Options trading · A personal journal
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Postcards from Riga
It was still and tranquil (most probably Friday evening) after visiting my dear grandmother in Riga, I decided to take Riga in night pictures.Experimented with long exposures and HDR photography tonight.View towards Old Riga from Radisson SAS hotel River DaugavaView towards Old RigaVansu bridge in RigaClassical Old Riga photographyRiver DaugavaRiga: Iron Bridge, TV Tower and National Library
Apple tree blossoms
A couple days ago I introduced you with first sprouts in our garden. Today allow me to show first apple tree blossoms from our apple orchard.Apple orchard in mid-May 2016Apple tree blossom
Akropolis Shopping Mall in Klaipeda
Shopping and entertainment center Akropolis in Klaipeda most probably is the largest shopping venue in the area. Those of you who have traveled to Vilnius most probably will recognize this brand. I first discovered Vilnius Akropolis in 2003 or something. Now it is time to put Akropolis Klaipeda on map. We were returning from Curonian Spit and decided to make shopping somewhere in Klaipeda, I noticed few Rimi and Maxima stores when we approached Klaipeda from Liepaja, but after we left Smiltyne Ferry Terminal Akropolis crossed our way. It was time to make a stop.Akropolis shopping mall in Klaipeda I was tired and I even didn't visit this shopping mall actually,…
My Summer Office 2016
Finally I have a good working place, a year ago I had to spend my days in front of house, while two years ago I reported very scenic working place - Turtle Lake in Tbilisi. After several days of improve back at our rural house, the room meant to be an office / guest bedroom is finally done, except it asks for some interior decors and other details, which makes overall mood.Summer office 2016Well I haven't done much digital work from here yet, but I hope I will spend these Summer nights not only by trimming grass, but hopefully patching some Drupal modules, developing new things, of course blogging, and post processing my photography (Adobe Lightroom, you rock)As for Digital nomads…
Taking the Chimney Down
This is a task we had, most probably, to do already a year ago, together with roof replacement, but trust me, last year's summer was one of the hardest, as the new home owners we didn't have much clue how to handle all those many things, the house asked us. So it took about a year before we actually decided to tear town that huge manfetel chimney. Well. I actually hired two workers to help me with it, meanwhile I was in the other part of loft painting and photographing the small room.Chimney to be taken downIn past, most probably by time, when this house was built (1890) this chimney was not only just a chimney, but also a bread oven, kitchen and maybe even a bath. Nowadays its…
Kavine Kolibris in Nida
Kavine or cafe Kolibris is located in Lithuanian seaside town of Nida. We paid here a short visit to have a meal. I was not hungry at all this time, so all I tried was just a cup of coffee and milkshake. Girls thus tried some local Lithuanian specialties. Kavine Kolibris in Nida, LithuaniaSoupSome fish soup. I didn't tried, but was told that pretty good one.Ice creamThe Bottom LineKavine Kolibris is a very decent place. Try, you won't regret it.
Another Layer of Paint (HDR)
In part 1 I told how we scratched chalk from ceilings and removed old wallpapers, in part 2 I showed how I applied base layer of white paint and did some photography tricks. Today I applied second layer of white paint, both for ceilings and walls, and also mastered a technique, I felt bad about in previous two articles. I had to use HDR photography technique to get the right exposures of window. Who said a construction worker cannot be a good photographer or vice verse?Second layer of white paint appliedI hope that stove in the middle of room will keep us warm in cold winter nights.HDR trick helped save the exposureAnyway, its time to apply paint for floor and move in, right?
Nida - Resort Town on Curonian Spit in Lithuania
Nida is a resort town in Lithuania, the administrative centre of Neringa municipality. Located on the Curonian Spit between the Curonian Lagoon and the Baltic Sea, it is the westernmost point of Lithuania and the Baltic states, close to the border with the Russian Kaliningrad Oblast exclave. It currently has about 1,650 residents.We arrived to Nida just shortly we paid a visit to Juodkrante (both are located on Curonian Spit). One of my first observations about Nida were simple, it's some artists paradise or something - a lot of workshops. And later by reading on Wikipedia, turned out I was right. Thomas Mann Summer house…
Paint Job - White ceiling, white walls
Today I'm continuing works in second floors room. Yesterday we did a wallpaper removal and chalk scratching thing. Today is the right time to apply base layer of fresh paint for ceilings.I had an idea not to apply white paint for walls this time, as I did it in first floor last year, see: Room One - Wall and Ceiling Painting with Water Based Paint; Removing Junk And Adding First Layer of Paint (Kitchen Works); instead to glue new wallpapers here. Thus after finishing paint job for ceilings I decided to apply a test layer with paint on walls, just to see. The result was pretty much satisfactory, and after a short consultations, we decided to go white…
Juodkrante - Lithuanian Riviera
Juodkrante is a seaside resort town located on Curonian Spit in Lithuania some 20km from Klaipeda. To get on to the Curonian Spit you will need to take a ferry at Smiltyine terminal at first.I was really surprised of different architecture I seen here on Juodkrante and Curonian Spit. I you have ever been close to the Netherlands, you will find some similarities with Dutch architecture here, thus, most probably the architecture here is kept from times when Curonian Spit was part of Germany (prior to WW2). I did find some similarities here with Dutch town of Leiden, for example.Juodkrante in LithuaniaJuodkrantė (literally: Black Shore) with permanent population of about…
First Sprouts of Spring
A few days ago we constructed our second veggie garden in wooden boxes, then we planted. Few days latter first sprouts were observed.I was busy with scratching wallpaper from the other room we decided to improve this year, while my better part took some lovely close ups and macro's in garden.Strawberry plantsBought these plants at local Kuldiga marketRhubarbYou can make a lovely jelly out of these, or you can try to make a rhubarb wine later. We decided to try later this Summer and brew our rhubarb wine. Plants of tomatoesFirst sprouts of radishes First sprouts of dillA dandelion CrabappleRhuburb
Removing Wallpaper in Second Floors Room
Finally we have moved to indoor works, and this time we started with a room I haven't covered yet - a little room in second floor with a stove. We still don't have any idea what this room will be at the end, it might be either a guests bedroom or a temporary home office.Most probably something in the middle. Stairways to the loftThere is a small room on the leftOld Wallpaperand still some junk inside. In matter of few hours we removed the junk, removed wallpaper and scratched chalk from ceilings.The resultClean walls and ceilingsNow it is the right time to apply first base layers of paint to ceiling. At this stage I had an idea to glue new wallpapers on walls, how it will be in th end…
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