SKYWATCH--Icy cold lamp post

Icicles hang from this lamp post while a bird heads home in the sky above.

Have a look at other skies through SKYWATCH FRIDAY.

Getting ready for Valentine's Day?

I hope whoever made this has a warmer heart for his or her Valentine!

ABC WEDNESDAY 'D' is for 'Double, dark, and ...desperate'

Finally a little color on my blog. The last two days were pretty black and white, and I guess I'm in the doldrums (another D) and desperate for a photo, since I haven't been shooting too much recently. Anyway, here's a candle for you, with its buddy reflected behind it.

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Cross not my path!

A short while back before the snow that now covers our streets, I was downtown strolling around. This black cat, walking with its companion, saw me and headed in my direction with full intention, I am sure, of crossing my path. I did a little dance around it and snapped his photo before he could sneak in front of me.

Are you superstitious? I must admit that I am, just a little.

Trees on tree

I'm really tired of stark trees, cold weather, and snow. I am beginning to understand why people move to warmer climates.... So, since I can't do that, I try to look at starkness differently. Did you notice that these are not really trees, but small branches growing sideways on the trunk of a tree. Tilt your head to the right and look...

Belated birthday cake

Nothing more decadent than a lot of chocolate...and a few marzipan friends. Here is a sample of some cakes that my son and fiancee brought to me on Friday night, since neither could be with me on my actual birthday (Groundhog's Day!). The three of us each got our own marzipan buddy (I got the frog) and shared the rest. There's still some in my refrigerator, but for how long, I'm not sure....

These all come from Belgrade's Mamma's Biscuit House, so if you are in town, hop on down and waddle back. The site I've linked to in Serbian, but if you click on "Mamma's House" and then on one of the options, you'll get lots of photos, which need no translation...

I'm actually saving one of the pieces in my refrigerator for Lily of Long Island Daily Photo, who has a birthday today. Long live Aquarian bloggers!

BIG NOTE! It was originally DARYL who told me she shared a birthday with Lily, so click on Daryl's name and see a really cute post! Sorry, Daryl, that I for a short while forgot your birthday!! :(

Sun on Seltzer

If these look a teeny familiar for you longer-term readers of mine, you saw them all in blue right here. Passing by this shop the other day, I saw these seltzer bottles in different colors, with the sun reflecting through.

This post is for James'REFLECTION WEEKEND series, and especially because his birthday is today! Happy Birthday from another Aquarian in Belgrade!

Last

Zemun towers--SKYWATCH

The tower on the Church of the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God rises in front of Janos Hunyadi's tower in the Belgrade municipality of Zemun (ZAY-moon). Read more about
Janos Hunyadi's tower right here.

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An old-fashioned restaurant

Last week my traveling companion to India treated me to lunch for her birthday. (Yes, you read that right. People who have birthdays here treat others to lunch or cake, and not the other way around!) We went to one of the few unrenovated, old-style restaurants that still remain. By this I mean that the restaurant is very unpretentious, the tables are covered with simple white tablecloths, a lot of people are smoking, and the waiters, dressed in dark pants, white shirts, and black vests, are professionals, but without the snootiness. This particular restaurant hasn't changed since I moved here over thirty years ago. The white plates with the blue trim and the paper napkins under the serving dish took me back in time, as did the salt, pepper, and toothpick holder. That's a mulled wine you see to accompany my sarma, rice and meat wrapped in cabbage leaves, with a piece of pork, potatoes, a corn muffin, and homemade bread in the basket. The only things that are atypical are the the bottle of balsamic vinegar and the olive oil that replaced the regular wine vinegar and sunflower seed oil!

ABC Wednesday--"C" is for "Creatures from hell"

These bizarre little toys hop and squeak and their fiendish eyes light up. I was almost tempted to buy one for Bibi, but I thinks she'd have been scared.... They did draw quite a crowd though on Belgrade's pedestrian street, Knez Mihailova.

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Another day (year ) older....

...but fortunately not 'deeper in debt,' as goes Tennessee Ernier Ford's song, "Sixteen Tons." (Just saw on Wiki that he was an Aquarius, too; Feb. 13th!)

Here I am at somewhere between age 1 and two in my hometown of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, though I don't know at whose place this was taken. My mother said the dog's name was Toby, but who he belonged to remains a mystery. Now I have a little black dog of my own... And I've learned not to let my slip, not to mention my underpants, hang out. Please--no comments about needing rubber pants again!!

I'm full of nostalgia and wonder when I look at photos of myself and family. This little girl grew up, traveled to far-off lands, one of which she stayed in, learned a couple of 'foreign-but-not-really-anymore' languages, married, had two children, fought cancer, became a widow much too early...and like everyone else of a similar age, has a mixture of sad and happy memories of her life.

If you want a piece of birthday cake, you'll have to go to last year's post, since I didn't make myself one this year. My son's working in another town, and I'd eat it all....