01-I-2023.
Two peaceful weeks, nothing much happening here.
And this kinda chrismass came and went, that I slept through as planned, woke up after 11 so I missed all of it, and didn't even have to make too many shots. The girls got bluetooth headsets, Nina paired each to the corresponding contraption, Sanda's and Linda with their tablets, Violet's with her phone, everyone happy and merry. And Raja is bitching and screaming far less now when a game freezes or takes too many forevers to download. He's experienced now and learned some patience.
In the afternoon we finally assembled the fifth shelf, took us barely half an hour, so her yarn krtlog (v. house dictionary) is now off the floor. Only on twentyeighth I managed to grab the time when the light is right. The little room gets no direct sunlight this time of year, but at least there are these twenty minutes before dusk when it's facing a sunlit sky. I mounted the eos70 on the tripod and patched this out of ten shots, omitting the sixth because it didn't have enough connecting points to its neighbors and they did somehow without it.
On twonysixth to Springfield, this time without Violet. She didn't feel like going, because the twins fucked her off last time. She got into her modus operandi of overlast year, when she'd be the director of the games and everyone else would do her scenario. Didn't work this time, the two just left her game and went on to climb the rope ladder (wood rungs, though), so she went bonkers and started yanking the ladder to shake them off. They then came down and completely disassembled the castle she made out of those toy pillows (which they also helped build, even I did). She was at the butcher's meanwhile, and saw Violet sniffing when she returned, what with a teardrop on her cheek. I explained the course of events, and how I already explained the reap what you sow and golden rule to Violet.
We took a kilo of ćevapčići again and took it home, to Raja's delight. There was another trip to Springfield, on 2nd I guess, just she and the twins, I think I was busy with my annual/monthly duties (on burundi the poll for the linguistic pearl of the year, the monthly batch of photos for the family to upload to Dropbox etc) (well no, that was on 29th and I don't know why I didn't go).
Lena and Milan have finally moved on 29th. The next day we talked, with video, and she carried us through the whole apartment. They haven't canceled the old one yet, because the move day was literally unpredictable, every time they thought they had a date, something would come up - two of the cleaning girls would get sick or some such. They said they'll pay two month's extra rent to the guy and let him keep the deposit, as he's been fair with them all the time, the rent stayed at 300€ for six years, he raised it to 400 just a few months ago. Now, with all the thousands of Russians (and Ukrainians and Byelorussians) around town, he'd get at least 800€ without batting an eyelash.
The doček itself was rather quiet. Didn't prepare anything special, didn't even dine together, everyone ate what and when wanted. I decanted a kilo of apricot, but we didn't even drink. The light I mounted for the barbecue two weeks ago was still hanging on he terrace door, so I lit it so that we can see where we step. Pretty much everyone (except Sanda, asleep already) went outside, congratulated each other, and then watched the neighborly fireworks. Good one this year. I sent an SMS with just a „HNY!“ (in cyrillic, this time) to Dragana only, she replied immediately. During the next twelve hours, got the same from Žarko's mother, and Boba and Milena. And that was it.
Cats inventory, five and a half. The current matriarch is Džimi (Jimi), Rundek, Mimi (half white half nonaligned, still undecided between striped and spotted) and the two little ones, Dženifer and Amelija (Genipher, Amelia). All named by Violet except Rundek, he's mine. Zelena (Green) is at neighbor's, comes here to break fast.
sGradlj.com ended the year, by the host's statistics, at around 680000 page views. Now I wish I had these for previous years, who knows how much uncounted traffic there was in the last six, because it counted the total, since 2007, at no more than 770000. Numbers, numbers...
The weather is early spring. There was some frost in december, and now the lows are around 2-3, mostly 5, going up to 15 or even 18 in the day. We regularly have fresh daikon radishes from the yard for salad. They may not be as thick as one can buy, but those are made by professionals who know the tricks. She made pihtije again, not as thick because she couldn't find trotters. But it's got butkice and ears, ummm excellent. True, now (writing this on 5th) it's only me eating them, and not with radishes but with her chutney of dry cherries, apples, red bell peppers and one more thing, can't recognize. Plums? Never mind, I cleaned the first jar by last night.
Go sent a link to the Peripheral, a series by Gibson's book. I disagree with the critics, this is good. Them acting more in a deadpan, subdued european way, instead of snarling and chopping the air with gestures, I consider a plus, while the american critics think it makes the characters flat and hollow. Nice gag at the very start of action: „I'm just a voice in your head“. Went through it in two days, then switched to the new Stari drek (old shit, i.e. Star trek), reboot prequel or whatever, samer than ever was, absolutely nothing unseen, they're locked in a cage of their own making and it won't be me who'll let them out.
On fourth we took the girls downtown, to get new winter jackets and sneakers - they grew out of what they had, and what was passed down from Vera's daughter is equally wrong sized now or there's only one pair. She remembered to send me, while the girls were trying out shoes, to find new tozna - the one she painted almost ten years ago is still okay on the outside, but the latex strip inside is stretched out and not holding. Found, bought a couple. Though this may be the twentieth time we took them like that, they were somehow specially impressed this time. In the morning Linda confessed to baba: „I have pictures in my head from yesterday“. Well well, not only abstract thinking, but now even an ability to express it.
On seventh, beans! We started the next habanero, sized just right to last us these three lunches. We each cut off a piece, about 20 mm2, and chop it as small as we can, then pour mostly the liquid then the solid stuff. My scalp sweats, her ears itch inside. Hot, good hot. We did this whole fall, hotting it whever we felt like it. Perhaps our treshhold (yes!) raised, who knows, we like it this way. As much as we drink equally, we hot it up equally. Outside it thunders. Last night there was more of neighborly fireworks, even firecrackers and petards. Yoolsday, doomsday, Kraljevo, Valjevo. Today just more cannonade. That too will pass.
Mentions: burundi, butkice, ćevapčići, Dobrivoj Gunaroši (Boba), doček, Dragana Vitas (Dragana), eos70, Gorana Sredljević (Go), house dictionary, Jelena Sredljević (Lena), Linda Sredljevich Aquilla (Linda), Milan Nastić, Milena Požarić, Nevena Sredljević (Nina), pihtije, Ryu (Raja), Sanda Sredljević Aquilla (Sanda), sGradlj.com, Springfield, tozna, Vera Vraneš, Violet, Žarko Zarin, in serbian