sometimes you just need a still life or two

it's been a busy time. there has been a frenzy of activity up to everyone departing on summer holiday. and while it's been good, it's also been rather hectic. and it's winding down now. next week will be a quiet one, with almost no one in the office. i'm looking forward to it, because i have some work to get done that requires solitary concentration and in a busy, open office with colleagues you enjoy talking to, you don't get much of that. it will be good to shift down a gear or two and have time to think things through properly.

even while it's been busy, it's also been great, so i'm not complaining, not at all. the pace is good, but life requires different paces at different times and during these long, light, warm (dare i say hot) summer days, it feels like the pace should slow down. i'm hoping time expands along with it and stretches to be just the time i need. i think it probably will. time feels elastic like that at the moment.

i'm grateful for working with people who make me laugh and smile and think and learn and push myself. i'm happy to have a really good boss who guides me in the right direction, but doesn't look over my shoulder too much, but instead supports me and listens to me. i know how unusual that can be and i'm grateful for it. i really love the projects i'm working on and how much creativity i'm exposed to on a daily basis. it's really a privilege. i have to remind myself that it's one that i worked very hard to attain and which i have earned. sometimes it can feel like some kind of miracle, but maybe it's not only that, it's also an achievement. and i'm doing my best to remember to give myself credit, even while being very grateful for the opportunity. 

the week is nearly over and a weekend filled with happy plans with cherished friends stretches ahead. hopefully there will be a bit of time for stillness as well. because sometimes you just need some stillness in which to breathe. 

* * *

cool! one of my photos made Vox!

a drop in the sea of gratitude

it's thanksgiving day. and while we don't load our table with turkey and all the fixings in denmark today, i want to send my own thanks out into the hive mind today. i've come to think such things matter. i asked for good vibes to be sent my way on monday morning and i swear i could feel them precisely when i needed them. it must be the same with the great mass of gratitude being sent into the universe today. that mass of goodwill and gratitude must make the molecules align and hum just a little more in tune, if only just for that one day. i must be part of that.

so i pause this morning, with my beloved molly cat nestled on her furry red pillow in my lap, purring contentedly, and i am thankful for...

~ the way that husband makes me laugh every single day.
~ the way he says, "have a great day," when he leaves every single morning.
~ how he ends our phone calls with "i love you," even when he's at work.
~ his undying drive and work ethic - he comes home from his day job and goes straight to work on one of the many projects around this house.

~ sabin. she's beautiful, thoughtful, kind, sensible and a good, loyal friend to her friends.

~ all these cats. even the wild bunch outside. they make me smile and comfort me every single day.
~ our little flock of chickens. and that the spotty one has started to lay eggs.
~ my morning chores - the cats flying around in the terrace, eager for their breakfast.  the horses crunching their grain is such a comforting sound. and feeding the bunnies their breakfast brings joy as well. i love letting the chickens out of the coop and scattering some grain for them. they're so funny with the secret (to me) language they speak to one another. those 15-20 minutes every morning, even when it's cold, ground me and start my day off right.

~ friends who help with something really important out of the goodness of their hearts and help me shine when i need to.

~ friends who listen to my rambling and rants and offer gentle guidance on the ways of the world.

~ recently finding an amazing group of smart, funny (english-speaking) women.

~ my sewing machine, fabric stash and the meditative quality sewing has at precisely the moment when i need to calm an inner restlessness.

~ that we have this enormous project that is this house. it's not the way we want it to be, but it will be one day and we work steadily towards that. it's good to have a mission and a shared goal. i think a lot of couples lose that along the way and i am so grateful that we haven't.

~ knowing that my family is gathered together, eating good food, playing cards, maybe singing a bit at the piano and undoubtedly laughing a lot. i wish i was there, but even tho' i'm not, knowing that they are together is good.

~ lastly, i'm grateful for the opportunity to learn patience and learn to let go in a process that means a great deal to me, but which i cannot control. but which i feel confident will have the outcome i desire.

there you have it, universe, my contribution to the thanksgiving sea of gratitude.

thank you for reading. and happy thanksgiving, one and all.

thankful thursday

rainy days (yes, you got that right).

because with the rain comes mushrooms and that means dinner!

yellow swamp brittlegills (russula claroflava) - absolutely delicious with our pasta dinner. and absolutely free from our very own forest.

special black canary island potatoes - growing in OUR garden! now that's what i call well-irrigated joy!

happy visitors on a sunny day

rainbow fingernails

real rainbows (you need a little rain to have a rainbow)

for more thankfulness, check in with miss buckle.  and please do play along, it makes a nice change from the madness of the world...