Pizza, anyone? Coffee , anyone ? A nice suit, a rain coat or a hat ?!

There comes a time when selling pizzas, coffees and sweets doesn't pay off anymore... Imagine you are the owner of a small pizzeria or caffe  and you suddenly understand you cannot go on with it... What do you do ? You decide you can try selling clothes for a while and there you go, out the pizza shop and in the clothes! I have seen this while visiting a city in Transylvania and I couldn't resist to make a photo and post it here. They didn't bother to change the signs over the window and the front door ...

Poor Rich Girl

There's no doubt Madame Miuccia Prada is a communist. I only suspect she has decided long ago to undermine the capitalist society from within. This is the only coherent enough conclusion if one sees her fashion and perfumery. She is producing crap just to cash in big money from stupid rich people and I don't think anyone should blame her ... Everything is ugly at Prada - the colours , the shapes, each and every item looks like it's made of garbage. Why would anyone actually pay for this ?1 Beats me !

It's been a long time since I last had such a good laugh like I did watching her Spring 2011 pret a porter collection ... Oh my god, poor human beings who would buy and wear  such monstrous clothings and shoes... When I was small, poor people, homeless ones looked like this, poor girls in the countriside wore such clothes, mixing disparities from their mothers, grand-mothers and the cheapest things they could get in the local village shop. It is not the aesthetics of the ugly, like in Baudelaire, but the aesthethics of the horrenduous. Does this woman hates women ? And if not , why would she want to see them dressed like that ?!  I cannot understand the appeal of these fashion items. Really, I have an art education, I love fashion but not these monstrosities, this is just crap for women who CANNOT assume their feminity !

But at the end of the day, Madame Prada looks just like this herself ( of course, she is congruent with her beliefs, she really is a comrade-woman with a visible moustache and an impossibe look that matches everything she sells) . What makes me laugh is the consumer of her so-called products. They certainly deserve each other . Please, don't preach me about inner beauty- this is fashion and I am NOT  a fan of the inner-beauty concept. A woman is either beautiful or not. A dress is either beautiful or not. Period. Ugliness does not count for being beutiful. At least not on this blog.

 Would you like to look like this ? If it were me I'd rather commit suicide !

Hm....

Hm, it's been quite a long time.... The idea is I am not much of a blogger. I love reading good posts, I would like to have a nice blog but I just can't do it. It is useless, it does not bring in anything. And it's work. Why would I do it ?It's irrelevant! It is not literature, not art, not value - it is just a ' pretending".

So, I don't think I will come back to posting ( But who knows,maybe one day I will wake up thinking this is my call :)). I will just indulge in what other people write on their blogs ( I would like them to tell me why they do it and if they never feel it sooooo useless to export parts of your life like this).

Anyway,this is the reason of my non - posting: I just couldn't find the motivation for it anymore.

Acropolis

Athens Chic !

I don't get it why so many Greek women carry so manny bags with them all the time,but it seems to be some kind of hype thing in Athens these days.

We're oficially on holiday !

On Sunday, the 20th ,this month, we will leave for a well deserved 2 weeks holiday in Greece. We plan to visit the northern continental part( we visited Crete twice and the third visit to the Minotaure shall wait a bit) and also a 3 days visit to Athens. I don't think I will have time to update meanwhile the blog and reilly,I don't plan to. It's been a stressful year, the effects of the business crisis affected lots of people,including us,so,everything I long for is having a wonderful,relaxing time.

I am counting days.... so far 2 :) Sunday evening I'll be sitting on a greek taverna on the mediterrana shore and enjoy sea food with a glass of the local roze. Ah, stuffed kalamari and grilled octopus are both lovely and I can't wait to taste them again.

Everytime we went to Greece didn't have time enough to explore the bigger cities because we were travelling with our son and always had to consider what/where and how we could do things. This year is soooo different- it's the first time we are leaving alone, for about 10 years so, it will somehow feel ( or at least this is how I feel it ) like a second honeymoon.Plus this time we are not taking the plane but driving our own car ( I will be driving).We will have to cross Bulgaria, where everyone is worried because of the Bulgarian cops, who corrupted, abusive and stop cars to ask for bribe. Of course, Bulgaria har better roads than Romania because they had a smarter government, but all over, this country sucks and feels like a Soviet communist province.Everything is grey there and seems gloomy and nasty and unfortunately  is gloomy and nasty indeed and to lots of Romanians like myself, the trip to and from Greece implies this inconvenient part- crossing Bulgaria and dealing with their famous cops.Fortunately we're talking only 360 km( through Bulgaria) and an extra 300 in Greece, which is no big deal  and part of it it's on the motorway so it shouldn't be such a problem.Last year I made all the trip by myself and nothing happened so I expect this year to be better.But enough about Bulgaria ! Greece is where we wanna get and as I said, I can't wait to see myself there.

Right now I am the only person awaken in the house :) I am watching William Leymergie with the morning TV programme I am seeing on TV5, the only francophone TV channel we have here, waiting for my tea to get a bit colder, so I can drink it and making plans for the last things to buy before leaving on Sunday. Yesterday I went to the beauty saloon for the wax ordeal and then cleaned over the whole house, so I can return ,around 1st July, in a clean nice environment.I bought some new brand novels to have at hand while staying in the sun and I'm ready !

I will post more photos and thoughts about it once I'me back. Tommorow I'll have the luggage ready ( hopefully it won't be huge) and I'll rest to be in perfect shape for Sunday morning.See you all in about 10 days !

Tagged!

I 'VE GOTT TAGGED TODAY BY PIGLET ! THX A LOT, IT WAS A WONDERFUL SURPRISE !

1. Why did you start a blog?

Well, I thought it was kind of exploring the world and making new friends without leaving my home…. On the other hand, I have always loved the internet and I have experienced it with whatever happened to be the hype of the moment. Just name it: chat,irc,icq,skype….blog. I guess I started the blog to express myself. I don’t think my blog is too much like me. It is just a way of telling some things about me. I wish I could do it better….

2. Comfy shoes or killer heels?
Comfy shoes for walking the husky, going to the marche and driving. Killer shoes at the office and business meetings. And at parties - I am a short person so, stilettos do matter.

3. The funniest moment in the last week?
... it was a nasty week....

4. What would have been your dream job?
Heiress

5. If you won the lottery tonight, what would be the first thing you’d do?
1)I’d buy myself some jewelry sets I’ve always longed to have.
2)I’d buy a house in Greece, on a sunny island, on the sea shore and I’d move there ( I would move there in second 2 after accomplishing no1).
3)I’d get myself a convertible and to my teenager son whatever car he might wish

6. Most useless gadget you own?
Bluetooth set for my phone … the ear hurts that much in 15 minutes that I feel like shit and turn it off …and I do not get called that often to wear it…

7. You’re waiting for someone and they’re late. How late is too late?
It depends on whom he/she is. If it’ s my business partener, my employee or someone who asks me a favour, to late is the next minute. If it’s someone I like, a friend or an acquaintance 15 minutes are acceptable . If I love him/her ( my son,husband,mum,Iuky ,my closest people etc), I can wait forever and it will never be too late  .

8. Are you a do it now person, or a It can wait until tomorrow person?
It can wait….It will wait…It is waiting !

9. If you were a drink, what would you be?
Champagne

10. What was the first thing you thought when you read these questions?
oh, it was like a surprise party or an unexpected gift! I have always wanted to get tagged. Thx a lot,it was a great experience.

DRIVING IN BUCHAREST

 Not that it is not fun.... not that this is right in front of the Courthouse.... not that you  can't change your line and have to "go with the flow' no matter where it takes you... not that you're trying to get to a business meeting and be, at least relatively on time... It is just that the idea of fixing things is always causing trouble.  They could try to fix the road at night or very early when the traffic is slow. Or they could do it on week ends,when the city is almost empty.... or they could at least signal it properly.
It could be different, but for this, people should care. And they don't.

Loving ROSES

The people who know me know I am madly in love with gardening and especially with growing roses. 5 years ago, when we moved to the house we have been living in so far, I decided to make my own Sleeping Beauty -like garden,full of climbing roses,dark bushes and stunning clematis.... I think I have managed to make it up to my dreams but sometimes I wish I had stayed with a monotonous lawn with firs and some bright coloured annuals,like sunflowers ,because now the climbing roses are far to tall to be trimmed regularly and I can't even reach for the faded flowers. All the photos below are living proof for my words :)

- Yellow English Rose Graham Thomas, my husband's favourite.
Photo taken through the kitchen window,with climbing roses( New Dawn and Rosarium Uttersen in the back and Graham Thomas English Rose and the Japanese greenand white willow in the front).

This is where I love to have my daily cup of green tea .

Climbing Rosa Parade.It spreads in trees like a spider.:)

Thea Hybrid Double Delight. Great fragrance but the shrub itself is not so appealing as the detailed photo might look.

Climbing Kordes Rose"Ballerina". A wonderful climbing rose,with huge fragranced flowers.I oredered it 5 years ago,planted it on a pergola and it's been a divine summer companion blooming recurrently ever since.For some strange reason this rose is almost unknown to many cultivars and I wonder why..

This is the perfect symbol of my Romanian life-sun,shadows,roses and plenty of time to be happy inside my hidden treasure-garden. Not that this is a typical Romanian thing,but this is how I shaped my life -  I enjoy the luxury of working in my own small company,having time for myself ,my family,my pets and my garden. I don't struggle to be "competitive". I struggle to be independent and to indulge in little lovely things like making my own schedule, watching my favorites shows and reading my favorite books without having ANY boss except my own will. This is to me luxury- having time and being my own master.

May Garden

Today it's been one of the most warm and beautiful days of this year. Considering last weekend it was heavily raining , today was paradise on earth: sun, warm weather, a bit of a nice sunny wind , so it was perfect time for some of our garden to start blooming.

Since we left Bucharest and moved here I started to "garden" and gardening has been growing on me a lot. I have learned everything from books, magazines, internet, friends etc , I have experimented and got to a personal equilibrum , earned through lots of hard work- I am a  hard working person but only for the things I like-the rest ( like bringing papers on time to the accountant,  ironing or using the vacuum cleaner) can go to hell.  

One of my personal projects I intended to carry on this spring was to take weekly photos of my favorites plants/flowers so I  could see their progress over the fast days of spring turning to summer. i didn't do it, of course ( mainly because my camera colapsed due to old and inefficient batteries; now I have to purchase some new ones but I have to go to the mall so.... I just postpone) . Today I've decided to take some shoots of my favorite flowers because some of them bloomed under our very eyes, starting to open in the morning and being fully opened by noon.I had to use my phone camera which is not my favorite cup of tea but ... you know, when there is no other alternative....  as soon as I replace the old camera rechargeable batteries I will try to take some really good photos. At least I did not miss the rose time, which here starts around  last week of May.

On 15 of May I will celebrate with hubby 18 years of marriage and 20 years of passionate love :) I wish all my roses would be open and ready to spread their fragrance but, alas, it won't happen. It is just to cold to be possible ( but it doesn't hurt to dream about it, right ?!) .

Japanese willow in the backyard

Mint, iris and hostas. This is the ever-growing mint I have been trying to destroy with no obvious result ....

Same Bearded Iris surrounded by mint.

Clematis Nelly Moser - I have two of them ( one hasn't bloomed yet). It should be in pink and white but this particular one has had so far only very light pale pink flowers. Maybe it happens because, unlike the other one, which  has a very bright mouve-pinkish hue , this one is staying in partial shade all day long .

First rose bud opened ! Rosa Parade ,climbing against an old apple tree.

View taken from the front door veranda. The house in the photo is not  our  house, but the one across the street. That is the apple tree where the Rosa Parade is climbing .

Violas are growing around the veranda ( this is where I plan to put my geranium, in case my husband will 'buy' the mosquitto thing ....).

Finally Spring !

Today, during lunch break I met my husband downtown and we spent a lovely hour together, chit-chatting and having the first ice-cream on a terrace, for 2010. It was warm ,sunny and all in all, a perfect time to enjoy both the exquisite ice cream and the light, glowing air.

I had yoghurt ice cream with strawberries and he had a chocolate and mint one, with an expresso. Ah, it felt so good. ! Sometimes precious moments like this one, disguised in simplicity and casual ,can be so rewarding !  There was a Shakespear Theater Festival taking place and a Ford Exhibition in the plaza but frankly the ice cream and the lovely time beat them by far.

Getting a driving license in Romania

This post has been inspird by a very nice post of Piglet in France.I found her blog while rambling over the net and loved it. Her post was about driving in France and the right priority rule :)) My post is related to driving, right priority rule in Romania and preparing for the driving license test.

Not only to take a driving license is a dreadful complicated thing, but learning for the test itself is boring and hard work, like the kind of hard work one has to put in a most important exam. You have 30 minutes to decide the right answer and u have to answer 26 questions .You can have only 4 mistakes ....

Until 3 years ago I was a proud pedestrian and used the car only when I was a passenger in a taxi. But I had to take my driving license because my husband insisted I had to and bought me a car so I couldn't avoid driving. Learning for the driving license test was hard, nasty and completely un-rewarding. Lots of signs and hundreads of hypotetical driving quizes, learning by heart all the driving rules in the Law Code... bla, bla, bla ...

I am proud to say that after 4 month of learning daily I passed the test with an A+ .... Oh, I was very happy and eager to start driving but I soon found out I had to face now a new nightmare- that of dealing with the Romanian trafic and Romanian men driving a car ( a human specie u don't wanna meet, trust me).

The photos below are only a fewbfrom the hundreds  the candidates  had to solve on subjects related to non-marked junctions and the order of engaging in crossing :))

Have fun looking at them :))
Now they don't seem complicated but at that time I was horrified and had to over learn the driving rules to get it right :))