A Spider Web / Paukova mreža

Did I mention already that V is crazy about animals? Every day, all day long, he is pretending to be some animal. Can you imagine how happy and excited he was when papa said he was going to make him a big spider web, so he could climb like a real spider?

Da li sam već pomenula da je V lud za životinjama? Svaki dan, po ceo dan imitira neku životinju. Zamislite onda, koliko je bio uzbuđen i srećan kada mu je tata rekao da će napraviti veliku paukovu mrežu, po kojoj će moći da se penje kao pravi pauk.

This was a completly hand-made project and papa V enjoyed the whole process: going into the woods, finding a dry tree that could be used for the frame-construction, pulling the tree down, processing it: measuring, cutting, sanding it, and constructing! And finally, lacing the rope.

Tata V je uživao u svakom koraku izrade mreže - odlaženju u šumu, traženju i pronalaženju najadekvatnijeg drveta za ram za mrežu, obaranju drveta, njegovoj obradi: merenju, sečenju, šmirglanju i konstruisanju rama. I konačno, u razapinjanju i preplitanju kanapa. 

Both papa V and I love wood. And we both love things made of wood. They are so noble, vibrant, live. Just look at those beautiful colors! I suppose that working with wood, and creating things out of wood is a great pleasure. Maybe as much as climbing a natural spider web? And we are so lucky to have an opportunity to do so!

Tata V i ja obožavamo drvo. Obožavamo predmete izrađene od drveta. Oni su prirodni, plemeniti i živi. Prelepih boja! Pretpostavljam da je rad sa drvetom i izrađivanje predmeta od drveta veliko zadovoljstvo. Možda isto onoliko koliko i penjanje jednog pauka - u zelene visine!

(photos by papa V)

A Swing / Ljuljaška

Here is another handmade 'toy' that papa V made of 'the rope' and wood. A swing! I am not quite sure what kind of wood it is, but it's red-ish color is just so so beautiful! 


Ovo je još jedna 'igračka' koju je tata V napravio od dotičnog kanapa i drveta. Nisam sigurna koje je drvo u pitanju, ali ima prelepu crvenkastu boju!

V was so happy to help his papa make the swing (even though it just meant pushing the rope through the hole :), but even happier trying it out, which was not easy at all. This swing also (as the rope ladder) requires using a special technique - finding balance and using the strength of arm muscles, in order to sit and swing. At first, V seemed kinda disappointed not being able to swing immediately and easily, I thought he would dislike it and give up trying, but a little practice here and there, and mostly pretending to be  Mowgli, his favourite book character, and - voila! He swings like a small jungle monkey, (or should I say 'a little frog'?) and he loves his swing for helping him be one!


V je bio presrećan što je pomogao tati da napravi ljuljašku (iako je to značilo da samo provuče kanap kroz rupu :), ali još srećniji da je isproba, što nije bilo nimalo lako. Ova ljuljaška (kao i ove merdevine), zahteva da se savlada određena tehnika - da se pronađe ravnoteža i da se upotrebi snaga mišića ruku, kako bi se na njoj sedelo i ljuljalo. V je u početku delovao pomalo razočarano jer nije uspeo odmah da se ljulja, pomislila sam da mu se zbog toga neće dopasti i da će odustati od daljeg pokušavanja. Međutim, malo vežbe tu i tamo, a naročito uživljavanja u ulogu Moglija, omiljenog lika iz knjiga, i - voila! Ljulja se kao pravo malo majmunče iz džungle (ili treba reći žabica?), i obožava svoju ljljašku koja mu omogućava da to i bude.

The most beautiful present / Najlepši poklon

For V's birthday (that was back in winter) we got a nice amount of money from his aunt N and uncle V who live in Moscow, to buy him a nice present. We wanted to use the money for something really special, but at the time we did not know what that would be. So we saved the money, until, hm, summer. When we came to our summer-house, we knew what we would spend the money on. 

Za V-ov rođendan (koji je bio u januaru) dobili smo lepu sumu novca od tetke N i teče V iz Moskve da mu kupimo neki lep poklon. Želeli smo da potrošimo novac na nešto zaista posebno, ali tada nismo znali šta bi to moglo biti, tako da smo novac sačuvali do, eto, leta. 

Kad smo došli na vikendicu shvatili smo šta možemo da kupimo od dobijenog novca.

Rope!

We went to a nautical supplies store and bought more than 100 metres of synthetic rope (that doesn't rot from moisture) of different diameters, some nails, screws, steel cable and carabineers. 

Kanap!

Otišli smo na buvljak i radnju nautičke opreme i kupili više od 100 metara sintetičkog kanapa (koji ne truli) različite debljine, zatim eksere, šrafove, čeličnu sajlu i karabinjere.

And then, papa V spent some days making the most beautiful 'toys' for V to play and - climb!

A zatim je tata V proveo nekoliko dana praveći najlepše 'igračke' za V-a da se igra i - penje!

This is one of them - a rope ladder, that can be used for climbing and swinging. It is actually not easy at all to climb this ladder and it requires a lot of practice to master the skill! Just perfect for a boy who loves climbing.

Ovo je jedna od njih - merdevine koje mogu služiti za penjanje ili ljuljanje. Penjanje uz njih je prilično teško i zahteva dosta vežbe kako bi se savladala veština. Pravi izazov za dečaka koji voli da se penje!

A big wall painting / Slikanje na zidu

In the corner of our backyard there is a small brick shed that was once ment for chicken. We never liked it, because it was a kind of construction that absolutely did not fit into this beautiful nature space. So after a little thinking what to do with it to make it more appropriate and 'acceptable', we came to the idea to paint the red brick wall in white, and make a surface for painting!

U dnu našeg dvorišta nalazi se jedna mala šupa od crvenih cigli, koja je nekada bila namenjena kokoškama, dok je deda još bio živ. Nikada nam se nije dopadala, jer se uopšte nije uklapala u ovaj prirodni, šumski ambijent. Nakon malo razmišljanja o tome šta da uradimo s njom, kako bismo je učinili prikladnijom i za nas prihvatljivijom, došli smo na ideju da crveni zid od cigala ofarbamo u belo i tako napravimo podlogu za slikanje.

And here it is! Perfect for large-scale painting! Perfect for messy art! Perfect for clean-up! And perfect for being outside! 

I evo ga! Savršen za slikanje širokim četkama! Savršen za mazanje, brljanje bojama i potom čišćenje, jer je napolju! 

And what I like the most about it is that kids (and parents) can paint together! It is that big!

I ono što najviše volim u vezi sa ovim zidom je što deca (i odrasli) mogu zajedno da slikaju! Eto toliki je taj zid.

The Banging Wall in the woods / Šumski bubanj

The garden of our summer-house and it's backyard are huge! We always daydreamed to make a natural playspace for our kids here, so when V was born, we started making one thing at a time.

Playing music on kitchen pans and dishes is something most kids do and enjoy doing. But a Banging Wall that I saw in this book, is something I fell in love with the moment I saw it.

Dvorište naše vikendice je ogromno! Uvek smo maštali o tome da svojoj deci tu napravimo igralište od prirodnih materijala, i kad se V rodio počeli smo da pravimo jednu po jednu "igračku".

Lupanje na šerpama i loncima u kuhinji je omiljena igra mnogih mališana. Međutim kada sam videla "muzički zid" od šerpi i poklopaca u ovoj knjizi, oduševila sam se i znala da ćemo morati i mi da napravimo nešto slično!

We made our first Banging Wall when V was 1,5 years old in the backyard of the  house. We all loved it. But, the strings got rotten from rain, snow and sun, and the Banging Wall fell apart, so we had to make it again, this time with boat-strings, that don't get rotten. V is big enough now to help in the process: washing old pans, holding and tying them, but mostly enjoying the  water on his little feet.

Naš prvi "muzički zid", tj. šumski bubanj, kako su ga nazvali naši prijatelji, napravili smo u šumici iz kuće kada je V imao 1,5 godinu. Svima nam se dopao.

Ali, kanap, s kojim smo povezali šerpe i lonce, je istrulio od kiše, snega i sunca, i naš šumski bubanj se raspao, tako da smo morali ponovo da ga napravimo, ovoga puta sa brodskim kanapom koji ne truli.

V. je sada dovoljno veliki te je mogao da pomaže u izradi: u pranju šerpi, pridržavanju i vezivanju, mada najviše u prskanju vodom i pljuskanju barica.

And of course - experimenting with the different sounds that the pans of different shape and size produce,  while interrupting the beautiful and relaxing sounds of nature - the one of birds and crickets! 

I naravno, u istraživanju različitog zvuka koje šerpe različitih oblika i veličina proizvode, narušavajući pri tom, pomalo grubo, nežne i opuštajuće zvuke prirode - cvrkut ptica i zujanje zrikavaca. Tek toliko da se označi prisustvo dece.

Our summer days in nature / Letnji dani u prirodi

We are so so lucky to have a house in the country-side where we can spend our hot summer days! It is completely surrounded with woods and nature.

There are so many wonderful things to do here with kids, and it is beautiful to see that they enjoy it so much.

So in the days and posts that come I shall share with you some details from our summer days spent here.

Stay tuned!

Naša leta provodimo u vikendici u prirodi koja je potpuno okružena šumom.

Obožavamo život koji živimo dok smo tu.

Ima toliko zanimljivih i lepih stvari koje možemo raditi sa decom napolju, i lepo je videti da i oni uživaju u tome.

U narednim danima i postovima podeliću sa vama neke crtice iz života i leta provedenog ovde.