OLIVES!!!!!!

Been meaning to post this for some time, but boy..... it's been very (positively) hectic lately!  It was olive picking season here in Cyprus a couple of months ago, back in October, although we were actually a bit late with our picking.  These pictures were taken in mid-November, and we were lucky to find a tree in our friend's field that still had green olives for preparing "tsakistes" (crushed olives), the most delicious way of preparing olives!

This is my husband and me picking the olives from the tree

So, the way you prepare the olives is by first smashing open EACH one with a rock or hammer, hard enough to split the skin but not so hard that you break the pit.  This is my daughter helping me.

Next step is to fill the bucket with olives with plain water.  You need to change the water about 2-3 times a day for about 8 days.  This will get rid of the extreme bitterness that renders them inedible when not cured.

So oily!  Feels good on the skin :0)

After about 8 days you need to prepare a salt bath and let the olives soak in there for another 24 hours.  You can see that the color has changed already

Next, you pack them up into small bundles, leave a few in the refrigerator and the rest go in the freezer, to be eaten at our own (fast) pace.

Before eating you need to make one last preparation:  In a bowl put the amount of olives you want, peel a few garlic cloves and split them in half length-wise, crush some coriander seeds (as much as you like), pour some olive oil and some lemon juice!

Now you are ready to enjoy these excitingly delicious olives.  We eat them at an increadibly fast pace because they are soooooo delicious and irresistible.  They go with just about anything......  Even breakfast :0)

my first craft fair was a success!

This is me at my first craft fair which was a success in terms of sales as well as distribution of business cards!!

Here it is!!!!!!

Page 70 of Jewelry Affaire magazine (October 1st, 2010).  ONE WHOLE PAGE decicated to just my necklace!!!!!!!!!!  This is unbelievably exciting!!!!

Mitochondrial Disease Awareness Week

I got a message this morning from fellow Etsyan cyndilouwho2 letting know that one of my necklaces was being featured in her "Mito" treasury.  This treasury, as well as some other ones she's creating this week, are for the purpose of raising awareness of Mitochondrial Disease, something which I had never heard of before.

You can visit the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation website for more information.

To see the "Mito" treasuries, just go here.  Here's a screenshot of one of them:

And here's my necklace Mito Crochet Necklace



Jewelry Affaire Magazine

As per my previous post dtd May 25th, I had sent out a few of my necklaces to be photographed by a prestigious magazine.  That magazine is Jewelry Affaire, and out of the 4 necklaces I sent to them they have decided upon my Amber Bib Necklace.

The issue is hitting the stands on October 1st.......... I'm sooooo excited!!!!

How did having a business in Etsy change your life?

This was a question posted by aroundtheworld in Etsy forums the other day, and made me realize that Etsy did indeed change my life as well as me personally (in a positive way, may I add), as it has given me a sort of confidence which I had never experienced before.

Etsy made me realize that even though I'm able to do just about anything I put my mind into, I need to be selective and chose NOT to do what doesn't please me. I have discovered that there is, after all something in this world that I truly enjoy doing and would like to see myself continuing for many years to come. This all thanks to me discovering Etsy and committing myself to making my Etsy shop the best I can in terms of quality and customer service. I love what I do, I'm quite passionate about it, and don't really want to do anything else (including housework and dirty laundry LOL). I have no words to express my true appreciation for Etsy.

You can read the whole thread right here.  There's some really inspiring posts in there.

Here's to confidence and Etsy:

Indigo and Purple Crochet Necklace

Good Riddance August 2010

August 2010 was for me a very stressful month (hence my lack of posting anything the WHOLE month).  The heat and humidity were unbearable, making work at the restaurant even more difficult, and to top it off my iron level went down again, so low that I had to take a few days off as I didn't have energy to face the work load at the restaurant.

September comes as a breath of fresh air with the temperatures and humidity level much lower, and lots of people returning home or to work after summer vacation, and school starting soon (here in Cyprus), so I'll have time for myself again to continue with my beloved craft.

In the meantime.... here's my Colorido Crochet Necklace no. 3: