Thursday, July 28, 2011

A complaint and an apology

Not necessarily in that order.

First, the apology. I am sorry I haven't updated (again) and that I missed the blogroll (a first). I am sorry if you jumped over here expecting my latest project and just saw an old post.

Now, the complaint. My internet provider has been offline for a week. I am trying to sneak this post before they realize they are actually providing the service I pay for and shut it off again. The excuse is that they are "upgrading". I would rather have the old infrastructure, that was slow on occasion but would actually allow users to connect.

Over the week, I was surprised at how internet dependent I have become. Apart from friends, chats and forums I post in (but which are mainly entertainment), I actually do a lot online. I even had trouble complaining to the provider, since I had always looked their number up on their website.

I missed several of my favourite recipes. Hint: don't really on memory while baking. That missing 1/4 of a cup of butter makes a lot of difference. I had to go to the bank agency to make payments. I couldn't load credits on my cellphone at any time.

On a more serious note, I was worried about my customers at Etsy. Even though I was checking email daily, I didn't like not being able to respond as fast.

Expect some nicer, longer, more interesting posts, with photos, as soon as my 'net access is regular once more!

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Answers!

Here are the answers to last week's challenge treasury (http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTA4MTY4MzR8Mzc3NzQ3ODA2/the-olympians?ref=pr_treasury):

1- Zeus, the thuderer
2- Hera, his wife, goddess of matrinomy. The peacock and pomegranates are her symbols, which was a little catch, so I will give half points to anyone who named Persephone (Hades gave her a pomegranate to eat because it was a symbol of marriage ;-D)
3- Poseidon was lord of the seas and creator of the horse. He inspired Odysseus to use the wooden horse ruse against the Trojans and sent the earthquakes which weakened the city walls.
4- Dionysus, god of wine and revelry, was represented by ivy leaves and grapes, just like this charming bracelet.
5- The moon was sacred to , the virgin huntress.
6- Apollo, her brother, was the sun god and drove its chariot through the skies.
7- Hermes was the messenger of the Olympus, with wings on his sandals and helmet for extra speed.
8- Athena, goddess of wisdom, had the owl as her symbol, which is still used today to represent learning and knowledge.
9- Ares was the hot tempered god of war.
10- Aphrodite, lady of roses, represented love, beauty and sensuality.
11- Her husband was Hephastus, the blacksmith
12- Demeter was the protector of the harvest and bringer of plenty, represented by wheat sheaves.
13- Hestia was the goddess of the hearth and domesticity. Originally an Olympian, her place, however, was eventually given to Dionysus.
14- Persephone, Demeter's daughter, brings spring to the world, when she returns from the underworld to her mother. Spring flowers, naturally, are her traditional symbol, although she is also often associated with the pomegranate, which she ate in the underworld, binding her to spend half of the year as Hades' wife.
15- While some sources consider Pan no more than a natural spirit, he is considered a god by the oldest sources (such as the Pythian ode) and his mythology is actually older than the Olympians (despite some sources saying he is the son of either Zeus, Hermes or Dionysus - maybe we should get him Amaury's show?). And, of course, his death is the symbol of the passing of the gods, so, of course, he had to be included.
16- Hades was the god of the underworld, dead souls and riches. He was not an evil god, but a strict judge and, therefor, feared. He is represented by the scales (for judging souls) and gold.