she's feeling 22!

the child is 22! she spent the day painting this painting for herself. she sent pictures of dinner with a big group of friends.  happy, beautiful, creative, smart, working and studying hard, thriving and surrounded by friends. we really couldn't ask for more. i miss her, but she's exactly where she needs to be. i'm so happy that she's living her best life. 

it's mom's birthday

my mom turns 79 today. my sister went to her assisted living yesterday and did a whole shebang. mom's sister was there, there was music, there was cake - it was a celebration. reports suggest that mom enjoyed herself thoroughly, which warms my heart in these times when i wonder what her quality of life is through the fog of her alzheimer's. and i feel very far away. mostly because i am very far away. and i have some ambivalence about that - it can be good and bad, sometimes at the same time.

these photos of mom are from the late 1950s. she was a member of the class of 1957 (of musical fame) and these must have been shortly after her graduation, when she was working at the sioux falls argus leader. her father had been an editor there for 30+ years, so she got a job there as well, even though he died when she was 16. she was a typesetter, but i think in these photos, she was a markets reporter. there must have been several photoshoots, since she's not wearing the same clothes in all the photos, nor is her hair quite the same. i suspect she trimmed it herself. and she never really stopped doing that.

i look at these and i wonder who she was? i'm not sure we ever really know our parents, they are kind of strangers to us. what goes on their heads? what life did they have before we came along? what dreams did she have? what did she like to do? what did she think of her job? did she like it? it seems obvious she laughed at work and enjoyed it, and i'd like to believe it wasn't just for the camera. i think the cameraman was wilmer. i don't remember his last name, but i remember visiting his smoked-filled house frequently as a child. he made the most amazing photographic new year's cards every year. they weren't christmas cards, as i recall him not believing in god, which was pretty out there for someone from sioux falls in the 1970s (probably even more so today). he was a real photographer - i remember his small house in sioux falls - his wife helen's fish pond in a very eclectic back yard and stacks of photos balanced precariously on card tables in the living room. even in my childish memories, he was a real character and probably one of the first intellectuals i was exposed to. in my memory, those new year's cards were a bit surreal and dali-esque. always with a clock on them, to signify time passing. i hope there are some in a box somewhere in the house, i'd like to see them again, to see if they match my memories.

it seems appropriate to stroll through my own memories as hers fade away. i am struck by the sorrow of her becoming even more of a stranger, that who she was and who she is are ever more unreachable by me. in this last photo, i look at her hands and i see my own hands, but otherwise, i don't find myself in her. maybe i see a hint of myself in that collar bone and in the freckles on her arm. but otherwise, she is and will undoubtedly remain, a mystery to me.

happy 79th birthday mom. you are your own, to the very end.

happy anniversary to us!

husband actually looked much happier than this minifig 16 years ago when we walked over to bronshøj kirke hand in hand and got married. then we had a bit of champagne with his fancy uniform-clad colleagues and headed off to london for a weekend mini honeymoon. i think the minifig husband is a bit sad because today he also turned 50 and that's a bit of a tough one. not that i would know. yet.

we gave husband a pair of waders for his birthday. it's what he wanted. he also wanted burgers for dinner. homemade ones. with plenty of guacamole and bacon. and port. that man loves port. we'll have a big party to celebrate this milestone in the summer when the weather is good. garden parties are always the best.

how is she already 14?

13 was a pretty awesome year. it will be great to see what 14 brings. happy birthday, pooka. it's a pleasure to see you growing up into an amazing person with your own style, opinions and thoughts. i am ever in awe.

raising sabin: a year in the life

i'm always grateful for my daily photo project as i go to put these birthday posts together. i'm also often surprised just how much we did in the course of a year. 12 was a good year for sabin. she had painting lessons and...

and we enjoyed an early spring outing to esbjerg and the beach. she rolled joyfully down the hill in front of the imposing "men of the sea" sculpture in esbjerg.

may found us in berlin, going to a concert with hot boyband one direction. i have to admit it was a pretty fun trip and the concert was even pretty good. it was very well-produced and those boys really are sweet to the thousands of screaming girls who are their fans.

inspired by berlin and weheartit (pinterest for the younger set), we came home from berlin and sabin got a pink & purple dip-dye. it looked awesome.

she spent quite a lot of time enjoying our kittens (as well as her laptop). being online is important when you're 12 (and possibly also when you're quite a lot older than that).

but we did escape the internet with the occasional trip to the beach. since we had an actual summer, it was even good to be at the beach.

and speaking of our wonderful summer, it was perfect for outdoor projects, like dyeing a pair of vans in rainbow-colors.

we even set up easels and painted in the backyard one beautiful summer afternoon. and i can tell you that trampoline in the background saw a whole lot of use.

another trip to the beach on a gorgeous august day. it was the first time (ever, in my opinion) that the water was warm enough to really go swimming and we played in the waves for hours.

school started - the 7th grade already - and with that came the first gala party. the classes had two weeks where they worked on films and then they held a film festival and awards ceremony, for which they got all dressed up.

we had to have a jump shot as well. it is pretty joyful being 12. these are the two best friends and it has felt like they pretty much live at our house as well. but they're fun, so that's just fine.

we had a gorgeous autumn and suddenly (or so it seemed to me) sabin started looking more grown-up and less like a little girl.

she went to st. petersburg with a youth organization and she even survived the trip, tho' i had my doubts in the weeks leading up to the trip.

we held our 6th annual halloween party and it was a big success.

2013 was the year of the selfie and sabin and her friends were no exceptions - she often got out my big camera and the tripod and took loads of photos of herself and her friends. we even got her her own camera for christmas so she could take it along wherever she goes.

she also got to go on two ski trips with friends, but somehow i don't have any photos from those in my iPhoto library (they must be in her own), so she also went to sweden and austria over the past year (we do rather judge how our year went by the trips we took) as well as learning to ski.

and because this post didn't post as scheduled on the 25th, i could add a photo from lalandia, where we went with sabin and her big sister and a couple of friends to celebrate her 13th birthday on saturday. afterwards, we came home and ate dessert for dinner - three kinds, to be exact. but it was what the birthday girl wanted.

it will be fun to see what 13 brings, but i still think 8 was great. time really does fly, so you have to make sure you enjoy it (and take loads of photos).

happy birthday dear mom, happy birthday to you!

a string of happy memories from last summer, in honor of mom's birthday. we're dreaming of sunshine, as we wait for spring to happen. and looking fondly back on fun had on horseback, in the water and in haunted houses last summer. mom, i hope you have a wonderful day and we wish we were there to celebrate with you!!

happy 12th birthday, pooka!

2012 in review - it may have been the year (so far) where she grew and changed the most (well, since that first year or so, anyway).  horses figured rather heavily, tho' that may reflect my choice of photo subject matter more than actual reality. horses and girls are just made to be photographed together.  these are just photos that i had included in my 2012::366 project and not necessarily the very best of the photos of sabin from the past year (i do think last year's mosaic was better). but i love making these posts on sabin's birthday. to see how she's growing up and changing and processing the world and tackling it head on and with good sense and a healthy sense of humor. it tugs a bit at my heart that she's not a little girl anymore, but at the same time, she's exactly the age she should be (looking back at last year, i felt that way too, so it must be authentic). she should be growing up, learning and forming her own ideas about the world. it would be wrong to be wistful or sad or hold her back (as if that would be possible). so let's hope 12 will be a great year!

longevity

i saw this on maggie may's flux capacitor and it seemed the perfect thing to share on my mom's birthday:

"Shot in Fire Island, New York, this film (4min. 23 sec) captures the secrets of eternal youth as Maia Helles, a Russian ballet dancer turns 95 but still remains resolutely independent, healthy and as fit as a forty year old. Made by Julia Warr, artist and film maker met Maia on a plane 4 years ago and became utterly convinced by the benefits of her daily exercise routine, which Maia perfected, together with her Mother, over 60 years ago, long before exercise classes were ever invented. (2011)"

video by julia warr
music by lola perrin

happy birthday, mom, i hope you will also make it to 95 (and beyond)!

happy 11th birthday, pookaloo!

i'd like to say it pains me to imagine realize admit that my child is 11 today, but in all honesty, it doesn't. watching her grow and learn and explore and love the world is so wonderful that every age seems like the perfect one. she's lovely and strong and amazing and smart and funny. and it seems exactly right that she's 11. happy birthday, pookaloo.

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and do check out the rainbow birthday cupcakes i made for her here.

things about my mom

mom & me in copenhagen - september 2008

~ when my mom turned 60, she declared that since she had always wanted a motorcycle, she was finally getting one. and so she did. she got her motorcycle license and bought a cute little honda rebel. she'd been threatening to do so for years, to the point where i used to have nightmares that i had to leave one of my horses home from a horse show to make room for her motorcycle in the horse trailer.

~ she recently sported the coolest green bobbed wig on st. patrick's day. if i had that wig, i'd wear it every day.

~ she sews like a professional. the cover she recently made for my kitchen-aid is absolutely perfect.

~ she's the repairwoman at our house...if something needs hammering, nailing, screwing, it's mom who does it.  as my sister says, "mom is such a boy."

~ she's a pretty good shot. i remember when i was a kid, going around to trap shooting tournaments with her. and that she often outshot the boys.

~ she's a very good cook. and a truly stellar baker.

~ she loves a corny joke.

~ she's funny.

~ she can back a horsetrailer like nobody's business.

~ she can sing.

~ she has an eye for horses. and a bargain antique.

~ today is her birthday and i hope she has a great day and that dad takes her out for a nice dinner (hint, hint).

happy birthday, mom! if i was there, i'd have made you some red velvet cupcakes!

double digits

sabin turns 10 today! her father said to her yesterday morning that if there was anything she had wanted to do while she was 9, she'd better get it done. she snorted that little snort she does when she's satisfied with herself. she knew she had done an awful lot while she was 9. and at her age, you just want your birthday to hurry up and come.

my 365 project once again helped me to remember all of the things she did.  it was a busy year and a year of big changes. we moved to a new house and she moved to a new school. the transition was made very smooth by a wonderful teacher and her new class very kindly taking her under their wing. despite that, we still had moments of tears and missing all her old friends and her old class and especially her old riding school - in particular zidan, who was her favorite of the lesson horses (in retrospect, we should just have bought him).

you can see that horses were a big theme this past year (which perhaps reflects more on my obsession with photographing them than her interest, tho' her interest is pretty high). most importantly, in may, she got her own horse, matilde, a large pony of the "breed" they call danish sports pony - which means an elegant mix and not just a shetland. sabin has continued riding lessons at two different riding schools (she rides on wednesdays and fridays) and still uses the lesson horses there, since we don't have a horse trailer (yet).

since we live out in the country, sabin had to have a pet - so we got bunnies when we got back from our summer holiday in the US. we thought they were both girls, but learned (as most people do) that they were a boy and girl. happily that incestuous first batch of baby bunnies were stillborn and now we keep them in separate cages. i really can't believe what nice pets they are - well, aside from that part where they chewed 9 buttons off our of t.v. zapper.

we didn't travel much this year, due to the move, but we spent two weeks visiting family in the US and sabin and i had a wonderful trip to manila together at the end of november. this year will be exciting because it's a tradition in our family that when you turn ten, you get to decide where we go on holiday. sabin had been set on the philippines, but getting to go in november seems to have cooled that desire and now she's pretty set on new york city, tho' i believe her big sisters are working on convincing her that hawaii would be a better bet.

this fall, she started going to spring gymnastics and it's really her sport - she flips and cartwheels her way through the house - never walking normally out of the living room, but flipping over the back of the couch. we're trying to enjoy these waning years of her loving to spend time with her parents for all they're worth, as we know that the teenage years loom large. but for now, she still is at her happiest and most chirpy if she's sewing or in the kitchen with me or dictating the dimensions of a bunny cage to her father out in his workshop. 

i love watching her make her way through the world - jumping in with both feet, being curious and interested in everything around her. happy birthday, pooka.

the simple things: for christina

today is the lovely christina's birthday. you know her, the fabulous cook and photographer with the beautiful soul over at soul aperture? well, in honor of her birthday, we're once again sharing the simple things. happy birthday, beautiful christina, may your day be filled with all of the simple things you love.

and in the spirit of spreading love and good karma in your honor, here are the simple things i'm loving right now...

a girl and her horse

heart-shaped stone on the beach.

calico cat on a crazy quilt

gorgeous yo-yo quilt made by my great-grandmother and found by me on a basement treasure hunt

magical light

painting light on the night sky

happy birthday to you, christina. you are a true generator of love in the blogosphere. and a big thank you to my dear se'lah, for letting me know, otherwise, i might totally have missed this.

simple things, simple gestures, simply beautiful.