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SEPTEMBER LATELY (& bake off week 2+3)
hi friends! some happenings of the past couple of weeks… SELF-STUDY maybe it’s the back to school fervor combined with more time than usual before all my courses start again, but i’ve been positively swept up in a very literary and studious obsession lately. between furiously reading the best book i’ve read in years and trying to finish my german course book from the summer before my lessons begin next week (with a bit of herbal studies sprinkled in when time allowed), september has been very scholarly for me. of course, the amount of language study still can’t compare with doing the intensive course and homework last month, but i’ve still…
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running down a dream
now we’re fully into june! but here’s a little ol’ post i wrote about the beautiful month of may. from the very first day of the month spent with our lovely neighbors and friends at at our garden party, to the middle very high highs and low lows, to the last day of the month where i rose much too early after five hours of sleep from an all out rock party the night before to cook breakfast for our visiting family from chicago before sending them on their way to ljubljana to finish off their european tour… then crawling back into bed and getting a few more hours rest…
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bureaucracy woes & overcoming hurdles
as i walked to the financial office one morning last month, i swung alex’s fancy umbrella with the wooden handle around like an extra in ‘singing in the rain’, feeling like a baller. ohhh yeah, they’re totally going to know exactly what i want. that i mean biznis, especially when they see me with this! we get there, ride on up to the security guy at the front desk (vratnice) all like “yo – we’re here looking for mrs. piksova.” him: “so, how do you spell that? like pixsova? or piksova with a k?” us: “errrrrrrr………….” him: “OH, you’re foreigners. what are your names?” me: “cynthia & alex.” him: nonplussed,…
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spring awakening + wild garlic pesto recipe
hi all! we have just had a glorious month of april here in the czech republic and the constant warm weather and sunshine just seems never-ending! sometimes there are rumors of a thunderstorm but they always seem to pass our sunny little corner of bohemia by. oh, i have been busy! with all good things. as many people, i’ve been taking full advantage of the beautiful days and weekends with plenty of trips to the forest and the annual malše river trip. we didn’t bring our little dog as he pretty much hates water and the idea of him hanging out in a raft that has been splashed with water…
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goodbye to winter
last weekend, we had the final snowy and sub-zero temperatures of the winter. as winter isn’t quite over yet, it seems rather presumptuous to assert this, but a good look at the ten day forecast gives me reason to believe that the spring rumblings have officially begun. so what better than to do all the best winter things?after waking up in flannel sheets with doggie cuddles and a long leisurely breakfast of omelettes, we headed out to buy ice skates. as this was the last cold weekend and the rivers (malše & vltava) had frozen, i was darn well going to get myself ice skates as i had promised myself…
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march friday things
hi guys, time for a friday things-style post. i don’t know if it is just that winter has gone on for what feels like unbelievably too long, or if it’s so so close to spring break, but i’m just not having it lately, guys. it’s hard to summon up the ire for my work, i need way too much coffee, and my enthusiasm is starting to wane. (alex and i have a joke that whenever one of us uses the the word ‘wane’, the other person has to say, in a garth algar voice, “waaaaayyyyne?” because this is who we are. alas, it’s one more week ’til our prazdniny (holiday)…
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chilled to the bone in třeboň
i have rarely felt as cold in my life as i did today. ohhh, that brutal winter temperature chilled me right to the bone, i’m sure.it seemed like a good idea to go to třeboň for the afternoon to go swimming at one of the famous spas, but when you go back into those freezing temperatures with damp hair and not the proper under(or over) garments, perhaps it wasn’t such a good idea after all. it was nice, at least, to have a wintry walk through trebon before stopping for chlebíčky (open-face sandwiches) at a café. after returning back to budějovice, i pretty much felt like i might die. just the…
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winter, lately
so, it’s barely february, but i wanted to pop in and say “hi”! how are you faring this winter? it’s such a mild, washington-style winter this year – high-ish temps, grey sky for days (which is very un-south bohemian, really), fog here and there. i’ve just been focusing on forgetting my phone and spending less time with social media, taking zero photos, and honestly, it’s been really lovely. today was a “cafe day” – our halfway through the school year (pololetní prázdniny) day off tradition. we went to my absolute favorite cafe here in budejovice. unfortunately, they don’t allow dogs so we don’t go as often anymore. the coffee is good…
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the books of 2017
i did so well on my reading goal from 2016 that i shot a bit too high in 2017 and for some reason, did not achieve my reading goal (two books short!). i think this can be chalked up to the fact that i don’t always read for pleasure. i read about one “fluffy” book per year (usually by accident), and the ones i read the most are non-fiction and memoirs. i read because i want to learn about something, mostly. most of the time, this is a pleasurable hobby, but some books feel as though i have assigned them to myself and are sometimes a slog to finish. of…
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year of dog
this post is in honor of our dearest ferdinand, our long-haired miniature (rabbit) dachshund whom we adopted one year ago this week! i’ve only written one other post completely dedicated to him so far, one month of dog, all about that first difficult but wonderful month. i suppose i hadn’t written much else between then and now because i knew there was and was to be a lot of learning that would take place in the time between then and now – not only for him, but with us. in fact, the most surprising thing about this first year with ferdie has been the amount of learning that needed to…
