Photo - Finish Friday -- Changing the Guard

The changing of the guard in front of the Greek Parliament in Athens. The guard changes every hour.

A Greek Salad Reminder

Greek salads captured in their natural habitat.



Each island, each restaurant for that matter, had its own take on the tasty classic.
Fresh toothsome tomatoes, mild cucumber, capers or not as the restaurant saw fit, big slabs of salt-tinged creamy feta, onion, and oregano in a salad that was huge enough for two.

A Craving Quelled

During our last few days in the Greek Islands I ate spanakopita. I never used to care for it, but had it for lunch one day on Naxos and knew I had to have it again.
This morning I woke up craving it so I threw together a makeshift gluten-free version with leftover kale.

A rice tortilla served as the pastry, the leftover kale already had some onion green in it, but I added more onion anyway, used feta cheese and a goat cheese with bruschetta flavouring, and plenty of dill and parsley.
I reheated the kale in a frying pan using MCT oil and olive oil just for the sheer hell of it, folded in a beaten egg and the cheeses, and baked it for about 30 minutes. About 28 of those minutes were at 350 degrees with the remaining two at 375 to get a bit of browning on top.


It was tasty enough and took care of the craving, at least for now.
Because I had it for breakfast, I served it with bacon. The tastes are good together.

Gratitude Monday -- We're back

Hello All,

Mike and I got back last evening from a two week holiday in the Cyclades.
It was wonderful and I expect to be blogging about it now and again, but for now I am grateful to be home.

Thanks For Reading,

The Management

Photo-Finish Friday -- Summer in the West Country

The Rockies near the Banff National Park east boundary in Clearwater County.

Tomorrow's Yesterday

Today is all we've got.
While we assume we get tomorrow and years afterward all we can be absolutely sure of is right now.
What are you doing with it?
Are you waiting for something to come down the pike to make your life better, happier, more exciting, slower, easier, or just plain different?
Or are you putting the time you've got to good use? Good use is what you make of it, like slowly savouring a small piece of dark chocolate before getting back to doing the stuff that never seems to  get done.
Plans are great. It's important to have something in mind for the future. Plans keep us active and engage and give us solid reasons to get out of bed in the morning.
But we've got right now to play with and it's tangible, here, and ready to use.
Today is tomorrow's yesterday. What do you want to remember about it?

The Centre of the Universe

A young one asked an old one how to get to the centre of the universe.
"It's an awfully big place. How do I get there? How will I know I've arrived?"
"Look inside."
"I'm not the Universe."
"Yes, you are."
"It is impossible," said the young one.
"As long as you believe that you will never find it."
This answer was not good enough. It confused the young one who was used to concrete examples, boundaries, and measures.
"Very well," said the old one. "This is what you do. Find a tree. Sit at its root and lean back against it. Close your eyes.  Follow your feelings into the tree."
The young one looked doubtful, but at least this answered offered a tangible exercise.
"And then what do I do?"
"Invite the tree into you."
"Absurd," declared the young one. "How can a tree get inside of me?"
The wise elder smiled. "Go ask the tree."

In Defence of Nothing

When you feel as though you  haven't moved be it mentally, emotionally, spiritually, or physically it is frustrating.
We, or many of us, feel we should be growing , changing, doing, evolving, if you will. When we don't it can seem like  stagnation, failure.

Nonsense.

We're taking a break. Constant inner change requires rest periods same as physical exercise. No one spends every minute of every waking hour in sustained physical activity and neither should we spend all our time stretching our minds or souls or emotions.
Stretching causes breaks. To stave those off we must take breaks.
That said, if the break goes on too long for your individual taste, then yes,  it may be stagnation. No one wants that.
Get moving, reading, meditating, praying, or learning one new thing.

But how do you tell?
By listening to yourself and no one else.
Our friends and family know exactly what is wrong with us and how to fix it, They have all the answers. Just ask them, they'll tell you.
But as long as you are looking outside you will ignore looking inside and inside is the only place where your real answer is found.

So take the break. Enjoy it. Plenty is going on when you feel like there's nothing happening. All you've learned, done, experienced, felt, or heard is being assimilated. Just like the individual flavours in a recipe need time to rest and gather, so do you and your experiences.

Let it happen.
Forcing it will only increase your frustration.
Relax, and listen to yourself.

Gratitude Monday–May-ry Christmas

We had our second Christmas over the weekend. This is the holiday we spend with our dear friends Bob and Sylvia.

It was our turn to host. They arrived Saturday in the snow. Nature had been so very thoughtful to supply Christmas weather for us.

We went out birding though stuck close to the car. We saw geese,  some different ducks, a kestrel who was patient enough to pose long enough for us to get a good look through Bob's spotting scope, and before we left the yard we watched a yellow-bellied sapsucker peck away at a neighbour's tree.

The food was good, the birding fine, and the friends the best, and for all of it I am grateful.

photo courtesy Sylvia Strojek

L-R, me, Bob Weber, Mike Mayrl

Photo-Finish Friday --Better Days

Fixer-upper?

We saw this ship on a lake in Guatemala.
I am sure it served well in its day.