Wednesday, February 27

a place from the past



we went on a little road trip to the island where my maternal grandmother was born over a hundred years ago. it was something i've been wanting to do for a long time, and i guess the longing grew stronger when i became a mother myself.
i'm not sure what i was hoping to feel or find there, but it was quite precious to walk with the sights that she has seen all those years ago. somehow it made me realise once more the importance of seemingly tiny and irrelevant things. any thing can remain an image in your mind's eye forever. memories are formed in an inexplicable way. and maybe some memories can outlive a human life, attaching themselves to the landscapes where they came alive so long ago.

Tuesday, February 26

free



a few days off work. time for pretty things. 

Sunday, February 24

to siberia



yet another book that i read about in tolstoy and the purple chairi have never set foot in the landscapes where this beautiful novel by norwegian per petterson is set, but his style of writing makes you feel like you are right there even though you are just sitting in your own living room (or on your own kitchen countertop, which is one of the weird places where i like to read sometimes).

Monday, February 18

finished~16



~ no ad aloe after sun lotion ~ a bit of a weird season to finish an after sun lotion, especially if you are not the type to go skiing, but otherwise i would have to throw it away. this was quite nice, but the coconut-scent got a bit oppressive after a while (though i love coconut normally).
~ dove beauty bath indulging cream ~ i bought this for our autumn holidays, when we spent a few nights in a cottage with a bath. and did i make good use of that bath. i'm still reminded of those days when i smell this now.
~ rituals dragon mud volcanic body scrub ~ this actually belonged to boyfriend, but since he was never going to finish it, i did that for him. i liked the masculine scent of it, and the mild way in which it scrubbed.
~ sabon face mask vanilla ~ sabon and vanilla. you can't go wrong there.
~ sabon body lotion vanilla ~ again: sabon and vanilla. wonderful.
~ biotherm aquasource moisturizer ~ for the umpteenth time, and still my favourite moisturizer.

Sunday, February 17

what to watch



a few days ago, we decided to take our television out of the living room. we hardly had it on anymore anyway. instead, we often to watch series and films on the laptop at night. i can highly recommend it: out with all that crazy randomness that you really don't care for but somehow keep watching. after the tudors, the borgias and downton abbey, we have seen some beautiful films lately.

~ the station agent ~ simple but beautiful scenery and impressive acting by peter dinklage.
~ katinkas kalas (certain people) ~ a swedish film in pastel colours that made me want to take a plane to the swedish countryside.
~ your sister's sister ~ a true feel good film, but not at all in a soppy way.
~ it's kind of a funny story ~ a serious setting for a warm coming-of-age story.
~ fish tank ~ another coming-of-age story, but quite a rough one this time.
~ wuthering heights  ~ the daring 2011-version directed by andrea arnold: i loved it. the scenery, the silence, the camera angles. and then the beautiful mumford and sons-soundtrack to end it with. wonderful.

Thursday, February 14

little big imp



little imp is growing bigger so fast now. but sometimes he is still a tiny boy. we could sleep four little imps in a row in this bed of his.

Monday, February 11

the church of the crooked spire



i just can't get myself to store away this final piece of winter...

Saturday, February 9

life among the savages



fascinating though i found it, it still took me an endless time to finish the gulag archipelago. a busy time at work did not help with that. so now it's time for something a little lighter.

i had the lunch almost ready and the diapers washed, along with the little shirts and the nightgowns and the soakers and the cotton blankets, and they were all drying on the line (and i don't care what anyone says, that's a morning's work, when you consider that i had also made brownies and emptied the ashtrays).

shirley jackson ~ life among the savages

not too much has changed since 1948, although i don't own any ashtrays and i can't remember the last time i made brownies...

Tuesday, February 5

catching up again



a wise old man explained the flu to me as a way of nature to force exhausted young parents to catch up on their sleep. maybe there is some truth in it. i have been sleeping and sleeping these past few days, and even though it's not much fun to feel ill, it sure is lovely to be able to sleep so much. i have a new appreciation for it since the birth of little imp and i treasure the extra hours. so there seems to be at least some good in this.

Sunday, February 3

a thought a day~2



yeah, well, i seem incapable of writing everything i want to write in only five small lines a day. so i already gave up using my new diary the way it should be used. i am ignoring the given tiny space per day and just writing as much (or as little) as i want to. it does involve some fiddling with cut up pieces of white stickers to cover the printed texts that give the dates, but i wouldn't want to just throw the book out as a useless thing. yet i doubt it's going to last me the five years it was originally designed for...