A Little Sprout

I officially have my first sprouts!!! I have three now; two Cherokee purples ( a deep red tomato ) and one small yellow tomato. There are approx 5 of each in the soil. Or maybe ten??? I don't remember actually. But nevertheless, something's growing and I'm just happy for that. Kinda an Xmas gift from nature ;)


Merry Xmas everyone! Enjoy!

Day 1

Finally started my veggie seeds last night. I'm really hoping that I got it all worked out right.
I was able to get seeds from an online seed exchange. A lovely woman from Puerto Rico and another from North Carolina sent me a variety of seeds!!! And last night I finally got some (most) of them planted!!!
Some habaneros, eggplants, peas, small tomatoes, and oregano. The oregano seeds were so tiny, I wasn't sure how to plant them. So I just threw them in the soil hoping the will take.
Hopefully, in two weeks we'll have some sprouts to show you all.

For now, enjoy!!!

Kolackis in Florida

My nana lived in Cleveland for many years, raising my mom and her sisters there. The population in Cleveland at that time was filled with immigrants from eastern europe..... Slovak,Czech and Polish, mostly. One pastry that me and my sister really remember was the the poppyseed roll but she also made Kolackis. Mom decided to make them this winter for the holidays.

I'm sure the recipe is different than what you all are used to and I think folding them not have been the way they were originally made. I only ever saw them in Brno in a circular form. Enjoy! :)

A cute upcycling, not bicycling!

Found some watering cans at a second hand shop yesterday and turned them into some groovy pots. They were like 2 bucks each and already someone's waste. Check it out.

It's That Time Of The Year

This morning, while walking Brew, that our local fruit is in season. Now some of you out there, especially those of you in more northern climates, may be like "now, what do you mean? It's already winter." Well, here in Central Florida, fall has just arrived and therefore, the citrus has come into season.

Here is a pic of some of my pilfered tangerines (something like a mandarin??? or maybe they're the same thing....can't quite remember that little tidbit of trivia)

The lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruits are all ready to pick. Most people don't care for the fruit trees in their yards and most likely wont care that I'm gonna be picking their fruit ;-)

I hope you enjoy your day! It's sunny here in FL....

:)

What's been going on....

Hey guys, I wanted to share more photos with you all. This time not about biking, solely that is.

With Day Light Savings time, the sun goes down here in Florida around 6ish. Which is not terribly early but early enough that you start feeling like sleeping when the sun goes down ;) I have to get some bike clothes for colder temps and that are reflective. The trail can be a dangerous place. There are stories often enough about people being attacked. So, I should probably get some kind of light for my bike as well.

Look pup has to stay on the kitchen counter cause the dogs keep trying to steal him thinking that any stuffed animal is their stuffed animal!!! :D (For those of you who don’t know. Juande and Spoonch gave me this pup for my Bday one year when I was complaining about how much I wanted a dog.  This was my dog in the CZ. Very easy to take care of!!!)

 

We went up to our property in North Florida (It’s inherited property which my mom is attempting to sell. So it’s not really ours for long, unless one of us buys it) But there isn’t any electricity, so we had to cook out on the fire and this is my attempt at breakfast. Eggs and some turkey sausage. It was actually pretty awesome. I was proud of myself for putting together something edible!!!

We basically went up there to give the dogs some room to run and play! Which they did until they were pooped!

 


There’s Sis breaking things up. They can get pretty rough with each other.

It was very nice up in North Florida; much colder than in our coastal area. Still flat as a pancake!

We hope to visit there again soon to let the dogs run and play and maybe we’ll be able to get some friends to brave the weekend in BFE.

 I crochet a lot. I don’t know why I didn’t do it in the Czech Republic where I might actually use scarves and hats and whatnots….silly me!



So this is the beginning of a rose I did today.

And here is the finished product. 

 It’s actually supposed to look different but I didn’t like how it looked, so I changed it.

 

 This is a scarf I made a couple weeks ago and it was supposed to have three rings to make something like a big loopy scarf that could also be a shawl. Well It didn’t work out so well, so I just wear the first part as a loose scarf. But I started making another version of the same scarf/shawl where it will be much bigger, only one section and button up on the edge. Now this pic is no where near finished but I wanted to share it with you all any how. As soon as Krys takes a pic of the legwarmers I made, I will share those as well. Those are really cute.

Oh! Happy 11.11.2011 everybody. Hope some pretty freaky stuff happens to you!!! :D

Thanks for reading!

As you can see...

....I'm a terrible poster. For one thing, I don't post enough and for another, my posts can be quite boring!!!

Someone's boring me. I think it's me.

Dylan Thomas (1914 - 1953), in Rayner Heppenstall, Four Absentees (1960)

(Obviously Dylan Thomas didn't work where I work :P)

Moving on, as some of you might know, I've been riding my bike home from work a few times a week. It usually works out to only one (which isn't a few) but I have the intention of much more. Unfortunately, it is not always up to me.

The bike ride home is something like 17 miles. Wait I will check google!

Yep, 17.3....

Today I will be doing my 4th attempt.
My first attempt didn't go so well. I only made it 11 miles in 2 hours!!! Turns out my tires were kinda flat.

My second attempt was much better. It went by quick and I made it all the way home. I made it into Gulfport in about and 1:45. Maybe a tiny bit less cause I had to stop and put air in my tires and then I walked the bike for a while cause my feet cramped up! :P But my goal was accomplished. At that moment I knew I could ride 17 miles home from work.

Attempt number 3....I made it home but it was hard. I think this trip was 4 days after the last one and I was tired. But I made it home in two hours, so that was good.

The red blob is apporximately where my house is and my work is all the way at the top of the red line.

Anyhow, my goal is to do it almost every day (everyday seems almost too much)

I'll up date you on everything tomorrow.

Thanks for reading. Elaine

 

A bike ride in Florida

I should've called this blog 'An UnEmployed Girls' Ride Home' cause if I really wanted to tell you all about my adventures, I'd be whining about being unemployed all the time and you guys would wanna kill me.

So, instead I will map out my bike ride today for you all. I don't go crazy far. I don't go crazy fast (almost impossible on a cruiser!) but it's fun. Especially with my headphones on.

The yellow highlighted area is what I biked today.
Which really isn't that far but got me sweaty enough!

The Pinellas Trail

Look how bright the sun is!!! The time was about 6 or 6:30.
 I got home around 7:30. All in all, my trip was only an hour.

I decided to ride Sis's bike today. She has my comfy seat :)

I think it's more of the trail!!! LOL I'm going from Gulfport to I think near Tyrone.
I got to a Dillard's (part of a mall) and figured consumerism and peaceful biking don't mix! :P

The upcoming over pass (so the trail can go over a large street)...I did surprisingly well.
You all know how much I hate hills, mountains or anything that goes up. 

View from the overpass
(Now I know my camera is real shit but that sun is out of control!!!!!)

On the overpass

My biking shadow!

The Gulfport city trail

I need to stop and take pics!! Not ride and take pics....this is off the trail in my neighborhood, so that you know you're on the bike trail still.

The sun is finally going down!

It's pretty therapeutic to go out on your own.
I almost got hit by some guys in a truck but that was my fault. I was jamming to my music and wasn't paying attention! Other then that, there weren't any incidents.

Thanks for reading!!!

Happy Trails ....he he he



Today's bike ride was brought to you by :

Oh, you crafty little bitch!

I've been kinda bored these last few weeks. Looking for a job is hard work but very depressing. I think I get down on myself cause I don't think I know what I am doing and it doesn't seem like anyone else knows either. Well, so, nevertheless I'm occupying myself this last week with Craft Gawker Where I've found some things to keep me occupied. Maybe a little tooooo occupied

The latest is funky braids to mix things up a bit. Plus, it's an instant fix on getting something accomplished. One of the reasons unemployed people get into an unemployed funk and then you never see them out of their pajamas for days on end is cause they feel like worthless pieces of poo. I'm doing my best not to get into the funk but it's hard when you feel as though you are trying and then no one wants you.

This is probably why I stayed so far away from blogging. It's difficult to be positive (even though a blog doesnt have to be happy)   :( Sadness...ok now onto some happiness.

BRAIDS

This is a cascade braid that I did on my mom.

Waterfall Braid Tutorial

Low Side Braid

Im crocheting a blanket which I will share some pics with you all when I'm done.
It's just a simple double stitch. But the braid I did in my hair is too cute.

BTW: what you see happening in the background of the pic is a yard sale (In England they call them 'Boot Sales'. Where they open the trunk of their cars and sell the things they no longer want from the trunk of their cars.) Americans accumulate so much crap that we have to use our whole yard (garden). This was a yard sale that my step-sister had since her and her family are moving.

Thanks for reading, browsing...

Something I like

One thing everyone has in common the CZ is that they pirate everything. Movies, TV, music, etc. etc. But in the US the fear of being sued and/or fined has cowed most of us into not downloading from torrent sites.
So the answer to the downloading quandary is netflix.com. For less then 10 bucks a month (or 170kcs) or approximately 6 euros you can watch almost nay movie or tv on demand. Newer stuff you have to request the dvd and costs an extra few.
Needless to say, Im addicted to it.
Having the ability to watch pretty much anything I ever wanted to is like a mini-heaven. Right now, Im addicted to Medium.
Last week, I watched Harlan about one of the main directors of movie propaganda in Nazi Germany...I watched another nazi doc but I can't remember the name.

Anyways, if you can use netflix.com in your country give it a try.

TTFN

One month in

I have to admit that when I first got here I felt strange....awkward...out of place. You would think that one couldn't feel out of place in their own home country but somehow I managed it.

I didn't understand people. People talked too fast or used phrases that I didn't know. How is this possible!?! English, Florida English, is my mother tongue. How is it possible that I can't even understand my own people. But there you have it.

I've felt awkward or distant in social situations. For one thing I've noticed people (sometimes) don't have real conversations. They ramble on with random words speaking nonsense! I've taken on the blank stare look and when asked questions, I have to admit my absent-mindedness. Not that I've ever minded admitting when I've gone retarded ;-)

Me and my sis got beach cruiser bikes.

Fixing my seat. It was so forward it could push you right off!!!

I'm always behind everyone! he he...I don't mind being slow. I mind when other people mind me being slow.

And just for fun, here are my new owl earrings that I got at a second hand shop in St Pete called Revolve Clothing Exchange

That's it for now. 

I'm still on the hunt for a job but as you can see by my almost constant use of Stumbleupon that I'm getting sidetracked sometimes. :-)

Have fun!

Music For My Peeps in Brno

Leaving On A Jet Plane

Hey everyone, so Im back in Brno for a few days. 3 to be exact. The only thing I can think to do is to visit with friends :P Which to me, is a good way to spend your time.

Ive spent the last month travelling around Europe with some friends. If you've never travelled around for a month before you plan to take into account travel fatigue. Oooffff, by the end of the month I was so tired of looking at cities! Which is a terrible way to feel about experiencing Europe. Its suppose to be magical and adventurous but after a month I was just tired.
Lesson Number 1: Elaine doesnt like to travel for a month :P
Lesson Number 2: Dont travel in large groups (nobody can ever make a like minded decision!) Split up if you have to. Its ok.
Lesson Number 3: You really only need basic clothes while travelling. It doesnt matter if its for a week, a month or a year. You dont need that stupid dress. It will just end up balled up on the bottom of your bag.
Lesson Number 4: Bring money....lots and lots of money
(You can do it on the cheap but if you are with like minded people then you will spend more then you planned)

I now know for a fact that Im a friend traveller. I like to be with my people (he he, inside joke). Travelling to experience some other world isnt fun without the people who you love around you. So for me, that was the best thing about my trip. My friends around me.

Somewhere in France :P

Everything went well though for traveling for a month. Knock on wood, but there couldve been some major problems. The only annoying thing that happened really was trying to get on a Polish bus! Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I dont get those people when it comes to transportation. They have no patience or concern for others. They scramble to get on everything. Buses, trams, trains...everything. without concern for the people around them. I wanted to yell but what good would that do.

Market Square in Krakow, Poland

One thing traveling around for a month did give me was some clarity on what I wanna do with my life (I always feel like by 31 I should know by now, but Ive also realized that a good majority of people have no clue. Then I dont feel so bad). Ive gotten off my path these last 3 years, which is ok.
1. I wanna go back to school and study the effects of communism on modern life.
2. I wanna do things that make me less dependent on society e.g. growing veggies, knitting blankets and sweater, etc.
3. After going to school I wanna teach at university level in Europe or maybe S America
4. I wanna teach English in Mexico
5. That I DO like teaching and that when I really enjoy the subject I can be very informative and captivating. English just really isnt my subject.

So, now I will stop procrastinating and get down to packing my things. My things mostly consist of alcohol. Keep your fingers crossed that Border Control wont catch me ;-)

Salsa...Mmm Mmm Mmmmmmm......

Before I moved, I didnt really think about what I would miss from the US. One of the things that I really miss is SALSA.

I never realized how much salsa I ate back home. I think I ate it for almost every meal and on almost any dish.

I forgot about coming home to Krys's place, popping open a beer and digging into a bag of tortilla chips and jar of .....well, its been so long I can't even remember which brand I loved. (I'll do some research!)

Well, anyways, I cant find it.
I've completely forgotten what it was called BUT I did find some awesome pics of salsa....here are some for your drooling pleasure.

Phew---I needed a salsa fix. Just looking at the pics brings me joy. I never thought I would have to leave my delicious, multi-flavored friend behind. But alas, I did.     

 

What was even more disconcerting was when I realized that there wasnt any cilantro in this godforsaken country. Maybe even the whole continent! (Later Krys found some in Berlin).

There was a long debate on what WAS cilantro. Many fought for the equvalent to be coriander. I fought that battle and lost. But it ISNT the same. Coriander is like cilantros' bastard brother. It could kick its ass every time.

Nevertheless, I could never get into making salsa. For big parties, sure, but for my everyday use, I just could never get into it. I dont think its the excessive preperation that is off-putting. I think its just my laziness and Americanistic quality to enjoy going to the grocery store, walk down an aisle that has a selection of no less then 30 different types of salsa and go buck wild picking out whatever my heart desires.

Basic salsa recipe:

2 cups seeded, chopped tomatoes (6-7 medium tomatoes)

the leaves from one bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped*

6 cloves fresh chopped garlic

1/2 an onion chopped

1 jalapeno, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

about 1 tablespoon lime juice

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients until well incorporated. Refrigerate overnight for maximum flavor. *If you grab a handful of leaves from the top of the bunch and pull them out firmly, you will get mostly leaves. If a few stems are in there, it's okay.

Here is a recipe that an old professor of mine sent me through Facebook (who either isnt on FB anymore or isnt my friend anymore :D) when he found out that we didnt have cilantro:

Like salsa? Here's the recipe we use, it's great: cut 2 medium tomatoes and 1 medium onion into 1/4 inch dice. Add 4 heaped tablespoons of chopped cilantro (or parsley), 3/4 tablespoon salt, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (vary depending on tastes!), 1/2 teaspoon of ground roasted cumin seeds (you can roast 4 or 5 tablespoons of seeds in a pan till they darken, then grind them and store them in a jar -- unroasted cumin doesn't work in this). Mix in a non-metal bowl and enjoy.
-JD

 

The roasted cumin is quite nice. But thats what I love about salsa is that its so versitile. You can do just about anything as long as you have some tomatoes.

 

So, this is just one of the many things I will be gorging myself on when I get back to Florida. Enjoy!

 

P.S.- If you cant tell already, I love pics!!!

There's Something about Cyprus

A divided island

After British colonial rule, the island has been invaded and fought over ever since.

Nicosia is a divided capital and I believe the last in the world. I was thinking that maybe Jerusalem but maybe its not divided. I could do some research into this but Im sure someone out there will correct me on this.

Since it's been approximately 50 years since the islands been in some kinda conflict, it will take a miracle for the two sides to come to a compromise. Greek families who were pushed out of their homes to the south, want reimbursement or their homes back. Some kinda payback for their loss.

Wikipedia- Cyprus

I visited Cyprus approximately 6 years ago after I graduated from Uni. Acctually, miscalculating when my final exams would be, I booked my ticket the week OF my final exams. Luckily I had a real good relationship with my professors at the time and they were willing to give me my exams the week before.

Me at the Tomb of the Kings, 2006

Excepts from my 2006 travel diary: Next stop was the church in Mautoullas. The ride down to the village was stressful. The villlage was on the side of a hill. It went up in a way that reminded me of Lord of the Rings.
      But that is the view once you get out. While you're in, its narrow roads and scarey turns. We get to the church that is on an outcrop looking over the village. The church was locked and we were told to go to Cafe Neo and ask for Kostas. The same as yesterday. We thought it was ironic. Well we go down a couple of streets. And this is not just walking a couple of blocks. I literally mean we had to walk down, down steps, down slopes.
     Kostas finds what I suppose is suppose to be a cafe but was a dump with 3 surly people init. They said Kosta was in Limassol and told us to go to the Father's house. We both had to pee in the most extreme way. I have Kostas ask about a toilet and the direct us to the back of the building. So, we go back there and it is more disgusting then what I percieve Krys's hatchet bathroom was like. We didnt go there.
    So, in search of the Father. We eventually find him but I guess he didnt have the key. He also confirmed that Kostas was not around. OK, so we gave this church up for a loss. So far, this day is not shaping up to be much. We found someone who will let us follow them to the next church which was in the next town over and somehow connected to the other village. January 2, 2007

Some of this makes no sense to me. Or:

Koutrafas was the village and church name. The village was obviously poor and had probably suffered from the occupation.  (Im guessing this town is on the border of the green line)
Panayiota had lived on the other side of the green line pre-invasion. (Who is Panayiota?) December 29-2006

Next came Theodokus, just up the road from our hotel in Kakopetria. We had to get the key from the guy at the butcher shop across from the street. Thank goodness I had Kostas with me otherwise my poor Greek would have been put to the ultimate test. He gave us the key and we got to enjoy the icons and frescos.Some were badly damaged but now they keep a good eye on it.
   It was a cute quant church in a green yard surrounded by modern civilization.

Im hoping that on this trip I'll get to revisit some of these mysterious churches and ancient sites.

Top 10 Places:
1.Temple of Apollo- Limassol
2. The churches of the Troodos Mountains

3. Haloumi
4. Petra tou Romiou
5. Paphos mosaics and the Tombs of the Kings
6. Panagia tis Podythou & Panagia Theotokou
7. Ancient Kourion
8. Kition
9. Ancient Amathous
10. Buying spanikopita at any time of the night :)

Hopefully, this trip will include a lot of laying in the sun and going to the beach. Its summertime and I plan to get a lot of sun this year. :-)

“No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” – Lin Yutang

Pre-leaving, Ive decided to do some travelling.
It seems almost cliche or a neccesity to travel around Europe. Americans generally dont travel. And thats a stereotype that I truely believe (I dont believe though that its a bad thing or good thing).

Anyways, my first stop is Cyprus. When I was in Uni I made a friend of a dude from Limassol and we've managed to stay friends ever since. With time and distance, we're not as close as we once were but there is our shared past that keeps us close.

I leave on June 25th from Vienna to Larnaca. I will spend 10 days there. Im so excited. I was in Cyprus in 2006 for a month and I loved it. The island is plethora of ancient sites, Greek food and beautiful beaches. Some of my favorite things all in one place.

When I get back from Cyprus, I'll meet my friend from Florida at the Vienna airport. We'll travel from there to Brno where we will hopefully do some partying with some friends.

We will travel from there to Poland, hopefully with some friends. I visited Cracow a month ago and enjoyed it thoroughly. Unfortunately, I didnt get to see much of the city. It was raining cats and dogs and I had a hangover to inspire alkies. Nevertheless, the city looked magical to my rain-soaked, Jager fogged mind.

Next stop will be the impossible to pronounce, Warclaw...I pronounce it Wahr-klau but apparently its something along the lines of Bwatzwav.....who woulda guessed?

Then onto the ever compelling Germany where I will hopefully get to revisit Dresden and Berlin before heading back to Prague to be picked up by my friends on their way to Gondrin, France.

Last year I had the fortunate opportunity to travel to France with my friend and stay with his family. I love travelling this way. You get to see how life really is. Not just some tourist version of events. (more on this at another time)

From there, I will fly back to Prague, travel to Brno, go on to Vienna, catch an early flight. Travel the long ass way to Miami where I will meet my Sis and we will have a mini-vacation there. Ive never actually been to Miami, so that should be an interesting adventure. I'll probably have sensory overload. Vibrant colors from latin style clothes and too much sun, the noise of latin music, spanish and the many cars may just make me wanna hop back on the plane. Then again, it may be one of those things that Ive missed but didnt know it.

Hopefully, when that is all done, Im still alive, I dont hate my friends, and I have some money left.

Keep your fingers crossed.

“I have been very happy with my homes, but homes really are no more than the people who live in them.”- Nancy Reagan

3 yrs ago, I moved to Brno, Czech Republic from my native Tampa Bay area, Florida. I've repeatedly gotten the question 'Why the Czech Republic?' 'Why Brno?' or the most exasperated of people ask 'Why'd you leave FLORIDA?' Wondering how I could leave my sunny homeland for the dirty, cold ex-communist CZ.

The long and short of it is, there is no clear answer. I wanted some adventure. I wanted a new life. I wanted to try something new. Make something of myself. Do something fun and cool. I wanted to live in Europe and the CZ seemed like as good a place as any.

And Brno has been a great place. I couldnt have picked a better place or time to move here.

It seemed like it was fortuitous. I met great people. Jobs were a plenty.

Friends: I was fortunate enough to be introduced to a website called Couch Surfing where people request to stay at your place while they are traveling. The site also has city forums where people in the same city can communicate different things about travelling or events in the city. This is where/how I met the majority of my friends here in Brno. And some of my best friends have come from here. I always say my first year here was a drunken miasma of choas. I barely ever taught sober and I went wild and crazy.

Job: I came here with the intention of getting some experience teaching. I had thought that I wanted to be a professor. Now, Im not so sure. Im not really sure I will ever know what I want to do but right now, I dont wanna teach.

So, I got my TEFL cert and started teaching all over Brno. Maybe describing how teaching english in the CZ works should go into a seperate post. Its a complicated story but well worth the info for future teachers.

My original plan was to stay 1 year, if I could. I didnt have much faith in my abilities to survive away from my family. Im kinda irresponsible or something like that. Maybe distracted and careless is a better description.

But 3 years later, Im still here and thriving.
I realized though that I need to go home and see whats what.
I tell people all the time that I can do what I want, go where I want. I have no kids, no house, nothing holding me to any particular place. So, I will go back to the one place where I do have family and see if I can still call it home.

This is my journey back.