Anastasia

Cyprus Trivia Results

Here are the correct answers to Cyprus Trivia questions:

1. A kind of salty, sheep cheese
2. Troodos
3. Saint Paul
4. Makarios III
5. Green line - so called because it was originally drawn on a map with green ink.
6. On 1 May 2004
7. Nicosia
8. Greek
9. the mufflon
10. On average, Cyprus receives 326 days of sunshine  - approximately 3000 hours in a year
11. In September 1992
12. 9,251 square km of which 1733 are forested.
13. In the eastern Mediterranean
14. Glafkos Clerides
15. Demetris Christofias
16. Catherine Cornaro
17. Greek orthodox
18. Lefkara
19. Ledra
20. Sweet red wine

 

Here are the results:

1. Jeff Atkins - 75%
2. Alexia M - 65%
3. Christina P - 60%
4. Jim - 60%
5. Lisa A - 50%
6. Andy - 45%
7. Laura - 45%
8. Haruko N - 35%
9. Jafar - 35%
10. Katie White - 35%

So , the winner is Jeff who will receive a bottle of Commandaria which you can see in the photo above.

Friday Night

For most people, Friday night marks the end of the work week and triumphantly announces the beginning of the weekend. Most of my friends plan a late night out but I can only join them on school holidays. As I come back home from work late on Friday night and go back to work early on Saturday morning, I am unable to keep my eyes open after midnight. So I spend most of my Friday nights reading my favourite books, listening to my favourite music or playing a game of chess with Alkis. If he doesn't beat me within an hour, we'll continue the game on Saturday afternoon.

How do you spend your Friday nights?

Sunday's Trivial Pursuit

Photo by Anastasia - Platres 2006

My long weekend seems to have almost flown by in a flash! Although our planned weekend away to Platres was cancelled unexpectedly, I refused to cry over the spilt milk and found ways to enjoy it. I read Maria Tzirita's "Αν Δεν Υπηρχε Αυριο" recommended by my friend Phivos Nicolaides quite some time ago. At least I kept the promise I had made to myself: no more Eliot, no more Faulkner, no more English Lit at least for a while - and started reading Greek books. I loved the book! On Friday night, Alkis and I had dinner at our favourite French restaurant - the French Rendez-Vous. I hadn't eaten frog's legs in a long time! And I loved them! The Executive Chef is French so he knows how to cook them! After a  typically French béarnaise fillet de boeuf ( at last a decent saignant- rear!) avec pommes frites (french fries / chips) there was no room for their divine deserts!

Tonight we are invited to a party. I've at last decided what to wear:

 

By 8:00 pm I need to decide which pair of sandals to match the dress with.....

PS ~ On Saturday night, we played Trivial Pursuit and I lost - ah well, Alkis is a human wikipedia!

Do video games help shy youngsters build social skills?

 

Photo Credit

Hong Kong - Scientists have found that children who spend hours playing online games may be developing friendships and nurturing vital social skills, a news report said Tuesday.

Rather than causing them harm, playing computer games can help boost the self-esteem of shy youngsters and increase their satisfaction with life, the South China Morning Post reported.

The benefits of online games were similar to those of making friends in the real world, the researchers from the Chinese University in Hong Kong concluded.

More than 600 primary school children were interviewed for the study, which found they spent an average of 67 minutes a day playing online games and 44 minutes using hand-held game consoles.

Nearly one-fifth of the pupils interviewed said they played for three hours a day or more, according to the newspaper.

Dr Angel Leung of the university's psychology department said: "Online friendship is ... especially important to those who are extremely shy or introverted - those who have difficulties making friends in real life."

However, she conceded that playing online games too much could adversely affect their academic results with English the subject most affected by game playing, the report said.

Copyright DPA

via www.earthtimes.org

If you ask me, online games and more specifically these interactive video games can eventually turn out to be detrimental to a child's physical condition and psychological growth. They contribute greatly to child obesity and to aggressive personalities. I really don't think they can help shy children build social skills. On the contrary, they tend to cut off children from the real world by making them unfriendly and anti-social while their grades can drop dramatically- not only in English but in all other school subjects. What's worse, these games can become terribly addictive for the child who gradually begins to live in a virtual world of make believe. Children need to go out and play, run, jump, skip, meet their friends, practise sports and take up creative hobbies. That's how they can develop real social skills.

On the other hand, technology is part of both adults and children's lives. Some online games can be really fun for children and can help them develop creative skills, yet, even in this case, parents should, by all means supervise their children, set time limits and stick to them and, most importantly, talk with their children in order to make them realise that real life doesn't work the way they see it in their online games. In this way, children will be able to see the difference between the virtual, unreal world of a video game, and the many benefits they can gain in the real world.

Twins

Photo Credit

I closed the door behind me and from that very moment I felt that there was somebody there and that this somebody was very friendly and pleased to see me.In my heart of hearts, I hoped it was Paul Belinsky..Pauk Belinsky? No, no, not him! In 1968, Russia ruffled her feathers and showed her power to the rest of the world when in August she and members of the Warsaw Pact invaded the country of Czechoslovakia. Paul Belinsky was one of the members of the Warsaw Pact. No, no ,no!! It can't be him! So I turned my head, and to my utter surprise, I was looking at a woman who looked exactly like me. I was speechless. I kept staring at her not believing my own eyes!

" Won't you ask me in?" , the woman said with a fixed, abstract expression on her thin face.My heart was still racing as I finally managed to mutter:"Who are you?" The woman smiled at me and said:

" Belinsky...Francesca Belinsky."

" I am a woman, she added, who has, for some years contended against the pressure of pecuniary difficulties. Sometimes I have risen superior to my difficulties, sometimes my difficulties have...floored me."

I didn't know what to think. Seeing that I couldn't understand, she went on with her narrative: August 21 1968. Soviet Union and members of the Warsaw Pact allies invaded my country...our country, Czechoslovakia, to stop the reformers of the Prague Spring. OUR father, Paul Belinsky, was the leader of the Pact. We were born in September 25 1968. I was sent to France in a foster family who abused me. You were sent to America. You were much luckier than me. You were received by a wealthy foster family that loved you and spoilt you. See...sis? All my life, I had to cope with money problems to make ends meet.

Words were failing me. "I.... I.... I.... have a sister? A... a... a twin sister? ... And our father.... is..... I.... I..... I have to sit down" ..

I sat down feeling as if I was in a dream. I plucked up the courage and asked angrily: " How the heck did you get in?"
She laughed her head off and said : "Oh ma cherie, your housekeeper let me in. I said I'd lost my keys...See? She thought I was you!!!"
"Right... of course..." I said. "So... your name is Francesca, right?"

"Right Vicky or should I say Victoria? After all, you are Victoria Belinsky - my twin sister!"

"Apparently so..." I mumbled, still in disbelief.

I was silent for a moment. Then our eyes met - the same deep green - and locked.

"There's something else you should know." she said, maintaining eye contact.
"Really?" I said concentrating on my cup of coffee. "But you should listen to me first. When my housekeeper said I had a visitor from Europe, I wished it was Paul Belinsky. I wanted to find out who my biological father was - that's all. Instead, it's you - my twin sister. So, Francesca, what else should I know?"

"You're in danger Victoria" she said matter-of-factly." Oh, by the way,Paul Belinsky is dead!" He died in an accident five years ago. So...I'm the next of kin, dear sis."
"In danger?" I was at a loss what to say.
"Yes, my dear Victoria. You're in danger because I can destroy everything and everyone you love, unless....you do exactly as I say."
"I'm not taking orders from you, Francesca!"
"I thought you were pleased to see me," Francesca replied softly.

She paused for a while and then added:"I know you have a lovely family and I'm sure you wouldn't like any of them to get hurt....not for $500,000. Once I get the money, you'll never hear of me again, dear sis."

"I'm afraid it's too late, Miss Belinsky." Surprised, I turned round and saw a police officer standing at the door next to Mrs Gibbs-the housekeeper. "The French police have been looking for you since you left the country. You are under arrest."

Petrified, I stood there looking out the window. The sun was now bright and warm and the air was filled with the children's happy laughter playing by the pond. Teddy was sailing a model boat and Linda was playing with her dolls on the grass. My heart leapt as I watched them play knowing that no one would ever harm them. Yet deep down I knew that I would probably never see Francesca again and felt so sorry for her - my twin sister I had known for a while and had only just lost.

Written By ( in alphabetical order):

Agnes

Alexia

Anastasia

Christina

Constantinos

John

Karolina

Lakis

Laura

Lisa

I would like to thank you all for your great contribution to this story. As promised, I'd love to send you a small thank-you gift from Cyprus if I could have your address.

This story is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the authors' imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this post may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the blog owner.

Let's Write a Story!

Those of you who have known me for quite some time now, you know what I mean. This is my favourite online game.

Here are the rules of the game:

1. I will write the first sentence of what I hope to be a gripping tale. In the comments section, you must add to my sentence and what you add must make good sense to what the previous commenter has written. Please bear in mind that in order to avoid unwelcome spammers who would copy and paste your comments, you must sign in using your TypePad, Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, Yahoo and more.... As you all know, a story has a beginning, a middle and an end. So, be inventive and imaginative!
2. I promise to put everything together so that it reads smoothly.
3. Those of you who choose to participate in the writing of this story will win a small souvenir from Cyprus if you email me your address.
4. I'll give our story a title after I have put everything together. 

My Facebook friends don't need to sign in - they can post their contribution to the story on Facebook.

OK Here Goes!

I closed the door behind me and from that very moment I felt that there was somebody there and that this somebody was very friendly and pleased to see me.

Your Turn!

Please note that all contributions are either product of the commenter's imagination or used fictitiously.

Tagged I am ! - Getting to Know Each Other

As I've already said before, one of the coolest features of the new TypePad is the integration with Facebook. So, I've been tagged on Facebook by my friend Theodora. Here we go !

If you've been tagged or you are reading this, you have the honor of copying all these goofy questions, writing your own response, and tagging 25 other victims. You have to tag me so really you just need 24 more people.

To do this on Facebook, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your title as "Getting to know each other!", tag 25 people including me (tagging is done in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.

To do this on TypePad, copy and paste this in your Compose Page and tag as many people as you like.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 9:37 am

2. How do you like your steak? rear or blue

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Slumdog Millionaire

4. What is your favorite TV show? The Division, Law and Order, CSI Miami

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? Geneva, Switzeland

6. What did you have for breakfast? 2 waffles with vanilla sauce, 2 hot croissants with blueberry jam, some brie, a fruit yoghurt 1 % fat , 2 cups black French filter coffee, 1 glass of ice-cold freshly squeezed orange juice mixed with some pink grapefruit juice.

7. What is your favorite cuisine? Greek and French 

8. What foods do you dislike? Pasta

9. Favorite Place to Eat? To Plakiotiko

10.  Favorite dressing? Thousand Islands, vinegrette, french salad dressing, olive oil and lemon juice

11.What kind of vehicle do you drive? A blue mazda 323

12. What are your favorite clothes? Depends on the circumstances and the occasion. I like sophisticated evening dresses as much as I like jeans and T-shirts.

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? The Scandinavian Countries

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? 1/2 full always

15. Where would you want to retire? In a small cottage by the sea

16. Favorite time of day? morning

17. Where were you born? Nicosia, Cyprus

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? Tennis and Formula A

19. Who do you think will not tag you back? Not sure

20. Person you expect to tag you back first? No idea...Constantinos perhaps?

21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? All of them

22. Bird watcher? I used to be! I used to watch the pink flamingos as they arrived at the salt lake in October.

23. Are you a morning person or a night person? morning now , as a student I was definitely a night person! I always studied from 12 midnight to 8 am and then went straight to exams!

24. Do you have any pets? Not now

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? I'm off on holiday!!!

26. What did you want to be when you were little? Teacher !

27. What is your best childhood memory? My summer holidays in Famagusta

28. Are you a cat or dog person? both! I love both cats and dogs.

29. Are you married? Yes, I am.

30. Always wear your seat belt? YES!

31. Been in a car accident? Yes

32. Any pet peeves? Football, basketball and baseball

33. Favorite Pizza Toppings? , pineapple, ham, shrimps

34. Favorite Flower? I'm allergic to most flowers! But I love geraniums and jasmin!

35. Favorite ice cream? just one ? - well lemon, pistachio, vanilla, rasberry, chocolate chips

36. Favorite fast food restaurant? I hate fast food restaurants!

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? I've never failed my driver's test! Got it at 18 but had a car of my own at 25 , so I had some ...extra lessons. 

38. From whom did you get your last email? from Lizzie

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? ???? Louis Vuitton !

40. Do anything spontaneous lately? Yes, I danced syrtaki barefoot on the sand. Thank God, only Alkis was watching!

41. Like your job? I love it

42. Broccoli? Not really.....

43. What was your favorite vacation? Alexandroupolis in 2007

44. Last person you went out to dinner with? Alkis, my husband

45. What are you listening to right now? Neil Diamond's Love on the Rocks

46. What is your favorite color? white and ...pink!

47. How many tattoos do you have? None

48. How many are you tagging for this quiz? Open

49. What time did you finish this quiz? 1:45 pm

50. Coffee Drinker? YES! espresso and filter coffee please.

I TAG anyone from either Facebook or TypePad who would like me to know him/her better.

Monday's Greek Recipe - A Virtual Sunday Lunch!

Or ...... A Virtual Sunday Lunch!

First of all, let me thank you all from the bottom of my heart for joining in the fun of the game. I had such a good laugh while reading your comments!

Here is the result!

THALASSINA ME KOLOKYTHIA KAI AVGA

(Seafood with Courgettes and Eggs!)

INGREDIENTS

10 eggs (Andy)

green peppers (John)

4-5 long courgettes (Lucy)

some feta cheese (Lucy)

the juice of 2 lemons (Emma)

2 ripe tomatoes (Emma)

1 kilo (2lbs4oz) calamari (Constantinos)

3 cups of flour (Walid)

1 teaspoon of baking powder (Walid)

1 cup of finely chopped dill or parsley (Walid)

5 medium - sized potatoes (Lakis)

some mint (Lakis)

1 cup of pasta (Jeff)

some feta cheese (Jeff)

cinnamon (Jeff)

water (Haruko)

5 cups of finely cut onion (Haruko)

some torn (Tina)

kale leaves (Tina)

some more salt and pepper (Tina)

6 cloves of garlic finely diced (Nikos N)

6 king prawns (Constantinos)

1 glass of red dry wine (Alexia)

some kaseri cheese or any yellow cheese (Stefania)

DIRECTIONS

1. Sauté the onions in the oil (Anastasia)

2. Add 10 eggs and mix them with the onions. Sauté till golden brown. (Andy)

3. Top and tail 4-5 long courgettes, add them to the onions, eggs and green pepper. Add some  feta cheese. (Lucy)

4. Add the juice of 2 lemons and 2 ripe tomatoes. (Emma)

5. Remove the tentacles and the fine inner bone of the squid and add it to the lemon and tomato juice in the courgette mixture. (Constantinos)

6. Add 3 cups of flour, a teaspoon of baking powder, some more salt and pepper to taste and a cup of finely chopped dill or parsley. (Walid)

7. Cut the potatoes in thick slices, add ...some more salt and pepper and add them to the rest of the ingredients. Add some parsley and mint. (Lakis)

8. Add the pasta, some more feta cheese and some cinnamon to the squid-courgette stuff. (Jeff)

9. Then add some more water and 5 cups of finely cut onion. Allow to boil for about 9 minutes. (Haruko)

10. Add the torn and the kale leaves and let them simmer in the pot for 5-7 minutes. (Tina)

11. Add 6 cloves of garlic finely diced. (Nikos N)

12. Let the garlic simmer with the rest of the ingredients for about 6 minutes and in a separate pot boil 6 king prawns in salted water. (Constantinos)

13. Clean the prawns and put them in the main pot. Add 1 glass of red dry wine and let the food simmer for 10 minutes over low fire. (Alexia)

14. Add some kasseri cheese or any other yellow cheese of your choice. Remove the food from the fire and let it rest for 30 minutes. (Stefania)

15. Serve with a ...traditional Greek Village Salad! (Anastasia)

MY COMMENT : Too many cooks spoil the broth! 

Something's....... Cooking

Well, it's the weekend and here I am again in my playful moods! So, how about cooking a virtual Sunday lunch? We've got time , don't worry!

Here are the rules of the game:

1. We must cook something ...GREEK! ...hopefully

2. You must add an ingredient + direction following what the previous poster said.

3. You cannot name an ingredient and / or direction someone else has already posted.

....et que sera sera !

  

So let me start....

1 1 / 2 teacups olive oil and 1 onion finely cut - saute the onion in the oil