Ancient wall, flowers Originally uploaded by briannaorg. Today, we walked half the island with John. We started in Aspro Xorio, a tiny village between Aliki and Drios, and climbed into the hills among the wildflowers, taking the old Byzantine road into the mountain. We stopped at a stream for awhile and lay in the sun, Read more >>

Agios Yannis….something. Originally uploaded by briannaorg. Yesterday morning, the new students found a skull near the Cave of the Nymphs. I bluffed that it was a goat skull, knowing that I had seen it last term during one of my solitary trips down to the chapel in the rocks, but the girls looked closer and Read more >>

Geraniums Originally uploaded by briannaorg. Scanned and uploaded more negatives that I developed yesterday in the darkroom. They have not been touched up or modified, so they are kind of scratchy or bent or all the other things that any negatives of mine who survive the loading end up being. At the end of the Read more >>

Lunch Originally uploaded by briannaorg. Saturday started late, after a night out on the town for St. Patrick’s Day. That is not a big Greek holiday, so we largely had the bars to ourselves. We started off with wee Irish car bombs at Karen’s, and ended up at Rengas for some traditional Greek music and Read more >>

Earth palette still life Originally uploaded by briannaorg. A few photos up at Flickr of what’s happening in my painting studio.

There were two things I wanted to write about – the concert on Sunday and a late night drink with Kathryn at Pirate, where we got tipsy on Samos and stopped at a dark chapel on the way home. The next morning, there was a coffin lid exhibited outside that chapel and the bells rung Read more >>

Courtyard Vines Originally uploaded by briannaorg. It stormed on the island all weekend, vicious winds driving the rain into the cracks in the plaster. The wind was from the south, and warm, so I wore flipflops in the flooded streets. The Wellington-clad locals stared. Sunday, I did not rise at six, or rather, when I Read more >>

Here’s a little legend to some basic Greek that comes in handy on the island: Kalimera/kalispera – Good morning, good evening To be polite to anyone older than you or whom you don’t know very well, say “Kalimera sas” or “yia sas”. Little old ladies love this. Singnomi – Sorry/excuse me. This is important to Read more >>

At exactly twilight I was restless and looking toward the evening, wondering what to do with it. For some reason I decided, firmly, that dinner tonight would be comprised of rice pudding. I don’t know why humans fixate on these things; we just do. Neither souvlaki nor revithia or even spanakopita would do, so I Read more >>

This little island is chilly this time of year. Even though the sun is bright and high and clear, the marble is cold and the breezes from the sea slice through you with damp clarity. I sleep under rough wool blankets, my space heater located as close to my bed as the cord will reach. Read more >>