My World

I had a wonderfully carefree childhood and a relatively easy adolescence despite the fact that I experienced war at the age of sixteen. Thinking positive has helped me to mature a lot and realise that what matters most in life is counting my blessings instead of crying over spilt milk. There's no point in thinking negatively or trying to change an irreversible situation. There are so many benefits in thinking positive including health benefits. For instance, you walk tall, your voice is loud and clear and your whole attitude shows the way you feel. What's more, you emanate a blithe, cheerful and light-hearted  air, you anticipate happiness, health and success instead of brooding over problems or situations that cannot be undone. I've always looked on the bright side of life. This doesn't mean that I keep my head in the sand and ignore hard times. I just think the best is going to happen, not the worst.  Life, however, isn't always a bed of roses. The worst may o

One of my least favourite occupations is shopping at the supermarket. However much I enjoy shopping for books, clothes, cosmetics and accessories, going to the supermarket is a chore I share with Alkis. What I do is  text him or email him the shopping list  which is extremely convenient for me. But Alkis is usually hungry at that time, so he gives in to temptations and fills the shopping basket with items that do not appear on my shopping list - such as peperoni which I hate, mushrooms which I also hate, cashew nuts and crisps - an unhealthy temptation which I prefer not to store in my kitchen cupboards or freshly baked bagels which I'd rather not have in my bread bin - a huge temptation considering I'm a bread lover. And he never forgets any of the items on the shopping list! Once or twice a month, the shopping-at-the-supermarket chore is my responsibility. I never write shopping lists when I go to the supermarket. I'd rather not waste time texting or emailing myself.

Long ago, I used to have a lot of penfriends from all around the world. I'd receive 70-80 letters weekly and answered them all. But since I connected to the Internet in 2000, emailing has been a much faster way to keep in touch with friends and family or make new friends. So penfriends became epals and very often I'd get a reply within minutes. I recall having exchanged 30 emails in one day with an epal from the UK. Email is also cheap since it allows you to send long documents immediately and with hardly any cost. However, snail mail is much more personal and private. There is a unique charm in the handwriting, the paper, the envelope, the stamps. A letter is something you can touch, file away and keep as a souvenir. It is also something you can smell! I still remember that beautiful, perfumed fancy letter paper I once used.  The ride to the letter box or the post office used to be a pleasure. And then I'd counted the days till I got a reply. What's more, unlike

In Cyprus, we tend to celebrate name days more than birthdays.  According to the Greek Orthodox Church, a child should be named after a christian saint. Although in recent years, the Church no longer refuses to christen a child by the name the parents have chosen, most Greek Cypriots would name their children after a grandmother or a grandfather who's already got a christian orthodox name. Very often, not naming a child after a grandparent may lead to serious misunderstandings and arguments between parents and grandparents. As a result of this ritual, name days are very important here. A couple of months ago, as I was   surfing on the Net,     I suddenly remembered my mother's name day on the 25th. I had not even got a present for her! In a panic, I called Alkis and begged him to send some flowers to mum despite the fact that I knew he was jammed with work. He was preparing a meeting at that time, but he said he'd ask his secretary to arrange that. I emailed

You may not have heard of the Troodos Mountains, but enough snow falls on this normally sun-kissed Mediterranean island between December and March to make it possible  to go skiing and snowboarding in Cyprus.   Well, I don’t go   skiing or snowboarding but I do enjoy playng in the snow. Yesterday, my husband and I   set off on a day trip to Troodos and really loved the snowhite landscape. After some serious snowfighting and walking in the snow, we thoroughly enjoyed lunch at Kaledonia Restaurant in Platres.

Trahanas is known all over Cyprus as well as in many parts of Greece) .It is a delicious and nutritional food. It is soup with wheat kneaded in soured milk. Let’s see how this traditional food is prepared .   After the wheat is thoroughly washed, it is blended in a hand mill. Then it is mixed with soured milk and the mixture is placed in the fire. When it boils well, the mixture coagulates, and then it is moulded into small elongated pieces which lay in the sun where they dry out. These dry pieces are stored and so preserved for a year in the freezer. Each time the housewife wishes to cook trahana soup, she takes the desired quantity from the stored dry pieces. The pieces are placed into water, where they inflate and open.   Haloumi cheese can be added, chopped into small pieces, which also cooks inside the soup. Trahanas is served hot after some salt, pepper and lemon (optional) are added. Here is the recipe of Trahanas Soup in Cyprus  INGREDIENTS 200g   trahana

I sometimes take for granted the beauty of the town I've been living in for the last 35 years. When Alkis and I first moved to Larnaca back in November 1984, I could hardly call it home.. We both missed our hometowns - Nicosia and Serres.  Living in Larnaca wasn't easy for either of us, but very soon we both fell in love with the beautiful city of Zenon to such an extent that we no longer miss our hometowns as much as we did when we first came to live here. Having spent my childhood and adolescence in capital city Nicosia and five years in Geneva, Switzerland, as a student, I really felt miserable when Alkis and I had to move to Larnaca   because of Alkis’ work back in 1984.   Back then, Larnaca was a small, quiet town where nothing happened!   There was only one cinema, where we used to go at the weekend, a couple of shops and a few tavernas. I used to hate Larnaca and would often travel to hometown Nicosia   to see my family, shop or simply go out . Thirty-five