ABC WEDNESDAY--"Y" is for "Year", the new one....

Somebody's getting ready for New Year's Eve.  Will she go to the slot club or elsewhere?

See other Ys on Mrs. Nesbitt's ABC WEDNESDAY.

Waiting in the cold....

Snowed on Sunday and these two dogs were faithfully waiting in the cold by the outdoor market near me.  They don't seem as unhappy as I would be, should I be seated on the cold pavement!

Before the snow

It snowed yesterday, but this is the chilly fog the day before....

WEEKEND REFLECTIONS--the 'merry-go-round' in the children's park

Drizzling this morning, and I was drawn to the reflection of the handles that kids hold onto on this merry-go-round spinner in the park.

See other reflections on James' WEEKEND REFLECTIONS.

Taken with my little Minox Mini DCC 5.

SKYWATCH--nearing the end of the year

The New Year is drawing to an end, but some things remain timeless, like the church tower here, the birds, the early-morning sky....

See other skies on SKYWATCH.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate this holiday.

I had to dig out some Christmas decorations, since I've packed away a lot of things for an upcoming apartment renovation.  However, my Pigeon lamp is always out.  I found it at a flea market in the mid-seventies in France.

Its inventor, Charles Pigeon, born in 1838, started out as a salesman at Le Bon Marché department store in Paris, where he became a close friend of Ernest Cognacq, who later on became the founder of the Samaritaine department store.  Later, Pigeon became a dealer in cycle and other lamps, and invented the non-exploding (so far mine has not....) gas lamp in 1884, which made him famous and wealthy.

And its light still shines on.

ABC WEDNESDAY--"X" is for "Христос се роди"

Tonight is Christmas Eve in many countries, but here in Serbia that day will  be on January 6th, since Serbs celebrate Christmas on January 7th according to the Orthodox Church calendar.

On that day, Serbs wish each other "Христос се роди" or "Christ is born".  In English, we often abbreviate  Christmas as 'Xmas', the 'X' standing for the Greek  letter Chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word Χριστός which comes into English as "Christ".

Wishing all of you who celebrate Christmas, no matter when, a Merry Christmas, and to those of you who celebrate other end-of-year holidays, I wish you very Happy Holidays.

See other Xs on Mrs. Nesbitt's ABC WEDNESDAY.

Silhouettes in the fog

'twas a foggy morning the other day and I caught these fellows hanging out in Kalemegdan Park, perhaps waiting for the fog to lift to get a view of New Belgrade on the other side of the river.

"Moskva schnit"

Hotel Moskva's famous cake, the "Moskva Schnit" (schneet) turned 40 last November.  Where was I?  Obviously oblivious to that fact, since #1 I spent a large part of that month sick as a dog, and #2 I don't eat cake hardly at all.

If you click here and can read Serbian, you can read about its history from when it was invented in 1974.  Even if you don't know Serbian, you can see photos of the 40th anniversary at the hotel, attended of course by its creator, Anica Džepina, now retired.

You might remember this post of mine from 2008.

SHADOW SHOT SUNDAY--from across the street

Drizzling a few evenings ago as I caught these walkers in front of Belgrade's City Hall from the other side of the street.

See other shadows on SHADOW SHOT SUNDAY.

WEEKEND REFLECTIONS--the universe?

Now that I see this puddle reflection larger(actually two puddles, one without a reflection), it now looks to me like the surface of some planet with another galaxy in the dark sky (sidewalk!) behind it.

See other reflections on James' WEEKEND REFLECTIONS.

SKYWATCH--Pretty in pink...and blue

Belgrade's Bridge on Ada, with the former concentration camp watchtower in the foreground.

See other skies on SKYWATCH.

Walking the line...

Not really walking the line, but I needed a title....

ABC WEDNESDAY--"W" is for "wee"

I have a Scottish friend who often uses the word 'wee'.  This little Yorkie definitely fits the definition of 'wee'.

See other Ws on Mrs. Nesbitt's ABC WEDNESDAY.

Sharing....

If you're in trouble, or hurt or need - go to the poor people. They're the only ones that'll help - the only ones.

John Steinbeck

Still life

A short while ago when I was laid up with a bad virus, I took this photo with my little Minox Dcc 5.1 camera.

You might recognize this garlic from my post the other day.

SHADOW SHOT SUNDAY--In the rain

The other day, in the rain.....

See other shadows on SHADOW SHOT SUNDAY.

WEEKEND REFLECTIONS--Ready for the holidays

Someone's ready for the holidays.  Are you?

See other reflections on James' WEEKEND REFLECTIONS.

SKYWATCH--Prayer or exercise

Praying or exercising skyward, perhaps both!

See more skies on SKYWATCH.

One with a sword, one with an umbrella

More likely these days you'll need an umbrella in Belgrade rather than a sword.

ABC WEDNESDAY--"V" is for "vestiture"

And vestiture is simply 'clothing'.  Getting chilly.

See other Vs on Mrs. Nesbitt's ABC WEDNESDAY.

Even the branch stays away

Those prongs sit atop a wall on a side street downtown. Don't try to climb over....   Even the branch steers clear.

Home remedy

When you've been battling a virus like I have with just about everything known to modern science, sometimes it doesn't hurt to turn to home remedies....made myself some garlic soup today, and before I did, I got out the camera.  It's always out.

At "Last Chance" cafe

The "Last Chance" cafe/restaurant (Poslednja Šansa in Serbian) is located in Tašmajdan Park. Not long ago I passed by late at night and caught this lamp, curtain, and shadows.

See other shadows on SHADOW SHOT SUNDAY.

WEEKEND REFLECTIONS--On the Orient Express

Well, not exactly ON the Orient Express, but IN it...sort of.  The Orient Express in question here is a restaurant/cafe inside Belgrade's Hotel Balkan, outside of which I took this photo.  In the reflection you can see a fountain that stands in front of the Hotel Moskva, a piece of which is visible to the left.

The original train the Orient Express ceased to run on December 14th, 2009, but its route had included Belgrade. I remember seeing the train on one of its stopovers quite a while ago.

 See other reflections on James' WEEKEND REFLECTIONS.

SKYWATCH--grey and foggy

Grey, foggy, and tilted, too.....

See other skies on SKYWATCH.

Street art of a different kind

Not street art in the sense this painting was not painted directly on a wall, but rather o n a canvas over a window.

All the same, it's quite attractive.

ABC WEDNESDAY--"U" is for "Unpretentious"

Probably not the best U word I could come up with....but for the  lady on the street, her clothes are definitely unpretentious, and the sari is beautiful, though not particularly a knock-out fancy one.

See other Us, probably better than mine, on Mrs. Nesbitt's ABC WEDNESDAY.

Just scooted in

While seated having coffee with a friend, I kept looking around to see where this couple's kids were.

No kids turned up and then they scooted off.

THEME DAY--workers

This certainly is a happy crew of workers.  Can't remember exactly where they were or what they were doing, since this is from my archives.  Added to my recent bout of autumn illnesses was stomach flu over this past weekend, so....

I am now up and reasonably about.

See other workers right here.