Longing for spring

We looked at the ancient Mycen�ans in goddess class today. Well, actually we looked at slides of Mycen�an artifacts, many of which I have seen in the flesh in the museum in Athens. I have also been to the ruins at Mikenes twice now, and the second time met up with some English tourists who were equipped with torches (flashlights to me) which allowed us to make the descent into the well, thankfully dry. That was very cool. Also our son, who was quite young and easily bored, started kicking at loose rocks and quite accidentally turned up a shard of Mycen�an pottery which we dutifully turned over to the arch�ologist on site. She became very excited and demanded to know exactly where we had found it. The young lad was a bit of a celebrity after that. We made sure that his exploit was reported in all our letters home.

I really miss Greece, especially right now when winter doesn�t seem to have the least inclination to let up. It�s true that the winter months in the Peloponnese were pretty chilly, but the only snow we saw was in the mountains, and I was just as happy to leave it there. Driving over Mt. Taygetos and seeing snow in the woods made the children homesick, but not me. What I liked were the oranges growing right outside our villa, fresh off the tree. They spoiled me for anything we get imported from Florida or California. As a matter of fact, I could not eat oranges for about a year after we returned because nothing was good enough. Now I am not so picky, but I still hanker after those delicious fruits.

I understand that in some parts of the north-western hemisphere crocuses are blooming. Not here! However, the bulbs that Vlad gave me have provided a breath of springtime inside the house. The paperwhites are all but finished now, but were extremely beautiful with an almost oriental delicacy. In years past I have been inspired to paint them, but they would be best rendered in watercolours, a medium which I avoid. The crocuses in the dead oleander pot have started to flower, the first one coming up a deep, deep purple. It is a poor substitute for spring, though. Sigh�

|

<~~~ * ~~~>