Santa baby wishes ….

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MERRY EVERYTHING .. and A HAPPY ALWAYS!!!!

I wish Santa brings you the gift of never ending happiness!!!

2019 wishes for a Prosperous New Year!

 

 

PS   :    I  will be with you in a year lol hohoho!!!!!!!

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Sailing midst the clouds – Et cetera

© Ivan Wong

He feels the clouds envelop him
As he sails across the sky
He rows his boat into the new world
And waves this world goodbye
His best clothes on and new hat up
He lets out a triumphant cry
He gazes at the distant world
And then at the mackerel sky
He’s up, he won, he defeated the world
All he had to do was try

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Rusalka …is a water nymph

Α slavic myth says that Rusalkas were alluring water nymphs known for their beautiful song. They probably originated as fertility spirits, associated with particular lakes and with the life-giving power of water.

But they were later said to be the souls of children who had died at a young age, or of women who had drowned themselves. Their song lured passers-by into the water.

One story told how a Rusalka left the water when she fell in love with a mortal prince.

Unesco – The perfumes of Grasse on the list of the patrimony of the Humanity

Άυλη πολιτιστική κληρονομιά της UNESCO τα περίφημα αρώματα της Γκρας

Η πόλη Γκρας στην Κυανή Ακτή έγινε κοιτίδα της αρωματοποιίας τον 16ο αιώνα, καθώς τα βυρσοδεψεία της ζητούσαν αρωματικές πρώτες ύλες για να κατεργάζονται τα δέρματα και να αρωματίζουν τα γάντια

 

 

The know-how related to the perfume of Grasse was inscribed on the list of the intangible cultural heritage of Humanity by a specialized committee of Unesco meeting in Port-Louis, capital of Mauritius.

 

Each year, the Unesco Committee meets to evaluate nominations and decide whether or not to include the intangible cultural practices and expressions of intangible heritage proposed by the States Parties to the 2003 Convention.

In November 28, a specialized committee of Unesco meeting in Port-Louis, capital of Mauritius, decided to register the know-how related to the perfume of Grasse in the Alpes-Maritimes.

This Afternoon, Snow – Susan Stenson

……..I remember the silence
of snow while birds,
green in their waiting,
keep singing.

 

 

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https://canpoetry.library.utoronto.ca/stenson/poem1.htm

I will bring you the Moon, take it!

And you catch me the Sun, could you?

 

Galina Bukovska

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The Witches in Shakespeare’s Macbeth

 

Shakespeare wrote Macbeth at a time when interest in witchcraft bordered on hysteria. Witches were blamed for causing illness, death and disaster, and were thought to punish their enemies by giving them nightmares, making their crops fail and their animals sicken.

The Macbeth and the Three Witches 1855 painting originally painted by Theodore Chasseriau

Witches were thought to allow the Devil to suckle from them in the form of an animal, such as ‘Graymalkin’ and ‘Paddock’, the grey cat and the toad mentioned by the Witches in Act 1, Scene 1. Those who were convicted were often tortured, their trials reported in grisly detail in pamphlets that circulated in their hundreds. Often, those accused of witchcraft lived on the edges of society: they were old, poor and unprotected, and were therefore easy to blame.

Στο έργο, οι τρεις μάγισσες αντιπροσωπεύουν το σκοτάδι, το χάος και τη σύγκρουση, ενώ παίζουν και το ρόλο των μαρτύρων. Την εποχή του Σαίξπηρ, οι μάγισσες θεωρούνταν χειρότερες από επαναστάτες, αφού ήταν όχι μόνο πολιτικοί αλλά και πνευματικοί προδότες.

The most striking art inspired by opera

Η νύχτα στην όπερα είναι ηλεκτρισμένη. Δεν είναι περίεργο ότι οι εικαστικοί καλλιτέχνες εμπνέονται χρόνια τώρα από αυτές τις  μεθυστικές μορφές τέχνης.

 

1895 Typogravure Charles Courtney Curran Metropolitan Opera House New York Art

 

A night at the opera is electric. It’s no wonder that visual artists have long been inspired by this most intoxicating of art forms.

Some early artworks present a window into a world available only to a small handful of elite opera-goers; later works turn their attention from the stage and shine the spotlight on the audience and even use the architecture of opera houses as a canvas.

Here are our favourite pieces of visual art inspired by opera:

Εδώ είναι τα αγαπημένα μας κομμάτια εικαστικής τέχνης εμπνευσμένα από την όπερα

William Hogarth
A Scene from ‘The Beggar’s Opera’ VI (1731)

Detail of William Hogarth’s A Scene from ‘The Beggar’s Opera’ VI (1731)

William Hogarth’s painting captures the climactic scene of John Gay’s ballad opera – the moment the highwayman Macheath is sentenced to death.

Raindrops are like fairy whispers..

 

What would you wish for if a fairy gives you a magical wish?

 

You may not see the fairies and think they’re not around,
but out amongst the trees and plants these special beings abound.

Whenever you’re in nature they are just beyond your sight,
as their very favourite playtime is whilst you sleep at night.

If you’d like some magic fairy dust you should make your wishes clear, then ask the fae to bless your wish and click to be sprinkled ……..

May all your wishes come true!

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A reflection of who you are

Both dogs, at separate times, walk into the same room. One comes out wagging his tail while the other comes out growling

 

A woman watching this goes into the room to see what could possibly make one dog so happy and the other so mad. To her surprise she finds a room filled with mirrors.

Second Fig …

Safe upon the solid rock the ugly houses stand:

Come and see my shining palace built upon the sand!

 

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By Edna St. Vincent Millay

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Α ‘blue’ sand dune on Mars

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Τo get rich, you have to believe something so incredibly far from your reach…

Wishing to all of you  to be more rich in hope!!

Εύχομαι σε όλους σας να γίνετε πιο πλούσιοι στην ελπίδα!!

ΧΡΟΝΙΑ ΠΟΛΛΑ !!!!

Η ανακάλυψη του μπλε αμμόλοφου στον κόκκινο πλανήτη έδωσε στη NASA ίσως τις πιο εντυπωσιακές φωτογραφίες από τον Άρη.

The dune appears blue in an enhanced-color image taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), though it’s actually a grayish hue. The visual effect comes from upping the contrast, a trick that allows researchers to see more detail in images of Mars.

Christmas gift suggestions

“Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas.”
– Peg Bracken

efi’s christmas crafts 2018

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To your enemy, forgiveness.

To an opponent, tolerance.

To a friend, your heart.

To a customer, service. To all, charity.

To every child, a good example.

To yourself, respect.”

~ Oren Arnold

Παραμονή Χριστουγέννων. Εικόνες, μυρωδιές και γεύσεις κατακλύζουν τη μνήμη μας. Αλλοτινές εποχές τραγουδούν στην ψυχή μας.

Στιγμές των παιδικών μας χρόνων πασπαλισμένες με ζάχαρη. Το σπίτι, παστρικό και στολισμένο, η οικογένεια σε πλήρη δράση για τις ετοιμασίες, οι μυρωδιές από το ανθόνερο στους κουραμπιέδες και από τα κανελλογαρύφαλλα των μελομακάρονων, το σχολείο, με τα μπαμπάκια και τις χαλκομανίες στολισμένα στα παράθυρα, τα ποιήματα και τα τραγούδια των γιορτών…

Αγαπησιάρικες ευχές για χουχουλιάρικες γιορτές εύχομαι ολόψυχα!!!

http://aromalefkadas.gr/

The Holiday Prayer –Spencer Betz

 

The sidewalks and the roadways
Have now become my home
Since misfortune somehow found me
I’ve been wandering alone

The coldness and the darkness
Of every passing night
Leads me to a shelter
That for tonight feels alright

You’d not think it’s perfect
It’s loud and space is tight
But if they have a bed for me
It’s perfect for this night

I’m tired, cold and hungry
My body’s wracked with pain
But I’m just a broken spirit
Not a person gone insane

So look at me this Christmas
And thank your lucky stars
That you have what you do have
And don’t bare all these scars

And if the moment strikes you
That to give is to receive
Then you are that one person
That helps me to believe

I believe that I will conquer
All that fate has dealt to me
And I’ll never give up trying
I believe in humanity

So while you sit with family
Gathered ’round your Christmas tree
And open Santa’s presents
I hope you’ll think of me

If there’s one gift you can give me
I will tell you what I’d like
It’s not a giant castle
It’s not a brand new bike

A prayer is all I ask for
A prayer that asks the Lord
To bless those here beside me
The broken, beat, the poor

Ask that He please hear you
In your Christmas prayer
And bless all souls who suffer
So lost and in despair

For myself, I ask you nothing
Except this one small prayer
So won’t you take a moment
Bow your head and show you care

 

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https://www.thoughtco.com/holiday-prayer-for-the-homeless-700482

Whitney Houston- One Moment In Time

 

Give me one moment in time
When I’m more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away
And the answers are all up to me
Give me one moment in time
When I’m racing with destiny
Then in that one moment of time
I will be
I will be
I will be free
I will be
I will be free

A special little felt tree just for HIM

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It’s that time of year again!

Hang up your Christmas stockings…wrap all those presents……decorate your Christmas tree…

 

Efi’s felt craft 2018

…and then keep your baby from destroying your Christmas tree…..

Why do we kiss under the mistletoe? – Γιατί φιλιόμαστε κάτω από το γκι;

 

Σύμφωνα με την παράδοση, εάν ένα ζευγάρι βρεθεί κάτω από γκι, τότε πρέπει να φιληθεί

 

Kissing under sprigs of mistletoe is a well-known holiday tradition, but this little plant’s history as a symbolic herb dates back thousands of years. Many ancient cultures prized mistletoe for its healing properties. The Greeks were known to use it as a cure for everything from menstrual cramps to spleen disorders, and the Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder noted it could be used as a balm against epilepsy, ulcers and poisons.

The plant’s romantic overtones most likely started with the Celtic Druids of the 1st century A.D. Because mistletoe could blossom even during the frozen winter, the Druids came to view it as a sacred symbol of vivacity, and they administered it to humans and animals alike in the hope of restoring fertility.

Travel – Edna St. Vincent Millay

 

 

The railroad track is miles away,
And the day is loud with voices speaking,
Yet there isn’t a train goes by all day
But I hear its whistle shrieking.

All night there isn’t a train goes by,
Though the night is still for sleep and dreaming,
But I see its cinders red on the sky,
And hear its engine steaming.

My heart is warm with the friends I make,
And better friends I’ll not be knowing;
Yet there isn’t a train I wouldn’t take,
No matter where it’s going.

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International Human Solidarity Day – Διεθνής Ημέρα Ανθρώπινης Αλληλεγγύης

The most satisfying thing in life is to have been able to give a large part of one’s self to others

Το πιο ικανοποιητικό στη ζωή είναι να μπορείς να δίνεις ένα μεγάλο μέρος τους εαυτού σου στους άλλους

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

 

International Human Solidarity Day is:

• a day to celebrate our unity in diversity;
• a day to remind governments to respect their commitments to international agreements;
• a day to raise public awareness of the importance of solidarity;
• a day to encourage debate on the ways to promote solidarity for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals including poverty eradication;
• a day of action to encourage new initiatives for poverty eradication.

Roads…..

People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness.

Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’ve gotten lost.

H. Jackson Brown

 

 

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Nativity scene at Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square sculpted out of 700 tons of sand

Φάτνη από… άμμο στο Βατικανό

Αν και η άμμος παραπέμπει σε καλοκαίρι, ο ευφάνταστος καλλιτέχνης Ρικ Βαράνο σκέφτηκε να τη χρησιμοποιήσει τα Χριστούγεννα, για να κατασκευάσει τη φάτνη του Βατικανού στην πλατεία του Αγίου Πέτρου.

The Vatican unveiled its novel Nativity scene for Christmas in St. Peter’s Square Friday afternoon — sculpted completely out of sand for the first time.

The traditional scene depicting Joseph, Mary and the infant Jesus surrounded by angels, shepherds, animals and the Three Wise Men was made with over 700 tons of sand and is about 82 square feet.

‘Snegurochka’ – The Snow Maiden – Η Κόρη του Χιονιού

 

Ο χειμώνας ήρθε και κουβαλάει μαζί του θρύλους και παραμύθια. Είτε έρχεται μαλακός και ήμερος στις χώρες της Μεσογείου είτε άγριος και σκληρός στις Βόρειες χώρες, οι ιστορίες του κουβαλάνε οικουμενικούς πόθους και κρυφές ανάγκες.

The Snow Maiden is a character in Russian folktales. She is very beautiful and often depicted with snow white skin, deep sky-blue eyes and curly fair hair. She is known as ‘Snegurochka’ in Russian – ‘sneg’ being the Russian word for snow.

She is the daughter of the immortal Gods, Father Frost and Mother Spring. In the stories, she usually goes to live with humans to care for an elderly couple who have no children. In some stories, she grows to like a young man, but her heart is unable to know love.

Mother Spring takes pity and gives her this ability, but as soon as she falls in love, her heart warms her and she melts. In other stories she melts by coming in contact with fire or warmth. The tale of Snegurochka can often be seen beautifully depicted on hand-painted Russian crafts.

The King & the Ring – This Too Shall Pass

 

Do you feel sometimes that life overwhelms you with stress, worries, mounting “to do” list, demanding bosses, clients, family members, responsibilities, bills, and challenges?
This legend and the song are for you.

During the festive Passover meal with his ministers, King Solomon teased Benaiah son of Jehoiada, his arrogant Chief of Army.

– “Benaiah, I was told that there is a special ring that has a special power. It can change the mood of a person. A sad person becomes happy when watching it and a happy person becomes sad. I know that you of all people in the kingdom can find the ring. Would you be able to find this ring and bring it to me until the eve of Sukkot eve, that is 6 months from now?”