Sincerely, Loree: holidays

From Category: holidays

Monday, 25 September 2023

Join me as I share some memories of September days by the sea.

Even as a child, I always looked forward to September. It was the beginning of the end of summer when the days were still hot, but the nights were pleasantly cool. School, which started in October, still seemed ages away. I had my little band of friends. Our friendship was enough.

Some days, we played hopscotch or hide and seek. On other days, we would go to the seaside, armed with buckets and spades, flip-flops and straw hats. The beaches were almost deserted after Victory Day (September 08), so we had whole stretches of sand to ourselves. It was a glorious time. The sea was always restless, as errant breezes quietly ruffled its surface. There was a peace and a calmness that was only disturbed by the excited giggles of children drunk on the freedom of the last days of summer. We ate our ftira, filled with tomatoes and tuna, basil and mint, and almost made ourselves sick on bunches of sweet Maltese grapes (truly the best in the world).

I remember our beach umbrella, an exuberant 70s concoction of orange, red and white flowers on a bright blue background; the exciting combination of salty skin and sandy toes; the sun, huge and as orange as a pumpkin, lingering on the horizon - just seemingly long enough to dip its toes into the cerulean water that marked the boundaries of our existence.

Only the present was real. The future seemed very far away. It was the best of times - an idyll that would soon be shattered by the relentless march of time - a commodity that we had a surplus of back then.

Those days are long gone. The children have grown, and only the memories remain, memories of golden September days by the sea.

Thanks to Jeanne (again) for the inspiration. And thanks to my parents, for those wonderful days by the sea (and so much else).

Thursday, 29 December 2022

The In-Between

We are in that strange, often quiet week, between Christmas and the New Year, when I wake up every morning and am never sure which day it is. It is a time that is in-between celebrations, in-between one year and the next, a curious mixture of nostalgia mingled with excitement for the future. It is a week in which I reflect on where I have been and make a rough plan of where I am going. I use the time to slow down and gather my thoughts, to rest and refocus on what's coming next.

I realise that I haven't posted here for quite a few while. It wasn't intentional and I didn't meant to be away for so long. In fact, I had started a number of posts that I never finished. I won't make excuses - I just didn't feel like writing or sharing anything - a strange place to be for me and, though I hope it was just a phase, I can't promise that it won't happen again. Sometimes life and weariness gets in the way of things, even things I enjoy. But, as you've probably noticed, I've updated my blog template thanks to the always helpful and professional Berenica from Simply The Studio, and I hope this will give me the push I need to start producing content again. Only time will tell.

If you need help navigating my blog, just let me know but nothing much has changed and it's pretty simple to find your way around. The latest posts are in the slider on top or beneath the 'Join Our Mailing List' tab (which isn't working yet). In the top categories 'Travel' is self-explanatory and will include all posts about trips I have made; 'Lifestyle' includes posts about restaurant reviews, sustainable and green living, thoughts on life and so on; 'Discover Malta' is, of course, about Malta and will include articles about exhibitions, museum sand places of interest; 'Book Talk' will delve into the books I have read and my reviews of them. If you have difficulty with the font size, leave me a comment and I will enlarge it.

I'll keep this short and will be back next week with a roundup of 2022, followed by an overview of the books I read this year. For those that still pop by to read by thoughts, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude. Your visits mean I'm not just a lone voice trying to make some noise in the internet wilderness. May the coming year be filled with the things that money can't buy: joy, peace, good health and beautiful memories.

Wishing you a wonderful 2023.

Thursday, 23 December 2021

Merry Christmas, Everyone

I didn't mean to be so absent from the blog throughout December. Indeed I had several posts planned. In my head, at least. But then, life happened. Things got stressful at work and, in spite of having the tree up by the 1st of December, I didn't get my act properly together until this week. So the blog went on the back-burner. I now have a week off and will hopefully post something. Or I might wait until the new year.

How are you all holding up? I've taken my booster shot but the numbers are exploding here. Trying to take each day at a time and praying we will all be safe.

I'll leave it at that for today. Wishing you all a very merry and blessed Christmas.

Tuesday, 23 November 2021

Giving thanks

It is Thanksgiving this week in the US and, with an American in the house, we also celebrate the day - although not quite in as big a way. But we have family over, try to cook a nice supper and give thanks for our many blessings.

This year I thought I would be nice to give thanks publicly (sort of like giving the acceptance speech at an awards ceremony) to all the people I am grateful to have in my life and which I sometimes take for granted. So a big fat thank you from the bottom of my heart

to my husband for being more patient with me than I deserve and for rubbing my feet (nearly always) whenever I ask.
to my son who, at fifteen and around a foot taller than I am, still loves to spend time with his old mama and who has a generous and kind spirit.
to my parents who, to this day, go out of their way to help me in any way they can.
to my best friends, Sylvana, Debbie and Liliana, for all the laughs and memories that only 45 years of friendship can provide.
to my best friends from college, Corinne, Etienne and Jurgen for having been there through thick and thin during some of the most difficult times of my life.
to my blogging and Insta buddies, especially Elizabeth (The Vintage Contessa), Debbie (View From Harmony Hills) and Gattina (Writer's Cramps) for supporting this blog for so very long and taking the time to comment on nearly all my posts.
to all those that stop by to read my (sometimes erratic) thoughts: your visits are always appreciated.

And, while I'm at it, I'm also thankful for

books and the authors that write them
vaccines and the scientists that work so tenaciously to make them
being able to travel again
our proximity to Italy and its beauty
Europe and its diverse cultures, languages and history
the sea that surrounds us and that calms all my moods
the fleeting beauty of these leaves*
life and nature and sunshine and rain
the promise of tomorrow.

I wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving.

* I spent a good 45 minutes trying to capture the beauty and colours of these leaves. They were hanging on, tenuously, to the trees that grow on the slopes of the town of Montalcino. I did not have a tripod so I tried to balance my camera as best I could on the top of the metal railing that was all there was to stop me from plunging into the valley below. We don't get the fall/autumn colours here so I was really happy to have the opportunity to spend some time immortalising their beauty.

I will be back with more adventures from Tuscany next week before I take a break to concentrate on some Christmas posts. I'll continue gushing about this gorgeous region of italy in the new year (i can't believe 2022 is almost on our door step!!)

Tuesday, 30 March 2021

Life Lately: Déjà vu

I cannot remember the last time that I did a 'Life lately' post. Each day merges into the other and there's not much to share. Here in Malta we are exactly in the same place we were one year ago, with all but the most essential businesses and services closed. I am not complaining - just stating facts. Easter is in a few days and, once again, it will be a muted celebration, although, unlike last year, up to two families at a time can gather together. It seems like the more things change the more they remain the same. A part of my mind still can't quite accept the fact that we're in 2021. It's like a whole year has been erased, probably because most of us made no new memories or experiences in 2020. But I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Sincerely Loree: Blata tal-Melh, l/o Bahrija, Malta

Highlights

The highlights of the past three months have been, as you may imagine, quite mundane. I turned fifty in January but we haven't even gone out to celebrate yet. I laugh when I remember how I thought I'd celebrate my fiftieth: with a trip to Venice and a stay at one of the nicer hotels. Incidentally, it was Venice's 1600th birthday on March 25th but even the Queen of the Adriatic had to celebrate this significant milestone in a very subdued manner.

My husband and I have been out on a number of 'photo walks' during these past three months to help me practise my photography skills. I've since found out that my camera has some innate technical limitations that will not allow me to use the exact settings that I would like. So I am trying to work my way around that. Anyway, my photography course has been a good excuse to get us out of the house. We've visited Isla, the cart ruts at Clapham Junction, Selmun and the dilapidated Fort Campbell, Fort Bingemma, Blata tal-Melh - an area of wild and rugged beauty that we hope to revisit soon - and the lower environs of Valletta (more about that in a future post).

In February I managed to visit to The Splendid to see the Darkness At Noon exhibition. But just as I had lined up a few other exhibitions to go to, and hopefully share with you all, everything was shut down again.

Location: Blata tal-Melh

Gardening

Now that the weather is warming up it's a good time to take a look at our garden. Actually, it's more of a large tiled yard with a strip of soil along two of its boundary walls. The tiled area doubles up as a patio where we sometimes eat our meals in summer. We use plants in pots to supplement and extend the greenery. Last Sunday I spent almost 3 hours out in the fresh air, removing weeds and planting seeds. Since spring came so early this year, our freesias and irises have already bloomed.

Hopefully, it will be the roses next. Then the hibiscus and hydrangeas. As you can see, we've got a lot of plants that are not exactly drought-resistant and that is why I am trying to read articles on Mediterranean gardens. We do have plants that thrive in warm weather, like lavender, rosemary and a few other herbs. But, apart from succulents, I would like to find more plants that do well in our hot climate.

My search is still on and I plan to visit a garden centre in the coming days (they're open because pet food is, of course, essential for pets) to try and find some hardy varieties that are easy to take care of. I hope that, as usual, I won't be drawn to colourful flowering plants that are more accustomed to cooler, northerly climes.

Reading

As you may imagine, I am still doing a lot of reading and have just finished my 11th book. I will share a list of the books I've read soon. Unfortunately, I haven't yet read a book that merits 5 stars but I've read a couple of 4s. Two of my favourites were Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Esquivel, which I was going to review but, since it was first published in 1989 and has been made into a movie, I figured you're all familiar with it by now, and The Song Of Achilles by Madeline Miller, which will only be interesting to anyone who is a Greek mythology geek (I have to confess, I'm one of those people). Another good read, for anyone that enjoys thrillers, is The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins.

Sincerely Loree: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Easy recipes

I just love an easy recipe, don't you? Especially if it's something that cooks in the oven and which you can forget about while you get on with other things. These 2 recipes are not only easy but very tasty and are great for those cooler nights (yes, I know summer is round the corner but you can save them for when autumn comes along).

These Simple Beef Pasties by Fluster Buster are made from ground beef and vegetables cooked in pastry. I just add 1-2 teaspoons of dried thyme for extra flavour and have found that the perfect amount of salt is 3/4 teaspoon.

Another simple recipe is this one for Chicken and Corn Savoury Rolls by Bake Play Smile. In this case, I add 1-2 teaspoons of dried rosemary and 1 teaspoon of salt for more flavour, especially since chicken can be rather bland.

Since it's lemon season here, I've been on the hunt for some easy lemon desserts and I've already made this Lightened Up Lemon Yogurt Cake twice. Incidentally, this is supposed to be a lighter version of Ina Garten's Lemon Yogurt Cake, although I don't see a big difference between the two recipes, if you ask me.

Easter Dessert

I've come across three recipes that would make a wonderful Easter dessert and I am still trying to decide between a French Almond Cake with Lavender Lemon Glaze by The Daring Gourmet, a Strawberry Lemonade Cake by Two Cups Flour or a Fluffy White Mini Egg Cake by The Farmer's Daughter. I've got a few more days to decide but will probably go with the first one as I love including lavender in desserts.

It will be another quiet Easter for us but I suppose it's all the better as we can focus on our blessings. Starting tomorrow I have six days off and I'm looking forward to having some extra time to do the things I enjoy and spend some time stockpiling photos before it gets too hot to venture out of doors during the day - I exaggerate a bit but all those that have been reading my blog for a while know that summer is my least favourite season. In the meantime, I'll make the most of spring. I wish all those that celebrate a blessed and peaceful Easter.

Tuesday, 22 December 2020

Glimpses of a Maltese Christmas

I was on the point of writing about a traditional Maltese Christmas but, just as I started thinking about what a traditional Maltese Christmas is all about, it dawned on me that the traditional Christmases that I remember from my childhood are now a thing of the past and they only linger in the memories of those that lived them. In reality, what most of us now think of as 'traditional' has been imported into Malta in the last 30 years. This includes Christmas markets (strictly forbidden this year), mulled wine and panettone. These foreign traditions have now become our traditions too, making our Christmases richer and more varied - more European, perhaps.

So if you're curious to see what Malta looks like during this time, lets take a virtual tour around a few places.

Glimpses of a Maltese Christmas: Out & About

Lights, wreaths, outdoor Christmas trees and nativity scenes are amongst the most common decorations that grace our doors, streets and public squares. Light displays can range from the simple to the ostentatious, both in public places and private residences but, at this time of year, the focus is always on the abundance of artificial lights which make these darker days feel so much more cheerful.

Valletta

The light display in St George's Square

This year, the light display projected onto the buildings of St George's Square in Valletta depicts huge snowflakes that are lovely to look at but don't quite make up for the real thing - which never makes an appearance here, so these virtual snowflakes area as good as it's going to get.

A life-size nativity scene in Jean de Vallette Square

The Office of the Prime Minister in Castille Square

A display of bunting in Santa Lucia Street

Decorating with bunting at Christmas is a new trend but it works in this street that is lined with quirky eateries and cafes (like my absolute favourite Sunday In Scotland - their chocolate treats are to-die-for) and interesting boutiques like Boutique Perruche and Marquis de Vissac.

Rabat

In St Paul's Street

In the quieter residential area of Republic Street

The church of St Mark (more commonly referred to as St Augustine's)

Glimpses of a Maltese Christmas: a peak inside

I will end this short tour by taking a peak through windows and front doors of restaurants and boutique hotels located in old palazzos. These places emanate a cosy and welcoming feel, especially when they are decorated for the holidays and I couldn't resist lingering to take a few photos.

I hope you've enjoyed these few glimpses of Malta at Christmas. As Freddie Mercury sang in Thank God It's Christmas, 'it's been a long, hard year' but I want to take the opportunity thank you for your support and to wish you and your loved ones a very blessed and joyful Christmas. Stay safe and healthy and remember that the joy of Christmas should come from within us. May it shine like a light and be a beacon for those who walk in the dark.

Happy, happy Christmas