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| Two little orange trees hiding behind trellis on left |
Hello dear friend,
Thank you for stopping by today. I thought I would share an aspect of Athens that you may not be aware of: the orange trees that line suburban streets.
Munching
breakfast toast and marmalade, the tangy flavour set the wheels of my mind
spinning backwards towards my beloved #Athens,
where my street was lined with little orange trees – whose fruit was as bitter
as a Seville
and just as tasty when boiled up with sugar.
Over
the years I watched these trees grow from as tall as me to the height of two
men upon each other’s shoulders. They made
their presence felt in a number of ways. In the seasonal sequence I remember
that it went this way:
In
springtime, the strong sweet fragrance of their waxy white blossoms filled the
air. And for me – no allergy sufferer – it was a welcome scent as I walked to
the seashore or shops. Often, I would don thick gloves and take secateurs to
cut myself a bunch. And once the thorny twigs were safely in vases of water
they graced my home for days.
The
trees were thus decked out for weeks, then dark green globes the size of a
walnut would appear – but you wouldn’t notice this unless you peered because
they were camouflaged against glossy leaves.
For the next couple of months, as the days got hotter and hotter, the
fruit would be ripening until even the most oblivious could see the small
bright oranges.
When
these fruits fully ripened the trees really
made their presence felt. As they released their crop the oranges piled up
around them on the pavement or rolled pell-mell into gutters and over the roads.
When parking the car it was impossible not to run your tyres over them and the
aroma of freshly squashed oranges was mouth-watering as you alighted.
But
the trees had one further trick up their green sleeves which I discovered one
night… Just falling asleep I heard a loud: thump, thump, thump. The unexpected
noise drew me abruptly back from the Land
of Nod, out of bed and
onto the balcony. As I peered around tall potted plants scouring the empty
street the thump, thump, thump came again. Aha. I saw what was happening and it
made me chuckle. The nearby big metal wheelie bin was under an orange tree and
gusts of wind were cannoning fruit onto its arched top, which magnified the
sound in the still night. I went back to bed and quickly fell asleep to the
lullaby of thud, thud, thud, thud.
The photo, top left, is the corner of my balcony and behind the trellis you can just about see two of said orange trees. Top right is balcony with plants. Ah,
what happy memories…
I
read the other day that currently marmalade is losing its popularity in Britain. Market
analysts at #Kantar Worldpanel maintain that the nation is favouring other
breakfast spreads such as honey, jam and peanut butter instead. Ah well, sheep dot the adjacent hills of my
home but I am not one of them, so…pass the marmalade please. Mmm, scrummy!
Guest Blog
Guest Blogger is my dear friend, Kelly who lives in Lancashire and was kind enough to share her recipe
for:
Leek and Potato Soup
Hello,
Very straightforward way to get a
fan-dabbi-dozi pot of leek and potato soup.
Place 4 pints of water and two veg
stock cubes in a large pan
·
slice 5 med size potatoes into chunky
pieces
·
slice 1 large leek into quarter inch
chunks
·
dice 4 carrots into smallish pieces
·
cut one (or two if you prefer) med onions
into quarters
Add all the prepared veg and a single
teaspoon of salt if you wish at this stage
Bring to the boil and then
immediately turn down to low simmer. Simmer for at least one and a half hours
Enjoy
love
Kelly
Comment from Teresa
Thank you again Kelly, can’t wait to try this. It
sounds simply delicious!
One Minute
Meditation on Thankfulness
Take
a deep breath and close your eyes for a minute and flood your mind with
thankfulness. Then say, “Dear Lord I am thankful for:”…and list your personal
reasons.
For
myself, I am so very happy that the snow has gone! The stark contrast of
sunshine on green hills causes me to say:
Dear
Lord,
I
am thankful for the gift of this day
I
am thankful that I can wear far fewer layers of clothing
I
am thankful that, if I want to, I can just jump into my car and go wherever I
please
I
am thankful that, though I have laid the fire in the wood burner, I don’t need
to light it until this evening
I
am thankful that I took delivery of more logs yesterday -which was a huge
relief! []
I welcome your comments on the
above.
Coming next: Guest
blog: +Pauline Lewis, ACW member, founder of +Ready Writers in Wales, author
and teacher tells us about +Bible Explorer,
a course for children aged 10 & 11 which she presents at four primary
schools.
Vegan recipe: Leek,
Potato & Cannellini Bean Stew.
UPDATES!!!
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I have been asking God for guidance and listening to His replies for many years. I share my methods in Pray Then Listen, A heart-to-heart with God.
Check out Pray Then Listen In UK / In US / In Singapore
Available as a Kindle version or paperback!
Set on the green and beautiful Greek island of Corfu in this novel I show the ever-present backstory of life, as I interpret the supernatural elements of our dilemmas and choices.
I know, that no matter what your beliefs or experiences, you will surely recognize the tussles of my characters, as tussles in your own life.... Enjoy!
Click on the following links to check out my novel, Angel at the Paradise Hotel In UK / In US / In Singapore
Available as a Kindle version or paperback!
I wrote 9 Days to Heaven, How to make everlasting meaning of your life as my personal evangelization effort.
Check out 9 Days to Heaven In UK / In US / In Singapore
Available as a Kindle version or paperback!
God bless,
Teresa
PS. About the links to Singapore, please see my blog post Singapore and Christianity
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I have been asking God for guidance and listening to His replies for many years. I share my methods in Pray Then Listen, A heart-to-heart with God.
