Three days in České Budějovice

Based on a recommendation of our friends, me and my flatmate Z.M. decided to go on a three-day course to České Budějovice .

We went to lectures,lived in a dorm (and had to witness and listen to a nearly all night long post-exam celebrational balcony barbecue with guitairs and singing) walked around the little streets and lanes of the city centre, ate breakfasts in a buffet, lunches in a canteen and dinners in local restaurants, drank beer and coffee and had a good time. The time seemed to slow down for a while and even though it was three days of work and studying, it felt like a little holiday.

A few photos from the town:

I was surprised by the amount of crafty shops in the city centre. There was one of them in particular called "Tvořivá ovečka" (meaning Creative Sheep !!! ), which sold yarns of all kinds and was really tiny and in spite of the opening hours saying it had been closed for more than hour, there was a very nice lady in it, who invited us in.  The visit got even more interesting when I spotted a spinning wheel in the corner and the lady offered me to try it. I was actually too scared to have a proper go, because I was worried I might actually do something wrong to the thread, but I stepped on the pedal and watched her spin the wool with her fingers. A few seconds later I decided I need to learn how to do it! Well well, one more thing to give me if you run out of ideas for birthday presents :DD

First thing made of felt...

My very first thing from felt was made in England, under a careful supervision of my friend G.F. who showed me how to sew stuffed hearts from felt. This is exactly the one, so far the only felted heart that I made which went as a present to my Mum on the Mother's Day (which, in case you are wondering, we in Slovakia and Czech republic celebrate on the second Sunday of May, along with Bahamas, Croatia, Malaysia, Malta, Switzerland and many other European and non-European countries - see the full list of dates here).

I made a very simple card for it, only punched a hole to pull the ribbon of the heart through and stamped lots of flowers on the front side (with the stamps that I got fot my birthday from A.H. and which I think are awesome) in two different shades of blue and wrote something (I'm afraid too simple and silly) inside. Then posted it to Mum along with a birthday card for my brother (not handmade, as I do not possess the level of "handmade intelligence" necessary to make cards for males yet).

A few days later a message came that said: "All were nice, but mine was the prettiest. Mum" Successssss... :)

A home-grown present

I have been growing succulents since I bought a little Lithops at a succulent exhibition when I was fifteen years old. However, with constant moving and living in different dorms and flats during my uni studies and with a threat of moving again, and to a smaller place, I decided to get rid of a bit of clutter and also some plants. 

A perfect opportunity has come in form of a friend who has just moved into a new flat. So I repotted, decorated, made a card - and she loved it! :)

Now my planties are in good hands and I will make sure that they are well looked after during my regular visits :)

Christmas madness in summer - again!

Yes, again! Last summer in August, I couldn't stop myself from making the simple Christmas decorations using transparent glass beads and this year I discovered some colours as well!! :)

A few weeks ago a friend in the UK showed me a star like these that she made some time ago and I was lucky enough to be able to use it as a template for my own stars (and even luckier not to forget it by the time I got back to Prague).

Most interest in crafty things comes when I have LOTS of other things to do - e.g. three final uni exams and a thesis to write. And all my head thinks is "You could go out right now and buy some new beads!" Is this normal? However, in the times when I am working on something that only gets done slowly, it is still nice to sit down with beads for a while and have something small, cute and pretty finished with half an hour and be happy about it.

They are all 4.5-5 cm in diameter and I will list them as soon as I stop renewing the more summer-themed things.

Rhubarb and Chocolate

My favourite cake, it is very simple and one of the first cakes that I learnt how to make. It is one of those "cup" cakes, so no measuring and weighting ingredients, which is really great and useful when you live in a dorm without a proper kitchen :))

Recipe:

3 cups of flour (all-purpose)

1 and half cup of sugar (either caster sugar or powdered sugar)

1 cup of vegetable oil

3 eggs (with really small cups you could use two) 

baking powder (here they come in packs of 12g - I tried to make one in the UK with one little spoon of the UK baking powder and it was an absolute fail, so if you are in the UK, definitely use more)

some milk to make it runny enough to pour into the baking tray

and finally - whatever you want to put on the top! This time I found som rhubarb leftovers at the supermarket and mixed them with chocolate, but peaches, strawberries and plums are my favourites as well.

Pour it into a deep baking tray and bake on 180°C until the top is golden-brown.

You can also mix cocoa into the mixture or its part to make a two-coloured cake. I also tried to use little cups for cupcakes with this mixture, in which case maybe use more baking powder, but they are great. Go experimenting, it is great fun (and yummy!!)

Rockpooling in Weymouth

A few photos of our rockpool adventure in Weymouth, during which we nearly fell into the sea, got swept away by the waves, created a mermaid out of shells and watched shark babies move inside their eggs at the Weymouth Sea Life Adventure Park.

Oh yes, and I also had my first cream tea and the best scampi and chips ever.

 

Farmers‘ markets season starting again in Prague

Farmers‘ markets are getting increasingly popular in Prague recently and this year‘s season has just started last Saturday - a really hot and sunny day.
I love these markets and in fact me and my friend help to sell marinated cheeses and pickled sausages made by people with mental impairments. It‘s a job where you get to be outside, meet random people with their kids and dogs and friends, earn some little money, support a good project and local producers – and maybe the best of it – eat and drink really good things in a relaxed atmosphere! If you are planning to visit Prague this summer, make sure to check the nearest square during the weekend to get some really good breakfast or lunch!

Spring, spring, spring...

This year's spring has come very suddenly and as if out of nowhere. Lots of tiny flowers covered the lawns in my favourite botanical garden in Prague and I am really happy to say that I have enjoyed their short-lived beauty very much, walking around, taking photos to share here with you or sitting on a wooden bench reading a book or discussing some life-important matter with my friend in there. This is a place where I made my first year university timetable, went for dates, had lunches or read literature for my thesis, went for walks when I felt blue, even gave a few English lessons and it is very close to my heart.

I think it is sad that there are days when we are too consumed by work or worries that we do not have the time spend a few moments somewhere nice to look around with open eyes and appreciate the beautiful little living things around us, the grassiness of the landscape, the variety of shapes and colours and the smell of fresh air, when it can improve our mood so much.

Even though there already is so much nice to see, some parts of the garden are still asleep, resting and taking their time to amaze us in summer.

Spring is here!

At least indoors.
I am spending this weekend at my parents' place in Slovakia, which is approximately 9 hours by bus away from my "home" in Prague. The weather turned sunny and even though it is still a bit cold outside, the bulb plants inside are already alive and in bloom.

I watched this particular Hyacinth plant open its flowers, one after another, all day yesterday and it filled my room with its strong scent.

We live in a quiet part of the town and what could be nicer than writing something or reading a book with open window, listening to a few birds singing outside, while the wind occasionally brings the flowery scent into your nose?

Happy Birthday, Silly Sheep !

So, on 20th February it was my 24th birthday. Nothing is changed, except that I have finally realized that I am too old for Bravo magazine (nothing that I would not already know, but now I have it confirmed :-b ).

This year I did not throw a party or expect presents, however, lots of people wished me a happy birthday, I got some sweets and some cards and a really cute moment came up when my old friend from school came for a visit. We agreed to bake some cupcakes together and just before we started, she took the tiny little brithday candles out of her bag. Obviously we needed 24, but there were only 12 candle holders. My friend commented on that "They probably didn't expected that such an old goat would want candles on her cake" - thanks, thanks for that!! :DD In the end we used some old airplane candle holders from another cake and just used the rest without holders. Wax was everywhere anyway, but at least it was fun. And of course I cannot say what I wished for, but it was something very very important ; -)

Filling the "Friendship bracelets" section

I am always very envious of those Etsy sellers who have lots of sales. I would love to wake up every morning and see that more money has come to my PayPal account, to pack my orders every night and make a trip to the post office twice a week, but right now, I can only wish for it.

However, I am aware of the fact that this is entirely my fault and therefore I decided to give myself a little job to do this weekend - to take photographs of those bracelets that I have made, but have not listed yet.

Well, what can be more wonderful than sitting at home all weekend, drinking hot green tea, eating lasagna, baking apple crumble pie and taking photos of friendship bracelets while listening to Anne of the Green Gables on TV?

I had a great time and the "Friendship bracelets" section is getting full nicely, which makes me feel very good :)

The stamping frenzy!

One of my most recent activities is excessive stamping. None of this would have happened if I didnt get these awesome and silly sheep stamps for Christmas. In fact, they are so awesome that they have covered almost every single sheet of paper in my room now plus these stickers that will now come on every single Silly Little Sheep package that I send out.

Oh, I love being silly!!!

Have you met Edwin?

Hello!! This is Edwin – the newest addition to my home collection of plants. We bought him in a glass house of the botanical garden belonging to the Faculty of Natural Sciences of Charles University in Prague.

I am not sure where the habbit of naming plants came from, probably when I was about 15 years old and went to a succulent and cacti exhibition and bought my first Lithops that one of my friends named Agatha. Since then, I had a venus fly trap called Gertruda and many others.

Edwin is the first plantie of this year. His scientific name is Hydnophytum. In nature, Edwin's relatives live as epiphytes (onother plants) in sybiosis with ants, which find homes in their stems. The ants protect the plant from parasites and herbivores and fertilise it with their waste and leftovers in return. It is a very clever relationship. I hope Edwin will have a great time and a verygood life at my place. ;-)

❇ ❈ ❅ ❄ ❆Christmas is here!!❇ ❈ ❅ ❄ ❆

It is only four days until Christmas now and everybody seems to be rushing around to make the last preparations. Post offices are crowded with people sending or picking up their last-minute Christmas presents, people moaning on Facebook that they have not bought the presents yet and madness going on in the supermarkets as everybody tried to get SOMETHING!

I must admit, I could do better myself as well. Every year I have a resolution to do my shopping throughout the year, so that I pick the right present for everyone. Every year I have too little money to shop in December. I send my Christmas cards late. I am chaotic and I mess up a lot.

On the other hand, I was quite successful this year too! I managed to decorate my first Christmas tree, I made handmade cards for a few of my friends, I wrote a few nice emails and I wrapped my present beautifully. And in all that, I managed to make some really beautiful decorations, for which I did not need to go to a shopping centre, but enjoyed making them at my warm home while drinking tea and eating biscuits :)

I hope you all will be able to find a few moments for yourself, to relax and to rest while surrounded by the ones that you love and will not be the victims of stressful and materialistic Christmas time. Merry Christmas.

❇ ❈ ❅ ❄ ❆❇ ❈ ❅ ❄ ❆❇ ❈ ❅ ❄ ❆❇ ❈ ❅ ❄ ❆❇ ❈ ❅ ❄ ❇ ❈ ❅ ❄

Beads again!!!

I made some FIMO polymer clay beads in the past, but never thought that I could actually be the person who makes jewellery or anything like that. That was not for me, I was making bracelets, I thought. Well, until now!!!

At the end of summer I got inspired by a friend who showed me her beaded Christmas decorations in shapes of snowflakes, stars and angels that she made for a Christmas fair that she's going to take part in. It did't look difficult, so I decided to try it too.

These are my Christmas stars (rather than snowflakes) made of glass Czech beads bought mostly at Starbeads and Rooya. If you happen to be in Prague and are bead-crazy, you should definitely visit these two shops! You are going to be pleasantly surprised.

I made little sets of these stars and listed them in the Christmas section of my shop. A few of them are sold now, but there are still some left. Everything that doesn't sell until Christmas will be available in the next year as well, so that you can keep shopping all year round.

Rocky backrounds

This summer I decided to make some changes in the look of my etsy shop. Everybody speaks about how important it is to have good photos and some people even hire others to take nice pictures for them, so I thought that I might get some nice idea how to make the pictures of my items more appealing. Not that I thought they were bad, but a little change might give the shop more personality and freshen it up a bit.

Friendship bracelets are summer accessories and as such, I wanted the pictures to look as beachy, summery and carefree as possible. That is why I chose to use the rocks that I collected at beaches all over Ukraine as backround for my bracelets. I must admit I think it was a good choice.

And in addition to all of this, there is also a renewed banner, which matches the new photos!!

Summer trip to Ukraine

I don't even know how the idea of visiting Ukraine, particulary Crimea, came into the mind of my friends, but when they asked me to go camping with them, I agreed.

As soon as I announced my plans at home, I met with a wave of disagreement from my parents, almost threatening and forbidding me to go. However, none of my friends were scared and so I just kept deleting my mother's e-mails containg the worst experiences of anonymous people from the Internet.

My first impressions of Ukraine were that it is huge and very very flat. Really it looked as if someone took eastern Slovakia (where I was born and where my family lives) and stretched it out, so that it was bigger and flatter. Yes, it does have mountains, of course, but to get down to the Black Sea, we had to go a long way through flatlands covered with fields and villages, sometimes with very bad roads. However, we did it and except the days when we had to drive a lot, it was amazing. We camped nearly everywhere, next to roads, on the beach, close to a vineyard... The Black Sea offered some wonderful views and I particularly enjoyed snorchelling with hundreds of unstinging jellyfish which seemed to be at every single beach we went to.

I am not going to pretend that I know something about history of the country or so. All the information I got was from the Lonely Planet guide about Ukraine that we followed. But even then, the impressions of some places were overwhelming. Some places did not look like Europe any more, because in the past it was controlled by many interesting nations, including Cimmerians, Greeks, Goths, Huns, Bulgars, Byzantine Greeks, Ottoman Turks, Tatars and Mongols. The food in Crimea is also unique and delicious. Because it was quite cheap, we had one meal in a restaurant almost every day. We enjoyed traditional soup called borscht and many other meals, such as dumplings called manti, plov, which is made of rice and called differently in many languages and sarma, minced meat wrapped in a grape leaf.

It took us around three days to learn how to read Ukrainian writing (I had it easier, because I studied Russian for about two years at high school) and even though almost nobody could speak English, but we managed with Czech and Slovak, some basic Russian and phrases from Ukrainian conversation book. Yes, it got funny sometimes, but it is a trip that I will never forget :)

New Year's resolutions for 2011

• First of all, I will NOT buy things that I don't need and spend unnecessary amount of cash on eating out, going to pubs and cinemas or buying new books. Instead will make my lunch at home or use university canteen, make my tea and coffee at home and invite friends to our place and have some fun there. I will also focus on reading books from the library or those that I bought and haven't read yet.
• I will try to eat in a healthy way - more muesli, oatmeal, corn flakes and yogurt for breakfast, pasta and salads for lunch and fruits for dinner.
• I will learn to cook a few new meals, after all, the Internet is full of recipes.
• I will try listing and renewing on Etsy more often and blog at least a few times a month.
• I will go to work more often too. Teaching English is a good way to earn some extra money and part-time jobs in supermarkets are a pain, but I could manage to sacrifice one day a week.
• I will spend more time with my friends. They can visit me and sleep over instead of going out and we can enjoy our time together without spending too much money.
• I will spend my lonely evenings by studying and work on my thesis on weekdays.
• I will (actually I MUST) do something to find my inner balance - yoga, stretching, sports, good food and anything that makes me happy and makes me feel like I am having a good time, I am doing well and am a worthy person who has no reason to be depressed.
• I will do my best to arrange a studying stay somewhere abroad to get more experience.
• I will spend less time on Facebook. Instead of staring into the PC screen during my moments of boredom, I will always have a book to read or a bracelet to make at hand, so that I use my free time effectively.
• Similarly, I will STOP spying on people on Facebook! I know that walls are public space, but I don't need to watch it all the time. In the meantime, I can have a life.

Oh wow, there are so many of them! I am already looking forward to 2011 and all those wonderful days that I am going to have!

Looking back at 2010

It seems like it was just yesterday that I was sitting on my bed in my parents' flat and writing my New Year's resolutions blog post. One more year has passed, in which so many things have happened, many things changed and many remained the same. And once again I am sitting here, in the same room on the same bed (covered with blanket, sipping a hot mint tea and watching the snowflakes dance around my window) and thinking about my plans for the following year. Of course I have some more resolutions, but first let's see how I kept the old ones from the last year.

Next New Year will be celebrated at a party, preferably one where you have to be dressed in funny clothes, not in a sit-at-home-and-watch-TV style.

• Done! I am still at my parents, but tonight I am leaving back to Prague to celebrate the new year with a couple of friends in a flat that we rent together. The fancy costumes have been rejected by most of people who agreed to come, but still - it's a great improvement compared to last year.

I will go to freediving trainings with a little bit less reluctance (even though it is cold outside and it takes me 50 minutes to get ther and then I return home at 10:30 with still wet hair and lots of wet stuff that needs to be hung somewhere, so I wake everyone up)

• Well, there were no trainings in summer and I was ill most of the winter time. I also paid for a few trainings that I wasn't able to get to in the end, because of lectures or general tiredness. After being at the uni for eleven hours, spending three more hours away from home because of training feels stupid and unbearable too. So for the next year - plan things better. Als the wet stuff problem has been sorted when I moved away from the dorms and rented an apartment with a proper bathroom or enough space on the floor to let things air-dry.

Similarly, will put more enthusiasm into studying, going to work and shopping for clothes.

• Partially done. Studying went fine after all, I finished a bachelor's degree and graduated this December. I also did quite a lot of work on my master's thesis already and am quite satisfied with myself. It could be better with work, money is always good. As for clothes, I can get myself everything except shoes and trousers, shopping for which I really hate - a thing that I might never overcome.

Will take up one of the following: swimming, yoga, aqua-aerobic, belly dancing.

• Did go swimming and did yoga a few times. A friend of mine who does belly dancing made me whirl my hips for about three minutes - does that count???

Will NOT cut my hair.

• I did, but only for maintenance. Still expecting it to grow into Indian princess/mermaid/forrest fairy length.

Will come to visit my parents and old friends more often.

• I spent an unusual lot of time here in summer, not so much in the fall and almost nothing except one week during Christmas in winter. But I feel that its been enough.

Will save some more money, but also let myself enjoy what I earn in a sensible way (such as traveling to visit my parents and old friends)

• I have not saved up much. At least nothing is left of what I had, but everything was spent on travelling during summer.(See my summer holidays post if you'd like to know more)

I will take greater care of my pets (snails, stick insects) and finally will take my tortoise to the vet after she wakes up in spring.

• I am sorry to announce that those particular stick insects are no longer among us. However, a friend forced me to take care of about hundred newborn ones, so there are still some sticks running around my place. The snails have got a new 130 litred big plastic tank in which they live and thrive and have laid approximately 400 eggs this year.
• Also the tortoise did not wake up in spring, I got to know just when I was getting everything ready to take her to Prague. She died after 20 years that we had her and she has a little grave in the garden at out cottage in eastern Slovakia. I was thinking about getting a new one immediately, but then changed my mind, because I know I wouldn't be able to take care of her with all the traveling that I am planning to do.

After all, the resolutions are more or less guidelines, not strict rules. They describe the things we wish we changed and writing them down gives us the opportunity to look back at what happened, what we have and haven't done and how our opinions have changed. I can see myself changing very fast and every year I learn something new about myself and the world that I live in and I believe it helps me lead a happier and more balanced life.

Christmas

•.¸*•.¸♥¸.•*´¸.•*´*•.¸*•.¸♥¸.•*´¸.•*´*•.¸*•.¸♥¸.•*´¸.•

Dear Etsians, blog followers and others who happened to find this blog by chance: I wish you all a happy and joyful Christmas time spent with those who you love the most.


This is a picture from my parents' dining room in Košice, Slovakia, where I am spending Christmas every year. "Veselé Vianoce" means Merry Christmas in Slovak.

Slovakia has got many Christmas traditions that are different from the ones in the UK or the US. We have a Christmas tree, we make Christmas cakes etc., but the meal we eat for dinner on 24th December is different. We usually have a soup to start - it is made with sour cabbage, mushrooms and pieces of smoked sausage in it. The main course is a fish - traditionally carp - with potato salad or just potatoes.
According to another tradition, we shouldn't eat all day until dinner. It is said that if you keep this, you will see a golden pig in the evening. So ... it is nine minutes after noon and I am already struggling :)

Keeping a scale of a carp under the tablecloth should bring you money in the following year.

However, on of the best traditions of all is the one which says that presents are opened right after the dinner is finished! Which means I will get to see what I got tonight!! I can't wait!!!

•*(¸.•*´♥`*•.¸)`*••*(¸.•*´♥`*•.¸)`*••*(¸.•*´♥`*•.¸)`*•

Giving succulents a second chance

We did a bit of a Christmas shopping for my Mum in IKEA today and almost right next to cash desk with the discounted items, there were many plants for really bargain prices with a sign „try to give them a chance for 5 CZK“. Most of them were Cyclamen, but I found two Crassula succulent plants for only 15 Crowns (something less than 1$), which I felt so sorry for that I decided to buy them. I have been growing succulents since I was fifteen, so I think I might succeed. Both of them look like they were either not watered for a very very long time or froze, maybe both. I am letting them soak up a bit of water right now and the soil will be replaced in the next few days. I think they will be getting along well with the little Christmas lemons when they start growing :-)

Crochet ride!

This is something I have to share! Me and my parents came across this wonderful actual-size crocheted car in a gallery yard in Prague when we walked by the river, actually it waz quite some time ago, but I only got to blogging about it now. It was crocheted and stretched on a metallic construction and soaked in something to keep the shape and I loved the details – the wheels, the mirrors, it had everything like a real car has :) It's amazing what some people can make!

Bath and Beauty / Kitchen items

The first of my bathroom items is here! This is a crocheted washcloth made of 100% cotton yarn. It is great for washing body and face, remowing make-up with, cleaning the dishes of wiping surfaces. I have much more in stock, so I will be taking photos regularly and listing and listing. Little facial scrubbies are on their way too!

Summer 2010 flashbacks

In spite of promising myself that I will blog more, I have posted nothing about my summer holidays so far. However, now that the weather is dark and cold and everything is so lazy, sleepy and depressing, I think it’s the right time for a few flashbacks:)

To be honest, I think this has been one of the best summers of my life, probably because I have finished a university degree and could go and enjoy my summer with a clear head, for the first time after three years. After visiting my parents for almost three weeks, I went to an amazing boat trip around Sardinia and Corsica for a week. We had a great time on a sea, only partially disturbed by little vertigos and occassional sea-sickness, but the freediving and snorchelling was perfect and being on a boat was more enjoyable that I have originally thought.

Pictures from the boat trip around Sardinia and Corsica

After I came back to Prague, I quickly unpacked, washed the clothes and repacked them for another trip, this time to Croatian island Brač, where I have already been twice on a marine biology field trip with my university supervisors. This was mostly boring, because it was incredibly hot and I didn’t have anything enjoyable to do. By the end of the trip a big storm came and brought cooler weather, but also cooled down the water in the sea, so I spent most of the time out of it.

a few photos from Croatia

All these wonderful things seem to be so far away now, the weather is dull and cold, the overall atmosphere is sad compared to what I just wrote about and I keep dreaming about the ocean and visiting new places... Well, I think it is time I started saving up for summer 2011!