Balkan Design Network

Thinking about buying a new baby monitor for your children? Not sure which model or option you should opt for? Then take a few minutes to read this short guide of mine.

The first thing you need to know when it comes to buying a good new monitor for your child is that you should pick up a model with long range. A decent baby monitor with long range will help you a lot.

Especially when you have to carry the parent unit outside. Or when you have to work downstairs and your little angel is sleeping upstairs.

Another important aspect is to choose between a plain audio monitor or an advanced digital monitor. You will soon find out that there are a lot of good options of both types on the market right now. But the final choice will be yours to make.

If you’re comfortable with just the sound and don’t need to track how your child moves when he sleeps, then you should opt for a good old audio baby monitor, since it will cost you a lot less.

But if you need to see every moves your child makes when he’s alone, then a brand new digital baby monitor is a must. Mind you that when buying digital devices, you will often have to pay a lot more.

Another important thing to keep in mind is that you should always choose the models that offer top security features. Because you won’t want your baby monitors to be hacked by someone else. That would result in a very scary scenario.

Finally, if you have twins or more than one child, you should pick up a pair of baby monitors for twins. That type of product will be very helpful in monitoring your children all at once. It will keep track of every moves and sound in the rooms for you whenever you need. A highly recommended product if you ask me!

Of course, this is just my personal recommendations. Feel free to explore your options and pick up the ones that fit your requirements the most. They will mostly be helpful for sure.

“What knives should I have for my home kitchen?”

Have you ever thought about that question? If you’re THE main cook of your family, I bet that question must have flown around a few times, right?

So, in order to answer it once and for all, I will list them here for you based on my own research and personal experience.

The first and most important knife you should have is a chef knife. It is the all in one multi-purpose tool any cook must have.

A good chef knife will help you greatly. You can use it for mincing, slicing, and chopping vegetables, slicing meat, and disjointing large cuts of beef.

And there are 2 notable styles of chef knives. The Western chef knives and the Japanese chef knives. Both of them can do the work. So just choose the one that fits your style the most.

The next one you would need for your home kitchen is a good carving knife. This type of knife is essential in meat preparation. Especially when you have to work with poultry, roasts, hams, and other large cooked meats.

Carving knives are smaller and thinner than chef knives. And thanks to that design, they can produce smaller, thinner slices of meat with better accuracy.

A paring knife is another good choice for your home kitchen’s knife collection. This is a utility knife that deals mostly with peeling fruits and chopping vegetables.

Other than that, you can use paring knives for a variety of other tasks such as fruit decorating, de-veining shrimps, removing fruit seeds, etc.

This type of knife also comes in many different shapes and forms. Therefore, it won’t be too hard to bring home a good one for your own needs.

And in case you have to chop large bones and meats, you will need a reliable cleaver on your side.  This type of knife originated in ancient China. And it’s also called the Chinese chef knife in case you don’t know.

Cleavers are usually very heavy. And thanks to their weight, they can hack through dense foods, thick meats, and hard bones with ease. If you find yourself having to constantly chop poultry or meat, then your kitchen needs to have a decent cleaver.

Next, you will need to have a decent bread knife if you want to slice the perfect cuts of bread for your family. OK, maybe bread slices don’t have to be that “perfect”, but you get the idea.

A good bread knife will make your life a lot easier when slicing bread. Especially in the morning when you’re late for your work and still have to prepare breakfast for your kids.

And finally, if you ever invited your friends or neighbors over for a steak dinner, then a shiny good looking steak knife set is a must!

Of course, they won’t judge you for having an old set of steak knives. But they will surely wow, and be amazed at your newly bought set. I’ve tried it before and the feeling was awesome. You can try that for yourself 🙂

OK, so there you have it. My personal recommendation of the essential knives you will need for your home kitchen.

If you have questions and something to discuss, feel free to leave me a comment below. I really appreciate that.

Are you still wondering that question? The same old “how to tell if a woman likes you”? Then you’ve come to the right place. Because today, I will share with you the 3 most common ways she will show you her true feelings.

First, if a woman likes you, she will face in your direction. If her chest is turned forward, and you can feel her openness, then it means she is really confident in taking the conversation seriously. And that also means she really likes you. On the other hand, if she crosses her arms or legs, she is nervous. Or just simply not interested. You should keep that in mind.

Another gesture you should take into consideration is her eye movement. If you look at her, and she happens to catch your look, she will either hold her gaze for a few seconds or look down right away. Either of that, and you can be pretty sure that she’s really interested in talking to you. However, if she looks away, you can interpret that as “I’m nervous, and I’m not ready”. But worry not, she might still like you, for sure!

And finally, if a woman really likes you, she will try to “accidentally” touch you. It’s subtle. But it’s a common way of flirting. It’s the way she uses to know how responsive you might be. Also, don’t be afraid if she seems to not try touching you at all. It might simply mean she’s not ready, and she might be nervous of the surroundings and your friends, for example. In this case, you can try to make the move first and see how she responses to your gentle touch.

There has been quite a lot of talk lately of re-branding the image of the Balkans by acknowledging that it is capable of producing not only wickedness and that it can contribute or be the home to also good things.This article is a small contribution in this direction

In the past years the Balkans came to be a derogatory term – a word associated with generally negative notions of violence, disorder, poverty, corruption, crime. For years before that it was not in use – but a famous derivative of his had been coined in the time after the World War I when to “balkanize” meant to break into small, mutually hostile entities (Webster dictionary). What goes around comes around.

Nowadays it is an undesired label; common to a sad group of countries connected above all other things by common misery. The Croats dislike being associated with the Balkans and have a general resistance to being identified by it. Similarly the Greeks.

There has been quite a lot of talk lately of re-branding the image of the Balkans by acknowledging that it is capable of producing not only wickedness and that it can contribute or be the home to also good things. Enthusiasts point out that both the Olympics and Mother Theresa in fact came from the Balkans. This article is a small contribution in this direction.

A local astronomer, Jovica Stankovski discovered a megalithic observatory a couple of years back nearby the village of Kokino in the northern part of Macedonia, by the city of Kumanovo. The discovery was relatively unnoticed by the public until the beginning of this year when the US space agency NASA produced a ranking of ancient observatories and placed it fourth oldest ever, after Abu Simbel in Egypt, Stonehenge in Britain and Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The observatory is around 4.000 years old, which means it dates back to the Bronze Age and what makes it really special is its fine precision preserved even until today.

“The astronomic observations from the observatory had been conducted for several purposes” says astronomer Gjore Cenev from Skopje, “first for creation of a calendar. This is what the marking of the positions of the Sun and the Moon was for. Practically, it had also served to set the time for harvests, shepherding of the livestock, or performing of certain rituals.”

Experts further say that it is unique of its kind in Europe and that it can still be used today.

According to its discoverer, astronomer Stankovski, the civilization that had originally constructed the observatory was later probably replaced by another incoming civilization. This is indicated by many ceramic artifacts discovered on the site, but dating to a later period. “”This leads to a conclusion that another civilization came to the site, destroyed the civilization that had developed the observatory and built a settlement next to it,” says Stankovski.

Astronomers and archeologist reckon with the possibility of several other observatories of this kind existing in the region. For the time being the site is only visited by the local population. Astronomers hope that with its popularization the site will gradually become an international attraction.

Back in 2002 during excavations around the site of the Samoil Fortress in Ohrid a golden mask was discovered which excited the Macedonian public. The mask dates from around 5 century B.C. and probably served purposes of burial. Several other golden items were discovered with it such as gloves and necklace. The reason for the archeological excitement was the similarity of the mask with the famous Trebenista masks. Trebenista is a village around 20 kilometers away from today’s Ohrid and its is the site where 4 other such masks had been discovered 100 and 70 years ago respectively, two at a time, now owned by Bulgaria and Serbia.

According to archeologist in charge of the excavations, Pasko Kuzman, ” the mask is a monumental discovery that sheds additional scientific light in the mystery of the Trebenista case”.

“Via Ignazia passed through here” Kuzman says, “and other important routes connecting the eastern with the western world. Phillip II and Alexandar had left tremendous treasures around. The discovery of the mask can serve as an evidence to refute the theory that Lihnida (the ancient name of Ohrid) was a city of the Ilir culture. It was a Macedonian centre instead”.

One of the first people to see the mask at the time of its discovery was the now late president Boris Trajkovski who brought foreign officials to see the artifact. An attempt was made at the time of the discovery to do a joint regional exhibition of all 5 masks, including the two in Belgrade and Sofia each, but the motion failed.

Vinica is a small town in the eastern part of Macedonia. It hosts the archeological site of an ancient fort from around 5 century B.C. Excavation work was conducted several years back but had since been halted due to lack of funding. During the work done in 2002, an old terracotta icon was discovered dating from the period of early Christianity around 3 century of the new era.

The icon is dedicated to the saint St. Andrew and according to experts is of crucial value to the beginning of Christianity in the region.

“The icon from the fort of Vinica, with its particular content and symbols, is in my knowledge the only known artifact of its kind, not only in the early-Christian art in Macedonia and the Balkans but also Europe” says professor Kosta Balabanov, the person who discovered the icon.

Balabanov sees the importance of the icon in the fact that it probably comes from a period when Christianity was still unrecognized as a religion in the Roman Empire. “It was first emperor Constantine who in 313 recognized the Christian faith, and it became the official state religion much later. The fact that the icon originates from this period of time, and perhaps even earlier – makes it fundamental”.

Balabanov does not hide his discontent with the lack of interest by competent authorities to invest in further archeological research. The icon has been stacked in the National Museum without much follow up.

“If the wild diggers do their job consciously” says he” we will one day have to find the money the buy out the terracotta icons from the people who will have had them”.

Wild digging as it is referred to, or illegal excavation at known or still unmarked archeological sites is a profitable business in Macedonia. Ancient items are smuggled out of the country and into the western markets which have both the appetite and the ability to pay. Modern diggers are well equipped and specialized in their trade and well organized logistically.

Recently public controversy surrounded the lease of an ancient amphitheatre near Bitola for the purpose of a private VIP wedding. The site had been leased for a relatively small amount of 500 euro to be paid in kind by donation of a color photocopier to the Department for Protection of Cultural Monuments. The director defended earnestly his decision and called for promotion of “cultural tourism”. The media were by and large critical of the idea.

The Balkans has things to offer beyond political instability and crime. And hopefully time will come when they will be both appreciated and known better. In the meantime – come and see them.

Source: balcanicaucaso.org