Obscure Journey

Blogmas Day 5 - Christmas decorations

Publié le 5 Décembre 2020 par Charly C.

Catégories : #blogmas, #customs, #traditions

Hello there!

Apparently there are 20 days to Christmas and now it seems to be the reasonable time for appropriate seasonal decors.

It rather makes sense since it's not too early and not too late either. Plus, you can keep the decors on for longer, if you wish, or if you celebrate on January 7, like many Russians do.

In any case, as i mentioned in previous posts, here and here, we never really decorated for Christmas in the years we lived together.

As you can see, we managed to have a tiny potted tree before that we managed to somehow decorate.

Sadly, this year there is no tree. Instead we have faerie lights. or Christmas lights.

The failure comes from the fact they're too short. I didn't pay attention to what's written on the box. They are also cold light and about 8 different lighting modes.

We hang the lights on the curtain rod because we no longer have a curtain. Anna is allergic to dust and we have to limit fabric items like curtains or other home decor, as much as possible.

There aren't much decors this year because we had to save money for a new computer, which was postponed by a pretty urgent surgery for Anna as well as many medicines.

I have some greeting cards i forgot to put out and i'm not sure i want to display them. but maybe i can still add some small things around the house.

This is it for now. See you tomorrow.

December 18 update!

In the past 2 or 3 days, our living room became a bit more festive!

On the 15th we went out to search for something and we came back with something else: glass, hand-painted bauble for the Christmas tree.

We don't have a Christmas tree, so I hung it on the lamp. The cats won't be able to reach it there and I know it will be safe from other accidents as well.

It is lunch time but it's so dark outside and indoors. i used the flash to snap this picture and the bauble looks black. it is actually beige and all the colors are more creamy.

We also bought another set of faerie lights. These ones have a warm light. i placed them on the door to the living room due to technical reasons (proximity to an outlet).

I think they pair well with the previous lights.

If we add more stuff to the room, I'll update this entry again.

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Blogmas Day 4 - Christmas Songs

Publié le 4 Décembre 2020 par Charly C.

Catégories : #blogmas, #customs, #traditions, #bucharest, #Romania, #romanian tradition

HeY eVeRyBoDy!

Today's challenge is to make a playlist of songs for Christmas.

Unfortunately, I don't like this type of songs.

I don't like them because every year, no matter where you go, especially in stores, you hear the same songs played over and over and over gain.

It becomes tiresome, overdone, and plain boring.

However, Romania has quite the handful of traditions related to Christmas. I just realized I kinda never posted anything specifically related to this holiday.

I spoke briefly about some of the traditions but not much details.

Most Romanians celebrate Christmas on December 25th, with a few that celebrate on January 7th, like the Russians.

The celebrations include preparing a lot of food, singing carols, as well as various dances and theater plays. In the old days, caroling was done by children but also by adults.

This custom is still preserved in many villages today. However, it's important to know that each village would have its own caroling group made of both adults and children.

Customary, only boys and men would go caroling through the village. The girls and the women would stay at home and prepare the meals, wait for the carolers, and do other chores.

Some of the most popular carols and dances are the ones called "Steaua" and "Capra," meaning "Star" and "Goat" respectively. There's singing involved for both, but there's a dance associated with the "Goat." Another caroling dance and singing is the one with the "Bears".

As far as the Goat and the Bears go, there's always someone in the group dressed as a Goat or Bears. Usually, the group has 1 goat, maybe 2 at times. There are usually 3 bears in the Bear group. There has to be at least 1 bear, but I'm not sure about how many bears there can be in the group.

Below, there's a very short clip of the Bear dance, from 4 years ago, at the Christmas market. I don't think there will be any this year due to the virus.

Across this city, various groups go with either the Goat or the Bears. I'm not sure if this year we'll see any Goats or Bears due to the current situation.

I spoke more about the Goat and Bear because i like them the most. The Goat is very colorful. I don't think you can meet 2 identical looking Goats, but I'm not sure. She might look different from region to region.

The Bear dance is loud and one can barely hear the words being sung or spoken. The Bears have 2 red pompoms around the neck or ears, i forgot. They are also supposed to appear closer to the New Year, so usually after Christmas.

Traditionally, all carolers were supposed to receive some sort of reward from the person receiving them. The traditional rewards are apples, nuts, and a few other edible items. Nowadays, money is the most common reward.

The Bears however, are supposed to receive clothes. I forgot if new or old clothes. It's best not to receive the carolers if you can't reward them: you'll be followed by bad luck in the new year.

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Blogmas Day 3 - safety and security

Publié le 3 Décembre 2020 par Charly C.

Catégories : #life experience, #life lesson, #love, #blogmas

Hi All!

Today's challenge was to request for our blogs to be transferred to HTTPS instead of HTTP.

Some of you may know that my blog didn't have a secure connection in the past. But the staff worked hard and now all the sites can be accessed through the HTTPS protocol.

This is pretty awesome, if you ask me, since we all want some sort of security. Especially after everything that happened this year.

We find security in different ways. Some want security when it comes to a job. Others, want to feel secure in their relationships. For others, having a place they can call home or their own, is the definition of security.

Security makes us feel safe, protected. The first time we ever felt this was in our mothers' wombs, then in her arms, at her chest. Of course, there are plenty of people who didn't have the luxury of having a mother, a father, or even parents.

I don't know how that must feel, and i can't really speak for them. I do know, they did feel pretty safe while inside their mothers' bellies as well.

Some people, even in adulthood, feel better under heavy blankets, or when they're being hugged tightly. This is because towards the end of the pregnancy, there barely is any space inside the womb. Plus, the mother also wears clothes, gets covered with blankets as well.

All these, weigh down on the belly and the baby inside.

What makes me feel safe? Or where do i find security?

These are pretty hard questions to ask. I do know that having Anna in my life DOES make me feel safe.

She's the only one i can count on. i find her stable. this feels safe and secure. And nice.

Or when i go to sleep, i feel safer when the air is warm, the blanket heavy, or there is something heavy on me. I also need quietness.

Some old things like abandoned places for instance, also give me a sense of security in a weird way. I guess, those buildings, being so old, but still standing, make me think that maybe life is easier than i make it be.

It's somehow hopeful. Or maybe the quietness surrounding such a place makes me feel safe. I'm not 100% sure.

It's true that noise, constant and loud, makes me feel very unsafe and stressed.

Overall warmth, but not heat, is something that also gives safety-related feelings.

Keeping things to myself is a safety measure. I feel intruded upon and not safe at all when i'm being asked too many questions. or when people seem to know things about me.

Yet, here i am, sharing part of my life with strangers online. How ironic, isn't it?

I don't really know what i can say related to this.

I'd like to hear from you and find out what makes YOU feel safer and more secure.

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Overblog Challenge day 2 - Planning

Publié le 2 Décembre 2020 par Charly C.

Catégories : #blogmas, #life lesson, #tips

Hello.

I complete today's OverBlog challenge almost at the end of the day. Better later than never, I like to say.

The challenge is talking about planning the posts for the blog. I had a hard time writing about this until now because I don't plan anything. Or hardly anything.

The thing is, when I try to plan stuff in advance, something always comes up that is somehow more important, more urgent.

This means that my plans get delayed. Well, ok, if it was for blogging, all I have to do is to set a day aside and just write a few entries, and then schedule them.

However, it's not like I'm a stranger to planning. I started bullet journaling back in 2017. My proof? This entry right here.

Then, I wrote about more plans in this entry right here.

In real life, I tried using a bullet journal, but it didn't really work out for me. I still continued to use what i'd call more of a planner rather than a bullet journal. See the pics below.

In 2017, i started mid-way. Then when 2018 started, I started a new agenda. I used the same one for 3 years, with a few pages to spare.

various pages from my planner, from years 2018, 2019, 2020.

various pages from my planner, from years 2018, 2019, 2020.

Now, when 2021 starts, i'll have another agenda to use.

These agendas are the type you find in any stationery store. They are not for the current year.

I don't really care about the lines or dates printed on the pages because, as you can see, I don't use the whole page for a single day.

I draw my own layout. And I had quite the handful of layouts in these past 3.5 years that I used a planner.

So, if I don't plan out stuff, what do I use the planner for? Why do I even bother?

There are a few reasons, and I'll list them in no particular order:

To remember what happened - my memory is pretty bad, and tend to forget things very easily. I mean, I even burn water.
To keep track -
- of my sleeping hours/pattern,
- of my workout (hardly any workout this year, but I did walk a lot),
- of health-related stuff.

I hope that in the new year, i'll make more and better use of this agenda/planner thing. But we shall see.

Originally i wanted more discipline in my life, to help me be more productive.

I didn't use the planner so far because i'm a freelance writer, so my job comes first. But there are times when I don't feel inspired to work, and i could at least work on this blog or on my site.

I hope the planner will help me achieve my goals.

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Overblog Challenge - Christmas Wishlist

Publié le 1 Décembre 2020 par Charly C.

Catégories : #customs, #traditions, #Christmas, #wishlist, #blogmas

Hello!

Today is December 1st. Over-Blog, the platform i use for this blog, just launched a challenge for us, its users, for the month of December.

I thought it would be cute to participate, as I never did something that others do or did. I hope to be able to complete the challenge every day.

So, the first challenge is to write our wishlist for Santa Claus. It's not just kids who want things, but us adults as well. And oftentimes, we don't ask for things because we think we're not kids anymore.

This image is an old greeting card Anna's mother had.

So this is what I want for Christmas this year. Well, i won't complain if i get them later as well, haha :D And before you ask, i tried hard to be a nice person this year ;p

Even though this will be a list, there is no particular order:

Twin needles for my sewing machine
An embroidery hoop - medium in size
A serger - i'd like one, even though i have no idea where to store or how to use it. i don't need it, not for now.
Enough money to buy a house in Italy or France ;p
More visitors on this blog and on my BeingObscure.com site ;p

Those were physical stuff that can be bought more or less easily.

For the stuff that can't be bought, I want:

More health for Anna, me, and our parents and relatives
To manage to live in peace with Anna
More joy and happiness for Anna and I.

Now, I want to write all this in French. Well, i'll use Google Translate for that.

Bonjour!

Aujourd'hui, c'est le 1er décembre. Over-Blog, la plateforme que j'utilise pour ce blog, vient de lancer un challenge pour nous, ses utilisateurs, pour le mois de décembre.

J'ai pensé que ce serait mignon de participer, car je n'ai jamais fait quelque chose que les autres ont fait ou fait. J'espère pouvoir relever le défi chaque jour.

Alors, le premier défi est de rédiger notre liste de souhaits pour le Père Noël. Ce ne sont pas seulement les enfants qui veulent des choses, mais nous, les adultes, aussi. Et souvent, nous ne demandons rien parce que nous pensons que nous ne sommes plus des enfants.

J'ai oublié où j'ai vu cette œuvre d'art. :(

C'est donc ce que je veux pour Noël cette année. Eh bien, je ne me plaindrai pas si je les reçois plus tard aussi, haha: D Et avant de demander, j'ai fait de gros efforts pour être une personne gentille cette année. ;p

Même s'il s'agit d'une liste, il n'y a pas d'ordre particulier:

Deux aiguilles pour ma machine à coudre
Un cerceau à broder - de taille moyenne
Une surjeteuse - j'en voudrais une, même si je ne sais pas où la stocker ni comment l'utiliser. je n'en ai pas besoin, pas pour le moment.
Assez d'argent pour acheter une maison en Italie ou en France ;p
Plus de visiteurs sur ce blog et sur mon site BeingObscure.com ;p

Ce sont des choses physiques qui peuvent être achetées plus ou moins facilement.

Pour ce qui ne peut pas être acheté, je veux:

Plus de santé pour Anna, moi, nos parents et nos proches
Pour réussir à vivre en paix avec Anna
Plus de joie et de bonheur pour Anna et moi.

C'est tout. Merci d'avoir lu! A demain avec le prochain défi!

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