they hardly arrived...

...and saying goodbye already started. Meter by meter they will leave the house. Slowly (as they are not the 1,- euro a meter kind) but surely, until there is nothing left but sad little cardboard spools.

But hey, what on earth would I be doing with 640 meters of ribbon anyway?

go have a look - if you like.

Funny food

There were two things we were never allowed to do as kids. Well...there were a couple more here and there, but my mother would get really angry if she saw us:

1. Play with food

2. Waste food

My mum was 8 when WW II broke out. Our family was lucky in many ways, and although black beans where the main part of their diet for a while and my grandma was grateful for the extra rations she received (in return for quartering in some friendly canadian soldiers), food was never really short. But it explains why - and I personally think my mother is right too. War or no war.

Today however, we HAD to play. How can you not play, when you come across these...

It is I...inspector Clouseau!

I thought I bought strawberries, not frogfish!

Mrs Puffy was there as well...

We did eat them all afterwards...even Clouseau...well...to be true: We ate everything but Puffy's nose...But I can live with that.

Peony

Today she gave up, my Mothers Day peony.

It is told that the peony hides mischievous nymphs in its petals.

My peony held many, many petals - plenty of space to hide you'd say.

They fell off like raindrops today, leaving a trace through the house, as I wanted to give her some fresh water.

No mischievous nymphs though. Alas.

wellness...

What we didn't get:

- Ayurveda

- Thai massage

- LaStone treatment

- Sauna

- Seaweed and mud packages

- Thalasso

- Haybaths

- Dr Kneipp

- Macrobiotic food

- Light and aromatherapy

What we got:
- Sun on our faces
- A view, and another one, and another one
- Smell of pine trees under the warm spring sun
- Nutella
- Stars, stars, stars
- Good conversations
- Wine and speck
- Stories
- Dust, mud, grass, spaghetti sauce and a warm shower

Wellness for the soul.

waist

I recently flipped through this great source of inspiration on one side, and merciless cause of "crafters-block" on the other side: Marie Claire Idées.

Looked at the japanese style belt, and heard my little inspiration angel saying:
"Why not? As long as you have a waist you should go for it. It's great for unusual fabric combinations. You'll have fun."

She hardly finished whispering, when that vile crafters-block devil raised his nasty, squeeky voice:
"Whoahahaaa, YOU wanna try that? It's got P-A-T-C-H-W-O-R-K, girl. Tiny pieces as well, if I see right. I don't wanna be a spoiler but eh....when exactly was the last time you did patchwork? Hmmm...yes, and...how exactly did the finished piece look back then? Right.
But, hey...it's your life...

Sweet angel in the mean time, patting me on the back:
"You go girl. You can always drop the patchwork part, and it'll look just right with that new skirt from Petramark. Oh, and do take the linen!"

She won. Of course it did turn out quite different, and I cursed (once) while making it, and wished for Peggy a few times. But I'm fine, my waist is happy. That's worth a lot.

Leporello

Wikipedia sagt:

"In südlichen Ländern verkaufen Straßenhändler streifenförmig aneinandergefügte Ansichtskarten und lassen sie bei Annäherung eines Touristen werbewirksam auseinanderfallen."

So, ich schicke das mal hier und da hin damit es werbewirksam auseinander fallen kann, und hoffe dabei es fällt nicht auseinander-auseinander.

Mit recht herzlichen Dank noch an Mozart für das schöne Wort: Leee-poo-rellll-looo.

tree of two worlds

Not far of where I live, stands this tree. In all it's whimsical beauty.

For me a symbol of my world today. Of a turkish neighbour who was born and grew up right next door in the heart of Rotterdam. Of the Carribean guy with the London accent. Of the Dutch girl in Bavaria who says "anrufen" instead of "opbellen" when she visits her home country. Of accepting that my girls will not call the land of "Pindakaas" and "Oranje" their home.

Choices are made, consequences happen and trees grow beautiful nevertheless - if they are given the chance, and if they take the chance.

Seems to me you can never judge a "Pappenheimer" by his name. Or appearance.

Small coincidences

Miss A. loves shoes. It’s not just that she likes them a lot; she strongly believes that the shoes you wear should express your mood at all times. Mere functionality and a comfortable fit are not taken into consideration, unless they make themselves annoyingly present (try to slip into a size 20 while you’re a size 24 or try to keep your feet warm & dry in open sandals on a chilly & rainy spring day).

Obviously this requires a lot of shoe changing and negotiating during the day.

Of course this also means, that each pair of shoes have their own vibe and are therefore especially suitable to wear for a certain activity. Like these slippers.



Her mom (read: me) already wore them in the sixties.
Their vibe says they are just right for watching TV in.
So does the sticker inside (I swear you: she can't read yet!).

Awarded.

The sweet multitalent Lisette suprised me with a virtual award (Arte y Pico). The last time I won something vaguely resembling an award must have been at school sports. Those were the days I could run a couple of meters without having to lean heavily on somebody/something afterwards, snorting like a hippo with a nose cold.

This reminded me I should do some sports again (Isn't that what most awards secretly are about: Encourage you to keep up the good work. Not sit down, celebrate and get lazy?)

So today I told myself: "Diana get up and do some sports!"

I got up. At 7:00 am. (Note : Saturday morning is my "free" morning, usually spent on well deserved - at least that is what I like to think- sleeping, reading, sleeping and reading).

I went to the yearly, ginormous Frühlingsfest-fleamarket, and stayed for a 4 hours thrifting marathon. Bought just 1 thing (not on any of the pictures below). Good girl.

Who designed this?

Watch out! Alienzzzzzz...



Mr Bombastic. Tries to remember where he left his hat.

Thank you again Lisette! I'm flattered!

P.S: The award comes with rules, and I need to pass it on, and show the logo, but I'm tired and my feet hurt. Hmmm...don't know why that is....

Best Things Part Seven/Teil Sieben

As they keep coming, those best things, I'll just keep posting them.
Today: Improvisation.

Suppose:
- "Staying put and do nothing" is not an option as horrible things would happen. (To name just one thing: Kid gets sick in a full underground compartment).
- However, you don't have what you need to get on with it and prevent horrible things from happening.
- You can't get what you need to get on with it and elegantly prevent horrible things from happening either. Not in a simple, straight forward way at least.
- You intuitively scramble to get control over the situation. As if.

Sounds familiar?


To some people this seems to happen quite a lot. To mums for instance. They stretch their skills, solve acute problems with random items lying around, take detours to "Solution Land" and end up somewhere fully unexpected, using a different approach than the one they thought best in the first place.

The improvisation thing is also much used by artists and inventors. They are really good. Less panic here and more discovery of new worlds, and soul lifting interpretations.

You shouldn't get too much of it, but improvisation certainly has its beauty, and, to be honest: Where would be without it?