winter island

this is where we spent christmas: on a tiny island with snow-white beaches. it was cold and windy and wonderful. i talked to the lighthousekeeper and fed the birds, patted sheep that stood thick in their winter wool, their feet in the frozen land, and i saw a pink sunset. we drank mulled wine and ate lots of chocolate. i worked away at my many-coloured shawl. it was a quiet litte fairy tale.

what makes it better

an office with a winter view

more snow

winter wonderland continues, bringing seemingly everlasting trainrides and fairytale pictures.

counting down to christmas

you know the holidays are getting closer when your neighbour risks his life on the top of his roof to put up a christmas deer...

evening passtime

the knitting continues...

i feel very up to date when i wear these.

tread softly

what i like most about this white blanket is how it makes everything sound softer.

a temporary muffling of the loudness of life.

as i roamed out...

...i found my bike and the tiny garden drowned in an excessive amount of beautiful snow.

i love...

...smiling at people

...having a heartfelt conversation with my colleagues

...winter

...taking pictures of windows

...taking pictures through windows

...opening the little cardboard doors of my advent calendar

winter

look at my tiny garden: covered in snow. winter has arrived early, bearing piercingly cold wind, the need for lots of layers of clothing and even little icicles on the inside of the window (seriously). i do enjoy it all very much though. i think i have come to the unlikely conclusion that i am one of these strange people who favour winter over summer and who prefer too cold above too hot.

new month's resolutions

less fear

less guilt

more happy ♥

for winter

after an endless array of shawls, these are my first homemade mittens. just in time for the first frost.

adventure

the result of an adventure in the cobwebbed basement. isn't it a good thing that mary is watching over the princess in the background.

things

exciting things are happening. the sort of things that make you feel half excited, half nervous. the sort of things that fill your thoughts all day. the sort of things that keep you awake for the better part of the night; that give you energy one moment and give you worries the next.

the next one

almost the best part of finishing a book: deciding which one to start reading next.

what is the what

i finished this one today. learnt a lot from it - such a new world for me - and unexpectedly found it so hard to put down. the trainrides to and from work flew by.

i am alive and you are alive so we must fill the air with our words.

wisdom on a teabag

a relaxed mind is a creative mind

wisdom on a front door

simplicity is the sign of truth

a confession

i have an empty weekend ahead of me. no exciting things to do or trips to go on. in the meantime, everyone seems to be expecting everyone to be busy all the time, to be filling life up feverishly with as many stories to tell as possible. yet i'm learning to confess that i love it like this: every now and then i hunger for some days of silence, of nowhere to go and only simple things to do.

today

work is hectic these days. sometimes it gives me energy and sometimes it takes away my energy.

but today is a good and simple day at home.

almost a poem

sleeping under four blankets - a cosy kind of cold;

apples and cheese for lunch in a sundaysleepy village;

the prettiest fig, straight from the tree;

getting lost in the fairytale streets of a rocktop town;

reading and peoplewatching at the airport;

walking in silence for hours, with thoughts falling down softly and uninterrupted.

back home

cradling memories of green hills, forests, autumn colours, sunshine, silence, conversation, wine, long walks, friendship, dreams and new ideas.

a trip

we are going away for a few days to discover new places. i am hoping for brightness and happiness and new good memories. the princess wants to come with us, but she will be pampered at home by my mum, who will be having her own little holiday at our house.

it's strange...

...but i like doing the dishes. we even have a dishwasher that has never been used as such since we live here. it functions as an extra cupboard instead.

lauterbrunnen

this picture was taken last summer, from the balcony through the window into our hotel room in lauterbrunnen. i was there with my father, fulfilling our promise of years before to return to switzerland together one day.

i have such good memories of this evening. i sat on the balcony for hours, reading until it grew too dark to see. beneath us, people were talking and laughing in the garden. we drank whisky and my dad smoked lots of cigarettes with the excuse of keeping the wasps away. it was simply wonderful, and this blurry picture sums the feeling up perfectly for me.

worlds

i love my work. i make long days, i give it my full attention and lots of dedication. the environment is uplifting, it makes me happy and it is fulfilling.

but there is a downside. it pushes my creativity to the back of my heart. and that's not a good thing at all. i have to learn to leave work behind when i close the office door and welcome the other world i also love to live in. i have to learn to find a balance but i am not succeeding very well just yet. diligent practice in not taking it all so ridiculously serious is needed.

flowers for autumn

i found the perfect moodlifting scarf for autumn to lighten up rainy and colourless days. the princess loves it too: she thinks it's perfect to fall asleep on and dream the day away.

be still

i hate the days that feel heavy and undefinably sad. although they are rare, they fall upon me without warning and often without explanation. ignoring them does not make them disappear. it seems all i can do is be still and let them wash over me.

seasons and bare feet

i realised that, since i started writing this blog and taking pictures for it, i have become more aware again of the seasons and of the look and feel they have. i also realised that i choose wearing ballerinas over having cold, wet feet during these autumny days.

wuthering heights

finished this enchanting one for the fourth time today. it was the only thing that could more or less divert my thoughts from a few nerve-racking days at work. it will never get old for me.

september

autumn is slowly pushing summer away. lots of gusty rain, but i can still postpone wearing a coat on most days. i've had my last bowl of raspberries for this year; they have now become ridiculously expensive.

i love september. it is such an alive month.

us

close my eyes for a while

force from the world a patient smile

mumford & sons ~ i gave you all

books

my bookshelves are crammed. i even steal shelfspace from boyfriend (who uses his side of the bookcase for storing cd's). i would very much like to hold a buddhist approach to the possession of objects and stuff, but my books are magic to me.

tiny garden

i must have read the secret garden at least four times when i was younger (and it is one of the many books on my list of literature to reread yet again). i guess that is where my fascination with wild, cottage-style gardens began. perhaps i will one day have a secret garden of my own. right now though, my tiny house comes with the tiniest of gardens, upon which i bestow my gardening dreams in miniature.

the mice

the mice who live in our house come in all shapes, sizes and colours. most of them miss at least one ear or one eye. the princess loves them all, but she does have her favourites. the red one is old, bedraggled and very much adored; the purple one is still young and unscathed.

mary

this is mary. actually, her name is rita. boyfriend found her tucked away in the back of a quaint store a few years ago, and he gave her to me for my birthday. she is the patron saint of hopeless cases. yes, she is always useful to have around. but mostly, regardless of all things religious, she is simply very beautiful.

the story of the princess

once upon a time, there was a little furry princess. she was born on the street, her mother was poor and homeless and her father was unknown. she was promised a happier life with kind people, but they treated her horribly and she was taken to a shelter. one winter night, she was brought to a tiny, old house. she hid behind the couch for days, but then she slowly came to realise that her new family was going to treat her like the princess she was. from then on, she indulgently savoured every minute of her royal life.

welcome to skinstill

i am jann. i live in a tiny old house with boyfriend, our princess, her mice, lots of books and a statue of the virgin mary.

skinstill is the place where i try to capture my images and words.

welcome ♥