I walked up to Šmarna Gora this morning before sunrise, thinking of you. I saw so many perfect flowers, so many picture-perfect views. But it is the imperfections that make for unique… and perfect.
This one is just for you:
The ones we love never really leave.
Happy birthday. I know the sun always shines where you are. Bask in it, soak up all its warmth and love. In my heart, you will stay forever young.
I’m finally trying to recap last weekend. I was overjoyed to have received my Nikon D40 from Hannes and played around with Nikki as she’s been nicknamed a bit. So on Saturday, after lunch:
buckwheat/spelt pasta with veggies and home-grown basil
I took my bike out on the town. Stopping by at grandma’s first, I took this shot of a busy bee on wisteria:
and hortensia
and carried on to downtown Ljubljana. The first stop of course had to be our dear Green Dragon 🙂
I carried on to Kongresni trg where a group of enthusiastic folks put on a very enjoyable concert as part of the Live Earth happening, called Rock za prihodnje generacije.
One of the best gigs was the joint session of Benč & Grašič:
Thanks to all who organized the event, it must have involved so much work!
…after that, I rode my bike back home right past a Hare Krishna group,
changed it for my cutsey Micra and went South, to the seaside. Met with my sister and her boyfriend and continued with the concerts in beautiful Simonov zaliv. Still carrying Nikki with me, I took these shots of Big Foot Mama…
…and Kingston…
All of this in the best of company:
and before you know it, a new day dawned and we could all start having fun AGAIN! 🙂
She’s here! After roughly 20 years of dreaming about my very own SLR, she’s here. Her name is Nikon D40 and I adopted her from Hannes at Knauserershop in Austria. If anyone is looking to buy, I warmly recommend Hannes as not only the price was the best I could find, but the communication has been exceptional as well. My friends (Adriaan?
My heart jumped for joy when I emptied my mailbox (yep, the non-electronic ones do actually still exist) yesterday evening and found the note of a box waiting for me. This morning I picked up my “Nikki” on the way to work, ripped the box open and let the batteries fill up under my desk while I was busy in meetings, property viewings, traditional Friday lunch with Sabina and writing up a description of our latest investment project in the Caribbean. Perfect timing as the battery filled up just by the time I was ready to leave the office.
Here is Nikki’s very first photo:
My grandmother Kristina @ 86
I had fun quickly assembling the camera and taking the first few shots and can’t wait to get a chance to really test her and start playing with filters etc. Photography, here I come! 🙂
On a different note, seeing as I’ve heard my grandmother’s stories over and over (and over) over the years, it’s shocking that she still manages to find one I haven’t known. She is a very interesting lady. Worked in Ljubljana’s “rižarna” (rice plant) during WW II as a bookkeeper (she kept the real books for the boss, not the ones submitted to the tax officials… some things never change, huh) and supported the resistance fighters throughout the war by helping supply them with rice, knitting socks, gloves and ear muffs and the likes. What I just learned today while taking these shots is that she had also typed up the hand-written diary of Pavla Leban, the nurse in the famous Franja Partisan Hospital.
Last Friday, Sabina and I again enjoyed a tasty meal at Čompa restaurant on Trubarjeva cesta in Ljubljana centre. Just like before, we phoned in and decided on our meal and at the set time we strolled over to the cozy place where the owner makes you feel at home. We had tuna on a bed of arugula – covering up a delicious chompa of course. Yumm! Chompas are traditional baked potatoes from beautiful Bovec region. After the meal, we were treated to a “teranov liker”, a sweet variation of teran wine.
Miša has not been well. She is seriously ill and has just completed a set of treatments. We talked for a length of time today. She is the type of person who is always there for others, but now she is the one in need of support and all the power of positive thought we can muster up. It takes so little to make a big change. Miša is in a dark place and needs to know there are people out there who care. It will give her the strength she needs. If you are willing to write a few inspiring words for Miša, I will print them out and make sure they reach them. I’m selfish. I want her back on her feet soon so I can enjoy more of her great cooking! Help
Evo, pa sem bila pofočkana še jaz. Včeraj ni zneslo, ker sem bila na zanimivi predstavitvi knjige dr. Karmen Šterk: SERIJSKI MORILEC. Normalen psihopat patološke matere. Ampak evo, po bubašvabinem naročilu nadaljujem s serijskim popisom sedmerih naključnih dejstev o blogerjih.
1. V osnovni šoli sem pri športni vzgoji raje zunaj igrala nogomet s fanti, kot se v telovadnici raztegovala s puncami. Moja specialiteta je bila obramba. Zaničevala sem barbike in karkoli v roza barvi. Bila sem edina punca pri tehničnem krožku in uživala v rezbarjenju, izdelavi zmajev itd.
2. Do dveh let nazaj nisem pila kave, alkohola, nosila kril ali visokih pet. Potem sem priredila rojstnodnevni koktejl žur, ki je presegel vsa pričakovanja in približno od takrat ne drži nič več od naštetega. Celo prej prezirana roza barva je našla mesto med oblačili (prva ostaja rdeča). In oblekice so zakon! Aja, edino kava ni več aktualna. Pravi čaj mi bolj sede.
3. Zanima me skoraj vse, zato nekako vedno počnem preveč stvari naenkrat. Na primer dve službi, faks in par hobijev. Posledično sem včasih nevzdržno tečna. Je pa res, da mi nikoli, ampak res nikoli ni dolgčas.
4. Imam hud odpor do vojske. Ne razumem, kdo si lahko želi imeti službo, katere cilj se je naučiti, kako se pobija ljudi. Če tega ne bi hotel nihče, ne bi bilo vojn ane. Z največjim veseljem bi prepovedala prodajo vseh otroških igračk v obliki orožja. Že vrsto let je vse, kar si iskreno zaželim za novo leto, da bi bil na svetu mir. In to ne da bi kandidirala za kakršno koli misico.
5. Moj prvi računalnik je bil ZX Spectrum +, ki sem ga dobila za mislim da 8. rojstni dan. Od takrat sem hooked. Online sem že 12 let. Tretji dan po prvem priklopu na net sem imela svoj prvi HP, v htmlju from skreč. Internet me je popolnoma fasciniral. Toliko informacij in toliko ljudi na doseku klika.
6. Rada imam ljudi in uživam v pogovorih. Prepričana sem, da se lahko česa novega naučim od čisto vsakogar, ki ga spoznam. Malenkost s tem v povezavi se zelo rada učim tujih jezikov in veliko potujem. V lastni režiji, nikoli z agencijami. Moja mikrica ali avion/rentakar, pa ajd gremo!
7. Moja krvna skupina je B+. Daj kri tudi ti!
Z največjim veseljem bi predala štafeto, ampak sem tukaj precej sveža in se bojim, da so vse blogerje, katerih prebliske z užitkom prebiram, za svoje žrtve že izbrali drugi.
EDIT 29/6/07
V strahu, da me ne bi doletelo sedem let nesreče v ljubezni, bornega kmetijskega pridelka, nesposobne vlade itd., vseeno predajam štafeto… Prosim, nadaljujte s po sedmimi dejstvi o sebi ali svojih alteregih:
Pred nekaj dnevi sem v drugem blogu brala prispevek o zvestih psih in zahrbtnih mačkah, ki se je končal s srce parajočo fotografijo razmrcvarjene ptičice, ki ji je zlobna muca uničila gnezdo. In znova sem se zamislila nad dvojnimi merili, ki jih ljudje vse preradi uporabljamo. Pasti posploševanja in predsodkov so močno zagozdene na vseh poteh, ki jih ubiramo. Nisem si mogla kaj, da ne bi razmišljala o tem, kaj bi tisti, ki so se zgražali nad hudodelstvom kosmate lovke, storili, če bi videli človeka v stiski.
Scena izpred nekaj tednov. Ljubljana. Lepo vreme. Počasi se večeri. Prav prijetno je zunaj posrkati pijačo v dobri družbi. Težko se je izogniti raznim vsiljivežem. Prosijo za denar, na mize tlačijo fotografije z žalostnimi zgodbicami, prodajajo šopke. No, nek starejši gospod pa se je zelo želel pogovarjati z mladimi dekleti. Nič nasilnega, neprijaznega. Pač hotel se je pogovarjati. Dolgo. Bil je v napoto. In glej si ga vraga, slučajno je bil paden po tleh, da mu je kri tekla iz ušesa, ni mogel hoditi in je ob vsakem gibu glasno stokal. V bližnji ogolici je bilo najmanj sto ljudi. Storili so en velik nič. Odvržen na bližnji zidek je obležal kot vreča krompirja, ki je občasno iz sebe spustila milo prošnjo, naj ga že kdo ubije. Poklicala sem rešilca in čakala ob njem. Pridružil se mi je univerzitetni profesor iz tujine. Kasneje še znan slovenski igralec. Še kasneje njegova prav tako znana kolegica. Oba sta gospodu izkazala iskeno sočutje. Po promenadi dva metra stran pa so se valile množice, ki Franceljnu, ki je, preden ga je prežel alkohol, v Zasavju trideset let delal kot rudar, z izjemo mladega kolesarja, ki je ponudil svojo pomoč, niso namenile več kot kakšen firbčen pogled. Ko je le prispelo reševalno vozilo, je bilo predstave konec.
Kakorkoli, ob branju še ene izmed razprav o tem, ali so boljši ljudje psi ali mačke (ne, ne manjka vejica), me je zaneslo v blago moraliziranje in razmišljanje o tem, da bi veljalo začeti pri skrbi za ljudi. Pa da se razumemo, živali imam zelo rada. Svoj dom delim z njimi in ga vedno bom. Ampak ljudje smo pa ljudje, kenede.
Stepping off my soap box, kot bi rekli Angleži.
