20-VI-2021.
Fourteenth. One of the potties broke, probably Raja half asleep ran into it in the bathroom, piece of bottom is missing. She went to detelina to buy a replacement, didn't find one she'd like, so she bought an adapter to put on the toilet seat. Hit it right, the first day they alternated on it, until they gave all out of themselves. Which happened then, but have a shot only as of today.
Fifteenth. Went to mow at the old house, for which I usually take the van. It's trunk is actually smaller but taller, so I don't have to unscrew the mower's handle. She and Linda and Sanda came with me, then went down the old street to their favorite kids' boutique, to buy wedding dresses. Of course pink and of course identical.
Sixteenth. The first batch of sweet cherry brandy. This is a first, never tried that, we'll see. We got only four liters, but it's not a wee amount - only 35kg of fruit and two liters of old weak brandy, Žarko's honey wine and some brambleberry liqueur. The smells during the distillation, while it simmered and that last whiff before the first drops leak, was incredible. I smelled even the stalk (and there were none), and the taste of green sweet cherry, and ... all kinds of tasted, all originating from sweet cherry. This should be some miracle.
The girls were, of course, helping while it kept their attention. Lovely day, not too warm, not muggy. The second run overflowed a bit, but the foam didn't get through the pipe, so brandy is clean.
On seventeenth ran Joda to get the AC fixed. Nothing for now, just refill the freon, if it keeps it for two weeks, we'll see each other some day, if not, change what parts it needs. The guy at the garage was the same guy who bought, fixed and sold the saxo. The plan is to go to the wedding in Joda, not the van, as it has the AC. Though it would be tight in the back.
On nineteenth we two went to Čankovo (the AC works, like real!), mowed where it needed (she did the lawn except where they laid the pipes, I did that with T2). The new neighbor on the right poured the foundation and brought blocks. We picked the sour cherries in the yard and those later sweet cherries, 15 kg of each. The sweet cherries did great this year.
In the afternoon we tried to pack the seven of us into Joda. If Nina was in the back with two or three children, it would be okay, but four is justtt too much. It's also that we went downtown first, to buy swimming gear, all kids outgrew the swimsuits they wore last year, the floats gained holes. Also took some thinner, printed towels from the Chineses, they take less sand. Joda is now full of sand in front of the rear seats. Raja was sitting with me outside the big chinese shop and being grandly pissed off - for having to wait, for being forced to climb (whole 8 steps above the plaza at sdk) and for having to cross the bridge (actually for climbing down the bridge to the first chinese shop, in the space of the once movie theatre, the one where I never understood dialogs in domestic movies). It doesn't seem to me that he fears heights but his own being clumsy, doesn't know how to walk, didn't walk enough to gain routine and self-assuredness. Then he also wanted to pee, so we got in and, luckily, quickly found the rest, as they were at the register, said we'll be at Prleski, see you there.
That day and the next we had cat chaos. Actually the finale of it, the chaos originated long before this. Siva (the gray) brought her two kittens, rather early in may. Then Darko had five more, around end of may. Then Siva adopted all of them, even nursed them, then Darko took hers from the nuts box on the terrace into the old tires in the yard, and took Siva's two too. They alternated in the big mom's role every two or three days, and then Darko fell ill. Hard and loud of breath, she'd just sit in the shade all day, didn't nurse her own (now only four, one died already), then she disappeared, then came back for a few hours the next day, then vanished completely.
On twentieth she gave up on these four and took them to the chinese path (from the building site to Lidl and Roda), hoping they'll find someone understanding. So we're down to four cats - Siva as the doyayen* and matriarch, Johan as the older brother and worn out warrior, mostly absent but comes to eat few times a week; Džimi as the young cat which is absent at times (the matriarchate is equally screwed up) and Rundek, Siva's son from last august, still not much of a fighter nor a fucker, prefer to play with the two little ones. And Zelena (mom of Džimi and Darko) comes (to eat) and goes.
We made more noodles in the afternoon, accumulated too many eggs, and Lena and Milan are leaving for the coast on tuesday, so need no eggs. Took a nap afterwards, then picked the big sweet cherry in front of the house. Summer solstice, time for everything. They sprayed against mosquitos, from a crop duster, the mosquitos got pissed off, atacked me viciously while I was up on the ladder.
On twentyfirst Borko called, saying he's doing his teeth, first taking out the bad guys, so he's indisposed for today, canceled, but... he'll see about next monday. But regarding the picking, she is not really in the mood to invite them, don't quite know why and it doesn't matter, either - if one is against then it's better not to. We'll do more alone than while having fun with the company.
To Springfield with the girls again in the afternoon.
On the twentyfourths, under dogly heat, with Nina to Belgrade, final touches on her dentures. Lena and Milan were already in Medulin, so no visit. Accidentally, Lajna invited us for a visit again, seems to be quite bored and wants to see the old gang. But I said „frankly, I feel the itch to fire up the engine and drive just anywhere, but almost all our passports expired and nobody moves a finger to get new ones. On top of that, everyone's new biometric passports were issued in 2011-12. and now they all expired so there's an incredible queue, specially as last year's ones didn't do it on time, not traveling because fuckit corona. It's a gypsy camp at the cops', fourty-some are sitting around waiting to be invited in".
After dentist we went somewhere where she'd get a three dee shot of her jaw, which was in the vicinity of Delta siti, the mall at the other end of Gagarinova, and I sat for half an hour. The shot is ready in two minutes, it's burning the CD that takes that long... I stoically sat in the car without turning the engine (and the AC), just sat so with open windows. burundi commended me for that and awarded me a medal of Gustav of second order.
On 25th we distilled the hare trišnja (both cherries, i.e. trešnja and višnja). Around the second batch, auntie Janja called, her husband died, funeral tomorrow. Aha, okay, we go. Because they'll expect we won't.
Before the funeral I wanted to wash the car at the corner by the railroad and old street, but there was a queue. We'd have made it, but delayed for half an hour. Went again via Zemun and around the airport to Ostružnica bridge, and only last 10 km was the old shitty road. The famous curve which keeps sliding into Sava is now raised for good couple of meters, seems they finally got serious about it. Of course, there was no chance I'd park by auntie Janja's house, they'll need the driveway for the funeral service's van (they still don't carry the deceased to spend the night in the freezer and then take them straight to the chapel), so I parked four houses down the street, by some uncle on grandmother's side (complicated...). He rents the front house to some metalworks retail, lives in the new one in the back, so we left a message in the shop, in case he asks whose is the car, and walked to aunt's. We greeted all we knew - her son we haven't seen since his farewell party when he was going to army, perhaps once or twice, and he's deep into the sixth bank** now. He's not the snivelly spoiled blonde kid he once was, he's a straightforward guy now, but fuckit he spent his best decades on alcohol, and now what's the use of a fifty-some old bachelor. The daughter we saw a few years ago, but then she got shit scared that dad may die while she's at the table, so spent most of the time in the yard on her phone. Didn't ask her, but she must still be paying off that apartment, working two schools plus private lessons, equally bachelor with retirement looming in a few years.
And uncle Staja is holding on solidly, he's in his 90th year, good eyesight (laser fixed few years ago), mobile, just somewhat deaf and boring. Finally gave up on driving. Anica was also there, again no word about second surname. They don't brag, we don't ask, to dick with it. No mention of her sister, not a word, as if she didn't exist. Who knows what was up, we heard that she wasn't on her mother's funeral.
Under the excuse that I may lose the way and it's a clumsy big new car and I don't know how and where to maneuver my way, we went to move the car to the cemetery as soon as the priest(s?) began the usual advertising, really don't have to listen to that bullshit each time, but actually went to see that uncle where we parked. At first he didn't recognize us, then was happy as a puppy to see us. He's also closing in on ninety, has three grandgrandchildren and not a worry in a world***. He appologized for not coming to dad's funeral, said he couldn't survive being whole day with auntie Janja, „she kills us, can't survive while she's around“. I do understand that, we hear her few times a year and I manage to divert the talk into fun while listening on half ear, and at that dosage it's bearable. For him it's too close. Though, he didn't have a nice word about his own brother, for being such a materialist, seeing everything through money. Well that guy managed to piss me off too, come to think of it. He calls once in ten years, and then it's about his support for the change of our city name, to return the pre-war name which lasted for only seven years. Thank you very much, would you please stop helping us, that proposal was already on a referendum once and got fucked off. And now the fartgressive party tries to achieve that name change on the sly, more negative points for them.
The dead man's empty plate. And yellow brandy.
Of the whole bunch there he seem to be the only regular guy. We sat some fifteen minutes with him, then made a turn at the gate of that vuklanizer's shop at the corner of uncle Staja's street, managed to pick a wrong way only once („not this one, next street up the hill“). I knew Joda enough to pass smoothly through the tight spots. Fuck you, this is like Dalmatia, couldn't you have made the streets wider than a track (word is „kolosek“, a wheel slice, i.e. as wide as a horsecart wheels cut, also means a railroad track)? But I made the turn without even reaching for the gear lever, counting on Joda's trick that when you release the brake pedal, it will keep it braked for two more seconds. In that time you either step on the gas, or it goes freewheeling, which I used instead of reverse - I was already pointed uphill, so backwards into someone's driveway, then step on the gas to start downhill. All the badmouthing of robots was actually directed at the designers of software, programmers included, who failed to observe how it is used in real life, but rather designed the behavior off the top of their heads. This vehicle is a demonstration of how it can be done right.
We arrived at the cemetery well ahead of the others, tried to find my grandfather's grave again, but no, even the diggers don't know by heart. The funeral was quick and no drama at all, rather relaxed, the priest also cut it short, guess the weather was too nice (as one said, „the worse the weather the longer the priests sing, looks like they do it out of spite, guess they try to burry more at once while they're at it“). Then back to their home for the daća... equally relaxed and lacking drama, almost a party. Excellent piglet roast, the flatbread (lepinja) industrial trash, she tried the brandy both on arrival and now at lunch, said our worst is three spears above both of these. Quickjob plum, then sat in a barrel to gain color - and I knew exactly, whenever I see it yellow I know they fucked up and tried to recoup. Good wood, she said, just that everything else is bad.
In the evening, with a drink, I remembered how dad made only 4-5 shots at their wedding, and on them there is not one smiling face. This funeral was somehow happier than that.
Everything was fine at home while we were away. Nina tried to eat nothing for 24h, it worked.
Around this time Wordle was launched and soon afterwards the Rečko, and a couple of months later Dečko (double rečko). The last one is run by Fića of burundi. The dates are off, because the topic for this on it was created only in february 2022 („only“ as in „just this once and in no other month before or after“... serbian „tek u februaru“ means „as late as february“, sorry about your language). Anyway, this created my new daily routine, so in the morning, with the first coffee and the one indoors cigarette (the rest I smoke outside or upstairs) I first read the forum, then play all three, rečko, njordle (v. juski in house dictionary) and dečko. Over time I found ways to write some help to myself - there's a table of all english words I can search in fox, which I use to add stuff to sGradlj.com. For serbian, I have a table of all words used in Byo, which isn't the most elegant solution, because it lacks whole dictionaries in the areas I avoid (church, sports, showbiz). For the former, the search command is one longish line in fox; for the latter, ten rows in postgres.
----
* „do jaja“ - up to the balls; dojajen instead of doajen (doyen)
** „bank“ is a tenner in dinars, but also used as „ten years“
*** in serbian original, „his corner hurts“
Mentions: Anica Tešić, auntie Janja, burundi, Byo (Byo), Čankovo, daća, detelina, fox, house dictionary, Jelena Sredljević (Lena), Joda, Linda Sredljevich Aquilla (Linda), Mališa Borkovski (Borko), Melanija Merćep (Lajna), Milan Nastić, Nevena Sredljević (Nina), Prleski, Ryu (Raja), Sanda Sredljević Aquilla (Sanda), saxo, sdk, sGradlj.com, Springfield, uncle Staja, Žarko Zarin, in serbian