Food

From herethis was picked (purslane, squash, basil and borage).I made this
and ate it with delight.

Lots of work today and not much time for chat. Happy Monday my friends!

About me

I was tagged by Victoria. So, let's have some fun! Let me tell you about my bad habits!

What was I doing 10 years ago? I was living in a flat in Ljubljana with Mr B. It was his birthday yesterday so I guess we were having some guests around.

What are/were 5 things on my list for today? 1. Drive Mr Ž to an airport to pick up his cousin's car who is traveling today to Canada with his family. Lucky them! 2. Feed the cats and play with them. 3. Cook dinner. 4. Water flowers and check the vegetable garden. 5. Start putting in order the mess in my home. Oh, how lazy I was these past few days!

What are 5 snacks I enjoy? 1. Cottage cheese with raisins and maple sirup. 2. Dried plums. 3. Pines (or any other nuts). 4. Warm bread with butter. 5. Pain-au-chocolat or something similar made of puff pastry (rolls with spinach are also delicious).

Things I would do if I were a billionaire? 1. Find the doctors who would help my dad to get well again. 2. Send my parents on a vacation of their choice. 3. Renovate my parent's house. 4. TRAVEL. Big time. Lots. 5. Buy myself a lovely house with a huge garden. And a little cottage in my beloved mountains. 6. Of course, invest the money wisely. 7. I don't think I would donate to Unicef but rather to some poor people here in Slovenia. There are lots of them. Children that have no youth... 8. Sure, I would buy myself lots of stuff that I am just browsing through right now - would I have still some time to create then?

Places I have lived? 1. Ljubljana, 2. Kranjska Gora, both in Slovenia

Jobs I have had? 1. Counselor at the Ministry of Work, Family and Social Affairs. 2. Assistant of CEO, 3. Fundraiser. Not so many, right?

3 habits? 1. Like Victoria - picking the skin around my nails - I used to bite the nails but I decided to stop doing this one day - and I did. Well, after that my skin around my nails was the target. 2. Cup of herbal tea each morning after my children's food breakfast. 3. I read a lot. Too much. Books, magazines, blogs...

What's the latest news/goals for your business or efforts nearest and dearest to you? First I need to grow up to find the balance in my doings. Then I will be able to be friendly, communicative, a good listener,... Most of all I will try to be less lazy and then also things will work out as they should. I wish to smile more and sulk less. Well, not that I don't smile a lot...

If you wish you can play along. I tag YOU! :)

Thursday goodness

There was first little pumpkin in my vegetable garden inviting me to pick it up. I did and ate half of it yesterday. It is wonderful to see the plants grow and vegetables to ripen. Soon there will be some carrots and also some peas are ripe. The most delicious raspberries are those that are picked from my own garden; no, that's not quite true, the ones from the woods in July are the sweetest!I ordered them on Tuesday and yesterday they were waiting for me already on a window shelf - books! I couldn't believe my eyes but there they were, waiting for me:

1. Lotta prints - I am rather disappointed at the book but I will keep it anyway. Today the internet is really such a good source of information that a book has to be written really well to be worth buying.
2. Sternkalender, Ostern 2008-2009 - I buy it every year. I am late this time because I wasn't in any of the bookshops in Austria this spring. It is an excellent brochure, full of information about the planets in our solar system and their constellations. It is written that 20 October this year will be a special day - we will be able to see a harmony in the sky.
3. The Waldorf Kindergarten Snack Book - I saw this book on one of the blogs and decided to buy it because the title sounded interesting. I have a cook book of Emma Graf which is actually a recipe book - each day is dedicated to one of the seven grains. Each day is connected with a certain color and planet. In the book I received yesterday this is mentioned but obviously one of the kindergartens in the USA follows its own list. Well, you can mix everything up but this is after all almost like Wikipedia - data might be correct but you never know because perhaps nobody made any experiments on that subject. I just wonder if those teachers at that kindergarten follow the wrong order on purpose. (Left: menu from that USA kindergarten, right: the book of Emma Graf)
   

I woke up at 4 a.m. this morning and was at work by 6 a.m. This means that I will be at home by 2.30 p.m. Can't wait! Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Birthday of my country

Yesterday Slovenia celebrated its 17th birthday. So, she is still a teenager. :) 17 years ago on today's day, the war in Slovenia started. It lasted 10 days. People died. There were tanks, snipers, soldiers, police on the streets, not very pleasant to walk around. It was impossible to cross the border unless you wanted to be shot. My cousin who is Croatian went to war when it started in Croatia. He told us about the terrible things that happened. Mostly to women, children and old people. Therefore, we all should strive for peace. Every day. Always. We should never forget this.
It is very hot here right now (yes, I like it!), so yesterday Mr Ž and I went to Bloke plateau near Ljubljana. There is abundance of dragonflies at this time of the year everywhere, so the right time for taking some photos. We stopped at the river called Bloščica and we simply walked in it. Really refreshing. So many beautiful dragonflies. I managed to take a shot of Green eyed Hooktail, Onychogomphus forcipatus in Latin and bledi peščenec in Slovenian, with part of its wing missing. I have never seen so many wild roses at one place. Here is one of them.It was a nice day. Day to relax and do nothing.

Summer Museum Night

On 21st June, so on the first summer day all the museums and some galleries in Slovenia are opened until midnight. So was also this year. There are free guided tours around the exhibitions and several workshops for children and adults. I decided to visit some of them.
I visited Slovenian National Museum where young people were showing the way of life that was lived in the medieval times. I suppose guys and gals demonstrating were lots cleaner than people who really lived in Ljubljana in that period of time. :) I have learned how to make a rope and some basics in fighting with a sword! I hope I will never have to use any of those techniques...
I joined a guided tour in the City Museum of Ljubljana after that. 'Ghosts' of the exhibition showed us some interesting exhibits in the museum and we walked around a city center. I managed to see the ashes of burnt Emona houses (Ljubljana was called Emona in the Roman times) and I learned where Primož Trubar lived. Really, it is so interesting to get to know the history of a place where you live.Leaving ghosts strolling through the streets of Ljubljana, I went to see an exhibition on Pharaohs of Egypt. Some of the exhibits are very precious because they tell a lot about the history of Pharaohs. I found out that I am still lots more interested in Maya and Aztec culture.
It was almost midnight when I slowly went home. Probably those ghosts went to sleep at that hour as well.

She sew - birds

Inspired by these lovelies I sew a few birds. I love sewing with felt. It is just that I will have to look around the internet a bit and get myself some colorful ones as our shops have such a narrow selection of them.I sew also a bird using this pattern but it came out looking like a pigeon (yes, I need lots of practice). I don't really like it. I think that it is good to use colorful fabric for this project.
It is very interesting that I don't really like birds in my house but I like sewing them. Perhaps I should start making cats as I have full garden of them. The old cat brought her three kittens a few days ago and they have taken over my garden completely!!!

Night of magic

In the old days people believed that the night of 23-24 June is a magical night. I have put a bouquet of St John's worts on my door to keep my home safe from dark forces. :) Well, not that I am really superstitious but it is nice to follow old habits and beliefs. And it is nice to have flowers on the front door.

It is an old belief that if you carry the seed of fern in your shoes during this night you are able to understand the animal language and in some cases you might become invisible.It is a magical night. People still burn bonfires in this night. I like such holidays which derive from the old ages, from the pagan days. People were so close to the nature and I think that for some time we have forgotten about this. About the power of nature.

These days

Saturday, 14.6.1997

It was a warm, sunny day.

My dress looked terrible.

My hairdo looked even worse.

My shoes were not comfortable.

Not to mention my glasses.

I had a huge red spot below my right eye.

I have never been that fat before (or after) in my whole life.

Mr B's dad canceled a violin player.

The officials were telling me to bring up my children so that my neighbors would be proud of them. How could they presume that I could/would have any children at all?

It was one of the rare days in my life when I was driving my car 200km/h. It felt like flying.

I was in a manor house Zemono, a lovely place near the birthplace of my grandmother. My close family was there. I chose it to be so. And some other people that had to be there. Nobody remembered to throw rice at the newlyweds.

The food was excellent and the groom was beautiful. I was the bride. It was my wedding day.

A gift

It seems that after the first, I could say terrible, months of this year, life is getting back to normal again. In the past two weeks I received many goodies from my friends here and around the world that brightened my days.I almost didn't notice the package which our mailman left on my window yesterday. I knew immediately what it was! I was so excited opening it as the title of the book which was in a package was so promising. The package was coming all the way from the US, send to me by my so thoughtful blog friend. :) Thank you so much, Kari, for remembering me and sending me this lovely book! You made my day! You made my afternoon such a pleasant one! How good it feels when you know that there is somebody on the other side of the world who thinks of you.

I flipped through the pages and read that the story was happening in Belize. How funny, when I was about 13 years old we had to write an essay on one of the chosen countries (by our geography teacher) - I had to write about Trinidad and Tobago and Belize. The literature on such 'remote and unknown' countries was so rare in our library that I hardly managed to write a few paragraphs. I just wonder if I am ever able to visit both of these countries.

So, I can't wait for my week off work (that's already next week!) to have time and read the book. To escape everyday life and go to faraway places. Although only in my mind...

Indulgence

It was a pleasant afternoon. There was lots to do at home but it was my day off. Home errands can wait. I met a friend in Ljubljana's park Tivoli. It is a pleasant park; there is a small pond in it with a lovely cafe. At the beginning of the 20th century when the winters were still very cold, ice formed on the pond and it was a popular skating place for the citizens of Ljubljana. I can easily imagine women in those long skirts enjoying themselves. I wish I could join them for an hour... During the summer time there were a few boats and people were enjoying their days rowing up and down that small pond. It is so interesting how in the old days distances were huge compared to today.I had an ice-cream with strawberries. Lots of both. We chatted there for about three and a half hours and watched the people go by. My friend brought me a Marie Claire magazine. She likes one of the hats in the magazine and I might sew it for her. It's her birthday soon. When I looked up the instructions, there was a problem. Of course - French. I don't speak it. Perhaps my mom will be able to help, she learned French at school. And I even thought: how difficult can be to make a hat like that? I am an optimist, what do you say? :)Later I was in a shop and saw some amazing sweets. An ice-cream from my youth. It is great that at the 50th anniversary they packed it into the same package as then. Otherwise it has still the same taste and shape as then when I was a little girl. We call all those ice-creams on the stick lučka (č is read as ch). Actually lučka is named after a girl who's name was Lučka. It means a small light/lamp. I often buy myself that little bar of chocolate with raisins and cashews. I noticed a chocolate in a nice package yesterday but I just took a photo of it. Maybe I will buy it the next time, although I don't really like white chocolate or strawberries in it. Today it is raining but the memory of yesterday makes this murky day very pleasant.

Vegetable garden

Plants are growing fast in my vegetable garden. The weeds, too. It is mostly grass and horsetail. I should sprinkle my tomatoes with a mixture of water and milk. So they say. I will try. I obviously plant everything too late... This is one third of my vegetable garden:Let me have a piece of cake now. A colleague at work celebrates his birthday today...

Ich bin ein Berliner

Slovenia is a big slice of heaven.

~George W. Bush (10 June 2008)~

Do you think that "Ich bin ein Berliner" style still works today? I wouldn't be so sure about that.

Yesterday we went for an ice-cream during our lunch break to a park nearby. We couldn't go back to work for some time because the road was closed and at 12:22 Mr Bush drove by to have lunch himself. Alright, it was a good excuse to enjoy in the sun for 15 minutes more... :)

I think that we all relaxed quite a bit that things are back to normal in Ljubljana. No more helicopters, no more closed roads, no more police and army on every corner. It felt like during the war in summer 1991. Luckily it lasted only two days this time.

P.s.: Slovenia is indeed a big slice of heaven on Earth. I hope you will have a chance to check this yourselves someday.

Colorful salad

So, to all interested, this is a recipe for the salad I made the other day for our feast (serves 4):

120 g spelt (you can use any whole grain for this salad)

400 g tomato


200 g cucumber


200 g celery


1 apple


100 g spring onion


4 Tsp apple vinegar


6 Tsp olive oil


2 Tsp soy sauce


1 tsp fennel leaves


1 tsp chopped parsley


1 tsp honey


1 tsp capers


salt


pepper

Cook spelt, add some salt and cool.

Cut tomato, cucumber and apple into small cubes.


Cut fennel and spring onion thinly(into sort of tiny leaves).


Mix the ingredients in a bowl.


Mix vinegar, oil, soy sauce, pepper, herbs and honey in a separate bowl. Add them to the salad and sprinkle with capers.


Put the salad into the refrigerator and cool.

P.s.: I didn't have a soy sauce (I never use it) therefore I added some salt to the salad and it was delicious anyway.

P.p.s.: It seems I still have problems with the layout of my blog. Sometimes the line spacing works, sometimes not. Today I had to do it manually in html.

First book in Slovenian

This is my third post today but I think this is an important anniversary in our history. We celebrate the 500th anniversary of birth of Primož Trubar who happened to publish the first book in Slovenian language in 1550. It is amazing that in spite of always being a nation living in another country (either Austria, Italy, Hungary or Yugoslavia) we managed to keep our own language and culture. I think it would have been much different if there was no written word in Slovenian.

Picture of Mr Trubar is also on the Slovenian 1 Euro coin. I think that he is much more important person than France Prešeren, our great poet who's date of the death is a national holiday. Weird, isn't it? Let's celebrate the life instead! Such anniversaries remind me that it will be a museum night on 21st. I hope to join some events, it might be interesting and fun.

Today's news

Slovenia will be in the news today. Probably tomorrow, too. Watch the news, read the newspapers - I am sure you will hear/read some news about my little country.

There are so many angry people today in my country being late for work and school. Some of the important roads are closed. You know, Mr George Bush is visiting. When he was here the first time he said he was happy to be in Slovakia. I think that he lost all the good credits, if he ever had ones, in that moment. We are touchy to such things. Don't show ignorance, even if this is lack of your intelligence. Especially if you are some kind of a 'great' president.

It is hard to live with us, Slovenians, mostly because we are so proud to be what we are. No matter how small our country is and that there is only 2 million of us. Most of the people can name at least 5 countries in the US and most of them speak at least one foreign language, including English. And you know, usually we tell what we think. We are no diplomats (except for our new president; good for us). Remind me to tell you my story about that. How rude we can be - at least that was an opinion of an American clerk I happened to meet one day.

Words are so powerful. And one word can change the world. One word killed Crazy Horse, too. The word which was not translated correctly...

Happy Monday everyone!

Sweet life

Here is what came out of that round pastry I baked on Thursday. Little sweet snacks.There was more to come. Bread. Trying to escape. Ciabattas. I forgot to take a snap of the baked ones. Then a flat cake that is traditional for the NE part of Slovenia. The salty version of it. It should have been thiner. I made so called 'colorful salad' from vegetables and spelt. A delicious one.So, then there was our feast on the street. Many neighbors joined us. I met some new people and liked most of them. It is good to know who lives next door. The best of all that food that was there on our tables was an ice-cream. The one from the shop. Made in Slovenia.I baked a cherry strudel yesterday. I prefer the one with the black cherries. It tastes so much better than the one I baked. But I had to do something with the box of cherries Mr Z brought from home.I went for a ride again. A relaxing one. I have decided to do this more often and eventually take part in that race at the beginning of September again. Hopefully, if I am not too lazy. And not too scared of the bears on that hill nearby my home. Where there are so many nice roads to ride my bike on.Don't get me wrong. It is 43 km I made this year. Too lazy or not enough time? I am sure you know the answer. :)

Sweets

Oh, she's been baking again!
Our feast is approaching. I want to do as much as possible as soon as possible. I baked two kinds of biscuits yesterday in the afternoon. Chocolate cookies and raspberry snacks. I am sure that cookies are fine but I will see about the snacks. Usually they come out good.Today I will be doing some cooking, making peperonata and a starter for ciabatta bread. Cook some spelt for a salad that I will prepare on Saturday. There will be too much of food, I know that now.Yesterday I was in a shop to get some ingredients I need and it was crowded! I don't know but it seems that shopping became a Slovenian national sport. Well, yes, no wonder, I remember the days when I was learning for school at lit candle. There was no toilet paper in the shops, no washing powder, no oranges, nothing. Two kinds of bread. One kind of milk, one kind of yogurt. That's why we were regular customers in Austrian and Italian shops. And there were no fat people.There's plenty of everything now. Too much of everything. Food full of pesticides. Clothes that last only a season.That's why I try to make everything from a scratch. That's why I have my own garden (which is actually threatened by pesticide spraying by a local farmer). That's why I read labels when I buy food. Nobody's perfect and we have to indulge ourselves, too. Even me. :)

Good things

She is kind. She makes me smile. She says the right words when I am down. She sends me wonderful things that I like. She is so full of surprises. I am so lucky to be her friend. Victoria, my blog friend from Australia. I hope to meet her one day.I received the bread cloth bag yesterday in a post. With a wonderful postcard and the right words at the right time written on it. When you are down such words come so right to lift you up. How does she know? :) Thank you so much, my friend.
It is an ice cream season. I eat lots of it during this time of the year. I found the one on the photo the other day and it's been my favorite at the moment. With cinnamon and nutmeg.

And another citation from that book I mentioned some days ago: How true. And we forget so easily that people we love at most might not be there with and for us forever. We should say we love them more often.

P.s.: Again I have problems with the layout of my blog. I hope to solve this one soon.

Beautiful men

I mentioned the most beautiful man I ever met yesterday. I have wanted to write this post for some time now and mentioning two beautiful men in two days deserves a special post. About, in my opinion, three most beautiful men. (There will be no photos this time.)

1. I've already mentioned the most beautiful one, an Indian I met in August 2001 below the peak of Bear Butte, sacred hill for Lakota people. Crazy Horse was allegedly born in its vicinity. I went up there with Mr B. It seemed that only two of us were mad enough to climb the hill at noon when it was the hottest part of the day. Descending I noticed him: white T-shirt, jeans, snickers. Long black hair. Slim. Like in a movie. If he was wearing the leader trousers and shirt, feathers in his hair, he would have been like someone from 19th century. Without a horse. :) Behind him was walking his opposite; if he was Jin, she was Jang. Blond curly short hair, pale skin; a very fat lady in shorts and sleeveless shirt. Probably they were going up for a prayer. I have never found out. I have never met them again. If Mr B and I stayed up there on the peak two minutes longer we would have been able to talk to them. All happens for a reason.
2. Keanu Reeves is the second on my list of beautiful men. I noticed him first in a movie Dangerous liaisons. He wasn't famous then. The second time I saw him was in a music video by Kate Bush. I can't remember the title of that song. Soon after that he became famous. In all those years that passed from then, he was my favorite actor. Not that I think that he is a good one but I've always liked to see him. I haven't seen all the movies he played in as some are too brutal for my taste. After so many years he is still beautiful for me, in spite of all his wrinkles. :) One of the rare men older than me that I like.
   
3. Mr B. Of course, who else! I've known him for all my life. He lived in the street next to mine. We played together when we were young. Well, he played more often with my brother as he was closer his age than mine. He is two years younger than me. I moved away when I was 17 and we met again when I was 26. We liked each other in the same moment we met again. On the same street where we used to play as children. He was, in my opinion, a perfect man to have beside my side. But something went wrong in our fairytale. Sometimes it does. He still is beautiful and he will always be. I know it.

I should also mention the fourth beautiful man I know. I wrote about him some time before. It is my cousin. Not only beautiful but also very clever. Like his two sisters. Really beautiful and clever people. I am proud of them.


(Right, one photo it is. I haven't found any proper ones on the Internet.)

I feel...

... left out today. It seems to me that I am like this Starling on a photo. I know it will pass. Sooner or later.

How are you doing?

I am reading another book that I like. It is simple and sometimes funny. I am getting to know different habits around Europe by reading such books. Compare them to our habits.

I came to a paragraph which sounded so familiar to me. When we go for a walk/hike to the mountains/hills in Slovenia, or somewhere where there are not many people around, we always say 'hello' (dober dan/živjo) when we meet someone. Some like to chat, most of them don't. It is more common to chat in the mountains which is also a good reason to take a breath. :) Reading this book gave me the impression that this 'hello habit' is not common in United Kingdom.(?)

When I was in the U.S., roaming around the prairies and Rockies, people I met sometimes also said to me: "How are you doing?". I also thought that I should have answered that question but I found out that this was not so. This was obviously just another way to say hello. Later, when I was back in Slovenia, I asked a guy from Utah about this but he looked strange at me like hearing it the first time. Perhaps people from Utah don't say it? :) Well, we keep learning all our lives. Which is good.

P.s.: The most beautiful person I have ever seen, an Indian guy with his long black hair to his bottom, who I met just below the peak of Bear Butte in South Dakota, said to me: "How are you doing?". This was the first time I heard saying this way of 'hello'.

Want to play?

1. Pina, 2. Peanuts, 3. Secondary school for computer science, 4. Green (if I really have to choose), 5. Keanu Reeves (not really a crush), 6. Banana juice, 7. Mongolia, 8. Blueberry pie, 9. Graphic designer (probably in my next life ;)), 10. Freedom, 11. Lonely, 12. I don't have it.

The concept:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker).

The Questions:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name

Working weekend

Sewing and drawing

Finally I did some sewing because our 'Street day' is approaching rapidly. I like it decorated, I like it festive. There will be around 25 people coming; at first it was meant that there will be only 6 of us. I also made a small banner which will be hanged over the street.

Baking

I borrowed all sorts of books on Friday in our library. About cooking. To get some ideas for our feast on Saturday. I came upon a book with the recipes from the part of Slovenia where Mr Ž is from. I baked this sort of bread several times but it never came out that good as it should had. I tried again and it didn't work out. Now, Mr Ž will ask his friend's wife for the recipe, I hope she will give it to me. It is a delicious bread, if made correctly. It is called pereci; I think that this means pretzel in Hungarian (as this is supposed to be a Hungarian sort of bread). So, I am still deciding what sort of bread to bake for the feast. Perhaps Mr Ž will bring some from his village's bakery.

Weeding

I didn't take any photos of my garden but I spent lots of time weeding during the weekend. It is a special kind of soil where I live and the grass is growing quicker in it than my little seedlings and plants. Also animals who like to eat my salad are very active these days. It has been extremely hot and windy for this time of the year. It was 35 degrees Celsius yesterday... It is the nicest time of the year for me. This time with all kinds of fragrances in the air, colors, flowers, plants, animals... Time to wonder what kind of living creatures share this fragile Earth with us.