Eye candy Friday

Syros, Greece is part of the Cycladic islands and its capital, Ermoupolis, is a wonderful town made of neoclassical and Venetian buildings.Photos from a summer trip.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syros

Woman

To paint a bird's portrait ( Pour faire le portrait d'un oiseau de Jacques Prévert)

*** First of all, paint a cage with an opened little door then paint something attractive something simple something beautiful something for the benefit of the bird Put the picture on a tree in a garden in the woods or in a forest hide yourself behind the tree silent immovable... Sometimes the bird arrives quickly but sometimes it takes years before it decides Don't be discouraged wait wait for years if necessary the rapidity or the slowness of the arrival of the bird doesn't have any relationship with the result of the picture

When the bird comes if it comes keep the deepest silence wait until the bird enters the cage and when it is in Close the door softly with the brush then remove one by the one all the bars taking care not to touch any feathers of the bird Then draw the portrait of the tree choosing the most beautiful branch for the bird paint also the green foliage and the coolness of the air the noise of the insects of the grass in the summer's heat and then, wait until the bird decides to sing If the bird doesn't sing it's a bad sign it means that the picture is wrong but if it sings it's a good sign it means that you can put  your signature on the picture so you tear with sweetness a feather from the bird and write your name in a corner of the painting. ***

Happy Birthday !!!

To my sweet niece M. who is celebrating her birthday today .We love you very very much!!!

A drawing and a poem

Slow Dance
by David L. Weatherford

Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round,
or listened to rain slapping the ground?

Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight,
or gazed at the sun fading into the night?

You better slow down, don't dance so fast,
time is short, the music won't last.

Do you run through each day on the fly,
when you ask "How are you?", do you hear the reply?

When the day is done, do you lie in your bed,
with the next hundred chores running through your head?

You better slow down, don't dance so fast,
time is short, the music won't last.

Ever told your child, we'll do it tomorrow,
and in your haste, not see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch, let a friendship die,
'cause you never had time to call and say hi?

You better slow down, don't dance so fast,
time is short, the music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere,
you miss half the fun of getting there.

When you worry and hurry through your day,
it's like an unopened gift thrown away.

Life isn't a race, so take it slower,
hear the music before your song is over.
 

 

 

Happy Easter to my family near and far, good friends and all the people that visit my blog.

Ziniania's Easter Bread (Tsoureki)

Ziniania's Easter Cookies (Koulourakia)

More Tsoureki :)

2 Quiches for the day and a silly song.

onion quiche

fake crab quiche

A mansion

Frida kahlo

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frida_Kahlo

An interesting book.

In April 1846, a group of American pioneers leaves the Illinois River Valley in wagons to find a better future in California.

Trapped by snow in the rugged terrain of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, near Truckee (now Donner) lake around November 1846, they run out of food.  By the time the last member of the Donner–Reed party staggers out of the Sierra Nevada Mountains six months later nearly half of the group of 87 men, women, and children have died of cold and starvation and many of those who survive take extreme measures to do so.    

I read the book with great interest, it gave me an idea of what this group of people went through, and the ordeal they had to face in their search of a better future.

Historians have described this episode as one of the most spectacular tragedies in Californian history and in the record of western migration.

Eye Candy Friday.

                                              Old Montreal

Arabesque

Dance Me to the End of Love
Leonard Cohen
Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin
Dance me through the panic 'til I'm gathered safely in
Lift me like an olive branch and be my homeward dove
Dance me to the end of love
Dance me to the end of love
Oh let me see your beauty when the witnesses are gone
Let me feel you moving like they do in Babylon
Show me slowly what I only know the limits of
Dance me to the end of love
Dance me to the end of love
Dance me to the wedding now, dance me on and on
Dance me very tenderly and dance me very long
We're both of us beneath our love, we're both of us above
Dance me to the end of love
Dance me to the end of love
Dance me to the children who are asking to be born
Dance me through the curtains that our kisses have outworn
Raise a tent of shelter now, though every thread is torn
Dance me to the end of love
Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin
Dance me through the panic till I'm gathered safely in
Touch me with your naked hand or touch me with your glove
Dance me to the end of love
Dance me to the end of love
Dance me to the end of love

Maturity

                     

Warning - When I Am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple

By Jenny Joseph

When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple

with a red hat that doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.

And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves

and satin candles, and say we've no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I am tired

and gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells

and run my stick along the public railings

and make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

and pick the flowers in other people's gardens

and learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat

and eat three pounds of sausages at a go

or only bread and pickles for a week

and hoard pens and pencils and beer nuts and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry

and pay our rent and not swear in the street

and set a good example for the children.

We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?

So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised

 When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

*****

 I loved this poem since I was in my thirties and today, I find it so appropriate for my drawing !

 

Twinkle twinkle little star.

"Correction does much,but encouragement does more" Johan Wolfgang Von Goethe.

Zinianias’s Eggplant sauce.

2 black eggplants (2 pds) peeled and cut in 1 inch cubes (3 cm)

1 red onion chopped

1 garlic clove minced

1 red pepper seeded and cut in ½ inch cubes

 1 / 4 of a cup olive oil

2 Tsp parsley dried or fresh

3 cups tomato sauce

1 /2 cup of water

Salt and pepper to taste.

In a deep pot, heat the oil and stir fry the eggplant cubes for few minutes, add the onion the garlic and the red pepper cubes and stir fry for a few more minutes . Add the tomato sauce the water , the parsley, salt and pepper and cook in a medium heat for 35 -45 minutes until the eggplant is soft and the sauce thickens.

Serve on top of rotini or penne and sprinkle with Parmesan.

A visit to the Byward Market .

Rocky Mountain Chocolate factory.

Canadian maple syrup, taffy and candies.

 

Beaver Tails are fried dough pastries shaped in the form of a beaver tail  sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon , hot and quite delicious.

Native art and dream catchers.

Italian gourmet deli and food shop.

paintings and portraits.

Bakery le Moulin de Provence

The Byward Market is Canada's oldest operating farmer's market.
Not all the stalls were open yet,
but after the cold and long winter we had, it was a pleasure just to see a few of them operating!

A sketch.

Walk with me ........at the Parliament Hill, downtown , Ottawa.

National Art Gallery of Canada.

Pont Alexandra Bridge

Major's Hill Park

Canadian Museum of Civilization.

 

 

 

Peace tower/tour de la Victoire et de la Paix

Parliament

Library of the Parliament .

Looking west of the Ottawa river .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know, I know it is not May yet and there are no lilacs blooming but i could not help it. I had to post these beautiful photos from last year's visit to the Parliament hill.
It was a gorgeous day with sunny blue skies and no humidity. Enjoy !!!

Chili for the day.

 Ingredients:

1  tsp oil

1 pd ground beef or pork (one pd =454 gr.)

1 med sweet onion chopped

1 small green pepper seeded and diced

1 small red pepper seeded and diced

2 jalapenos seeded and finely chopped (jalapenos are hot)

15 button mushrooms sliced

1 can tomato sauce 680 ml (3 cups)

3 Tsp tomato paste

2 garlic cloves minced

1 tsp cumin

3 tsp chili powder

2 tsp oregano

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp cocoa

1 can bean medley 540 ml rinsed

1 can red kidney beans 540 ml rinsed

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large ovenproof casserole over medium high heat. Add the ground beef or pork and cook stirring until lightly browned.

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion the peppers, the mushrooms, the jalapenos and cook for 5 minutes.

Stir in the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, and then let simmer over medium low heat, stirring frequently for 1- 1:30 hours.

I love easy recipes that cook slowly and the spices blend and develop to form a tasty dish.

Serve in a soup bowl and sprinkle with cheddar cheese.
This is my adaptation of different chili recipes that I tried and liked.

Practice makes perfect.

exercises

To my dear sister.

To my dear sister:
You are sweet, smart, funny and sensitive.
When we were young, you always looked up to me and I always liked to take care of you.
Now that we are much older and the paths of our lives took us to different continents, we still talk everyday and we share our lives even if we are miles apart.
I value your opinion and you always ask for my advice. When we are together, we do things in harmony as if we are the shadow of one another. There are no fights, no harsh words or competition. We like the same things. Small things make us happy, like a walk near the sea, being with family, having coffee and reading the papers in the morning, sitting next to each other talking and just being together.
We are so far but we try to participate in each other lives everyday. I am so thankful that I have you in my life and I love you so much! 

Happy Birthday my dear, you are always going to be my sweet baby sister.


 "There is no better friend than a sister.  And there is no better sister than you."
Author Unknown