Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge

In fact, I’ll keep it!

It was two years ago today that I posted my first Manja Mexi Movie blog post. I can’t believe it’s been two years already.

(I know this, even though WordPress has stopped informing me about the number of posts or anniversaries and things like that a while ago. I don’t know what happened. – ADD-IT: The notification came at 11pm. WordPress never forgets, thank you!)

To think that the main impulse for starting the blog was lack of feedback from my family and friends upon sending them heaps of emails with photos from my new life in the new country!

To keep us company in this post, here are some of my favourite already published photos:

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Obviously the world is indeed big enough to find a variety of people who are not too lazy to tell you when you make them smile, busy schedule notwithstanding. Thank you all so much for that! I know how precious this is: even I with all the time in the world have trouble following everybody I’d like to. There are just too many brilliant people around!

It’s not just laziness, some friends back home are saying they don’t understand my blog because it’s in English. Hmmm, as little as I write? Photos are in English as well, are they? Whining like some Italians! Aren’t Slovenians known to brag how good we are at English? Because, compatriots, no matter how much you whine, this blog is NOT turning Slovenian any time soon.

And lest we forget, at the beginning, for much of the first year really, there were just about 7 followers, all family and friends. Only after I started joining photo challenges, many more of you came over and some stayed. Among the challenges that have achieved this are (in each line three links lead to three posts for every challenge):

and the latest I have joined:

Soon I will reach the upgrade limit for this one and will start another WordPress blog. Nothing much will change (other than the theme), I quite like it as it is. I hope – I always hope – to do more writing, but just like the rest of the world I’m getting lazier in this regard, posting more photos and less words. They are easier on the eye, it seems, or is it brain. It’s not that words are lacking, I always have a bunch, they are lurking JUST behind the corner. Beware.

Here is a recap of my writings that I posted last June. I find it very telling that only father, Snow Somewhere Else and Badfish commented. Well, I do say it’s for the organised and the mad ones. 😀 (Love you!)

What is alarming is that I’ve only added very few writings to Own Words category since.

Among them are:

In short – nobody has a truly good excuse for not following me. But I cannot and don’t want to force anybody either. Everything I said on this day last year in my first anniversary post is still true: we have strawberries and if you don’t want them – your loss.

And as they say in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels: “It’s a deal, it’s a steal, in fact…

…I think I’ll keep it!” 😀

Truly, from the heart, thank you all for every minute spent in my virtual company.

≈ Manja Maksimovič ≈

Featured photo: The header of my upcoming blog: MLK in Ljubljana. 

Photo: a © signature mmm production

Thursday Doors, December 17, and CFFC – Windoors

Even though I don’t like to combine challenges, today calls for an exception. There is only so much doors one can post in a week, and we know it’s on Thursday for Norm. Cee is asking for windows too, so this is for both.

Photo: MM

For:

CFFC

 

and for Norm Frampton’s Thursday Doors challenge.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Trees&Houses

Frankly, there must be trees and houses everywhere I look, seeing that I’ve got this combo on most of my photos. Some of these images have been waiting for some time to be posted, and now I’ve got an excuse. Thanks, Cee.

The trees have come to mean Italia to me. The Guinigi tower in Lucca, with seven oak trees on top, was built for this challenge.

Four trees in Roma:

An Italian and a Croatian church:

A few views from Slovenia – Ljubljana, Maribor with the oldest vine in the world, and Piran:

To finish, trees around the corner with the oleander to point the way home.

Photo: MM

For:

CFFC

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Graffiti & Murals

To mirror the opening image from two posts ago, here is another poster from Slovene Academy of Sciences and Arts’ Research Centre (ZRC SAZU) in Ljubljana, to go with the theme of public murals and graffiti. Sometimes the birds leave a spot clean. And the sofa (especially the one on the left) is cool too.

I love this, the idea of improving environment by adding to it. Improvement is relative, of course, but I like the idea of “democracy” behind an unmolested graffiti. I have yet to take photos of any significant murals, especially in Roma, but here is what I’ve got so far. Translation from Slovenian and location given in the captions. More images of Pisa street art and impressive Metelkova City in Ljubljana have been posted here and here.

And here is a special house in Škofije on the border between Italy and Slovenia that was obviously given to children from different countries as a plaything. Give kids a chance indeed!

To all public artists and writers with stuff to say and show: please, carry on. The world needs your expression and colours and wit. And authorities better let it be. It’s the stuff of life.

Photo: MM

For:

CFFC

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Anything man-made

Since I’m closing in on the photo upload limit, I thought to go through my media gallery in order to select a few photos of some of my favourite man-made things from my earlier posts (i.e. from when I barely had an unrelated follower). It makes me happy to look at them again – and this is basically why I do what I do.

If you wish to know more about these photographs, you will have to look back (hihi).

I can see a few patterns: shooting things up on the trees (why?), food (well…), puurty colours, intricate shapes.

Man-made and mad-woman-shot-and-picked.

Photo: MM

For Cee’s new Anything Man-made challenge:

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: (Non)Sense of hearing

A little aurally-visual journey for Cee’s sense challenge.

It begins sombrely, in Prague, with a choir practicing.

It continues on the Spanish steps in Roma with another choir, Scandinavian. It was sudden. The beautiful notes startled us and made us smile. (Or join in – mom used to be a choir singer too.)

Two years ago I got my first record player for my birthday. All things come to those who wait.

With the player came a stack of old records and this bilingual collection of New Yugoslav Poetry. Nothing about Yugoslavia will ever be new again.

This is the wall in a restaurant in Piran, Slovenia by the name of Sarajevo 1984. There were winter Olympic Games in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, that year and I was 14 years old. More on that here. These are album covers of Yugoslav musicians of the time. The inscription below says: “If you are falling off a rock, you might as well try to fly. There is nothing to lose.”

Two images from my 40th birthday celebration 5 years ago. That grin is self-explanatory.

And to conclude: a proof that mom is indeed a rapper.

Photo: MM (and one by an anonymous friendly person)

For:

cees-fun-foto

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Habit

Pearl Jam: Habit

Seen it happen to a couple of friends
See it happen and the message it sends
Taking off for what’s an obvious fall
Just to see what all the fuss is about

It’s not your way…Not your way… It’s not your way

Another habit says it’s in love with you
Another habit says its love’s overdue
Another habit like an unwanted friend
I’m so happy with my righteous self

It’s not your way…Not your way… It’s not your way

Never thought you’d habit

“A neurotic is a man who builds a castle in the air. A psychotic is the man who lives in it. A psychiatrist is the man who collects the rent.” — Jerome Lawrence / “…it is the means by which we proclaim our feelings to one another, the way in which we influence others. Words can do immeasurable good and inflict terrible injuries.” —Sigmund Freud; Piran street, Slovenia.

Chocolate dreams, Ribca, Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Rum Room by Maraska, Croatia.

And even though they brag about their wines...

Fakin wines, Motovun, Istria, Croatia.

Love is in the air, Piran, Slovenia.

Photo: MM

For:

042114 cffc

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Turquoise

After a ride in my favourite weather:

we came to the turquoise haven, known by the name of:

This is the town from where ferries will take you to the island of Elba. We didn’t go but we could see the appeal.

On the way back we stopped at Castiglione della Pescaia at the kind of beach that I could easily be avoiding all my living days. But they’ve got surfers.

And this is the scene from Piombino that forced me to save these photos for this week, specifically for Cee’s Fun Foto challenge. Long live 2 CV!

Photo: MM

For:

CFFC