Just some thoughts...

I received an email with new year wishes recently that included some quotes I would like to share with you.
I would like to call them 'Words of Encouragement'  :-)

 

 

 

 

 

The life of Cardinal

The fist time I have ever seen a Cardinal was when we moved to Nebraska. I couldn't believe what I was seeing in my garden. What a beautiful bird, and he can sing. If you haven't heard this bird before, watch the video below.

You can see and hear these birds here in Chicago area as well. They are everywhere.

Usually you spot a couple. What a picture, I have never seen this before!



 

"The Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) is a North American bird in the genus Cardinalis; it is also known colloquially as the redbird or common cardinal. It can be found in southern Canada, through the eastern United States from Maine to Texas and south through Mexico. It is found in woodlands, gardens, shrub lands, and swamps.
The Northern Cardinal is a mid-sized songbird with a body length of 21 cm (8.3 in). It has a distinctive crest on the head and a mask on the face which is black in the male and gray in the female. The male is a vibrant red, while the female is a dull red-brown shade.
The Northern Cardinal is mainly granivorous, but also feeds on insects and fruit. The male behaves territorially, marking out his territory with song. During courtship, the male feeds seed to the female beak-to-beak. A clutch of three to four eggs is laid, and two to four clutches are produced each year. It was once prized as a pet, but its sale as a cage bird is now banned in the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918." - Wikipedia




 Northern Cardinal in the USA

 

My husband and I are bird watching enthusiasts, so a bird feeder was the first thing added to our garden. It didn't take long for our Cardinal couple to find it, so we were really enjoying the view, and not only that. We were so lucky, and witnessed much more. There was a medium size needle tree right in front of our den window. One day I found a nest there, and this is the story:



Week one - 3 eggs

I wonder how long I have to sit here...



 Finally hatched...

We are really hungry!!!



I swear...I have no idea what happened, but it is just me now. Is anybody coming to feed me?

Father: I am really glad I have found this feeder. Mother: Stop talking and eat!

Father: That is enough, let's go. Mother: I am not flying back and forth the whole day.

What on earth...Where is he?

 

Father: I have found him!



Mother is really angry, she wants you to start flying and finally feed yourself.



Absolutely, positively NOT ready

You can't be serious. You want me to fly up there?!

Not happening.

I need to hide somewhere else...

Maybe here, one just needs to blend in


 

Baby: No! I am not going...!Father: Enough is enough, you can't hide forever


 

Who says -forever-, one more day in another bush, maybe...

And how did it end? We did see him flying. YES, we did. Actually, we saw his very first flight - around our house being followed by the mother and father. And from that day on, we were watching 3 Cardinals on our feeder.


Hardwood floor

We  made a good progress with our hardwood floor over the Christmas holidays, so our dining and sitting rooms are now finished. My husband was a 'nailer gun master' and I was a 'designer'. In other words, he was nailing down the wooden planks (and sawing to adjust the length), and I was picking and arranging them on the floor. We still have to finish the baseboards, but we want to paint the walls first, and that will only happen in spring.
We have one more room to do - a family/TV room, but it will be a bit of a project because this room is connected with our kitchen, and we are planning to tile the floor there. We have already figured out how we want to make the transition between the tiles and wood, so we will start soon.

It was a lot of bending down, my back was really sore, but the result is worth it.



before


 

getting there...



after

Fahrenheit or Celsius...

Who cares...it is going to be brutally cold no matter how you look at it. I can deal with 10 C below zero, I got used to it, but minus 28 C ?!
I completely detest the weather in Chicago, it doesn't matter if it is winter or summer, these are basically two seasons here. Reportedly, it is going to be the coldest days in decades.

Let's hope it will be over soon.

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2014/01/03/winter-storm-petersons-newday.cnn.html



This is the weather forecast for my area:

in Celsius

in Fahrenheit

2014 is here...

May the dawn of this New Year:

Fills your heart with new hopes,

Opens up new horizons,

And brings for you promises of brighter tomorrows

Have a wonderful year ahead.

 

 

 

Happy New Year! 

 

New Year's Eve or Silvestr...



I come from Europe, a place with such diverse cultures, customs and languages, so it is not easy to find an event that is celebrated uniformly across the continent, but there is one exception - New Year's Eve is celebrated everywhere. There are many ways to do so,  but there will always be food, drink, music, and fireworks. Whatever choice of venue, you usually have to book well in advance.

My husband and I will be celebrating at home this year. We have been really busy past 12 months - with our move and house projects, there was simply no time or energy to plan anything, but  I am actually glad, it will be a peaceful and relaxing Silvestr.

 

Here's what is New Year's Eve known in some of the biggest countries of Europe:

 

France - la Saint-Sylvestre

Germany - Silvester

Spain - Nochevieja or Fin de Año

Italy - Vigilia di Capodanno or Notte di San Silvestro

Czech Republic - Silvestr

Belgium - Sint Sylvester Vooravond

Hungary - Szilveszter

Netherlands - Oud en Nieuw or Oudejaarsavond

Poland - Sylwester

Romania - Revelion

 

 

 

ENJOY YOUR NEW YEAR'S EVE!!!

 

 

 

Czech Christmas sweet bread 2013

I was writing about vánočka in my other post some time ago, and this is the result of my baking this year.

My new oven performs great, and I managed to get the right ingredients as well. It tastes delicious.

stage 1

stage 2

stage 3