Political

(that was written yesterday morning)

Today’s all about politics. I’m not sure what time I’ll be posting this, but maybe the new president of the USA might have been announced (it has). If not, most (responsible) fellow Americas might have or will be casting their votes still. I haven’t finished my homework regarding this, but I feel like supporting the existing president far more. Some of the things I’ve heard of the other candidate are atrocious. Also, in some cases, it’s better the devil you know. So, hopefully it goes well (it has)…

A Greek friend of mine sent me an email that she read that the Queen is very sick and dying! Her source of information is the very reliable American magazine called ‘Globe’. Do you know it? It looks really trustworthy. Of course when I read her email, being the selfish bastard that I am, I instantly thought of my holidays. Would there be a problem with my flight? It’s a constant worry at the back of my head. Oh, it snowed in some parts of England! Gosh, I hope there are no flight disturbances. The Queen might die! Oh, I hope there’s no national mourning and all holidays are cancelled! I know it’s very selfish of me, especially when another human being is dying (even a blue blooded), but I really want to go on this trip…

On the same political subject, the situation in Greece is getting more tense. There are new austerity measures announced by the coalition government for the budget of the new year. The previous measures aren’t really working as sufficient as predicted and tougher laws need to be applied. The national debt is not really shrinking and the situation is not really improving much. The people are generally fed up and this week is all about strikes and protests, especially in the capital but not only. The situation is getting out of hand with public transport and the media not working for the whole week. Hospitals are only accepting emergencies and the lawyers refuse to work for 48 hours. Not all parties of the coalition government agree on every measure and decision taken and there are disputes and cracks on it. Hopefully there will be no schism and elections again.

There are dire social consequences of this situation. Most of the people I talk to have become so pessimistic, almost to a depressive level. It’s so sad hearing young people not having any hope left that all this can improve any time soon, not even in decades. And it’s not only that. There are almost every day now news on racist attacks and fascist comments. It’s a well-known fact that the party called ‘Golden Dawn’ is mentioned in gallops as being third in power. Third! The white nationalists, neo-Nazi racists with no respect of human rights.
I’m sorry. I get a little bit carried away with all this. The stories that I’ve heard made me ashamed of my country’s decadence. Hopefully, the storm might pass and things might gradually improve. I can’t see a light at the end of the tunnel yet, but there must be one, somewhere?

(today. I’m feeling so much better after my yesterday’s outburst)

Weekend cooking

Or the reason I'll never lose weight... lol...
I'm on the same subject, as my previous post, of food. In most occasions, during the week, JJ does most of the cooking in the house. It's more convenient since he normally finishes work in a reasonable time and he can cook till I'm back from mine. During these days I do the dishes. We have an understanding of splitting these chores. However, I do like cooking and I occasionally spend time in the kitchen, making stuff, that are sometimes edible...

Feta & Spinach pie

Last weekend was a similar occasion. I spent time yesterday making a feta and spinach pie with filo pastry. 'JJ' liked it more than I did, although I have to admit it's not that bad. Today, he was working, so I had lots of time to prepare something. I made a lemon drizzle cake and lamb 'giouvetsi'. That's my favorite ever Greek dish. My mother used to make it as a treat on Sunday family dinners. They both turned up quite well I have to admit. We happily stuffed ourselves (again)

Giouvetsi

I'm quite happy with myself to be honest. I made a mistake of adding extra flour to the mixture making it dry and tough but I managed to fix it with adding an extra egg. This kind of solutions means I'm starting to understand the basics in cooking. I'm not that great as a cook to be honest, but I can create a decent meal and I do enjoy it. What I fear I lack is a little bit of creativity. As you can see from my pictures, my food doesn't look that amazing. I can't decorate cakes or dishes the way my old housemate or 'JJ' can. I'm not complaining though. I haven't food poisoned anyone...

Lemon Drizzle cake

What I came across online is the following website. It's called 'Beautiful Pictures of Healthy Food'. The site has clickable pictures with the recipes of healthy dishes. I haven't really gone through it properly, but some of the pictures there look really tasty. I like how healthy food can look amazing, colorful and appealing. If only there was a representative for healthy eating and salads could be advertised like the mcdonalds...

Weekend events

So, how was your weekend? For the bloggers in the States, are you affected by Sandy? I really feel for you. It must be so frightening to feel so powerless against the forces of nature, just waiting for it to pass and pray for the best. The satellite images look so scary… On this side of the pond, things are different. We had some really cold days but nothing too serious. We really felt the winter coming which for me isn’t really an issue. I found my scarf and my winter coat from last year and tried to enjoy it.

It was a bit funny because I met a new Brazilian guy on Saturday. He’s a friend of my ‘Brazilian’, the guy I mentioned in a previous post with whom I still keep in touch. My ‘Brazilian’ suggested I should meet his friend who very recently moved to the UK for a year, to study ‘Design’. It would be good for him to know more people in the city since he doesn’t really know many. So, we arranged to meet on Saturday. JJ had some studying to do of his own and I went alone. Since I didn’t know him, it felt a bit like a blind date, without of course being one.

We had only exchanged a few messages on facebook before meeting. That evening the weather wasn’t very good. There were some showers and it was relatively cold. I wanted to walk around the centre to show him the area. However, being from a part of the world where the temperature is almost always around 25 degrees, he could really feel the cold. He doesn’t even have a proper winter jacket/coat yet. I told him to get one if he wants to survive the winter. We’re on in Antarctica, but still, some nights can really get freezing, especially if you’re not used to it. However, with some minor stops in cafes and bars to warm up and being equipped with my umbrella, we managed to walk around a bit and talk about the area. He’s generally a very nice guy and we might see him again soon.

On a different and far more important matter, I met and talked to my in-laws this weekend! ‘JJ’ Skypes them on an almost weekly basis and he suggested that it would be nice to actually talk before my arrival to their house. Till now, they knew about me, but we hadn’t actually ‘met’. However, I wasn’t really prepared for it. I was doing dishes yesterday morning, waiting for my guest to get ready before going out for a walk. ‘JJ’ was supposed to be studying upstairs, when I heard him coming downstairs while speaking Afrikaans! And ‘Surprise’, he came holding his laptop facing me and told me to talk to them!!!! I was a bit taken by surprise to say the least, but maybe that was better than knowing about it and getting stressed about it. Meeting the parents is a big thing. Meeting the parents of your gay boyfriend whose ideas on homosexuality are still a bit debatable, as far as I know, can be a bit intimidating.

However, it all went very smoothly. I said good morning to them, thanked them for the invitation and we chatted a bit about how excited we are for the trip. They were polite enough, smiling and friendly. I’ve later learnt that they agreed to come along with us while visiting the city one day. I had suggested to JJ that there is a ‘hop on / hop off’ type of bus with a guide for the city monuments. That could be an easy way to see places comfortably and his parents said they might come along!

I’ve also learnt that his mother is planning a massive feast for us on the day we arrive! The bad thing is that JJ told her about some of my different dietary habits, when I told him not to! OK, I have to admit I’m a bit weird when it comes to food. Like a spoilt child, there are common things I don’t enjoy eating like mushrooms, peppers, raisins, olives and raw tomatoes! I know that the tomatoes one is a bit weird. On my defence I don’t mind cooked tomatoes or when they are chopped in smaller pieces in a sandwich for example, but I’m not too keen on having bit chunks of them in a tomato salad.

In addition, I have to say that I eat all these stuff if mixed with other ingredients in a dish. For example if I was given a pizza with small chopped pieces of mushrooms I’d gladly eat it. If the pieces were slightly big, I might pick some out, but have the rest. It’s just I wouldn’t have any, if served alone. Also, I can eat almost anything if I have no other choice. For example, if his mother cooks something that I don’t like, I will politely eat a small portion without saying a thing. I’ve joined the army and I had some really bad food served from time to time. I can survive. It’s just, when given a choice; I would not have something I don’t really enjoy. That is why I told JJ not to tell her about it because I didn’t want to sound difficult or make a fuss out of it, but…

In any case, I’m counting the days to our trip…