Hidden beauty

In downtown Belgrade there are many modern buildings and also many old ones. The facades and stairways of the latter are either well maintained if the owners have the money to do so, or else are left to slowly deteriorate. I amuse myself by peeking through doorways of the more dilapidated buildings to see if it's worth a closer look inside. Often it is, as you can see by this treasure of a ceiling I found. Click on the photo to enlarge and appreciate the artwork more.

ABC Wednesday "G" is for "girl"

This little girl was out for a Sunday walk with her parents and ventured onto a lawn with her lavender balloon. She's wearing a typical little Serbian vest, skirt, and white blouse. Serbs dote on "little princes and princesses" and indulge them to what must of us would call spoiling the child. For the most part, however, they do also instill in them good manners and proper behavior.

What's my name?

Photographed this beauty the other week through a fence. I don't know the name of this flower or even if it has a scent, since I couldn't get my nose close enough! Anyone know?

Theme Day--Sister Cities "Belgrade-Chicago"

"Chicago, Chicago, that's my kind of town...." And I'm pretty sure it would be too, if I were ever to travel there. Thanks to Nesha of the Beograd Cafe and Meat Market in Chicago, I am showing you this photo today that he gave me permission to publish. As their site http://www.beogradmarket.net/explains, "Beograd Market is a family-owned, old-fashioned market and coffee shop...selling only the finest tasting beef, pork, and lamb....In addition to our meat products, we also carry homemade meals, groceries, and frozen foods." Check out their site for a glimpse of mouth-watering ćevapčići, pljeskavice, (check my April 14th post; go to Archives on the left), and their photo gallery for a picture of Vlade Divac, the basketball star, who visited the Market!

"Hay" there! (2-for-1 last day of August)

Two-for-one on this last day of August. These two trucks were in front of us on our way back from Pirot the other week. No sooner had we passed the hay truck, which resembled a large hedgehog ambling along, than we found ourselve behind a log truck. Don't you just love how they hope to keep the logs from falling off? That log poised just above the log brace on the left worried me...it was inching its way off ... Then we passed the truck and were gone!

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!)

Skywatch Friday--Little terrace, big flowers

This terrace is hardly big enough for two to stand on, but it looked so beautiful with its bright pink petunias against the sky and clouds, I couldn't help but photograph it.

Big white undies

"Underwear is everywhere but mostly underneath..." or so sings Barry Louis Polisar in his kids' (or kid-like adult like me) song, "Underwear." This underwear isn't underneath, but rather above. Maybe these are Captain Underpants' (by Dav Pilkey) underpants. (If you want to howl with brainless laughter, read Pilkey's Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants.) These are nice and clean and white anyway, and definitely a couple of sizes larger than the undies seen on my August 23rd post...

ABC Wednesday-"F" is for "feet"

These terra cotta tootsies, standing on Belgrade's pedestrian street, were created along with other unusual clay works of art in honor of BELEF (Beogradski Letnji Festival) or Belgrade's Summer Festival, a tribute to theater productions, visual arts, and music. It looks like someone "walked off" with a foot from the first row.... Actually, they sort of give me the creeps....

Mine forever

On August 23rd my loving husband of 31+ years, Ivan, passed away after a brain stroke he suffered a week before. My children and I are devastated, and there is only a big void all around us that we must try to fill with memories of a man who was full of energy, love, and optimism. He was honest, fair, and principled. Above his desk he had this quote, which is attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson:

To Have Succeeded

To laugh often and love much;

To win respect of intelligent people

And the affection of children;

To earn the approbation of honest critics

And endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty;

To find the best in others;

To give one's self;

To leave the world a little better,

Whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or redeemed social condition;

To have played and laughed with enthusiasm

And sung with exultation;

To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived...

This is to have succeeded.

If this is indeed a measure of success, then he was indeed successful. We, along with numerous friends, will miss him and continue to carry him in our hearts as long as we live.

Odd Shots Monday: Home, sweet home!

They say "Home is where the heart is," and indeed this fellow looks like his heart is content. Click and see where he's sleeping. Took this photo the other week in Pirot, in Eastern Serbia.

Answer to yesterday's mystery object: They're the ends of two racing kayaks that had been put up to dry out.