Deanna is our Greek neighbor whose very presence makes things sprout from the earth and turn shades even the rainbow has never known.
Husband says that when she leaves for a week, which she does on occasion, everything stops growing and does not resume until she returns.
(I took these pictures during the summer months. Not to fear, it's Fall here, too!)
She brings over sacks of produce, fresh bread, nuts, and Greek cookies. She bangs on the door and calls out in Greek. She speaks very little English, keeps wine in most of the rooms in her house, smells consistently of yeast and earth, and reveals every human emotion with greater vigor than a seasoned thespian.
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And apparently,
when it rains
she catches the water in buckets to hydrate her gardens.
I learned this little piece of information last night. And it really made me feel silly that I'm so proud of my weekly recycling and organic household cleaners and currently reading Green Goes with Everything to find out how to be more green.
Deanna just knows. She just does what makes perfect sense.
How lucky you are to have such a neighbor. There is so much we can learn from folks like her.
ReplyDeleteWhat a plethora of descriptive words here. You do have a way w/ them (words that it is:)
ReplyDeleteSeems such neighbors are few & far between. What a blessing!
A friend's husband figured out a way to capture the wastewater generated by their reverse osmosis water filtering system & uses it to water plants too.
whoa! that sounds awfully scientific... i might stick with pails and buckets :)
ReplyDeleteSee? This is what it's like with us Greeks; we make everything thrive! (he, he!) Sounds like a wonderful person. Do me a favour and give her my regards. Could you ask her where exactly she's from?
ReplyDeleteyes I certainly will! although sometimes, we have a LITTLE bit of a communication barrier :)
ReplyDeleteHi again! Answering your question about black clothes: it's not exactly like that. Wearing black is a symbol of mourning but there's no 'rule'relating to the Orthodox religion saying that widows have to wear it their whole life. This has changed over the past years and only older women usually wear black for the rest of their lives. The smaller the community, the more obliged women feel to do it. I wore black for my mum for three months and began wearing colours when I went back to work. But I'll be wearing it for a whole year whenever I go to my village. I know that sounds silly but as long as there's no gossip over us, my mum would be happy, so it's fine for me.
ReplyDeleteShe sounds adorable...you're lucky...love how you described her. Perfect. And wine in every room...too funny....
ReplyDeletemore later,
Kary
xx