12-IX-2020.
On 10th it turned out that she was busy with the girls - perhaps it was the sleeping pattern of the other two that went out of whack again - so I went to Čankovo alone and first dropped by detelina to buy a new broom and the fitting and pistol sprayer for the garden hose, as these were also stolen. I made my run with the mower to as far as I could manage. I brought a couple of buckets of fruit, mostly vineyard peaches, some pears and apples and even some grape.
On 11th both we went and cleaned as much as we could. Didn't bring the vacuum cleaner, but brought a spare broom. Because I forgot to bring the new one inside. Amazingly, it was still there, but we noticed some of the tomatoes, which I memorized the day before as "should be ripe tomorrow" were gone. Fucking thieves. So she picked half a bucket of the newly ripe ones, including the tiny sen marcini sort, which usually grow to about 10cm. This time, due to serious draught and no watering (there was nothing really wrong with the compressor but we didn't know), they were barely thumb sized. Still, as tasty as can be, and less watery than the regular ones. Anyway, we got everything prepared, even washed the cutlery, just in case. Bajlo called at some point, reporting on the number of people who will and who will not come. Ivanka is out, just caught news that her daughter in the States has died. Biljana doesn't make house calls (did once, three years ago, amazingly). Žara is not coming anymore, because he seems to be the only one who's seriously religious, and he can't stand Čombe pestering him in long discussions about who knows what - nobody listens to that, anyway. But then Čombe isn't coming either, he's got ostheoporosis and is allegedly already 10cm shorter than before. Baki just got better, having finally become a grandfather, but now his mom's brother hung himself, so he's down again. Mjedac is all OK but his daughter and grandchild are visiting (from abroad, perhaps the US) for the weekend, and the car is kaputt anyway. Sredljak promised to come but then didn't.
In the afternoon I tried to prepare the pack of some more period music (1970-1974) I selected, and just when I finished making space on the flash drive, there was a brief power blackout and zmajček froze. It wouldn't even boot. Well, no time for that, will fix later. So the nanovo has the same content as the last year - the music to play and pictures for fes to show (actually not fes, but the regular screensaver, i'd need to fix something in it but can't be bothered to do so for this one day of the year).
In the morning, it all went the regular way. I bought everything in Lidl (had charcoal from home, everything else memorized and I knew where on shelf it is). It's a bit tough on the glasses, my new driving glasses with just +1 dioptry, which I wear inside so I can also read the labels - my breath comes out of the mask around the nose, and fogs the glass briefly. It evaporates in two seconds, but then a few seconds later I have to exhale again.
Didn't find the small salty pastry in the bakery, the one which allegedly is the only one making normal bread, just as LebarProm used to make once upon a time, so I got three swirls of pie (aka bosnian burek) and we'll cut it. The total cost was below 5000 rsd and I had 6200 to spend, left from last year's maturski, but then I contributed hosting, brandy (apricot 2017, then various leftovers from previous years, including some of the apple 2013.2), charcoal, some salami, cheese and ham (she sliced it all the previous evening) and labor. I'll call it quits in the end.
Dropped by Dragana next, still quite early, so climbed up and had a coffee. Didn't find her in the sleeping gown like last year, nor in the shower, eh. She was all ready. Arrived at Čankovo with plenty of time ahead, took out the tables and chairs, brought out the glasses, the chopped dry goods and burek, plus the extra twist - peanuts in shell, so to confuse everybody into cracking them.
First guests were Bajlo with his new second hand škodilak and Staša. Then, in no particular order, Mima, Jasmina, Žuca, Borko and Vlada, no more than 2 people per car. Jozda, of course, came near the end, he always has some obligations, but amazingly didn't come from soccer this time, and didn't wear a trenerka, though the shorts he had should count as one. He didn't pull any anti-smoking thing (and why, it's only Dragana and me who are still smokers among the present folks). And abstained from his managerial style of making speeches, almost, except when he comitted the other sin of the house (rule #1 no propaganda, specially religious or anti-smoking, #2 don't shoot the pianist): he shot the pianist, i.e. asked for "Plima" (the tide) by Indeksi to be played. OK, at least it's not "Crni leptiri" again, can't be, because I erased that one from disk last year. And yes, he waxed about Bodo Kovačević being the bestest guitar hero of all the SFRY ever, always invited to be in the Eurovision orchestra bla bla bla, I knew the text already, and let it go.
Left to right: Jasmina, Dragana, me and Mima
I lit the barbecue around 13 or so, was quickly joined by Mima, just like last year. Did things in reverse, as this charcoal from Lidl is somewhat different. Last week when we did it at home (the guys at the fast food joint were overwhelmed with orders, so we roasted our own) I made too much of a fire, the thermometer maxed out at 350C, and I'm usually happy when it's between 200 and 240. So this time I put the sausage first, to grease the grid. Then neck (boneless, and still had money left...), and ćevapčići in the end. When first of these were done, I went to have a drink and Jasmina took over. Despite three cooks, it was all fine.
At some point Dragana felt fatigue in her bad leg, so she lifted it on my chair when it was empty. After a few minutes I wanted to sit, so I just lifted her feet a bit, sat, and lowered them on my right thigh. Which is almost a non-event to everyone except, of course, Bajlo. He was so surprised and astonished, that he said "I could have done that, too", twice. Both times I said "So why didn't you?", and that was it. Um, noticed that her toe thumbs are tall - another similarity to Žuca, apart from calves starting straight from the heel, not the usual half hand width above ankle. Do I have en eye for details, eh.
Mima loves fresh fruit, and I showed her where we still haven't picked all the peaches, and in which corner there's grapes. But then she was joined by Jozda and Žuca, who dived into the tangle at the summer kitchen (which we never use, btw). I went to bring them a ladder, and along the way kicked a dry rose branch with my right clog, and one of its thorns cut a neat line over my left ankle. Blood oozed copiously but it didn't hurt at all, it's a neat wound and very superficial. I have hot paprika powder ready for such cases, so when I delivered the ladder I just went to the bathroom, washed off the blood somewhat, and then sprayed the wound with paprika. The bleeding stopped in a minute, as expected.
I have complained repeatedly that it's not fair that they all leave before nine - that's just the time when the wine remembers to kick me, and I stay alone in the house to pass the time until I pass out. Bajlo tried to make a combination to have Dragana and Borko keep me company and stay overnight, but no, it didn't work out that way. Mima had to leave soon after 17:00, so did Jozda, and I guessed well that we'll split even sooner than in previous years, when we stayed at least until sunset and I had to turn the reflectors on. I stopped drinking after 15:30, my last shot glass (third or fourth?) was only half full, and then gradually sobered up and drank only mineral water. So I packed the nanovo and speakers, the rest of the barbecue and whatever I found, turned off the water, we got the chairs, tables, barbecue etc inside, and I locked the house. Then I remembered the ladder and went back to stash that too. Then got Dragana in the car and drove her home. Bajlo and Staša were behind us, but I think I lost them by almost a kilometer before even reaching town. Knowing that I drank, and I almost never drive until at least ten hours after the last drink, I invested some extra concentration. The cops don't ever control that road, and in the city they have their permitted posts, no surprises there, and not much traffic either. So, well, nothing happened.
I went to sleep around 21, and slept for eleven hours straight.
Mentions: 26-VII-2021., Biljana Grgurević, Branislav Rade (Baki), burek, Čankovo, ćevapčići, detelina, Dragana Vitas (Dragana), fes, Gradivoj Raža (Žara), Gradivoj Sredljev (Sredljak), Ivanka Stojančev, Jasmina Vlajin, Joško Čobzanin (Čombe), Jovan Zdanić (Jozda), LebarProm, Mališa Borkovski (Borko), maturski parastos, Merima Tabarski (Mima), nanovo, Nenad Bajlo (Bajlo), Stanoje Serdarević (Staša), škodilak, trenerica (trenerka), Vlada Markanić, zmajček, Živana Armatović (Žuca), Živko Mjedenica (Mjedac), in serbian