Remember Yugoslavia?

I promised Marie of Vintage Postcards (http://www.cpaphilblog.com--her link is on my sidebar) that I'd participate in her postcard Friday, so here's my contribution. She said the post need not necessarily be a postcard, so I'm showing you two letters with stamps from the former Yugoslavia, the country to which I arrived nearly 32 years ago. The one on top dates from 1982, and the other from 1977. You can see a bit of artwork on both, and many heads of Josip Broz Tito.

Boom!

How's this for wall art? This is one of the more elaborate ones I've seen.

ABC Wednesday "C" is for "catastrophe"

Belgrade has quite a number of 'floating restaurants,' which are especially popular in nicer weather when you can sit outside on their outdoor decks. This one, by the name of Argument, sprang a leak, and this may be one business that won't manage to stay afloat.... Sorry---couldn't resist the bad pun.

Join ABC Wednesday here

Guard that barge!

Cold and lonely, but on duty. This Rottweiler stands guard on a barge on the Danube. From what I could see on the rest of the barge (not shown here), there doesn't seem to be much to stand watch over.

"Bibi" is older today than yesterday....

...but then, who isn't? Today though, I would have to add a new digit when writing my age. It's Groundhog's day, too. Behind this scrumptious chocolate cake I made (to be eaten later on with friends, plus a generous serving of vanilla ice cream), is me when I was one, and in front is a stuffed groundhog given to me by a friend.

I'd been tagged by Therese in Chandler and Soulbrush, so I am writing with some delay six random things about me:

1. I love to shop at thrift shops and garage sales;
2. I open books to smell the paper;
3. When I'm feeling under the weather, I eat plain spaghetti with lots of garlic and olive oil;
4. My favorite weather is autumn, cool and crisp, with the smell of burning leaves;
5. I can be a long time alone, but not lonely;
6. When I find a lost item, I go to great lengths to find its owner, much like Amelie Poulain.

So there you have it! Enjoy a piece of cybercake; wish you could really try some!

Theme Day: Paths--Does a dog have a Buddha nature?

The Noble Eightfold Path describes the way to the end of suffering, as it was laid out by Siddhartha Gautama, later known as Buddha. It is a practical guideline to ethical and mental development with the goal of freeing the individual from attachments and delusions; and it finally leads to understanding the truth about all things. The eight aspects of the path are highly interdependent principles that have to be seen in relationship with each other. The eighth principle of the path is Right Concentration. Right Concentration means concentration on wholesome thoughts and actions through meditation.

This is my old dog Daisy, who passed away two years ago at the ripe old age of 15 1/2. Toward the end she would get tired on our walks and just sit, and oddly enough, with her eyes closed. I had my friend Melissa collage a photo of her that I'd taken with one of a Buddha statue. Do dogs have a Buddha nature? For a surprising answer to this koan, check this site: http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/2000/07/Does-A-Dog-Have-Buddha-Nature.aspx

Even more important, it's Bibi's birthday tomorrow, so drop by for a piece of cake!!

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

The shoe repair shop

I passed this shop late the other night at an hour when I wouldn't think it would be open. The shoe repairman was nowhere in sight. I liked the way these shoes seem to be waiting, like patients in a doctor's office...or perhaps they've already been "treated," and are waiting for someone to pick them up. I especially like the two shoes in the apparatus on the right, and the photo on the wall of...shoes!

Note to post: Footnotes commented to say there's a 'footwear' post on Saturdays, and I didn't even know! Serendipitous! Check out:

http://footwearfever.blogspot.com

Alien landscape

Yes, this is Belgrade! These alien creatures sprouted on one of my potatoes before I could cook it, so I decided to capture them with my new macro lens. Much produce sold by farmers here on the green market has not been sprayed, or at least sprayed to inhibit or prevent sprouting. You can even find apples with actual spots on them, rather than the picture-perfect ones often sold in chain grocery stores. Last summer in the US I bought a sweet potato to sprout the lovely vines I remembered as a child, but it sat and rotted on my daughter's sill; I imagine it had been sprayed not to sprout.

In any case, though I didn't cook this potato, I still put it to good use in this photo!

Chestnuts!

Over the holidays, I received a request from Teri in the U.S. who said, "... one of the things that I miss about Christmas in Serbia is the roasting chestnuts. If, in your daily travels around town, you run across a vendor with chestnuts roasting, I would love to see it. I can almost smell them now..." I hadn't gone downtown much then, and when I did, it was either too early or too late to find anyone. Last weekend I found this fellow, Aćim (AH-cheem), who let me take his photo.

ABC Wednesday "B" is for 'bouquet'

It's still cold, and the forecast is for colder weather, but that doesn't stop the mimosa sellers. Acacia dealbata, known as Patio Mimosa or Silver Wattle, is not actually a true mimosa. Be that as it may, the plant's feathered foliage with masses of vibrant yellow flowers are a sign of spring for many. Last weekend I saw many happy people buying these bright yellow bouquets.

Join ABC Wednesday at: http://abcwednesdayround3.blogspot.com

Saint Sava Day

Saint Archbishop Sava (1175 - 1235), originally born prince Rastko Nemanjić, son of the ruler and founder of the Serbian medieval state Stefan Nemanja and brother of the first Serbian king, was the first Archbishop of Serbia (1219-1233), the most important saint in the Serbian Orthodox Church, and an important cultural and political worker of his time. The temple stands on the site where the remains of Saint Sava were burned by the Turks in 1595.

Saint Sava is the founder of the independent Serbian Orthodox Church and is celebrated as the patron saint of education and medicine. Today, January 27th, schools all over Serbia celebrate Saint Sava's Day by singing songs and reciting poems in his honor.

In this photo, you can see part of the temple's dome and two crosses behind nearby houses' rooftops.

If you'd like to read more about this temple, see this site .