BANANA DOG

Madhu does not like firecrackers and hides under my bed or in the bathroom. In neither of those places this morning, but I found her in my banana.

HEATING PLANT, JUST AFTER DAWN

 A distant view of the heating plant from my window.  That's steam, not smoke, thankfully. 

TO SNOW OR NOT TO SNOW?

Most of December I have been battling the flu and hope I'm going to beat it. Feel much better.  That said, I haven't been out much with my camera.

This is a photo from 2012 of the mountains below Kopaonik Mountain, about a three-hours' drive from Belgrade. I tried to find out online if there is snow there now (there was when the photo was taken; I was higher up), but couldn't find out for sure, so you can TRY YOUR LUCK ON THIS LINK.
 

MONTMORENCY FOREST, NEAR PARIS

 Back to Paris (or close by!) to show you this misty, early morning photo of a glen in the FOREST OF MONTMORENCY.

EDUCATIONAL

Funny the 'new' things you notice even though you've walked by them many times. These are trees on one side of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts across the street from me. Lest one wonder, they're labeled!  "Breza" is "birch,", "lipa" is "lime tree/linden, " and "javor" is "maple". There are two maples, so it seems. 

CARTIER FOUNDATION

 

Nothing to do with the photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, but rather the  CARTIER FOUNDATION OF CONTEMPOARY ART in Paris.

I was impressed.

CHRISTMAS COOKIES

 My friend in Paris is German, but she has lived in France for years. While staying with her and her husband, she made several kinds of Christmas cookies. The above recall the sand tarts of my youth in Pennsylvania where there is quite a Pennsylvania Dutch (misconstrued from Deutsch).  I make ones that are rolled and cut with Christmas cutters, not the little pretzel-shaped ones, but the taste is the same!

MAYBE A BIT INCONVENIENT?

 I love dogs, I really do. Big or small. I came across this fellow (or maybe gal) in the train from the outskirts of Paris. The train wasn't crowded for a while, but after a while it filled up. The dog paid no mind and the owner didn't make any effort to at least make the dog sit up, allowing for a person to stand. Non-chalance par excellence...and not good manners.

GIACOMETTI LIVES??

I was recently in Paris....and caught an awful virus, which is the reason I haven't posted recently.  In the Marais section of the capital I came across this fellow (in the photo with his back toward us) who reminded me of Henri Cartier-Bresson's photo (below mine) of the Swiss sculpteur ALBERTO GIACOMETTI.

 

PERFECT WEATHER

 

Perfect weather for mushrooms anyway. He field where I sometimes walk my dog is loaded with them. 

RĖMY

 Leaving Paris. I realized I don't have my neck pillow, so I just had to buy Rémy, star of Ratatouille! 

STEAK-FRITES

 Ok, these are small frieds potatoes, not really 'frites, ' but the flank steak with gorgonzola sauce was to die for. Vive la France. 

SOUPE À L'OIGNON GRATINÉE

 I think all my Paris pictures are going to be of food. Above is onion soup gratinée and below some crispy french fries with herb mayonnaise. Vive la France. 

STUFFED

 Yesterday my friends and I went to visit the basilica at Saint-Denis, dating from 1130, a fine example if the 'new' Gothic art. Afterwards I treated them to a couscous. I LOVE couscous and stuffed myself. The picture my friend took is a bit blurred, but that works to my advantage. 

FRENCH MORNING

 Arrived at friends' place just outside if Paria. Wonderful to see rhem again. This is an early morning view from my bedroom window. 

ON MY WAY...

 .. to Paris! 

THEME DAY -DECEMBER: FURRY THINGS

This is my granddaughter's dog, Koko, aka The Destroyer of soft toys.

She's had this toy for quite a while, but recently is  hell-bent on destroying it. Stuffing all over the place. I've left the stuffing out and she still plays with it. She's found and removed the whistle, but still loves the toy, a sloth.

See other interpretations of Theme Day by clicking RIGHT HERE.
 

SOON

 I have been nursing a bad cold that is leaving little by little. I am going to Frannce on Tuesday and want to be in decent shape. I couldn't celebrate Thanksgiving necause of this blasted cold, but am today. Brought out the Camembert and Cézanne placemat to put me inthe mood. 

FIRST SNOW!

 It's been feeling like snow for days and now here it is, Belgrade's first snow came last night. 

CONNECTING

 This passageway connects two main streets in Belgrade, though from this photo you wouldn't know. There are a number of such passages here. Does your city have any?

SHY ACCORDIONIST?

 This was a hip shot and I was not looking at the fellow. He either noticed me and turned away, or just turned away anyhow and I could not see.

ROMA GIRL AND BABY

A young Roma girl poses for me with a baby. Her sister, brother, or someone else's; hard to say.

GRANDMA FLORIST

It may be soon winter, but this lady's flower stand reflects blooms of all seasons. I wonder whom she's texting.

THE LAST LEAVES

Big winds here have done their duty. Few leaves are left on the trees downstairs in the park. Winter's a-comin'.

WEAR YOUR HAT

 "Wear your hat" is advice I should keep repeating to myself. As soon as I go out when it is cold and windy, in less than 15 minutes I get a chill. And now, as a result, this is my second day in bed. Oh, woe, when will I ever learn?

ROW OF REDS

 While walking home yesterday, I saw these trees with such beautiful red leaves along the boulevard. 

TIRAMISU

 

A little celebration for a family member yesterday ended with this tiramisu that I shared. Fewer calories; less guilt.

SANTA'S HERE

 

This giant Santa stands at a mall near me. The equivalent of the price is around $3,000! If you have the money, do you have room for him? Click in the photo to enlarge. The dog is not for sale at any price! 

WHERE I ONCE WORKED.....

I've been absent a few days, editing my photos from a recent trip. No new local Belgrade shots!  I'll be going to Paris for ten days beginning of December and will visit some of my old haunts.  I think the most impressive place I ever worked was the First National City Bank on the Champs-Elysees. I had a job that literally paid peanuts, but the surroundings.... The building was built in 1930 but now houses a gallery of boutiques...sad.  Below is the main entrance in the background and the staircase leading to the first floor. To use my grandmother's expression, "If I had a nickel for every time I...." I'd be rich. And I remember on occasion accompanying someone down in the 'basement' where the bank's huge vault stood. READ ABOUT THE VAULT HERE  and have a laugh.

 

THE FACE IN THE MUD

Moping around all morning and early afternoon because I didn't have a photo for today on my blog. Seriously. Took the dog for a walk in the field across the way and found this face in the mud.  It kind of looks like a witch who's lost her hat. I found a similar likeness RIGHT HERE ON THE INTERNET.

WINDOW

 I last featured THIS LOCATION on February 2nd. You can see the same 'sheets' hanging now as curtains inside this ground-floor apartment. As the other post was titled, "Keep Your Eyes Open', there is always something to see and you're never bored with your camera.

FACES

 I should perhaps find all my photos of intriguing faces. This lady reminded me of a long-gone member of my family and so I sneaked a shot of her.

WHERE?

 Ever since my elementary school years, I have loved this oil painting and wondered exactly what its location was. It is one of many painted by my great-great grandfather, a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania artist. I have always felt drawn to it. I came across this photo of me, aged around one and a half and suddenly was struck by what I think is a similar background. My grandmother said we never lived there, but I am wondering if perhaps my great-great grandfather had... Mystery. And the puppy's name was Toby, so I was told. 😊

I HATE LEAF BLOWERS

Autumn is called 'fall' in many places and of course that's when deciduous trees lose their leaves.  As a kid I loved to hear the 'scratch, scratch' of my grandparents taking leaves. It was work for them, but I always wanted to do it myself just to rejoice in that sound. My grandparents and I would form huge piles of leaves for me to jump into.

However, along comes efficiency, which in itself isn't a bad thing, but I absolutely HATE leafblowers (the machines, not the people!). Loud, stinky, and in short, disruptive. I think anyway the leaves have to be arranged in piles anyway. I know they're faster, but at what cost?

AS THICK AS PEA THOOP

 SYLVESTER J. PUSSYCAT, SR.,  the Looney Tunes/Merry Melodies Tweety-chasing cat, spoke with a pronounced lisp. One of his better-known expressions was 'as thick as pea thoop,' which is what today's fog is, seen from my window. I like pea soup and fog as well!

INDECISION

I was going to entitle this photo SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO? from The Clash's 1981 song with the same title, but the lyrics don't really have anything to do with the picture. "Indecision" is better. This elderly gentleman was speeding along, aided by his walking sticks, and then at the benches he just stopped. I waited a minute or two at a distance to see if he'd sit or keep walking. He did the latter and so did I.

GREEN-HAIRED BOY

 I really wanted to do this kid's portrait with his permission, but he was shy. So I sneaked a shot. I love his hair.

LOST IN HER THOUGHTS

 Her mind is elsewhere, like so many other commuters.

IT'S HIS 'CAW'

I had never seen a hooded crow until I moved to Europe, way back in the early 70s. Where I grew up in the US, we only had the black kind.

Due to a couple of negative experiences with black crows and the hooded ones, I am wary of them. They've swooped me, pecked my dog, and screech at me/us. I honestly don't know what we could have done to provoke them.

In any case, it's the crows 'caw' and he knows it'll be in his favor. My dog and I give him a wide berth.
 

BIKE BY THE SAVA RIVER

 A bike parked on the quay by the Sava River. I am currently trying to edit some photos from a recent trip, which is a bit of a learning curve to 'master' (ha) the latest edition of Photoshop  plus getting used to a new laptop.  You can see here that I have not yet removed the electric cables or at least those in front of the trees. Getting there.

PROTECTION FROM THE RAIN

 A well-fitting beret can protect our heads from the rain and the umbrella protects THEM from the rain. Seen in Lyon, France, and no, I didn't buy one.

FINALLY FALL

 Not sure exactly what kind of tree this is in the park downstairs, but it certainly screams 'fall'. Better late than never. 

BACK IN BELGRADE

 Back from Lyon where it was chilly and fall-ish. Here now it is warmer (went out today just with a light jacket, and it was too much). These leaves caught my attention. I enhanced the photo with a 'warmth' setting to fit the occasion.

BRUTALIST STYLE MEETS COLOR

 Belgrade has a fair mount of  BRUTALIST ARCHITECTURE that you can read about RIGHT HERE. This style is known for its strong lines, no-frills appearance, and no paint, just concrete. I like how the building in the background is 'conplimented' by the colorful new surface on the basketball court.

LA TOUSSAINT

 I am back in Belgrade and the November 1st Western Christianity ALL SAINTS DAY or La Toussaint, as it is known in France isn't celebrated here though of course the Orthodox calendar has similar days when one visits the graves of loved ones.  Anyway, here are some fall flowers....not sure they're a type of chrysanthemum, the preferred flowers for this day, but I love them.