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Latvia
Nov 18, 2012 17:18:40 GMT
Post by liga on Nov 18, 2012 17:18:40 GMT
Those big things in the corners are stoves covered in ceramic tiles. They were used for heating. Similar stoves existed all across northern and easten Europe, while the French and the Brits were sitting in cold, damp rooms. Thanks, Bjd. And no, ~~ no NE European bias in that response at all. ;D Liga, if I saw 400 -- 500 giant birds in flight together, I'd call them a storm, too! ;D I wish there was a "like" button! I will try to make some pics next september of these "storms"! (of course if I'll be staying still in Latvia!)
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Latvia
Nov 14, 2012 16:43:45 GMT
Post by liga on Nov 14, 2012 16:43:45 GMT
ahahah, thank you for the correction! i meant flocks, actually nbot flocks - really big groups of storks (200-400) who migrate together south! thanks! ;D
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Latvia
Nov 13, 2012 15:49:18 GMT
Post by liga on Nov 13, 2012 15:49:18 GMT
Thank's ! I wish we had more of these wonders present on our territory, but unfortunately the war destroyed a lot of these palaces and mannor houses.
The stork is a national symbol indeed, we have it even on our coins (there is also a cow, a salmon, an ant etc.) When you go around the countryside almost every house has a nest - on a chimney, on a telephone pole or on an old tree trunk. They bring up their children in Latvia, and in september they gather in big storms and migrate to Africa!
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Latvia
Nov 11, 2012 17:05:28 GMT
Post by liga on Nov 11, 2012 17:05:28 GMT
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Post by liga on May 29, 2012 11:13:40 GMT
Thank you for the hula pics! And the info about the braiding! I thought that all that bushy hair was "natural", go figure, you have to know the right tricks!! Liga
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Post by liga on Apr 16, 2012 20:47:21 GMT
wow, amazing pictures! thank you for sharing!
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Post by liga on Apr 16, 2012 9:43:37 GMT
yeah! I saw all the competition online! It took me to wake up for 3 mornings at 5 a.m., but thank's to kfve I witnessed this marvelous event at the same time! p.s. on the first night during miss Aloha Hula kahiko part, there was a mele called Italy!
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Post by liga on Apr 10, 2012 16:02:39 GMT
thank you!!!
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Post by liga on Apr 10, 2012 12:56:02 GMT
Hi Janet! I did my first lei! And it looked quite nice, although I had difficulties to end it, I used wili technique and when I arrived to the end I didn't know what to do how to tie the ends together so that they make an uniform round lei. So I masked the isnides of the lei with a latvian easter adornment - our dyed eggs. The other thing was that while I gathered the plants and brought them home they were already "gone soft".... I made the lei a day before and stored it in fridge sprinkled with water in a plastic bag. Today I will try to make a haku lei with a braided base... It is going to be an experiment, cause I have absolutely no idea how to make one....I have two palm tree leaves, I deboned them and made in to strips. Any practical suggestions are more than welcome! Liga
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Post by liga on Apr 6, 2012 8:22:16 GMT
Aloha e Janet! Hi, I just dropped by to wish you hau'oli Easter,if you do celebrate it on the islands. And I wanted to ask one thing about the hula (of course . I am doing the basic steps, and I have a small dilemma on the uwehe - I saw it done in two different ways - one just opening the knees, and one lifting them forward. Well, the later is a bit harder if you do it like a minute in a row. Can you explain me the difference? Mahalo nui loa! Liga
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Post by liga on Apr 6, 2012 8:14:32 GMT
Oh thanx bixa for the useful information, I didn,t know half of those dyes! I use only onion skins - orange, red, and then all kinds of green stems, leaves and flowers to create the pattern. I would love to try the cabbage though! Happy Easter to everybody! Liga
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Post by liga on Apr 5, 2012 8:03:27 GMT
Thank you Askar, one of those pictures I really didn't have yet. But I think that everything else you can get on the internet I have already found! I haven't searched on the russian sites yet. To bixa - I am happy to watch over your dog! You just have to get him a passport!
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Post by liga on Apr 4, 2012 18:16:58 GMT
Hi! I have quite a problem with my thesis project! I am doing a project for Aleutian islands, in particular for Atka island. And unfortunately I have never been there and I lack background pictures for my architecture renderings. I have time till june and the internet is not really helpful. It seems that very few reach that corner of the world!
So I am asking help to all of you, if you have any aleutian range pictures? If there were an Atka native, it would be absolutely wonderful! I am doing a new harbour facility for Atka village, and I need some coastal and waterfront photographies. If you have never been to Atka, but you have any other Aleutian islands picture that could suit this cause, I would very much appreciate that the same!
Thank you thank you very much! Liga
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Post by liga on Apr 3, 2012 15:08:48 GMT
I will try not to break too many rules! So as far as it is auana I can try! I found on the web also a book "Unwritten literature of Hawaii - The sacred songs of the hula" by N.Emerson and as far as I have already read, it tries to explain the value and spiritual background of the dance. I know that to learn from the videos is not the appropriate way, but that is the only possibility I have for now! So when I graduate I will definately move to a country where is a hula halau! I could even try to come to the islands! ahaha, if there are not too many architects already! This weekend I am going outside the city and I will try to make a lei from local green plants! I hope that I will succeed! warm greetings! Liga
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Post by liga on Apr 2, 2012 13:06:34 GMT
wow, what an event! And I really appreciated all your remarks on different lei's! Thank you Janet! Oh I would love so much to visit the islands! But right now I have to concentrate and finish my thesis project for july! Later I would like to ask you some more questions about hula, in my free time I try to learn some basic things and understand the storytelling of the mele. Unfortunately here in Italy there is no way to learn it with a kumu hula, so I am doing a lot of self-teching with youtube videos. I love the old kahiko dance, but I could find some instructions only on more modern hula auana, and that's understandable because the circumstances and people involved are so different!
Liga
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Post by liga on Mar 30, 2012 16:10:37 GMT
I thought it would be a good idea! So please share your traditions as well!
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Post by liga on Mar 30, 2012 11:33:10 GMT
I hope I placed this thread in the correct folder. I would like to invite you to share different traditions you still practice that are caracteristic to your corner of the world. I will present our easter egg coloring. This is very typical in Latvia, but also in other Baltic countries. We use real eggs and dye them with natural colors. Then we eat them on easter morning. There are also various games where we use these colored eggs. Mostly they become a gift if you go to visit your friends. You can have fun by knocking the eggs together and seeing whose egg is stronger - the winner can take all beaten eggs. The process is very easy and I will show you how to do it by yourselves! 1. you need a lot of onion shells. Those outer shells that are already dry. I collect them usually all year around for this occasion. But you can go to the market and just showel them from the bottom of the basket! You put them in a kettle full of water and start to boil. Let them boil until the water turns dark red. You could use also hay or willoe bark to obtain different colors using the same technique. My grandmother uses also strong tea or blackberry jam! 2. Here you need eggs, small wrappings and some onion shells, plant leaves or garden flowers (not poisonous), grain or rice. Anything that could create a texture on the egg. You attach these leaves or even pasta piecies to your egg with a wrapping and a cotton thread and put your egg in the kettle. You have to boil the eggs more than usually - I keep them for 15-20 minutes in the boiling water. 3. When the time is over, take out the eggs and place them in cold water. In 2 minutes time you can start to unwrap and see the result. This is the favourite part for all the kids, and mine too! Have fun! When you are done, you can oil the egg surfaces with a cotton pad and some olive oil to keep them shinier.
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Post by liga on Mar 30, 2012 11:12:32 GMT
Hi Janet! Pehea 'oe? I just had to share an unexpected event I had today! You remember, I asked you about ti leis and told that we have only ferns here? Well, now I have my own ti plant! I went to the botanical garden (Giardino dei Semplici) of Florence which is just on the opposite side of my university library. There are some glass houses with all sorts of tropical plants, and I thought to search if they had a ti plant! And they had! So I circled around the plant until a senior gardener came to me to inquire if I had any questions - so I asked if it could be possible to buy a small ti plant from them. And see what he gave me - for free! They had to clean away all the baby sprouts and leave just the bigger plants anyway, and in place of throwing the unneeded plants away, he was happy to give them away! Of course I have to pray for it's survival and it will be long time before I can attempt to make at least an anklet Do you have any tips or suggestions on "the grooming" of the plant? I know it doesn't love full sun and too much water. I am so so happy! Wish you a wonderful day! Liga
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Latvia
Mar 29, 2012 18:42:36 GMT
Post by liga on Mar 29, 2012 18:42:36 GMT
ahahaha I loved how you called it "that part of the world!"
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Post by liga on Mar 28, 2012 20:58:26 GMT
to bixa - your necklace may have come also from Lithuania or European russia - Kaliningrad. Did you know that amber comes in a bunch of different colors? My all-time favourite is the green amber, also the white one is nice!
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Latvia
Mar 28, 2012 20:53:55 GMT
Post by liga on Mar 28, 2012 20:53:55 GMT
Thank's for the advice! I saw this thread is getting too "heavy loaded"! But it is going to slow down for a while!
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Post by liga on Mar 28, 2012 17:25:52 GMT
As I am not at home right now, I have only some traditional jewelry - the amber beads necklace (you can find them on the beach after a storm), an archaic woman's ring and a typical woman's brooch. But it is really a very basic latvian stuff.
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Latvia
Mar 28, 2012 16:59:43 GMT
Post by liga on Mar 28, 2012 16:59:43 GMT
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Latvia
Mar 28, 2012 16:50:47 GMT
Post by liga on Mar 28, 2012 16:50:47 GMT
Thanks for the indication! That is an amazingly rich and interesting thread, although I cann't place my "surprise" there, it is not exactly from that category, but more of "traditions and rites still practiced".
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Post by liga on Mar 28, 2012 9:08:58 GMT
Nice!!!! When I saw the mushrooms, a memory of last summer's holidays in Parc des Ecrins rose in my mind. There were so many mushrooms and nobody picked them! We had them for the dinner for all our stay in the Ailefroide camping! Do french eat only porcines and cockerels? We picked tonns of Suillus granulatus ( sorry don't know the name in english) - it was a luxury for a camping kitchen!
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Latvia
Mar 28, 2012 9:01:34 GMT
Post by liga on Mar 28, 2012 9:01:34 GMT
Oh thank you very much bixa! You made me blush! Too many praises! ahaha, but I am glad that you liked the beauty in simple things. I understand your problem with the slow connection, I have posted too many photos and it takes a bit for my computer too to load them all. I have another veeeryyy traditional surprise for you, but I don't know if it would be better to continue this thread or to make a new one. Maybe a new one could be better, cause I would love to see other people adding their pictures as well. Good day to you all!
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Latvia
Mar 27, 2012 15:24:40 GMT
Post by liga on Mar 27, 2012 15:24:40 GMT
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Post by liga on Mar 27, 2012 15:10:47 GMT
to bjd - I meant many weekends! ahahahaa As soon as I can afford that!
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Post by liga on Mar 27, 2012 6:43:00 GMT
very beautiful! You can almost "feel" those sunny days in the photos! You know, you make me wanna go to Paris! I just have to find some cheap flight and a weekend off!
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Latvia
Mar 25, 2012 10:10:36 GMT
Post by liga on Mar 25, 2012 10:10:36 GMT
Finally I went to Riga, it was a pleasure to walk with no haste in those streets and to see the beauty of my former city. When you live in the same place, you often miss the details and the true beauty of your habitat. So I took the role of a tourist and tried to marvel about everything. I hope to share some of that day's joy. This is our river Daugava and you can see the Riga castle and a part of the old town The national bank's building right in front of the castle More pictures from castle's square Going towards Dome square, this is a small street taht brings to the Anglican church in the background A facade with fake windows. Dome square. Unfortunately the dome church is being renovated, and it is enclosed in wrappings. This is for Kerouac and his thread on cariatides! There are many more in Riga, but I didn't have time to visit them. Main catholic church The three brothers ensamble This is a restaurant on the same street where are the Three Brothers seen above, once it was really good - it is called the Garlic Inn, so as you can guess everything has garlic in it! The Swedish Gates area On the other side of The Swedish Gate - along the city wall Our central park with the channel of Riga, divides the Old town from the new. In the background you can see my highschool! When I graduated it wasn't renovated yet, but now it is quite pretty! The monument of freedom. Don't do anything inappropriate there or you'll be arrested! Our national opera theater. If you go to Riga, you have to visit a play there. They are really good! Back in old town - around St Peters church
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