mrs Argyraki continues to entertain the Greek audience today. I enjoyed the concert so much, especially as some of her old songs brought back fond memories from my childhood. As a little girl, I was forever borrowing my mother’s big hairbrush from the dresser to sing Mathema Solfege with my friends, LOL!

If you follow Greek music, I invite you to watch this short video from the concert and get a small taste of the dynamite lady, the perpetual young girl at heart that is Bessy Argyraki. Her passion for singing makes her so. Tireless for two hours, amazing, hilarious with her jokes, adorable. She charmed everyone, even the small kids!

Go here to see pictures from the concert and from the park, too.

Hey, before you go! In my latest newsletter, I am sharing a plethora of FREE kindle books! Check it out here!

 

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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.

 

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A strange event in my sleepy little town and an old Greek movie

The derelict old factory in my seaside little town of Nea Peramos (just 36 kms west of Athens) came to life last month… but only for two nights. The old factory used to produce linen and distribute them all over Greece – the brand name was Peiraiki-Patraiki, and later it was taken over by the paper company, Softex, around the 80s-90s. Then, in the 00s, it was abandoned and left to its fate, to weather away through the decades that followed. The factory, and especially its beautiful facade, became famous all over Greece in the 60s as it became the set of the legendary Greek movie, ‘I Kori mou i Sosialistria’ (My Socialist Daughter) starring the most popular Greek movie stars at the time – Aliki Vougiouklaki and Dimitris Papamichael.

Today, the factory is derelict and it’s always quiet over there, since it’s flanked on both sides by open fields for quite a distance. This is why, as I drove past one evening last month, I found it very peculiar to see cars parked back-to-back along the road, for hundreds of meters before and after the factory building.

What’s more, from a nearby field, I saw youngsters emerging in large numbers onto the road. They were walking along the field on a dirt path that was situated on one side of the building. So, if they were visiting the old factory, why were they coming out via a field and not out the main gate, which remained locked like always?

It was all very peculiar, and my first guess was that perhaps something illegal was going on. A rave party? (if these are, indeed, still happening? I wouldn’t know as I am too old, obviously haha!) Some kind of happening for sure!

The people were just too many, most of them looking barely out of puberty too. Arriving home, I checked for new posts in a local Facebook group where the people of Nea Peramos discuss events, and share advice and information among them.

Sure enough, someone had already expressed their intrigue about the parked cars and the many people sighted near the derelict factory.

‘Not to worry!’ someone commented under the post. ‘It’s just a painting exhibition. It’s happening just this weekend!’

‘Oh, now it makes sense!’ another quipped. ‘I spotted a black Jeep parked outside the building the other day. Some guys were standing at the gate and talking’.

The rest of the comments were complaints, as one might expect. ‘An art exhibition? In our town? But, how come we are not aware of this?’

‘Yes, how come?’ another frustrated local would add. ‘Why didn’t they advertise it anywhere so we can go? Who are these people going there and how did they find out then?’

My own reasonings were similar. If, indeed, this was a legit ‘painting exhibition’ then why didn’t it get advertised properly and openly? Why all the secrecy? The factory gates weren’t even opened. And how was it that the only visitors I saw at the site were youngsters? Surely, middle-aged and even elderly visitors would jump at the chance to visit an ‘art exhibition’!?

To cut a long story short, this same oddity was repeated the next evening, and after that, the factory reverted to its usual ghostly state. And that’s when we got to hear the rest of the story…

As it turned out, this was a street art exhibition, after all, and it had been prepared and opened to the public secretly, on purpose. Whoever planned this, wanted to experiment, apparently, to see if such an event could be advertised secretly and still be a success among the young.

For two years, 20 street artists visited the building under wraps to work on a total of 70 murals!

The team that organised the whole thing gave the project the code name ‘Project Peramo’ (from our town’s name, Nea Peramos). The code name had been whispered from person to person these past two years, making its way online only via private Direct Messages – never posted properly on social media. And it still became a success on the weekend of the opening.

Two years of work resulted to this event, a spotlight of just a few hours. No one knows what will happen to the murals post-event. The only thing I have found that I perceive as good news is that the old factory has recently been acquired by a construction company called Dimand and that another company – Royale Sugar – is planning to operate in the building.

The locals, including yours truly, have grown upset over the past decades to see this old gem left to its fate so this is going to excite everyone – to see it in operation again after twenty odd years.

It seems to be frozen in time, judging from the pictures I saw in a blog post online (in Greek) that reported on the street art event.

In one of the photos, you can see a chart where work shifts were being recorded back in the day. And on another, the sign of the staff canteen sports the old font anyone will recognise from the 70s and 80s…

Go here to see plenty of photographs from the street art event!

UPDATE: In 2024, works in the old factory began under new management and are still ongoing as I write this. I look forward to seeing it operational again!

 

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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.

 

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How to grow sprouts in a jar. Delicious and packed with nutrients!

Hi All!

Today, I am sharing a bunch of free books in my newsletter, including a very special book from a man who is saving cancer patients in India, just by talking to them! Interested to hear more? Scroll all the way down for my newsletter link!

And now, to tell you about this exciting new discovery I made…

I recently watched a video by nutrition expert Mike Adams about how to grow sprouts in glass jars and got so excited I immediately set out to find jars with suitable lids. I just had to grow sprouts in a jar! It looked so easy to do. Growing alfalfa seeds in particular seems to offer a wealth of health benefits.

Finding sprouting seeds online was easy, but the jar was a totally different story. It proved impossible to find glass jars with mesh (plastic or metal) on the lid. Once again, hubbie saved the day. He cut up the metal lid you can see here and added a sheet of plastic mesh. That did the trick to grow the sprouts twice, then the lid began to rust, which wasn’t good. So he made a ring out of plastic to use as a lid. Using brass nails he then attached some plastic mesh to the lid. This did the trick just fine.

Basically, I put a spoonful of organic alfalfa seeds in the glass jar, fill it with filtered water and leave it standing upright covered with a towel away from sunlight for 10 hours (the seeds should not be left to soak much longer).

I always start soaking the seeds in the morning. Then, in the evening (10-12 hours later max), I drain the water and put the jar upside down in a narrow container, a little tilted, in indirect sunlight. I use a strainer to sit it on, with a breakfast bowl underneath, and I rest it against a wall to be safe. Anywhere in a sunny room will do, as long as the sunlight doesn’t directly shine on the jar.

After that, twice a day, morning and evening (about 10-12 hours apart), I fill the jar with water and drain it immediately. I repeat 2-3 times to rinse the sprouts well, then leave the jar in its makeshift cradle upside down. That’s it.

You can start eating the sprouts after 4-5 days of doing this twice a day. I leave them for about 5-6 days in the jar in the way I explained, then I drain well and put them in a container in the fridge to enjoy in salads or sandwiches. They are delicious!

If I start eating from the jar, I cannot stop haha. They are so crunchy, a wonderful texture. Last time, I threw in a few broccoli seeds too (they have a slight kick) so I enjoyed a mix with the alfalfa seeds. It was very nice. Radish seeds are supposed to have a kick too, but I haven’t tried those yet. Always use organic, no matter what sprouts you go for.

You can watch Mike Adams’s short video HERE

I hope it will inspire you the way it inspired me.

Serving suggestion

This is a new book (only short, about 90 pages) and it is offered for free in my latest newsletter. Read it and you’ll never think of cancer (or any other dis-ease) in the same way again! This is a book by a very special Englishman, who learned a ground-breaking medicine method from a doctor and is now practicing it in India, working for free, saving the lives of terminally ill cancer patients that the medical system could help no more. All he does is talk to them… and this simple intervention saves their lives, somehow, thanks to this amazing medical practice that is still to be discovered by the masses. It sounds strange, I know, but it works!

Check out more details in my newsletter: https://madmimi.com/p/de35261/preview

 

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YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY… SHARING IS CARING! Tweet this to spread some love:

Fun news from a Greek author and FREE books for all! #ian1 #freebiefriday #Greece Share on X

 

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.

 

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Chocolate mousse in a cup, a musical coconut, and freebies for all!

Watch me play the kalimba in this short Facebook video

He he. I can’t stop chuckling. Until December last year, I didn’t even know what a kalimba was. The kalimba (or ‘thumb piano’) originates from Zimbabwe, a musical instrument traditional of the Shona people.

It all started with a video ad on Facebook and instantly I was hooked! I had to get my hands on one, hoping to add some new joy to my life with its sweet sound. When I told Andy, my husband, he grew excited as he lived the first eight years of his life in Zimbabwe. He said the air was often full of the sounds of kalimba as people played in their homes. I was so glad to hear that, as I had purchased a second one, just for him, as an impromptu new year’s present. Finding out I’d bought him something that could help him recapture a fond memory of his childhood gave me even more joy to give it.

It was thrilling for both of us to unpack our kalimbas when they arrived at our door shortly after Christmas but the excitement quickly turned into disappointment.

Our kalimbas were out of tune! Plus, we had no idea how to tune them. However, we didn’t need to fret for long. My amazing hubby took action at once! The ‘amazing’ bit is well deserved, believe me. I am not just being partial here.

If you’ve been reading my emails for a while, you may recall that last year Andy made me a jewellery box using an ancient Japanese technique to blow-torch the wood. Or that he has restored an old motorbike that used to be only good for scrap, turning it into a glistening beauty that he is now pleased to ride back and forth to work. Still, his capacity to make anything he sets his mind to never ceases to astound me.

In a matter of five minutes, he had used Youtube to find out how to tune a kalimba. Then, he strode to the front door, announcing he was going to his shed, and I felt hopeful.

Under an hour later, he came back looking like the cat that got the cream, holding up this tiny hammer that he’d just made, using scraps of wood and metal that lay about in the shed (see photo above). I was so impressed! Then, he proceeded by tuning the kalimbas to perfection… I am still unable to believe it. And I feel so lucky. I mean, what do people do in this case if they don’t have a shed with an Andy in it? LOL

It’s been less than a month and I’ve already memorised 4 tunes in the kalimba in my spare time. I take just a few minutes a day to play and commit old and new key sequences to memory. And the joy I get from these few minutes last me all day. There is a plethora of Youtube videos for 8-key kalimbas so there’s lots more to learn.

Already, I am aspiring to get a 17-key kalimba later on as the sound on those is way better, plus the extra keys help to play more songs. I have my eye on a specific one already but I am delaying it until I have mastered this one first. I’ve always been ‘weird’ like that, I guess. Always delaying gratification and giving any endeavour a fair chance to bloom before I skip on to the next one 🙂 Besides, I am thinking, if my humble 8-key kalimba could only speak, it would no doubt ask me to give it enough attention so it can reach its full potential. And, if you’ve hit the video link above you will undoubtedly agree that I am nowhere near an 8-key kalimba virtuoso as yet haha

After making the little tuning hammer, Andy didn’t stop. Next thing I knew he was busy with a ‘secret project’, buying coconuts at the supermarket and a tiny dessert spoon set at a local thrift store.

So here you go. The fruit of his latest efforts is a musical coconut. Or, should I say, a dessert-spoon kalimba? LOL!

And even if it looks great… please… don’t ask me how it sounds. I haven’t taken out my ear plugs yet, just in case haha

To be honest, even though it got tuned okay, it sounds plain awful. It has to be ore steel, I guess, and the dessert spoons don’t cut it. But doesn’t it look pretty? And it keeps my man happy. Who am I to stop him?

Seriously, by now I am convinced that a good practice for a happy life is seeking joy every day… pleasing the child we all have inside. Nurturing it, pleasing it, and allowing it to ‘play’, can only reap benefits in our lives. The kalimba is working miracles on me, I’ll tell you that. And I hope you have your own little thing that makes you smile every day. I have noticed that I sing to myself all day since I started thumping on those little keys, and I am not in the least surprised!

These chocolatey desserts are quick and easy to rustle up at home and utterly delicious. The tang of the orange zest makes these little cups of heaven! I love how small they are – ideal for guilt-free treats if you’re minding your waistline like I do. And, what’s more… no cooking necessary. They become perfect after a few hours in the fridge. I use Greek coffee cups to make them, but you can also use espresso cups or other small ones you may have at home.

GET THE RECIPE

Check out the newsletter and get my awarded paranormal romance for FREE!

FOR A LOAD OF FREE BOOKS, VISIT MY LATEST NEWSLETTER RIGHT HERE!

 

OOPPAAA! SIGN UP TO MY BIMONTHLY NEWSLETTER AND GET 3 BOOKS FROM ME AS A WELCOME GIFT! SEE BELOW FOR THIS OFFER!

YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY… SHARING IS CARING! Tweet this to spread some love:

Fun news from a Greek writer and FREE books for all! #iartg #freebies #asmsg Share on X

 

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.

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Fun in Athens at Christmas: Monastiraki and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNFCC)

Two wonderful days in Athens… 

(See the photos on my Facebook page)

Between Christmas and the New Year, my husband and I headed over to Athens for two days, and we were determined to visit new places as much as we could. The first novelty we experienced was the accommodation itself – as it turned out to be a totally unmanned property! The front door of the old neoclassical building at Monastiraki was locked and when we phoned the contact number to request admission a nice lady on the phone directed us how to open the keypad on the door to extract a key!

To be honest, we felt a little worried about sleeping in an old building without any staff on site – while trusting that the other guests would be as careful as we were to lock the door each time they went in and out. Luckily, all went well, and the place itself was clean and beautiful, with the typical high ceilings and the old, tall wooden windows and floors that one would expect.

Monastiraki itself felt safe to walk around in, even late into the night, and the streets were packed, especially in Psyrri where we went to admire the Christmas lights outside Little Kook. During that first day, we did quite well in our quest to try new experiences! We went to A for Athens for coffee – a café that’s part of the hotel of the same name. It’s on a terrace and overlooks Monastiraki square with the Acropolis on the opposite hill. As you can see from the first two pictures above, the view was as spectacular as we had imagined it to be!

After visiting a few shops, we wound up at our favourite haunt – the Irish ‘James Joyce Pub’ at the heart of Monastiraki, but committed to make it a new experience, we both ordered new things on the menu. Andy had sausage with onions and I utterly enjoyed a meal I had come to miss from my days living in the UK. It was a huge dish of steak and Guinness pie and it was absolutely delicious.

The evening found us  having  dinner in Athinas street,  near  the  Athens market.  We  walked  a lot  around  Monastiraki,  Plaka  and  Psirri  afterwards, enjoying  the  lights  and  taking  in  the  city  vibe.

Even though by bedtime we thought we’d had an absolutely perfect day, little did we know that the next day would impress and please us even more! For a while now we both wanted to visit the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre (SNFCC) but never seemed to get the chance. It is situated south of Athens by the sea, on the grounds where the old Hippodrome (race horse track) used to be. The free shuttle picked us up from Syntagma square early in the morning. We were at our destination in just 10 minutes.

To say that our mouths were gaping open, on and off, as we discovered the place would be an understatement. It wasn’t just because of the grandeur of the National Opera and the National Library that are housed in the SNFCC. It wasn’t even the beautiful canal with the musical fountains that operate to the sound of music. It was the sheer GENIUS of the whole undertaking and the design of the place. I chose the specific picture above, just to show you the one thing that impressed me more than anything else:

In the picture, I am standing on top of an edifice called Faros (Lighthouse) at the SNFCC. From there, one has a generous view of Athens and the Acropolis. On the other side, one can admire the sea view. It stands at the highest ground of the Foundation. Behind me, you can see the edifice of the National Opera and the canal. Do you see what’s on top of the Opera? Grounds! Gardens! I could not believe, as Andy and I were making our way downhill after seeing that, now realizing that we were basically stepping along the top of the opera building. It was just too mind-blowing to wrap my head around it.

The gardens were beautiful, to say the least. There are pine trees, an olive grove, planted herbs and vegetables of many kinds, and a large clearing in the midst of it all that is perfect for family picnics and open-air cinema viewings throughout the summer. Amidst the greenery, one finds surprises as they walk around. Delightful features and fun things for the kids to do, and some also for the adults. ‘The Maze’ impressed me the most, but as the ground was soggy from an earlier rain we gave it a miss. Perhaps next time!

People can cycle in the park or jog or just sit and enjoy nature or the beautiful canal that uses sea water, being in direct connection with the sea. Events take place in the summer period in many parts of the Foundation outdoors. It’s just a fun place to be, and I’m certainly going back – probably in the spring, when I hear it’s beautiful with the flowers in bloom.

I’d also love to combine my visit next time with one at the Eugenides Foundation with its state-of-the-art planetarium – it’s literally across Syggrou avenue from the SNFCC via an underground passage (under said avenue). The educational shows there about astronomy and nature are said to be spectacular.

If you’re planning a trip to Athens, I highly recommend you visit the SNFCC. In case you intend to use the free shuttle service, please note it does not depart from Syntagma, but only comes and stops briefly at the corner bus stop, just in front of ‘Public’ superstore. Timetables for the shuttle and all sorts of information you will find at the SNFCC website.

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Spanakorizo recipe – Greek spinach and rice with lemon

Hello, All. Thrilled to share a family recipe with you all today. ‘Spanakorizo’ is a Greek meal made with spinach and rice. It’s aromatic, thanks to the dill, and the lemony tang will make your palate sing!

GET THE RECIPE

Thought I’d also share the link to my latest newsletter here. You’ll find in it a plethora of free kindle (and PDF) books, as well as a bunch of photos from the local seafront of my little town. The only swimmer I found sunbathing there last time wasn’t like the usual ones, I’ll tell you that!

CHECK OUT THE NEWSLETTER TO FIND OUT MORE AND ENJOY ALL THE FREEBIES!

OOPPAAA! SIGN UP TO MY BIMONTHLY NEWSLETTER AND GET 3 BOOKS FROM ME AS A WELCOME GIFT! SEE BELOW FOR THIS OFFER!

 

YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY… SHARING IS CARING! Tweet this to spread some love:

This Greek spinach dish tastes yummy! Check it out and get FREE books too! #books #freebies #recipe Share on X

 

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

 

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.

 

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FREE spooky books, Hokkaido pumpkin soup and Greek ‘donkey’ weather

The ‘donkey’ summer in Greece continues…

Everyone knows the stereotype of the donkey that plants its hooves on the dirt and refuses to budge, right? And that’s why when the weather girl on TV mentioned the term ‘donkey summer’ the other day to describe our current strange weather, I nearly choked on my ‘tyropitaki’! Then I howled with laughter, seeing that I knew exactly what she meant. Turns out in their folk wisdom, the Greeks of old tended to call an Indian summer a ‘donkey summer’ and I was tickled to hear this term for the first time.

In Greek, we call it ‘Gaidourokalokero’ from the words ‘gaidouri’ (donkey) and ‘kalokeri’ (summer). Mamma Mia! fans, you obviously know the second word, LOL!

Indeed, this year’s summer refuses to budge, and it’s driving us all nuts at the moment. I have clothes laying out in my bedroom that belong to both my winter and summer wardrobe. It’s a mess. From one day to the next or even within the same day I don’t know what to wear if I’m going out. It’s not seldom to start my day in a light jacket, jeans and socks, only to be in a t-shirt, shorts and sandals in town by midday.

Weird weather for the end of October, that’s for sure! The really good thing is we don’t need to roll out the carpets just yet, or to fire up electric heaters or the central heating. The latter especially is a huge blessing. No complaints there, phew!

Check out today’s newsletter for the latest news from my life in Greece, a bunch of FREE spooky books, and my recipe for Hokkaido pumpkin soup to enjoy this Halloween!

The Raven Witch has a whole bag of tricks! Magic spells, bird shifters and romance on a Greek island. A suspenseful, spooky story with a good measure of sunshine. Episodes 1 and 2 are FREE for Halloween! Visit Amazon: http://bit.ly/2CZMlow

 

YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY… SHARING IS CARING! Tweet this to spread some love:

Fun news from a Greek author and FREE books for all! #freebies #greek #author Share on X

 

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

 

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.

 

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A beach picnic, Greek cats, and FREE books!

I had a wonderful name day (September 25 – St Effrosyni Day) doing 3 of the things I love the most: I swam (cold water but not cold enough to keep me away!), had a picnic on the local beach, and a nap under the pines.

The last thing was a bit tricky – lots of ants, and we got bitten a few times, then brought some of the ants home despite our best intentions to shake them off all our stuff LOL.

But, overall, it was an ace day. I hope to go back this weekend to do the exact same things – we anticipate the temp to crank up to 37 degrees C.

Fingers crossed! GO HERE to see all the photos from the picnic.

It’s not often one sees two cats eating in perfect formation haha. I swear I didn’t set it up. I saw Loulou and Sissi eating like this and had to pick up the camera. So cute. Check out my latest newsletter for more recent photos of my fur babies as well as a plethora of FREE books for all. GO HERE and enjoy!

 

YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY… SHARING IS CARING! Tweet this to spread some love:

Fun news from a Greek author and FREE books for all #authors #writers #Greece Share on X

 

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

 

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.
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FREE books, a beach picnic and a Greek god’s lucky plant

Hello, All! Today, I have the latest fun news from my life in Greece. As always, I am linking up to my latest newsletter where you can check out a multitude of free books, plus a chick lit 99c deal from yours truly. You’ll also get a peek at my forthcoming publication!

March is coming, and that’s a much dreaded statement in my country, seeing that the Greeks regard this month as the most extreme in terms of bad weather. I never understood why it is in the spring, as opposed to winter, but I guess that’s one of the oddities of Greek life, LOL

Indeed. It’s not the spring until April, that’s for certain. Having said that… this year, Andy and I got a taste of the spring a little sooner. For the first time ever, we got to have a picnic in February. And, on the beach, at that!

Our first picnic went swimmingly. Excuse the pun. Especially since no actual swimming was involved haha. No way, as it was chilly under the shade as it was!

We picked to visit our favourite beach near home. We’d missed it so much since last October when we stopped swimming. A couple of the trees were chopped off, and one had been uprooted completely – we guessed from the extreme weather conditions of the previous months. It was especially sad to see the huge tree (willow or aspen, not sure) with the generous shade chopped off at the trunk. I couldn’t find my bearings for a few seconds without it there, it was odd. It’ll make many people sad this summer when they arrive at the beach to find its shade is no more. More than four different families could sit under it comfortably – its shade was that generous.

A couple people were swimming when we arrived in the morning, much to our surprise. I asked a lady in her 30s who’d just come out of the water if it was cold, and she nodded fervently with a laugh saying it was indeed freezing. It was her first swim since November, she said. She hopes to keep swimming from now on. Quite over-confident an intention, if you ask me, since March is fully ahead of us. She said it was pleasant as she stood in her bikini but, by the time we’d set up in our favourite spot, I saw her putting on jeans and a sweater in a hurry LOL.

For a while, it was very quiet on the beach, especially since the three swimmers left, but then, at lunchtime, families and quiet couples descended (probably from the taverna on the road) to sit in the sunshine. Such a lovely day. And it brought the summer closer, somehow. Bliss.

Since I’d never visited this beach during the winter before, I was pleasantly surprised to find these green plants with the long thick leaves you can see in the photos. They were strewn all over the ground, even under the trees. These are special plants to the Greeks! They hit the stores once a year – in the New Year – for good luck, believe it or not! People buy them and hang them outside their homes.

I have to admit. I never knew what they were really called until today! Writing this prompted me to actually check it out online and it only took a bit of searching for Greek New Year customs to identify it.

My parents have always referred to this plant simply as ‘Riza’, which is just the Greek word for ‘Root’. And my father described it occasionally as some kind of wild onion, because of the shape of the root. Well, his notion was bang on!

As my Internet search revealed, the plant is called Agriokremmydo (wild onion) or Skylokremmydo, or Askeletoura, or Agiovasilitsa. The latter refers to Agios Vasilis, the Greek Santa Claus – makes sense as the plant is used in the New Year, where Agios Vasilis makes His visit to the children, according to Greek custom.

The Latin name of the plant is Urginea. Apparently, it is the plant of Pan (the god of nature in ancient Greece). It was believed to offer fertility, good luck, and good fortune.

From what I learned online, the custom of hanging these roots outside homes in the new year is largely followed on the island of Crete. It seems to be followed in Athens too, though not by many. Although, as I stated earlier I see them in some stores in the new year, I don’t see them outside people’s houses that often.

Anyway, my family never had to buy one, since Urginea grows naturally all over the fields here every winter. Just before the new year, even now at 80 years of age, my father will go up the road to the first open field and dig up two of these plants, taking great care to remove the root whole and intact. He’ll deliver one plant to my husband and me, the big round root covered in aluminium foil. All I have to do then is tie a piece of string around its stem and hang it at the gate. Once it’s dried up a few days later, we just throw it away.

And now you know about this plant, I bet you can tell just how ‘lucky’ I felt as I sat drinking in the stunning sea view, while surrounded by such auspicious plant life haha

Visit Facebook to see all the photos from that awesome day!

In my latest newsletter, I am sharing a bunch of FREE kindle books to suit various tastes and the latest that’s fun from my life in Greece. It’s all bound to put a smile on your face! Check it out!

 

YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY… SHARING IS CARING! Tweet this to spread some love:

FREE books, and fun news from a Greek author #asmsg #weekendreading #newsletter Share on X

 

Limited time offer! Get the awarded novella, “The Boy on the Bridge” for FREE, along with the short story collection, “Facets of Love” with your sign up to Effrosyni’s newsletter. Fun news from her life in Greece and a load of FREE kindle books in every issue! http://bit.ly/2yA74No

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.