Dr. Filomena

Žale cemetary, Ljubljana

Here’s some more of that Slavic schmaltz especially for alcessa 😉
I’m not one to go light candles on my relatives’ graves very often, much less at times when this is expected to be done en masse by generally accepted standards and conventions, but I still cannot dismiss this time of the year. If it hadn’t been for this darned cold, I’d have gone to Urh. In Slovenia the All Saints Day is called, rather eerily, “Dan mrtvih” or the “Day of the Dead”. I prefer to think of it as the remembrance day.

A time when we pause from the hectic daily lives most of us lead and ponder over issues of a slightly more spiritual nature than job/money problems, the latest politician-induced blood pressure surge, the everimportant colour of the couch to match the wall if not feng shui rules.

When it comes to those who’ve been here before us, I somehow cannot believe that once they are gone, they are gone completely. Call it spirit, energy, whatever you like, but I feel my loved ones are with me. They were such a big part of my life that they left a print in my heart that cannot be erased by simple breakdown of their ‘shells’.

Remembrance to me had little to do with actually going to graves, preferably dressing up according to the latest fashion trends and decorating the grave once a year. It is about keeping my loved ones in my thoughts year-round and remembering the times we spent together and what I’ve learned from them. Undoubtedly, one of the lessons that stuck is to enjoy the company of those who are very much alive. Here and now.

In the words of the old bard…

Receive what joy you may
The Night is long
That never finds the day

gutta cavat lapidem, non vi, sed saepe cadendo

To help with the GuessCard 😉 this is how I got here…

Pretty or What

SG / Stomach Guidance

WARNING: do not scroll down if you’ve eaten during the last 12 hours or are planning to satisfy your hunger in the next 12.

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Hey, you have been given a fair warning.

A couple of weeks ago, a friend came all the way from far far away Krško and as he happens to be a blogger (Buba, I have a bad cold myself right now 🙁 ), one keystroke led to another and the “drink” developed into a very enjoyable evening in the company of bright, imaginative, literate, fun-loving young bloggers. Among them, all three newly elected SiOL’s house bloggers. I bow to you, oh majesties. Whoops, the popular vote thing, right… I bow to you, oh blogger celebrities: Fetalij, Irena and Chef; as well as Pi.Roman, Kandela, Mojca, Deus.X.Mashina, Nina, Barbara and last but not least, the infamous Sex.

How could I not love this town? Ljubljana rules! On the way to the bar…

No shortage of drinks… even if the waiter was far more incompetent than good old Manuel. Basil should fix things by the next time.

How’s it hanging?

Wild Ride

High Five

In addition to the cool and very different if slightly spooky environment, a good reason to pay a visit to Pr’Skelet is the 2-4-1 policy 😉

Afterwards, we moved to the Cutty Sark just off the Three Bridges to say hi to another Ljubljana resident blogger, Pengovsky who DJd at the place that night.

Take your eyes off that striped sweater right now!!!

Gotta love those smiling faces!

More bloggers, including a *very* famous one 😉

Photo by Pi.Roman

We finished the night with a slight doubt being raised in our minds regarding Fetalij’s sexual preferences, but the doubt has since been successfully dispersed. BTW, way to go, Fetalij! Grandma’s proud of you… 😈

Here’s to many more gatherings such as this one. Thanks for the good time, y’all!

Go vote!

This text really should be in Slovenian as it’s meant for Slovenian citizens due to cast their votes in the presidential elections tomorrow, but since this is my standpoint regardless of the time and place of elections, here goes: it is one’s right and duty to go and cast a vote.

Never ever let me hear you say I am just one voice that cannot change a thing. The total of votes cast is but a sum of all individual votes whereby yours is worth exactly as much as the next woman’s (or man’s).

I care much less about who you vote for tomorrow than whether you vote at all.

If you’re still wavering, thinkg about what a long struggle it was to secure the Right to Vote to so many. If you’re a woman, think twice as hard.

So go ahead, exercise the right that you have thanks to the fight of so many before you and go fulfil your civic duty.

Vote!

PS: No particular reason to feature the green dragon. I just like that photo. Taken this summer at the “Dragon Bridge” in Ljubljana.

Ljubljana market.

EDIT: I still need to figure out this mobile blogging thing. It started snowing at the market while I was there around noon and I wanted to post this entry… Had to cut way back on the text and it still wouldn’t go through. Then it went through a couple of hours later. The photo is so much nicer and larger than the one from the castle… strange. Anyway, will figure it out somehow.

…we borrow it from our Children.

Savica Waterfall – photo by dr. filomena, September 2007

Today is Blog Action Day with the topic being the Environment. Here is a link I found interesting, Greentips – environmental ideas in action prepared by the Union of Concerned Scientists.

If you are still questioning how far-reaching the effects our actions have on the environment or have already realized that time to act is now was yesterday, you’ll have plenty of reading ahead of you if you take a peek here: list of environmental issues.

This is what Gorenjska Region of Slovenia looks today and the way we’d love to keep it for future generations. – photo by dr. filomena, September 2007

The full quote I chose for this post’s title comes from the indigenous people of America and goes like this:

Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children. We are more than the sum of our knowledge, we are the products of our imagination. “

This window in a Chappel of the Cathedral featured here last week gives a new take on looking at life through rose glasses.

Alcessa already knows the location, but for the rest of you guys, here are the final hints:
– Oldest German town, just some 40 km east of the City of Luxembourg;
– Birthplace of Karl Marx;
– Only church in the area with a Coptic chappel (as of this year).