glorious summer days

these gorgeous summer days don't really get any more relaxed. frieda (aka paws mcgraw) demonstrates.

sabin braided a clover flower crown. we all tried it on. husband said i looked swedish in it. i'm choosing to see that as a good thing. oddly enough, no one took my picture.

why is it again that they say not to photograph against the light? sabin spent last week with a friend and her family at a summer house up north. we were very glad to have her home again.

sabin took this gorgeous shot of our dear, elderly lila belle. she's been loving the warm summer days as well and has even been seen playing, despite her 14+ years.

even husband tried on the clover crown. he's very secure in his masculinity that way. we had to have a photo of that. maybe there's no photos of me because i'm mostly behind the camera.

more scenes of summer bliss

at the risk of bragging, i'll tell you my child made me a smoothie for breakfast this morning.

i enjoyed it while kittens entertained me with their playful antics.

they're getting to be pretty good climbers.
easy on the designer furniture there, periwinkle.

in the afternoon, we painted in the garden.

the child learned a lot about mixing colors in her painting lessons.

and she taught me a lot this afternoon.

her painting is way better than mine.

tho' mine's not finished yet, so it will improve.

danielle found a hollow in the pear tree and explored it.

we had a relaxed hour or so with matilde, who is much happier at her new stable.

the kittens played some more.

as kittens will do.

perrie climbed a tree.

her mother was not pleased.

strawberries were picked (and frozen and juiced).

and then it was time for bed.

* * *

hope your summer is a glorious one as well.

these are the days we will remember.

wherein we actually have summer

summer is actually upon us.

that's not always the case in july in denmark.

but we've had an absolutely glorious few days.

the kittens have spent time outside, learning to climb trees and chase frogs.

there's been time for tie-dye projects.

sabin's transforming a brand new pair of white vans into a bright rainbow.

the good bit about our summer is that it's never too hot.

it's actually just right - upper 70s and a nice breeze.

i hate to be one of those bloggers who seems to be bragging about a perfect life.

but it has been pretty perfect for the past couple of days.

what's better than creativity and kittens in the garden?

even my old, faded, scuffed yellow converse got a rainbow facelift.

i can't wait 'til they dry so i can wear them.

rainbows are just so happy and cheerful.

these long summer days stretch out and there's time for everything.

time to wander the treeline separating our property from the neighbor's

and pick a basketful of wild rose petals.

our strawberries are in full production mode.

we picked more yesterday than we've ever picked in one go.

i didn't weigh them, but that's an enormous bowl.

and it was heaped to the top.

a little break during the strawberry picking.

i hadn't put the beers in the fridge, so i just poured it over ice.

that was good too.

a separate bowl of strawberries set aside for dessert.

we're eating strawberries every night right now.

 fresh, fragrant, sprinkled with a bit of sugar and some cream.

i must remember this taste of summer

when the clouds and rain inevitably return.

this is the summer we actually had some summer in denmark.

oh what a beautiful morning!

dew-covered spiderwebs sparkling in the morning sunshine and golden fields of grain make it almost ok that there's a crisp hint of fall in the air.

hibernating

the darkness is relentless these days. i seem to have gone into a kind of hibernation. hunkering down. waiting for a winter that doesn't seem to come. i even saw buds on some dandelions today. kind of a hopeful sign, but also kind of not. dandelions on the last day of november? isn't that just wrong?

i'll be back soon. i've got blog swag to share.

i remember light

november in denmark.  dark. dreary. cloudy. foggy. rainy. it's good to be able to remember the light (or at least browse it in iPhoto).

i think we've only seen the sun briefly through a haze of fog since november started. it's driving me mad, as i'm trying to post my next projects in the handmade holiday course and the light is just not cooperating for my photos. so. frustrating. so please hang on, my dears, i do promise there's goodness on its way!! if i could just get some decent photos of it.

i know that november is like this. it has been since my first november here. i remember being quite shocked at how dark and dreary it was. and i remember going out one evening with husband (who wasn't husband yet then) to a movie. on our bicycles. in the rain. wearing a flowy, silk j. peterman dress. that got caught in my bike chain. and i had to stand there, getting soaked in the rain, while husband (who almost didn't become husband after that) got it out of my chain. luckily i realized the weather wasn't his fault.  but ever since then november is my least favorite month.

midsummer - sankt hans

10:30 p.m.

11:15 p.m.

jazz clarinet wafting over still water.

a bonfire.

silently gliding boats.

heaven.

on a midsummer evening.

no witches were actually harmed.

especially not this witch.