we made it this far

what a weird week. already on tuesday, it felt pretty long, though in honor of the auspicious date, i was determined to look at everything from a positive perspective. then wednesday came along and it only got longer. it wasn't a great day. i got a reminder that when you switch jobs, you will be surprised and maybe even blindsided and you will have to adjust to the new situation. i also sent a silent prayer of apology to anyone from an agency that i had worked with and who i hadn't treated very well. i'm so sorry! but then i picked up the positivity again and reminded myself how much of a difference i could make if i looked at it from a different perspective. 

that's what changing jobs was about - learning new things, stretching myself, thinking in new ways, doing things from a different perspective. and that's what wednesday gave me, so i can't really complain.

and then on wednesday evening, i went to an amazing event in a small castle turned school that's in the area. i heard very interesting, experimental music from two up and coming young artists - one who performed in the beautiful setting of a church from the middle ages and the other, which was accompanied by a most amazing set of synesthetic visuals. and an established artist, teitur, whom i didn't know before that day. he's from the faroe islands and his songs all tell a story and he performed at a grand piano in an amazing room of the castle and was so authentic and down-to-earth and lovely and genuinely talented and it was bliss. seriously, look for him on spotify and definitely listen to the song called clara. he told the story behind it and it was lovely, but you'll get it even without the story. it's a song of our times.

for most of the day on thursday, i thought it was friday. alas, it was not and that was a disappointment. world war 3 started, for no reason that anyone can discern, other than that putin has gone completely mad. i'm certain he has issues at home that no one knows about. and i think the only way to stop him will be for the west to freeze all his bank accounts, take his yacht and his house(s) on the french rivera. make it hurt. but i fear many innocent ukrainian citizens will be hurt before it works.

and now it's friday. and we made it. and the weekend is ahead. and despite learning that an old colleague is unexpectedly a trumpanzee, and world war 3 has begun, and gas prices are skyrocketing, we will go on. and i will get up and go for a long walk and then i'll settle in to work. and maybe do a bit of sewing and or weaving. and probably feel like crap about the lot of it, because of the aforementioned ww3. what can we do? if i knew, i'd do it.

the view from sunday night

doodling in my art journal and pondering both the week that's gone and the week ahead. i love how art journaling stimulates the meditative thoughts.  my thoughts return again and again to the germanwings plane crash. authorities seem to have rather quickly jumped to the conclusion that the co-pilot intentionally flew the plane into the alps, killing himself and 149 innocent people. i do not envy those who listened to the recording from the flight data recorder and came to that conclusion. i find the articles and op-ed pieces, laying the blame on depression quite alarming. it seems to me that what merits a closer look is the practices of low-cost airlines that would cause a young pilot to hide his medical condition and not use a note from his doctor, excusing him from work on the very day of the flight. did crewing personnel from the airline bully him into flying anyway on that day, perhaps even threatening him with firing if he didn't fly? knowing what i know of crewing department bullies in the shipping industry, i wouldn't be a bit surprised if that wasn't the case. and i hope that person has a very guilty conscience right now.

today marked the switch to summer time (daylight savings time to my american friends) here in europe. it was a grey, rainy, dreary day and we didn't much notice the switch, other than that the day seemed to fly by all too quickly. i have to wonder if we still need these time changes. wouldn't it be best to just stay on the summer version, so that light is always extended into the evenings? people want the extra light when they get home from work, don't you think? shouldn't we just stay on this time instead of switching back again come autumn?

i find myself still thinking about the enormously provocative exhibition of photographs and a video installation by richard mosse we saw at louisiana last weekend.  mosse is an irish photographer who uses infrared film developed in the 40s by the american military to expose camouflaged landscapes. it makes everything that's green a bright, vibrant pink. mosse used it to photograph the forgotten (by the world) war in the congo and the effect is sobering. it took several hours for emily and i to shake it off and it has lingered in my mind for days. it's a bit of a gimmick, using such film, but the candy floss landscapes of horror it creates definitely make you think about war anew. we are so numbed by horrible images today, that it takes such a jarring shift - horrible scenes in bright, surreal pinks - to make us notice it afresh. he somehow really does achieve an art of war. they had posters there that you could take, featuring a couple of the striking images and we took them before we had really looked at the exhibition. i don't think i can bring myself to hang it on the wall. google his images and you'll see what i mean.

and now, to shake it all off again...i'm smiling to myself about...

~ bacon and eggs going for a scooter ride between showers.
~ pairing husband's socks all wrong. it started off as an accident and now it's a little game i play. 

~ how my sis and i saw aziz ansari at a comedy club in nyc and i had no idea who he was. it seems he's a rather big deal comedian at the moment.

~ the gentle wisdom of mma ramotswe. i needed some comfort reading and so i'm rereading the no. 1 ladies' detective agency series of books. it seems several more have come out since i last read them, so i've just ordered them up from the library. mma ramotswe is so gentle and wise and there is much to learn from the old botswana morality.
~ getting a rather larger bonus than i expected and how these things often come exactly when you most need them.
~ doing a job where i can learn a lot and not have to have any emotional investment or anguish about the intrigues going on around me.

* * *

creations somewhere between toys and art by the sucklord.

perhaps moving us towards an answer of why adults today still want to play with toys?

i don't know yet.

* * *

love the dear data project!

i found out about it here.

it makes me want to do a snail mail-based project with someone.

anybody got an idea?

the view from sunday night or what a week it's been

it's been a full week. there have been tiara-wearing kittens (that got a whopping 252 likes on flickr, which is the most any of my flickr photos have ever gotten).

there were days of rain, and blustery winds, but also glorious, golden light spilled through in between showers, making it ok that it went from summer to fall overnight.

there were more photo sessions with kittens, where i came to understand why they say you shouldn't try to herd cats. they are at their most lovely and irresistible right now. i'm enjoying every yummy minute of them.

there was a bit of early access to the series 12 minifigures, which won't be in stores until october (hence the blurry photo). i've got 13 of the 16 and can't wait for them to be released so i can get the other 3.

there was teenage mutant ninja turtle homework to do. i do love the kind of homework i'm asked to do at my workplace, even tho' tmnt aren't my favorites. this little spaceship was mostly an upside down build, which was new for me. it's also quite a lot sturdier than it appears, which is cool.

we harvested the last batch of honey - boosting our total harvest for the year up to 90 kilos, a much better harvest than last year. now we just need a big box of new honey jars so we can fill them up and maybe even sell some.

and when we weren't eating shark burgers, the weekend was spent discussing the school options. we visited two schools on friday and both have their own advantages. so much so that we've not had a gut feeling that one is a better choice than the other. that's been a bit difficult for me, as i normally rely on my gut to tell me things and in this case, it's told me that we should definitely find a new school, but it isn't obvious which one is the best choice. the child, on the other hand, is sure which one she wants, so pending a couple of questions tomorrow morning, we are going to go with that one - she is, after all, the one who has to make the switch. it's up to us to make the logistics of it work and to ensure that she keeps her social circle intact, as well as building a new one. that one, we're not really worried about so much. probably, we'll ultimately choose the public school, because we pay an awful lot of taxes and education is something they should just get right. and the new school gives a good impression of getting it right (of course, we're currently easy to impress in light of how bad things are at her current school).

and the weekend ended with a long walk with husband in the forest. the rainy weather has been good for mushrooms, both the edible and the photogenic kinds (these are the latter). a long walk has a way of clearing out any last vestiges of restlessness and discontent. and now i'm ready for the week ahead.

* * *

molly has been on a roll (of awesome posts) lately.

* * *

me, probably not making all that much sense, 

in danish, on the radio last wednesday evening.

talking about what danishness is.

(hint: full calendars, booking people two months ahead,

being able to talk to the boss no matter your level in the org. 

and being afraid of conflict)

* * *

i'm liking stuckinplastic

what's not to like? minifigs. life philosophies. lemonade. gratefulness.

* * *

a heartwarming story of love that finally happened after 60 years.

* * *

has amazon gone to the dark side?

scenes from the past week

if i'm honest, the past week has been full of flies and wasps, but thankfully, i have no photos of those. we have the warmest summer in 147 years, you see, and that means loads of flies and wasps (they're more bee-like than our nasty american kind of wasps, but totally annoying if you're sitting in the garden with a glass of wine). but i choose to focus on gorgeous baby bunnies instead.

on monday, our dear pigs, bacon and bacon, were sent to meet their fate. on wednesday, we scrambled to figure out what to do with 200 kilos of pork! yes, 200 kilos (that's 400 pounds for the metrically-challenged). we bought two freezers on the blå avis (our craig's list equivalent), if you were wondering. i made weinerschnitzel as the first meal. and yes, in denmark, that's made of pork, not veal (weiner means vienna, not veal). i think you can taste that they were happy and loved. so many of our friends and co-workers wanted pork that we have paid for the whole experience and are still knee-deep in pork chops (200 kilos is a LOT of meat, if you were wondering).

on thursday afternoon, some very good friends came to visit. the skies provided a double rainbow, just as we went for an evening walk. such a thing would almost make you believe in odin.

friday afternoon found us harvesting honey. 25-odd kilos, with one more round to go. this year, we have enough to get us through the winter and to sell a little bit. and man, is it good. and it's definitely helped me minimize my allergies. they're not gone yet, but they're much better than they were. the healing powers of honey are awesome.

gorgeous friday afternoon weather found us in the garden, building benny's spaceship and playing with our adorable baby bunnies. they're at their cutest right now. this was her very first attempt at eating a dandelion leaf. this photo looks like she succeeded more than she actually did.

unikitty in a spacesuit. is there anything more awesome? (if there is, please don't tell me.)

i got out my quilt book purchase from the V&A museum as i emptied the last of the suitcases from our trip (yes, i'm slow, so sue me)...even their bags are gorgeous, don't you think? the quilt exhibition was back in 2010, but the book is gorgeous (more about that another time) and thought-provoking.

sunday, we had another visit from good friends and exposed their daughter to bunnies for the first time. suffice it to say she wanted one, but we're not sure the bunny felt the same way, as her impulse was to grab it and squeeze as tightly as she could. by the end, she understood admonitions of "gently." she's a smart kid and is already a real charmer. i predict she will go far, but first, she'll probably put her parents through a bit of trouble.

the weather's been hot and so garlicky, cold, salty gazpacho has been on the menu. other than all that pimm's we drank in england, i don't think there's anything more summery than a delicious cold gazpacho.

my time of late has been taken up with this...the exo suit, a fan-created product from LEGO ideas. what a privilege it's been to work with an ultra creative group of people in rolling this out. i took this photo at the end of may and it's utterly unlike me not to use a photo immediately, but that's just how things are these days. i'm adjusting to it and it's expanding my spontaneous horizons. it's hard but also undoubtedly good for me to have to keep secrets.

this was another secret. i also got to play with the research institute ahead of time, since we needed photos for a blog post. it's the latest fan-created set from LEGO ideas. i'm truly blessed to be working with these projects. and how awesome is that magnifying glass that actually magnifies?!

Here's hoping your past week was lovely too...

the week in review

the horseshoer blew a hole in the middle of my day. he called about 4 hours before he was due to come and asked if he could come early (must have been the first horseshoer in the history of horseshoers to do so). if the vet does it next, i may faint dead away.

so i was quite concentrated on my work before he called, but afterwards, forget about it. it was pinterest and looking for what to make for dinner after that. tiger, the tailless cat also helped me put red strips of fabric on the fence so we can turn the horses out tomorrow. we have our young 2-year-old filly home now. she's a rather interesting cross - a norwegian trotter for a mother and an andalusian for a father. but she's got a super sweet temperament and i love her red roan color. she's got a friend with her - an 8-month old pony foal who adores her, because in denmark you're not allowed to let a horse be alone. it's been snowy all week and they need to get outside. they have a big stall and plenty of hay, so they've been content. summertime (that's the filly's name) is a bit thin, so i've been trying to fatten her up a bit. it's just good to have horses on the place again.

we'll have baby bunnies sometime next week. the mama bunnies are already tearing out their hair and building their nests. i hope it warms up a bit before then, tho' i imagine those mamas know how to keep them warm. it means we'll have easter bunnies to sell come the end of march. plus, we love having baby bunnies around here.

my chickens are coming into the terrace. it's been well below zero all week and they're in search of water, despite my thawing their water with the kettle twice a day. i found a cache of 5 eggs out in the big barn. they apparently like that there are horses there and want to be out there. i've not really seen them over there before. strange that as it's turned cold, i'm getting even more eggs. so we're eating custards and soufflés (when we're not eating lasagne).

it's been a good week. i spent very productive time with a creative person with whom i am totally compatible. we were all over the place on wednesday, but in the end, it was very productive and we moved forward in leaps and bounds. we're not there yet, but we have a clear picture of where we're going.

i saw a play and it made me think. you can't really ask more than that, can you?

before the play, i ate a rather danish version of borscht (light on the beets and with a horseradish creme fraiche) and talked about a community art project with really cool, inspiring people. you also can't ask more than that.

i'll tell you more about that art project soon. there is a hint in the pinterest boards below.

here's wishing you all a happy weekend. stay off facebook. it's not good for your mental state (this means you, bill.) (i'll try to take this advice myself.)

~~~

a few new pinterest boards: events/happenings. horse is a horse of course of course. pretty party. sheepish. the torso project.