A friend

There is a girl of quick wits and pretty nails. Some could describe her as cute, others as pretty, many would say she was Greek with an Italian air about her (might be the hands in air all the time) and an old fashioned look about her... but old fashioned she was not. She is my friend...

Her hair was chestnut brown although it has had it's color frenzies and I personally prefer her as a dark blond especially when she fake and bakes the skin color. She has fire red nails and toes always perfect; rarely wears shoes only sandals or flip-flops, shorts and a tee-shirt; and fire cherry lipstick that kills.

I met her 10 years ago for the first time as adults but we had a very brief intro 39 years ago this August. We were both in a crib as her mom taught school at the church we lived next to. So her mom would drop her off while she taught and my mom would watch us. For 29 years we never met and then again one January morning in Savannah Georgia our paths crossed again. She was bitching (as it is what has bonded us as friends for the past decade) about the company that was supposed to clean her wedding dress and they did not do the job. I remember the impression I got from her that day - it still haunts me now - "what a chick!".

And so the journey began... She was married a year already and her hubby was my brothers best friend at the time. So since I did not know anyone there she became my lifeline to what I missed from my life till that moment... a kindred spirit... Let's call her Shenaynay... Lord knows there is a cabby in Athens that can only refer to her by that name (long story there).

Since that moment we were inseparable; even when I moved to Greece for almost 2 years - that bitch followed me there and made me go to Italy for a week touring with Vino and Fromagio. Although in the end had the audacity to get herself pregnant during one of her few visits to Greece and from that romp came my sweetheart - let's call him by his Indian name "Big Dick - two balls"(not meant as something vulgar but rather the exclamation of his paternal grandfather when he first saw him - I just translated the Greek to Native English - insert laugh here).

OK, let me get back to it... We had a few close calls with the law - getting drunk and attempting to drive home while I was pucking in a Kleenex box (listen I am going to admit it, yes, after all it is the truth - come on I am sure there is stuff all of you have done but this one is all ours) while a cop was right behind us.

There was the time the town was flooded and while some cars where floating in the streets (including Shenaynay's) we called the fire department to rescue us from her apartment (where we were stuck overnight due to the risen swamp waters infested with God knows what) and they came at 7am, put us two in a row boat while we carried clothes in plastic bags (HURRAY FOR THE RED-NECKS AND THOSE WHO WANT TO BE JUST LIKE THEM), and rowed us to higher grounds. While all this was not enough, we then proceeded to go to my home, take showers, she kissed her hubby goodbye for the day and we drove 4 hours to a Cher concert in Atlanta. YEP we love Cher... On the way back the next day - I called in flooded and got FIRED!!! LOL

Once we were sitting at a cafe around noon in a village in Greece where there was nothing to do... so when all else fails our modo is DRINK! So we did. We drank the store out of white wine and the proceeded to screwdrivers. We were do drunk everyone in that little who lived pathetic little lives stopped as they walked by and ogled us. It's been a while since we laughed like that.

There was an occasion where we went to the local drinking hole with another friend and got smashed... on the way back we stopped on the side of the road while the friend (let's call her Nina - well that is her name actually) got out of the car and started to dance zeimbekiko in the middle of the hick-town road. The good ole days.

Another time she visited me while I was living in Connecticut and we went to the Statue of Liberty. I do not think we even realized who was around us, we just had a blast. Then went out to the neighborhood Greek club where you can drink and smoke at the same time... We got hammered until the place closed down. I am sure to this day there is a still a gas-station attendant that talks about my friend Shenaynay dancing outside at the gas-station while I pumped gas and got cigarettes.

Oh wait... how about the time where we were at her home after a wild night out and she receives a message on her machine that the Board of Education is calling her and she needs to call them back... Her brother - may he rest in peace while pranking and making those angels around him laugh now- was the culprit. He played a prank on her and the only thing she did not do was pee on herself. And we all know she is capable of that.

What about my amazing friend can I say - she has been the person I have loved the most outside my blood relatives and has actually treated me better than they have. She is a fire-cracker and the only person I can get in trouble with and would know that all we have to do is ... just let it say "Fuck it - tomorrow is another day".

My sweet girl, I know you are going through a time that will never end. Just know that I will always be your friend and I will always love you. What happened make me angry because the sadness can never go away. He will not return to you as you knew him, but I hope that he is with you everyday. When you trip over something chances are he placed it there, when your son says goofy things chances are he is laughing and is proud, when you go to sleep at night chances are he is caressing your face, and when you are tired and don't think you can go on another day chances are he is holding your hand. I want to believe that because what I witnessed all these years was a big sister looking after her brother and know he is looking after you... He is the big brother now. He is your guide. I am sure he is next to you at every step of the journey you still have ahead of you. And there is much more.

I love you and your family as you are all my family. And I miss you, my friend.

Spring is in the air

We each look at spring in different ways. For me it is the taunt of summer. As newly immigrated to Canada I miss those warm spring days and evenings filled with hope of renewal. As this is my second full spring in Canada, I am starting to get used to it.

Joined the gym with my husband and have been hard at going everyday. Love the fact that it is daylight when I go in the am. Working on my home's spring cleaning with potential of reno work coming up soon also. Planning a garage cleaning, a visit to the dump for old tires, waking the lawn and seeding soon with fertilizer... yeah for spring...

I am also trying to get pregnant as this is the time for new sprouting... Let's see where we go with that one.

So, as all this takes place and knowing that about now is when I would be planning my summer weekends to the beach I wonder... there is no beach around here. There are lakes, there is a river... but no beach - no ocean. What am I to do. Well here is the plan I have come up. I am going to get one of those blow up pools and when the weather gets warmer I will head to the lake and place the pool on the shore of it. Then I will put some water in from the lake and then add salt... with a bit of sun and some sand it just may feel like an ocean. Anyone got thoughts on that???

All kidding aside; I miss those days of nothing. Where I could sit on the sand and read a book or people watch. Where nothing mattered and there were no worries. At least for the moment. One day - I promise me - one day soon again...

Dear Paul

You have been missed. There is not a day that goes by that I do not think about you. A brother, a son, an uncle and a friend. So many people left behind and so many things undone. There is not a soul that crossed your path which you did not touch. I only wish for your sisters and your parents that they will one day find some peace. It is hard and I was just a friend. But I feel the loss.

You were a force to be reckonned with. I hope you are watching of us all.

Hard day at the shop

Dear Lord,

Forgive me for my sins... and they are...
- GOSSIP - "Did you see that chick with the ugly shoes and the limp?" "Have you heard about the neighbor and his new girlfriend?"

- ANNOYANCE - My sister-in-law is riding one of my nerves... I would have said my last nerve but I am being realistic; I am sure there will be many more times and many more nerves. Someone hand me a stick, for I will hang her like a piniata and hit her with it. What do you think? Will candy come out? There is a question for the answer none of you care for.

- IMPATIENCE - I thought I was doing a friend a favor but then I could not be patient to wait for her to do what she needed. I thought she was taking WAY TOO LONG to pick that one pair of silver shoes... You should only know how many were tried out and how many of those were the same ones just in different stores.

- LUST - I am married for two years now and I love my husband, but the other day I wanted to pinch the rear end of a contracter I had over the house that was giving me an estimate. And to think, it was in front of my husband.

So, I here is where I need to repent. Is that how my sins will be absolved? But then again, they will come about all over again tomorrow. For tonight, I will take a break - sit in front of the tube and watch that silly Denise Richards dance like a chicken. Here we go again.... I am gossiping and being critical (that would be another sin)... that girl is a skinny actress and you would think that she should be able to move better. Instead she is pulled around by Maksim like a stick in the mud. LOL - wait that made me laugh. OK here is another sin... Making fun of another.. is that a sin?

And my days while I right this note. Only thing I have to say is that I am tired and this day is not over. So friends, I hope I have made you laugh or kept you interested. Perhaps this week I will pull some energy and write about a trip I took to Paris... it was the best of times - it was the worst of times... but it was a time that is for sure...

Till later.
EKG

Another beginning ... and there have been a few!

I started this blog as a dare from my sister-in-law. She also has a blog and I have a feeling I will have many more posts than she does.... Prove me right!

I have a story to tell, who wants to hear it?

My life started on a Sunday in Connecticut and so far has taken me across oceans and back to a place not too far... Montreal, Canada. I will talk about my travels, and maybe some of my past companions may want to post comments; I will talk about my family, and I am not sure if they will want to post (LOL); I will talk about my cooking and I think a few people have loved it; I will post about my new life with my SPECIAL husband (a unique person - he still has me around after all); I will talk about our home renovations (so that our mistakes can be your guide for your renos as well as make you all laugh)...

Thank you for joining me on this part of my journey.