41In Metsovo, November was known as the lost month, the useless month. Most of the men had left with their flocks to the lowlands. The women and young children, having planted their winter vegetables and gathered and stacked their wood for the winter, were now waiting for the vegetables to grow. November had been Maria Christina’s favorite month. It was when Matoula would spend most of her day around the hearth or at her loom, and Zoitsa would be sitting on the floor drawing or painting. It was deeply comforting for Maria Christina to be with her sister for so much of the day, not to mention the unparalleled delight she took in making her laugh. Zoitsa was too young to remember that whenever she saw her mother laugh, it made her laugh too. But then Zoitsa had almost no memory of their life
