One Week until School Starts...

School will start a week from today, and it will likely be the last time I prepare myself for the start of a school year.  I have had a fairly relaxing last two weeks of summer.  Each day, I take a couple of walks around Kaçanik.  I have met up for coffee several times with people I know.  I am cleaning the apartment and starting to weed through the things I have accumulated that I will no longer need.  I have restarted language lessons after taking a four-week break.  I am preparing for the final language test, which I will take in December.  We did a practice at my last lesson, and I did better than I thought I would.

I have also been working on making a retro poncho from crocheted squares.  I needed 64 squares, and they are now complete.  I only need to crochet them together and then decide how I want to edge the poncho.  I have already decided that I do not want fringe.

I have 7 months of service remaining, so I am enjoying the views of the mountains, the sunny days, and the crisp mornings.  There is already a fall feeling in the morning air.  When you live in a valley, the darkness arrives sooner, and it is noticeable.   I am glad that the diaspora that visit during the summer are heading home, and there are fewer problems with the water in the evenings.  Right now, the water goes off around 10:30 pm and comes back on around 6:30 am.  It is also calmer and quieter when they leave.

One day, I was out walking and saw 4 or 5 students from school.  They also greet me with a smile, and most use English greetings.

Saturday, I took a long walk up the hill on the opposite side of Kaçanik in the morning.  It was a beautiful day, so I took quite a few photos. Danny walked into Kaçanik in the afternoon and went to the Riverside and sat by the river and watched the various birds (including a bright blue kingfisher). On Sunday, I took a walk to Koveçec and met with Danny at Trofta (The Trout Restaurant), which also sits by the river. 

There I saw a student I met at the gymnaz.  She graduated this past school year, and she is going to nursing school in Ferizaj.  I was glad to hear of her plans.  

Today, it was really comfortable in the apartment, so I decide to do some baking.  I made zucchini muffins last week and apricot muffins today.  I am freezing them for breakfast when school starts.  I made seeded crackers and an Italian cornbread loaf.

Photos from the Past Two Weeks

This is one of my favorite views of Ljuboten in Kaçanik

Front and back of my ponch laid out and ready to crochet together

Italian Cornbread

Apricot muffins, Italian cornbread, and seeded crackers

Views as I walked along the Nerodimi River

Cattails from Sunday's walk to Koveçec

UÇK Monument in Koveçec

Walking over the bridge near Trofta

Driver's Ed Practice Area

A few cows along the way

Smoke from a backyard brush and garbage fire

A grave marker in the nearby cemetary (Ljuboten in the background)

Wood is being gathered and cut to be ready for the winter

Wood pile -- wood is often cut illegally from the Shar Mountains

There are still a few trumpet vine flowers

Two goats in a yard

A diaspora house closed up as the end of the summer nears

Bags of garbage in the cow pasture

Another house closed up.

A productive garden of tomatoes and peppers

Rual Kosovo -- the mountains, rustic fences, and mosques

More cows in the field

Bike and walking paths in Ferizaj

A dog cooling off in the stinky river

Yet another beautiful view from my balcony