ten glorious days off stretch ahead

...and man do i need them. and i also really need an old-fashioned blog post, where i just sit down to write and see what comes out my fingers. because that's the best way to make sense of it all. and much of it doesn't make sense. weird decisions, or lack thereof. good people being fired for crappy/nonexistent/unbelievable reasons. colleagues behaving badly. or strangely, or out of character, no doubt because they see their bonuses slipping away in a changed economy. people being asked to take on more work. way more work. like a whole additional job within a job. and no additional pay. and no appreciation or understanding for how much work it is. people going down with stress. because no wonder. 

sometimes i wonder if we're all still behaving like we're in kindergarten because that's where we all learned how to behave? i have more thoughts, but they're not coming out my fingers. hopefully they will over the next few days. maybe a g&t the size of my head will help. 

100 happy days :: day 87

yet another work week shortened by holidays. that's always happy-making.

as is having a bit of time and inspiration for playing with minifigs in the garden.

bacon & ears taking a spin on the little red scooter.

i had a lot of help from various cats, who all thought i was there to hang out with them.

and in the end, i was.

skrot on the brain

skrot - it's a danish word for scrap, not something naughty, tho' it does look a bit naughty somehow. for me, it also has the connotation of being scrap metal, so it conjures images of fetching bits of rusty wire and iron. so i was very excited when our local art group, creagive (get that, we're creative in give) chose skrot as the theme for our yearly spring exhibition.

i didn't participate in last year's exhibition, as i felt like i really couldn't since i'm not a painter, but with this theme, it lends itself more to the mixed media/collage-style that i like. and with five days off here for easter, i'm getting down to business in earnest on the pieces i've been mulling over in my mind for several months. i got permission to go explore the container above (which i had sneaked a photo of a couple of weeks ago) and take what i'd like for the pieces i have but a vague picture of in my mind. alas, i went today to have a look and found, to my horror, that the container had been emptied. i'll be honest and tell you that i almost cried. i could picture one of my little fobots (found object robot) with curly hair made of those metal shavings and now that they're gone, i'm not sure what to do.

some members of the group were quite horrified by the theme, coming up with all kinds of violent and sexual connotations for the word (there is a meaning of it that's along the lines of up yours). but i say there's still potential to artistically explore those meanings as well, even tho' the word doesn't bring such things to my mind when i ponder it. perhaps i'm a little too in love with shipyards, as those are the images that come to mind for me - enormous, rusty bits of metal, lying around, looking fetching. i can see all kinds of potential in those. and i find myself also pondering ways of working some lego into my pieces - the contrast between the rusty metal and the colorful plastic could be very interesting.

in addition to a little grouping of fobots, i've also ordered this photo of a ship that's being scrapped in a large size. husband is going to help me make a frame that echos the scrap theme as well. i've found so much inspiration in the notion of rusty hunks of metal. i'm lucky there's no limit this year to how many pieces you can contribute. but we'll see how many of the ideas floating in my head and on my pinterest board, make it into reality and how they look when they do. inspiration is a wonderful thing.

what summer is made of

sunshine and dandelions.

we were fortunate to have the last of the spring holidays, so this wednesday felt like a sunday.

and that was bliss.

happy monday that's actually a tuesday!

it's tuesday, but it feels like monday since monday was like sunday this week due to another of those danish spring holidays. the benefit of having a tuesday that's a monday is that you don't have a monday kind of a monday, since monday was a lot like sunday and tuesday is well, tuesday. so it can only be a good day, right? it's overcast, but warm and balmy, so i'm not complaining. you can't really complain much when you're wearing bright pink pants. even if you are also wearing your old wellies that are full of holes because you can't really decide what color of new ones to get. plus, it's a good year for dandelions. and is there anything more cheerful than a dandelion?

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do we have to like the characters in the books we read?

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what do we think of flickr's changes?
methinks they took a page from the Google+ design book.

pinse planting

today was pinse, the last of the easter-related spring holidays that mean loads of days off in denmark.  it is ironic that the danes take that whole jesus thing so seriously when they're some of the least religious people i've ever witnessed, but hey they'll clearly take all the time off they can get. and so will i.

it was a great day for planting the garden. overcast, but warm and unusually still.  we've been preparing this piece of the garden for nearly two years. it's been covered in black plastic to kill off all of the weeds and husband has tilled in a bunch of cow poo as fertilizer. we have extremely sandy soil, which makes for great drainage, but which requires far more fertilizer. it's taken us three years to realize that.

molly, who is going to have her kittens any day now, had to inspect my work in the herb beds. i fear she thinks they're a giant litterbox, just for her.

she's so cute, i had to include another shot. it seems like her tummy just couldn't get any bigger. i can't wait to see her kittens.

here's a whole day's handiwork. we planted leeks (winter and summer), kale, red cabbage, carrots, beets, parsnips, asier (a kind of hearty cucumber), zucchini, squash, edible flowers, peas, borlotti beans, green beans, potatoes and shallots. look how happy our rhubarb is down at the far end. i've picked enough to make 6 liters of juice and a rhubarb crumble and it hasn't made a dent. apparently rhubarb loves sandy soil.

the strawberries are blooming. in just another few weeks, we'll be eating them and freezing them and making jam and juice. strawberries also seem to like sandy soil. and plenty of poo. it finally feels like we're getting the hang of this gardening thing.

there's the rhubarb. encroaching a little bit on my asparagus, which is also doing really well. two rows from seed - they have to grow one more year before we can harvest them, but the roots we planted the first year are producing very well and we've been eating asparagus for the past week. it's a short and fleeting season, but worth the wait.

our planting today made husband very happy. he said at one point that having a garden like this was like being in the john seymour books he so loved looking through during his childhood (and still does today, to be honest). it's a gradual process, but we're getting there.

ponderings as the holiday winds down

questions i'm currently pondering:

~ will spring ever come?

~ what is the shape of now?

~ what is the feeling of now?

~ what is the look of now?

~ what do i want to be when i grow up?

~ tho' i've read lots of complaints out there about daylight savings time, i still love it. i'd rather have my light at the end of the day, thank you. it cuts back on television time and lets you sleep a bit longer.

~ what will i read next?

~ will i ever really be able to quiet my mind and meditate? (and will it help if i do?)

~ as much as i think the notion of coaching is a snake oil worthy of p.t. barnum (there's a sucker born every minute) or scientology, do i actually need one? or would it be better to just go running?

~ is it ok to be a snob? 

~ is it ok to assess the blame in order to avoid taking on someone else's bullshit? (husband says yes and i'm inclined to believe him.)

~ how can i introduce play into my everyday? and is there a way make a living doing so? (without involving too many children.)

~ i need more happenings in my life. and pop-up shops. and restaurants. and quality coffee. and organic veggies.

~ how can i be a better friend to me?

~ when will i stop using that essie nail polish that destroys my nails?

~ do you think you are drawn to the things you need, just when you need them?

~ where is the outrage in the danes over the coming teacher lock-out? (it starts tuesday and will last indefinitely.) and what do people do who don't have a child old enough to be left home alone in front of the internet with her iMac?

~ why don't people don't write letters like this anymore?

What is needed is constant work, day and night, constant reading, study, will…. Every hour is precious for it…. Come to us, smash the vodka bottle, lie down and read…. Turgenev, if you like, whom you have not read.

that's not quite true, i have read turgenev. and my bottle of choice is gin.

but of course, chekhov wasn't writing to me.

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how fabulous does this version of alice in wonderland look?

with art by yayoi kusama.

circles are everywhere, i tell you. everywhere. it's the shape of now.

friday links and colored eggs

it's the long easter holiday in denmark. we're lazing around, trying to recover from this week's troglodyte encounter (and possibly a very late wednesday night involving too much red wine and then some ill-advised whiskey). wishing it would stop snowing, playing cards and ticket to ride. watching james bond. coloring eggs. cooking elaborate meals. and catching up on blogs and other online reading (hence all of the links below). happy easter, one and all! something of more substance soon...

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are reader-specific books the future?

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are windows people conservative and apple people liberal?

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feeling inspired by mel's thoughts on being self-employed.

and loving her coach kylie's thoughts on creating a support ecosystem.

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ogooglebar and other wonderful swedish words.

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check out these fabulous zen painted stones.

a weekend of contrasts

oh what a weekend. highs. lows. sorrows. satisfaction. relaxation. tension. irritations. delights. wind. sunshine. clouds. laughter. tears. all of the contrasts you can imagine.

at the end of it, we are tired in a good way from working outdoors.
we have 15 rows of potatoes planted.
all of the kale we seeded is up. and so are the beans. the squash are showing signs of bursting forth.
the strawberries are loaded with blooms.
the garden is prepped for planting as soon as those pesky cold nights are gone for good.

we are down one more bunny (don't ask).
we are very angry with one tiger cat (see above).
there were tears. many tears. and soul-wrenching screams.

we have new old cups and a new old teapot.
i love how my needlepoint pillow looks on the bed.
i used the new bowl to mix the eggs for my salmon tart, even tho' it was a bit shallow for that.
i loved it anyway.

bates can't really be guilty on downton abbey, can he?
and it's good that kate won australian master chef 2011. she seems like a good person.

i didn't get the stalls cleaned,
but i did move the kittens into a new nest in the straw, since they're starting to toddle around.
i did wonder if their little legs would be able to hold up their fat bodies.
but it looks like it's going ok.

i'm ready for the week ahead.
it's a short, but exciting one.
short because of kristihimmelfart (that's my favorite name for a holiday) on thursday.
exciting because of new projects and not-so-old ones that are progressing well.

happy sunday evening, one and all.

happy monday!

look at that glorious morning! i took this just minutes ago, when i went to let the chickens out. it's supposed to be rather cold this week and even down below freezing a couple of nights, but it feels like spring will win out in the end - it can't be beaten back forever by arctic winds.

it's easter week - sabin's off from school all week and tho' i'm working on a big project, there will be time for riding and making things (a vow to make at least one thing every day inspired by something i've pinned on pinterest will help that) and yummy food and some visitors later in the week and a bit of gardening and lots of taking photos.

happy monday, one and all!  i'll be back later with today's pinspiration creation.

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in case you didn't see it yesterday - this is wickedly clever.

don't forget! big petroglyph giveaway tomorrow!

remember--if you want to be in on the big thank-you-for-voting-for-me-for-the-gold-issue-of-discounderworld petroglyph/helleristning/stone giveaway (i need to work on these names) tomorrow, do leave a comment back on this post. i'll print them all tomorrow morning, snip them up and have one of my lovely assistants draw the lucky winner. because yes, it's constitution day tomorrow and therefore, a holiday. ya gotta love denmark

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and while we're on the subject of giveaways, mal* at turning*turning, the most thought-provoking art therapist out there, is giving away a lovely mini quilt in my most favoritest colors to celebrate her 100th post and you can enter to win that as well. so run over there--she actually gives you five ways to have a chance to win! but you've gotta be on twitter for one of them. ;-)

how i spent kristihimmelfart

kristihimmelfart has something to do with easter. it's ascension (ascention?) day. or whatever. i don't really know what it means. i wasn't really paying attention that time i got sent to bible school for a week when i was 4. i think it's a funny name but that's because i'm kinda simple when it comes to it and it involves the word fart. i wasn't around anyone named kristi today, so i don't know about the farts, but i do know about frogs. because i spent quite a long time trying to photograph frogs. they were singing like crazy before i went down with the camera. do you think they would continue when i got there? of course they wouldn't, so i never did catch them with their little cheeks all puffed out. and i had a little staring contest with one (which i lost, undoubtedly because i don't think they can blink). but it was green and glorious and wonderful to be outside. i'll be able to sit down to work tomorrow, totally refreshed and renewed because i was able to spend most of this glorious day outside.

i also found out something about husband today. he actually has a blog. he created it, but has never written anything on it. and to think i thought he thought we were all completely mad. 5 ants are more than 4 elephants. he's super clever, don't you love that title?  husband is such a keeper. i'm not sure he's really going to blog, but i followed him, just in case. i think i've already been following him for rather a long time, but now it's official.