WEEKEND REFLECTIONS--the baby cup and spoon

This silver baby cup and spoon belonged both to my mother and then to me.  Underneath when I return to Belgrade will be engraved little Mila's name and year born.  You can see me in the spoon....

See other reflections on James' WEEKEND REFLECTION.

THEME DAY--Tranquility

A sleeping baby, nothing more tranquil than that, even in the 'arms' of a giant teddy.  If you ever wondered who buys these giant plush toys, now you know.

In Seattle through mid-July, helping daughter with baby Luka, above.

 Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Would have been 35...

My late husband and I would have been married 35 years today....

SUNDAY BRIDGES-Bridging the Gap: "And the seasons, they go 'round and 'round...."

Little Mila again, fervently pulling my son's (her father) chest hair. I spared you his pained expression.

Today is my son's birthday, and I thought of no more appropriate song than this one below by Joni Mitchell. Makes me teary, though.... How about you? It bridges the gap between the visual media and music.

See other bridges of all kinds at Louis La Vache's SUNDAY BRIDGES.

Happy Valentine's Day from a Book Lover

Time for an updated granddaughter Mila (MEE-la) photo. Here she is at 6 1/2 months. Mila is a great book lover. She squeals and does this funny little excited shake when she gets one. I could even say she gets so excited that her hair stands on end, but it's always like that, since she sleeps first on one side, then the other.

Happy Valentine's Day to all those whom you love!

Love

Wasn't sure what to call this post. I was touched by the way this nicely-dressed man and lady were crossing the street. She seemed so concerned that the light would change mid-street, and he was gallantly and confidently escorting her to the other side.

ABC Wednesday--"Y" is for "Yawn..."

For most of you the holidays are over, but for those of us here in Serbia, Serbian Orthodox Christmas is on January 7th, followed by Serbian New Year on the 14th....a long season, especially for over-photographed babies like my little granddaughter, Mila....just too much, sometimes! Tiring.....YAWN...

Check out other Y's on ABC WEDNESDAY.

ABC WEDNESDAY "Q" is for "quotation"

Had dinner with my good friend the other night at Tri šešira (Three Hats) restaurant in Skadarlija, Belgrade's Bohemian quarter. My finger is never far from the shutter button, and I snapped this candle, which brought to mind a quotation attributed to Prince Gautama Siddhartha, known as Buddha, founder of Buddhism (5th century BC):

"Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. "

How true. This past year I've shared happiness with my family in the US and some good friends from my student days in France. Although another Buddha quote says, "Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment," I can't help but look forward to sharing more happiness with others I haven't seen for a long time.

See more Q's at ABC WEDNESDAY.

WEEKEND REFLECTION--Baby Mila's eye...

There IS a small reflection here in her left eye. My son's daughter, Mila, is now nearly four months old, but this photo is from a bit earlier. And if you're not happy with that reflection, you can check out the one in the photo below: my daughter in Seattle is expecting for next May! New cousin for Mila! What will it be? If you've had children, were you able to know if they were going to be a boy or girl? If you haven't, would you like to know?

See other reflections on WEEKEND REFLECTION.

SKYWATCH--Institute for Neonatology exhibit

Belgrade's Institute for Neonatology currently has a photo exhibit in Tasmajdan Park, dedicated to all the prematurely-born babies who, thanks to the Institute's care, made the transition from fragile newborns to healthy children. On each board, as you can see, are one or two photographs, with information about the child and his or her (or their, in the case of these twins) family. Sunny skies in store for them and pretty soon they'll be strolling through parks like the children you see on the sidewalk.

See other skies at SKYWATCH.

So many hands on me!

Are you confused? My recent photos have been of Seattle, and of course you can see that this one is of Baby Mila at bathtime, here in Belgrade. In cyberspace, I'm still in Seattle, simply because I don't have time to flit around the city now taking photos. The hand in the foreground belongs to my 87-year-old mother, whom I've brought back here with me. Health care is very expensive in the US, and here for a quarter of the price, she has the same care, and is only a phone call away.

In any case, I posted this photo because today is my daughter's birthday, and some say Baby Mila looks a bit like her! The other hands belong to my son and daughter-in-law, and mine, as usual, were holding my camera.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY DAUGHTER TODAY!! (Be patient for Belgrade photos...I've uploaded Seattle thru Halloween....)

ABC WEDNESDAY--"K" is for "Kin"

I showed you Baka Jelka's hands before. Here they are again, holding her great-granddaughter Mila. Baka Jelka (Yel-ka) is my daughter-in-law's grandmother, and she is so, so proud....

See other K's at ABC WEDNESDAY.

Bubble-lips

Bubble-lips is what I called her in this photo. Remember my granddaughter, Mila, whom you met last July here? Don't kids change fast?

"On the street where you live..."

Like some photobloggers, I often get requests to take a photo of some special place. Last March when I was in the US for an extended stay, Diego, a young man from Bogota, Colombia, wrote to say "...Two years ago I met a girl from Beograd, she lives in that street (Admirala Geprata 9), she is the most wonderful girl I've ever met...". Now that I'm back, I'm finally able to honor Diego's request with this photo of #9!

And just who was "Admiral Geprat"? Here's what I found: Emile Paul Guepratte was largely responsible for the reorganization and transport of the Serbian army from Greece in WWI. The Allies planned to relocate the Serbian army and all patients from field hospitals in Corfu --9,710 of them--in order to provide better care and recovery in hospitals in Northern Africa, France, and Corsica. In 1916, a total of 7,459 patients and 2,458 recruits, along with 1,500 refugees, totaling in all 11,417 Serbs, were transferred, largely thanks to Admiral Guepratte, whose kindness earned him the nickname "Serbian Mother".

And for you, Diego, here is the song from My Fair Lady, On the Street Where You Live.

Gone...but by no means forgotten...

Symbols seem to pop out of our surroundings, sometimes to give us a sign, or at least that's what I think. Today marks the three-year passing of my husband, who was taken from my family and me much too early. I found this heart yesterday on a nearby street.

He is gone, but by no means forgotten...and in some ways, I believe he is still here. My love for him is.

ABC WEDNESDAY--"E" is for "eternal"

Some people believe that nothing is eternal, that nothing lasts forever. It's true that material things, no matter how indestructible they seem, one day will fall apart, erode away, disintegrate; in short, disappear. Sooner or later people disappear too, no matter how much we want them to be with us forever. Today marks the day my husband suffered a stroke that led to his leaving us much too soon. I'd like to think that it was only his physical self that is gone, and that he is somehow still around. Part of him lives on in his baby granddaughter, Mila, who by coincidence, turns one month old today. Above are my son and daughter-in-law's wedding rings, dangling from Mila's toes. May they, and my daughter and her husband, all live long and happy lives.

See other E's at ABC WEDNESDAY.

Another addition...

While waiting with my son for my daughter-in-law to appear with Baby Mila to go home, I caught these Gypsy or Roma kids with their grandmother. They seem to be waiting for their mother to bring them their newest family member. Pensive group... What are they all thinking?

Skywatch--the moon and the stars

Not real, of course, but this is a sky my little granddaughter, Mila, (see last week's photos) will see when she actually can focus on things! These stars and moon come from TWILIGHT TURTLE, a wonderful toy/nightlight I'd bought for several people and now for her. Those of you who know me won't be surprised to know I also bought myself one....

And of course I think of the romantic song by Robert Flack, the first stanza of which takes on a different meaning for me now:

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

The first time ever I saw your face
I thought the sun rose in your eyes
And the moon and stars were the gifts you gave
To the dark and the empty skies, my love,
To the dark and the empty skies....

Little Mila makes us feel like this.

See other skies at SKYWATCH FRIDAY.

ABC WEDNESDAY "A" is for 'angels"

Little Mila (see yesterday's photo) is in there somewhere.... Some things haven't changed here, and you can see that the babies are swaddled (but a couple seem to have their arms free) and stacked like little loaves of bread to be delivered to their mothers at feeding time. They did it like this when my kids were born, too. Mothers at home don't swaddle as a rule; I think this is just hospital efficiency!

Little angels.

See more A's on ABC WEDNESDAY.

A little sooner than we thought....

Baby Mila (MEE-la) arrived a bit sooner than we thought, weighing in at 2.8 kilos (6.2 lbs) and measuring 48 cm (19 inches). Isn't she cute?? And it you think it's cute how they write the baby's name on the diaper wrapping, wait until you see tomorrow's photo....