daily delights - february 7

 

i probably should have ironed that duvet cover, but life is too short. it's only 10 a.m. but i almost can't wait to get into bed between those fresh, clean sheets - isn't it just one of life's great pleasures? i am a bed maker. i feel totally out of sorts the whole day if i haven't made the bed. hollister loves to help, he's almost as excited about it as i am, especially when it's time to change the sheets. he dashes around, hopping on and off the bed, "helping." and then he can't wait to jump up and sit when it's all made.  he looks prettier than throw pillows.

kittens = happiness

it may be slightly irresponsible of me not to have fixed our two mama kitties. what stops me is that they are molly's daughters, so if i fix them, there is no more of molly's line on this side of the atlantic. plus, we live on 7 hectares and we need cats around here. i also thoroughly enjoy them - taming them, making them into good pets for their eventual forever homes, photographing the hell out of them. after a long, stressful week, coming home to them brings me back to center and makes me happy. i'm a cat person, what can i say? this time, i am thinking it's time to fix freya, six kittens is a lot for one batch, even tho' it's a bit of shame since she has finally become a good mama. but, i think i will keep one of the creamy ones, just to have a little piece of molly to carry on the line.

making your own sunshine

this picture was in my head the other day. i even had to break into a new box of cloud cuckoo palace in order to make that sunshine on a stick when i couldn't locate the original one we'd built, or even the bits of it. it was a cloudy grey day and the notion of creating your own sunshine just popped into my head. and who better to do it than batman? what's funny is that aside from some shots of the yeti skiing that i took last winter, it rarely happens that i envision a shot in my head and want to create it. 

that notion of making your own sunshine seems a powerful one, these grey, dark, dreary days of winter. we haven't even had proper winter yet, it's been mild and rainy, tho' they promise snow tomorrow and over the weekend. i'll believe it when i see it. and in the meantime, i'm looking for spots of sunshine in my days. a day with less coughing than the day before. fun new projects at work that enable me to work with old (and super creative) friends. getting to geek out about ships again. finding a box of beautiful mixed mushrooms at the green market right when i wanted to make a mushroom tart. a solitary glass of wine enjoyed in a vibrant atmosphere. the pulse of the city. a short bike ride in the cold, clear air. the weight of a cat on the quilt at my feet. husband making my favorite comfort meal (ham, creamy spinach and potatoes) for when i came home. little rays of metaphorical sunshine. just when i needed them most.

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seattle art museum collects lego for ai weiwei.

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super interesting digitalization project at the ny public library.

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the nytimes' annual list of 52 places to go in 2016.

skåne is on the list.

(that's the bit of sweden just across the bridge from denmark.)

you might say we've been there, done that.

tho' at the moment, they're checking and double-checking passports on the way in.

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what kind of asshole dreams of killing a mountain lion?

oh, apparently one from my hometown.

yes, more guns please.

not.

#definitelynotastud

#ithinkimayhatefacebook

little treats

a new one of cathy cullis' beautiful brooches - these faces speak to me of all the voices in our heads. they do it in a good way, sort of embracing the madness and making it beautiful and wrapping it all into a coherent whole. i'm in a navy blue period clothing-wise (i think everything has to match my glasses), so a little splash of red is welcome.

chanel nail polish is always an affordable luxury. especially if you get it onboard a ship in the duty free. i got the two dark, rich colors of autumn, a beautiful deep green and a luscious dark brown.

salted chocolate caramels from my friend shelly of #stuckinplastic fame - a welcome surprise in the mail.

and another beautiful cathy cullis brooch - if one is good, two is better, right? and finally, the scarf i ordered ages ago from skinny la minx showed up. i think i said this before, but i do wonder where it was hiding all these months. where does lost mail go?

and my most recent addition? a fine little ceramic cat brooch. you can never have too many brooches. or cats.

100 happy days :: day 100

there is something about the low, swampy wooded area at the end of our lake. the trees grow low and rather twisty, turny. even if it's raining or windy, it's always still and quiet there, a sense of waiting hanging in the air, but not a menacing one, more a kind of deep patience. and in the air, there is a vibration of primeval magic that you can feel, but which feels just out of reach, beyond your grasp, but still hanging there, almost tangible. it's in the green. it's in the quiet. it's how it's always still. one of those places where you just feel the magic. and you believe in it, even if you can't quite capture it. and my 100th happy day is a happiness that i have one of those places right here at home and i can go down there anytime and fill up my soul with magic.

* * *

and that's it, that was my 100 happy days project. it got me through a bit of a tough time and i think it really helped. it can be beneficial to take a moment to think about the little things that make you happy every day. doing it makes it a habit. one that i hope that i will continue even if i don't continue it as a post or a tweet. i think one of the things that i found is that often my moment of happiness was a moment of feeling grateful - for sunshine, for a beautiful view, for the time to take the back way, for cats, for a flower in bloom, for noticing in general.

but, in all honesty, it also felt a bit heavy at times. because not every day is filled with happiness. some days are hard and you just want them to be over. and i find myself generally feeling too earnest and righteous and not light-hearted and funny anymore. so maybe i need to find a new project that will help me find my way back to a lighter, more buoyant view of the world.

100 happy days :: day 98

trying to take a fetching photo of my summery lunch when along comes frannie to help.

100 happy days :: day 97

lilacs.

they're my favorite flower.

my favorite scent.

and they're in their full glory right now.

tho' i swear this batch smells a little bit of cinnamon.

100 happy days :: day 96

sunshine at last.

man, have i missed it.

100 happy days :: day 95

coffee. tea. and instagram filters that make even my crap old kitchen look inviting.

100 happy days :: day 93

ginny's eyes are open.

and isn't she just a little lump of pure happiness?

100 happy days :: day 92

zoomed in, low light photo, but you get the idea.

there's an election on in denmark.

and lotte rod apparently selected her name from the porn name generator.

that seriously cracks me up.

i might be simple like that.

but that doesn't make it less hilarious.

100 happy days :: day 90

i took a new way to drive the girls to school and spotted this.
what's not to love about someone thinking on a very grand scale?
out in the middle of nowhere.
worth stopping for a sneaky photo for sure.
and it totally makes me smile.
definitely a moment of happiness.

* * *

you have to read what my cousin is saying about her favorite places in europe.

hint:  one of them is right here at our place!

100 happy days :: day 89

dandelions.

100 happy days :: day 88

a walk in the evening sunshine, picking a few lilacs and hanging out in the garden with the cats, who also seemed happy to have some sunshine at last. a happy end to a not-so-happy day where i was down with a stomach bug. thank goodness for laptops and getting work done in pajamas. 

* * *

there's nothing funny about the slimy dugger case.

but this guardian piece might make you laugh,

just because it's so cleverly written.

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mini cocktails. they're a thing.

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i liked this piece on growing older and wiser (or not) from the house of edward.

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it seems like the world is conspiring to try to talk me into running.

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skopje has been "upgraded" and from what i can tell from the pictures, it doesn't look good.

100 happy days :: day 85

it's a long holiday weekend here in denmark, the last of the spring holidays. our child is off to copenhagen for the weekend with her friends. as one does when one is 14. tho' it's still a bit chilly and working outside requires a heavy sweatshirt and scarf, we've been working in the garden (husband didn't wear a scarf). husband has once again changed up the greenhouse. this time, we used waffley plastic roofing as a covering and he built a back wall with repurposed wood he brought home from the harbor. me, i planted beans and onions and leeks and a couple of squash. in the greenhouse, there are now tomatoes and cucumbers and chilis and a couple of aubergine.

100 happy days :: day 84

teeny tiny kitten.
eyes almost open.
so much happy.

100 happy days :: day 83

two years ago today, frieda badida was born

she was molly's last kitten.

poor little molly was so tired by then that i had to gently wipe away the membrane so she could breathe.

i'm so glad i did.

she's quirky, sweet and wonderful.

and only occasionally expects to be let in the window at 4 a.m.

happy birthday frieda.

* * *

so many things tumbling in my mind to write about...ghosts, communing with the dead, what makes a good marriage (can you tell i'm listening to podcasts?), getting older, fears, plants, asparagus, peonies, gardening in general, memory, foxes, chickens, feathers all over the yard, buffy the vampire slayer, magic, painting, children becoming who they are, schools, whether it's ok to be the smart one, boarding school, summer holiday, content management systems, kittens...i could go on, but right now, it's all jumbled up. 

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elvendale, not just where the LEGO elves hang out. 

100 happy days :: day 82

a delicate moment of serenity.

you grab the happy where you can.

100 happy days :: day 78

charlie had two perfect little kittens last evening - one boy and one girl, just like last year. 

she's so proud of them!

100 happy days :: day 77

new bedding. fresh and spring-like.