Over the last week or so, we have been experiencing electrical storms of some magnitude. Almost every afternoon.
The days usually begin bright and sunny but, as the afternoon goes on, a wind picks up threatening anything vulnerable carelessly left outside, heaving it indiscriminately against walls and windows, fences and roofs. Clouds begin to thicken and build; ominously black. The sky darkens. Lights come on in houses and faint rumblings of thunder are heard. And the first drops of rain fall as the storm moves into position overhead. House martins cling on to the telephone wires with their heads down and wings well tucked in. To fly would be certain disaster in the face of the wind and the intensifying rain. Rain of biblical proportions thunders on roofs, pours along gutters into downpipes, spills over courtyards creating temporary rivers which flow through gardens, under gates and continue down the street to pour into the stream and manmade gullies. For the past two days, the storm has been accompanied by a sympathetic break in the electricity supply deepening the elemental, atmospheric mood. Lightning is not very evident but the thunder's cracks and big bass voice rolls around the hills; Thor is busy in his forge. The storm intensifies, lightning flashes at the windows, the thunder rattles window frames and sends seismic vibrations through the walls as if Thor’s rage has come to its climax and his energy is boundless. As the storm retreats, the birds’ hopeful songs are the first sounds heard and a hint of life appears through the heavy cloud. Then peace. An unnatural stillness. Broken only by lingering, stubborn lightning bolts and resulting thunder as Thor, unwilling to waste his work tosses it around in his waning anger until, spent and satisfied, he trudges away. The power is reinstated. For an instant. Then nothing. The only thing to do is have a Saturday evening drink, play Scrabble and wait. Wait for light. Wait for dinner. Wait to find out if Simona won and who will be on pole in Canada tomorrow…
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It was this weekend three years ago that we first viewed Moşna 630. We have been looking at the photographs from that day. Even we have to look carefully, especially at the indoor shots, to figure out where they were taken from and where they were of! Our good friend Willy, had sent us photos at the end of the week and we rushed up. We had already spent some time looking in Moşna and had looked at a couple of houses including one that had already been renovated. We enquired about the price for that one but it was ridiculous for what it was. As well as that, it had less land and really not enough rooms. We stayed in Sighişoara and came directly to view the house in the morning. Willy and Lavinia came with us and, while the owner wasn’t around, his daughter was and she didn’t show us, she just let us loose. For some reason we fell in love. This is what we saw… Sometimes, I look back at these photos and say, "What were we thinking?"! On reflection, I liked the fact that the house is set back away from the road in its own land; it doesn't share a wall with the next door property. It had windows and a reasonable roof - Willy and I went up into the attic and Willy said, "It's all right. It doesn't rain inside."! We liked that it had elecricity, gas, plumbing, sewage, an inside toilet and mains water (for what the last two were worth then). Many of these Saxon properties don't have any of those things. Many tears, tantrums and much money later, this is what we see now... I've tried to take these photographs from as close to the same position as the first set, it's hard to tell though! We are constantly tweaking and twiddling to improve the garden although there are still big jobs to do so detailing in the rest of it is very much ongoing. Excuse the washing - it's just part of living! And this is just the outside! Over the next month or so, I will document each room. I've been meaning to do this for ages so that we have a record ourselves. It takes ages to collect photos together so please be patient with me! Oh, and I forgot completely about the cludgie (outside toilet)! It was pretty much where the wee flowerbed is now. All traces of it are gone!
Throughout all the renovations and changes, we have tried to be sympathetic to the character of the house and property while making it modern and comfortable to live in. So living room next time... Towards the end of February, the shops and markets fill with wee trinkets all festooned with red and white thread. I've known about these Martişor gifts for as long as I've been in Romania and been the recipient of many, usually from girlfriends or students. It's now a ladies' day when the first day of spring is celebrated or, more often than not, hoped for. I've never known the story behind it though until today when I decided to go looking. It's based in legends and stories from long ago and I've borrowed the text (edited a little) from http://www.e-scoala.ro. As usual, with Romanian stories and traditions it is interesting and very lovely... The Story of Martişor Every year the festive day of March 1 brings back to us renewed hopes, confidence, faith in good fortune and a prosperous life. It is life, spring and the shining sun which win the battle against chilly weather, overcast skies and the nasty days of the Babe (the first 9 days in March). This triumph of rebirth and regeneration could not be better embodied but in the Martişor ( a trinket, March amulet) offered to loved ones in early spring. The white and red thread of this amulet (a coin, money cowrie) which parents customarily tied around their children's wrist, young men offered to young women, and young women exchanged among themselves was believed to bring good luck, good health, "like pure silver, like the river stone, like the seashell". The Martişor is offered early morning on the first day of March; it used to be worn for 9-12 days, sometimes until the first tree would bloom when it was hung on a flowering branch to bring good luck to its bearer. The Martişor was a present that Romanians sent to each other on the first day of March, traditionally a gold coin suspended on a white-and-red braided thread with a silk tassel. The recipient used to wear it around his neck until he would see a blooming rose and the present was then placed on its branch; in this way Spring was poetically welcomed. The coin symbolized prosperity, the white-and-red thread, a metaphor of a person's face white as a lily and rosy as a rose. In the villages of Transilvania, the red-and-white wool yarn Martişor was pinned on gates, windows, sheepfolds, tied around the horns of cattle, around the handle of buckets to protect from the evil eye and malefic spirits; it was believed that the red "color of life" could be an inducer of vitality and regeneration. Taken from "The Romanian tradition of the Martişor" by Dr. Maria Bocse. English version by Elena Malec And, today, in keeping with the tradition and after nearly a week of bitter cold and heavy snow, the sun is shining in a clear blue sky making the snow shiny and sparkly. The frosts seem to be early this year but it's always hard to tell really; they're a shock to the system but the days are still warm and sunny with clear bright blue skies and the autumn colours are really developing in the valley and on the surrounding hills. Of course the clear skies are leading to the frosts but it means amazing stars after dark and, as the moon comes close to full, there seems to be daylight in the middle of the night; so much so that last night there were several very confused birds singing all night! We've had to start preparing the garden for the winter a lot earlier than we had anticipated. It seemed a shame yesterday to be digging up beautifully flowering geraniums and moving them into the dark in the cellar but I grew them from seed at the beginning of the year and I'm hugely proud of them. So, while I was sorry to pull off the flowers and put them in pots, I'm determined to take them through the winter and have the opportunity for cuttings on the spring. We had bonus honeydew melons the other day - I hadn't really expected them to ripen but, when I went to look at the pumpkins, there they were! They were an experiment this year - we just planted the seeds and let them get on with it. They are so sweet, juicy and delicious there will be more next year and we'll make a point of getting them planted a lot earlier next time. The late planting means that the pumpkins are not fully ripe yet so, this morning, I harvested them in the hope that they will ripen more indoors. I'm assured they will and, even as they are, they'll be of some use. They look pretty on the windowsill! The rest of the garden should be all right. I will eventually have to pull up the amazing marigolds - I had no idea they could grow like that! - and wrap the more tender shrubs and herbs against air frosts later. A spot of weeding and clearing up after the nasturtiums wouldn't go amiss either - it's a job I struggle to get round to but it's lovely to be out in these pleasant sunny afternoons... At Moşna 630 we have been busy harvesting all our homegrown vegetables and turning them into delicious jams and chutneys or freezing them for use in the winter. We must have picked between 30 and 40 kilos of tomatoes alone. The freezer is groaning with sweetcorn, swede, runner beans, rhubarb, courgettes and tomatoes and the cellar is full of tomato ketchup and the jars of spicy and sweet preserves. We're now just waiting for the pumpkins which are well on their way... We look forward to sharing these with you, not only for breakfast but for picnic lunches and occasional family meals.
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MOŞNA 630Providers of rural, relaxing and economical breaks in the heart of Romania. Archives
June 2018
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