Yeah, yeah. Too much socializing is bad for this daily art thing.

Today I had a great day. I spent all morning, a gloriously sunny morning, doing what passes as yard/garden work in my tiny little place which has no dirt, just pots.

I trimmed off dead bits on plants, moved plants to different spots so I could clean behind them, and killed a ton of snails which have been chewing on my plants and am now facing being doomed to the fires of hell for all eternity. I did manage to save a whole lot of earthworms, however, by relocating them so hopefully managed to balance my karma somewhat.

I gathered three big rubbish bags of pine needles, dried up olives and other debris which falls onto my patio and tiny courtyard from surrounding trees. And I took a few cuttings off a fig tree on the hill behind me which has amazing figs… I hope at least one of them takes.

Then I went for a drive around Paros with my cousin Katerina and visted a few beaches she’s never been to, walked Lainee on the sand, and ended up in Alyki for lunch. Alyki is/was a fishing village so is famous for its tavernas and sea food. Everyone was there today. Every single person who lives on Paros was there for lunch. Not a table to be had at the ‘better known’ tavernas, but we ended up having a very nice meal in a quiet little place at the end of the road.

So, a lovely,, though pretty much unproductive, day.

My cousin has asked me to make her a stone with an ‘eye’ for her reception desk at her studio apartments. When I got home I sat down and made three so she’d have a choice. I’m sharing two of them. (I dropped the other one and smeared it and I have to start over. Ugh.)

These are both stylized ‘eyes’ to basically ward off the ‘evil eye’… something a lot of Greeks believe in.

The evil eye is a supernatural belief in a curse brought about by a malevolent glare, usually given to a person when one is unaware. The evil eye dates back about 5,000 years. It is found in many cultures in the Mediterranean region as well as Western Asia and Central Asia with such cultures often believing that receiving the evil eye will cause misfortune or injury… The idea expressed by the term causes many different cultures to pursue protective measures against it, with around 40% of the world’s population believing in the evil eye… The Greek evil eye talisman specifically protects against malevolent gazes.

So, aren’t you glad I did something borderline arty today? You may have learned something new!

I really have to stop galivanting and get myself back to working! I’m having withdrawals…

z