24

happy advent!

xxx

sunday morning by the river

all three of us together

xxx

{inhabit}

~friday

~if you've been reading my musings for a while, you know it's my favourite day of the week

~my working week finishes at exactly 1.15 on friday afternoon; there's plenty of me-time till i take little one from school at 3.45

~ me- time usually means 'enjoy your little space in the universe';

' make this space really yours', 'inhabit it'

~ but fridays are not only about me; they're about us as well

~ today's me-time was devoted to cleaning the flat so i won't have to do it over the weekend; you see, hubby's on his way ; and we're expecting lots of rain over the weekend

~i'm thinking of inhabiting this place

~ i'm thinking of putting a little Christmas tree up with our handmade ornaments

(too early for us in the season, but this is the last weekend we'll be together till Christmas)

~ i'm thinking of father-son play while i read my book (a great historical novel about the civil war here); i want to finish reading it soon, as i need to start reading 'winter solstice' like i do every year - this will definitely warm things up for me

~i'm thinking of cuddles under my crochet blanket (we actually do that with whatever i've made so far, while i continue crocheting!)

~i'm thinking of sewing our advent calendar

{{{ does that sound like a good plan for a cosy weekend at home? }}}

~~~

we took these pictures a little earlier today; little one is the artist behind the last two

~~~

stop by the little list for more {inhabit} posts

from the gratitude journal

~ a roof over my head, even if it's not my first choice as to where I'd rather be

~ sunshine that dries my laundry in half a day

~ a hot water bottle to warm me up while I crochet my blanket

xxx

home sweet home?

( image via here

now occupying a small part on my living- room wall)

I guess we all know how important a feeling of belonging is;

well, to me 'home' is something that defines me - it goes hand in hand with 'life' and 'family'.

I can't imagine not having a 'homey' home. Do you know what I mean?

A safe place, a space where you can be yourself, you can do what you like or do absolutely nothing at all and still be content; a place that feels like an old, worn out sweater that warms you to your heart and soul...

I was thinking about this over the weekend when I felt like I'd lost my feeling of belonging.

Little one and I were five hundred kilometres away from home, at a place we now call 'home', without daddy.

Yes, we planted our bulbs and yes, we did lots of crafts, but still it was not the same as last year. Something was missing; this special magic dust that turns a house into a real cosy home was only partially here. And the funny thing is that when I go back home I feel more or less the same - problably because I'm always on the run to see everyone and do everything.

I'm really looking forward to the 23rd of December when the school holidays begin. I want to go home, put up the Christmas tree, light some candles, make myself a hot cup of chocolate and feel the warmth around me.

~~~~~~

I was offline the past three days due to technical problems, so if I owe you an e-mail or a visit, I'm on my way. I only very quickly checked my mail at work yesterday.

~~~~~

Take care!

xxx

family traditions

I've recently read the book "Lessons at Blackberry Inn" by Karen Andreola.

It's a book that speaks 'home' through and through and I've underlined some extracts that spoke to my heart.

One of them is the following:

'anything a mother does with her family for two consecutive years becomes a family tradition'.

Since my hubby is quite satisfied with the traditions everyone in this country shares, whereas I'm always on the lookout for something new, I was eager for little one to grow up a little so that he can join me in the fun and little by little pull daddy in as well.

Do you remember my salt dough ornaments from last year?

We're making some of these again tomorrow

and I've been working on an Advent Calendar idea for a while.

~~~~~~

The weekend is all about fun for two; little one and I will be alone this weekend.

We're planting bulbs tomorrow morning and then we're clearing the kitchen table for some serious (!) crafting! Stay tuned!

I may not be crazy about a huge Christmas dinner or endless shopping, but spreading some joy is one of the things in my to-do list, so some of our creations will be flying around the world the following weeks.

~~~~~~

What are your plans for the weekend?

XXX

my today and ... finally ... interview partners

~ after school fun by the river ~

~ a healthy meal of lentil soup and lettuce salad ~

~ oatmeal cookies; yum! ~

~ quiet time with pre-school maths (drawing mostly) and crochet ~
~~~~~

ok, ladies. I've got your interview partners ready (with the help of little slips of paper with our names on).

first of all, please accept my apologies for the delay;

after the whirlwind of the past two weeks, life has found a rhythm again.

now, I won't say who will be interviewing whom here;

I'll e-mail all the info you need

(if I don't have your e-mail, I'll leave you a comment).

some general guidelines:

~ it would be preferable if we could do it before the holidays.

~ you may arrange the interviews however you like; exchange e-mails and form your own rules as to who will ask the questions first, what the questions will revolve around and so on. if your partner is only interested in only one part of the interview, I could do the other one.

~ a little card swap would be nice but again it's up to you to decide.

~ together with your answers to your partner's questions, you may attach photos - maybe ones that appeared on your blog, or anything else you consider relevant; this way we'll get to know you better

~of course, you need to post the interviews on your blogs for everyone to read; if you don't have a blog, I can post it for you.

~ let me know when you've posted an interview so I can add a link.

I think that covers it!

thanks for playing along!

apart from my partner, I'll be glad to be interviewed by anyone else who's interested in my little existence.

~~~~~~

ok, then!

let the fun begin!

I can't wait to hear from you!

xxx

focusing on the bright side (and interviews update)

monday evening finds me at my little corner of the world,

at this small village near the country borders.

the weekend was full of social visits and other commitments;

lots and lots of cooking, too - hubby now has a freezer packed with healthy, homemade dishes to last him for a while.

despite all this craze, i did manage to catch a glimpse or two of my christmas cactus ~ we call it 'patience' here, remember?
this is what it looked like ten days ago.

and...
i was lucky enough to be at home again this weekend to witness its full bloom;

i took these photos yesterday.


there won't be any blooms left when i go back for christmas
and i'm so grateful for this perfect timing!

~~~~~~~

now, for the interviews;

i need to send a couple of e-mails with some questions i have and then i'll let you know who you'll be interviewing and interviewed by - that will probably be my next post.

of course there's no deadline, anyone can join, whenever...

so... sharpen your pencils and get ready for the fun!

~~~~~

take care!

xxx

on the road

hello there!

how are you all doing?

hope your weekend is off to a good start!

i'm typing this at my desk back home (in the city, that is).
i seem to be on the road a lot lately;

packing suitcases has never been something i enjoy, but starting from the beginning of the month when my dad and my hubby left the village after their visit, that's all i seem to be doing.

this is the second (long) weekend in a row that i've come here to vote;

in between i went back to my new home for three days to work (hubby came along) and i'll be going back there on monday - for good this time.

phew!!! are you still here?

and as if all this travelling wasn't enough, we visited my in-laws last sunday

and i'm going to my (dad's) village tomorrow for a short memorial service at my mum's grave.

if you haven't been reading this blog for a while, you're probably lost in all the different places.

but bear with me, there's a reason for these rumblings.

the thing is, as i was telling my dearest friend earlier, that this doesn't feel much like home. there are all these people we need to see and shopping to be done and errands to be run, so that i can't do all the 'homey' things i usually do at the weekends; plus, most of my personal belongings are not here. hubby usually works late to make up for the work he can't do on the computer when he's away and i really, desperately need to stay at home.

i don't want to check my schedule to see if i can squeeze in some saturday afternoon baking; i just want to take my apron out the drawer and get lost somewhere between the flour and the sugar.

my next visit here will be for the christmas holidays;

until then, hubby will be doing all the travelling - not very often though, due to work commitments.

on a more optimistic note,

there are a lot of pleasant things on my to-do list when i'm back at my basis:

catching up with e-mails, making presents, sending mail- lots of it (love it!), sewing, crocheting, making christmas crafts with little one...

and books, books, books...

these will keep me busy for quite a while

~~~~~~~

i took these photos yesterday:

~ hubby was sweet enough to stop on our way home so that i could capture this divine sky

~need i really say anything about the second picture?

~ these two fellows posed for me not once but twice yesterday

~~~~~~~

as for the interviews, you'll be hearing from me soon; i think i've got this figured out.

~~~~~~

have a great weekend everyone!

take care!

xxx

wednesday

Since Time is not a person we can overtake when he is gone, let us honor him with mirth and cheerfulness of heart while he is passing.
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

I'm eighteen years behind in my ironing. There's no use doing it now, it doesn't fit anybody I know
Phyllis Diller

~~~~~~~

I'm so excited about your response to my 'interviews' idea!

We'll get this started as soon as I've sorted out how it can be organised;

ideas are more than welcome.

If you've no idea what I'm talking about, please read my previous post.

~~~~~~

Have a beautiful Wednesday!

No work for me today - election day for us, teachers.

xxx

November

this is what the first day of november looked like at 7 this morning;

it got bright and sunny by 10 but, nontheless, it started off as a proper autumn day and month.

november will take me home twice for the two rounds of regional elections - this weekend and the next one; mind you, we're talking about four-day weekends as the schools are voting centres. :)

~~~~~

on a different note, i've been reading and enjoying lots of interviews in blogland; interviews of bloggers who are usually creative in one way or another.
this gave me an idea: why not interview each other? we don't need to be particularly creative or anything; we can do the interview around the contents of the blog- for instance, if a blogger writes mostly about her family, it could be about that. i would definitely like to get to know you better and i wouldn't mind being interviewed.

tell me if you're interested by leaving a comment here and please offer some ideas as well if you have any; could we include a card in the mail, too; something like a low budget swap? would you like to be an interviewee, an interviewer, or preferably both?

oh, do tell!

~~~~~~

have a gorgeous november!!!

take care!

xxx

ps. i've got some mail goodies to show you; i'm expecting a couple more parcels and then you'll see what nice people there are around the globe!