Summer Flower Branches

An whimsical decoration for the bedroom, inspired by this sakura motif

How to make the flower (this is my interpretation of the motif, not the pattern by Yoko Johnston):
chain 4, close the chain with a slip stitch:


Chain 2, *sc, ch1* 4 times, change the color, sl st, chain 4, 2 tr in one stitch:


Chain 3, sl st. The first petal is ready. Make 4 more petals. Transfer the last sl st behind the flower:



Chain 3, sl st to connect with the opposite petal. Try to tug in the ends in the process of crocheting the flower and thus save time and effort to weave in four ends after the flower is ready:

I'm not an experienced crocheter, so making a flower took me about 6-7 min. Make as many flowers as you want:


I made about 30 and arranged them on lime-tree branches:

Light Yogurt Cake

The recipe originated in the blog of Sladka Hapka and I saw it recently as a raspberry variation here.
Well, I had to give it a try, more so that I had the biscuits and muesli.
So, all you need:

• biscuits,
• muesli, raisins (I used muesli with 40% fruit content),
• yogurt (three 400 g containers),
• powdered sugar (optional, but my husband won't eat it unsweetened),
• soft fruit (berries would be best, but these sweet soft and ripe pears did just fine).

Place the first row of biscuits in a large dish and spread the sweetened yogurt.


Cover with fruit and muesli, spread yogurt.



Follows the next row of biscuits. I poured some jam too (the children had eaten the plums and only the jelly was left, so it was the perfect opportunity to get rid of this jar :)


Again spread the yogurt, arrange the fruit and muesli on top and leave it to rest in the fridge for at least a day.


Bonn appétit!

On the Road - Day 3 - Basarbovo Monastery

After Tryavna we visited Arbanasi - a historical village near Veliko Tarnovo, the old capital of Bulgaria, and Russe, where we celebrated the 70th anniversary of my father. The next day we went to the rock monastery in the village of Basarbovo, built in the caves in the valley of the river Russenski Lom in XII-XIV century.

On the Road - Day 2 - Tryavna

After a nice rest at the Sokolsky Monastery we are heading to Tryavna - another small town in the Central Balkan Mountains, best known for its preserved National Revival architecture and wood carving traditions:

On the Road - Day 1 - Gabrovo and Sokolsky Monastery

After Bozhentzi we passed through Gabrovo on our way to the Sokolsky Monastery, where we spent the night. Gabrovo is a town at the foot of the central Balkan mountains, on the Yantra River. As we visited Gabrovo last year, this time I took only a few pictures in the center of the town, the famous statue of the the founder of Gabrovo - Racho the Blacksmith, raised on a rock in the river, the Aprilov Gymnasium - the first secular school in Bulgaria.