Tag Archives: Greece

The Lion Roars

Posted on by annandmeg

Sunday is a perfect day for a visit to the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City.  It is always a treat. The Funerary Lion that sits in the Gallery Sculpture Hall on the main level of the gallery is one of my favorite works of art in Kansas City.

Sculpted from marble in Athens Greece, it dates from about 325 BCE [1].  The lion epitomizes the power and grace of Greek culture.

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Before the weather outside is too beautiful to ignore, check out the Nelson or a museum or gallery near you.

[1]  BCE–Before Common Era

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted on by annandmeg

It has been a wonderful year and here at Shifting the Balance we have a lot to be thankful for. I’ve had an exciting year working on the campaign. Our kiddos (the dogs) are all in good health. Mum and Terry are happy and healthy. Two of my cousins welcomed healthy baby girls. All of my friends are enjoying their lives…..the list goes on.

A Thanksgiving [1] memory to share: Keeping with Mum’s recent photo of Greece, I thought I’d share my Thanksgiving memory from 2004. I was studying abroad in Leicester, England, and I didn’t really have anyone to spend Thanksgiving with. So who came to my rescue? Freida, of course. Freida and George are two of our friends from Kansas City growing up. They were both from Greece, moved to the States when they were first married, and then decided to retire back to a beautiful little village about a year or two before I was studying abroad. Well, Freida invited me to stay with them for Thanksgiving, and it was the most wonderful trip. Seeing Freida and George was such a delight, and even more heartwarming was the fact that Freida sought out the makings of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. For me! In Greece! [2] We had turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans. She even found pecans. It was a perfect Thanksgiving, and for that experience, I will always be grateful.

Wherever you’re spending your Thanksgiving, I hope you have a wonderful day, and remember to be thankful for those around you.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Meg and Ann

[1]  Photograph thanks to “blogs.citypages.com”

[2]  Terry’s painting by Mike Savage, reminds us of times in Greece, overlooking the Mediterranean

Life Lived Simply: Greek Islands

Posted on by annandmeg

I know nothing about this boat’s past or its future (if any).  I took this photograph on the second of two visits to Greece. We sailed in the area of the islands near Samos.  We sailed by day, spent the afternoon touring a variety of small, sparsely populated islands, and spent our nights on board our slightly larger sailboat–before continuing our adventure through the islands.  My memories of Greece are all about the islands, the sea, and the simplicity of the lives of the Greeks we met.  The boats of the islanders are simple wood boats, constructed, to every outward appearance, in the same form as Greek fishing boats for hundreds of years.  Practical if not elegant, they are nothing like the power boats and sail boats that arrive at every Greek harbor of any size throughout the tourist season.

Terry and I happened on this boat when we stopped at a taverna inches from the sea.  Definitely the worst for wear, it symbolizes for me both the beauty and the simplicity of the Greek islands.