This is the end.....

I am dedicating the song The end  by The Doors to the people of my neighbourhood.
This week after many many years the building of OTE (Hellenic Communications Organization) closed down. End of an era? Bad omen for worse things to come in this financial crisis in Greece?
I know that this building being here brought people in our neighbourhood and life. People came to work here. People came to do business here, pay bills here.
Now and as most shops in the street near the building have closed down too and stay empty and sad looking I wonder what is coming next.
Hubby took the photos while the signs outside the building were being taken down.

A leap year

Feeling down has made me avoid blogging recently because I thought I would not write a happy blogpost and I hate that! Anyway the reasons for being down are many, big and small.
2012 is a leap year and I am afraid it is not bringing good luck so far not to Greece, not to our family, not to our friends.
My sea glass friend Angela's father suddenly died.
Theo Angelopoulos' sudden death cost hubby's Godson so much as he was working on his last movie.
The weather has been terrible,everywhere, all over Greece, too cold, snowing and here in town it is so cold and snowing from time to time but without covering the streets.We have been spending so much on heating!
The financial situation is getting worse and worse. Our government is talking and agreeing with the Europeans and as a result we will have less money in our salaries and in our pensions! Young people under 25 years old will get 400 euros salary! Can they live and start a family like that? I am afraid the majority of our young generation will move out of Greece.
On the other hand demands on teachers are more and more. And parents don't make things easier I would say.When you do your best with what you have and hear no thank you but instead accusations for inability then you just have to wonder where we are going to!
A shattered dream of mine for a trip has made things worse in my mood recenlty. We can't even dream any more.
And money is demanded more and more, taxes, extra taxes, bills, extra bills, sudden damages in car and house, all demand to pay more. Where from?
I have only been stitching lately and reading.These are the only two free past times of mine!And TV of course!
I am glad I don't need to buy new books, I have many unread in my library and there is a lending library in the neighbourhood too.Also I don't need to buy threads as I had bought most DMC colours years ago so I still have to use them to stitch. Nothing else. No going out. No shopping. No Internet shopping either. I am afraid I won't do any more Internet shopping for the next couple of months.
I haven't written any letters and I still haven't thanked so many people for their lovely gifts.I promise a blogpost about these generous friends of mine soon.
I hope you are feeling much better than me and your life is going smoothly and happily!