ArtUrania

Preparing for the Chinese New Year I decided to make walnuts with predictions – I wrote short texts and painted the walnuts in different bright colors – orange, blue, green and pink. I put the predictions into the walnuts and then laid out the nuts into the multicolored bags also filled with the liqueur chocolates. My friends were really happy when drawing the walnuts from the bags and reading the predictions which got right to the point!

After that I needed 108 tangerines and therefore we brought a big bag of that fruit from a store! I made a special slide in front of the doorstep to my apartment and divided the tangerines into handfuls. One by one I rolled the tangerines into the hall. When rolling each tangerine, I was to make a wish! The main thing is to start, and 108 wishes come up to your mind quickly! :)

Little by little all the hall was filled up with the tangerines which were everywhere: they lay on the floor, near the doorstep, next to the shoe cupboard and were reflected in the mirror. So much orange color, so many tangerines and much more luck!!!

Then I washed the tangerines, put them in the appropriate areas of the flat and hung my painting of the Wooden Ram. To activate the required parts of the apartment I lit six and nine candles in the northern and south-western areas of my home.

Now I am waiting for HAPPY EVENTS! All I need to do is to eat all the tangerines!

P.S. You can make all the things mentioned above during 10 days after the new moon that started on February, 19, 2015.

My trip to the places of Mamma Mia movie (May-July 2013)

We chose a charming Skopelos Island (Σκόπελος) because of its green nature and uncrowded beaches. The news, that Mamma Mia! movie was filmed there, turned to be a nice surprise for us and added a spark of glamour to our wonderful travel! The main place of interest for fans of the film and ABBA’s songs is Aghios Ioannis church (Άγιος Ιωάννης), which is also known as Mamma Mia chapel where they filmed the scene of Sky and Sophie’s wedding. The church is located in the north-western part of the island on the very top of an impressive lonely rock. Therefore in order to reach it you need to climb up more than a hundred narrow stone steps… A breathtaking view opening from it is worth it! I assume that native Greeks climb those steps with ease of body and courage in hearts! There is a beautiful sandy Aghios Ioannis beach (on the right of the steps to Mamma Mia church) with clear turquoise water. Such a real pleasure to swim there! There are many interesting rocks on the beach, we found layers of shale, hornstone and weathered limestone.

If you are going to Skopelos in May or early June, you have all chances to see these places enjoying their serenity and original beauty!

You should visit Ghlisteri beach (Γλυστέρι) if you go to the north of the island where the movie was also being shot. There is a tavern on the beach with noticeable artifacts and even a more noticeable arc. That arc was moved here from Villa Donna located above the beach after the filming. In that tavern you should try a special dish called ‘Black fish’, which is very delicious! You can also get to Ghilsteri beach by boat from Scopelos harbour. It can be a boat like the one in the picture.

However, this particular boat seems to be kind of an old-fashioned one 

The film crew had been almost everywhere, so to follow their way we moved to the southern coast to visit Kastani beach (Καστάνη). This is a beautiful beach with king-size beds, a nice green lawn and a beach bar where you can try tasty sandwiches. At the same time, this is a disco beach which works fine for parties and high jinks. So if you are going to relax on the one of those beds take your earplugs with you! Meanwhile, nearby there is a relaxing, wide and fascinating Milia beach (Μηλιά) with the view of green Dhasia Island (Δασειά). The view on Dhasia covered with a dense forest is wonderful! Milia beach is one of the best beaches of Skopelos!

There is a small cape with two pine trees near Aghnondas beach which became a famous landmark of Skopelos Island after Mamma Mia movie. We saw it accidentally walking from Limnonari (Λιμνονάρι) to Aghnondas beach (Αγνώντας).

In fact, I would recommend you the southern coast of Skopelos Island since most of the best beaches are located there!

By the way, do you know that Skopelos is the greenest island of the Aegean Sea?

See more photos of Skopelos here:

• Skopelos - Places of Mamma Mia movie

The end of May and the first part of June beam at us due to the conjunction of three planets such as Jupiter, Venus and Mercury in the easy sign of Gemini! Jupiter blesses us, Venus adds a bit of love and Mercury promises interesting contacts, new acquaintances and travelling. The sign of Gemini generally works fine for inquisitive persons, which will be particularly obvious in May-June of 2013. Stars especially favour creative and outgoing optimists. It’s the best time for those who have been long planning to travel somewhere or to study something! In any case, the first part of summer looks more carefree than the second one. It is time to engage in your hobby or have some rest while for some of you it is the right moment to fall in love. That’s exactly why you should choose the end of May and June for vacation. On the whole soft and favorable tendencies in society gather momentum when you have the opportunity to discuss all the issues and to iron out the tense moments. You should not loosen up on May 25-27 to avoid extra expenses. It’s worth mentioning that children born in the end of May will have a similar favorable conjunction of planets, while people who celebrate their birthdays in the last decade of May will have a lucky year!  We can say the same thing about the middle of June – happy children, happy people