Red+Brown

Not that I don't like you, not that you're not dear to me, but there was no way I was taking my coat off in the cold that was last week for a living soul. So here it is - inside version, in all it's glory with the parquet floor and extension cord. New red jeans, brown sweater and my favourite necklace, called Zoidberg .

;)

*Serbian

I love you Red

I've been thinking of buying a pair of trousers in colour, red, dark red, purple, olive, I just needed a little colour. And I developed a certain aversion to shopping malls which would be the easiest solution, and I also developed a certain aversion to opening my wallet lately.

So, the other day the sister asked if I'd go with her to a neighbourhood  second hand store that used to be right on the corner of my street and that some evil forces decided to steal from me and open it two streets away, so instead of just popping in on my way from work, I have a 10-minute detour to it. And the two of us took a detour that day and so it happened that I found the said trousers in red and also this sweater to sweeten the deal. And together they were still a little bit above half the price I would probably pay for just the trousers in one of the said shopping malls, thankyouverymuch.

;)

*Serbian

     

A Ring

So, about those rings again. This is the one worn most often last week. I didn't even manage to cheat and take a picture of it on my left hand because it wasn't easy doing it with the left hand. Left hand index finger shows off a fresh scar, a token of a hard worker me, so the tripod had to be drawn.

And the wrist warmers are the stars of the season. I make a pair for myself, my mum gets them, make a pair for myself, sister gets them, make them for myself and hide them. Now, everyone wants a pair and I gladly oblige, cousins, friends, boyfriends, just name it!

And for the ring, I got a wonderful compliment from the gentleman who sold it to me. Didn't look like a kind of  man who'd have an opinion on rings, more like a kind of man whose wife left him to keep the store for a while. Anyway, he kindly and in great detail pointed out the superiority of my choice over the rest of the lot, and I was left impressed.

;)

*English

Marcel Makes Me Smile Today

* Last night the Skype conversation with my sister started with her saying: 'M. sent me the most beautiful little video I've seen in my life and I'll think it's the most wonderful thing forever. I'm sending you the link and I want you to watch it right now because I want to see your reaction.' And she sent me the link, and saw my reaction, and we laughed, and then I watched the video two more times last night. And you know what? I wish I could see your reaction watching this video, especially the last lines in part two. Yes, you must watch part two.

* More wonderful things for today, see how books are printed, from piles of paper to boxes ready for delivery to bookstores.

* And guess who wants to live here? 50 beautiful photos of cats living in a cat heaven on a small Japanese island.

;)

*Srpski

Roy Jacobsen - Child Wonder

Decision to buy this book was based solely on the fact that it was by a Scandinavian author, Norwegian to be precise. All the other circumstances were against it.

I found it in a dark and forgotten corner of a publisher's booth on the Belgrade Book Fair this year, with a few other titles, sold for just under 1 euro. A hundred dinars, it's a pretty symbolic price for books, implying that sales for the lot weren't so good and it was to be rid off.

So, my knowledge of Norway stops at Oslo, fjords, Nordic skiing and cold weather, embarrassingly, but for some reason (or many reasons) my instincts say Scandinavian = good. And my instincts were right so far and I spent hundred dinars well. So far I've really enjoyed the book and it's a rest for my mind after the brutality of GoT.

I didn't google the book or the author, I wanted to read it without any prejudice and I hope I'll keep loving it.

;)

*Serbian

One Ring to...

I'm a ring girl, I used to be earring girl, and I'm rarely a bangle/bracelet girl.

I stopped being an earring girl after I dyed my hair red and finally figured out how to best keep it in it's natural unruly state. I realized that all that happening on my head was enough and because of that all the big and little hoops and all the other intricate heavy weights went to rest. As far as earrings go I'm mostly a minimalist now. I have one piercing on the left ear and two on the right and I like combining tiny studs in all sizes and shapes. Just a little shine through the hair that's it.

I wear a thin silver bangle with a flower on the right arm for the last 11 year. I'll show it to you one day. It was the first birthday present from my boyfriend and it leaves my arm only if it's absolutely necessary (which is now because one of the petals on the flower broke of and it's being fixed).

As for the rings that's where the minimalism stops. I remember my first obsession with rings when i was about 12 or 13. My best friend at school had beautiful hands. When puberty struck I felt her hands were moving like a ballerina's hands, they were so narrow and elegant. I started school earlier and was a year younger than everyone and my puberty was nowhere in sight. My hands were still baby hands and my ring collection consisted of the annual fair finds and Kinder surprise surprises, plastic, many flowers and rainbow colours. And my friend always wore two silver rings that her grandpa brought her when he travelled to Austria.

And then one day my aunt gave me a tiny white gold band and my mum gave me one of her silver ones. And then my hands started being all ballerina like and I started buying rings for my self. No gold or silver, but always big and there were many of them, I had a whole year to make up. My friend and I coordinated our collections and daily wears and before PE classes we'd took off all our rings and put them on the wrist watch band and leave them in the changing room.

That's how I lost my aunt's ring. Someone just took my watch with all the rings on it. I'm still sad for that one today, my aunt is gone.

***

Up there on the picture is the majority of my grown up ring collection. I'm a ring girl. Sometimes I just wear one, one of the big ones or one of the small ones. And sometimes I want them all. Only one is silver, no gold, and two are made of wood. Others were cheap and made of whatever, but I had them for a while, I chose them carefully and I like them.

And all this intro is because I plan to occasionally show you the ring situation on my hands, staring next week.

;)

*Serbian

In the Company of Cheerful Ladies

It's snowing outside and inside I'm a hostage. No, not because of the snow, I'm the hostage of the Game of Thrones. Yes, it's so in the spirit of the book. What happened was that I tried to make a longer pause because I only have one more book to read. And then I got obsessed I couldn't stop thinking of it and finally succumbed and asked for the last one.

Well, I still had to wait for it and so I finished In the Company of Cheerful Ladies, which was my fellow hostage. I started reading it last time I tried to make a pause between two parts of GoT and last time I showed I had no willpower. It was only fair to finish it now, although I like to read seasonally, you know Africa in the summer and Winterfell in the winter.

Who else reads multiple books at the same time?

 

;)

*Serbian

The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency - TV Series

   

via

Yesterday I was endlessly grateful to Nevena for tipping me off in one of her posts about the existence of  The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, TV series, produced by BBC! And there was nothing the could lift me better on a blurry, grainy, grey yesterday than a perfect pilot episode that lasted as an average film.

   
You know it's tricky when you like a book so much and then you have to watch someone else's vision of it. It's probably best if you have some time distance from reading it and then watch the ecranisation, so you can watch it without holding on to too many details. And maybe I was so thrilled with the show because I read the first book two years ago, but I was THRILLED and I was blown off my feet (even though I was already on the couch).

And it had the same effect the book had had before. I felt optimistic and motivated, I felt inspired, however cliche it all sounds. It was unlike any of the shows we currently watch, not that any of them are bad, but this one was simply so different.
   
You get exposed to a culture that's colourful, simple, full of music and surrounded by beautiful nature. A new main character who's positive and intelligent, with the most beautiful smile and hair and most colourful outfits. Every single scene is for an inspiration folder interior, travel, nature, style, just pick one!

And id you are patient enough save it for a rainy day, a day that turns on you, and you'll have an instant defense system ready.  

And forgive me for not being able to edit out some of the screencaps, even this much didn't feel enough.

:)

*Serbian

Jane Eyre

After drowning in classics of English literature for four years of University and successfully  passing all the exams thankyouverymuch, I got tired of the classics and avoided reading them for years (although I couldn't avoid buying them). I tried several times but D.H. Lawrence and Edith Wharton and their Sons and Lovers and The Age of Innocence went back to the bookshelf too fast.

Now, I know a lot about many classics, as I guess many other people do, whether I read them or not, which makes it hard for me to read them sometimes. Also I avoid watching a movie before reading a book, like a plague. (I must tell you what happened with The Catcher in the Rye and my previous knowledge about a book, but that's another.)

Well, Jane Eyre I haven't read and I haven't watched the movie which came in handy one sleepless night after I checked emails, Instagram, Facebook and all that jazz. Reader app on my Android offered Jane and I said OK, because of not too much previous knowledge and enough desperation. And I kept reading until sunrise, got to chapter XIII, and in the morning I put it on my Book Fair list. Jane Eyre is now my intermezzo between last two book of Game of Thrones, my way of saving it.

;)

*Serbian

What to wear in October?

I just wish someone had told me not to put away all the summer shoes... Anyway, thanks October for being so nice and above average!

;)

*Serbian

A Guide to the Flea Market

 Going to the flea market gets me in the same type of excitement as going to the Book Fair. Except I can't go with a list. No, definitely no lists for the flea market, won't work. You have to let yourself get carried by the wave, you have to sniff and search, you must have the eye that sees under all the dust and among all that rust. You have to watch the people carefully, from the youngest to the oldest. Some will show you every single thing they sell, with some you can try and bargain, some other will try and cheat, from some you'll want to just run away, some will tell you stories, perhaps of a broken water heater and another flea market in a small town nearby.

And also, you'll have to get up early, earlier than on the Book Fair day. But if it's sunny outside the early walk is well worth it. You'll experience the magic hour, long shadows and golden sun and you'll definitely need the sunglasses. You might be tempted to take a few pictures and then you'll have to explain to your friend why you're late. She'll forgive you of course and take you to her place when you get tired of all the shopping. She'll make some coffee you'll empty all the bags on the floor and scream: 'I can't believe you've got that for just 1E!!!'

;)

*Serbian

Belgrade Book Fair 2013 - James Bond and Crocheting

It's that time of the year again, it's Belgrade Book Fair time which means absolutely nothing to you unless you live in Serbia. But to me it's the only morning I'm really happy despite hanging out with my new best friend Insomnia all night. I'll still show you the list of what I found and tell you that we are getting our first Kindle from Santa this year and I'm still not sure what to feel about it...

Top row:

1. The Neverending Story - Michael Ende (in Serbian)*

2.  Diamonds are Forever- Ian Fleming (in English)*

3. Flaubert's Parrot - Julian Barnes (in Serbian)

4. Mrs. Dalloway and To the Lighthouse - Virginia Wolf (in English)

5. Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery

Second row:

1. Neuromancer - William Gibson (in English)

2. From Russia with Love - Ian Fleming (in English)

3. In the Company of Cheerful Ladies- Alexander McCall Smith (in Serbian)

4. Jane Eyre- Charlotte Bronte (in English)

5. Random vintage Serbian book on crocheting

Bottom row:

1. Sandman - Neil Gaiman (in Serbian)

2. Metro 2033 - Dmitry Glukhovsky(in Serbian)

3. Wunderkind - Roy Jacobsen (in Serbian)

below: Ivan Klajn - kind of Serbian dictionary

4. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert (in English)

5. American Vogue, Septembar 2013

So, judging by this choice of books what would one think of me? I wonder...

* Being able to read in two languages is the only super power I have.

;)

*Serbian

Cats of Pefchokori

Postcard No.2

I know, I was scared too that the rest of the Greece posts won't even happen, you know how it's like when work gets in the way of life. But here it is another infusion of sea water just for you.

Places, People and Languages

Just like last year we spent most of the time contemplating ways to simply stay there, in Pefchokori, Greece. I suppose the same thought was in the minds of many hundred thousands of other Balkan people who were there at the same time. But we, we're different, oh yes! I found a little language school  (I'm pretty sure it's not working though) tucked away in a back street and his work depends only on the internet connection any way. What do you say, Pefchokori? We are the people for you. We got to know you from the top of the hill to the bottom of the sea. We speak English and Serbian, but your mother tongue and ours mix in the most wonderful ways on your streets. There's nothing we couldn't say to each other with a bit of hand waving and big smiles.
 
Another thing I realised, English is not very useful in this part of Greece. Former Yugoslav languages, on the other hand, are very much so. How do I mean that? Well, on the very first day of our vacation in this same place last year I got into a store to buy a bathing suit. 'How much is this one?', I asked in English. The lady said: ''15 Euro.'' What I didn't realise is that she said it in perfect Serbian, so I continued: 'Do you have it in other sizes?' in English. But she was stubborn, she probably heard us speaking Serbian going into the store: 'Do you need it in bigger or smaller size?' 'Bigger', I thought in Serbian, and 'Bigger' I said in Serbian finally, and blushed. She was Serbian and this thing happened many times over, so we ended up getting in stores saying 'Dobar dan', and just watched the things unravel in this or that direction.

Food

This was the only food that stayed on the table long  enough to be photographed and that for the sole purpose of making the recipients (my sister) extremely jealous. We got into that little bakery Lemoni, that we were warned was expensive, but who cares, we'd just try one thing. And although I'm usually more attracted to the desserts with a lot of fruit and cream this time I was strangely drawn to this chocolate miracle that seductively stared at me from the fridge - the Profiterole (second picture). I was hooked but I mustered enough of my brain power to spot at least three other things we had to try (and our wallets cried, but we didn't care). And we did try them all in those 10 days. Profiteroles were the best, I had three and I still suffer I didn't take one more on the last day. The second was Karamelito with caramel and chocolate and cream (second in the first picture). Tried it once and it would be the best one if it weren't for the queens Profiteroles (yes, still crying). Cherry panna cotta got the third place, it was very good and as I said I usually go for the desserts with fruit, but this time they lost to chocolate and caramel. The last one was strawberry panna cotta which was a total disappointment (first on the first picture). Although strawberry is one of my favourite fruits and I was even surprised at myself that I didn't choose it on the first day, lucky that I didn't, it was really bad and I'm still sad I didn't took the Profiterole instead.

And yes, it's not right to speak about Greece and food and not mention giros... No, I can't do it, I'm still thinking of, you know... I'll tell you what, you just go find that place in that little street of the main walk with the old plaid tablecloths, where they watch soccer on the TV from the seventies. They have the best giros not the big ones on the main street, don't trust what anyone else tells you.

Cat

You were worried I left the country where the cat is the national animal without a picture of a cat? Impossible! Well, last year I only started learning about the Greek cats, this year I had a personal teacher. So, the first very important thing we learned from this guy was that in Greece they grow cats in flower pots. And don't try to make any contact while they are sleeping like that, they'l just snore a bit louder. Second, if you have a cat meowing under your balcony in the morning don't try to give it food as your neighbours will also try and many pieces of meat and bread will start flying past you. The cat will just smell it and leave it because it's not food time, it's petting time, so come down for a session, and only after that they'll eat your food. Although on the day seven you might be tempted to throw a sausage at the said cat and say: 'Shut up and eat cat I'll come down later if your not gone sleeping in your pot!', not my proudest moment.

There will also be more Greek cats in another post until then relax from my Profiteroles and cat talk with a few more pictures.

;)

*Serbian