Macro: 8

This is my last macro photo in April because I will be away until the first Monday in May. It has been a stressful year until now and the last week was one of the hardest of all. It is not over yet, I still have lots to do before I finish my work today. But the mayor things are over now and I can't tell you how happy I am. I leave you with a photo of a little flower.Have a lovely weekend and a week after it! :) I will be back on Monday, 5 May.

Macro: 7

Two more days to go. And then one week off work. Actually 1 and 2 May are national holidays in Slovenia.

A mess in my house. I had to put all my plants into the upper room which I have desperately tried to put in order for some time now. It is Mr Ž's papers lying all around the room and in the next week I will just do a major cleaning of all this crap. If it is not possible to do it the nice way then it is time to do it the ugly way. Don't get me wrong, after two years of begging it is really time to do something. My patience has its limits.While putting all those plants into that room I noticed one of my treasures I keep. It is a shell my parents brought me from their vacation in Mauritius years ago. It is a beautiful shell and I saw one of a kind in our Museum of Natural History. In Latin it is called Cypraecassis rufa. It is quite big and if I put my ear close to it I can hear the sound of sea echoing out of it. Which calms me for at least one moment despite a terrible noise coming from my living room below...

In between macros

I just fell in love with these. I hope to have some when I "grow up".

Macro: 6

What a mad week. At home, at work.

My floor has got four holes in it this morning. I have about 300 liters of water below it. It will be dried out which means a week of terrible noise in my house and an enormous bill afterwards.
I bought a paper lantern for my mom on Monday. I like the picture and here is a fragment of it.

Mr Ž is celebrating his birthday today & we celebrate a Day of a book here in Slovenia on today's day too. Perhaps that's why Mr Ž almost always receives book as his birthday present from me. I am not sure if we will have a cake this afternoon. No time for celebration. Unfortunately.

Macro: 5

My favorite season of the year has come. Lush green, pink, white and yellow almost scream from every corner. I am in a good mood when I drive to work in the morning being surrounded by so many vibrant colors. At least a day starts with a smile although I can hardly cope with what comes later. It is a time of a year that I enjoy walking in the woods with all those greens above me. It is time to pick the food in the nature when there is yet nothing growing in my vegetable garden. On Sunday I had cooked Common hops Humulus lupulus mixed with Wild garlic Allium ursinum (I guess its Latin name comes from the fact that bears love eating it) flowers dressed with pumpkin oil for my lunch. Delicious! When I have some time I will go and gather some more Wild garlic leaves and put them in the fridge for autumn and winter months. Sometimes we are just not aware what nature actually provides for us.

Macro: 4

I still love these colors.
I love using Moleskines. We found out what was wrong in my house. Purifying plant wasn't working. A real mess in my house and in neighbors'. Perhaps a story follows one day.

I read the book. Loved it. Perhaps another story follows one day.
Have a wonderful Monday!

Macro: 3

Usually when I bake cookies, bread or something similar, I use my scales. When I moved into this house where I live now, I didn't have one. On one occasion my mum brought me a measuring cup by Dr. Oetker (words are written on it in German) which made the baking much easier. I like it a lot because it is simple to use. Although, when I came over a recipe in ounces, I still had to use my calculator to transform grams into this non-European measure. When traveling in the USA, I'd got used to transforming the temperatures in Fahrenheit into the ones in Celsius and miles into kilometers but not having all the recipes in ounces back at home, I had to calculate the numbers over and over again by use of my tiny calculator.Yesterday I baked Scottish baps again, simple and very delicious buns. I was taking my macro photos while preparing the dough and I have found out that my scales measures in ounces, too! What a discovery after such a long time.

Have you ever noticed that sometimes we don't see the things although they are right in front of us? Or as the saying goes: we cannot see the wood for the trees.

Macro: 2

Talking about an owl in one of my previous posts I want to share with you a photo of one I made last year for an article I wrote for our birds magazine. It is made of a painted stone. I was quite happy with the result. I also painted some other stones, so owl has got a company in shape of a pink flower, a duck and a blue beetle.

Macro photos are lots of fun. Lately I keep noticing that all my things are really dusty. But I only notice this when I see a close up photo on the screen. You can see lots of dust on this owl, it's been lying on my window shelf for quite a while. The feathers are of a duck, I had to cut them a bit so they look like 'ears' of an owl (actually those are not ears that some owls have but only feathers). I used acrylic colors and you can see well that my hand was shaking (probably I eat too many sweets) while I was drawing circles for the eyes.

Macro: 1

I have just joined in a 30 Day Photography Challenge hosted by orange flower. It will not be 30 days for me but each April day when I am behind the screen I will add one of my macro photos. I love macro photos, I am sure you have noticed that by now.

I took a photo of my basil yesterday. I've sown two kinds, the common one and the one with small leaves, some Italian sort. It is beautiful to see the little plants grow, each day they are a bit bigger. I can't wait to replant them and enjoy in their smell and taste.

Shooting

Many years ago, when I was a teenager, my granddad was teaching me how to aim and hit with a gun. Don't get me wrong, he just told me how to do it, he didn't actually showed me. He was after all a soldier in the II. WW. Peaceful person as he is, he was always telling us that he had aimed above the heads of the 'enemy' when he was on the Russian front. He was called up the German army while working in Austria as a baker. He suffered a lot but he never told us the details. He always says that it was too terrible to share the memories.

I was always a good shooter, trying to do it the 'Indian' way. Making bows and arrows, walking quietly in the woods, sewing myself clothes of leather... At school I was the best shot of all. I followed the directions of my granddad. It always worked.Yesterday I managed to slip in my day an hour of reading. In the book I mentioned on Monday (Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden) I stopped reading at the sentence that brought back the memories of my youth and words of my granddad. They exactly describe the way I have been taught how to shoot. Well, with a little addition - I was taught to count up to four after exhaling and then shoot.

By the way, I like the book very much. I had it in my hands several times while being in our library and last week I finally decided to borrow it. I am certainly not sorry. Until now.

Garden & animals

After some rainy days I finally managed to work on my vegetable garden again. Mr Ž was the one who did most of the hard work, I was only sowing the seeds. Peas, radish, salad seeds were put in the soil after I had loosened and raked the beds. I like it when we work together although I am quite satisfied when I am there alone, too. It is so peaceful and the sky is so huge viewing it from there. It is a pity that I can only lease the land and not buy it.

In the evening I went to our library to listen to a presentation by some travel agency. Sure, I have plans to go someplace again but I think I will have to wait until the next year to go a bit farther than Europe.

When I came back the sky was clear and the moon was pinned up to the sky. It was so bright that I decided to plant a pot of strawberries. I talked to the cats that gathered around me and enjoyed in the evening breeze. I heard a scream. I knew it was an owl but I haven't expected to see it flying above my head a few moments later. She came again, screeched once more and flew away. Wow! The nearby creek is dead; it has been destroyed by the waste from the houses which were build last year and no frogs make their loud sounds from it anymore. But we've got an owl! :)

I've been tagged...

...by Victoria, my dear friend from the other side of the world. I was thinking of those seven (weird) things about me that I haven't told you yet. Funny list came out of this and here it is:

1. I never cut nails on Sunday. Once I read that this brings bad luck. Superstition became my habit.
2. I read horoscopes out of fun. The only one I (partly) believe in is this one. I like it because it gives a positive view of life. Perhaps you should check it for fun and let me know what you found out. :)
3. I have trouble with left and right. I have to think before I follow someone’s directions. I had terrible trouble when having driving lessons.
4. I have only one pair of winter shoes. I complicate a lot before buying a new pair, because they have to be rounded in front, with no heel, sturdy, well made and cheap. It is hard to get such shoes in our shops. If they fulfill all first four conditions on the list, they are for sure expensive.
5. I always fall asleep on the right side (of my body).
6. I don’t eat lots of meat. Only when necessary and when someone else cooks it. Though, I don’t complicate. I have never been a vegetarian but I know that less (and quality) food brings health. I am speaking this from my own experience.
7. I couldn’t eat walnuts before April 2003 when I lost lots of weight. Actually I could but I got terrible thrush/aphthae in my mouth. Since that month/year I enjoy eating them and different pastry made with them. There are really many sweets/pastry made with walnuts here in my country (potica is one of them). I have never had aphthae after that again. Lucky me!

I am not sure girls will be happy about it; but I would love to get to know a few new facts about you gals, therefore I tag Emily, Eva and Kari to share 7 random facts about themselves on their blogs. I hope you will have lots of fun!

Home improvement

Mr Ž doesn't have any sense of order which makes me really angry from time to time. It was real mess on a little drawer beside his bed so I decided to invest in a little bookshelf and remove the drawer. I wonder what is he going to say today when he comes back home from the bird monitoring...We still don't know what's happening in my house. It is getting worse every day and nobody wants to bear the blame. Whose fault is it then? Tomorrow I get another visit from the experts. I hope they will find something. I am just afraid that I will have to cover the cost of the restoration.

On Saturday I was so sad that I had to leave the house. I went to a library where I usually forget all the difficulties in my life. I have borrowed a couple of books and I already read one of them. A Foreign Affair by Shaun Briley. I laughed and relaxed a bit although it reminded me of what I am going through right now. I will tell you about the second book in one of my next posts. And share my thoughts. A bit weird ones but this is my blog, isn't it? :)

Shopping

I spent 6! hours in Ikea yesterday. I could have spent even more time in the shop but I had to go home... I was kind of disappointed over the selection of fabric. When I entered the store beautiful fabric was hanging on exhibit from the first floor but once in the fabric department, more than half of it was missing. It is quite time consuming and not so cheap to drive all the way to Graz and back, so we don't go there very often. Anyway, I will have to go there again, if not sooner then when this disaster in my home is finally over. Which is worse from hour to hour.

I met very nice girls yesterday, daughters of my friend. They are twins, 14 years of age. If I remember how I behaved when I was their age! Very pleasant girls, they even showed me their room... ;)

I am alone at home this weekend. I hope I will be able to do some gardening in spite of April weather. It is beautiful outside, I love to watch the clouds rushing over the sky. I relaxed a bit yesterday, so it is much easier to work today. I see that I need to go away from the everyday life to relax myself completely - another reason to take a proper vacation this summer. If I am not too lazy I might even do some sewing this weekend. Have a nice one!

At home

Things are clearer to me now. When brushing my teeth last night I remembered what might be wrong and where this dampness in my house might come from. It is probably a mistake in the installation for the central heating. Today an expert will come and say the last word. I am afraid that we will have to demolish the ground floor completely. My house is insured but I am not sure that this insurance covers this kind of damage. I am sure that we will have to dismantle the kitchen.
I try to see good things in this - I am fortunate not having furniture in my living room because it would have been in this case all damp and moldy. I will be able to rearrange the kitchen elements and finally be happy with the setting of my kitchen. And I have a lesson to learn. An important one. Do not put off the things you have to do. When I need to have nice thoughts I iron my clothes. Always, really always I make plans, think of future and only about nice events and other things in my life. I did that yesterday. I enjoy in this home errand immensely! Always. (If I need to get myself angry then I start vacuuming. I hate it. Always. I never have nice thoughts at that.)

Hopefully I am off to Ikea tomorrow. If the things at home are alright.

Internet connection

Somebody in the office above us had cut the phone cable. We had been without internet and phone connection because of this. Right, it was peaceful, very peaceful in the office and we spent lots of pleasant moments chatting about all sorts of things. Not only about the birds.

Memories
Yesterday five years ago was the last happy day of my ‘previous’ live. I was in London on that day. The happiest woman in the world. How quickly our happy world can collapse.

DressI exchanged it for the same dress of different color. I really didn’t like that green although I looked nice in it.

Old pictures
I spent the afternoon on Sunday at my grandparents. Together with my parents. We did some work, we ate a lot. My grandmom was very tired. She's got too much work to do and we are living too far away to help her with it every day. I decided to take some shots of those old photos she keeps in a box. They've been there for a few decades and here they are the first time out in the world.

My grandgrandmother Marija. My grandmom's mom. My grandgrandfather Ivan. My granddad's dad. He was from Poland, from a small village of Mecina.

In my house

I just wonder why my life can't for once be a happy one again. I have put a lot of hope into this year but many events happened that would have pushed some people over the edge. I am still here and kicking. I was just thinking of buying some new furniture for my house and what happened? This:
When you see something like this in your house then it is certainly time to ring an alarm. I don’t know what’s happening; experts will come to see this dampness today. I am afraid that there will be lots of damage. If nothing else the kitchen elements will have to be taken apart. In two days mould infested the walls, so they will have to be repainted. My dad is an optimist, I am not. I thought of going on a short vacation at the end of April but it seems that I will spend the money for renovation of practically a new house. Great! I am off to Ikea on Thursday but it seems to me that I will be buying only fabric and some small stuff which can be easily put in a box and moved to another location. The prices of real estate are enormous here in Slovenia. I can’t imagine buying a house today, only five years after I bought mine. Not even in my dreams. Although this was the first thought I had: sell the house and buy one somewhere where the water isn’t half a meter below the ground floor. I still have a little hope that everything will be alright. I don’t know what I would do without my dad. He is the one who takes care of everything when all things seem hopeless. Sometimes I just wish I could run away from all the worries. A hug helps sometimes. An ice cream, too. And a thought that I am healthy and that I live in a peaceful country. At least I hope so.

Patterns of my new clothes

Little skirt for everyday. It looks kind of gray on the photo but it is not.

Little black skirt for fancy events. Though, I have no black shoes yet. Only white ones.

Summer dress in green color that suits me but I don't really like its color. I have left the tag on, just in case.

Linen shirt and trousers. I love them both!

This morning I was driving to work at the time of sunset. Oh, how I am pleased that it is Friday so that I will finally get some sleep and rest! Happy weekend to all of you!

Shopping

It was raining yesterday and I used the afternoon for shopping. I have been very thrifty (is this the correct word? I don't know...) for the last four years (yes, it is so when you spend all your money on a new house!) but time comes when it is hard not to do something for yourself. To spend some money on yourself.

I went to H&M this time in our brand new shopping center close to my home. I bought myself only five pieces of clothes but buying linen shirt and trousers, I spent quite a lot of money. Imagine, I bought myself summer dress in that green color that I don't really like! Remember? But it suits me so well, I just couldn't resist - having in mind that I am not able to sew myself a dress for 9,90€, I just bought it. After all, I will have a cut/pattern to sew a dress by myself. Most of all I like that white linen shirt and Mr Ž likes it, too. Very comfortable one, for the warm spring & summer days...

Burning wood

I have this strange feeling that first hour of a new day lasts longer than any other.The work in my garden has finally started. The snow melted, it got warmer, I finally made a garden plan. Yesterday in the afternoon my parents came to clean the garden beds (remove the weeds) on their piece of land while Mr Ž and I did the same on our part of the garden. My dad burned dry grass and branches and it smelled just like in my youth when I was playing together with my mates and brother near our weekend house. Every weekend we went up there into the woods, where our "Green house" was, as we called it. The place was located under a giant spruce and under it we made small fire, cooked tea and played Indians. I almost never go there anymore. The spruce is gone by now but the smell of the wood being burned always brings back the memories of childhood.

The flowers on the photos are not of the ones I have in my garden, the bushes belong to my mum and her neighbors. I am thinking of planting some bushes in front of my house but it is such a hard decision. For me. All are beautiful, so how to choose?

This merry day

April 1 is usually a day of changes in my life. Today's day seems to be a happy one. A merry one. Nobody has fooled me yet. I like happy and funny people, I like people who make me laugh. I like to laugh. Sometimes I find myself smiling when I shouldn't. Like when something sad happens. But this doesn't mean that I am not sad. I don't know why I do this.

Yesterday I received a mail in my mailbox, coming all the way from Norway. I like receiving snail mail, really. And an envelope had nice stamps on it. I like & collect nice stamps and if you ever receive snail mail from me you can be (almost) sure that you will receive some beautiful and colorful stamps, too. So, inside the envelope I found a nice clutch made by Linda. I was a happy winner of her giveaway. Thanks so much, Linda. I like the colors. Actually I like most of the things she makes, I like the fabric she uses, the patterns of the fabric. It is so nice to receive something that you don't know how it will look like and that eventually you really like it.

I have so many ideas what I will make for myself. One day. Sure the first thing I will make is a bag for my library books. I still use one made of plastic...

Happy fools day to all of you!