Waiting for a green light

Last Saturday's reflection was taken while stuck in traffic. This photo was taken while waiting for a green light....son-in-law was driving and I furtively 'shot' this man from the back seat.

WEEKEND REFLECTION--"Kap Kejks"

These brightly-colored cupcakes have appeared in a local bakery chain's windows for a couple of weeks now. You can see the sign written in the Cyrillic alphabet that advertises them as "kap kejks", which is the phonetic transcription of 'cupcakes.'

The Serbian dinar is now worth, as of the writing, around 80 dinars to one American dollar. Still a better price than some upscale cupcakes in the US that go for around $5.00.

Which one would you pick?

See more reflections at James' WEEKEND REFLECTION.

Have faith

This lady is a common sight near where I live. She carries a picture of a saint with her, and goes begging from car to car at a busy intersection. She wears very thick glasses, and I'm often concerned for her safety, but she seems to maneuver between cars well.

Won't you please buy my flowers?

It was just above freezing late the other night when I walked with my friend downtown. We passed this elderly man selling flowers and couldn't resist. She bought one of his fresh bouquets and I bought a dried arrangement.

Doesn't he have the sweetest face?

Those less fortunate....

Just a reminder to us all to think of those less fortunate.

Change some money to buy a tie....

Times are hard, and some people can't get by with just one job. This tie shop that I showed you couple of years back is now also an exchange office!

Change some money and buy yourself a tie, too.

ABC Wednesday "R" is for "reality"...

In these days of world-wide economic crisis, the above is a too-common sight. Here the REALITY is if you have a job, even one you hate, you keep it. Hard times affect of course the unemployed and elderly people like this woman. (Yes, I did give her some money.)

See other R's at ABC WEDNESDAY.

Buy this house---cheap!!

Who wants to buy this well-maintained, manufactured home in Gig Harbor, Washington? I am desperate to sell my mother's house!

I have listed it with the retirement community's sales office and on Craigslist, so click on that link it you are interested. If you'd like to read more about this retirement community, please click here!

This is a manufactured home, and can be moved, if you happen to have a lot in the area. Or anywhere, but in the area is easier!

I have listed the price, but I will sell it to anyone who makes me a reasonable offer. If you have questions, you can always write to me at the email link under View My Complete Profile--About Me.

WEEKEND REFLECTIONS--the shoes that cost too much...

In Belgrade you can find the latest fashions; there are brand-name shops of imported shoes and clothing for all ages, and there are some excellent domestic brand names, too.

The shoes pictured here are most likely locally made, which is not at all to say they are not well-made, but in my opinion these shoes are really overpriced, even with the marked discount. As of this writing, the dollar is about 70 dinars, and the euro hovers around 100, so you can do the math for yourself.

How much do you usually pay for a pair of shoes?

See other reflections at James' WEEKEND REFLECTIONS.

REFLECTIONS WEEKEND--two bits in the water

Actually, it was two bits (a quarter) several times over by the time I got this shot of a water splash. Placed the glass on a mirror with black velvet behind reflected in the mirror.

See some other reflections at REFLECTIONS WEEKEND.

Tow, tow, tow your car....

Don't park where you're not supposed to. I am actually pleased that Belgrade is stepping up with removal and ticketing of illegally parked cars. It's quite costly though, for the thoughtless driver. Having your car released can cost around 12,000 dinars or about $150.00, which is quite a chunk out of someone's local salary. The fellow on the left is having his car written up, but he may get out of paying a towing fee, unlike the unfortunate Audi's owner, who is nowhere in sight.

ABC Wednesday "O" is for "On Duty"

Here’s a security guard that isn’t exactly sleeping on the job, but he IS reading the newspaper. Mind you, although there have been robberies in broad daylight at the ‘menjacnice’ (exchange offices) around town, there really isn’t a high risk of this happening, and our fellow here probably is aware of that! Wonder if he’d notice if someone quietly slipped out with a big bag…

Join ABC Wednesday here .

New shoes, new wine

Caught this little fellow the other day in Vršac (VUR-shots), a town about an hour or so from Belgrade toward the Romanian border. He's in a shoe store, as you can see, and is also loaded with bottles of locally produced wine. The sign in front of him invites passers-by to a wine-tasting. As for prices of the shoes, you can count about 60 dinars for $1.00 or about 73 dinars for one euro.

National Assembly of Serbia, then and now.

Construction on the National Assembly of Serbia started in 1907, with the cornerstone being laid by King Petar I. World War I delayed construction, and the original plans to the building were lost. The sculpture, Black Horses Playing, visible in the second photo, was placed in front of the building in 1939. You can see that the building visible in the first photo has been torn down, and that there are a lot of cars around now, whose drivers pay around 100 dinars per liter (approx. $8.00 a gallon) for gasoline, as opposed to the 8 dinars it sold for back in 1934, as in the first photo. But I guess that was a lot then. If you were expecting me to tell you about Serbian politics, you're probably disappointed, for I have yet to figure them out. However, I can tell you that 8 years ago this very day, Slobodan Milosevic's regime finally fell, with protesters storming this building.

To read more, go here.

A change in custom

Went to a wedding a couple of weeks ago where our son was best man. This little girl, a member of the wedding party, is selling boutonnieres (the orange ones in the basket) to the men who attend, and lacey wrist bands to the ladies. It used to be the custom that a little girl like her would sell sprigs of rosemary, an herb reputed to bring luck and health, but now this custom has changed. A while back, the money she collected used to go to the new couple, but now it is hers to keep. There's no fixed "donation," and you can see what she's received so far. 100 dinars is roughly $2.00. (I don't know what the little candle is for!)

What a scoop!

The latest "scoop" for Serbian readers is that instead of paying 25-60 dinars a scoop for ice cream (sladoled=SLA-doe-led) here in Belgrade, if you drive three hours down to the town of Pirot (PEER-rut) near the Bulgarian border, you can get a cone for only 5 dinars a scoop! Currently, there are around 50 dinars to $1.00, so you can see what a deal this is. People of Pirot, or Piroćanci (PEER-row-chahn=tsee) are known for their thriftiness, much as the Scots are, and don't like to spend money when they don't have to. That's my husband's hand modestly accepting just one scoop (kugla=KOO-gla) of strawberry ice cream. Note that Serbs wear their wedding bands on their right hands, according to Serbian Orthodox practice.

Radovan and Driving in Greece

Radovan found out it is very, very hard to park your car in Athens, and if he ever buys a car and comes back, it will be one of these Smart Cars or else even a bike like the big fellow on the billboard is riding.Radovan was scared out of his wits by noisy motorcycles (what a change from his peaceful village), and couldn't believe most riders don't wear helmets...or protective legwear.... In any case, he finally decided to not even think about driving in Greece at all, seeing as how gasoline costs around 1.40 euros a LITER. But now back here in Serbia where the standard of living is lower, it's pretty much the same price. So he'll stick to his donkey or to "Shanks' mare.". (My grandfather used that expression all the time...go Google!)

I WAS A BILLIONNAIRE ONCE! (And so was everyone else.)

Numbers is the theme today, and the astonishing denomination of this note - five hundred billion dinars - bears witness to the economic chaos that can follow political upheaval. After the collapse of Yugoslavia in 1991-92, the newly-independent republics began issuing their own notes. Inflation and spiraling prices forced the government to issue notes for unimaginable sums. People find this hard to believe, but at that time if one was lucky enough to have foreign currency to change, one did so JUST for the amount needed right then and there, since a few hours later the dinars' value had gone down. No kidding. If you visit Belgrade, you can buy one of these big bills for around 100 dinars (now about $2.00), or buy it online for around $22.95. None of the currency featured is in use anymore, except the coins. By the way, the man on the bill is Jovan Jovanovic Zmaj (YO-vahn Yo-VAHN-oh-veetch Zm-eye) 1833-1904, known as the father of Serbian children's literature.