playground

prints leading through the abandoned wintery water fountain. yes there is no water in february but there is some powdery white called snow. and the kids love it as much here as they do in the summer heat of july.
the same for the climbing structure. the snow just adds an interesting little twist to climbing and sliding.... we love it.

sidewalk

we made it out onto the sidewalk....
it was fun and i thought, very interesting. just a regular sidewalk in the city. any sidewalk in town today. of course it would not have been me, within a split second i was already analyzing how many push chairs went by. what kind of shoe sizes there where to find and if the kids were skidding.
we all enjoyed it and nothing could take the smile from my face, at least not for the few moments we were strolling down the sidewalk.

no such thing

there is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day.

-alexander woollcott

shoes

those red shoes are on their way out....
i bought them for elias 6 years ago and all three kids loved to wear them. although they are a bit of a pain to put on, as their shaft is very narrow. but that's exactly what makes them a good fit, very snugly around the ankle. and then the laces are way too long. i know i should have cut them long ago, but somehow i just never got around to do it. so, here they are old and loved, soon at their end.

gees

those gees, jp would not be jp without the canada gees.
i love their sound, traveling up there in the sky, from scarborrough pond to jamaica pond. competing with all the "big-birds" from logan international airport!
no not really competing, i love them, but not the other kind.
the honking is the first sign, a far away honking which is getting louder and more clear, and all of a sudden they are right above me. loud and clear, in formation or not. it touches me, i'm impressed and uplifted. gees in the city, nature in my life.
thank you, God.

fondue

the kids really wanted cheese fondue. as it brings all the memories of visiting grandparents in switzerland back.....
of course i couldn't say no!
i love fondue too and we still had some prepared cheese in the fridge.
i got the garlic ready, the caclone out and the rally pointy forks! that's the best of it, the loooooong forks...
as you can imagine, it didn't take long until the yummy cheese was all gubled up. three happy children drinking some more earl gray.
and before i know all eager to listen to stories, all cuddled up under their warm quilts.

travel

people travel to wonder at the hight of the mountains, at the huge waves of the seas, at the long course of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars, and yet they pass by themselfes without wondering.

-saint augustin

plenty

even the king is served from the field

ecclesiastes 5:9

i'm enjoying Plenty so much, it is inspiring and challenging at the same time. it is a great adventure to be taken to the 100 miles around vancouver. to be taken along for exploratory tours into the frasier valley, along the cheakamus and the salish coast.
having to think of where our food comes from, how disconnected we are from the plenty right here in new england. the plenty which is not anymore the plenty it was many decades ago, when there was an abundance of what ever we can imagine, to take from. we still are taken a breath by nature and what it gives us, it still is magical when you start to explore it. but we lost sight of what it was, what we are missing, what we lost over 1000 of years.
i'm "eating" up every bit of sun beam i can gather and it is more and more, spring is already in the air. i know it will be cold and gray for many more days before spring starts. but that doesn't hinder me to enjoy the bright warmth even more!

chnoepf

when i was at the yarn store last week i could not resist to buy one of those old button boxes. "windsor button" had to close down a few stores and is now selling their old wooden boxes for not to much.
it was a nice and relaxing little time to take my collected buttons and sort them. of course i spent much more time then i had anticipated..... it is fun to play around with colours, shapes and sizes, that's how i ended the project for the moment. naomi as well as the amos have taken the box out and transferred back and forth as they felt necessary. it will be a project in progress!

colour is back

late in the fall i collected a garland of bittersweet branches. they are such an exuberant sight now! especially in contrast to all the white i was posting the past few days....

again white

i just could not resist this sight. i had to take it and add it to my white phase....
(yes it is amos typing away with one finger....
nor for much longer, as he is very eager to get his typing hours in)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/levels/level1.shtml

more white

besides the white snow we got on sunday, my narcissus is blooming. it is beautiful and smells lovely. i'm glad though just one bloom has opened yet....

beautyful white

it was a wonderful snowy morning.
the first peak out of the bedroom window was such a surprise, snow!
an unexpected white blanket was covering the city's dirty look.
winter is often looking messy in town, gray's and black's blendig.
and shoveling is a treat!

quilt

it made me so happy to discover naomi taking an afternoon nap. she does love my quilt as much as i do. and i'm proud of my last years project. it turned out lovely. recycling lots of outworn clothes. the back is made out of an old duvet cover, which my mothers friend has given to me 20 years ago. a dyed light linen. i divided it up with some colorful new pieces to give it an interesting twist.
all the pieces are sown together with the machine and hand quilted ~1.2cm from the seam. the batting is organic cotton which i could not resist buying. i figured we spend so much time under such a nice quilt that it's worth using unpolluted patting.
it has been a good warm winter for us!

living

i like living, breathing better than working...
MY ART [IS] THAT OF LIVING:
each second each breath is a work
which is neither visual nor cerebral,
it's a sort of constant euphoria."

- marcel duchamp

kurzes haar!

the first time in her life i cut naomi's hair! she turned four on few days ago and never until yesterday wanted short hair! she is very proud of her looks and her beautiful long hair. of course she wants carry it down, what i never understood. i like long hair but up, tight and pinned up, no lose ends hanging into my food or my projects.
so yesterday night naomi just insisted to have her hair cut in the morning, i had to promise.
so i did and this is what happened.... she is very happy and i was not sad and didn't even blink with my eye cutting her hair. i guess it was time for it.

windrad

ich schaue aus dem kuechenfenster und bin erneut erfreut ueber die farben und die bewegung unseres windrades. grad jetzt mitten im grauen winter tut es gut die bewegten farben des raedes zu sehen. die resonanz im innern finden und einfach geniessen.
winter in der stadt, oft trostlos, grau in grau, doch ab und zu ein farbtupf ist nicht zu verlaeugnen. vorallem die immer wieder auftauchenden cardinale lassen mein herz hoeher schlagen und die kinder immer wieder voll begeisterung zum fenster rennen. -farben im winter, ein geschenk-

glittering

winter in at it's best, cold and sunny. glittering snow on trees as well as on the ground.
looking up into the sky is at such moments is a treat, a gift of nature.
it sustains me, keeps me going and is just inspiring to look closer.
to be more out there, to open my eyes for even more beauty to be discovered.
because i do know for certain it is out there and waiting to be seen.

not hurry

nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.

-lao tzu

painting

painting all day, every day! yes that's naomi's idea of fun.
any paints, any surface, as long as there is freedom to paint.
starting out orderly with a clear idea of the project.
going on to random pieces of paper until she ends up...
yes you know somewhere on her body,
fingernails, hands, arms, face, ears, legs, feet....