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.

Still Going Up

The town's still going up with all the buildings, and I got quite a bit done on it last week.

I've also plopped myself down in Sofia for the rest of the week. Pictures after going out tomorrow. We did eat at a nice restaurant this evening, and spent less than 15 euros doing it. Even cheaper than Kosovo. The town (except for the stripper bars) closes down by ten, though.

Pristina Scenes

Here are a couple of pictures we took on our walk Saturday - that are not condom ads. This first one is the statue of Skanderbeu, the Albanian national hero. He lived in the fifteenth century and fought the Ottoman empire. Lots of things are named after him, including a local brandy.

Here is one of the few visible remnants of the war in Pristina. It's a mosque that was turned into an Orthodox church during the Serbian dominance and then sacked during the war. There's still barbed wire around it, and it's sad looking. At least KFOR isn't still guarding it like other places around Kosovo. It's safe now.

How Much Brown?

Yes, I was working with brown again this week and am getting a bit tired of it. I do, however, seem to make real progress every time I stitch, at least. This week's brown was around the edges of the light panes of the skirt. They're almost completely sided now and it's looking pretty good.