Celebratin' from Sarajevo

Sarajevo's not too big on Valentine's Day. At the grocery store, there was a small display of heart-shaped pillows, but as Wiley and I aren't really into it (and like Logtar we won't go to the extreme of protesting it), it's no big deal. I made some sugar cookies today so Wiley would have some food made by me after I'm gone, and then we headed into town to buy some souvenirs. We bought a Bosnian coffee set, so anytime anyone comes over and wants coffee, guess what you're getting? Yep - sludge in a cup. I'm not a coffee drinker, so I can say that.

Then, we decided we hadn't spent enough money, so we walked around a little more. We had been eyeing some rugs in the past, and we decided to go into a shop tonight and see what they had to offer as far as colors and designs. Upon hearing my "Dobar dan", one of the guys inside switched to English. I figured his English was good enough for me to kid with him, so I asked him how he knew right off the bat that I didn't speak Bosnian and that English was my first language. I mean, it could've been my short, blonde hair, the fact that I'm not wearing boots with my jeans tucked in or the huge sunglasses that I don't have, but I thought I'd check to be sure. Sure enough, it was the way I said "Dobar dan". I think I must've said, "Doh-ber" instead of "Dough-bar". Ah well, we all laughed and had a good time. They pulled out these beautiful rugs - all made in Bosnia - and showed us which part of the sheep the wool came from - the fringe came from the underside, tug tug, and the woven stuff came from the hind, tugging harder. So whenever the cats go near the rug, I can specify where they should puke. We ended up buying a smallish rug that's about six feet long and about four feet wide. I mean, I do have to take this in my luggage, and I'm worried about going over the weight - so getting a 20 pound rug just wasn't in the cards this time, beautiful as they are. Maybe in a few years when we're back. The rug in question is white, black and red, and we think it will be a great addition to the living room. I look forward to putting it up somewhere. While we were in the shop debating which rug to buy, they told us that one of the rugs hanging on the wall was 130 years old. I looked at Wiley and said, "Great, now we have an estate."

After plunking down the cash for our rug, we went to dinner at Park Princeva (Park Prin-CHAY-vah), which overlooks the city. The hills started to twinkle as the sun went down, and we had a bottle of wine and great food. So I guess we did celebrate somewhat, though it was also a place we'd wanted to go again before I left. We found it last May when we visited for a weekend, and this time was even better.

I've decided that one goal I have upon returning to the States is drinking a bit more. I had half a bottle of white wine in the span of 2 hours with food and water, and when I stood up, I swayed - just a bit, mind you. I'm just now feeling the effects wear off completely. What's a life without goals?