Country road, take me home

I read Jing's post, we come, with interest. She wrote how country folks in China don't often get the chance to travel to the city. Well, now that I AM a small town folk myself, visitation to the city has become something to look forward to (eat McD, too!)

In this photo, I was on my way home from a city south of szentes. Feeling tired from the journey (not for leisure but to do paperworks), I slept most of the way when I opened my eyes, I saw them sheeps again. That changed my mood instantly, home is just 10 mins. away..I'm happy.

Country road.... take me home.... to a place i belong.. .

Limited edition

a rare bottle ......of not so fine wine, I'm afraid (only 6 euros). Well, I dont think it'll be too bad as it is from the renowned Tokaj region. Anyway, am no wine expert, I bought it for obvious reason.
The elegant bottle was available since last week. A gifts' shop initiated the project after much requests from customers. Then saw the limited 50 bottles being produced and according to the shop, it is diminishing fast. Hmmm...I got a feeling it wont be limited, not for long.

What is the must-buy gift when in your city/town?

Life document #1080054

After mentioning a gazillion times, you know we lead a simple life. On Sundays the streets are almost deserted as people prefer to stay indoors. There are a few who spent time to window shop *ahem*... this couple was across the street from where we were, window shopping*, of course. I saw them and the following conversation took place ..

me : you think we will be like them when we're their age?
partner : sure, women no matter at what age like to window shop!
me : lol ! but -_- I meant as seemingly loving as they are ....

What do you think? is he right about women?

*photo taken right after the conversation

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Update
Yesterday's peace sign is actually a peace pole , pointed out by Ruth of East Lansing. Apparently there're about 200,000 signs placed around the world. May be your town/city have one?

Enough said...

At times just when I'm dry on new things to report, some how something will sprang up, example this sign here. It was planted right outside the sports stadium, am pretty sure it's a new addition... "May peace prevail on earth" is written on 4-sides in 3 languages. No info. on the origin of this sign could be found though, but it doesn't really matter..May peace be with
you.

Update
Apparently this is a peace pole as pointed out by Ruth of East Lansing. Thanks, Ruth!
extract from wiki : The Peace Pole Project was started in Japan by The World Peace Prayer Society in 1955 ..more. Look around, perhaps your city/town have one as well.


*This ghostly image is the result of multi-exposure (merging) which makes it easier to present all sides in one
..

A toast!

*yesterday's panning shot that was not quite*

A toast!

You have given us the experience of excitement, laughter, joy, sing-alongs, cheer-alongs, the wave, tears (of victory/defeat), nationally known atheletes, singers, dancers, a place of training for football, basketball, karate, etc to face more sporting challenges, and not forgetting a place for me to practice indoor photography

Happy tenth, to our sports stadium !! egészségedre (cheers!)

Szentes is also a Hungary's National sports town since 1996.

Do not disturb!

Was out at the river to hunt for "message in bottle" after reading this post by Jazzy. While doing so, I may have distracted the ducky from a game of hopscotch (?) Well, it didnt took him/her long to protest for my disturbance!

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

tick tock tick

Clock is ticking, blood pressure rising for the site workers. when winter arrives, works have to postpone again..oh, i'm eager to see the finished building. To get inside one of the longest naves in the country, to photograph the grandness..and to share the beauty with you, before christmas.

Find me!

This little doggie's portrait caught my attention yesterday, it says..

"our medium-sized white male poodle is missing. The family misses him very much. Anyone who knows his where-about shall be rewarded........"

It occurs to me that we hardly see stray dogs on our streets, hmmm..in fact, we have none! Based on that, I think it's fairly easy to spot a poodle.. I'll keep an eye on him. Hopefully he'll reunite soon with his family.

Ps. I learnt that today is Thanksgiving, so be thankful that our family and friends are near us :)


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Kyokushin 極真 revisited

I was procrastinating to search for the meaning of those 3 chinese characters (汉语) in the background. Finally, I got on to it yesterday...

Kyokushin 極真 is Japanese for "the society for the ultimate truth." In case you're unfamiliar, Kyokushin is a self-defense art. The stones are found at the shinto gate that I posted before. I think we're very good at the sport as in my search I found out that Szentes is the main branch for Hungary in the Int'l karate organisation.

Very dry topic, I know, but it has to be done ..haha. Hopefully tomorrow i'll have something more fun!

Haiga ~ Stiff

cold morning
even the limbs of trees

feel stiff

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Not much action at the football field (behind the trees), so I compensate with this reflection shot. While the haiga is another collaboration with Mandy . Thanks so much , Mandy!:)

One man's junk is another man's treasure

When I read that in Hyde one can recycle shoes, I thought "what a fantastic idea!" because I've seen some under privilege that go around digging trash bins and shoes were one of the "goodies" that they normally picked up. I know I have couple of pairs of shoes which I don't use anymore but feel too guilty to dispose them off in the trash. Bring them shoes bins here! :)

ps. dont get me wrong, we do have charities here. Just thought its much convenient.
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Moving along..

It was the case of younger sibling inheriting the older sibling's toys ;) That's how the children's library was (re)born, when the town's library moved to a bigger facility.

These kids were so engrossed in their chess game that they didnt notice a 5'7" invading their space with a camera. In another corner, there were children on the computers. Hey, only one kid was reading..haha. Basically its a nice relaxing place to be in, if only I'm under 14 again..

ps. got to finish off translation work again, check the rest of your blogs later..Happy Sunday!

Get lost in it..

In order to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. - Carl Sagan

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No apple pie in my menu but rest assured that I will be cooking up a storm in the kitchen today. Shuu now .. go have a wonderful weekend!

People 7

I was thrilled to have caught him on photo because I have wanted to feature him in my people series for long time! Underneath that cool sunglasses is a model bus driver. He greets everyone of his passengers loud and clear, unlike robotic greetings you get from fast food service :D When you reach your destination, he bid a loud "viszonlátásra" (see you). How can I not be impressed? And does he remind you of someone? see here

wellness well

Thermal well disguised as an oriental pagoda, cool, huh?! These days, there's no denying oriental theme is fashionable, but this park was opened in the 30's, the designer of this garden was way ahead!
Too bad I couldn't find much info. , aside from it is located inside the hospital (i zoomed from the fence) . The well is the first of its kind in the town. I'll write more on the goodness of thermal water when I visit a themal pool. Stay tune!

hangin strong

Have no time to tell story today :D Here's some flowers I saw during one of our walks last week. Most flowers are gone, these are still vibrant and hangin strong.

Ok, got to go . Have a nice day!

I dig, do you?

This is THE place where you'd want to say "I do" in, a neo-gothic church (Lutheran). Why? because it's full of characteristic of gothic architecture (built in 1905). Imagine the sun shining through the coloured stained glass whilst the beautiful bride walking down asile. All 317 guests seated witnessing a wonderful moment of your life. No, i haven't been inside! you'll just have to take my words for it :D

same old, same old...

some old news (2005) to share..

When this asian store opens (6th in the neighbourhood) , the town council received criticism from local traders for approving too many asian stores (mainly clothing). But the local government has no authority in rejecting these businesses as it is the national policy to accept such type of investments.

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Since then, 2 new asian stores have popped-up, another 2 have packed-up. All this while the local clothing shops remain unchanged. I guess the pie is big enough for everyone afterall (ok, perhaps marginalised). But if you ask me should we add more? my answer is No! give me something other than clothes, please!
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Day dreaming

For average working class like me and you, I'm sure we have dreams of becoming a millionaire by way of winning the lottery. Me and partner don't have the habit of buying lottery though ; however, we couldn't resist the temptation when this car with big golden bow was being displayed outside the lottery kiosk. *ke ching* the cashier got us to part Euro3 in return for 5 chances to win this car and Euro333k, well..good luck to us!

Happy Sunday!

11.11.1918

War would end if the dead could return.
-Stanley Baldwin

This post is not to make you sad as I just want to mark an important date in history with this photo. The sad part would be there are still war going on in this world and that many more such monuments will be erected in rememberance of the victims.

Fact
Today in history, the town's population shrunk by 1300 people

enough about war, I wish you an enjoyable weekend!

Glimpses

See the benches out there? Its a popular spot on a fine day with neighbours, young and old together "chirping" away. As we walk out, we greet nearly all of them "Jó napot! {Good day}" "Szia! {see-ya}" "csokolom" or waving of hands. That's one of the things I like about living here, no matter how busy or in the rush, you still make a point to greet people you see outside/at the lobby/near the elevator of your home even if you dont know them personally.

Read my ealier post on greetings.
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Rendezvouz

Apparently the weather is still good for canoe kayak -(dat)ing. Seeing this, how can I not ask our canoe kayak king , KALA - Have you ever dated this way?

Disclaimer ;-)
This is just my interpretation, they may be training very hard for the next canoeing kayaking competition.

Some like it hot

I saw this scene yesterday. Does the owner of this flat like paprika so much? or it is a way to gain additional income? Whatever it is, the sure thing is, these wonderfully garland paprika (paprikafüzér) will ended up as the "ultimate spice" for many kitchens in Szentes.

Here's a recipe that you might be interested in trying with some authentic Hungarian paprika.

Tips
Its important not to cook paprika over rapid fire or it will turn bitter and destroy the taste.

another kind of ABC

Buy me a bottle of vitamins and the chances of me remembering to pop the tablet daily is unlikely. I'd rather go through the trouble of peeling, cutting, biting (etc) fruits/vege to get the necessary vitamins required..oh, I don't care about the health benefits really, its just plain pleasure to eat them as is.
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Let's get to the point of this post..
We have abundance of lovely locally produced fruits/vegetables. The flavour is very much unique due to the greater hours of sunshine and high content of mineral in our natual waters. What a bonus!

Have a little fun, pick a fruit and get analysed!
apple, banana, black grapes, cherry, coconut, mango, orange, papaya, peach, pear, pineapple, durian

ABC

Back home the abreviation - ABC means a type of ice based dessert, quite similar to this post by Jakarta DP. While over here ABC (ábécé) refers to supermarts. Is it the same in Bp, Zsolt?
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History of supermarts is considered new in our town, as only 39 years ago the first such biz. was set-up. Needless to say, it was THE place to shop. These days, like anywhere else in the world, people here prefer to shop at nearby hyper-mart (Tesco). So, the ABCs are more of a back-up for emergencies purchases or for perishable.

In your country, is there another meaning to "ABC" ?

random thought, again

The above shows yesterday's morning, then see the night of first snow here..becareful with what you ask for!

Anyway, this photo was taken on the outskirt of szentes. The incredible thing is that I realised there's a tiny lake with loads of birds inhabiting the place. From what i can see afar, they were flying in pac, in sychronise patent. It was like an episode of National geographic ..okay, exaggerating. Feeling uninspired lately, that image of birds really made my day! Hopefully I'll get to go there to shoot more nature shots for my collection.

By the way, would you live in middle of nowhere if given a chance?

random thought

*kris was here 3/11/06 17:15pm*

After seeing the many wonderful photos of snow in Joensuu DP , I can say I'm anticipating the first snow very much (its still exciting each year!) , also to be able to share them here. Then, I thought of no more long stroll in the evenings, gaining the additional weight in the process, the whole complaining about the cold and being coup indoors cycle will begin. Ah...the snow can wait but make sure it arrives by christmas day ;)

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Enjoy your weekend everyone, I know I will!

Public art I

When a public art is given a title, makes it easier to interpret. You'd go "oh, yes..i see why; hence the name....." . I shall not attempt to interpret this statue. Let's go to the facts :-
She has no-name, a new comer to the statues' scene as she was inaugurated on 12 July 2002. The official name is Fountain of Nádai square (the fountain was dry). She was a creation of Mr. István Máte, not a szentesi* but a csongrádi* . See her in another angle here.
*szentesi = born in szentes

I get a sense of excitement whenever I see photographs of statues. Not to mistaken that i'm a arty person, in fact i'm far from it :p . Its just simply that I see more details in photographs than in real life and different expression is possible with just a twist of angle and light. Don't you think so?

Question to Mr.Mayor

Photo (experimental using flash):-

St. Elisabeth Catholic Primary school

"achieved outstanding results in teaching French and mathematics."

see the lovely painting on the wall in day light here

Reading the town's guide book, the word "outstanding" is repeated many times in describing some of the schools' performance locally and abroad. All together we have 9 elementary & 5 secondary schools, catering for locals and nearby communities. They also offer specialised courses i.e. music,vocational,arts & sports,foreign languages, horticultural etc. Very impressive, eh? May be it is time to invest in developing a college(s)? Any plans in the near future Mr. town mayor?

She works hard for the money

Many road side florists were working overtime to meet the demand on all saints' day. It's not easy especially in this cold. Seeing that it is seasonal opportunity, I am sure these women are happy with their choice as it means additional income for themselves and the family...to continue from the song, She works hard for the money , so you better treat her right!

Have I lost it? I kind of think this photo is quite nice, erm..a water colour ? I was playing with aperture settings that didnt turn out QUITE right.

ps. new translation to work on. read your posts later :)