We Have Sheers!

Our apartment looks different again, better, if I may say so, and the reason is simple: we hung our sheers from the windows. And Goodness Gracious! The difference it makes! Light isn't harsh in the room, though that has never been a problem, but the windows themselves have smoothed as well. The ugly gas pipes get somewhat better hid from sight, and the unslightly, discolored window frames are also discreetly taken away from the view.

We had bought the sheers perhaps a month ago, but didn't get to hang them, since it demanded time. We have three windows and for each of them there's a pair of sheers that need to be fitted. My boyfriend's job was to get on the ladder and hang the sheers twice - one for measuring them up and once when they were finished. My job was to measure the sheers, calculate the exact lenght with the expected 4% shrinkage (I totally love that IKEA tells you about this!), and then mark the lenght by ironing the part that would be the edge on each of the six sheer panes, then put in the fixing strip (a sort of plastic strip that sticks to the fabric when it's ironed to it, normally used to stiffen the fabric, but also to make a hem without stitching), and cut the excess fabric. It wasn't a short job, but we made it today at last, and I'm pleased with the results.

After visiting my penpal Trish on the weekend, I must admit that I'm quite ashamed of our apartment, as it isn't as taestfully arranged as theirs, but then again maybe I'm just being silly. There's no way, after all, that an economist who has spent most of her life in the tropic, could possibly compete with a consumed, professional interior designer and furniture connoisseur who happens to live in an artistic, tasteful town, where everything is just delightful.

Be it as it may, my boyfriend wants me to take pictures of the apartment, so he can upload them on the Real Estate web, to get a feel of the price our apartment could get. Realtors, you know.

I had plans for today, but none of them got completed. I was supposed to go to the Post Office, since I so brightly forgot to give my postcards to Trish - living with her kind offer - so she would post them for me from Braunau to my penpals. I think it is about time I start thinking about going to the doctor to get some "old people pills" prescribed. My memory is really, REALLY bad (maybe I sould start thinking also about getting a pillbox, so I can keep my medication in order for the future). Then I wanted to go to IKEA on a double mission. For once, the new collection would enter in August, so what better chance than right not to get a feel of what pieces of the old collection are leaving the scene and thus being sold at reduced prices. And we need two desks. Urgently.

The other reason is to search for small bottles. I'd like to take with me a few elements of Hungary that will accompany me wherever I am. Since the traditional elements (Earth, Air, Fire, Water) are kinda hard to get - due to the air - I was thinking about the five elements of Chinese philosophy (Wu Xing: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water). The idea of it came to me the other day, when I was once again marveling at how different the soil is from that of Costa Rica. I guess I can't get over the pale, sandy type of earth we have here. I've already located the source for all of my elements, decided on each of them BUT I haven't found the bottles. Naturally plastic bottles won't do it, because I kinda want to keep the "organic", old, natural feeling to them, AND I need them also to contain water, so wood boxed wouldn't do it either. Now, the bottle you see in this picture is what I'm thinking about, in a small size, say 7 cm (3 inches) high, or with a 1dl capacity. That's all I need. I don't want to take the whole Danube with me, along with half of the Roman Excavations. But you know what? Getting these small bottles is impossible. I'm not kidding, it is impossible!

Upon this, and having bought in February some spice jars, I thought about making it happen with spice jars.

Well, the trip wasn't made, so we shall see if I can unglue myself from bed in time to go to IKEA and take a quick check around the kitchenware and see where can I hunt down my bottles. It doesn't help my case knowing that Amazon.com has them and sells them. :-( Why!? They wouldn't make it in time! (Not like I won't buy them! I will).

I'm packing - I just finished my first packing try out today - but I still have a lot of stuff to pack and to get. I at least want a mini cauldron (you would too, if you would have eaten that FABULOUS bogrács stuff I had! Wish I could pack a real size one and tons of venison... that would make me happy), and then some replicas of medieval time swords (mini!) and jewelry I saw being sold at one of the museums I visited. I'll still visit my favorite museum, but I doubt there's anything left for me to buy there, as I've bought all the Empress Sissi books and souvenirs I could get my hands on.

Well, tomorrow is a new day, and the cleaning lady is coming, so I'll have little time and plenty to do. ^_^

The Palace of My Dreams

It didn't take much to convince my boyfriend to go visit Gödöllő. After a delicious and intimate lunch at our kitchen, and then some coffee, we got into the car in a pretty cold, clouded day, and drove to this city outside the limits of Budapest, to visit the Baroque, white and pink Royal Palace, that was home and refuge of a lonely, unhappy and misfortunate beautiful Empress Sissi.

Inspite of the weather, the day has had a magical tone to it, with a sermon at the Church that touched me deeply, as the sheppard took from the Gospel of John, chapter 21, verses 1 to 14 to remind us about staying on the path that God has set us in. It seemed like the final, srowning moment of a week where I have sunked to a moment of desperation, from where God through His beautiful angels, my friends, pulled me up only to then take His official voice and remind me that He knows better, that there are no mistakes in His plans and all we need to do is to have faith and keep our end of the bargain. Yes, just in case you thought God takes forever to answer your prayers, He makes a small but very to-the-point display about how He has you on speed dial. The question is now back to you: Do you have God on Speed Dial?

Inspired by the event, my Spirit was back to "waaaay above dog". So yes, it was a perfect day to go to my favorite museum and remember the story and the life of this interesting Empress. My boyfriend isn't much interested by Empress Sissi, though the promise of a new wing of the palace opened and dedicated to the history of the castle in the XX.th century, including documents and stuff from the Second World War did the magic. Then again, he's a sweetheart and loves to make me happy. He probably wouldn't come here as often as I do - for I've been here three times already in the past two months... and it's probably my 7th or already 10th visit to the palace.

You may wonder what's there to see in this place that makes me come over and over. It's hard to explain in words other than "I love the Royal Palace". The figure of Empress Sissi intrigues me deeply, which - among other things - has brought me to scout her story also in Vienna, and lay hands on any book available about her life. The only historical figure I've chased and studied this hard - though maybe not this deeply - has been Vlad Tepes, known also as Dracula, but with Empress Sissi, the passion goes a bit further. But that's the effect she seems to have been having on people for many, many years. Love her, hate her, but you can hardly pass her by and remain untouched by her character.

This time around I noticed how the Royal Palace itself had suffered through a more extended period of time the same faith of this particular owner. Built from an early promise that never got completed, it became a Cromn Jewelry with a melancholic shine, full of sweet secrets and favoritisms, a place to escape from the crushing pressure, to be free and happy, and yet still, slump slowly in the quicksands and the choking embrace of a tragic destiny that wasn't willing to let go.

Broken to the bones, stripped finally and turned into the most sad and horrendous of ruins, it was taken, loited, abandoned, ripped, skinned, debased, until finally curious and careful hands restored it towards a nearly empty life - a palace with no habitants others than  the ghosts and lent furniture. It's beautiful to us, but what's of it's former glory and it's purpose? It became a palace for memories, just as Empress Sissi became a poster for speculation.

I came back with an armful of books, and one book specially picked for my friend Dragonfly, as my entrance to the Book Club. There's so much to learn still, to read, to understand about Empress Sissi, and along with her, about this country, about her Palaces and often, about one's own destiny too.