NEWS FLASH: a baby on the ground!

Maybe this baby on the ground wouldn't make you look twice, but here it would...and did. As a rule, Serbs do not put crawling infants or even very young children on the ground no matter how clean it may be...even usually in their homes. So, I was somewhat shocked to see this little guy, all dressed in white, too, make his way along the ground in Tasmajdan Park. His grandmother (yes, grandmother, whom I thought would not do this) watched him as he crawled.

Do mothers or grandmothers where you live allow babies like this to crawl along the ground?

At the 'kafana'

A 'kafana' is a special type of restaurant that serves traditional home cooking along with wine, rakija (brandy) or beer, looks like grandma's place, and usually there's lots of smoke....this has been somewhat reduced thanks to the new no-smoking ordinance. We have here a somewhat stiff couple sitting at a window table. Judging from the cigarette between the lady's fingers, this appears to be the smoking section. They DO look a bit pale...from the smoke, the lack of sunshine in winter, or not enough wine or brandy?

Reflections Weekend - plate of toes

They grow 'em big here in Serbia. These feet belong(ed) to my Thanksgiving turkey. It weighed 17 kilos (37 pounds). My son had ordered a smaller one from a friend, to be cut up in pieces. Unfortunately, someone's signals got crossed, and he got the mega-turkey in one piece....and frozen.....and a week ahead of time.... There was no way I could fit the whole thing in my freezer, and even if I could have, I didn't want to roast a 17-kilo turkey.

A visit (with the turkey) to my local butcher solved the problem. He sawed it in half, and managed to saw off the two legs. I gave my son the whole half and I roasted the other. My share fed six of us at dinner, and leftovers were given to all.....lots of bird.

But we didn't eat the feet, nor did I use them like some do to flavor soup. Saved them for you!

See other reflections at James' Reflections Weekend.

Skywatch--Cultural Heritage Preservation Institute

Bright blue sky, clouds, and an airplane trail over Belgrade's Cultural Heritage Preservation Institute.

Check out other skies on SKYWATCH.

SKYWATCH FRIDAY--Alexander Pushkin's statue

I'm always amazed at the number of statues around town. This one is to the memory of Alexander Pushkin, who appears to have had a great interest in Serbian traditions. That alone, but especially along with his reputation as a great poet, was reason enough to erect this statue in his honor. There's also a street named for him, too!

Check out other skies at SKYWATCH.

Ow.

Yesterday I said you could tell a lot about a person by his or her hands. You can see here that my friend likes to bake, but who, like many of us rushed wives, is sometimes not careful. This blister is the result of a steam burn she got when removing a casserole dish from the oven....

She told me that she immediately ran cold water over the burn, then plunged her thumb into raw egg white and held it there (two eggs, I believe....) for 15 minutes, which soothed the pain. She says that if she had remembered to IMMEDIATELY plunge the thumb into the egg whites, she would have had NO blister....that's what Serbian folk medicine says...

ABC Wednesday "B" is for "bending butt-to-butt"

I'm not a gardener by any means, but I am fascinated by the devotion many show to their gardens. The above couple is planting (gosh, what is it...carrots?) in the blazing hot sun and occasionally carrying buckets of water for their thirsty crop.

Check out other B's on ABC WEDNESDAY.

Sunday Bridges - Bridging the generations

I know there's not a real bridge in this photo...but I hope you'll understand. Today my son is getting married and I'm short of real bridges, so I stretched the meaning of 'bridge', hoping that Louis will understand.

This is a 'bridge' photo. The old cookbook, the one that's falling apart and stained, is my copy of The Joy of Cooking that I bought before I came here 33 years ago... You can see it's been and is still well-used. On the upper left is my measuring cup, equally as old, as is that wooden spoon.

The new book is one I bought for my soon-to-be-daughter-in-law, joking with her that now my son won't go hungry!

So, stretching the use of 'bridge' a bit, these book-bridges span the generation gap.

Next week I'll show you a real bridge...

Check more bridges at Louis La Vache's Sunday Bridges.

Turkish coffee

I'd mentioned before that the Turks had occupied Serbia for 500 years and left many traces behind in the language, music, and overall culture. Turkish coffee, still referred to by that name, is what you'd most likely be served right off the bat when you visit someone. The coffee is boiled in a little dzezva (DJEZ-va) like the one you see here and served in small cups. I'm not very good at making Turkish coffee, so the typical and desirable foam you'd see on the top is absent in my cup! On the little plate are Turkish Delights, also still popular. Read more about Turkish coffee by clicking on that link!

ABC WEDNESDAY "A" is for "artisan"

Meet Jan Nemcek, an ethnic Slovak, who lives in the village of Kovacica (Ko-VA-cheet-sa) about an hour's drive from Belgrade. Kovacica is home to several artists and artisans. Mr. Nemcek has been making violins all his life, maintaining a tradition in his family of several generations. That long instrument is a kind of Slovakian flute.

His wife also creates handicrafts and pottery. If you'd like to watch a video, you can check out this Youtube site and you can also look at his site (in Slovakian...but there are photos.)

See other A's on ABC WEDNESDAY.

The latest laptop bag....

If you're tired of the run-of-the-mill laptop bag, you might want one of these bags created by EthnoNetwork, an organization created by USAID to help women in villages find sources of income. I was asked to do some photos for them, and so this is one of their many beautiful products that you can see on their site above (not my photos on the site; this was a different project.)

In Poland

I am here in Poland visiting a friend for several days. I swore I would not buy hardly anything (notice the 'hardly'), but indulged myself in a few pieces of traditional Polish Boleslawiec pottery. Anya, a friend of my friend's, runs this shop in Warsaw and sells these beautiful ceramics at very, very reasonable prices. Next time I must come to Warsaw by car, not by plane....

International Women's Day

International Women's Day is marked on March 8th every year. It started as a Socialist political event, and then blended into the culture of many countries. In some countries' celebrations like here in Serbia, the political aspect has faded and the holiday has become occasion for men and children to express their love to the women around them, similar to Mother's Day or Valentine's Day.

Women come in all shapes and sizes and ages! The above ladies are just a sample. If you'd like to read more about IWD, click here.

Saint Nikola's Day--2009

It's that time of year again. Today is our family's patron saint day, Saint Nikola, who watches over fishermen, sailors, and travelers. I fall into the latter category, since I am off in a short while to a destination to be revealed to you on Monday, so check back!

An extra plus this year is that after 20 years, Serbs will again be able to travel visa-free through European Countries starting today! Thank you, Saint Nikola....

On the table above, you can see one of my three pots of beans I made for guests. Behind the pot stand jars of pickles, olives, ajvar , and tins of tuna, all fat-free fare. No meat in the beans either, and we've ordered baked fish.


Read more about this holiday on last year's post.

ABC Wednesday--"S" is for "Sonorous Saturday"

It's that time of year again....the season of 'slavas,' which are Orthodox Serbs' saints' days. I've explained last year. Some of the local Roma or gypsy population here wander through neighborhoods trying to earn some money by playing music. One definition of 'sonorous' is
"full and loud, deep, heavy sounds," and these two guys played true to form last Saturday afternoon, the day of the Saint Archangel slava. Like others in my building, I clipped some money with a clothespin and tossed it down to them. You can see that the drummer spotted me and my camera...!

Post your entry for ABC WEDNESDAY!

'Opanci'

I photographed these opanci (OH-pahn-tsee) that I showed you once before here at the Ethnographic Museum downtown. Please click on that link, for there are some wonderful photographs of the exhibits inside. A museum not to miss should you come to Belgrade.

downtown.

Serbian Orthodox "All Souls' Day"

Today is All Souls' Day for members of the Serbian Orthodox faith. It's actually called Zadušnice, which doesn't really translate as All Souls' Day, but the idea is basically the same, except zadušnice happen (the word is a plural) four times a year. These are days when when people visit the graves of loved ones, light candles for the souls of the dead, and offer food and drink at the graveside. These days always fall on a Saturday, usually on a second Saturday before the beginning of the Lenten season (Easter and Christmas, since Orthodox Serbs avoid fats during those periods), the Saturday before the Holy Trinity Day, (12th October), and Saint Demetrius Day (8th November).

This photo was taken looking away from my husband's grave that my son and I visited.

Bad bubbly, but who cares!

Since I've given my blog a new banner with glasses, it's only fitting that one of the first posts be one with a glass...of Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin. While my 'kids' were on their honeymoon, I opened a bottle of this champagne that my daughter and son-in-law had bought at the duty free shop on their way here. I wanted to share this bottle with some dear friends who'd flown over for the wedding, both of whom are wine connoisseurs.

"Cheers,' we wished each other, and took a sip. My tastebuds told me that something wasn't quite right, but it wasn't so wrong either...I just imagined I was in a wine cellar drinking champagne, for there was a distinctive musty scent and taste. My friend was sniffing the cork, and I knew what was coming: "Cork taint," she announced. "It happens now and then."

Although she decided not to drink anymore, her husband's first question was, "Will it hurt me?" Upon receiving a negative answer, he and I finished off the bottle....

Wiki says this: "Cork taint is a broad term referring to a wine fault characterized by a set of undesirable smells or tastes found in a bottle of wine, especially spoilage that can only be detected after bottling, aging and opening. Though modern studies have shown that other factors can also be responsible for taint – including wooden barrels, storage conditions and the transport of corks and wine – the cork is normally considered to be responsible, and a wine found to be tainted on opening is said to be "corked". Cork taint can affect wines irrespective of price and quality level. The chief cause of cork taint is the presence of 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) in the wine. Corked wine containing TCA has a characteristic odor, variously described as resembling a moldy newspaper, wet dog, damp cloth, or damp basement."

I'm none the worse for it...

Brick Marks

These bricks, now making up a sidewalk in a small town not far from Belgrade, bear the marks of their manufacturer.

ABC Wednesday 'Q' is for 'Quite a fork!'

A weekend trip to the country yielded this photo of 'quite a fork'. A hayfork, I believe!

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