Archive for October, 2005
Monday, October 3rd, 2005
Frustration Free Football
Unlike the two previous years here, I am not coaching soccer this year. Today’s first game was much more fun to watch, and we beat the American International School of Budapest, too.
Unlike last year they had uniforms ahead of time, arrived plenty of time before the game started, had an enormous green field to play on, and did not do any victory dance themselves upon winning the game.
No Comments » - Posted in General by Jerry
Monday, October 3rd, 2005
German election stalemate saves us $50 in rent
It is always nice when currency exchange rates go in our favor. Tonight I paid the rent, in cash as always, $50 less than last month. The dollar strengthened against the euro (and thus against the Hungarian Forint, too) because of the stalemated German election results earlier in September.
No Comments » - Posted in Hungary by Jerry
Sunday, October 2nd, 2005
Trip to Sandor’s
Our neighbor, Diane, has an affinity for antique furniture not unlike those who can’t turn away a stray kitten. Recently we helped her find a home, ours, for an antique chest that needed some extra love. It sat in the basement all summer until we hosed it out and wiped off the spider webs last month. The original (?) coat of red paint looked worn and full of character, but in the end Cathy and I concluded that neither of us would sleep under a blanket that came out of THAT chest unless it got looking better than it was.
Sandor is the mystical pine furniture guru that lives in a town south of Budapest, Dunaföldvár. He speaks no English and only comes to Budapest occasionally, so making a connection with him was pretty esoteric. Today one of the enlightened ones offered to take us to Sandor, so we followed obediently.
His store didn’t look like much from the street, but inside his courtyard were treasures from the past; wood utensils, cabinets, farm machinery, and even an old sleigh. He has a small warehouse full of refinished, antique pine furniture, all waiting for their owners to retrieve them, and we added to his collection.
Kill the wood worms, replace the four worm-eaten feet, strip off the old paint, and put a coat of wax on the outside; that was our request. My only regret is that I didn’t take a picture of it before we left.
Sandor was wonderful. I see why everyone takes things to him. He does good work, and he’s friendly. While we were there he invited us in, introduced us to his daughter and her boyfriend, and showed us pictures and video of a house remodeling job he’s doing in Szentendre. We’re already looking forward to the return trip to pick up our refinished chest!
(Click here or click the photo above to see more pictures from around his shop.)
