Julia's Apartment in Sarajevo

Saturday it's a hike with Zana and this other guy that speaks some English.
Sunday it's Visegrad with Mersiha and her cousin will drive - hooray! And
Peter will go - then Peter and I will go to Gorazde for the day on Monday.
Tuesday I have dinner with Amir - there's a veg restaurant somewhere. Then
Wed I get ready to go to Belgrade for the weekend, then Monday and Tues
nights before I leave I'll stay in Zagreb, as I mentioned.  Whew.

Oh - tonight it's dinner with Hatidiza's mom and sister and afterwards I'll
meet 'Irvan' - Almir's counsin that stayed in our place.

Julia Reports on Milna

Well, considering all, Brizak’s End looks pretty good. For the most part, the place is clean – or clean enough. The plants are overgrown, so I’ll cut some of them. The lavender has a few blooms on it and it is HUGE – and wow – it cannot begin to compare to our lavender – it is soooo fragrant!

The bathroom is a bit gross. I can’t find any cleanser in town – So I’ll make do and scrub it down. The mattress covers need washing, so I’ll do that, and a few other things. Just a few cob webs here and there.

Immediately ran into Ivo and Ljiljana – Ivo unlocked the gate right away – saved me looking all over for the combination even though I had written it down.

Slavko picked me up and helped me with the luggage up the steps. Told me about his girlfriend. He's making his balcony into another room just in case things go well! Ran into Zore’s mother in town – she recognized me first. Things look pretty much the same at first glance. But it’s busier than I thought it would be – lots of boats in the harbor and cars on the riva. Slavko said it was really busy this summer and he thinks it will continue that way. Ivo and Ljiljana’s cousins from Argentina were just arriving for the first time, too, just after I arrived. They always have distant relatives visiting! Oh – and the place next door actually looks and feels okay – not so close as we were worried about. Of course there is no one there now. There’s a courtyard in front and big stone wall, but there’s no gate on it yet. They kept the original stone stairs. It’s two floors and is higher than our place.

PAhurds Say "Hi!"

FLASHY, FLASHY: Byron's new "cop magnet."












Hard work at home:



lots and lots of renovation, including newly stained wood floors. (All that old carpet GONE.) Looking good.

Julia Says: Bosnia

Time is passing quickly. The difference between this trip and others is the amount of moving I’ve been doing – a couple nights here, a few nights there…I’m too old for this stuff! It’s been interesting, though.

I’ve been wanting a hand-made rug from Bosnia for a long time – and finally made a purchase when I visited a non-profit and saw the women (mostly from around Srebrenica) weaving and we had coffee, etc. – you cannot go anywhere and not have kafa with whoever your visiting! There are local elections throughout Bosnia on Sunday, so there are lots of posters and I’ve seen a couple political rallys, etc.

Succor Creek, Oregon

Back from a week camping solo in the rhyolite canyon at Succor Creek in Eastern Oregon. Timed it perfectly between a rockhound group the weekend previous and the opening of hunting season, the following week. Lots of hiking, rock collecting, and sitting in the sun. Found geodes, agates, petrified wood, and more. Stark, gorgeous country. (Wow, I had forgotten all that wonderful, wonderful open space in Eastern Washington and Eastern Oregon.)

John's Art

Started an online portfolio with some of my paintings from this year, a few earlier ones. Will try to expand it as I document earlier artwork. It's right here.

Kayakking on Ross Lake

Spent a 4 day weekend with Eliot and the Lints men on Ross Lake in the Cascades. 3 canoes and 1 kayak (me). Stole the images from the internet. The panorama shows the penisula that we camped on, the other shows the narrows canyon at Devils Creek that we paddled up. Other than a lightning strike and high winds/ white caps, we had a beautiful wilderness experience.

Mr. Big Shot Follows Heart

Back to his roots, Chaz finds man following heart on driveway and builds it back up on his canvas. Lots of paint. . .

Lori's Wedding: July 26, 2008 (John W. too!)

Croatian Dream

As I stepped from the roof of my cottage one morning I saw my neighbors with packs on their backs and staffs in their hands hurrying off as if to some great adventure. Wait I cried, remember that one place is - more or less - as good as another.

Later that day a few villagers returned.
Was it worth it, I asked?

Yes, each replied, it is.

Spencer Says: At Last!!! My BIG Day!

Spencer graduates from Western Washington University with a B.A. in Graphic Design and a great graphic portfolio and resume. Notice his proud parents. Check out his work at http://designhurd.com/

Slavko Says: Paradise in Trogir

Man-o-man, you're reading my mind. Two main themes are contained in your and mine picture, paradise and yellow.

On the way back from Zadar (just got home) I've found the fields of brnistra near by Trogir.

When old Greeks came first to settle area they must have seen the same scene (it must have been May), and they exclaimed: "Aspalathos...", referring to the yellow flowers.

The rest is simple, first settlement was called Aspalathos, then came Spalato, and then Split...

Wild in Winthrop

A special trip over the North Cascades to catch the wildflowers in bloom...and we hit it just right! Whole hillsides of lupin and arrowleaf basalm root shining, shining, shining in the sun. Scent of lupin and sage on the breeze.

Another Roadside Attraction?

Melanie's friends alongside I-5 coming into the Valley.

Work work

We drop by the Graphic Design room late Sunday night and find Spencer there all alone with only a box of crackers to eat. Good thing we'd brought him some Viet Namese noodle soup!

Croatia Fest -- Anacortes

The annual Croatia festival was the inaugural event in the new Croatian community center in Anacortes. Yummy salmon. Great music, enthusiastic dancing. And I won a six pack of Karlovacko in the raffle!

God et al

I think some of the world's religions make altogether too much of the Creation .. . I favor some of the Native American and African myths that feature a little bit of mud brought up from the bottom of the great sea of non-being . . . but even that, I think, is too active a role to assign to the divinity...it's the Trickster that pulls off that creation. . .a minor supernatural being given to foolishness and urges . . .the creation to me is like a fragment of divine DNA - - a strand of hair, a patch of skin, a piece of spittle -- unconsciously left behind at the scene of an accident or crime . . .

Perspective in WInthrop

See that little black dot in the middle of the grassy meadow, center bottom? C'est moi.
(Click on photo to enlarge.)

World Class Snooze

Sun in the high lands....warm spring sun....wind in the tree tops . . .

Passover

Reading the Haggada.

Room view ... passover

Peeping. joyce

But is it ART??!!

Kyra at work

Kyra before the ICU doors at the UW Medical Center.

Slavko Says "Spring & Love!"

I am puzzled by the book, women just love it so I will try to do some more with it, <<>> sorry for not having time to translate some poems (I will, promise).

For the last few days I've been painting the pastry shop(where Julia likes to buy sweets and ice cream), spring is in full bloom, but the sun is just about to explode in all it's brightness, it feels like a woman before delivery, something that will happen most certainly, matter of days...

Did You Know: Food Riots?

Food prices soar . . .poor riot . . .bigger emergency than collapse of capital markets ...40 countries affected...cash crops, biofuels, dismantling of oversight bodies, and economic imperialism to blame . . .

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41976#share

Dream

You turn your head and
start to wave, when
a hole opens in the floor
and you fall in!

She pauses, her arm half-raised,
and frowns, looking down
that long, long hallway.
Who or what on earth
was she looking for?

Lynne Says "Things Look Funny in the Rear View Mirror"

We left around noon on Friday to head to West Chester . . .

traffic was pretty bad on the Schullkill expressway so we let our GPS find an alternate route, very pretty but very circuitous through the hills around the river, fancy residential areas of Galdwynne, lots of curves and hills, by this time Byron was getting car sick, and we did not get to the museum until 6 and by the time we went to park the car was sounding like a jet landing, Tim said he could barely make it up the driveway to the museum and the lots were full and he did not know if we could drive the car any further. 

Well needless to say we were not feeling too good about this time after 6 hours of travel running late and now faced with the possibility of the car needing to be towed  to some  inner city Phillie garage and us being over 20 miles from Byron's college and our motel. We managed to get the car down the hill of the museum to a lot in the center of a traffic circle and gave up and went to eat, we had not eaten all day,(since I was on high alert mode all I managed was half a salad) and do the museum and deal with it when we came out.  As Tim would later say the museum was a blur, finally about 8:15 I said I had had it, was too anxious about dealing with the car and wanted to see if we could make it back to West Chester.

 

We did manage to leave the museum just at twilight, the rain had stopped, the clouds had lifted, the birds were singing in the trees by the freeway.  We wandered back to the parking lot and got in and discussed if we should try to limp back on surface roads or the freeway, Tim wanted to go on secondary roads I just wanted to get out of the city as quickly as possible and we ended up deciding on the freeway. Well the car had sat for 3 hours and the wheels had cooled down so when we backed up the grinding noise was bad but not awful so we decided we would try the freeway because Tim said if we broke down they could find us easier.  Joy, joy.

 

Remember we do not have a lot of luck on these day trips a few years ago when we went to Atlantic City for Tim's birthday another car's steering wheel caught on fire with an electrical short and we were towed to a hole in the wall garage there that was very inner city but we survived that and limped home from that one.

Anyway we did make it back to West Chester to the room around 10 and collapsed ate crackers and drank ginger ale to settle our nerves . . .

Yet Another Sam Sighting

Sam Green is a BUSY man these days, but we caught him at a reception in his honor in Anacortes this last Saturday.  A beautiful, sunny ,warm evening, lots of poets and dignitaries, a harpist on the stairway, and -- as is proper for a poetry event -- the wine flowed free and plentifully.  Elegant waitpeople carried silver trays laden with shrimp through the crowd and the hors d'oeuvres were luscious.   (I especially liked the garlic-filled mushrooms.)  They did this right for Sam!

35 year time warp

Chainsaw oil, sharpen, start: cut, split, pile. Takes me 'way back. But, ah, the sweet alder.

Mr. Big Shot Says "How I Survived High School"

1966. That’s the year I started High School. The sting of the Principal’s speech to my class on our graduation day bothered me all summer as I began to build my expectations for the coming year. As I was coming of age, great local heroes were firmly embedded in Omak High School lore and I was uncomfortable with the thought that my class was entering high school with this shroud of under achievement, or even worse maybe our class had the inability to achieve at all. The principal’s speech put such doubt in my mind that I dreaded the first day of classes and facing our collective ineptitude. I had always schemed of my place in high school history. I guess I was dreaming of some sort of glory or golden days spent on the stage of my home town, and being a high school legend was the way to achieve that goal in Omak . . .(continued)

Daffodils in the Skagit Valley

The family place is in the background slightly right of center.

R.I.P. Kitty

Katy died in her sleep today. She was 22 years old. She has been with us since Spencer started kindergarten.

Spring

Backcountry in the Spring

Eliot, Kyra, Shiah and Leah all snowmobile into the Cascades backcountry, then take off on "split-board" snow boards up the mountain. Last trip of the season? the snow is disappearing fast.

Slavko Says Happy Equinox: "Island Songs"

Surprise package on the eve of the vernal equinox. . . manila envelope almost buried beneath the 6.5 kuna stamps . . .two copies (one signed!) of Slavko's book of Brac island poems. . . and illustrated too . . . beautifully done.

Sam Green, Washington Poet

Flippin' the dial and Julia says, "Stop! that's Sam!" and I'll be damned if it wasn't altho' I hadn't recognized him, looking good in jacket and tie, reading his poems to an Olympia audience at a luncheon, it seemed. Amazing dissonance between the poems and the setting! Amazing where talent, passion, unflagging focus can take a man.

Question?

How do past events differ from imagined events?

Upload

OK.
But will I still be able to wear plaid?

Unquiet Dreams

Water runs deep beneath my bed.
Something has happened here.
Native Americans are restless.
The blind man scents me, the
deaf man will not turn his back.
There are so many turnings.
There are flashes at the corner of my vision.
Something yet may come of this.
Something good . . .
Who knows?

On the road 3

On the road 2

On the road

Slavko Says "Got a Book..."

Slavko's book of poems from Brac has just been published in time for the Vernal Equinox! "Island Poems" or "Island Songs," not sure what he prefers. These are witty, sensitive, observant and good stories, too. We'll keep badgering him to get some more translated into English.

Pray for your Coffee

Croatiatraveller.com reports that Parish members in Zagreb have opened Jedro, a coffee shop in the Jarun district, that offers coffee for prayers instead of $$$$. A cappucino costs four "Our Fathers"! It has become quite a popular place, growing quickly from 5 tables to 20!

Happy Dan nezavisnosti

March 1, 1992. Bosnia-Herzegovina Independence Day.

Strange Days

Space out of time, what possibilities!!!! Orphaned day: Leap Year!

Anticipating Spring

Ready for those first green insinuations! Orchard is pruned!

Mr. Big Shot Says "Hoo-ray! Religion!"

My mother took me to summer bible school at the Presbyterian Church in Omak as a social net working activity. I got to know many of the kids my age during those days and I loved watching the movies they would show about the early disciples of Jesus going out to teach the mission of the Holy Spirit. I remember one poignant moment in one of the films where Paul was struck down by God on the road to Damascus and how he was blinded and then became a disciple of Jesus. I loved those period movies with the ancient settings and the donkeys and goats. The women flocking to Jesus were powerful messages of spiritual attraction.

One summer the teachers started a contest where whoever could memorize the chapters of the bible would win a day-glow Jesus sticker. . . (cont.)

(Image stolen from Washington Post online)

Lunar Eclipse: Didya' See It?

Sitting by the Speedway, watching the moon glow over the Cascades. Smoking a small cigar and participating, don't ya know. My photos are still in the camera. This one is stolen from Wired, taken by Steve Ryan in California.

Balkan Cabaret

Seattle's Balkan Cabaret with Mary Sherhart!

Your New Bicycle

A bit of politics to click through.

Mr. Big Shot is Back for Valentine's Day

My mother was attractive, intelligent and athletic. She studied diligently as a youth and continued her education in college and then received a Master’s in education in 1937 from Washington State University. She taught school in a one room school house and then became a county extension agent in Pacific County and taught poor farmers how to make mattresses and developed this business for farmers into a cottage industry in South Western Washington. She loved to dance and ski and entertain. I believe she and my father loved each other very much and once the war was over all she could think about was having a family. Then she gave birth to my sister, me and my brother and we never got to know that woman ever . . .(more)

Dream

I fell through a hole in a dream. It took me months to get back. When
I did, I discovered that my son had disappeared and that a stranger was
living in my house. I could hear him breathing in the humid blackness.
Creeping out to the bamboo veranda, I reached into my hiding place and
pulled out my hidden bottle of rum. After a bit, I unzipped myself and
peed into the river running swiftly below. It was so dark.

Coming Up for Air: MS was all a dream

So after five or six 16+ hour workdays of intense communion with 2 laptops and one desktop PC, I am now a Linux man (Ubuntu -- Kubuntu, actually, latest release "Gutsy Gibbon"). It's a good thing I took that Unix class 20 years ago and then spent those early PC evenings deep in DOS! That command line was quite a shock. At one point, I had all three computers unable to boot. (I think that was at 4:30 a.m. a couple of days ago.)
I tried several packages, including Damn Small Linux on a laptop, as well as Mephsis, Knoppix, Freespire, etc. I was trying to dual load Windows and Linux, but then Windows stopped working. Finally, yesterday evening, I said enough's enough (or something like that) and put all my Micros**t stuff to rest forever. RIP. (:-)
Anyway, D'Soup has suffered a bit, but things should get back to running o.k. real soon now.

Lori Sez: Not These Horses!

Lori rescued Danni, a pregnant registered Quarterhorse mare, as she was being loaded into a truck to be sent to Mexico to be made into dogfood. She now has a beautiful black filly Lori named "Notta Enchilada."

Slavko Says "Mums' the word...."

"Let these pictures of almond trees speak for themself... "

(((ed: I am homesick for Brac)))

Sno Mo? Sho'!

I feel as if I have been soundly cudgeled over every inch of my body! I can hardly stand! I went snow mobiling yesterday with Eliot on his 2 new Polaris 440 cc machines. Up past Snoqualmie, back in the forested mountains (at a snowmobile park). A beautiful, beautiful sunny day, panoramic views of alpine valleys, Kachess lake, and sheer rock mountains. 20 degrees F. No one else around. I managed to tip my snowmobile on its side one time, fall off and hit my knee one time, run over two evergreen tree tops buried in the snow, and stall 3/4 way up a steep hill side. Oh. And throw my back out once! (These things weigh 450 lbs. each and when they dig themselves into the snow, or get stuck crosswise on the side of a hill, it is a daunting task to make things right.) Today, I can't move. This didn't help my carbon karma (sorry), but it was a kick. Reminded me a little of my motorcycle days. Thanks Eliot!! (Be careful on those things. Wear a helmet.)

Forum D'Soup: Mr. Big Shot? Savoe? Futurity?

Here's a new "D'Soup" forum just for those who want to hold a dialogue, disperse advice, or disparage anything in particular or in general: "D'Soup: Give and Take"

I've started two topics: "Art" and "Life".

Just register to begin using. ("Register" top right). It's easy.

VEHM

Here's a good cause. You first. VEHM

Gorgeous Bosnia Photos

Julia has posted some of her wonderful photographs of Bosnia, complete with descriptions. Find them here.

Chaz is Disgruntled: Tim??? Slavko??? Anonymous???

i'm doing my best to start controversy on your blog. check the comment on tina. also it has been brought to my attention that other than spencer no one else has bothered to comment on the blog other than your's truly (((ed. this is not true))) and now that i am providing content and comment i need to also provide controversy maybe i need a corner office and a bigger budget and also i want to know how to draw tim into a lively exchange is he waiting for the right moment to say something or does he have his own blog or maybe an alternative universe blog but maybe for fun he could go off on me or you or anyone or just publish his own stuff on the blog and the content would be so much richer but maybe he likes laying in the weeds waiting for the apocolypse or something like that but pennsylvania must be lonely and maybe he could at least say something witty could you provide his email or where in the hell are his submissions? the american public needs to know as you might have guessed i am tired of winter and being cold and creating for your blog has become a focus of my irrational mind. cold i am complaining about the cold but i was just out in my yard in the night and i saw that the nastursim are still alive and how cold can it be if the nastursim are still alive... i must be getting weaker. give me strength to battle till spring emerges.... those damn greeks had it so right with the myth of persephene with six months of life and six months of death and the greeks lived on the damn mediteranean where it would be hard to complain except when the germans came to town in busloads and want to take pictures of your donkey and when the wind blows in from dalmatia and by the way sorry that you can't go to your island and drink turkish coffee and watch the italian women stroll by while your'e dreaming and painting postcards to send to sorry your'e not here you idiot and sorry your'e not there now but i bet the next time you go it will be for a long time and good for that because christ what is mary going to do this year without you in the parade to catch her tears and bring them to hermes who'll be waiting for only a short time for you to return and then he will be gone but you know that and you will wait for the next year and maybe mary will cry again and possibly hermes will return and this will be the chance you take.

Gregoire Names Washington State's First Poet Laureate

December 17, 2007

OLYMPIA – Gov. Chris Gregoire today announced that she has named Samuel Green as the Washington State Poet Laureate, a position established by the Legislature this year to build awareness and appreciation of poetry across the state. (Read more)

(We knew it was coming...but must have been snoozing to miss the announcement...Congrats, Sam! this is incredible, fabulous, unreal! what would Marjorie think?)

U-m-m-m-m-m-

Family Gastevski Says: Some Day

A wonderful note today on an old article I wrote:

"I thoroughly enjoyed reading your article regarding your home purchase in Milna, Brac. The steps you described at the roman colonnade were the very same ones I used as a child carrying home loaves of bread. I left Milna at 5 years of age with my family. Ever since then I have lived in Perth, West Australia. I visited Croatia briefly 12 years ago and again last year. Both times it was as if time had stood still and I had never been away. It's one thing for a croatian to love Croatia but quite another for an American to recognize those very same qualities.Your article moved me deeply.

As it is our old family home cannot be too far from yours! . . . Perhaps one day we will meet on the riva!

All the best to you and your family for a prosperous and happy new year.

Katiya"

Slavko Says: Golubovi! B-r-r-r-r-

GOLUBOVI

Poletješe golubovi
Preplašeni
Iznad golih brda
Svi su zlatni
Samo jedan crni

U hipu zamakoše
Na obzorju

Pritisnuo led zemlju
Tvrdu
Okovanu
Uspavanu



THE PIGEONS


Pigeons went to fly
Scared
Over bare naked hills
They are all golden
But one that's black

In a moment they move
Out of sight
On the horizon

The ice pressed down
On the earth
Hard
Chained
Sleepy

FK! FK!

Still subversive after all these years. http://joox.net/cat/2/id/2047279

Snooze and Miss 'Our Lady of Riverrun'

KIRO says two teenagers staying at Olivia's Riverrun in Winthrop at the same time we were captured 'a mysterious image' while playing with their new digital camera along the river bank . . .
http://www.kirotv.com/news/14972942/detail.html

New year in winthrop