Friday, August 30, 2013

Cooking for a lifetime...

...it's the people that makes a place. I find that the truth wherever I am. Here there are many.
In "my" village, I would literally not survive without Leftéris, a character of his own,
where personal integrity is not negotiable, nor is his warmth as a friend. 
Cooking skills, I feel, come as pure talent and I have since long lost all adjectives to thank him
for the way he treats a fish in a pan or on the grill. 
During one of our regular talks, he tells me he finished school  "a bit too early" and went to sea  and the fisherman's hard work for eleven years, before going ashore to practice cooking. "I like to cook", is a straight and simple way of motivating a choice for a lifetime.
In 2008, and I remember it well, he and and his brother Antónis opened Taverna Alonia, and I bless you both for doing that. It has become my dining room and for obvious reasons.
I am following you in your daily work, Leftéris...



INTEGRITY.
PART OF THE STAGE.

TOOLS.


MORE TOOLS.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Noon party mingling...

... and it is amazing to watch us grown ups, when children are on stage.
Squatting, knee bending, jumping and giggling,
waking up the child within, trying to land in it again.
Greek, Canadian, Swedish, German, English and Dutch are the guests,
on this really international midday Lesvos feast,
when kids are taking over, making me very humble.
  










Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Facing inwards...

...is a necessity at times, amidst the noise of the world outside. 
Just myself and what is around me at a given moment.
There are hundreds of places for being like this on the island.
Just around the corner, in the shade of an olive tree or at Stéfanos.
*



Friday, August 16, 2013

Name days in Elláda....

Lining up for church visits, Maria, Panagia, Panagiotis and others. 
A day of joy for many. 
I tried to get a seat somewhere for lunch,
but full everywhere of gathered families and friends.
Could only happen in Greece.
Some of us look for peace on other days and in other ways.
*




Saturday, August 10, 2013

Non regulated hours of work...

Patience and persistency, day in and day out,
endless hours and seldom a brake.
Kind smiles and always ready to bargain.
I do feel a bit shy of respect for this.
*








Thursday, August 1, 2013

And there was light...

Always looking for light for manual exposures. 
A church or a monastery is only what it says it is, until you find the light
that describes the within of what I am looking for.
Time and patience are virtues, often rewarded...
*