All my bags are packed...

So - I've embraced "packing light" for this trip - no really.  If you knew me, you'd be shocked.  At any rate, I'm leaving early tomorrow morning for Paris and Be-ne-lux- yes, all three.  So I'll have short posts when possible, and a slew when I get home I'm sure. Happy Margaret?

Welcome to Anne who FINALLY got on to the blog - you've got a lot of reading to do!

Wish me safe travels, if not - my mom promised to have me cremated and sprinkled into my dad's compost.  Does that mean I'm valuable nutrients?

See you later all!

This week

Justin and I have spent quite a bit of time together lately since he's leaving soon.  We made a nice Greek meal - and I only washed the dishes he was using once.  In the last few months, I have developed a hankering for gyros on many occasions, I don't know what it is, but we had a nice meal together.  He looks thrilled doesn't he...

The next night, we went to a Tata staple, the Berta Malom.  Thank goodness we didn't want steak, since apparently they are out - as seen by the line drawn through the word "steak."  I suppose it's cheaper than making a new sign.  Ahhh Hungary.  

Interesting art from the festival

My parents sent me an e-mail about a display of interesting fruit carving that took place in the Czech - not "Check" - Republic.  It was interesting, but like many of the e-mails I get from mom and dad, I looked at it and filed it away.  UNTIL at the recent Tata festival, the same carvers (I think) showed up and were displaying their fruit carving talents here.  Check out what they had on display.  If you want them to carve things for your special occasion, I have a brochure, but it's all in Hungarian...  click on the pictures if you want a closer look.

Víz - Zene - Virág Festival (Water, Music, Flower Festival)

Each summer Tata hosts the famous Water Music Flower festival.  I went Friday and Saturday to enjoy some of the different festivities.  There were so many different things to see, I wasn't exactly sure what to do with myself.  There were water parades, stunt pilots, acrobats, musical entertainment, "American football," dance groups, an American dixieland band, and Hungarian wares and food.  It was nice to see, but the weather was a bit cruddy so I didn't stay real long.  Plus I was wandering around by myself, so phoey to that.  

the castle with the main stage in front of it.

crowds crowds and more crowds

the Tata "American football team" The Mustangs - the game was quite a let down...

get your wicker baskets here!

clothing on display - with flowers- in the Eszterházy palace

artwork out of flowers

more artwork

interesting pot for this art

wedding trellis?  I don't know.

a gulyás making table on sale

the Hungarian Army recruiting tent

Hungarian cookies with messages on them

the merchants and food

art in the castle dungeon

more flower art

art on a mannequin 

suspended art

mannequin art again - out of flowers.

Tata - the city of flowers

The "Tata dream team" has been at it again, switching flower beds again... take a look.  Remember, you can click on any of the photos to make them bigger and then hit the "back" button to return to the post.

Gotta love a sale?

This is in the parking lot of one of the small grocery stores here.  I eyed the bike, but wasn't interested in any hot appliances to buy...

Getting better!

I'm not much of a cook, but this is a picture of a meal I recently made - Rachel Ray's Greek Salad and ground beef gyros.  Yum!!!

Boo update...

Who doesn't like cute cat pictures?  Yeah yeah... cat lady yadda yadda yadda... enjoy the pics.

This is the window in the kitchen...

she likes to crawl out and sit on the ledge... three floors up... I leashed her because I was nervous - but she's wised up a bit I think.  I hope...

This is what Boo does when I close the door to the bedroom and get ready for bed.  It's kind of creepy to be honest, but she sits on the chair outside the room and watches through the frosted glass.

new favorite toy- shoebox.  Why do I spend money on cat toys?

loves to lounge in the box

relaxing... when she's right side up, she kind of blends in with the chairs

I've talked about this before I believe, but she has learned how to push the "scan" and "copy" buttons on the printer and then watches the paper come out below.  It's only annoying when she does it in the middle of the night.

Last minute lessons

I got a little creative towards the end of the school year.  I decided since I had five lessons with the 9th graders each week, I'd do some sort of unit that I could drag out a bit.  I decided on Haiku poetry.  I combined aspects from different things I found on the internet, and we gave it a whirl.  Using the construction paper my parents hauled over from the states, we created our very own poetry gallery in the 9th grade classrooms.  It ended up being a tremendous success, and though some of them are not the strongest Haiku I've ever seen, they now can say that not only can they speak English, they can create poetry in it too.  I was surprised by some of the students who really got into the assignment.  Barna (my goth boy) went home and wrote about 9 poems, and Balint (the first day fainter) created a series of insightful poems I would have NEVER expected.

 

Viki, Zsofi and Jenny

Agi's poem

 

Zsofi's poem.  

Bence Papp created his in the shape of a viking hat - though his poem was about butterflies... not sure of the connection.

their poems are so bright, they have to wear shades!

Anna, Áron and Viki

Barna and his poem.