After Tomins died also the new cat was named Tomins.
Monthly Archive for June, 2008
An important character, Tomins, was too busy to attend the group portrait but here he is seen on top of Vilma.
This picture has gone a bit old – yet it quite well puts the lot together. In 2005 we celebrated Ausma’s 70th anniversary.
I had never gone to one before. The annual party of Matru cemetery near Kapsede took place today. I’ve heard some parties attract crowds carrying snacks and drinks. Compared, this event was pretty dry, except that some invisible witty force started fiddling on and off the synthesizer loudspeakers halfway through a hymn. This was just after the priest had remarked that we cannot take our TV-sets and computers with us when it is time to go.
I regret having not included a dedicated post with pictures regarding Dobele town a few days back.
This cafe is right in the town’s centre. (Picture from 2007)
Late Saturday afternoon I went to the library in Kapsede village to post some entries. The library was already closed so I sat down on the porch, pulled out the laptop and discovered the wireless connection was left on and I was within coverage. After I had been tapping for a while a fat black BMW parked right in front of me and two Russian men stepped out of the car; they both lit a cigarette. Avoiding eye contact with me they exchanged a few sentences (beyond my understanding) and begun measuring dimensions of the worn-out concrete slab I was sitting on. It seems that everything here is under renovation or repairs. For example, producing and installing standard aluminium window frames must be a good business for someone in Latvia. No matter how derelict or from whatever epoch a house may be, usually the first facelift will be composed of slick white alu frames.
Hairdresser’s in Bauska (from 2007).
These are from the Millionaire Fair in Kortrijk, Belgium in June 2006. I was on a New York Times Style Magazine assignment.
My previous post with the white Moskvitch reminded me of the Moscow Millionaire Fair I visited late 2006.
This is the tree near Kapsede school that was hit by a lightning last Sunday. That’s Lene standing next to the tree.
On a previous trip we met Edgars, the retired village photographer of Kapsede. The thunder storm of last Sunday blew off his TV set and other electronic gadgets.
Previously I have been using film when photographing in Latvia. Starting from December 2007 I have gone digital (here too). Recently the Kapsede Library has set up wireless Internet. All this together makes blogging fairly easy with the only challenge being the angry geese half-way the walk. Today Maira found a good spot near the library for collecting some sort of salt weed. She cooked a splendid soup, here is the recipe:
- salt weed from library back yard
- quality sausage from Nakotne [Future], the former meat kolkhoz
- potatoes of your liking
- rice and couscous
- dill, salt, pepper
- Smetana (as fat as you can find). I skip this step because I can’t take dairy products.
With my stomach now full I will post a few more pictures.
I do not know if this interior from Kapsede school’s dining room will outlast the renovation.