Scythe VS String Trimmer (Then and Now)
About a year ago I had a chance to try out an old school tool called a scythe (back at these days, all I had at our newly inherited rural house). The grass were growing as crazy as it could, and I was left with no other option as to use what I have to fight back.My fight with grass have been personal already.A scythe was fun, but way to exhausting and for unprofessional not the best solution. Soon I started to rent a string trimmer, and even hired a trimmer dudes to do trimming for me. For this year I finally bought one for my self. See: Edward The Brushcutter AW-BC620TH TrimmerI was looking through archives of my blog, when found this picture:Author of this blog…
Veggie Garden In Handmade Wooden Boxes
About a year ago we planted first plants in used wooden boxes (the drawers), see: Our First Veggie Garden: Planting Plants in Boxes .This year we (not me actually) decided to construct boxes by our own, making our veggie garden larger and probably more efficient than it was a year ago.The idea about using boxes for growing veggies is simple, it proves to be more efficient than planting them in soil, and cheaper than building a greenhouse, thus a greenhouse is another upcoming thing to do.Wooden boards we got from local sawmill for cheap (for free actually). There are no recommendations for size, only about height, it should be about 30 cm height (to add different…
Smiltynė Ferry Terminal (Klaipeda to Curonian Spit)
Klaipėda city is separated from Curonian Spitby Curonian Lagoon. For connection of two shores across the Curonian Lagoon, Smiltynė Ferry Terminal is operating.Taking a ferry from Klaipėda to Curonian Spit is always full of joy short journey where passengers can smell the Curonian Lagoon, watch the white seagulls and terns flying closely around the ferry and indulge them with the windy fresh air. There is no doubt that Smiltynė Ferry Terminal is one of the main transportation companies in Klaipėda which is very appreciated not only by local inhabitants but by thousands of Klaipėda guests too.In a row at Smyltine Ferry TerminalFor crossing this strait in a car (3…
Planting an Apple Tree (Doch Melbi / Daughter Melbi / Дочь Мелбы)
Recently I introduced my dear readers with Edward The Brush cutter, today allow me to introduce you with a new sort of an apple tree we planted in our rural house as part of home remodeling works.Meet Doch Melbi / Daughter Melbi or Дочь Мелбы (In Russian). Bought at Kuldīga market from the tree nursery Bētras (Latvia).Digging a hole for planting an apple treePlanted at the end of April 2016.Daughter MelbiAbout Daughter Melbi (Дочь Мелбы)Vigorous tree. Starts fruiting in 3-4 years. High resistance to frost. Resistance to scab - medium. Yield, early appearance of fruit variety.Ripening time - mid-AugustWeight 100-130gr fruit. Yellowish-white…
Chili Pizza in Palanga
Chili Pizza is a popular Lithuanian pizzeria chain. Today we paid a visit to one located in Lithuanian beach town of Palanga. Chili Pizza in Palanga, LithuaniaLocated in multi storey building on lively walking street in Palanga, very close to the Sea Bridge, this place serves traditional Lithuanian cuisine, which is pretty European, thus there are few Lithuanian specialties you should try once in Lithuania. For example big stuffed dumpling called cepelinai or didžkukuliai, no, it's not the same as Georgian khinkali, according to Wikipedia:Cepelinai or didžkukuliai (singular: cepelinas) is a popular dish in Lithuania. They are a type of …
Sea Bridge in Palanga
Sea bridge in Palanga is probably the most popular tourist attraction in Lithuanian beach resort town of Palanga.It reaches into the sea for 407 metres and is shaped in the form of letter L. The pier provides a chance to see the shore from a different perspective while going for a walk, at the same time, it is still opened for small tourist ships in summer.Sea bridge in PalangaPalanga Pier was first constructed in 1884, in order to revive the Palanga port. The steamship that was also purchased at the time allowed to successfully transport passengers and different goods to the port of Liepāja (Latvia). Unfortunately the pier soon became impossible to navigate due to sand that was brought…
Walking Street in Palanga
Palanga is a nice little beach resort town in Lithuania. The city features a walking street, with many cafes and restaurants, local art and craft and so on.Unfortunately I didn't figure out what name does this street wears, so lets call it just Walking street in Palanga. Turns out, this is the first geo - tagged post from Lithuania at this blog, thus I have visited Lithuania countless time prior, including Palanga. We arrived to Palanga from Liepāja, straight from Royal Fontaine hotel. One of our goals here in Palanga was to find Amber museum (we didn't find it), so we parked our car and just started to walk.Walking / cycling street in PalangaPalangaArmenian restaurant in…
Rally Kurzeme 2016
Sport photography has always been interesting for me. I don't feel pro enough to call myself a sport photography guru, as I understand it involves fast zoom lens as well. Today I was equipped with kit 18-55mm lens and 70-300mm telephoto lens - the overall result - pretty good, some photos are even made in auto mode.Rally Kurzeme 2016We booked a Royal Fontaine hotel and had a chance to observe rally in front of our hotel.Old Soviet car VAZ and Estonian TeamAbove photo is taken using Auto mode - excellent.Rally Kurzeme 2016Navy ships at Liepaja ChannelPiece of Life
Hotel Fontaine Royal Review In Liepāja
Set in a converted factory building along the Tirdzniecības kanāls, this laid-back hotel with quirky, royal-inspired interiors is 8 minutes' walk from the Liepajas theater and 6 km from tours of the Karostas Cietums prison.The eclectic, colorful rooms come with TVs and Internet access. Budget rooms share bathrooms, while upgrades have en suite facilities. Family rooms sleep up to 6 people, and suites feature gilt furniture, seating areas and/or whirlpool tubs. Breakfast is offered for a fee (EUR 6, as of 2016). There's also a casual eatery, a cozy bar and a nightclub. Other amenities include a 24-hour gym, an indoor pool & a full-service spa.It was actually not a planned stay…
DIY - Bed Frame King Size Rural Style
One of the most important furniture elements in your master bedroom definitely is a bed. This time I decided to build a bed frame by my own.Last year we bought four mattress and used them in old single beds. I decided to combine them and build a King or at least a Queen Size bed. To accomplish this task I studied a few tutorials, see 21 DIY Bed Frame Projects – Sleep in Style and Comfort.I ordered planks from local carpentry, the total cost for such bed about EUR 30.Single Bed FramesTo free up the space in the room I had to take those two out and put them in front of the house. A tripod (in background) is a must have for a decent photography.PlanksI have four supportive corner beams (…
Burning Branches
Few days ago we did the Big Spring tree and branches trimming, we were left with many piles of branches, the only reasonable solution to get rid of them - burn them.We waited for overcast day and made three fire places today. Thus we didn't burned all of the branches today, we did a pretty good work today.Making a fire place near fish pondIn contrary to the weather forecast, instead overcast day we got crystal clear sky and pretty warm day, which made me a bit nervous about safety.Burning branches in Apple orchard
Flying Fish over Venta Rapid in Kuldīga
This was my second attempt to photograph flying fish over Venta rapid this year, first I did it around April 20, but didn't choose the right position and the weather was damn cold (sky were totally gray). Second time, on April 29, it was crystal clear sky, which in result got me a little bit boring photography, but hey at least captured some of the flying fishes this time.The best place to photograph flying fish over Venta rapid, is by directly installing a tripod in front of it, Which means you'll have to climb down the rocky stairways and cross the muddy river-bed (your foot will be wet, so better take rubber…
DIY - Kitchen Cabinets With a Sink
I have always loved to construct and develop some new things, I love to spend my free time by figuring out how to improve space around me, that's why probably for a second season I have been doing home remodeling works by my own. In today's article, not about my adventures from home remodeling, but a simple trick how I improved the temporary living space around me - kitchen cabinets with a sink.Lets start with what we got here:Old Kitchen CornerYup, it sucks, as you can see, it is overloaded with household cleaning products, the old plumbing is just catastrophic (that's how it's done in these parts of Word) and it just urgently needs and upgrade. Luckily the solution is neither…
Kuldīga Food Market
Kuldīga Food Market (Kuldīgas pārtikas tirgus, in Latvian) is located on Aizputes street 2a in Kuldīga, Latvia.Frankly speaking I have no idea why they call it a food market, as from food there are little to nothing to choose. Instead this is a great place to buy plants, seeds, wood products (spoons, decorative wood figures), honey and yes, they have a small stand selling smoked fish. Does it sounds like a food market? Kuldīga marketFlower plants for saleHoneyPrices are in EURStrawberry plantsBought here a dozen of strawberry plants, paid just EUR 4 totalWood products
Edward The Brushcutter AW-BC620TH Trimmer
Meet Edward, our newest team member to help us out in our home remodeling works. I first met Edward at local DEPO DIY store in Liepāja, Latvia. The sales person wanted me to buy a Jasper, as Jasper was listed just under EUR 100. In my mind I had already allocated about EUR 400 for a new brush cutter / trimmer purchase and I asked to the salesperson can he show me something more powerful than Jasper?I was introduced with many never heard brand names before, when Edward popped up. Sales guy told me - hey take a look on Edward! I asked who the hell is Edward? Ahh - you know, some Chinese guy, but really great guy. Edward AW-BC620TH was listed for EUR 220,…
The Big Spring Cleanup Part 2 - Trimming Trees and Branches
After the successful Big Spring cleanup of territory surrounding our rural house, and after masonry works with chimney it was time to get rid of old and broken branches.Frankly speaking I thought it will be enough just to cut one broken branch from our apple orchard and trimming some smaller bushes in garden. Turned out I was wrong. After all we trimmed many trees and way more branches. For this task I hired a professional saw guy, which I was already familiar since last summer's home remodeling works. We made a first barbecue picnic today as well. Let me show exactly what we did today:Cutting trees and trimming branchesSome good firewood for winter can be made from some…
Former Kolkhoz Spartak
It was on a still and tranquil Friday evening when we took our cat Tiger on a walk. I took a tripod and camera and just documented were we went. Turned out we were walking with our cat at former kolkhoz Spartaks territory,A kolkhoz was a form of collective farm in the Soviet Union. Kolkhozes existed along with state farms or sovkhoz. These were the two components of the socialized farm sector that began to emerge in Soviet agriculture after the October Revolution of 1917, as an antithesis both to the feudal structure of impoverished serfdom and aristocratic landlords and to individual or…
Drupal Patch For Location Module To Update Province List for Latvia With Latest Data
Made a simple Drupal patch for Location module to display latest administrative divisions of Latvia. Default one is still showing outdated data using old "Rayon" as administrative divisions of Latvia.
Will try to submit this patch to official module release on Drupal.orf
From Wikipedia:
According to the Administrative territorial reform of Latvia (2009), Latvia changed its administrative divisions from two-level municipalities (the districts were the first-level municipalities, while towns, cities, towns countryside territories and parishes were the second-level municipalities) to one-level municipalities - districts…
Repairing Old Brick Chimney
On April 20, 2016 we completely changed a top of our brick chimney at our rural country house. It was not planned actually to change all top of chimney, just to add two rows of bricks. Thus after a quick inspection it was clear - it's time to replace it all.Read how we lost a chimney in past: Replacing Roof - Part 3: Removing the old roofing (Losing Chimney)Workers inspecting chimneyIt was clear - there are no other option, but to remove brick by brick from atop of the chimney, and rebuild it from scratch (almost)Removing old bricks from chimneyIt was much easier that it seemed - due to the harsh weather and lack of any maintenance for the past 25 years (at least) bricks were…
Batumi Railway Station
Batumi railway station has been recently constructed and opened for public, making travels by train from Tbilisi to Batumi a little bit easier.Prior that, train stopped at Makjinjauri station (some 7 km from Batumi city center)I took a train ride from Tbilisi to Batumi at start of March 2016, and was 100% sure that new station will be located somewhere in Batumi city - I was wrong. The new station is still located some 3 km from city, and to actually get to the city, you must take additional taxi or bus. Very strange.Newly constructed Batumi Railway StationIt has been opened in Summer of 2015. Former Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili praised the opening of the new…