These Days...

This past week my brother was away on a small vacation, and I have enjoyed having the car to myself. I didn't have to worry about leaving the work at certain time or having to go home first to drop him off before going to an evening activity. I didn't feel guilty about being out most of the day on both Saturday and Sunday, and then again going out in the evening. Don't get me wrong, I very much enjoy having my brother around, but I don't even realize how much stress sharing a car adds, until he is not here to share it.

He is coming back tonight.

But, just two more weeks, and I am leaving for vacation to Bosnia, for 3.5 weeks! It's going to be an active one; mom and I plan to go to Istanbul for 5 days, and to the Adriatic coast for another 5, plus few day trips. I am very much looking forward to it.

I had a list of items to take with me, so I've been busy these days visiting stores and checking things off my list. I am very list oriented. I love this preparation time, for any trip. It gives me a sense that the vacation is even longer, as I am already getting into that mood. I just need to keep focus at work, because there are many loose end to tie up before I leave. Speaking of which, I should probably get back to work instead of day dreaming about vacation. :)

Rock Climbing

Last night I went for the first time rock climbing. My friend Lindsey invited me to a Lady's Night at North Austin Rock Gym. The day pass, lesson, shoe and harness rental all came out to be just $13.50.
They first showed me how to climb with the harness, with another person on the ground loosening and tightening it. My arms were already hurting after just handling the rope for Lindsey, before I even started climbing! Then it was my turn, and I was able to make it to the top! Coming down was harder, and I wasn't comfortable sliding down the rope, so I just made my way down using the rocks.

Then our instructor came and the other girls gathered, about 6 of us. We started from a simple wall and climbed without ropes. Each rock was marked with a color, orange being the easiest, and we followed the same color all the way to the top. I was actually able to make it to the top, two times, on that first wall. After that we moved to two other walls, each a bit harder, and I only made it half way. By the last wall my hands and arms were so stiff and sore I just couldn't pull myself up any more.

I was proud of myself to try this new thing. Most people who were there seemed to really enjoy what they were doing, but I don't think this will be my thing. It requires a lot of muscle power, in the entire body, which I certainly don't have, and don't really have a desire for it, at least not right now. It does not really require much cardio endurance fitness, and I would rather work on that.

Rosemary Babies

A black duck from our neighborhood pond has decided to make her nest in the rosemary bush in our front yard. I noticed her while trimming the bush, and had to stop so not to blow her cover. She hid herself deep inside and didn't make appearance even though we were mowing and edging around her. We didn't see her walking around the yard before, so I don't know when she gets out to eat. When my friend's dog Rio was sniffing the bush the other day I noticed many white fuzz balls, and thought it must have been from a rabit which we saw few times in the last couple of weeks.
I think she already has the eggs because she wouldn't move from the nest, so the babies should come out of the rosemary bush within the couple of weeks.

Ana's Graduation

This past weekend I had a totally unexpected visit in East Lansing, Michigan to see my cousin Lela from South Africa and her daughter Ana, who just graduated. They moved to South Africa in 1988, and I saw them only one time since then in 1993 in Belgrade. We've somewhat kept in touch over the phone and have seen each other's pictures, but did not stay very close.
For several months I was inviting my relatives to come and visit us in Austin during this trip. They couldn't come this time, so my cousin bought me a ticket and I spent the weekend with them. It was an exciting, but also physically, mentally and spiritually tiring weekend.

I Just Saved a Bunch Of Money On My Car Insurance...

...not by switching companies, but simply by dropping the comprehensive coverage from my policy, and sticking only with liability.
I've been meaning to do this ever since my car was damaged by hail 4 years ago, and I didn't fix it but just deposited the insurance check. My car was already payed for when it suffered the hail damaged, so I was not required to carry on comprehensive coverage, but I just never invested enough time to understand how this would really affect me.
The car back then was appraised to be just $500 more than what the damage was. So, since I didn't fix it, the value, for insurance purposes was just $500, which was less than what my deductible is. If I had a claim, the insurance would only cover up to the car value, minus the deductible, which means they wouldn't cover anything in my case.
With only the liability coverage, my premiums are cut in half, and my cost for car insurance is just $334 a year!
Now, if only this car would last me few more years before I have to look for a new, hybrid, one.

Easter Eggs

It is a tradition in the countries of former Yugoslavia among those who celebrate Easter to dye the Easter eggs by using different plants. Of course, in the last few decades we've seen many new coloring options available in the stores, but this tradition still remained. Not having celebrated Christian holidays as a child, I have picked up on technique of dying eggs just recently.
It is best achieved with white eggs, which should be washed in water and vinegar and left to sit at room temperature for couple of hours (to help prevent the cracking during boiling)
There are two parts to it: decorating and dying.

For decoration, you can use several methods, each of them is meant to the area prevent behind the decoration from being colored. You can paint with hot wax (never tried it), place rubber bands, or place 'stickers' in the form of leaves. I usually just go out in the yard and pick up weeds that have the most interesting leaves or flowers. You can also use parsley or other herbs with small leaves. In order for them to stick to the egg, I first dip them in water, and then nicely spread them on the egg. To keep them in place during boiling I then place the egg in a knee pantyhose, being careful not to mess up the leaf. After each egg I wrap a rubber band on the pantyhose, to keep it securely in place. I usually place no more than 3 eggs in each hose.

For coloring the eggs, you can use different vegetables that have strong colors. prevent I've heard spinach used for green, carrots for orange, eggplant for purple....but every year the only produce that I am able to get a good color out of is red onion. I get extra onion skins from the grocery store in advance (just pick up those already loose in the bin, don't actually peal the onions in the store). Then place a layer of onion skins in a pan, fill with water, put eggs, and put more skins at the top. Every year I also try those other colors, which just make the eggs yellowish. I then put those off-white eggs in the onion pan last, and they end up having a different shade than those eggs that were in the onions all the time. The eggs should be cooked on very low heat, to prevent them from moving too much and cracking. I leave them cooking for about an hour, but some cook them for several hours.
Once they are cool enough, I separate them, wash and dry them. Then to make them shine, I rub them with an oiled paper towel.

Part of the tradition is for each household member to pick an egg and then compete to see whose egg will crack all other eggs. Each contestant first holds the egg so that the top side is free. One person tries to crack another person's egg from the top. Then the other person tries to do the same by using the bottom side of the egg. (usually if the egg is cracked on one side, it has no chance of cracking another egg) The egg that has no cracks then goes on to compete with other eggs until there is only one hole egg left. That egg is then kept as a "keeper of the house", some say until next year! Since it is cooked for hours and has no cracks it does not smell - but I've never tried it :)

Happy Easter, everyone. Christ is Risen! He is risen, indeed!

March 25th - the Hail Day

This is a bit over-due...

Couple of weeks ago we had yet another hail storm in Austin. And it was a big one. We got into it while driving home from work, but thankfully were just 200 m from an underpass, under which then we were able to stop, along with over a dozen other vehicles until the worst of it was over.
That morning I forgot to close our retractable awning, and was afraid it will get badly damaged by extremely strong wind. Luckily, the mechanism wasn't damaged, and the fabric only got partially torn on one spot.
This was the most expensive hail storm in Austin, topping at $160 million. The spooky thing is that it happened on March 25th. Four years ago, when my car got pretty banged up by the hail, it again happened on March 25th. That storm caused $100 million of damage. And, in 1993, another big hail storm caused $120 million of damage - again on March 25th.
The lesson here - beware of March 25th's. :)