Checkerboard Blackwork

The designs on this panel remind me of a checkerboard. I've made progress this week, but there's still a lot to go. Hopefully I'll work on it some this week. I'm sooooo behind on these stitchalongs.

Another Sofia Day

These pictures are all from Saturday in Sofia. It was another gorgeous day and we did a lot of walking again. This top picture is of the old Turkish baths building. It's in really bad shape and is being renovated, so you can't go inside. This site is an ancient baths and mineral springs site, dating back to Roman times.

This is St. Nedalya church, right next to the Sheraton. We never went inside, but when we walked by it on Sunday it was really crowded.

Sofia herself, supposedly. It's a modern statue and sits in a crossroads across from Tzum. To me, she's ugly, but well... she's the city's symbol.

And here is the oldest church in Sofia, dating back to the 4th century. It's surrounded by the Sheraton and the Presidential residence, oddly enough. The excavations around it are from the old Roman-era village that surrounded it.

I've Got Two Hands...

Bibendum's got both his hands now. Soon I'll be starting his bicycle. I still think he looks cute.

It's raining here in Varna this morning. We got here yesterday evening and it was overcast and cloudy. Maybe it'll clear up by this afternoon. I hope so - Varna is a seaside resort, and it's definitely better viewed in the sunlight.

Necklace from Pristina

I realized that I haven't posted a picture of this. When we were out fabric shopping a week ago Saturday, I saw this necklace in a jeweler's window and commented on how I liked it. My host dragged me into the shop to find its price. It was relatively inexpensive and is completely hand made. The filigree flowers were made in Prizren, home of a long tradition of filigree. The jeweler himself put it together into a necklace and, it turns out, it's not really a necklace, even if it was displayed that way. It's a chain for a belly dancing costume, to wear at the bottom of the skimpy bodice. That's why there are extra rings - to put dangling things on it. Anyway, I like it and it's a perfect necklace for me.

Egg's Nearly Done

From this picture, you can see the egg's nearly done. I've finished it since the picture, and there are only three more to go. Maybe I'll get this section done by the end of the summer.

We spent an easy day today because Sofia's pretty much dead on Sunday. Even though it's Easter at home, it's only Palm Sunday here. The weather's been nice, but kind of chilly.

Sofia on Friday

We wandered around the more "official" part of Sofia yesterday. One thing I have to say is it's full of sculptures, most of them good. We toured the national art gallery and the ethnological museum and were disappointed. This top picture is the Russian orthodox church a couple of blocks from the main Alexander Nevski cathedral.

This interesting bishop or king was in a park in front of the National Art Gallery and Ethnological Museum (they're both in one building, and that building was -not- crowded).

We saw this cute little puppy when we stopped in Macedonia to stretch our legs. She was very friendly and loved being pet! I resisted and did not take her with. The blue doors to the back are the restrooms - well, not really restrooms. No real toilets, only pissoirs. One of those really third world moments.

And this is another sculpture in the same park. There were a lot of them here! You can see more pictures of Sofia from our wanderings here.

Another Heart Start

This is the second of the German charity hearts. It's much bigger than the first on, and as you see, I didn't get much done this week.