The eight random facts meme

Allright. I was tagged by Beth some time ago and I wish to supply you with all these unnecessary information about me...

1. Although my skin is never white (say, it's yellowish in the winter and bronze-ish in the summer) and my hair is long, a bit wavy and rather really black than brown, my eyes are blue. This fact about my eyes usually surprises those who have not really cared to look into the eye and have only a faint recognition of my overall complexion.

2. I prefer cold weather to hot anytime. I can enjoy hiking at degrees below zero, but when it reaches above 25 C, there's nothing much to do around for me, really.

3. I have a strange way to numbers and regularity. When I work (at home) I measure my time spend working in 15 minutes. For each 15 minutes I put a sign into a printed schedule that shows the hours of the day, divided into 15 minutes. Basically, this is how I measure the amount of time I work - for I am paid on a time-basis. When I do aerobics at home, I count everything. Whatever excercise I'm doing I'm doing 10-15-20-25 of that. I can't and won't do, like 13 of situps. That sounds nonsense to me. I do either 10 or 15. Talking of excercise, I do it almost everyday, do 30 minutes almost everday and do it almost always between 9,30 and 11,30 AM. I've been even known for cancelling appointments that would collide with that daily routine. But behold! We have monthly meetings with my husband, when we assing duties for the coming month and evaluate the completion of tasks assigned for the past one. We've been doing it for 10 years now and it is really interesting to look back at things of the past. 'See? We had been unable to fix that curtain for 6 months!! Bwah-hah-hah!!!'

4. I used to have a Gordon setter. I called her Niki (pronounce as Nicky). I walked her a lot and so I did while we were hiking. At one time she caught a baby mouflon. We were on a three day-hike with my husband so we kept the flesh and had it for dinner over open fire. I also took her to traning lessons and trained her myself as well. She was an eager learner, lover of woodlands and a very disloyal company. Anyone who offered a larger chunk of food was her best friend at any given moment. I took her to Dog Shows as well. I bred her, had my own kennel name, which is now my password to my blog account - so don't ask for it.I loved doing this, but I doubt I will ever have a dog again.

5. In wintertime, chopping firewood is one of my favourite activity. It is excellent for releasing stress. Also it is useful, for our house is heated with wood only. Also, it strengthens my hand muscles to a level that leaves male visitors impressed.

6. I am addicted to the Internet and to my PC in general. I have to take serious measures on the daily basis to avert myself form sitting in front of the monitor. What do I do? Reading blogs, playing online games, writing..... When I'm not on the net, I enjoy my other life just as much and really can get involved in life, but distraction is not easy.

7. I had the chance to visit the Grand Canyon in 1991. We were a group of 9 people, travelling in a Chevrolet station wagon. I usually sat on the furthest back seat, with lots of baggages, but no human else. When we arrived to the parking lot, everyone hurried out to go and visit the 'Nice Hole'. I said everyone and meant everyone but me, for I was unable to leave the car: I was reading a novel and was on the last pages and was unable to leave the story behind. Even if the alternative activity was visiting the canyon, I stayed in the seat until I finished reading. The novel that outshone the canyon was Madeleine L'Engle's 'A Swiftly Tilting Planet'. The beauty of the Grand Canyon utterly impressed me, nevertheless....! And I wish to return.
8. So far, so good... I have managed to collect facts that are either interesting, or sort of funny. At least nothing gloomy and really bad... Okay, let's give it a try. I'm a hermit-type of person. I like inviting people to my house, making them feel allright, have an entertaning couple of hours, and also I like being invited to parties and/or hike around in the wild with people, but if I'm asked, 90 of 100 occasions I would prefer being alone anywhere anytime to being with anyone.

There you have it. Pictures were 'taken' from the internet - except for photos for 1, 2 and 5

Summer

Summer, you liar

you make me believe you'd stay in my garden

and in my soul forever

and this lush fabric of life'd grow and bloom

into infinity

that my bones'd be heated by the ever raising Father

our Sun above

and summer, you fake lover, you make me forget

just about everything

but you

on summer food and water management

Last weekend we were having fun at a small village called Bogács. If you take a look at the Hungarian page of the famous spa, you'll get an image of what it is like. The village is based on spa-tourism. The main attraction is the special mineral warm water, which is said to cure many diseases, especially those of the locomotory, rheumatic and some gynaecological kind.

People can come all year round for a treatment, for there are pools with 'average water' as well.

Kids spend hours in the kids' pool. And what do people eat?

In Hungary, the standard menu on a place like this is icecream, pancakes (those are not pictured) and the scone. (called lángos in Hungarian, pronounce like luhn-ghosh). It is made of raised dough, something similar to the dough of bread, but it is fried in oil.

It is always served salted and hot (I don't mean hot as spicy, but as really, really warm)

You can top it with meshed garlic, that is the traditional kind, but grated cheese melted on the hot scone also satisfy your needs.

Here they are:

topped with sour cream and grated hard cheese

and this above is the simple one, with meshed garlic.And this is how it is eaten:
What else did you expect?

Besides scones, the fish and chips is also a sort of must-have at a spa. This is how we have it in Hungary.

And now, on to the topic of water management. Fish are considered a rarity in today's Hungarian cuisine in Hungary. While an average member of the EU consumes 22 kg of fish a year, the same figure for an average Hungarian is only 2,8 - one third of which is eaten before and around Christmas.

But it was not always the case. The Carpathian basin is full of rivers. The reason we consume less of this extremely healthy animal is not that two-third of the territory was cut off some 80 years ago - no, the signs of bad started much earlier.

Our main rivers, especially the Tisza, used to have an extensive system of backwaters. It surely did not allow for a quick water-based transport and due to regular, annual floods much of the land was unsuitable for arable management. During the late XIX century, much of the bends were straightened and much, if not all, of the prevoius floodlands were turned to agricultural areas. Consult this old map. The strong lines detail the present bed, whereas the dim arches show where the river used to be. Dim striped areas used to be floodlands.

Kudos, then?

Not so very much. Water management did speed up the flow of the river, making navigation easily available and faster. There were more areas to grow wheat or corn on. So? So?

The fast river still floods each year, washing away number of houses in certain years.

The ecosystem was seriously hurt - although the past long decades after the management were enough to allow for the estbalishment and slow development of a new one. I am not an ecologist, I've heard it from a friend, who is. The following short explanation is based on what he said to me:

'Flood, and the numerous branches and bends of Tisza were used by the people living there. They used to cut off certain parts of the river only to release it later on again and they bred fish. Various types of freshwater species. A whole cultural system was built upon the circumstances. The equipment they used were special, too. Fish were available in abundancy. People had fish, perhaps every day. Eating healthy fish was not restricted to some summer weekend when the family goes to a spa. Now we have to raise fish in artificial ponds. We are even stooped to import fish from whoever-knows-where. Managing backwaters and bendlets, raising fish on a daily basis, providing a smaller community with food used to give a natural and healthy and all-year occupation to many. This is what the lovers of the River Tisza weep for.'

I hear this man. And his love for Tisza caught me, too.

update: I'll be away for the weekend. Will be back when I have time to write. I'm planning to do the 8 strange things about you meme, for I have been tagged a good fortnight ago by Beth...

a what?

Let's play.

I invite you to present English words, expressions and/or sentences that read the same from the front as from backwards. What did I just mean?

Palindromes.

Here are my versions (with my lame translations in brackets and italics)

--- Erős a sas őre. (the eagle has a strong guard)
--- Erőszakos kannak sok a szőre. (the agressive male has lots of hair)
--- Az a hat ló Bartókot rabolta haza. (these six horses captured Bartók home)
--- Indul a pap aludni. (the priest is going to sleep)
--- Indul a görög aludni. (the greekman is going to sleep)
--- Indul a kutya s a tyúk aludni. (the dog and the hen are going to sleep)
--- Géza, kék az ég. (Look, Géza, the sky is blue)
--- Leventét nevel. (he's raising a fighter)
--- Réti pipitér. (THIS IS NOT translation: this is the name of a flower that actually exists)
--- Goromba rab morog. (the impolite prisoner is grouching)
--- Csak a mama makacs. (only mommy is obstinate)

But hear the LONGEST palindrom in Hungarian:

"Kis erek mentén, láp sík ölén, oda van a bánya rabja, jaj Baranyában a vadon élő Kis Pálnét nem keresik."

This is a silly sentence, though a Hungarian speaker can completely understand it. No word-plays or slangs or really rare words. Maybe, some poetric images.

Here's my translation:

'Beside small creeks, on the heart of marshlands, the prisoner of the mine is gone, oh, the nomad wife to Kis Pál, is not sought after in Baranya anymore.'

Applause.

an evening story to Hajas

The mother Hen was walking along the edge of the forest with her chicklets. They were all enjoying the fresh grass and everyone picked on the wild flowers, too. Once they saw that curious little chiklet that came out of the bushes. It was so sparkling and colorful. 'Oh, you must be the Princess of Chickens, for your plumage is so full of colors' - they said the new chicken in amazement. 'Yes, I am' it answered. 'And you must be the chicken family that lives in the village down there'.
'Please, come and have dinner with us' - the family invited the Princess.
They all walked down to where the Hen and her chiklets lived. There were plenty of seeds there. And they tasted the corn in the yard. They ate so much they fell asleep. Everyone slept in the henhouse and let the Princess slept on the highest rod.

Photo: by me on 7 June, 2007. Hajas's name is to be pronounced as 'Huh-yush'

I ran over a noodle because I'm a Ninja!

PRE-WORD:

this is to satisfy my readers, including myself. For it is fun.

PLUS, this is one of the stupidest, simpliest things I've ever read on a blog. And one of the funniest, too. Tell me your sentences - into the comments section.

Pick the month you were born:

January------I kicked

February-----I loved

March---------I karate chopped

April-----------I licked

May-----------I jumped on

June----------I smelled

July-----------I did the Macarena with

August-------I had lunch with

September---I danced with

October------I sang to

November----I yelled at

December----I ran over

Pick the day (number) you were born on:

1- ------a birdbath

2-------a monster

3-------a phone

4-------a fork

5-------a snowman

6-------a gangster

7-------my cell phone

8-------my dog

9-------my best friends' boyfriend

10-------my neighbor

11-------my science teacher

12-------a banana

13-------a fireman

14-------a stuffed animal

15 -------a goat

16-------a pickle

17-------your mom

18---- ---a spoon

19------- a smurf

20-------a baseball bat

21-------a ninja

22-------Chuck Norris

23-------a noodle

24-------a squirrel

25-------a football player

26-------my sister

27-------my brother

28-------an ipod

29-------a surfer

30-------a llama

31-------a homeless guy

Pick the color of shirt you are wearing:

White--------because I'm cool like that

Black---------because that's how I roll

Pink----------because I'm NOT crazy

Red----------because the voices told me to

Blue----------because I'm sexy and I do what I want

Green---------because I think I need some serious help

Purple--------because I'm AWESOME!

Gray----------because Big Bird said to and he's my leader

Yellow--------because someone offered me 1,000,000 dollars

Orange -------because my family thinks I'm stupid anyway

Brown--------because I can

Other---------because I'm a Ninja!

None----------because I can 't control myself

you helped me out with this poll

June 8 th FRIDAY UPDATE and END RESULTS

I would like to thank everyone for their contribution to this little survey. It appears that 5 readers have found the test interesting enough to tell me and the whole world the reason(s) for READING blogs.

If you still wish to express your opinion, scroll a little below and pick your choice(s).

If you want the results, here they are:

Out of 5, 3 people voted that the main reason for reading a blog is EITHER looking for virtual friendship OR looking for fun and light-hearted stuff. And those take 60% of the readers.

These were the more prominents reasons, but again, this is not a world-wide survey, you know.

Other reasons of importance were looking for interesting, inspiring material AND looking for something to spend my spare time with (this one cracked me up a bit, to be honest) AND also looking at different cultures and lives of faraway people. All the aforementioned 3 reasons were important for 40% of the voters.

The least important aspects were looking for some deep thoughts to chew on and looking for nice photos, and the 'other' option. These were only chosen by 1-1 of my readers.

I did NOT voted in this poll, but my preference would have been, and still is:

1. I'm looking for interesting, inspiring material that makes my mind going.

2. I'm looking for some deep thoughts to chew on.

3. I'm looking for virtual friendship.

And this is not supposed to mean that I reject fun stuff, which I don't. And also, I'm just as much interested in the lifes and thoughts of people living all around the world and the next door ... :-)

Below is the original post and the poll. If you are new to this poll, go ahead and let your opinion be heard.

---------

There has been a slight misunderstanding between me and a fellow blogger. She claimed that people visit blogs CHIEFLY for they seek an easily digestible form of reading. Being a smart writer herself, I really doubt her reasoning.

This is a MULTIPLE-CHOICE poll. So, you can choose any answer(s) that fit(s) you the best. Also, there is an option for 'Other' - where you can write whatever reason(s) you have. Thanks for cooperation!

Update: I have not voted in this poll. If any of the options seems unclear, please let me know so that I can clarify it.

definitely summer

We have two more weeks of school. It feels like summer. The invincible smell of strawberries rises up above in the morning even in streets with cars...

The heat reaches the bones and purges the last reminescent of winter out of your body. Or does it make you recall it even more? Or does it make you feel you're storing up energy for the winter yet to come? But where would that be you wonder...

The late afternoon campfires with bacons' sizzling on rods is one of summer's best attributes.

I guess some of you'd find roasting and eating bacons disgusting - or at least...strange.... ?

It is sort of a habit over here to have them sliced up and pushed into rods - they are simple and quick to make. Kids enjoy it pretty much.

The fat goes into the bread which is eaten with lots of spring onions, tomatoes and salads - basically with whatever 'green' the garden can offer. Yesterday I had mine with basil for example. Most people do not eat the bacon itself, but we do.

clearing all up - or messing again?

In a post about my relationship to writing in English and the problems and joys it involves I had a sentence that left my careful readers unimpressed. Rightly so, for it was not written with the greatest care plus it was quite long. Funnily enough, the entry was about expressing one's ideas in a different language, about making one understood, about matching one's ideas with one's physical life.

The sentence:

Thinking shapes one's attitude towards life and when the net of thoughts just does not fit the net of actions one is to encounter on a daily basis one feels uneasy - at the very least.

Now, before I start handing out some explanation, let me kindly remind us all, that 1.) I am not a linguistic expert and 2.) it was a sentence in a context. If you have not read the original entry, I advise you to go back and read it (again).

Now, with a slightly dead-brain - oh my, I do have to allow myself to declare to be tired and out-of-my-bests, I do have to learn doing this, so...

The entry was about how writing English leads me to thinking English - I bet that is all clear for us... If you are to gather your thoughts and pour them into words, you ought to have them in the same language. Otherwise your thoghts get lost and/or tangled inbetween translation. I learned translation and I also learned that it never means putting the equivalents of the words (in the other language) into the same order as they were in the original language. Translators must feel the text as a whole, must get the whole idea behind the lines.

If one keeps thinking using one special language in one's head - that is ok. That is just about everyone does in the world. Not a big surprise. It's one's original language. Or so it must be, I suppose. Basically this is the same language one uses to communicate with the people around.

If one has a language in the head, but has to use another one for getting around in the outside of the head that must be a burden. Ideas in the head, feelings arosen within are all connected to a language, but when these must be shown to the outside world, translation has to step in. And there comes the uneasiness I referred to - for it is nice to be able to translate all those things, but wouldn't it be nicer to NOT HAVE to translate them at all?

Languages on the other hand, do have an influence on one's mind. It's a sort of an egg-hen problem - you know, the which was first type of problem. Some languages are see things and events of the world as a part of a big scheme, therefore their sentences are chiefly made up of coordinate clauses. Was it a bunch of people that had this vision that made up such a language or was it the language that formed the people?

Oh my, I feel like I'm getting lost in my sentences again...If anyone has followed me until this point, well, have my congratulations...

Some other languages (or bunch of people - see how I try to avoid mentioning words like 'nation') prefer order above all, for the system is more important, the relationship between thing is more important than the WHOLE scene in general. These languages are filled with sub-ordinate clauses for example. When the sentence clearly defines the role of one particle in relation to the other.

If you're still with me, have my sympathy....

Let's suppose one is coming from the big scheme language, with her mind set to thinking in generalities, with her mind seeking the role of a particle within the big scheme - let that be me, to be honest...

Take this someone into a world of subordinates and she'll find it hard at first, not that really hard at second and... She begins writing and thinking in this language, things are changing within her brain...yet she still lives in the same environment...where all the members of her family and all the friends she can get in real touch with are thinking the same 'old' way - at the same time she has entered into friendly relationships with people on the other language...

Okay, I'm lost.

I'd rather be cleaning up the hen house.

I'm glad to have you as friends.

And I might return with my ideas on the subject, but now... not now.

*headed for the chicken house - supplying animals with fresh hay* Is there anything better in the world then gathering hay and spreading it over the floor of the house?

Do you have to write anything and read anything and learn anything at all? When you can make animals happy and make yourself feel needed by such simple deeds?

Oh, my.

I'll be posting a reference to the state I've been recently - and the way I found some way out :)

by your help again, of course...

See? I can't, I just can not tear the two apart. But at the moment, it does not bother me.

Thanks for listening.

I guess this was just as much incomprehensible as the original sentence I started with.

Wasn't it?

Tell me - Have no mercy on me - be honest.

A cherry-ladder

keep looking for a different perspective

This one goes out especially for Melly, but for anyone else who likes to take a look at things at another angle...

the way home

I walk towards home
a dark hole in some dazed obscure water
swollen crocodiles along the trail
their dead bodies sway in the grass
blue butterflies among the blades
my legs stiff, frozen and heavy

the air is oozy and as I wipe the non-existent moist from my forehead
I wipe off memories of you, too
I can't take it anymore
wake me up
for I need a lust for life
but my eyes close themselves

small and invisible
behind my eyelids, I am safe
a hideout for the misplaced-
it comforts me.
Curtains dropped, the journey begins
and each time I pray for not to
be here, be me, be, in my time again
how pathetic

I do not really wish this
being ripped off, detached hurts me even more
this is the only pain I feel
I wish I was alive instead -
the nearer I strive to Heaven the closer I get to Hell

writing in English - to Beth

UPDATE:

since Blogger ate my precious photo, I decided to put music here instead. Music by Jane Siberry. Matches my current mood. How good is that, to find a music that suits you.

If I got it right, Beth, commenting on the piece of path revealed below, asked about the difficulties of producing such *pretty* fragments of writing in a language that is not someone's basic/mother one.

(Basically, I am overwhelmed by the encouragement and praise I get for the things I write. This one from Beth is no exception to that.)

Now, this question is a good one.

As you probably know, I started writing this blog in Hungarian, but when I noticed I had international visitors I decided to enable them to communicate with me by letting them know about me and my feelings. So, I had to switch to English.

Writing in English allows me to improve my knowledge of this second language. Sometimes I translate Hungarian prose or poetry by my own and some of my friends help me upgrade these translations.

When I was a teenager I wrote some *coughs* poetry in Hungarian. After due consideration, one might say that some of my English *poems* are better than those I wrote back some 15-20 years ago in my own language. Why? Another mistery. I realized pretty early that I don't measure up to the Hungarian poets I admire. That's when I stopped writing in Hungarian.

Blogging somehow developed into a combined writing. I decided to mirror my soul and spiritual path here. At present, 'Forest thoughts' is the place where I let my graphomaniac self freely out. I shared one of my *poems* just recently with a highschool girlfriend of mine and I remember the shame I felt when I confessed that I wrote these in another language. She said she did not mind it and liked that thing anyway :) She was kind to me I guess.

Writing in English involves thinking English and here come the difficulties.

For it results that at times it makes me feel detached, at other, schisophrenic, at some insignificant others still, a genius. These latter do not last very long, though - don't get me wrong, please :)))

And to answer my friend's question - it is easy, for it entertains, educates and inspires me. I love finding matching photos to mood-inspired writings and some of my writings were inspired by photos, too. Also, it is very hard because you can not always be sure about the meaning and what your selected words convey to the reader. Will s/he get the same impression? Will my range and pick of words and expressions mislead him/her? If I tailor my inner self to a language how will it affect my outer life, that is my life when not writing?

In fact I have come to a point where writing in English has started taking its tolls on me. And in not a good way. And that is sad. For I like writing. And writing in English, too.
For the past days I have been considering giving blogging up. Or giving up writing. Or giving up writing in English. Thinking shapes one's attitude towards life and when the net of thoughts just does not fit the net of actions one is to encounter on a daily basis one feels uneasy - at the very least.

Beth, was this answer satisfactory?

For those who are concerned, and for the time being, I decided NOT to give up either blogging, or writing. But I will have to work out the things for me.

surreal sky

the Sun slices through the fortress

projecting faltering clouds

underneath my feet

as I walk pass the hurdles on the track of trees

I smooth along reality

to which I no longer belong

walls are fading away -

light here I come
take me in

for the weekend

I'm supplying your hunger with more chicky photos. Here, enjoy

At the top (beheaded): Inky, on the second row: Ball and Seed, and the second beheaded animal is Icecream. They just keep growing and starting to find their place and role in the big flock. They are about 4 weeks old now. Industrial chickens are slaughtered at week 6 for a juicy meat. Our ones simply do not reach that desired weight. Guess why. They never get anything besides green fodder, some bugs they dig out from the soil, water and seeds of course. The natural, almost organic management keeps them going at this pace. Let me tell you nothing about how that desired weight is gained, then. See them running in our back garden! Aren't they a herd?

They still keep following their mother... Note Inky, who's almost completely black and has a slender figure. We assume this to be a pullet and also that she genetically is a daughter of the hen. Also pictured in the photo are Cloud, Ball, Icecream, Caramel, Seed and Mouse.

But look here! There's a mismatch of colors. There is a cream fluff under a hardened brown surface! Yes, that is Snowflakes, baby to the late dear Snowball and his/her brooding mother, Eagle.

And I saved this for the last: A two old Turken delight. This coloration will turn barred later on.

Bye for now!

on chicken and the flow of life

Part of the flock. Clockwise from my husband: Mag (Seed), Fagyi (Icecream) and two other chicks, Roo, Hajas (Hairy, the brooding hen), Lepke (Butterfly), an unnamed black chick, Felhő (Cloud) and Caramel, the only brown one among the kiddy chicks.

The kids are occupied. This is one of their flying lessons. The hen is encouraging her babies to follow her up. All, but two followed her - after some or some more hesitation. The smallest two took a detour on foot instead.The chicklets have reached the ripe old age of 4 weeks. Here they are! Most of them are black-ish. There are two who have the definite barred pattern. They are Mag (Seed) and Egér (Mouse). The one with the black head is called Korom (Inky). There are two with a white-ish plumage. One of them is completely white (Fagyi-Icecream), the other has darker colors on its back (Gombóc - Ball).

This is a close-up of Fagyi (Icecream). Note the big comb. This might indicate that it is a rooster. Also note that the baby cream-yellow color has almost completely gone. It's turning white day day the day. He is a wandering type, drifting further from his mother and his fellows than the rest. He's my son's favourite chicken.

And just at the very same day, we had a second hatch in 2007. The 'mother' of this litter is Sas (Eagle), who was introduced a mere two month ago into our henyard. This time we bought fertilized eggs from a local Research Insitute for Small Animals. We bought 13 Turken eggs. And we added one egg of the late Hógolyó (Snowball), whom we had to slaughter for bad skin condition. She (Snowball) was Roo's favourite mate and her back was bare and sore. Unfortunately we had no chance to separate her from the rooster - but even if we had, her skin would have been just as much exposed when we had put her back among the flock again...so, with aching heart, we sent Hógolyó over to the heavenly meadows...

But one of her eggs was a promise for a continuation...

During brooding, some of the eggs have broken. And finally the day came and here they are! The golden one, as you know will turn white and since his/her neck is covered it is the kid of Hógolyó. Therefore its name: Hópehely (Snowflakes).

Unfortunately enough, there were only two other chicks that reached hatching age - the others all died within the egg. The reasons? Unexperienced hen? Too many eggs under a hen? Time will tell - we are gaining experience as well... this image is of an unborn chicklet. Note how compactly it is folded within the egg...

We showed the unborn to our kids, who studied it with care and respect... here's my son imitating the position of a chick within the shell.

But those that are alive are smart Turkens.

I suppose one is black and the other will be a barred one.

Snowflakes is thick and yellow, like a ball. One, a potential black Turken is under Eagle's head and beak and the third is the barred one. Those tiny caps of feather make these Turkens so adorable.

if I were a rich man - a meme

As an introduction, here's a proof of me not being a filthy rich person. Presenting the upper western corner of our living/children/bed-room below. But before you consider sending us money over to mend the wall above the stove, sit and relax. How could a rich man possibly ever get a nice shot of trees' shadow combined with bad plaster on the wall in a ridiculously sunny Monday morning? In his/her own room? Now you know why I like not being rich.

This one comes over Anniina.

My five things/do's are

1. I would buy land. A really large piece of territory. With some hills and forests and creek and a lake perhaps. I would make my own organic farm in the middle of it, but basically, I'd do nothing with the land - would pay guards to not let anyone do any harm to it.

2. I would suggest my friends and relatives to move closer to me and perhaps, work on the same farm. I'd achieve it perhaps by buying them adjacent lands :)

3. I would have my eyes corrected so as no to wear glasses ever again.

4. I would travel a lot more. Considering I only travel abroad like every two-three years, that is not much of a request. I'd have my own small airplane, too. I'd do parachute diving, too. I'd love to drive a small airplane.

5. I would raise a fund so that I can use the money for eco and/or educational purposes according to my wish and to the well-being of the environment and/or kids.

I'm sure most of you know the Fiddler on The Roof musical. In the Hungarian version there is a line I completely disagree with: 'temetném a munkát' - which literally translates to 'I would dig a burying hole for work in general'. No matter how much money I had: I would definitely do something. With my hands, my thoughts, I would surely do something productive and useful. I would not want to put working to rest at all.

And what's more, if I got very rich, how could I possibly have enough time to care about them?

Eurovision 2007

UPDATE to MELLY

This is the song Ruzsa Magdolna sang at the Eurovision contest - with English subtitles. Go YouTube. Go Magdi!

And this is the Hungarian-speaking original clip. A well-done clip with a twist. Enjoy.

phobias - a meme

First of all, this photo is totally unrelated. The chicklet depicted is called 'Fagyi' ('Icecream') - for its creamy white colored plumage. S/he will turn white when older, though. White hens/roosters are born yellow I learned recently.

The phobias meme.

I marked the phobias I have with an 'x'. This meme comes from somewhere... If you wish to participate, copy the whole thing, clear the x-es and re-mark the fears you are aware of having.

A
[x ] Achluophobia - Fear of darkness. Very mild one.
[ ] Acrophobia - Fear of heights.
[x ] Agliophobia - Fear of pain. I might add: Fear of pointless pain. I gave birth to my daughter without painkillers, but put me into a dentist's chair and I'm a chicken.

[ ] Agoraphobia - Fear of open spaces or crowds.
[ ] Aichmophobia - Fear of needles or pointed objects.
[ ] Amaxophobia - Fear of riding in a car.
[ ] Androphobia - Fear of men.
[ ] Anginophobia - Fear of choking.
[ ] Anthrophobia - Fear of flowers.
[ ] Anthropophobia - Fear of people or society.
[ ] Aphenphosmphobia - Fear of being touched. - although I don't like when people get very close to me. I don't like being patted on the shoulder as a part of a friendly conversation, either. Some friends of mine keep coming closer and closer while we chat. And I keep withdrawing until there's not more space left to retreat. Does that count?
[ ] Arachnophobia - Fear of spiders.
[ ] Arithmophobia - Fear of numbers.
[ ] Astraphobia - Fear of thunder and lightning.
[x] Ataxophobia - Fear of disorder or untidiness. If untidiness goes beyond a certain level I get angry and anxious.
[x ] Atelophobia - Fear of imperfection.
[x] Atychiphobia - Fear of failure.
[ ] Autophobia - Fear of being alone.

B
[ ] Bacteriophobia - Fear of bacteria.
[ ] Barophobia - Fear of gravity.
[ ] Bathmophobia - Fear of stairs or steep slopes.
[ ] Batrachophobia - Fear of amphibians.
[ ] Belonephobia - Fear of pins and needles.
[ ] Bibliophobia - Fear of books.
[ ] Botanophobia - Fear of plants.

C
[ ] Cacophobia - Fear of ugliness.
[ ] Catagelophobia - Fear of being ridiculed.
[ x] Catoptrophobia - Fear of mirrors. We do have mirrors in our house, though. This is probably my strangest fear in the list. I can precisely trace it back to a fantasy film I saw when I was a teenager.
[ ] Chionophobia - Fear of snow.
[ ] Chromophobia - Fear of colors.
[ ] Chronomentrophobia - Fear of clocks.
[ ] Claustrophobia - Fear of confined spaces.
[ ] Coulrophobia - Fear of clowns.
[ ] Cyberphobia - Fear of computers.
[x ] Cynophobia - Fear of dogs. A very mild one. I avoid dogs that are unfamiliar to me.

D
[ ] Dendrophobia - Fear of trees.

[x ] Dentophobia - Fear of dentists. A severe one.

[ ] Domatophobia - Fear of houses.

[ ] Dystychiphobia - Fear of accidents.

E

[ ] Ecophobia - Fear of the home.

[ ] Elurophobia - Fear of cats.

[x ] Entomophobia - Fear of insects. A very mild one. Only if they are turned upside down.

[ ] Ephebiphobia - Fear of teenagers.

[x ] Equinophobia - Fear of horses. I used to have one. Now I want to do some horseback riding training with my son.

F

[ ] Flo-Beephobia - Fear of vacuum cleaners.

G

[ ] Gamophobia - Fear of marriage.

[ ] Genuphobia - Fear of knees.

[ ] Gephyrophobia - Fear of walking across bridges

] Glossophobia - Fear of speaking in public.

[ ] Gynophobia - Fear of women.

H

[ ] Heliophobia - Fear of the sun.

[ ] Hemophobia - Fear of blood.

[ ] Herpetophobia - Fear of reptiles.

[ ] Homophobia- Fear of homosexuals

] Hydrophobia - Fear of water. I used to have a fear of drowning, though.

I

[x ] Iatrophobia - Fear of doctors. A mild one. They have the knife but not always the knowledge and respect.

K

[ ] Koinoniphobia - Fear of rooms.

L

[ ] Leukophobia - Fear of the color white.

[ ] Lilapsophobia - Fear of tornadoes and hurricanes.

[ ] Lockiophobia - Fear of childbirth.

M

[ ] Mageirocophobia - Fear of cooking.

[ ] Melanophobia - Fear of the color black.

] Microphobia - Fear of small things.

[x ] Mysophobia - Fear of dirt and germs. A moderate one. My husband keeps telling me 'Where do you think we're living in? It's a family house not a hospital for the contagious during a war.' I tell people who enter the house to take their shoes off at the entrance of the rooms. I am that rude with first ime visitors as well. For I can't stand when I put my feet on the hardwood and can feel the scratch of soil underneath. I love soil, though. I really do - but not in the house, please.

N

[ ] Necrophobia - Fear of death or dead things.

[ ] Noctiphobia - Fear of the night

[ ] Nosocomephobia - Fear of hospitals.

O

[x ] Obesophobia - Fear of gaining weight. A very mild one.

[ ] Octophobia - Fear of the figure 8.

[ ] Ombrophobia - Fear of rain.

[ ] Ophidiophobia - Fear of snakes.

] Ornithophobia - Fear of birds.

[ ] Ostroconaphobia - Fear of seafood.

P

[ ] Papyrophobia - Fear of paper.

[ ] Pathophobia - Fear of disease.

[x ] Pedophobia - Fear of children. Well, I admit I feel that some children can be a total disaster.

] Philophobia - Fear of love.

] Phobophobia - Fear of phobias.

[ ] Podophobia - Fear of feet.

[ ] Porphyrophobia - Fear of the color purple.

[ ] Pteridophobia - Fear of ferns.

] Pteromerhanophobia - Fear of flying.

[ ] Pyrophobia - Fear of fire.

S

[ ] Scolionophobia - Fear of school.

[ ] Selenophobia - Fear of the moon.

[ ] Sociophobia - Fear of social evaluation.
[ ] Somniphobia - Fear of sleep.

T

[ ] Tachophobia - Fear of speed.

[ ] Technophobia - Fear of technology.

[ ] Tonitrophobia - Fear of thunder.

[ ] Trypanophobia - Fear of injections.

[ ] Tryscadectaphobia- Fear of the number 13.

V

[ ] Venustraphobia - Fear of beautiful women.

[ ] Verminophobia - Fear of germs. - that was already covered.

W

[ ] Wiccaphobia - Fear of witches and witchcraft.

X

[ ] Xenophobia - Fear of strangers or foreigners.

Z

[ ] Zoophobia - Fear of animals.

AND, I have to add some more phobias to the list that I know I have - if you know the Latin for them, please educate me.

(x) Fear of bears. Severe.

(x) Fear of being electrocuted by some household machine or by some other accident. Severe.

quiz

I've found a hauntingly horrible, beautiful image in a book I read now. On page 27, it says quote*Here and there are worms, evidence of the fertility of the soil, caught by the sun, half dead; flexible and pink, like lips.*quote ends.

I wish I had written that.

Here comes the fun part.

Name the author and/or the book and you'll be rewarded.

The winner picks a color/feeling/emotion and I post a picture among my archives (no google search) that fits that. It can be a flower of that color, a landscape that reflects the emotion/feeling or something else. This idea has just popped into my head. A bit raw, but so is the image.

Go ahead. There will be a winner I'm sure.

I'm back

less wise, perhaps, for I had to have one of my wisdom teeth removed this evening. I used to have all the four, but now there are only three left.

Let me NOT share my experience with you in the dentist's chair, will you?

Thank you.

Every time I go to the dentist, I reward myself with a little treat. It usually is a DVD I rent. This is to honor my will and strength that I gather to overcome my fear.... I have a phobia I'm afraid. I'd rather endure the pain than go and see the doctor. Isn't that abnormal?

This time, I chose 'A History of violence', with Viggo Mortensen, for whom I have a soft spot since I have seen him as Aragorn.

And for Beth and for anyone who likes photos of the garden, here is a Greek basil

Herb Garden and Chicken

Hajas and her chicklets in the raspberry stand.

This is the view from the west (from the side of the house). Please note the tulips - no photoshop involved. I bought the bulbs last September in Amsterdam. My son got an immediate liking to the color and shape of the flowers on the bag so he insisted on planting all of them by himself. He did a good job.
This is the side view. The Herb Garden we have is not very large, in fact it is quite small. To be more honest, it is just a fragment of garden to fill in the space between an inward triangle beside the house. It used to be a barren, flat land, devoid of any enjoyable form of life when we moved here 7 years ago. We started mulching and watering it and formed the sides with the help of large limestones.We enjoy spices, herbs and some roses there.

This is a close up of herbs. Can you name them?

a necklace

this I I received for Mothers' Day. All the kids made necklaces this time for their mothers, and a keychain for Fathers's day, which will be held on 10th May.

Mothers' Day

I've learned via the Internet that not every country celebrates this on the first Sunday of May. In fact Hungary is one of the few to hold this fest on this particular date.

Kids, regardless of age pay a visit to their mothers - or at least drop her a phone call.

More often than not, grandmothers are also celebrated by grandkids.

I am fortunate enough to still have one of my two grandmothers alive, she's gonna be 86 this November. She has been living in a special house for elderly since her husband, my grandfather died 3 years ago. I still have a bad feeling about it. Should have it been me, saying yes to accommodate her in our not so very large house? I'm feeling kind of guilty, although noone has ever asked me/us to let her into our house. She can't walk properly now and keeps falling and breaking bones from time to time. The 'house' she's in is run by the Reformed Church and has a 24-hour nurse supersivion. Doctors watch the elderly there every other day I think. The room she has is tidy and not very small.

My mother has a poor health. She would have been unable to take her own mother in. Should have it been me?

My Grandma's living 240 kms away from us. I doubt she would have been willing to go so far away from the town she spent most of her life in, into a new one, with crazy kids around. I pray this solution should be the best for her.

Do you know the (Russian?) tale of the kid, his parents and the very old grandfather?

if you do, just skip the italicized words below- which are the summary of that tale.

There was a family with one little boy, his parents and his grandfather. The parents kept complaining how useless the grandfather really was. For he was weak, he could work no longer out in the fields. For his hands were trembling, he kept spoiling the tablecloth. He needed to be looked after. He took more and more time of the parents. One day the father gave two blankets to the son and told him to escort the grandfather into the woods so that he would no longer be a burden in the family. The father told the boy to give one blanket to use as a bed and the second one as a cover when the grandfather would lie down in the forest. The parents left. When they returned from a hard work from the fields, they found the little boy and one blanket. The father asked about it. The little boy exclaimed he saved the second blanket for the time when his own daddy would be weak and of no use and would give him that blanket when he would send his own son to escort the daddy into the forest. The father, ashamed, went into the woods in search of his own father and took him back to the family house. The grandfather was no longer despised for his weakness and age.

On Mothers' Day, I made a delicious meal for the family, including a special cake that my Grandmother used to make when she was younger. I called her during the day just to say a warm hello for the celebration and told her that the reason I made the cake was to let her being with us. The cake reminded everyone to her and so she was able to be with us, too. She was overwhelmed by the idea, I could tell that from her voice.

When she was much younger and my mother had to go to work, she took me in. From daybreak till dawn my mother left me with her and she took good care of me. She and my grandfather used to have a family house with a garden in the quiet suburbs and my days were always glorious there. Nothing special, but love. Do you need anything more special, anyway? When her feet and hands were aching, I, the little child of that time used to run my fingers and palm over them for a little while to release the pain. She loved that. Everytime I call her her voice changes. She starts with a weak 'yes, who's there?'- barely audible. More often than not the Sun becomes shining again in her voice along our conversation. She's a kind of grandmother one can always turn to - would never, ever reject a child or make fun of its plans and ideas - no matter how strange and idle those might be. Her behaviour taught and still teach us all in the family about acceptance, a positive attitude, strength and faith.

Mami, you'll never gonna read this. You might also never know how guilty I feel, everytime that institution comes into conversation. And I will keep showing my affection and love - as long as I can.This picture above is a combined artifact done in the kindergarten by my daughter. Evrey kid made one picture of his/her own mother. This one depicts me... in a sunny garden with a rainbow. I assume part of Rozi's kind nature is coming from her great-grandmother and I'm proud of it. And will make Rozi proud of it, too.

apologies

Dear friends,
you don't deserve bad manners from me.
So.
It was a bloody toothache that inspired me to write that. Nothing more and nothing less.
And I would like to apologize.
It all started out like a small writing about the feeling the pain evoke within me, and you listened to me and understood me.
I am sorry for making you waiting for that long.
I did not have the intention to play with feelings - the reason I did was that I knew it was not really serious. I knew, but you had no idea what it was. Just an ordinary, though nasty toothache. Had it been something more important, something that carves itself into the marrow, I would have accepted your hugs and kind words.
I truly hope not to loose them in the future.
I do not wish to become the boy in the fable who cried wolf just to entertain himself.
I am sorry.
And I'm making an appointment to the dentist this coming Monday.

pain

Pain:

he enters without using the doorbell,

takes off his jacket and

changes his boots to slippers without asking

helps himself some tea and sits comforted

in my house

Photo: by me, in the Pilis Mountains, April 28, 2007.

5 reasons for blogging

I have been tagged by Anniina.

Reasons for my filling these virtual pages with my words, in no particular order, are:

- I always, or nearly always kept a diary. It is partly a regular excercise, partly a note for me to remember to particular events and feelings and partly a therapist at hand. I often seek and find advice and solace in writing, in letting things out. It's like putting a burden off of one's shoulders. Relieving, keeping a record might show the way ahead, too.

- Although blogging implies a fairly regular activity, a scheduled virtual speech, it allows my impulsive side a freedom, which is not very easily found in my everyday life. A place for development, an air to move freely to and fro. For pampering a more creative me, I love to compose and create effects by pairing certain events/notes with certain photos or pictures. I make mistakes and get over them. I write nice pieces and those will be remembered - provided that virtuality does not eats my things up somehow...my fear...

- For the unawared: I am graphomaniac. Plus I love to see my words on screen. I am no poet or writer or whatever. I just love to write. That's what I think about my words and writing at the moment, that is. And if my words are worth more than a rotten leaf along the ditch than it's a great opportunity to improve my style and selection of words. If this road takes me anywhere...

- I seek company. Whether it's a weak and polite 'hello I'm here' or a stronger voice, it is a connection, a potential friendship, a help, love (type 2). Comments are extremely important for me. Even if some of the entries were designed as solitary laments, reflections are vital.

- Blogging means a separate world for me, a parallel universe, if you like. I've been known as one to be able to accommodate to almost all kinds of situations, but sometimes I get this deep yearning for a getaway. And if the escape is physically obstruted, I'm all in for the discharge of the mind.

And now, the meme ends. I'm done with my fives.

I tag five more people, who have the option to write their own fives, too.

Beth, Bruce, IllMan, Keda, Lucy