Yup, I am going to say it: I can't believe that it is September already. Happy Labor Day! In most years in the past, I took my two week vacation on this and next week so that I could only use 9 days of PTO and take 16 total days away, and I would usually go for a long hike somewhere. This year I will not be on a multiday hike today, but I am heading somewhere where there will be plenty of hiking! Stay tuned!
Please copy and paste the questions at the end and add your answers to the mix!
Where was I? Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Romania
1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that?
January: Baguettes and Many Steps
February: In Like Minnesota; Out Like Hawaii
March: Wet and Wild
April: My Life is in Ruins, and Beaches Too
May: Al Fresco
June: Tales as Old as Time: The Christianity and Wine Versions
July: Quick and Dirty: the Baltics and the Balkans Adventure
August: The Dark Tourist
2. What did you learn last month?
I learned too much to go over here, but to put it in a nutshell, I learned a lot more about the influence of the Ottoman and the Austro-Hungarian empires over the areas of the Balkans (and Romania) over the years. There was lot of fighting over these lands, mostly due to the fact that they were on important trade routes (you should look at the map of Bosnia & Herzegovina, as you will see they still have a TINY piece of coast) and especially the Danube, which goes through Belgrade, and was a crucial part of trading.
However, what is especially interesting is how each place is different now because of this. In Bosnia & Herzegovina, there is still a lot of Ottoman influence, with mosques, food, and even language. For example, I already knew how to say "let's go" because it's the same word in Turkish! Also, each country has their own version of the kofte, which I enjoyed in Turkiye, but in some places it is called ćevapčići or ćevapi and in Romania it is mici or mititei. In all cases, it is meat, minced, and grilled; think hamburger in tube form (I am probably offending all kinds of people here).
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| Top: Romania mici/mititei Bottom: Bosnia ćevapi, Montenegro ćevapi |
3. What was the weather like where you are?
It was pretty hot sometimes but all in all, it didn't rain much, which is a blessing, as I was hiking a few times and also rainy days < sunny days!
4. What event last month was your favorite?
I don't want to say that I "enjoyed" learning more about the Sarajevo siege, but I am fascinated by the history, and it was also very interesting to go to Sarajevo, hear their story, and then go to Serbia and hear theirs and see how they did or did not match up. Every side has a story, don't they?
5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month?
Book: The Nine by Gwen Strauss. This is a true story about nine resistance fighter women who escaped a German forced labor camp during WWII and attempted to cross the front lines to get to safety.
Movie/Show: In my last lodging, I had a TV with English channels and I did put Frasier on in the background from time to time. I find more and more though that I like to work in silence, so I rarely even use the TVs in any of my rooms.
Podcast: Are you still paying more than $50 a month for your cell phone? If so, this episode of All The Hacks is great; he breaks down all of the phone plans and carriers so that you can decide if switching is something that may work for you. *one that he does not cover is Tello, which has a top plan (35GB) for about $25 per month.
6. Tell us one funny recent story.
I took a train in Romania that must have been the local, because it stopped about 40 times on a 145 km / 90 mile route. However, that is not the funny part. Because it was the local, it was not fancy, and most of the seats were in sets of four where you face two other people. About three rows in front of me, there was a lady facing me; she was probably in her early 60s, and she was GOING TO TOWN on her nostrils, really looking for some gold. I never saw her pull anything out or wipe it on her pants or anything but I kept waiting for her to hit pay dirt.
It kind of reminded me of the Shel Silverstein poem, The Sharp Toothed Snail:
Inside of everybody's nose
There lives a sharp-toothed snail
So, if you stick your finger in, he may bite off your nail
If you stick it further in, he might bite your ring off
Stick it further in, and he might bite the whole damn thing off
7. What are you looking forward to this month?
After several weeks of faster travel, I will be in the same place for an entire month. This will give me a nice opportunity to get some things done without feeling like I have to rush to do them before I change locations again.
Your turn! To copy/paste, highlight the text below and click CTRL-C, then put the cursor in the comment box and click CTRL-V.
AUGUST:
1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that?
2. What did you learn last month?
3. What was the weather like where you are?
4. What event last month was your favorite?
5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month?
6. Tell us one funny recent story.
SEPTEMBER:
7. What are you looking forward to this month?
Bonus question! What is your favorite Silverstein poem?
I do not have a favourite Shel Silverstein poem BUT one of the women in my writing group is really into writing children's poetry, and it's so fun to see her work. She's very whimsical!
ReplyDeleteAUGUST:
1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that? Tomatoes and sunshine, blogger visit (Birchy!) and wine
2. What did you learn last month? That if I'm left to my own devices I will eat Greek salad every day, but I probably knew that going in.
3. What was the weather like where you are? Beautiful!
4. What event last month was your favorite? Birchy visit, my husband and son coming home, theatre with the girls.
5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month? I had two five star reads just last week! But I'm going to give it to The Gilded Age.
6. Tell us one funny recent story. This is on my blog today - autocorrect changed "I'm drowning in tomatoes" to "I'm detoxing in ovaries."
SEPTEMBER:
7. What are you looking forward to this month? Morocco!
Yay Morocco! I am so excited for you! That is a place I have not been yet!
DeleteI saw your title of your post, but have not read it yet. I was wondering what it was going to be about to be honest! Also, you and I could hang out without the boys, because I could eat salad every day too, especially when it is fresh-from-the-garden-tomato based Greek salad. I could eat fresh tomatoes every single day if given the opportunity!
1. The Big Beautiful BC Trip
ReplyDelete2. That BC is named for the Columbia River, and Queen Victoria added the “British” label to make sure that everyone knew she was talking about “her” Columbia. Vancouver Island and BC used to be separate colonies. I also learned that back in the day where I live was part of Quebec.
3. I travel hacked the weather! It was miserably hot at home but very temperate in BC. I came home to a week of extreme heat and then it cooled down.
4. Duh, the time that I spent with Nicole.
5. My best read was Nesting by Roisin O’Donnell. Note to self, I need to revisit Shel Silverstein.
6. I’m always unprepared for this one, and there is no way that I can top your “gold digger” story.
7. September is going to be epic! First of all, I’m going to spend some time with our friend Elisabeth, and second of all, with any luck it might be my last month in the rat race! I’m just staying on until they hire someone else, and my boss says that the search is going well.
I love that (a) many of the ones on your list have to do with BC and (b) they also have to do with meeting up with people! Yay! Oh and getting rid of that pesky job. Double yay! Also, I was interested to learn how far into Canada the Columbia goes! I listened to a podcast where the guy kayaked the entire length of the Columbia and was fascinated. Also last year I rode my bike along the Columbia in Canada which was very cool. I always thought of it as an Oregon thing before that!
Delete1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that? Making the Most of a Shockingly Beautiful August
ReplyDelete2. What did you learn last month? Begrudgingly, what a PS 3541 is… (for my job, but this is not actually my job, at all, and there is a long story there/I am salty about it…!)
3. What was the weather like where you are? Surprisingly temperate! Lovely.
4. What event last month was your favorite? Last-minuteish long wkend trip to my husband’s hometown. He hadn’t been there since age 13! It was a super cute and beautiful area to explore, and really nostalgic for him.
5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month? Platonic on AppleTV… completely ridiculous but making me laugh out loud.
6. Tell us one funny recent story. We went on a sunset boat ride during that trip; a *lively*/at times tongue-in-cheek playlist is semi-blasted throughout (Beach Boys, Jimmy Buffett, Otis Redding, “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” literally as the sun is going down...). A few enthusiastic guests did some sing-a-longs too. I think for some this may be (understandably) annoying but I was amused!
SEPTEMBER:
7. What are you looking forward to this month? Maine!
Bonus question! What is your favorite Silverstein poem?
The titular poem of the collection, “Where the Sidewalk Ends.” Rereading it now I’m struck by how rich and evocative it is: “And there the moon-bird rests from his flight / To cool in the peppermint wind.”
I loved Where The Sidewalk Ends and of course now I had to go back and reread it and you are right it is very evocative! I like this line too: Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black, and the dark street winds and bends.
DeleteIt sounds you like you had a great month of August! Good weather, fun times visiting places and friends, and sunset serenades! Where are you headed in Maine? I bet the foliage will be nice in September!
We are going to Acadia! Planning to just focus on that/staying on Mt. Desert Island the whole time (short-ish trip, 5 days). Hoping to do a combo of relaxing/enjoying time at our rental cottage and exploring/hiking/taking another boat ride ha…
DeleteIn looking up the poems, I learned that Shel Silverstein was a songwriter as well, incl “A Boy Named Sue” for Johnny Cash, which blew my mind!
Acadia! How cool! I have had it on my list for a while and thought I would get there last year, but never did. My grandma's bestie was from Bar Harbor and I always had plans to stay there. I never knew that Silverstein wrote A Boy Named Sue (or any songs). How interesting!
DeleteI love the poem ‘I cannot go to school today’. I can recite most of it. She has all these ailments that prevent her from going to school - and then finds out it’s Saturday and goes outside to play. I never would have faked sick to miss school but it was a cute poem!
ReplyDeleteAugust’s title would be: ‘it was the best of times, it was the worst of times’. Our August vacation was great. The last week of the month was bad. The weather was pretty nice overall and now it’s getting fall-like with cooler morning temps which I love!
I am sorry that the month ended on a bad note! I do love the cooler temps though, and have been noticing that more and more lately. The days are still warm/hot but the evenings have been cooling down! I have the windows and doors open right now, but yesterday afternoon I had to put on the AC!
DeleteI loved Shel Silverstein's poems as a kid. They're completely bonkers! The one that always stick with me was Us: Me and him
ReplyDeleteHim and me,
We're always together
As you can see.
I wish he'd leave
So I'd be free
I'm getting a little bit
Tired of he,
And he may be a bit
Bored with me.
Etc.....
I have no idea what it means.
I think it means that he gets tired of his own company, and the "him" is more like his own alter ego? That is what I would say about it.
Delete1. What is the name of your last month's chapter? The Final Days of Summer - Fun, but Exhausting
ReplyDelete2. What did you learn last month? That I was ready to quit my university job!
3. What was the weather like where you are? Hot and sunny. And dry.
4. What event last month was your favorite? Going to the lake with my kids + two of their friends. It was exhausting and busy, but also...really special. The two friends lost their father a few years ago to cancer and had never done a "lake" vacation before. So I got to be there to see them catch their first ever fish and experience the magic of waking up at the lake day after day.
5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month? Read: Good Dirt. Listened to: I'm loving the beat of vampire by Olivia R. Watched...?? I mean I watched some docuseries, but nothing wowed me.
6. Tell us one funny recent story. I always draw a blank on this, even though we have a pretty funny household.
I am so glad that you got to take the kids to experience their first lake trip. I had the river growing up and people would come from very far to go to the river in the summer and there were so many good memories! I love having a body of water to play in, jump in etc. We used to spend hours chasing rocks, or daring each other to swim across or having hold-your-breath contests. Those memories are priceless and I am glad that you are there for your own and the other kids for them!
Delete1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that? The Quiet Month. (After a lot of STUFF happening, August was a bit quieter and I very much appreciated that.)
ReplyDelete2. What did you learn last month? Way too much about our finger joints and what may be causing me pain, lol
3. What was the weather like where you are? Very rainy!
4. What event last month was your favorite? Afternoon tea with my mom!
5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month? Best books of the month were Say You'll Remember Me, The Road to Tender Hearts, and Bad City. I also started listening to a podcast miniseries called Teaching Texas that has been super eye-opening!
6. Tell us one funny recent story. Why is this always the hardest question to answer???
7. What are you looking forward to this month? WE LEAVE FOR LONDON IN 29 DAYSSSSS.
I bet you are super excited about London! You are going to have a blast. There is so much to do and even if you just wander around all day, you will be wowed. There is history, architecture and plenty of beer!
DeleteI would love to read more about your travels. Such a lot of interesting places. I would have to say that the City to Surf was my favourite event last month, despite the awful weather. The best thing I watched was the Sydney Marathon, but live not on TV.
ReplyDeleteThe Sydney Marathon would be fun to watch! Where did you sit and watch from? I do have a lot of travel stories, but in the interest of not boring people too much, I have not posted too many of them. Maybe I can work on that though!
DeleteAUGUST:
ReplyDelete1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that?
I Did Not Need This
2. What did you learn last month?
Things Can Momentously Change In An Instant
3. What was the weather like where you are?
Uncharacteristically cool (I'm not complaining)
4. What event last month was your favorite?
Time spent with Theo
5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month?
I loved the book Orbital; We loved the series Bleak House
6. My funny story--I had to complete my Cologuard test kit. When I went to drop it off at CVS for a UPS pickup, I was feeling a little feisty, and when the clerk said, "Can I help you?" I answered, "Yes. I'm literally giving you my shit for UPS." She laughed (very hard) and took the box.
SEPTEMBER:
7. What are you looking forward to this month?
Answers!
Bonus question! What is your favorite Silverstein poem?
I don't have a favourite. I love all of them. My boys loved reading them with me, and we gave Where the Sidewalk Ends to Jared so that he could read them to Theo.
Giving you my $hit! Hahaha! I am sure that she (and other health care professionals) have seen it all and are happy to have a laugh from time to time. I hope that this provides the answers you are looking for! I waffled on whether or not to keep my Silversteins when I went through my declutter. I did not keep them but I gave them to a friend with kids and so hopefully they are enjoying them in my stead!
DeleteI’m not familiar enough with Silverstein’s work to have a favorite poem, though I have read at least 2 of his books. I have a happy memory of one year when we were in Portland visiting family near Maya’s birthday, and my dad and step mom had a surprise party for her, and one of her gifts was ‘Where The Sidewalk Ends’, and she stopped opening gifts in order to read her favorite poem to everyone. I think she was 9, so stopping in the middle of opening gifts was kind of a big deal.
ReplyDeleteWow, that she had a favorite and liked it so much to stop the tape to read it is impressive! I don't know if I can say what my favorite is but I do love his wit! Those poems are timeless!
Delete