INTERNATIONAL APPEAL BY GREEK ARCHAEOLOGISTS

  INTERNATIONAL APPEAL BY GREEK 
  ARCHAEOLOGISTS FOR THE PROTECTION OF OUR 
  CULTURAL HERITAGE

     A 57'' spot to support the international campaign by S.E.A. (Greek Archaeologists Association) against the IMF / E.U. cuts in Culture ( in GREECE -and not only there..!.) Inspired by the recent museum thefts in Athens and Olympia. 19.000 archaeological sites in danger.

'ACT NOW.
MONUMENTS HAVE NO VOICE. THEY MUST HAVE YOURS'.
         

MOMMY'S DOILIES PART 2

 

MOMMY'S DOILIES (PART 2)

 

 

Yes, my talented mommy has done these beautiful pieces!

 



Simple, beautiful daisy-like design



...that you could also sew on a pillow-case for your couch

A closer look at the "daisies"

A favorite piece of mine. When someone very dear to my heart was given this piece as a gift she used it as a scarf for her business suits. How innovative!

A closer look at the pattern

A nice 'runner'...

...with two matching square doilies

Another way to use doilies is for decorating your serving tray and covering your water carafe. (I think that is so old-fashionably romantic, don't you think?)

....another doilly decorating a tray

I find this pattern playfully cute!

... can also be sewn on a pillow case!

A closer look!

I call this 'my mom's masterpiece', a crocheted blanket! It was proudly shown off at my 'bridal shower Greek equivalent party'. Love it!

Amazing handwork!!!



...with matching 'runner' for the dresser ...



... and nightstands!

A closer look!
 

Don't forget to check out Mommie's Doillies part 1 !!!

EUROVISION 2012 FINAL

...and the winner is...

  

Well done, Sweden!!! Truly an awesome song, "Euphoria" by Loreen! Congratulations!
It was a favorite from the beginning of the contest.

Russia came second and Serbia third. Congratulations!


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EUROVISION FEVER

The Eurovision Song Contest -- Europe's favourite TV show

       It's that time of the year again when Europe chooses its best song of the year. A fun and exciting celebration of music and show with many fans!

      For all of my non-European readers who may not know what Eurovision is, I should tell you a few things about this contest.

       This European contest started 57 years ago with the idea that the different countries would participate in one television show, to be transmitted simultaneously in all represented nations. The first countries that participated were Germany, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Now the countries participating are 43.

      The results are based on both juries and televoting, both having an equal influence over the vote.

      Famous stars who have taken part in and maybe owe their fame to the Eurovision Song Contest are ABBA, Celine Dion, Cliff Richard, Julio Iglesias and the dance act Riverdance!!!

       For more information check out this site:

    http://www.eurovision.tv/page/baku-2012 

     

       This year Greece is represented by this song:
 

(My humble opinion? We've done better in the past!)

      On Saturday is the Final contest.

DISCO DIVA

In memory of ...

    beauty              

             glamour

                                
               

  lady      


       
             diva






      Very recently the world lost one great singer and one of my favorite, Diana Ross. I grew up in the 70's listening to Disco and Diana Ross was tops! So many songs (and memories)! Here are just some of her songs that many of us have loved:

• Ain't No Mountain High Enough
• Baby Love
• Stop! in The Name of Love
• Upside Down
• You Can't Hurry Love
• Endless Love duet with Lionel Ritchie
• When You Tell Me That You Love Me
• Do You Know
• Chain reaction
• theme from Mahogany

Some facts about Diana Ross:

      Diana Ross started her career as the lead singer of the group The Supremes during the 1960s. 

      She received a Best Actress Academy Award nomination for her role as Billie Holiday in Lady Sings the Blues (1972), for which she also won a Golden Globe award.

      She was honored with a 2012 Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award.

      She won seven American Music Awards

      In 1976, Billboard magazine named her the "Female Entertainer of the Century."
      In 1993, the Guinness Book of World Records declared Diana Ross the most successful female music artist in history due to her success in the United States and United Kingdom for having more hits than any female artist in the charts with a career total of 18 number one records in the United States.
     Ross is one of the few recording artists to have two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame—one as a solo artist and the other as a member of The Supremes.
      Diana Ross has sold more than 100 million records worldwide.

Diana Ross was the mother of five children.

Let's remember some of her songs:
                 

May she rest in peace. Diana we love you!

OLYMPIC FLAME - LIGHTING AND DELIVERING CEREMONIES

OLYMPIC FLAME

Lighting the cauldron with the olympic flame in ancient Olympia

      Greece is the center of attention for the whole world these days and thank God it's not just about its economic crisis and political instability. It's because of the Olympic Games.

      In the short video following you can watch some scenes from the lighting of the Olympic flame that occured on May 10. As with every Olympics since their restart in 1896 it takes place at the birthplace of the ancient Olympics in Ancient Olympia in the west Peloponnisos area. An ancient ceremony that heralds the start of the torch relay which will culminate with the opening ceremony on July 27 in London, UK.

      Actress Ino Menegaki, dressed as a high priestess, stood before the 2,600-year-old Temple of Hera and after an invocation to Apollo, the ancient Greeks' Sun God, used a mirror to focus the sun's rays and light a torch.
  
      After the choreographed ceremony, the priestess handed the flame to the first torchbearer, Greek swimmer and Olympic silver medalist Spyros Gianniotis. He was the first of 490 torchbearers who carried the flame across 1800 miles of Greek soil before handing the flame to London organizers on May 17.

      Here are some photos from the formal ceremony of delivering the Olympic Flame to the host country. This took place in Athens' Panathenaico Stadium (Kalimarmaro - where the first modern games were held in 1896).

Entry of the two flags (Greece and United Kingdom) in the Panathenaico Stadium

The torch was presented to Princess Anne by the president of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, Spyros Capralos.



David Bekham attended the Olympic Flame Handover Ceremony in Athens.

VISITING THE ACROPOLIS MUSEUM

              

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

ΧΡΟΝΙΑ ΠΟΛΛΑ, ΜΑΜΑ

 (CHRONIA POLLA MAMA)

  

     Mother's day is a celebration honoring mothers and motherhood and it can be traced back to ancient festivals. It is celebrated in most countries of the world and is often associated to different events (religious, historical or legendary) and it's not on the same date for all the countries.

     No matter which country she comes from, a mother is a mother, it is a "sacred institution"!

     There's a poem (that has also become a Greek folk song)  by Jean Richepin (1849-1926) a French poet, playwright and novelist, that shows what a mother's love really means. It is called "The Mother's Heart"

A poor lad once and a lad so trim
Gave his love to her that loved not him

And says she, 'fetch me tonight you rogue'
Your mother's heart to feed my dog!

To his mother's house went that young man
Killed her and took the heart, and ran.

And as he was running look you he fell
And the heart tolled to the ground as well.

And the lad, as the heart was a-rolling heard
That the heart was speaking and this was the word

The heart was a weeping and crying so small
'Are you hurt my child, are you hurt at all?'

     What a beautiful and touching poem! 

     Well, to cheer us up, visit this site and take a fun quiz to 

find out which movie mom you are!  

http://just-for-mom.quiz.kaboose

 

(f.y.i. I did it and the results are: I am the Elastigirl mom

from "The Incredibles" movie (which made me think 'God, I hope I don't snap one of these days being so elastic and all'.

     I don't know how you plan to spend Mother's day but I think one of the best gifts a mother can receive on Mother's day is to have a day off of everything! NO getting up early and preparing kids for school, NO making breakfast, NO housework, NO cooking, NO helping the kids with homework, NO feeding the dog, NO grocery shopping, NO house chores, NO errands ... NOTHING, NADA. A day of self-indulgence -- going to the hairdresser's, having a manicure and pedicure, a massage, perhaps, being taken out for lunch and dinner and a movie maybe, and whatever the mother wants, needs or misses from her motherhood life. Being treated as a queen (her wish is everybody else's command) is a minor recognition for all the things she does year round for the family, so if any fathers out there are reading this don't you think the mother deserves a day of complete pampering and royal treatment?

     But we must not get all caught up in the " mother's day is for me"  complex and forget our own mothers. They deserve this day more than us. The prefix 'grand' in grandmother is not accidental! Remember that:  GRANDmother!

I wish you all to have a wonderful day!

          

GREEK MOTHER AND DAUGHTER CONVERSATION

Greek Mothers

     As Mother's Day is approaching I thought I'd post this funny conversation between mother and daughter which I found at www.cretegazette.com. Greek mothers!!!

Greek Mother and Daughter, an amusing conversation

The phone rings. The Greek Mother picks it up and the following conversation ensues.

Greek Mother: Hello?
Daughter: Hi Mum. Can you look after the children for me tonight?
Greek Mother: Are you going out?
Daughter: Yes.
Greek Mother: Who with?
Daughter: A friend.
Greek Mother: I just can't understand why you left your husband. Such a nice boy!
Daughter: I didn't leave him, he left me!
Greek Mother: You let him leave you, and now you go out with just anyone.
Daughter: I don't go out with just anyone. Can I bring the kids round?
Greek Mother: I never left you to go out with anyone but your father.
Daughter: Yes, but you did lots of things I don't.
Greek Mother: Now what are you hinting at?
Daughter: Nothing. I just want to know if you can look after the kids tonight.
Greek Mother: Are you going to spend the night with him? What will you husband say when he finds out?
Daughter: You mean my ex-husband! I don't think he'll be bothered, I doubt he's slept alone since he left!
Greek Mother: So you're going to sleep over at this loser's house?
Daughter: He's not a loser.
Greek Mother: Any man who goes out with a divorced woman with children is a loser and a parasite.
Daughter: Look, I'm not going to discuss it. Can I bring the kids over or not?
Greek Mother: Poor children, with a mother like that...
Daughter: What do you mean, a mother like that?
Greek Mother: With no stability... Huh, that's why your husband left you...
Daughter: Can you hear yourself? You're impossible! You should be ashamed of yourself!
Greek Mother: Don't you shout at me! I bet that's how you shout at that loser, too!
Daughter: Oh, so now you're worried about the loser?
Greek Mother: Aha, you see, you admit he's a loser. I knew it!
Daughter: I'm hanging up, Mum.
Greek Mother: Hold on love! Don't hang up! What time are you bringing the children round?
Daughter: I'm not bringing them round and I'm not going out, the way you've been driving me round the bend!
Greek Mother: But love, if you never go out, how are you going to meet a nice young man?

BEST ADVERSTISEMENT !!!

              A DRAMATIC SURPRISE ON A QUIET SQUARE

     A friend of mine sent me this link below and I just had to share it with all of you. It is an absolutely brilliant, genius advertisement! I laughed so hard at this video!

     In order to launch the high quality TV channel TNT in Belgium they placed a big red push button on an average Flemish square of an average Flemish town. A sign with the text "Push to add drama" invited people to use the button. And then they waited... Watch to see what happened ...

        

MAY 1ST (PROTOMAYIA)

MAY 1ST - PROTOMAYIA

 

     On the first of May we celebrate our Labor Day. It is observed as a holiday and all businesses and services are closed, as are the schools, too.

     It is the day to remember the struggles of the workers to obtain better working conditions. "Eight hours of work, eight hours of rest and eight hours of sleep" was the slogan back in 1886 when workers in Chicago started protesting for their rights. Similar protests started in 1892 in Greece when workers also requested to have Sundays off and insurance for accidents at work. Over the years there has been great struggle, often with casualties, in order for us today to enjoy the 'privileges' of working.

    Protomayia (May 1st) is also the celebration of Spring and this tradition goes as far back as ancient times when they had the celebration of flowers and life as the earth was 'ressurrected' after the long winter.

     Protomayia (May1st) is one of the few holidays we have that has no religious content or meaning. Nevertheless, there are plenty of customs and events associated with this day and they vary depending on local tradition.

      The one custom that is common throughout Greece is the making of the wreath, the wreath of May and hanging it on the main entrance door. This is a very fun activity especially for the kids when we are out in the country in touch with nature and picking the flowers for the wreath.  This wreath will stay on the door until June 24th when tradition (Klithonas) has it it will be burnt.

     The main thing that characterises today is the massive exodus of people out of the city and into the countryside. Great pic-nics are organised and there's lots of dancing and singing about Spring, as well.  It is a chance to take a walk out in nature, pick some flowers, come in touch with mother nature and create your own wreath.