Spring is here

and Ginger and Fred woke up, too! 

Echoes (inspired by Melody)

Melody is one of my greatest pen pals in the whole wide world. Among other things she loves the echoes from the past. You can find her blog here. Here's some shots of objects in Poljane, my Mum's home village. 

The year on the village's church's step

Conservationists claimed Victory in seeking to shield Africa’s elephants from poachers

I am ecstatic that CITES, the main international agency protecting endangered species, resolved on Monday to uphold a 21-year-old ban on the international trade in ivory, rejecting efforts by Tanzania and Zambia to dilute the prohibition. 

You can read more about it here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/23/world/africa/23ivory.html 

 source DSWT

Grandparents

This March my Grandpa would have celebrated his 87th birthday but he died in 1986 at only 63:( This April it will be 1 year since my Grandma passed away (she was 79) .I've been thinking a lot about her this past month and I can't put into words how much I miss her.

when I was 2 years old

summer 2007

Celebrating Ireland

Our trip to Ireland in 2008 was my favourite trip ever. It was pure bliss and I loved everything about it: the landscape, the history, the Celtic ruins, Guinness, the Irish dance, the people.... To honor the country and its people, here are some photos from our trip.

at Clonmacnoise (my favourite place) 

the Kylemore Abbey

  Cliffs of Moher

 Waterville

 Powerscourt gardens

 Temple Bar, Dublin

 The Burren

Pupa

Pupa is my very spoiled cat. She will be 9 years old on March 23. This means that in human years she is already older than I am. And she knows that. She believes she has seniority in our home. And that seniority brings privileges. 

 Sleepy Pupa.. at her first home

Her Mum was a stray cat my co-worker Marina took in when she was pregnant. Pupa and her brother and sister were born in a warm home and I will be forever grateful to Marina for her kindness. 

Pupa with her Mum

 

Pupa on her first day with us

I only have one bed (ok, 2 if you count the couch which comes handy while watching TV). She has 5: two on the couch, one by the window on the veranda, one in the computer's room, one under her bench (yes, she has a handmade bench, too) on the veranda.

In two of her beds

 

her antics... 

She sleeps throughout the day and feels lonely at night so she meows tirelessly by our bedroom door. At 2 or 4 am. Except from when we make a deal with her and repeat her several timers she is not allowed to meow during the night.

 

Pupa being comfortable....

The only word she understands is NO. I bet she does, she's heard it like a bazillion times.The only time she doesn't obey, is when she has her teeth dived into our skin. She's quite a warrior, you know?

 

bed number 3

She is a very determined cat: she knows what she wants, when she wants it and how she wants it. She only cuddles on her terms... if we want her to cuddle, she turns into this warrior machine I mentioned above. 

Being cute...
 

Despite her age she is still playful and crazy. She loves to play with straws and  a small soft ball Melody sent her all the way from Massachusetts - since it's scented with catnip I think she is actually in love with it. We play together with the ball or other toys and she can be so attentive - that always makes me laugh because she seams so serious about it. She also likes to play hide & seek with me: I hide in a room and I call to her.. she ALWAYS comes, I am like a prey to hear. She can hide, too, and when I call to her, she stands still, won't move and can stay hidden until curiosity gets to her.

She doesn't trust strangers. Which would be perfectly fine with me if my parents, our friends, neighbors weren't strangers to her! When we go on holidays I take her to my parents' place: it takes her a few days to settle but when she does, she thinks that is home. When we come to pick her up, we are almost treated like strangers!!!

She has to be on a urinary diet. She likes the dry food of the brand that the vet suggested, but the wet food is a no go. I chose to give her one or two small cans of wet food a week - of her favourite brand as she deserves a treat now and then. 

2010

She makes me smile every day. She is here for me every day. That is why I love her so much. She can be very gentle but that is not what defines her. She is very independent and that is part of her charm. 

Lunch at the Castle

There's a small castle, the castle of Socerb, built on a big rock overlooking Trieste and Koper - Elda and Alfonso had the great idea of us all having lunch there. We've visited the castle itself several times before as it offers a spectacular view + you can take a walk through the forest near by but we never entered the restaurant. 

The restaurant itself is quite small; it can take up to 30 or something people - but it is very welcoming. For starters we had some cheese you could spread on pieces of roasted bread with a little bit of smoked raw salmon and a little bit of salmon caviar, which I found oh so terrible. The others ordered a fish carpaccio (specially prepared raw fish) and they loved it. I had ravioli with Georgie mushrooms which was fabulously tasty!

 how it was served

 

...and voila'!

The desert (chocolate and white cream cake with marinated red orange's peal) was delicious, too. 

The owner of the restaurant showed us the castle's wine cellar where he treasures a wine from the 1800's that the Austrian Empress Maria Theresia drank in her times. 

 

Elda in the wine cellar

 

the forest

 

a detail

The leisurely stroll through the forest was a nice intermezzo before we rounded up our afternoon at a historical Trieste coffee house on the Riva -Caffe' Tommaseo. It's actually the oldest coffee house there that opened in 1830. It was furnished with large mirrors brought from Belgium. It was restored in 1997 and renewed in the style of the tradition of Vienna's cafes.

 

(source)