In my line of work (real estate agency and investments) I have the pleasure of meeting many interesting people from all walks of life. Each and every one of them has a story to tell and can make for entertaining company, but some are extra special. Yesterday, I was lucky enough to spend some time with Ugo Furlan, an Italian illustrator and multimedia artist. He does beautiful work with drawings used in anything from comic books to calendars and business gifts, but I was most impressed with his little foamy sculptures.
Above is an illustration from a ‘where and how to dine in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region’ book. A very rough translation of the waiter’s words to the customer: Menu? I don’t know that word, Madam. This is a restaurant, not a library, maam. Come on, just eat. Afterwards, you can read the bill.”
Like I said, I loved Ugo’s little hand-painted dolls made of a sort of a hard rubber combined with silicone, quickly frozen to produce the effect of special effects’ material used in movies. The one that really drew my attention was the little triceratops blowing his toenails dry after careful application of nail polish. It seemed completely unaware of the fact that its purpose in life was to serve as a book stopper and too cute for words. It wasn’t difficult to spot my enthusiasm and kind Ugo let me adopt the cutie pie after branding him with a proper autograph. I’m calling him… Bob 🙂 And no, I don’t think he’s going through a gender identity crisis. Back in the days, all triceratops, both boys and girls, kept two right-foot toenails nicely trimmed and painted red.
Inspired by today’s Pengovsky’s Friday Foxy, I looked for my photos of the Triglav lakes next to the mountain hut (KoÄŤa pri Triglavskih jezerih) at the altitude of 1,685 m.
I didn’t get to see the mermaid, but found the views to be just as spectacular without her. It may have been the fresh air and the beauties of nature all around us or perhaps the sense of achievement after a rather long walk up to the cabin from Lake Bohinj… most probably a combination of both, but I was in awe. The only problem being that my sentiments were shared by easily over a hundred other people, most of whom had made their reservations and were able to actually spend the night at the cabin. There’s always next time, right 🙂
I couldn’t decide which of the photos I liked best, so am including several. Hope you don’t mind.
By the way, which of these photos do you think looks best? Don’t forget to click to enlarge.
My choice of video for the above photos that bring back lovely memories:
The eight-second video above (I do need to come around to buying a new SD card for Xavi!!!) shows but a glimpse of the fun had by the group of swing enthusiasts at Kodeljevo Castle in Ljubljana.
I’m seriously considering taking a class. The impressively quick feet or delightfully slow squeezes were such joy to look at. I haven’t seen that many people smile at the same time in a long time. The gals and guys meet at Kodeljevo every Tuesday night starting at 9 pm.
Calling all bloggers not to the chu-chu train, but the moo-moo ball. Kravji bal (the Cow Ball) has an impressive tradition and will be held for the 52nd time this year.
At least four bloggers will be present and since the more the merrier applies in this case, regardless of some things being best in twos as discussed at alcessa’s blog (happy anniversary!), why not join in on the fun and come on to Ukanc/Bohinj this coming Sunday? The event begins around 10 am and the organised bits go on until 8 pm. Afterwards, we’ll play it by ear.
You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty. -Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948)
Spines may prevent enemy assault, But make friendly hugs equally challenging. (I took the photo of the above Eryngiumtwo weeks ago in Croatia.)
He who would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself. -Thomas Paine (1737-1809)
This is a shot of ÄŚrno jezero (Black Lake), which is one of the “7 Lakes of Mt Triglav”, the highest mountain in Slovenia and our national symbol, e.g. featured on the Slovenian flag.
Each of the lakes bears its own name that reflects its characteristics. When waters are high, Dvojno jezero (the Double Lake) becomes a single one and ss the spruce and pine tree forests around it cast dark shadows over the clear waters, it is called ÄŚrno jezero (the Black Lake). The waters are abundant with small fish and newts. And are the perfect remedy for tired feet.
The “7 Lakes” are positioned at altitudes ranging from 1319 and 2002 metres.
ÄŚrno jezero
By the way, I’ve been up to the lake twice this summer and both times, upon glancing the Black Lake for the first time, my mountainwalking partners exclaimed not “how pretty” or anything to that effect, but rather: “Hey, it’s not BLACK!” 🙂
This sand lizard (in Slovenia, we call them “martinÄŤek”, i.e. “little martins”) was spotted at the seaside hunting for insects on a tent roof while we were fixing (Joan and Ian will cringe, haha) dinner underneath.
To my cat fancy friends: I wasn’t really going to go ahead with any breedings this season as I have other priorities that need taking care of and not enough time to dedicate to the fancy, but Chuchi and Diablo saw fit to surprise me with this little package of purring joy.
This perky little Back to Black edition of the classic Persian model was produced by Kuorii El Diablo of Planika (black male out of CH Melositos Mr. European Gay x D’Eden Lover Eclipse of Kuorii) and GC Planika La Vie En Rose (tortie smoke out of Digit Unfer x CH Planika Larifari). I like to name my cats after songs and preferably keep them in connection with the parents’ names. This was going to be a tough one, but Xavi’s Godfather came through again with the perfect name. So, here comes the mischievous Slovenian goblin
Planika Perkmandeljc
Dušan Kastelic, the creator of the international award-winning Orlek music video below, explains: Perk (short for Perkmandeljc) is a mine-goblin and well-known and respected resident of our town /Trbovlje/. In my early days, parents often threatened me: “Perkmandeljc will take you in his hole like the other naughty children.” Read more about the video here.
I can’t miss out on a chance to thank Paolo Carnevaletti of Kuorii Persians here for his incredible generosity in sharing the kittens’ father with me. The baby says ciao, salut and hola to the breeders of his immediate ancestors (Paolo, Frederic and Sergio) 🙂
