Christine in Croatia: Picture this

Showing posts with label Picture this. Show all posts

Sunday, January 31, 2016

This week, Winter in Zagreb

*A Hunting Lodge, Super Bowl 50 and Burger King*

Samobor Mountains:

ever take a ride and find,

not only do you not know where you are...

you can't get back to where you have already been…

and it's winter, the winding roads are narrow,
some not paved and some just simply end...

and the only sign of life...may also be lost**

And then you find... a hunting camp!
Complete with wild boar being skinned out back
and the camp cook preparing food for the, soon to return, hunters.

So last Saturday we did get lost, high up in the mountains of Samobor.
Finally spotting some sign of life (smoke).
Tom asked for directions
(yep - he really did - we were that desperate).
Not only did they tell us how to get back down the mountain,
they fed us! The best wild boar stew ever!
(okay I was pretty hungry and it's the only wild boar stew I ever had,
but over the years, we have had plenty of wild game,
and this was really scrumptious:-)

The views were awesome, the roads scary!
We knew we were almost down,
when we spotted another vehicle - a logging truck!

Photo from my iphone picture locater

The Žumberak Mts. - only 25 km (16 miles) from, Zagreb.
FYI: The Zumberak - Samobor Mountains Nature Park covers an area of approximately 430 km2 (170 sq mi)

Mainly hilly-mountainous, entirely rural area without any urban settlements. The central part of Zumberak, Kraska plain, is characterized by many clearings, deeply incised valleys, sinking rivers and caves…

The area was designated a nature park as a protected natural resource by the Act of the Croatian parliament on 28th May, 1999. The park got its name from the old village of Zumberak (burned down in 1793; remains are located a bit above the new same-named village).

** "Divlje vode" (Wild waters) is a Bio park within the Nature Park, they have llamas . Although the llamas we encountered were pretty far from said park.

more info: divljevode.com/hr , pp-zumberak-gorje.hr/, goincro.com/en and en.wikipedia.org

American football:

Tom, Nick and me - playing football, in a park, in Canada

Here in Croatia, as in most of Europe, The foot-ball that rules is soccer (nogomet here). Most people take no notice of American football. You wont see anyone playing it in a park, nor any signs of equipment in sports stores. So to find out anything about the Patriots, you have to go online. Really what did we do before the internet!

AFC CHAMPIONSHIP Final:

New England Patriots 18 Denver Broncos 20

"Cornerback Bradley Roby saved the game by picking off Tom Brady's pass on a 2-point try with 12 seconds left to preserve a 20-18 victory for the Broncos over the Patriots Sunday in the AFC title game." NFL.com

Bill Belichick “...a crash landing to the end of the season.”

A game that came down to the last 12 seconds!

So the Pats are not playing in Super Bowl 50.

So now I don't really care about this Super Bowl

But I do hope the Broncos lossssssss !!

( just saying )

___________________

Tom Brady “...Our team fought hard all year, right down to the final play. I’m proud of the effort we all put in to prepare each game as if it were our last. We never quit nor lost sight of what we were playing for. It’s rare to have the honor of being on a team like that.”

__________________

FYI: “In a departure from the NFL tradition of using Roman numerals, this game is Super Bowl 50 instead of Super Bowl L (the Roman numeral for 50)”
Smart decision, I think.

The game (www.nfl.com/superbowl/50 ) is scheduled to be played on February 7, 2016, at 6:30 pm Eastern time at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California... I've read that the stadium has had repeated problems with the grass surface, including the grass collapsing!

Rijeka and Burger King:

and this week we drove down to Rijeka to catch revival service.

Remember to pray for Croatia!! ( worldcfm.com )

and on the way home...

Whopper jr.

On the A1 highway we take to & fro, there is now a Burger King. We stopped for a Whopper & fries for T. and a Whopper jr. for me.

I’m a BK fan from way back (might have something to do with working there as a teen…way back in the 1970’s). And although I don’t crave fast food often, it is nice to have the familiar.

Welcome to Croatia Burger King!

FYI: Globally popular McDonalds was one of first to come, and will soon celebrate two decades in Croatia. In recent years KFC and Subway have also opened restaurants, and most resent, in 2014 ... BURGER KING on A1 and a second one in 2015 (info June 2015 croatiaweek.com), “We are delighted with the opening of BURGER KING® restaurant in Arena Centar [Mall] in Zagreb, especially since this will be our second BK restaurant in Croatia. The first one opened at Draganić-south rest stop (on the A1 highway) in 2014…” said Hermann Ircher, CCO of Marché International, who hold the BURGER KING ® franchise in Croatia.

Just keeping it real, CC

Friday, May 16, 2014

Mourning doves... the enemy!

So I was thinking, after I came in from my morning battle -
I wonder what my neighbors think? I'm hoping they laugh.

Picture this silly american lady, just out of the shower, dressed,
but barefoot with my hair still wrapped in a towel.
It's raining and chilly, and I'm standing outside
clapping, hissing and throwing a pop up under the over hang...

The cunning culprits; they do not fly to far away...waiting to return

The nest building material

I have been in a battle for ownership of my outside sitting area. I have never liked pigeons, but I detest these mourning doves, aka pigeons. Here called golub or žalosti golubica. Either name they are ridiculous, annoying, really, really messy and so far impossible to get rid of!
I have been in a battle all spring,
but Now it's a full out war!!
Before it was just a few feathers, some poop and a couple broken eggs.
NOW they are trying to build nest under the house overhang, right where I sit. also where the front door is ... yuck!

The battle area!

This really is an uphill battle. I have read "Mourning doves are birds that can accommodate in almost every climate condition.” and this encouraging piece of info "As you have discovered, they can create quite a mess in your yard, including building nests on fans, light fixtures or ledges on your house. Dove nests do tend to be very flimsy, and you probably find smashed eggs all over the yard. They can nest as much as seven times a summer; even though they lay only two eggs at a time, they're pretty prolific." Great 7 times, each nest, each set of golubovi

So when I'm home, like today - I spray, throw pops, and hiss, because they are very crafty, cunning, wily, guileful, devious, sly, scheming, designing, calculating; that is to say they are the enemy!

My weapons: pops, spray bottle, and nest eliminator

So when you need a chuckle, think of my war,

realize how laughable, absurd, comical, funny, hilarious, risible, droll, amusing, farcical, ludicrous, foolish, insane, stupid, idiotic, illogical, irrational, senseless, silly, inane, harebrained, ridiculous, preposterous ... these scenarios really are.

But I am determined to win, so if any of you do know a better way, let me know! CC

Make my day!

Friday, February 7, 2014

This week

This week I ...

Found BACON !! (see post: A great recipe in the making)

Okay so the name for (american) bacon at the deli is Hamburger, who knew ...
I had looked up and translated;

Pig is svinja, ham is sunka, pork is svinjetina, & bacon is slanina, so I am not sure were hamburg comes from, but I've made three meals with it, it's good, and we are happy.

This week I ...

Lost One of my warm leather gloves & both the bottoms to the heals of my nice brown leather boots. ( I hadn't noticed the heels are plastic ! ):
Both were among the thing shipped to us in January.

(; fish & fries :) the same as in US

What's a girl gonna do? Well, this girl ate at McDonalds.
In the last 5 months, I've been to McD's twice!!
In the last 5 years, in the states, not sure if I even went twice!

But sometimes the familiar helps.

This week we ...

Commuted via train, last one on left. Checking out all our option. It is faster, but a few more lipa. So now we either catch the bus/tram or drive the car in.

Cool Train Station too!

This week we ...

Moved one step closer to registering as a church.

We are officially The Potter's House CFC

This week ...

Was really last week. We are keeping busy and doing well. Reminding you to keep us and Croatia in your prayers!

Specifics: We are in the process of looking for a church building!!

xoCC

as of May 2014 we have a building! click here to see

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

12 reasons i love Winter

Sometimes I find myself having to apologies because I love winter. There are a great many things that make winter wonderful!

1st snow, many animal prints, me following in Tom's step (my boot makes pretty flower prints in the snow:)

It’s not just a New England thing, even here people don’t like winter and complain about the snow & cold, longing for summer.

I’m a winter person.
Actually I like all four seasons and I’m thankful I still live in a place that has all four. You will not hear me complain about winter. (Okay full disclosure here, there are those days in March when it gets windy & slushy & raw & dirty ... )

A dozen reasons to embrace winter: if you can’t love it, at lease try to enjoy it

When you take a walk in winter and get thirsty, you can eat snow. (just not the yellow stuff!) But in the summer if you forget your water bottle, it may be a long hot thirsty walk until you get relief!
You can always get warm, whereas you cannot always get cool. This is especially true for sleeping ... Winter- pile on cozy blankets, socks and Pj’s!! Summer- there are those nights that nothing helps. (exception is u have central AC & never leave home.)
If you take a walk in winter and get hot, you can unzip your jacket, take off your hat, unwrap your scarf...in summer you just get to sweat until you get to water or AC.
Bugs - Okay, so some bugs can live through winter, but the bugs that don’t die are pretty much inactive. And you have to admit it is truly nice having a season without ticks, flies, and mosquitoes.
Germs - while cold air doesn’t kill bacteria it slows down their growth and they reproduce very slowly. (maybe you should keep that bedroom window open a crack!)
White winter snow! The first snow storm of the year, falling snow and that short time right after a snow fall, before anyone walks on it or it melts...beautiful!
Winter has; Hockey, Ice skating, Sledding, Snowmen, Snow sculptures, Snow forts, Skiing, Snowshoeing, Ice fishing, and Snowmobiling, just to name a few.
Some are free & most are family friendly. Plus you are never to old for snow ball fights!
You get to wear cozy sweaters and great boots!!
And Hats! even if you think you don’t look good in a hat, with so many to choose from, keep looking there really is one for even you!
Hello, Hot chocolate in front of a roaring fire (we have no fireplace here and have yet to find a coffee shop or restaurant that has one, oh but that image! Always something to look forward too.)
There is nothing like taking a walk in the still time, usually right after a good snow storm. So quite, so pretty. (Bonus: free exercise)

Okay I'll stop at 12.
Above photos are from our first walk after the first snow fall here last week.
I do think the hardest part of winter is getting outside, yes there might be no snow or too much?, it could be icy and it is very cold out there! Put on your cosy clothes...
As I write this it is snowing and the top of the pine tree has lots of chickadees...waiting for me to throw them some bread. This photo is my view right now from the LR slider to our back yard, (that's our shed). I get lots of song birds, so I'm thinking of getting a feeder..but I'm NOT fond of the morning doves (really just gray pigeons, a name thing!)...might have to take the good with the bad!

I like summer too, but if I had to chose to take a vacation in just one, it would be winter. Can't you just picture it . . . way up North, in the mountains, with a cosy fireplace, awesome comfort food & hot chocolate, outside sports and activities, with a spa for after . . .

To Think about: God thought of everything! ICE FLOATS!
*Snow is precipitation in the form of flakes of crystalline water ice that falls from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft, white, and fluffy structure, unless subjected to external pressure. Snowflakes come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Types that fall in the form of a ball due to melting and refreezing, rather than a flake, are known as hail, ice pellets or snow grains. (*Wikipedia)
You do know if ice was not an exception you could not skate, all the fish would die...

Fact:

Because water close to freezing, for example at 0.1 °C has less density than water at 1 °C, the colder water floats to the surface. As a result, water freezes from the top down. Water is one of only a handful of substances which, after a certain point, expands as it gets colder. This means that if we drop a frozen substance into a liquid of the same substance, it will sink. As we can easily observe, water does not follow this simple rule of thumb. http://www.portageenv.com/community/pp/ice.aspx

Practical Tip:

If you hike in freezing temperatures with a water bottle, close the top tightly and place the bottle upside down in your pack. This way, ice will form in the “top” of the bottle, which is really the bottom of the bottle, and your cap won’t freeze shut.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

A Great Recipe - in the making

I love my mom’s Corn Chowder recipe! It is a great winter comfort food and i have been making for years. So why not take pictures and post while I make it for the first time here in Croatia.

The key ingredient is Bacon

When we first got here, I tried different “types” of bacon, but none tasted like the bacon we know and love. So I gave up looking.

Now that I think i know a few things about the many kinds of 'salted' meats here, I was determined to find something to use, may be not "American" bacon, but something close.

So off I went to the deli counter.

Me: Dobar dan,

Deli worker: Dobar dan

Me: English? (That is - do you speak any English? with a hopeful look on my face)

Dw: Little (This could mean she speaks excellent English or she knows a couple basic words and greeting)

Me: Looking for bacon? (Real hopeful face with a lift in my voice for bacon?)

Dw: blank look

Me: od svinje? * (from a pig?) * I sometimes translate and write down the name of things I’m looking to buy, thinking it may help me, but truly I think I make it worse! Not sure if people think I’m still speaking English or if I pronounce it so bad, they have no idea what I’m saying. anyways...

Dw: still smiling, which encourages me to continue...

Me: umm, from pig? ham? pork? bacon? I restrain myself from oinking here!

I then point to what looks like bacon and say “looks like that”

Both: so that is what we agree on, and she starts weighing it in grams.

Me: I can I fry it, right?

Dw: Yes

Me: Hvala

Dw: Dovidenja, Bye

Me: Dovidenja! (I’m feeling pretty good, so I use the Croatian greetings I do know!)

What you will need - see photos, any questions? ask in comments:

Add butter (or PAM) to bottom of heavy pot - big enough for amount of chowder you are making. With pot on med/med low, add chopped bacon & onion to brown, stirring as needed.

While bacon & onions brown, cut up potatoes- one or two pp.

I notice many bloggers post about food. Why not; everyone can use a good recipe and I’m still very excited to have received my kitchen items and food supplies from home!

ummm

The only problem, it tasted awful, really really awful, like not edible awful!

It was most definitely the “bacon”

I decided to post anyway. After all the pictures came out pretty good
and I know some of you need a good laugh
while others of you are looking for a reason to pity me!