Spring photos

One of our hens decided to collect her eggs. Instead of laying them where the other hens do, that is, in a small wooden box specially made for the purpose, this particular one reached higher. Every day she flew up to the top of the chicken house and laid her eggs among the hay we collected last summer. For two weeks, every day she spent some half an hour laying the egg and returned to normal life again. After that she finished laying and stayed on the eggs. This she did for 21 days. Every day she left her unborn for a couple of minutes she spared for feeding and drinking. Each time she returned to the nest. And voilá - on May 1, there she was with 5 chicken. She is the mother of all, but there were three fathers.

Among the five babies, there are three yellow ones. These will turn white as they grow old. The two black babies will turn barred. Enjoy the pictures of our garden.

bay-beeeeeeeee

Yes, finally.

She was induced (word usage, anyone?) but today around noon my husband's sister finally finished her marathon with this sixth baby of hers.

Congratulations to Nóri, who (by now) has given life to 4 girls, aged 16,9,8 and2 and 2 boys, aged 14 and ... 0.01 :)

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The rest of this post needed rewriting and re-structuring so it was removed instead. No offence taken, but when the ratio of mistakes and clumsy expressions exceeds those that are understandable and acceptable ... one just has to push delete and review one's intentions. I've been neglecting English for a while and it shows. I'll try harder next time.

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writing ?

These days I'll sure have to finish...hm, wait, I'll sure have to start writing an article for an eco-conscious online magazine.
Any trouble with that?
Well, yes and no.
I have no trouble digging into eco-consciousness, or any form of traditonal agriculture for that matter. I dig them both - lame pun, perhaps.
I have no trouble writing.... ? Hm...let me see...provided there's an inspiration and motivation, writing is fun for me.
I have no trouble writing for the public.... ?
Well, I have this blog for 4 ? 5 ? years ?
Have been writing articles for paper and online magazines and other online surfaces in the past six years? Really, that's not the point.
The point of fear, no, F.E.A.R. is that this time I am required to make an interview with someone through the telephone.
Phew, there you have it, I named you, my little bastard.
I'm nearly 40 and am afraid of making that particular phone call.
I'm truly broken.
I got this task like two weeks ago.
Right after having gotten it I got two others, of different kinds. One was a translation (from Hun to Eng) and the second one was two articles (no interview needed at all).
Guess what I did first?
The translation, because that's my favourite.
Than I wrote the two articles (one on seasonal veggies, one on recipes) for the very same online magazine I should be writing that interview-based essay as well. Go figure. The same authority, the same readers' range, the same style and approach needed.
It's the phone interview I fear.
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no baby news :s

For those who've been following me in the past two weeks, it is obvious, but for the newcomers, may there be any to my blog: it is my husband's sister who is pregnant with her sixth child.

Aged a bit over forty, she is now two weeks overdue with his new baby boy.

We are all into natural ways, you know. We don't rush into the doctor's office very often, we don't much on tablets :)

Hmmm, let's see, the last time I was in GP's office was when something got into my right eye and needed a removal, and this event was like 4 years ago....

But now we are worried. This delay has become a bit of a stress on the family by now.

I hope everything turns out well at the end.

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it's not *that* post

No baby news, no writers' circle post, either.

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My husband's sister visited us this Sunday - just exactly when she was one week overdue.

Tasks (homeworks) we've been given in the writers' group are making my creative juices flowing, so as to say. Also I came to realize that the thing I've been working on lately is missing some vital elements. Perhaps those were the reasons for my not being able to go on with the writing.

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Re: the online game I used to play

I'm still in it and I'm planning to go on with it.

It works like an anti-depressant for me.

I'll have to reconsider my quitting, but also the way and depth I'm involved with it. And also the time I spend with it.

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And that was all for today as my mind is occupied now - I've been out of work for quite a time and now translation and writing articles are hard on me. I'm sorry for the lack of real posts.
I hope to be back soon.

the inevitable

Dear all,
so far - no baby news.
It also turned out that the idea of 'kids living in our house' was a mere game my husband played on me to fool me on 1 April.
Pfft.
He knows how much incompetent I feel in situations where kids are involved - please note he does not say or think I am incompetent, but is aware of my fear of being with kids. He thinks I am not so bad with kids after all, it's only that I am lazy and a bit selfish and I prefer the convenience of being alone to being with kids, that's all. Whew. I'm not sure the whole internet was interested in such secrets about me. Well, that's just how I am...
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We have made a decision re: my son's homeschooling. Kind of. We'll try to get him into the same school next year and if he fails again, we opt for the non-religious high school that is available in town. That school is famous for its outstanding results in Math and English and those subjects are my son's best fields. As for the lack of spirituality - I think we can make up for it at home quite well.
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Garden news.
Spring!
Carrots and garden peas are out now and the salads have at least two leaves :)))
No photos, unfortunately.

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Community news.
The women's asscoiation I tried to quit and where I, for the sake of a good company, finally stayed organized a Farewell Winter - Welcome Spring Party this Thursday.
A costume party, as it was...whoa.
I dressed up as a Druidess, with flowers in my hair.
My hair is black (by Nature), with occasional greys here and there and is slightly curly when I make a bun of it after having it washed. I usually keep the bun, for this is the only way my hair does not get into my everyday activities, but I just let the mane go freely this time.
I wore a linen dress, but that was covered by white sheets from both the front and the back, so as to pretend I was wearing a toga.
A Druidess would normally go barefoot, so I had no socks on and was wearing light brown textile slippers.
I spent the first half of the evening in the costume but found it extremely difficult to do the barbecue.
So I switched to a security guard, with boots, durable pants, a camouflage tshirt. Tucked in my pants I wore a plastic gun, a mobile phone and I had a sort of a headset on to imitate remote-communication. I wore my hair in the usual bun at the back of my head.
I disappeared as a feminine figure, while everyone was sitting beside the fire and returned, marching in my boots and eyeing the group as a female, but quite masculine guard. I played with the headset and informed my imaginary fellow guardsmen by saying: 'I'm approaching the group. They do not seem dangerous.'
This little game I played evoked some laughter among my friends.
I enjoy playing roles very much. I think somewhere deep inside there's an actor hidden, within me. It's not an actor with much talent, but with quite a load of eagerness.
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And finally, we are on the renovations of our house again. My husband has some days off during Eastern Holidays. There are still many things to do.
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Have a Happy Holiday!
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Next time it'll be either baby news, or my report on the second meeting of the Writers' Club, which was held on 6 April, or both.
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Cheers,
SzF.

about

Dear all,
my sister-in-law (my husband's sister) is having her 6th kid these days. It's a great news, especially after the things she and her family have gone through, so I am delighted to see their new family expanding.
This also means that I am to house up three of her kids, the youngest ones, aged 9, 8 and 2. I'm unsure about my ability to check your site, or my, for that matter... and also, about my ability to handle the situation in general. I'm not very good with kids, you know, the two I have gives me enough job and challenge, but now I'll be having 5! - one of them not yet 2 years of age.
- - -
Other not-so-great news is that my son was refused from the high school we tried to get into.
We have the following options:
1. try to get into said school a year later
2. stay in the school he's now in
3. search for a new school
We are going for for option #1.
If you followed my previous thoughts on the state of that school, you understand why option #2 is outruled.
If you knew my son as much as we do, you'd see why option #3 also is out of the question.
It means that he will be homeschooled for as long as he gets into a secondary school.
...
This month April is set to find a great solution to this problem we face. We also have to find the reason for rejection. Aspiring kids had to write a test paper on Math and Hungarian (you know, the type of subject you have as English - it's both about grammar and literature).
Out of 50, he scored 46 in Math, which is a nice result.
His Hungarian was 37/50, which is... not so much. I was kind of shocked to see how low his Hungarian score was.
Well, beside these scores, the results of former years also are important. The final score is counted upon using the results of the two previous semesters. These points were quite good.
Also, since this is a Church-based school, the way he takes part in the Community also matters.
And this is where we absolutely fail.
We do not attend services, nor do we take part in any activities organized by the Reformist Church.
Prior to his writing tests, this school has a talk with the parents about the way they see the world, about their ideas about the school. I think we (my husband and I) passed this successfully and trust me, we did not lie to get a good impression.
We have our faith and are trying to raise our children to make them a useful and intelligent part of the society. We acknowledge the rule of a tough school in the right handling of the youth. We believe in setting a good example and having a fair but strict hand. This is what normally what we believe about upbringing a child. Teaching and keeping traditions and working hard to succeed - we have no problems with that.
It is the Sunday school and the community events we are not able to attend - the reasons?
It is on Sunday and we organize our life so as to have a family gathering each Sunday. Cousins and relatives often come and join us in our semi-country house. We have a meal and generally, we just spend time together.
Also, to get into town to attend the Sunday school (and the church service) would take considerable time. Time away from being home, being together and alone with our family. We are living far from where the Church is and we have no car.
Also, being pagans, we don't see the importance of being in one special building to get into contact with the Higher Being. Of having one special gathering for the purpose of serving one another and God. Of the importance of one special book in finding our way.
See?
We are not Christians.
We have not told this particular bit about our faith to the school. Had they directly asked we would have surely told them it all.
But there are so many misunderstandings we wanted to avoid.
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We chose this particular school because we are sure this is the best possible one in town. There are four high schools in our town. Going to another town was out of the question (remember we do not own a car).
One school is Catholic. There's no way we can get into that one. The rules are even stricter over there. One belongs to the Reformed Church (the one we tried to get into). The third is a state school, with quite a good reputation for its results in Math and English (yes, English) - but there's no background of Hungarian traditions and spirituality at all there. It is strictly based on materialism, as we've heard. This is somehow repels us. The fourth is a Rudolf Steiner-based Waldorf school, the one my son was rejected from at the age of 10. We do not wish to re-enter that school by any means.
So, this is where we are...holding our heads, looking for directions...
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I wish I could tell you some more good news, my dear. Spring is here, tulips are out.
Cheers,
SzF.

Bravery

A friend of mine asked me a favour to translate a poem written in Hungarian by one of her friends. I do not usually translate poems, apart from those I write - this request found me by surprise.

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The title is Bravery - as is my action. Your comments are welcomed.
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Bravery

Definitions are lost.
My love, this is where we are -
Nothingness.
Poles and meat hooks.
Frozen kids emerging from stained loops.

To my table, you are invited,
see - I have no manners.
My head is turned
away with the shrubs upon your plate
no one is supposed to
order.

Come, come into the woods,
let the rain wash us through the dirt
A stillness waits where
hedgehogs rush
from swamps -
and no questions are needed

Pick any day - March 3rd

Awakening.
Chicken.
Corn.
Bed.
Kitchen.
Breakfast.
Quarrel.
School.
Discussion.
Notes.
Plans.
Pen.
Writing.
Music.
Exercise.
Tiredness.
Slaughterpants.
Garden.
Chase.
Axe.
Neck.
Feather.
Skin.
Intestines.
Meat.
Lunch.
Boy.
Girl.
Games.
Joy.
Home.
Table-tennis.
Tiredness.
Laughter.
Dinner.
*********
For explanation SEE.

a writing contest at 6S

I'm a fairly regular reader of the six-sentences page. For those not familiar with the site, all pieces contain six sentences: not much, not less, but six. As far as I gathered, contributors vary from acknowledged authors to basically anyone interested in adding his/her own six.
Every once in a while they have a contest anyone can enter.
This time the task is to finish a piece that already contains five sentences.
It is available HERE - your have to watch the video, where the first five sentences are written and then you can complete the piece by adding your sixth sentence in the commenting section. All the entries are up and their number keeps increasing at an alarming rate.
Some of them are brilliant, some fun, some are really thought provoking.
I prefer the ones that keep the style of the original sentences.
Have a nice reading!

between two computers

There is a Hungarian proverb that literally refers to one having to sit on the ground between two seats. It actually means that one has two opportunities but is unable to take either so must live through the situation without any of them.
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We used to have two computers in our small room, office if you will.
Need I say more?
One of them is broken (aka blue death). The service said it was the ventillator but it turned out the whatever-it's-called-an important-whatever is also broken. We have to wait until someone offers one of his whatever for sale so the shop can fix that something into our PC.
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The second one had no email, internet access, DVD-player, sound on it. I started to install these accessories, when it turned out that the whole system needs reinstalling.
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I'm typing this from the computer as it is up and running, but as for tomorrow...?
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I also wrote a post about first writers' meeting on my other blog, like anyone cares...Well, I do, as this is an important step in my publicly admitting the importance of writing in my life. We were given quite a load of homework!
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Also, I do not feel very well.
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Cheers,
SzF.

a simultaneous post

my home computer is broken but will be up and ready within a few days.

Surprisingly enough, I seem to enjoy the peace the lack of internet means in our home.
In the meantime, let me draw your attention towards my other blog called The Copper Moon Project, which is about writing only. I set that one up to monitor my way towards finishing a short piece of writing of the same name, needless to say only to interrupt it when the online game got me.
That was about the time when I started writing Halo, so my attention is turned towards that project instead.
Some of you are familiar with this blog, some with the other one, but there should not be such a separation.
That other one is about writing, in particular and in general, while this one is basically about anything I face. Whenever I have anything to publish is getting published here. Poems, writings, photos and musings about everyday...it's all here, while all topics more related to writing are over there.
Thanks for your attention.

Snow covers it

Snow covers it

Memories of us -
Clapping with one hand only
Never having given yourself all
You had me

My yearning's a tree that bears no fruit
Yet I cherish and return for the sake of
Your being and your spirit
It was not really you
...were you?

I gave myself all
And snow covers it
Silence entombing like
An empty pot, left broken, to the will of the winds

Snow covers my tears
And the memories of us

The what?

The photo was made in The Netherlands October 2008. I was visiting a windmill in one of the small cities in the country. I climbed up to see what's there is to see within a windmill in work, when I came accross this sight. I was forced to look and perceive a sight not so special and perhaps, not so intereseting. I made some other photos of this abandoned building. I don't know the reason. I just had to. It sucked me in.
My forewords are to remember this situation. The words beneath the photo I gathered today in an attempt to turn this something I feel inside out. It is definitely borne by the photo, and perhaps something I still have inside. Enjoy. Or whatever.




The smell of mould. The touch of aluminum. Cold and tough beneath the inside of his broken palm.
A cigarette might help.
A car turned around the corner down on the street. He lowered himself on the gravel. Each and every little stone in the concrete reached to his leg. Some of them felt smooth, some had shrieking edges. Too much information.
He forced the paper between his parched lips and took a long sniff. It was not lit.
Behind the curtain of my eyes a howling approaches.
Numbing illusions to minimum, screwing up perceptions to maximum. Too much.
If I could only break the bars.
Out of the cage.
His stomach shivered. The scree attained his flesh, his tendons, his bones underneath.
The lighter in his pocket. With hands shaking the let the little dancing flow of fire meet the end of the roll. A tip of flame kissed his fingers, piercing dry skin. He hardly noticed the smell of burning flesh.
Finally. Out with you all.
The flow took him up and above. Out of the cage.

the cage - in or out? part one

As I promised, this is a post about the online game I was involved in between mid March 2008 until last Thursday.

The photos I'm going to use are completely unrelated. All were made in The Netherlands, and I'm using them on purpose to honor our great time with Bart - since our discussion involved the problem of addiction...this is a confession...

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The name of the game I leave unrevealed now. It is unimportant and I don't want to get any hits from random internet searchers.
It all started fine like any other computer game...A fun to spend my empty minutes with, a source of fun...
But it crept deeper. It wanted more. More of my time, my thoughts, my mind, my being.
I'm not being dramatic here. Okay, well, maybe a little bit.
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In this game the player has a village, builds resources of raw materials to get wood, clay, iron and wheat from and starts developing the inside of his village, too. During the course of the game the player establishes new villages of his own, conquers special oazises to get more raw materials; builds an army to defense his villages and/or to attack, destroy and/or conquer villages of other players, too.
Most people gather into clans to help each other and to defeat other players.
As I've said, it started like a little fun in March.
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Somewhere along May I realized that cared about the villages I built/conquered more than I should have.
In my pre-game era, I had thoughts and ideas running through my head. There were inspirational moments, which resulted in some pieces of writing. But as I found out in horror around late autumn to early fall, these moments of inspiration have almost completely gone. And I have begun to terribly miss them, yet I was unable to escape from the game to re-claim my fantasy and inspiration.
It's not the quality of my writings I think highly of. It's the fact that there were moments of inspiration, the fact that I used my creativity to reflect my thoughts.
Yet, I don't think the game stopped me completely from thinking or being creative or even inspirational...
I have created a circle of friends among some of the other players, and most of the time we stuck together. There were times when I was a leader of a clan. Most of the time I used my diplomatic senses either to get something or to smooth conflicts.
Furthermore, three of us got involved in writing a fiction about the game in Hungarian, set in medieval surroundings. I mentioned that in my other blog sometime October. I actually wrote three instalments titled 'The Amazon 1, 2 and 3'. These pieces received positive feedback. Perhaps I will translate them into English one day.
I enjoyed writing, I truly did.
Among the members of my clan, I have become (in)famous for my long and sometimes, emotionally stirring letters. I poured my attitude towards the game and my fellow-players into my letters. For my letters, my views I have both been praised by some and scowled away by some, too.
I learnt a lot about myself and about the human nature in general.
I found friends, I suppose. As for the length of such friendships and their durance once the game is over....that's another issue.
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And now the server is over as it is the nature of this one special game.
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My husband and family tolerated my playing quite well - although sometimes I became unhappy and even mourned over my virtual losses. Sometimes I would flee away from a family dinner because of a timing an important attack. Sometimes I would stay awake for the same purpose. Finding my virtual soldiers important involved switching the computer on being the very first action of the day so I could control my villages to avoid any loss due to a potential lack of wheat. For the same purpose, for most of the time the computer was the last thing I said goodnight, too. Sounds crazy, doesn't it?
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Last Thursday, when the server ended we opened up a bottle of wine with my husband to celebrate my return to the normal world - and he's right in seeing this game as an alternative world to the real one.
Not a really ground breaking idea to call an online game a world alternative to the real one, I know, I know.
But you see, understanding the concept of virtual vs. real is one thing and actually going through the whole thing is another.
I think there were moments when the virtual felt real and the real fell secondary. Perhaps, those moments would actually add up to days or even weeks. It is harsh to look upon the way I lived through these months like this.
Sometimes my husband would say that the garden is missing a good gardener. Sometimes he would say he would do the cooking. Sometimes he would say he would not be able to work on the renovations alone as he would need me nearby so the renovations would halt for a while. Until at least the battle was over. Or the village was conquered.
And for what?
Among the 10thousand something players playing simultaneously I finished in the top 500. I established 11 villages on my own, while conquered 8 from other players.
My enthusiasm inspired some other players. On one occasion I have been called 'the spirit of the clan' I was in.
But what are these advantages and disadvantages? Can I measure them up? By putting the successful battles and all the collective actions, the praise and acknowledgement gathered, all the friends I make in one hand … while putting all the windows left unclean, poems left unread and unwritten, the number of occasions the kids left unembraced and uncaressed in the other…?
Can anyone measure these?
Is there a punishment for all the things I missed actually doing, all because of being so deeply involved in a virtual world?
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My husband accuses me of running away into the virtual. He thinks this is more than a game for me, this is an escape from reality. Like a drug. Unfortunately I don't see any reason to call him wrong. Because he's right about that.
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Well, more on that, perhaps, later on,
Yours truly addicted *grins*,
SzF.

new duties

Dear all,
these days we are still waiting for the exam results and once we have them the next step of the application starts. As I have informed you my son is trying to get into a secondary school. Final results are to be expected sometime mid April.
He is either accepted - in which case he would probably need more help from us with learning. This is a tough school, you know.
But if his results are low and he stays out, we should try the same thing next year, as we were advised.
If that were the case (=no admission for the year 09/10) he would either be homeschooled OR enrolled into another (Catholic) school. Only to try the entrance exams to the same school in January 2010 once again.
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In the meantime we are waiting, keeping his mind occupied...
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Some of you might recall the long post I wrote about the local women's club last March. Here's the link for those who wish to care...
Well, I did not quit but restricted my activities to the minimum.
In fact, I withdrew from the management completely and turned my attention towards other activities the club took.
One of them was making mosaics.
Here's my first ever job.
A number plate for our house, displayed on the kitchen floor.

Also, being the member involved attending a film club, where once in a month we watched and discussed a non-mainstream film. One of them was Friends and crocodiles, more on the later on...
So, time has passed, the organization has changed again, for the better this time...and there I'm back again....

I've been given the task of writing articles for the monthly online magazine the group wishes to publish. Lifestlyle, traditions, gardening, herbs, environmental issues are my main areas of writing here, but I am there also as a watchdog to make sure feminism does not get carried away to the extremes...
Well, this is a title I gave myself, but I'm not doing it secretly. I'm open about being an advocate of diversity among the members of the group. As you know they used to speak diversity, but used to act the opposite.
We'll just see how it works out.

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The online game I mentioned a couple of times here, has ended yesterday. I was sad and happy at the same time. More on that later on, too.
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In the meantime, we are still working on our house... This is my husband and a friend laying the tiles in the kitchen.

last week

I'm only too happy to have a small piece of brain to take a look at my world around me...
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While trying to get our son ready to get into his next type of education smoothly he was caught by some sort of a viral disease. Not only he stayed at home, he had visions and felt dizzy and had a bad cough. Once he started mocking his little sister again we knew he was on the way to health again. He's not over it yet, but chances are high that he'll be able to write his exam this Thursday.
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My daughter was sick last weekend - literally, she was in bed all day, with a small bucket at hand, yes, to gather all that exited her mouth. And she did behave so orderly, the poor girl.
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Taking a heartful look at last week's events, I have to reckon with the troubled conversation I had on skype with someone I met through the online game I play.
I did something carelessly (as it later turned out) he highly disapproved and his sudden lack of trust towards me shocked me more than I had ever expected. We talked for more than two hours to make things clear. Don't worry - I'm not going to bore wou with details and such, but...
I've learned a lot and I owe a great deal to him to still have our friendship. He gave me a great lesson about acceptance and generousity.
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So the renovations are going on slowly...
My husband has taken on a new path in his (non paid) career - perhaps more to come on that later on...
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I do follow your blogs, commenting less often than I should...
only to find Vesper's two nice and thought provoking poems today: and here's my response - take it as a moral, if you please:
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do not fear the shadows
for when there is none, the light is gone
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our everyday

I dare you to eat me - or else...

-Photo and its subject was made on 14 January by me-

contest time at Jason's

I suggest you heading over to Jason's blog.

Upon one single photo a wide variety of prose emerges. It always amazes me how different the reactrion of different people to one single photo are.

For earlier contests, see the right-handed coloumn on Jason's site.

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I don't think I'm joining the contest this time as a writer, but with the deadline being 14 January.... Anything might happen.

Happy 2009!

...this is a short post to welcome the new year..
I told you it was short.
This short.
Cheers,
SzF.

a Hungarian Christmas

Here are some photos of our Christmas. Traditional dishes, fun and family members are seen.

All questions are welcomed.
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Photo #1.

The first day of Chirstmas is spent within the smallest family possible. The second and third days of Christmas however, are great occassions to gather a larger chunk of the larger family together. In this photo, my kids (2) and almost all the kids of my husband's sister are seen in the flat of my husband's mother. One kid, a boy is missing from the photo.

Photo#2.

Chicken, stuffed with minced goods, fresh from the oven. For garnishment, baked potatoes and sauteéd red cabbage are served. A hearty meat, a warmful companion for the harsh winter weather outside.

Photo#3.

This is our small Christmas tree on Christmas eve. We keep it in the large container outside throughout the year and bring it inside for the festivity. This means the plant lives as a normal container-raired tree except for the period between 24 December and 6 January.

Photo#4.

Our advent ring in the background, with a corn salad in the front. This was part of our Christmas lunch, not really traditional at all - but hey, everyone loves the way I make it.

Photo#5.

Traditional cookies. Some are made with poppyseed, walnut cream, the tree and the flower shaped ones are gingerbreads. Our neighbour, an old lady made them for her family and gave us some as a present.

our house

Renovation and buidling of our house have been going on nicely and efficiently these weeks.

In the last two weeks of November, a new tiled oven was built and almost all the walls of the new section of the house were plastered from the inside. Due to the new oven and the chimney now we have heating there, which means no more 6 degrees centigrade in the bathroom anymore in the winter.

Here are some photos I share to illustrate how things are going on these times over here. Questions are welcomed.

Photo #1.

These are the foundations of the new oven. The hole in the wall that looks like a door is not a door. That is a hole in the wall between the kitchen and the bathroom so that the new stove can heat both rooms. The man squatting in the left corner built the oven for us. We had some hard time to decide upon who would be the builder, but upon having met this particular man, we decided for him. Not only was he a great technician, he was a great person, too.

Photo #2.

The oven is built level by level. The round hole in the right side will serve as a removeable hole for cleaning.

Photo #3.

Now three levels are ready. The lower rectangular holes are where the ash can be cleaned out, once the oven is in use, the upper ones are doors to the actual fireplaces. Our oven is a complicated one, this is how we wanted it and this is why we kept on searching for a suitable man to make it.

Photo #4.

My husband and a friend plastering the inner walls of our bathroom. Yep, it's a messy job. No, we don't have a spare bathroom, neither a separate toilet - this is and average house of an average family in Hungary.

Photo #5.

This photo was made from the bathroom. The oven is nearly ready, with only a few levels of tiles. The grey thing within the stove is a built-in iron box for baking. I told you it was complicated. The door in the upper right corner of the photo is the main entrance to our house.

Photo #6.

Same phase of building, opposite angle. Note the iron door to the iron box. Note how small the hole that leads to the bathroom now is, as compared to photo #1.

Photo #7.
The end product, our mighty stove. Admire.
I hope you liked this guided tour... :)

---

in other news, I feel the strong urge to return to the blogosphere again. Just today I resigned from an important (imaginary) post in the online MMRPG that took me in a few months ago. More about that, perhaps, later. Or never. Whatever. It's great to be here again.

The 99-meme

This I stole from Aine, who in turn, stole it from Vesper, who...I don't know.

See my version here.

The rules are simple: bold the things you've done. Explanations are optional. Fun is guaranteed.

1. Started your own blog (this one's the stupidiest on the list :)

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland/world

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo (Last time I sang a birthday song over the phone to my stepfather. He was more than happy about it)

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning (Got it from ground poppy seed. Got sick with my husband-to-be and puked all night. I'm glad now the whole world knows about it.)

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables (and had photos of them in my blog, too.)

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France (the one who invented this meme must be either French or partial to the French I guess. You'll just wait and see.)

20. Slept on an overnight train (I went to Turkey that way.)

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked (back in my university yearsm hitch hiking was not considered dangerous. I used it to get to my hometown and back to the campus. I think I quitted once a driver showed me where he kept the money for *those* kind of girls he picked up. As in case, you never know what girls you pick up - he said. He did not molested me at all, but you bet I was happy to leave his car...Ew.)

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice (not really, but I rode one of those electric gondolas)

29. Seen a total eclipse ( It was in the High Tatras in 1999 in a small pool of water. It lasted for a couple of minutes.)

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise (not on a boat, though, it took place in a station wagon - does that count?)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight (I even entered the sea at night. Back then I feared water. The experience was a bit frightening)

46. Been transported in an ambulance (A sad story indeed, but I think by now I am nearly completely accepted and digested the events...)

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class (My whole family has taken up Baranta, which is a combination of defensive martial art, folk dance and other traditions)

59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason (I don't even get them for reason - okay, that was a lie. But I don't get flowers as often as I'd like to)
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book (well, the time might come...just kidding here!)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (no, but my son had)
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (we have chicken, remember?)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

The Holland Trip - Part Two: Köln II.

This is Part Two to the series where I share my photos and memories I had when I was in The Netherlands in mid-October.
As for blogging, I lurk everywhere - only I do not find the time to write a proper post here.

Renovations and buildings have taken a quickened pace these days and I hope to post som pictures of it in the foreseeable future, too.

Until that, here are some of the photos I made in Köln (Cologne of course, as Ropi pointed out, and as you probably all know - but...it's a German city in Germany, so I kept its name.)

--------

Now, the photos:

This is one of the ugly modern buildings that are placed within a 300m radius of the Dome. On the bottom corner there's a shop that sells the famous Cologne Water with the number.

An inside view of the Dome. No tripods were harmed in making this, or any other photo I made within the Dome. See the arched ceiling and the minute window-work on the side.
A close up of another window.

Inside, with a view to the main altar.

Stone sculptures on one of the outside walls.

A close up of one of the gates. Iron, or bronze-work.

A side view.

The Holland Trip - Part One: Köln

The bus left my town around 4 PM and arrived to our destination in Holland 4PM the next day.

We spent the night while it was moving. I slept on the little row that was between the seats. Well, it was not really comfortable, but at least my legs were streched out and I was in a horizontal position.

The first photo was made in Köln (Cologne, Germany). It was foggy and a bit cold. We parked the bus on the bank of River Rheine and walked into the heart of the city to see the famous Dome.

The Dome was built in the center, or was it that all the rest of the city was built around the church, later on? The view from the river reveals that the Dome is jammed in among modern buildings. Some might find fascination in the meeting of the old and the new - but for me...it's rather sad. There is not enough room for the otherwise great building to show itself. It is prisoned in between a railway station, a modern music hall of some sort and other, rather ugly buildings.

And when I said the railway station was near, I meant it. See that red line of a train...?

And when you get really close to the Dome, there's another blasphemous act, this time by a shop that sells cameras, films and stuff like that.

I'll be back with less rambling and whining about, but with more interesting stuff...just wait and see...

- on schooling

Dear all,

yes, I'm back.

In fact I returned on October 13, but I was either too damn busy or too lazy to write a proper post, enhanced with photographs about my trip, or both. You decide. And I'm sorry. At the same time the fact that I have so many (paid) jobs to do makes me feel right somehow.

-

At this moment I don't envisage blogging as a regular activity, due to my duties, which, beside my normal job as a translator, at these months are and will be:

1-helping in building and renovating our house

2-pushing my son into a high-school.

He's in the sixth grade now and it's time to move on to a secondary form of education. According to the Hungarian educational system, elementary schools are for either 4, 6 or 8 years.

My son might stay here for another two years, but some recent events forced me to think otherwise.

-

As some of you might remember, my son has quite an experience in schooling. By the 4th grade he's been in three institutions, four classes and homeschooled.

When he entered this school he's in now, I thought he would stay for as long as he can - to have some rest, so to say.

But.

But.

-

He finds the lessons boring, but in another way. His classes are not challenging enough. He needs some more mental feed now. Unfortunately the level of education is set to the intelligence level of the least capable person in the class. Which is a fine thing if 80% of the class is around that particular level - which is, unfortunately the case.

I'm not saying my son is a genius, but...his mates definitely do not match him.

Teachers are forced to keep the level of education low, by laws.

So off we go.

The school we are heaading for is the second best in town.

Keep your fingers crossed.

-

More to come soon, with photos I made in The Netherlands.

High cheers to Bart, whom yes, I did meet!

See the proof below. Me and Bart in the Main Square of Amsterdam.

Reflections of a summer

Dear all, before I disappear into The Netherlands between 8-13 October, I finally managed to upload our photos to our computer. Here they are, I hope you enjoy them.

---

First of all, we had lots of chicken.

We found tha many of our young hens wished to have their own litter so they started brooding. Modern technologies de-select this ability and those unfortunate little chicken all hatch in incubators, without a caring mother. But there are many people, who keep animals the traditional way. It's their choice and ours as well. It does matter where and what you buy.

Older and non-purebreed varieties however, do tend to lay a certain number of eggs and then start sitting over the eggs. Below are two of our Japanese-mixed brooding hens with their respective little flock/litter (?)

The black one (called Korom) is the dominant. She and her chicks are being fed from a plate. The barred one (Pincebogár) approaches, and notices the food.

Pincebogár keeps coming closer but she is afraid. She's mimicking a fake attack, with wings streched out, she wishes to appear bigger than she really is. Korom does not seem to care about her at all. She is relaxed, she has absolutely no fear of the other hen.
Below is a close ups of the feeding. They are given hard-boiled eggs, for the protein replacement.

Baby chicken are extremely fragile. Their legs are like threads. From time to time, they fall asleep in the middle of any activity, as this one, while standing on the plate. This is normal.

Summer also meant the continuation of the renovations in and around the house. I am standing here below in our kitchen-to-be, and mark where the electric outlets should be. Yes, those are arrows stuck into the ground. Those are supposed to mark where the sink, kitchen cabinets, and other utilities should be. We were playing a plan-a-kitchen, you know :). Practically speaking, I'm standing stand where the dishwasher will stand.

This is my DH, plastering the wall beside the front door, from the inside of the house. Note the ceiling. It's all hand made and wooden.

As for social activities, I had my 20 year high school class reunion. This photo was made in the restaurant. I am not on the photo. We had a nice quiet evening. It started with everyone telling his/her story of the past 20 years. Only classmates and former teachers were invited. Many of the class lives abroad, and one of them was here via a webcam from NYC. Zsuzsa was my best girlfriend in high school and now her husband (also Hungarian) is working at the Columbia University. She also studied and became a PhD in chemistry (was is physics?), but what with four kids...She's now an assistant to his husband. I miss her.

This is a close up of the dinner table - an all you can eat, partly supplied by us.

That's all for now.

Tomorrow 4PM our bus's heading North.

Bart, here I come.

Cheers,

SzF.

October forecast

Dear all,

as you have probably noticed, I do frequent your blogs. In fact I visit yours more often than I do mine.

The reason?

Yours are more interesting :)))

Chris for example entertains us with a brilliant photo. In fact, I did laugh out loud for a couple of minutes after having enlarged it to its full and pure brilliance.

Aine has a blog. That should speak for itself. I command anyone interested in the human soul and the beauty of life go and see for himself.

The ever-witful Bernita has a debate on the presence and likelihood of ghosts. Worth a trip, as usual.

Ewen has a new photo-blog. He's definitely got the eye. Or, rather, two. His photos are better than my puns.

-

And I am sorry for the rest I left out intentionally yes, because the list would have been endless.

-

And now some words about the state of events at this side of the world. We renovate, build and do some more of the same thing. At the same time we desperately seek to earn some money to back up our fancy of having a comfortable house.

We keep raising chicken as per ususal. In fact we have now as many chicken we lost count.

Kids are fine.

Weather is so not fine.

It's cold and raining.

Blah.

-

And finally, some good news!!!

I'm going to The Netherlands between 8-13 October, to meet Bart.

No, not really, I'm on an official trip, but I might have the chance to meet my fellow blogger.

*keep fingers crossed*

-

Cheers to all,

SzF.

Bon appetit

This is a meme about food.

I borrowed it from HERE - thanks for the idea, but yes, I did spice it up by changing the directions, which now are the following:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.

2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten, or are planning to eat in the foreseeable future.

3) Italicize any items that you would never consider eating.

4) Add a special treat at the end by adding 1-2 more to the list that you think probably NOONE ELSE has ever tasted in your circle of friends. Put them at the bottom of your list and mark them with ***s.

5) Mark with a special color those you have prepared at least once at home.

6) Return the f(l)avour by letting me know about you doing this fun meme.

1. Venison

2. Nettle tea (one of my favourite herb tea)

3. Huevos rancheros (it's almost like a normal ham and eggs)

4. Steak tartare

5. Crocodile

6. Black pudding (AKA Blood Sausage)

7. Cheese fondue

8. Carp

9. Borscht

10. Baba ghanoush

11. Calamari - no, but I have tasted shrimps. *shudders*

12. Pho (c'mon, it's broth with veggies!)

13. PB&J sandwich

14. Aloo gobi (basically it's potatoes with cauliflower, topped with cheese and baked in an oven. I'm sure to have made something similar.)

15. Hot dog from a street cart

16. Epoisses (we call them camambert cheese)

17. Black truffle

18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes

19. Steamed pork buns

20. Pistachio ice cream

21. Heirloom tomatoes (what's the big deal?)

22. Fresh wild berries (anyone has not picked and tasted wild berries in the wild is definitely missing something)

23. Foie gras (a.k.a. goose liver paté. It is traditional in Hungary.)

24. Rice and beans (what? why? why not?)

25. Brawn, or head cheese (again, this is traditional over here)

26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper

27. Dulce de leche (it's definitely on my to-do list)

28. Oysters

29. Baklava

30. Bagna cauda (as in #27. I love garlic)

31. Wasabi peas

32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl (one of my favourite when in a restaurant)

33. Salted lassi

34. Sauerkraut (a tradition for winter)

35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea

38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O (why do these nasty things accummulate - 4 of them nasties in a row?)

39. Gumbo

40. Oxtail (it makes a brilliant soup)

41. Curried goat (goatmeat smells, I'm sorry)

42. Whole insects (whoa! Hell no!)

43. Phaal - I have not yet tasted it, but I'm not a fan of really hot dishes.

44. Goat’s milk

45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more

46. Fugu

47. Chicken tikka masala (as in #27)

48. Eel

49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut

50. Sea urchin

51. Prickly pear (see also No. 27. Unfortunately it is not grown in Hungary.)

52. Umeboshi (As with any other, formerly unknown food I did some google search. Uhm...thanks, I'd rather not.)

53. Abalone

54. Paneer

55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal

56. Spaetzle

57. Dirty gin martini (I think I had a gulp or two like ages ago. That was all)

58. Beer above 8% ABV

59. Poutine (as in No.21)

60. Carob chips

61. S’mores (the result of my google search made my stomach ache. Pffft.)

62. Sweetbreads (Ouch. I do eat liver, testicles, but this is waaay too much)

63. Kaolin (The one who put kaolin on the list of food was surely kidding. It's like saying:lime powder. Or ground bricks.)

64. Currywurst (see also Sweetbread. Plus, my father used to work in a meat factory. He used to tell me stories about how this kind of stuff is made to look acceptable. Trust me. This is not food. Real muscles and eggs, bacon and all - those can't deceive you. But a wurst is a potentially dangerous mix in disguise.)

65. Durian (Have not. Why not?)

66. Frogs’ legs

67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake (I felt google just puked a picture of it onto my monitor. Blah. I'd rather stay hungry)

68. Haggis (Have not. Why not - a home-made real haggis can not be bad, after all.)

69. Fried plantain (I thought bananas were made sweet...)

70. Chitterlings, or andouillette (hmmmm....unsure. Some days I'd say yes.

71. Gazpacho (the best soup for a hot summer day)

72. Caviar and blini

73. Louche absinthe

74. Gjetost, or brunost (This is yet to come, but I'd love to meet a specimen along my life. I like old cheese.)

75. Roadkill

76. Baijiu

77. Hostess Fruit Pie

78. Snail

79. Lapsang souchong

80. Bellini

81. Tom yum (I don't think I have tried it, but...why not?)

82. Eggs Benedict (another item aspiring for *the silliest item on the list* award)

83. Pocky (I mean...are those edible?)

84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant

85. Kobe beef (No, to my greatest sorrow. I'd love to, yes, yes!)

86. Hare

87. Goulash (mwah-hah-hah. I'm from Hungary, remember? But I bet there are many types of goulashes all over the world. And in Hungary, there are as many types as households. Even the goulashes I make are different from one another)

88. Flowers

89. Horse (horse meat is put into sausages, so, it's far too obvious again)

90. Criollo chocolate (I have not tried, but I'm a fan of pure chocolates)

91. Spam (uhm... are those edible?)

92. Soft shell crab

93. Rose harissa (looks/sounds like fun)

94. Catfish

95. Mole poblano (No encounters here as well, but the pictures look yummy)

96. Bagel and lox

97. Lobster Thermidor

98. Polenta

99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee

100. Snake

101. Cleansed intestines of a chicken in a soup. ***

102. Blackbird.***

Quiz

The above photo is a Spanish-language ad for tourists.
Do you have any comment on it?