Hortensia and Haroula are sunning themselves on the terrace of Dina Petsis in the village of Lia, as they watch Dina prepare the bread called "prosphora" for lunch. Dina makes the dough with yeast and flour, kneads it and punches it down and then waits for it to rise. Just before she slides it on a paddle into the bee-hive-shaped outdoor oven, she stamps the dough with a bread stamp. The square in the center presses out the letters "IC XC NIKA" which stands for "Jesus Christ Conquers".
When Dina takes the bread to church, the priest will bless it and he'll cut out the square in the middle of the bread and mix it with wine for those who take communion. The rest of the loaf may be cut up for the antidoron, which is passed out at the end of the service.
It's an honor to bake the prosphora. The cats are proud that their mistress was chosen, and that she's the best cook in the village.
They're sitting under hydrangeas - some of them planted in empty tins from feta cheese and olive oil that Dina uses in her cooking. They love watching the baking and the way the bread smells as it cooks. Greeks call the hydrangea flower "Hortensia" and that's where the cat on the left got her name. Her sister is named Haroula, which means "Little Joy". Learning to cook and eating Dina's food are some of life's many joys in Lia.
Pictures and text come from the book The Secret Life of Greek Cats: Feline Photos and Cats' Tales of Greek Life and Lore by Joan Paulson Gage.
What gorgeous pictures.
ReplyDeleteI love their big eyes!! ~ Great bit of story too.
ReplyDeleteThose are some pretty kitties. And a very interesting story about the bread too.
ReplyDeleteAren't they adorable, such cute faces
ReplyDeleteLoves and licky kisses
Princess Leah xxx
Love the story about the bread. The cats' names are also very cute! I never knew that a hortensia is called hydrangea in English. IN Dutch, we call them hortensia too.
ReplyDeletelol!!!
ReplyDeleteKitties from my country!!! Sooooo cute! Such sweet faces!
Have a lonely new week, sweetheart!
I was reading the blurb, not realizing a book was coming after it, and wondering, "These kittens do all this?!" lol I'd love to see Greece one day.
ReplyDeleteThey are sure such cuties!
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting story! Cute photos, too.
ReplyDeletebeautiful eyes, interesting photo concept.
ReplyDeleteAs a cat lover I quite enjoyed this! I'd love to get to Greece one day!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely gorgeous photos, the cats are stunning, and seeing the pairs of blue eyes on the kittens peering out is adorable! :)
ReplyDeleteReally adorable photos of cats!!!
ReplyDeleteThe little orange one reminds me of Dobby off of Harry Potter!
ReplyDeleteHello kitties looking beyond stunning as usual and look at their colouring it is exquisite
ReplyDeleteI hope they got something else than bread ! They are so cute !
ReplyDeleteSo, darn adorable! <3
ReplyDeleteSo sweet in that sunshine!
ReplyDeletehaha Those kitties peering out from a cave look awesome...such pretty blue eyes and they don't look Siamese. Thanks for the awwww moment.
ReplyDeleteShoko and mom
www.canadiancats.wordpress.com
Beautiful pictures!
ReplyDelete~~~~~waves two ewe wee ones in Greece...what an awesum storee...we loved it...manee thanx for sharing...heerz two an awesum week a head ♥♥♥
ReplyDeleteThere are tons of cats all over Greece. TW knows cos her ex was Greek and he’d bring her books and calendars filled with the cats of Greece.
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful kitties! And what a wonderful story. In my minds' eye I can picture every detail. And I can imagine that warm, delicious bread. :-)
ReplyDeleteOh, wat zijn ze weer lief. Wat leuk dat ze vernoemd zijn na de bloemen...en Bonanza :D Fijne week toegewenst! Pawkisses :) <3
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, I want to take those kittens home.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely picture, kittens and hydrangeas!! Thanks for sharing at #OMHGWW
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Pili
Aww! sooo cute :-)
ReplyDeleteSuch an exciting thing to be able to do. What an honor. Lucky kitties to watch and sniff and soak in a blessing or two....
ReplyDeleteGreat photos!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2015/10/poor-little-birdie.html
Beautiful photos!
ReplyDeleteSuch cute kitties and proud of their mother.
ReplyDeleteAwww so sweet!!
ReplyDeleteI get upset when I see the Greek cats because Greece doesn't treat their cats very well. catchatwithcarenandcody
ReplyDeleteAw they are such cuties x
ReplyDeleteღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
They both have lovely eyes!
ReplyDeleteLa Grèce est un pays de lumière. Cela donne de très jolies photos.
ReplyDeleteC'est intéressant cette histoire de pain.
Lorsque je vois des chats grecs j'ai beaucoup de nostalgie. Je repense Ă celle de mes soeurs qui n'est plus lĂ . Elle avait une jolie petite minette qui venait de l'ile de Skiathos oĂ¹ son chĂ©ri possĂ©dait une maison. Elle avait eu beaucoup de mal Ă convaincre les habitants de leur petit village de la lui laisser. Les chats sur les iles grecques appartiennent souvent Ă tout le monde et sont jalousement gardĂ©s.
Bonne soirée
Nat Ă Chat
What an interesting story...and such cute cats!
ReplyDeleteThey are so cute! We love the little one with the big ears!
ReplyDeleteThey are beautiful! Hydrangea blossoms are beautiful, too :-)
ReplyDeleteVery cute. Our entry today too is a kitty from Greece.
ReplyDeletehttp://emmaandbuster.blogspot.com
Love the names Hortensia and Haroula. Great pictures!
ReplyDeleteWhat lovely pictures of beautiful kitties! And we really liked that story, too.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great story, and I love the first picture with the hydrangeas x
ReplyDeleteSo sweet!
ReplyDeleteLovely photo too...
Noodle and crew
Beautiful photos and gorgeous kitten! Have a nice week-end, Vanessa.
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up to Pin Worthy Wednesday, I have pinned your post to the Pin Worthy Wednesday Pinterest Board.
ReplyDelete