WANTED: six legged chicken

what do you do when nature is providing you with stuff like this.

it's not a regular tomatoe, but as it comes from unspoiled soil, it's 100% OK.

and what do you do with "multomatoes" like this one ?

the answer is simple, especially here in Dalmatia, you go to the market to look for a six legged chicken and call your friends to have lunch together.

eating (and/or drinking) together, as a social event, is most common here.
you do not have to have a special occasion, a party or a birthday to join together with friends in some drink or food.

even while unemployment rates are rather high here at the very moment, people gather in what they call cafe-bars, to have a small espresso (always served with a glas of water) to talk about life or celebrate it, together !!!!


and many times when somebody feels like it, some fresh fish, roasted pigmeat or a homemade soup are the best excuse to call your friends by what the call here "mobitel".

summer being the season of tomatoes, new potatoes, corn on the cob, and lots of other excellent harvested food, an excellent soup is quickly made, and some fish or meat from the grill is accompanied by a glass of homemade wine (or two, or three).
sitting outside around the table, shaded from the sun, this is the outdoor season, so life happens outside as much and as long as possible.
and most of those joined moments, there is singing, called "klapa", the Dalmatian alternative to countrymusic.

well, as this silly tomatoe came from a plant, as big as an "American Mc Donalds victim", it's big enough to share with a bunch of friends.
reason to look for a sixlegged chicken, so everybody gets an equal bite of it all.
having little or much, it does'nt matter when you share what you've got with friends.

and nature knows that, so where's that chicken ?

marvelous country

daddy picking potatoes from his small field, his two girls helping to gather them.
can life be better than this, better than anything in the world ?
my clear answer is NO !!!, this is the best way to enjoy familylife, in the middle of our fantastic nature.

earlier this year they put their potatoes into the ground, fertile as this ground is, it only needs some attention afterwords, checking for those colodaro bugs, and weekly a firm splash of pure water from the natural well that's nearby.

lots of sun, combined with this excellent soil, take care of a nice harvest, a lot of potatoes for them selves and family or friends during the winterseason.

french fries, cooked, or even baked in a peka (cooked under a big lid over a woodfire), I said it a thousand times, and will say it a million more times, this is paradise, this is simply the best you can get from life, as the picture clearly shows on each face.

coming from the Adriatic coast at the town of Omis (thirty minutes from Split), drive through the amazing canyon along the Cetina river for five minutes, than drive up the first mountainroad for another five minutes to Svinisce and turn right to Modris.

is it that easy to reach paradise, yes it is !!!!

sit or lay, do it your way

NEW NEW, two resting places in the gardenhouse have been made.

And yes, I made it with pleasure, I did it myselve and I am proud of it all.

It took a bit of thinking, but the result is just what we wanted and needed.

Two beds, for those who visit and don't know the way back after a drink to much.

And in case of falling asleep, both are perfectly shaped to sit ánd sleep.

For someone who used to work with brains and mouth (telling dentists that they could do a better job after listening to me for once), I absolutely enjoy to work with my hands and tools.

Wood, especially what they call here "brodski pod" from Baumax *) in Kastela, is great to make whatever I need or like to make.

*) Bricostore came, Bricostore went, Baumax came, followed by Bauhaus and also Baumax went home.

As like with chickens, there is only space for one good rooster, so Baumax left too.

Leaving Bauhaus as thé rooster for all us chickens.

Anyway, after a few trials (and errors) I might call myselve "maistor", which in croatia (sometimes) tells you you're dealing with a skilled person.

 (And sometimes it means nothing else but: "let me grab your money").

So, do call me maistor if you like, but do keep in mind that I am NOT looking for a job.

And certainly NOT for your money, I just do things because I like to do it all, teaching myself how to put nails into wood the proper way (straight forward, no mistakes).

And once in a while I hit myself hard enough to dance around a bit, singing the famous "jebenti"song.

As singing, under whatever conditions, is what keeps Dalmatians happy Dalmatians.

Whatever.., you can be sure now that when you visit us here in our hidden paradise, you can sit or lay down.

Your only job here is to enjoy life in a beautiful hidden valley, like we do already.

the bigger the better

never had the intention to have a fireplace like this.
really, I was one of x-million dutch that where used to burning meat on a simple weber-grill.

until, until we had our gardenhouse almost ready and the workers said: "nice place, but how do you cook".
to keep a long story short, they offered to build the fireplace, and three days later there it was (and still is).

anything from a trout to an entire lamb and everything you can think of fits into it, and on romantic nights or cold days (yes sometimes I am romantic, and yes it can be cold here in winter) a big fire can warm your bones or your soul.

lucky us, and lucky visitor, you don't have to step outside into the rain to finish your meal, there's enough space to sit down and enjoy the view, sitting around the table with us.

the sad part of it all could be that we're now burning our cherrytrees, but they where in bad shape anyway.
even more sad, as cherries here around the Cetina and in Poljica area are more than excellent, but that's another story.

even in the dark it's nice to see

plans ?
much to much and even more !
some things are not even planned and still end well.

because we lacked space in our little hideaway, one day I said it would be great to have some extra room to put away the gardentools and some machinery.

started with a simple 4x4 mtr. plan, it turned out to be 8x8 meters, but who cares.
we do have some extra space now for our belongings, I do have my gardenshed annex workshop, and what's more, we've got a fantastic gardenhouse to enjoy under any weathercondition.
(click on picture to enlarge).

enough space to even have some guests sleep their drinks away, enough space to sit down with a bunch of friends, a giant fireplace to grill or heat, and, I can't stop telling, also from here this fantastic view on Mosor and Omiska Dinara, both mountains.
and on top of it all, this is Svinisce, where stress and noise still have not been invented.

come and see, come and feel, but be aware, once here, you're lost forever.

inside out

here it is, our gardenhous.

in any type of weather we've got a perfect place to relax or enjoy company of friends over a drink or some food.

with Omiska Dinara and Mosor mountains in front of us, it's just fantastic.

the place is almost finished (floors, walls, windows) and most of the things I wanted to create myselve have been done.

seated at the table, relaxing on one of the two beds/sofa's, or preparing some food on the workplaces, I wanted to make them and so I did.

its all just perfect to enjoy alone, together with Nives or with a bunch of good friends.
and let's not forget there is a huge fireplace to grill, heat or just to look at.

3/4 of the place is living area, 1/4 is my temple, where I have all my tools, machines and materials to work with.
still working on things that we need, I wish in due time to be more creative, sculpting wood, steel or stone just for the fun of creating "arty" items.
not to be an artist, nor to show or sell, just for the sake of pleasure.

an inspiring scenery all around us, no stress, no noise and no need to do things for the sake of money, thats what I call a treasure.
inside looking out I feel rich, and everybody in the same mood is most welcome to share it all.

you're welcome, proud and happy to share what we've got to share.