Treat

Seeing them reminded me of my own experience as bass player in school wind band & a choir-- donkey years ago! I couldn't even recall how to play the intrument :p
Anyway, the photo was taken last night at pre-new year's eve concert given by our very own Wind Band and Mixed choir. Listening to them, I understand now why they are widely popular locally and abroad. Too bad I have no clips of the concert to share.. but what a delightful treat before the year end ..I hope you're enjoying your weekend , HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

PS - I know i'm terribly late with my postings. Don't really feel like sitting infront of computer. But see , I'm posting early for Sunday ;) Don't forget to scroll down for saturday's photo, okay ?

Seeing blue

I'm never tired of reflection shots. Here's one before the the year ends;)
Notice how blue the water is on the other side of the bridge? strange , huh?

3-2-1

The only street vendor at the main road selling party supplies for new year's eve. The essentials to celebrate good time?

Zúzmara

Zúzmara, zúzmara, zúzmara, zúzmara, zúzmara ; or "frost"

that's the word I learned today. Lovely word isn't it?

well, its high time it arrived!

Staying focus

This photo reflects the street scene of yesterday. I think it sort of represents the summery of 2006 for me i.e. I haven't been focused with the goals set earlier this year. 2006 is another year slipping away.. hence, I'll carry forward the same resolutions for 2007 :p with a little more effort, I'm sure I'll achieve (most of) it ;) .......How has this year been for you?

Another day as DP blogger...

I'm reporting from the central part of the town. Fine morning, it was. Wonderful sun shinning. Things are still pretty quiet, as you can see. In this photo this man seems to me is standing in the middle of the street, paused in time...don't you think?
hehe, i think i'm watching too many tv fiction, Heroes .

sunny christmas

towards the end of rush :)

Confession, I'm one of them flocking to nearby 24-hour mart 2 hours ago. Not too "mayhem" thank goodness. No more shopping after this..yeah! You know what I'm looking forward to? the food, carolling (if i can find any) and of course, the family gatherings.

Peace to you and be merry!

Rush hour II

Rush, rush, rush at the bus terminal

Are you travelling home this holiday?

I wish you a safe journey!

Time for giving

What are these 2 young ladies up to? Not protest, for sure!
see for yourself ok, the photo was crappy, the sign reads Free-hugs. Their action didnt seem perculiar to me, 'cos I first read about it at Barcelona DP.

At the time of the photo, I didn't see anyone coming forward for a hug though. Anyways, bless the two for having the courage and put the cause into action. Never underestimate the power of hug, someone will surely benefit from it. Let's see if i'll bump into them again today. Fingers crossed!

Find out more about Free-Hugs

ps. am finally up to date with my post...cant tell you how relieved I am!

Here's a season to be jolly

Snow seems far away from Szentes but we had a good sunny morning yesterday and continued with clear sky today. At least these kids weren't performing in colder weather then it is. .

You must see the larger version of the photo here. I wonder what that boy in the middle was doing that gave the girl's reaction?..that to me is a kodak moment :) Lucky me, i was unaware of this special programme until this morning. Tomorrow is the last day of the children's performance, hopefully i'll get some more shots.
One of them spoted me :p and waved , he must be the cheeky in class! :D

Capoeira

Lets take a rest from the christmas talk..quite frankly, I'm bored of my own photos lately, so bare with me. Hope you don't mind that I dug up this one from the archive taken in Sep.
These guys were demonstrating capoeira , a relatively new sports for us, i think. If not for the sumersaults and acrobatic moves, I would be signing up for the class..see a demo. clip here (scroll down), you may be interested ? Psst...that guy with long hair was sleek, really wowed us ;)

Few hours ago...

Hunting, we go
a pair of shoes, he needs
a pair of trousers, I want
with lighter wallet, We went home

****

listen to this tune, I insist !

- thanks, Maiylah for sharing! -

still on 2 weeks ago....

cold water
ripples past reeds -
the lights are on

words by : Mandy

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..many thanks, Mandy! simply love the words you provided.

sorry guys, have been neglecting my blog and yours. Another translation dateline due tomorrow, on top of that still need to finish off my christmas shopping. yikes!

2 weeks ago....

awaiting snow
foggy day foggy night
its starting to get to me

Counting down

Was out to buy some parsley and quickly caught this scene for you. Lots of activities on the Kossuth street counting down to christmas. We haven't even put up the tree. Have you?

excuse me, have to clean up the kitchen :)

Legacy

am very late with homework!! needed to do some research ;)

I believe he, Lajos Kossuth a freedom fighter, was the most named-after person in Hungary. Initially, I wanted to search for the numbers of streets in his name in Hungary. But at the top of the hits was a link to US web site!! Do you know that his legacy is also widely honoured in the United states? There are about 20 streets/avenues/roads named after him around the US. read here.

Decor. around town III

A simple lit stars decor. on window of mobile phones shop. Upon taking a closer look, I was "wowed" by the mechanism inside the "stars"..
Feeling kind of bored lately, nothing much to add but please do enjoy the following lyrics ...

When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires will come to you

If your heart is in your dreams, no request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star as dreamers do

(Fate is kind, she brings to those who love
The sweet fulfillment of their secret longing)

Like a bolt out of the blue, fate steps in and sees you thru
When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true

Writer: Leigh Harline; Lyrics: Ned Washington

Decor. around town II

Baby Jesus crafted by primary and kindergarten students of St.Elisabeth Catholic School. The students must be so proud of their wonderful work. I just want to pinch that little button nose of baby Jesus. Wish I can show you another photo of wider angle but flickr is not co-operating this morning :)

Here's a wider angle

Decor. around town I

click here for larger version

Gone for 3 days, came back to to find a christmas market all set up at the town's square. I like that the decor. is kept to a minimal. This arch is particularly elegant to me and am quite satisfied with this shot especially that I didn't spend time composing it..may be should make it into postcard?

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Hello, miss you guys ! sorry, no post yesterday 'cos modem out of order. Thank goodness that our internet provider was efficient to bring us a new modem by the evening!

Be back on Monday!

The modem is acting funny..also, i'll be away and be back on next Monday. Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

Gastromy : Pudding tasting

On the scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate the appearance of this pudding?

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Mine, would be 1 as it simply doesn't appeal to me. I put off tasting the pudding as long as since I moved here. Last Monday, I did it! I finally gave it a chance..and all I can say is beauty is only skin deep!

The pudding, csíramálé or wheat germ pudding, is made from wheat germ, sweetened with honey. I was told that the 100 year-old pudding is a specialty of our town and the surrounding areas. As the name suggests, the pudding contains loads of health benefits ; however, it is still not widely known in other counties (states). Zsolt, have you tried / seen this?

Day of Miklós

I found this decor. rather amusing! May be its because we first saw it from this angle . To us, it seems Santa is stranded rather than climbing! hahahaaha.. Pardon me, am not trying to be rude on Day of Miklós (Day of Nicholas... Santa?), just documenting our first impression.

You may have read from Budapest DP that children can expect lots of chocolates/candies for the day. In fact, I myself collected 2 bags full..bye bye diet, again!!

ps. Today is the final day to edit the translations we're working on, after that woohoo!! will catch up with you guys soon!

Irony

I see lots of cables, while I also see no lights.. Ironic ?

We are pretty good at saving energy, a habit really. That's why you hardly see lights switched-on at every household, compared to what you may see in other countries. Take ourself for example, the only light source in a room is coming from a tv or a computer monitor, so who needs a bulb?!

ps. have to meet translation dateline again....so, can't reply to your comments and visit around just yet, sorry!

Nice or otherwise?

My first impression of these scriblings on a public wall were "cute!" . Guess I was imagining some kids playing teacher or found a creative way to practice maths., nevermind the vandalism.

That made me realised how my level of tolerance changes towards different kinds of graffiti. Example, unappealing ones = crap & eyesore, where as if I see more colours, slightly artistic graffiti, I'd say more please! How hypocrite of me.

So tell me, which category do you belong to?

Just another day

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed (not a good sign for scorpios!) ..thought I get some fresh air out at a residential area. Boy, was I surprised to see the scene above. Goats, sheeps, chicken roaming freely. What a wonderful scene! You have to see for yourself.. Then, this particular white goat seems smiling at me, that immediately cheered me up! You have a good day, too!

Young love

Time to share theme day's reject. On weekdays the bus station is buzzling with students travelling to and fro schools, of course. You are bound to find young lovers (large shadow), they just locked eyes with each other and mostly don't care what happens surrounding them. That's how i got the shot!

me, have to go shop for gifts. Enjoy your weekend everyone!

DP Theme day : Homage to Bob

Since you can't see most of the action, I'll summerise
They look promising
They played hard
They thrown in some fancy footwork, ooooh
They lost, 73 to 75 , ouch!

To Bob,

with love

from all of us :-
Porto -Greenville -Evry -Queens -Seattle, WA, USA -Stayton , OR, USA -Albuquerque, NM (USA) -Joplin, MO (USA) -Singapore (Raymond) -Guadalajara, Mexico -Santiago, Chile -London (UK) -Jakarta (Indonesia) -Bandung (Indonesia) -Melbourne, Aust (John) -Phoenix, AZ (US) -Twin Cities, MN -Newcastle upon tyne(England) -St. Paul, MN (USA) Carol -Szentes (Hungary) -Tuzla (BiH) -St. Paul Kate -Dubai (U.A.E.) -Nelson (New Zealand) -Sharon, CT USA -Tenerife (Spain) -Auckland (New Zealand) -Budapest (Hungary) -Sydney, Australia (Sally) -Sequim, WA -East Lansing, MI (USA) -Vantaa; Finland -Singapore (Zannnie) -Paris (France) -Kuala Lumpur -Shanghai, China -Sydney Aust (Nathalie) -Hyde (UK) -Akita City, Japan -Tokyo (Japan) -Rotterdam -Manila (Philippines) -Not Strictly Seattle -Stavanger (Norway) -Hong Kong -Chattanooga, Tennessee -Barcelona (Spain) -Trujillo (Peru) -Naples Florida - Delta Colarado - Beunos Aires (Argentina) - Cheltenham, England - Saarbrücken, Germany

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

=======================

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

******

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