Posts Tagged Easter

Easter Sunday in Maple Park

12 April 2009

Happy Easter!

100_7653 Even though it was very cool and very windy this morning, Alison and I braved the weather and set out for the nearby park this morning to have our first Easter together. The park, Maple Park,  is about a 10 minute drive from home, right next to the Currituck Airport. Maple Park Its built on what used to be the county landfill I think. Well I know its built on the site where the landfill used to be, but I am assuming they did what a lot of similar landfills across the country have done and that is to cover them up and create parks where once was an eyesore. This particular one has a nice size man made water area, supporting fish and several species of wildfowl. There are about a dozen or so geese generally there on the water as well as several varieties of songbirds and usually a pair of wood ducks that we usually see every time we go to the park. We didnt see them today which was rather strange realy. Not sure if they have taken off for the season or they were just in the bushes trying to make a family! ;)
We’ve got some pictures and vidseos of the these two ducks one of us will post sooner or later, either here or Alison will put it on her blog. I cant say the ducks and geese are completely tame although you can get very close to some of them and the ducks have several times come up and taken bread right out of Alison’s hands. This particular park in the county has several areas around the park where you can grill. There is a good size pavillion where large groups can be accommodated and 3 or 4 gazebos

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around the park near the water side that each have a grill and table. Being as cold and windy as it was but still very sunny we looked first to see if any of the spots were having even the slightest bit of sun hitting even one seat.  Unfortunately it wasnt to be today and we had to brave the cool breeze and  deal with it. Being familiar with the sort of grilling that goes on around holidays in Cyprus and which Alison has posted about recently on her blog, I thought it would be nice to try and recreate the atmosphere a bit, even if it was on a smaller scale than what they do there by making up a few lamb kebabs. It was also my first time trying lamb actually and I have to admit I liked it! :) Its got a unique taste and I suppose to some its not appealing but I found the taste very nice and flavourful and very tender too.Well maybe that part had somethign to do with the preparation by having a skilled meatcutter remove all the gristle and cutting the lamb leg up into nice lean pieces. ;) I coated the meat with olive oil and a little oregano and salt and pepper and then threaded them on the skewers, alternating with pieces of onion.

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It was really just a bit too cool to be out doing this sort of thing but we had our minds made up and plodded on through. In the midst of trying to get the grill going and trying to get things going quick we forgot to put the potatoes and onions on the grill first as we had planned, but only remembered them about the time the kebabs were nearly done. Well we put some more coals on the grill and had a flame going that would fuel a nice nice furnace and a few minutes of having those packets of aluminum foil wrapped potatoes and onions atop that heat had the contents nearly steamed in minutes! ok not as good as they would have been if slow cooked but edible none the less and by this time anything warm was great eating!

this post or any on this blog wouldnt be complete without me mentioning how wonderful and amazing life and love can be. Another in a  long list of signs we have seen over these last few years is this heart shape that formed at the bottom of one of the Easter eggs Alison made yesterdaywhen she set it in the tray to dry. I guess some could say its just coincidence, but irregardless it made me smile and know that everything is meant to be in this world. We may never understand the whys and hows, but love never fails100_7662

Happy Easter to all!

Good Morning Kisses to my Love :)

26 April 2008

X X X X X I love you Alison <3

Well this post is going to be a bit different in a way from most on here…  Alison and I have spent the last two years faithfully writing each other each morning and night and in between too. Only the rare occasion when one of us has been on a plane to see the other have we ever missed a mail to each other! It just feels strange to not be writing one tonight so I came up with this brilliant idea to not only send my Angel a kiss,but also tell her what I am up to this evening (and in the process I have another post on my site! ;)  Well i could still send her an email but she may not get it until she is home as she’s in Protaras this weekend with JM and her longtime friend Anne, who is visiting her for a couple of weeks. They are staying at the Sunrise Beach Hotel. JM has his laptop and I can of course send a mail to his account, but I’m sure he’s not really so excited to be the middle man for mushy love mails! LOL Well i will mail the link to this post instead. I know they only may have just a few minutes online as the hotel there is charging for Internet access… unless JM can find an open WiFi connection that is! ;) Its a shame really considering the prices of hotel rooms, especially these bigger ones, that internet service is not provided in each room free to guests. I know here there are a lot of them now offering it as part of the amenities. As are a lot of coffee shops and the like. Considering now how so many other devices besides PC’s are suing the internet and are Wifi enabled, cell phones (mobiles), game consoles, mp3 players, PDA’s.. oh the list is increasing all the time, it really should be something that becomes quite common now.  Oh l’m rambling here too in the post, just as I do in the mails! See Alison, its not just you I ramble on with! lol

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Lilac – First Emotions of Love

22 April 2008

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The Lilac – First emotions of love.. I BELIEVE :)
Two years ago this photo was taken. As you can see from the blooms its a purple lilac. April 2006 was the very first time since it was planted that it bloomed. To be honest at the time it was planted I had no idea of what type of bush it even was. (more…)

Holidays in Cyprus

18 February 2008

Public Holidays in Cyprus
2008
New Year’s Day 1 January
Epiphany 6 January
Green Monday (Monday of Lent) 10 March
Greek Independence Day 25 March
Greek Cypriot National Day 1 April
Good Friday 25 April
Holy Saturday 26 April
Easter Sunday* 27 April*
Easter Monday 28 April
May Day / Labour Day 1 May
Whit Monday/Pentecost/Kataklysmos 16 June
Assumption Day 15 August
Cyprus’ Independence Day 1 October
Greek National Day (Ochi Day) 28 October
Christmas Eve 24 December
Christmas Day 25 December
Boxing Day 26 December
*Western (Catholic, Anglican, and Protestant) Easter as normally celebrated in the UK is on 23 March 2008.