▲ k f a r

post-siberian syndrome

2012-02-08T18:24:00.000+01:00

pss //

the trouble with blog posts after such incredible trips is that i never know where to start.
the beginning? how cliché.
the end? everyone who wants to avoid the beginning does that.

enfin on y se trouve au milieu // saltando por un lado al otro

i can say three things for certain after travelling across siberia, through russia and recuperating in st. petersburg for almost a week.

one - russia is not at all what i expected (duh). what i do expect is that you cannot even get a glimpse at this country unless you've been there. soviet architecture is big enough to make anyone feel small. the enchanting wooden houses of siberia feel like a world away from the dominating concrete blocks of moscow. find your way into a bar and you'll meet (very quickly) some of the most open and kind hearted people in the world. i think the only reason that russians have a cold exterior is because their face is frozen into a frown. get a couple of drinks in them and you'll be hearing life stories in both your ears.

two - i thought canada was big, until i travelled by train all the way across russia. we boarded the first train in vladivostok, a short jump away from north korea on the japanese sea. the last train i took was from moscow to st. petersburg. whichever way you look at it, that's more than 10,000km. while i have travelled across canada by car, it didn't feel nearly as expansive as russia did. endless birch forests, endless fields of snow, mountains, frozen rivers, scattered small villages of wooden houses, chimneys smoking.

three - cognac can keep you alive. this is far different from you can live on cognac. the day we trekked out to lake baikal i was over-exhausted, cold and hadn't eaten much that morning. we were standing outside, many of our group were jumping into the lake. at some point, all i could see where white sparkles in my vision and i totally "blacked" out (more like whited out) and i woke up in a snowbank a second later. a few minutes in a warm bus and a few swigs of cognac did the trick.

petite imprimante

2012-01-08T10:51:00.000+01:00

introducing the little printer, from BERG Cloud.

Little Printer lives in your home, bringing you news, puzzles and gossip from friends. Use your smartphone to set up subscriptions and Little Printer will gather them together to create a timely, beautiful mini-newspaper.

who wouldn't want to wake up with their updates ready for them, to pour over with their morning cup of coffee? never a fan of checking my iphone while at the breakfast table, this seems like a nicer way to be my usual anti-social morning self.

see more at BERG Cloud.

siberia

2012-01-06T10:40:00.000+01:00

cleaning my pack, choosing my clothes. pulling out my parka from under the bed. stitching up my holy mittens, neglected since last winter. there's not too much need for wintery things in london and some days i almost feel robbed of winter when it's been above 10 degrees consistently for weeks.

[image]

you can take the canadian out of winter, but you can't take the winter out of a canadian. people told me i'm crazy to travel across siberia during winter. i'm thrilled at the chance to see snow, go tobogganing and trek across mountain passes in my head as i watch distances fly by from the comfort of the train. in less than 48 hours, i'll be en route to moscow and then onwards to vladivostok on the eastern coast of russia, looking across at canada from the other side.

for four weeks, i'll jump from train to train, making short stops in cities along the way. catch my breathe in moscow and then finally to st. petersburg. after dreaming about this trip for years, it's hard to believe i have a visa in my passport and my flights are just a couple days away.

the calm before the travel storm.

quote no. 4

2011-12-21T13:11:00.000+01:00

the japanese art of furoshiki

2011-12-19T16:55:00.000+01:00

four days to go.

if your roll of christmas paper runs out before you intend it to, turn to furoshiki. i'm loving the simpleness of this japanese-styles gift wrap. the best part, it's painstakingly simple. what more could you ask for at this time of the year?

[image: 1.bp.blogspot.com]

what you need:

a generous supply of silk scarves or squares of pretty fabric
furoshiki instructions

the word furoshiki refers to the actual cloth used to wrap gifts and parcels, more traditionally bento boxes. you can buy these at most japanese import stores but if you have a wealth of silk scarves or handkerchiefs then these work just as well.

prepare to be amazed.

[image: weheartit.com]

neighbours

2011-12-16T18:08:00.001+01:00

only a few times have i ever lived in a flat, with neighbours. i always imagined when i did, i'd know them, invite them over to tea in the afternoons. they'd be young and creative with as much spare time as i have. in budapest, this wasn't exactly possible for me to do, my hungarian is, to put is lightly, brutal. their english was non-existent. neighbour case closed.

here in london i live on a neighbourhood high street in a cosy building with only four flats. perfect i thought, when i moved in. finally i'll have the chance to meet the neighbours. this isn't exactly easy to do. our chance encounters are few and even then, an abrupt hello is all i ever get or have the chance to give.

last winter david and i travelled to turku in finland while the city celebrated being the european capital of culture. while at the library we came across some very nicely designed postcards and our finnish hosts translated them for us.

good neighbour!

you're very welcome for a cup of coffee!

time:
place:
name:

as a community project, a local artist made up these cards for the locals to invite their neighbours for a coffee. just one cup, a simple gesture, which surely leads to building a community. at the least it leads to a warmer hello when you meet in the hall or staircase. at the most, you could be living next to incredible people and not even know it!

do you know your neighbours? why are we so scared to talk to them? to meet them?

nesting // writing

2011-12-15T13:04:00.002+01:00

how cosy does this writing space look?

sometimes you just need those days to regroup and recoup your brain. find a cosy spot with a view, sketchbook and notepads, idea boards, pens and paints to record recent inspiration. it's so easy to neglect these simple little pleasures that give so much more space in your mind.

i've been working through michael atavar's how to be an artist book in the last few months (i first wrote about it here) and i wanted to share a few lines that have really inspired me lately. at least i'm drawing more, which is already progress.

- "just do one thing today. it doesn't really matter what it is. just do it." (nike was really on to something when they chose their motto)

- "art is often created through the re-imagining of ordinary things."

- "one of the simplest and most effective techniques is to slow something down."

modern japanese ceramics

2011-12-13T15:44:00.000+01:00

everything about this blue and white tableware is beautiful and elegant. simple lines, simple shapes. i am definitely taking some inspiration from these designs for etsy's "pimp my table" workshop on friday night here in london. taking plane jane ceramics and jazzing them up with colour and design.

[images: Jamie Hayon x KUTANI CHOEMON and dezeen]

haiku on hétfő: amour by the tail

2011-12-12T14:23:00.000+01:00

"ne bouge pas amour"
let me catch you by the tail
"attrape!" you're caught, amour

hétfő means monday in hungarian. for a long time i've wanted to begin a regular feature here on the blog, alas here is what it is: one haiku a week, on mondays since it's the only day of the week that starts with h.

other haikus: olives, idealism

quote no. 38

2011-12-05T15:01:00.001+01:00

activity advent calendars

2011-11-29T09:43:00.001+01:00

i came across the idea to do an activity advent calendar from this season's copy of anthology magazine. running out of time before the first of december, i put together 24 paper boxes made out of old magazines and a christmas catalogue. i even enlisted the boyfriend to help, but he gets distracted by making videos very easily. by the end of the evening we had 24 boxes plus quite a cool iPhone video to go along with it.

take a look!

if you still want to make your own activity advent, check out this one by jordan on oh happy day. i used a lot of the same activities she mentioned there, as well as adding some local london events to the mix and customizing others.

for the paper boxes, i used instructions from this video.

one pair of hand warmers

2011-11-25T13:07:00.001+01:00

nothing bothers me more than having an unfinished project on the go. i am a slave to lists and love the feeling of crossing something off. the same goes for knitting. i cannot concentrate, i cannot work with a knitting project sitting on my desk... staring me in the face saying "finish me, finish me" all day long. at times, i actually have to pit it away in a desk drawer so i can concentrate on my work for the day.

at least i finished my latest project, these hand warmers were quite easy to knit up and quite quick too. next time i'd go for bigger needles and chunkier wool. sometimes i just can't be bothered with size 2 needles, they're so small!

lomography: Diana Mini roll #1

2011-11-22T16:57:00.001+01:00

at first glance i'm not totally impressed with the results of my first roll taken with my new Diana Mini from lomography. i think next time i'll keep it in one format, instead of switching it constantly between the 24x24 and the 24x17 settings.

there are a few great ones though which i'd like to share. i think the more i shoot with this the more i'll get a feel for what works with it. the foggy day photos turned out well which was a nice surprise. does anyone have any experience with this camera? which type of film works best for you?

all of the above were shot this past weekend in richmond park on a very foggy morning. our shoes were damp with dew in seconds but we kept traipsing, hoping to catch some shots of the deer but no luck.

underneath is a photo of chiswick house, without a doubt one of my favourite places in sw london. gorgeous house, gorgeous gardens.

p.s. the guy at the kodak store felt bad some of the shots had multiple exposures so he gave me £3 off. little did he know i did it on purpose :)

knitting wish list

2011-11-17T11:03:00.001+01:00

you know the thing about hungary, england and knitting?

in hungary it was considered irrevocably "nagy mami" (grandma) to knit and even worse, to sew.
gasp//

imagine someone in their 20s wanting to do either of those two things... in public.
double gasp//

in england, and even more so in canada, it's actually quite trendy now to knit, handcraft and create with two hands. somehow that just hasn't caught on in eastern europe yet. but alas, i can knit on the train and tube with ease. i can still remember the curious looks when i would knit in the underground in budapest to and from work. the wide eyes, like they had never seen double-pointed needles in their life.

it seems every year my wish-list of knitting projects to execute gets longer but here are some of my "must-knits" for this season (the hand warmers are already on the needles).

herringbone cowl

colourblock hand warmers

short row sweater

what are you knitting up?

murmuration

2011-11-16T16:20:00.001+01:00

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

how incredible and moving is this?

this is what a road trip in england looks like

2011-11-12T11:53:00.001+01:00

this is what a road trip looks like in england.

london - manchester - exeter - london in a two bus caravan of 100+ people and a buddhist lama. travelling and meditation, i can think of few things better than this especially when so many friends are along for the ride.

on unexpectations and last minute flights

2011-10-28T21:19:00.000+02:00

the funny thing about life is that you find yourself in places you'd never expect.

// at the last minute.
here i'm writing this from my childhood bedroom in niagara, a southern pocket of canada. i had no plans to travel home at all this year but i'm here, travelling on a ticket i bought 15 hours before the flight. last minute. in my family, it takes a death to bring everyone together from around the world and across the country.

but we're here. packing my carry-on for another flight to saskatchewan tonight. there's something about me that loves the canadian prairies. 2 day at home, 3 days in saskatoon, 2 days at home then back to london.

it's a whirlwind but i love that life takes you places you'd never expect.

// at the last minute.
don't you?

a bar at the folies-bergère

2011-10-25T13:03:00.001+02:00

by edouard manet.
painted between 1881-1882.

this painting has always stayed in my mind since art history class in high school. there's just something about it. maybe it's the sad look in her eyes. the extravagantly dress gentleman looking at her that you can see in the reflection of the mirror. the end of an era in paris.

another thing crossed off my 25 before 25 list!

little paint // long way

2011-10-13T14:52:00.000+02:00

i've been doing a couple projects around our flat this week. i asked on twitter last month if it's worth it doing diy projects on a rented space. the consensus was yes! just enough to make the place feel like home but not too much to undo before leaving (whenever that will be).

upon much deliberation, i decided to paint a wall the same colour as our bathroom towels (probably lame) and i managed to pick out the exact colour at the shop without even bringing in a sample... what an eye.

[dulux fauna 4]

next came the dining chairs. you remember ivar, right? i painted these untreated wooden ikea chairs using the leftover wall paint then sealed them with a clear wood varnish. ta-da!
all this place needed was a little colour.

from film: the indian in the cupboard

2011-10-05T19:06:00.000+02:00

there were so many nice shots from the last roll of film i got developed and thought to share another batch, taken in my apartment in budapest before i moved to london.

do you remember that film indian in the cupboard? i must have been twelve when i was gifted the vhs version of it, complete with my own little plastic indian. i must have locked it up in my own little cupboard wishing so hard that it would come alive just like in the film. it hasn't, yet.

haiku on hétfő: idealism

2011-10-03T09:00:00.000+02:00

idealism spurs
even the most lazy minds
to realise there's more.

//

hétfő means monday in hungarian. for a long time i've wanted to begin a regular feature here on the blog, alas here is what it is: one haiku a week, on mondays since it's the only day of the week that starts with h.

other haikus: olives

from film: the deer of richmond park

2011-10-02T18:43:00.000+02:00

when you start experimenting with multiple exposures and light settings on film cameras every roll of film comes out dramatically different. Every frame is your canvas, although you can never be sure how it is going to turn out in the end.

i love the mystery and suspense of shooting with film.

a few weeks ago i took advantage of an afternoon off and wandered into richmond park to draw and take photographs. hot and sunny, i took a shortcut through a tall field of ferns to get home at the end of the afternoon. whistling my way along a narrow path a rustle made me look up.

there i was, face to face with a few deer. their antlers sticking up out of the safety of the ferns. their black eyes stunned by the presence of an intruder. sorry dear! i was just as much startled as they may have been, as i've rarely been that close to wild deer before in my life. i slowly raised my camera to my eyes, focused and shot. lowered it.

i made a quick 180 out of that field of ferns to take the long way around. hope i didn't disturb them too much. here are a few shots from that afternoon in the park.

how-to: ivar

2011-09-27T10:29:00.000+02:00

attention, attention!

david and i have made our first video together in london.
thank you to the 8mm iphone app (totally rad, download it if you haven't already) and a trip to ikea. i think the result is pretty funny, especially the epic (and equally corny) instrumental soundtrack.

enjoy.

how to be an artist

2011-09-14T17:24:00.000+02:00

i an effort to draw more (part of my 25 before 25 list) i picked up this book, how to be an artist by michael atavar. okay, i know. probably most "artists" would say that someone can't tell you how to be an artist or that "everyone is an artist in their own way" but let's face it. i'm out of touch.

practically no arting went on at all while i was living in budapest. mostly because i had little spare time between a full-time job, teaching english, writing freelance articles and spending a lot of time at the buddhist centre.

but since i've been in london, i find myself with (almost excessive) free time, my fingers have been aching for creative-making these last weeks. so, it's time to get into it again. i picked up this book because it's a simple guide for getting starting, taking an idea and seeing it through to a finished project. then finally, getting that piece out into the world. it's written simply, with some great exercises along the way.

this book is about developing your creativity.

pick up a pen and without thinking begin to write. it's not important what it is, or what you say, simply write.

easy enough? not! there's nothing more intimidating than a blank white page staring back at you!
i just started the book, but so far i'd recommend it to anyone who needs a practical guide to getting back into their old artistic groove.

impressions from the tate

2011-09-13T20:10:00.001+02:00

i met up with a special friend this afternoon for some art and coffee. we met in high school, in small-town spain outside of madrid. we both we exchange students there for a semester and our host partners were best friends. we both ended up not really liking our host families and bonded over rose wine and valencian beaches, frida kahlo and brooding in a small cafe called jamaica.

cafe con leche please.

that was 8 years ago and we still seem to find each other in cities around the world, catching up and travelling apart again. i really like that about us, both of us are everywhere yet when our paths cross it's like distance is just a concept.

we took in some great pieces at the tate modern before heading for lattes and cappuccinos at monmouth near borough market... only the best place on the south bank for coffee.

[clockwise from the top left: giorgio de chirico, joan miro, cy twombly, jackson pollock]

25 before 25

2011-09-10T10:59:00.000+02:00

okay, i know this is lame, or at least seems to be but somehow making lists is cool and somehow because i will turn a quarter of a century old in but a few months i should get down and accomplish something. as if being an expat by trade isn't an accomplishment but really. i saw mygirl.thursday's list the other day and thought, now i should really write down some goals too. now, let's see... i've got about 5 months to get on it. that's enough time, right?

so here you go.

1 - ~~go to a new country.~~ [UPDATE: ireland]
2 - ~~go to another new country.~~ [UPDATE: russia]
3 - ~~make a dream catcher.~~ [UPDATE: dreamcatcher]
4 - ~~read charlotte brönte's jane eyre before i cave and see the movie.~~ [reading + coffee]
5 - take my camera out for a date and use a whole roll of film in one day.
6 - ~~start a knitting project... and finish it!~~ [UPDATE: cosy hand warmers]
7 - visit Goldsmiths and apply for graduate school. (aaaah!)
8 - ~~cook thanksgiving dinner for four... with 2 hobs and a microwave oven.~~
9 - ~~buy cheap dining chairs~~ ~~and spruce them up!~~ [UPDATE: IVAR]
10 - visit at least 15 english heritage sites in the uk. [UPDATE: 9 down, 6 to go]
11 - treat myself to a mani/pedi for the first time ever.
12 - ~~draw more.~~
13 - ~~visit a third new country? can i do that?~~ [UPDATE: kazakhstan]
14 - make a brooch like this one.
15 - meet someone from the royal family. [david met princess anne, does that half-count?]
16 - ~~surprise someone far away with a care package made by hand.~~
17 - ~~see a painting i studied in art history in person.~~ [manet's a bar at the folies-bergère]

18 - publish a zine. (ideas: illustrated guide to east sheen? diy? craft?)
19 - ~~get my hands on another rad lomography camera.~~ [UPDATE: welcome to the family diana mini]
20 - ~~master cooking a new vegetable. kholrabi? romanesco broccoli? beets?~~ [UPDATE: not a veg, but as an ex-vegetarian i'd say i'm making big steps learning to cook creative meats like pigeon breasts and ox cheek]
21 - give high heels a try. (never have i ever)
22 - make a 5 minute short film!
23 - upgrade a dress following these easy steps.
24 - ~~stick to my budget (so i can afford to travel to russia in january).~~ [UPDATE: departing jan8!!!]
25 - by the time i do this one, i should be twenty-five. so i challenge myself to get all prettied up and go out on the town like a real londoner would.

it actually took me at least a week to come up with this list. and to be honest, nothing on it is out of my reach (okay, except maybe the royal family bit) which is cool but really, should challenge myself to be wilder. one step at a time.

wall art

2011-09-09T21:02:00.000+02:00

here is my inspiration for introducing some colour into my radically neutral apartment. would my landlord go crazy if i painted a wall without asking. should i take the chance?

anyways, the blonde wood and white needs some sprucing up and i thought about recreating this painting for the wall above our bed. cool, no? i sketched it out in watercolour on graph paper. now, to get my hands on some cheap and large canvas, not an easy task even for those who know where to look!

finding countless inspiration at the park lately, in jane austin's short stories and by the bottom of my coffee cups.

berger on drawing

2011-08-31T18:10:00.000+02:00

"For the artist drawing is discovery. And that is not just a slick phrase, it is quite literally true. It is the actual act of drawing that forces the artist to look at the object in front of him, to dissect it in his mind's eye and pit it together again; or, if he is drawing from memory, that forces him to dredge his own mind, to discover the content of his own store of past observations." p3

Berger on Drawing // John Berger

chiswick house

2011-08-20T13:28:00.000+02:00

introducing chiswick house and gardens.

as far as i'm concerned, there are few places as beautiful in the south west of london (outside of richmond). how gorgeous is this house? the slow-moving river and the beautiful railings, a conservatory full of camellias which unfortunately don't bloom until february.
i realise, the more i go to these heritage houses and properties that i'm a hopeless romantic at heart. i've surprised myself how much i love the english gardens, how the ivy clings to the brick walls. how i can't help daydreaming about what i must have been like to live in a house like this.

does anyone else have the feeling sometimes that they were born in the wrong country and wrong era?

re: revisiting the gaze and mr. berger

2011-08-13T10:44:00.000+02:00

i've long been crushing on john berger's mind.

for a good while now and finally picked up another one of this books, about looking. because it's saturday morning and i'm feeling particularly intellectual at the moment (it's fleeting so i should grasp it while it's there) i wanted to share a quote from the book and something i jotted down in my notebook while on the go.

"The eyes of an animals when they consider a man are attentive and wary. The same animal may well look at other species in the same way. He does not reserve a special look for man. But by no other species except man will the animals' look be recognized as familiar.

Other animals are held by the look.

Man becomes aware of himself returning the look." (chapter one: why look at animals, p4)

an animal looks. their stare stops other animals in their tracks. they're stopped. arrested in time. yet man does something different. he meets an animal's stare but it's with a look of power and dominance. some argue the animals don't have a gaze, because they're not aware of themselves looking. man is the only species who sees himself in the reflection of the water and knows it's himself looking back.

we see ourselves looking and when confronted with an animal, we also recognize that we are being looked back at. does it all go back to when narcissus first saw his face in the pool's reflection?

le parc richmond

2011-08-10T18:20:00.002+02:00

i love going out for the first time in a place, a new neighbourhood when everything is fresh. it's so big because it's your first time. new shops, new cafes, new streets and new parks. i'm just getting to know east sheen and i already love it. it's got that small town feel to it, but is still just a 20 minute train ride from waterloo station.

the other bonus? our new home is minutes from richmond park. in 1637 good 'ol king charles the first decided he wanted a park, for his deer (both red and fallow) and so you have it, richmond park. it's so quiet in the evenings, last night we spotted more than 50 deer grazing. their huge antlers! i'm not entirely a city girl, but there's something so magical about being able to get so close to wild animals, and know that you can just walk and see deer in the forest and fields just a few minutes from your apartment. i like this a lot.

figures though, that i didn't bring my phone with me last night in case we ran into any rioters.

but here are some photos from a previous walk in the park, enjoy!

(as you can tell, i'm definitely into instagram right now, if you like, you can follow me, i'm kfar)

hello london, it's nice to meet you

2011-08-07T21:56:00.001+02:00

i'm very good at ignoring this blog. did you notice? or at least moving is such hard work that i've hardly had a moment to sit and contemplate. reflect or muse. until yesterday.

at last. a full afternoon to do things i think i never did in budapest but i remember so fondly doing when i was spending a lot of time in european capitals a few years ago. i took tan early afternoon train into the city and got off the tube at euston station. a friend recommended a trip to the wellcome collection, so i headed there to see what's the hype about.

you must go. honestly. there is no other place on earth that you can see a pair of florence nightingale's moccasins, napoleon's toothbrush and a lock of henry v's hair + some funny japanese sex aids all in one room. for real this guy, sir henry william wellcome, kept a collection of some pretty curious objects.

post-museum and a serious case of square eyes i made my way to a park for some fresh air, then to a very old bookstore where i perused. i picked up a copy of john berger's about looking. i'm already pulled into the way he writes about something so simple as a glance, as complicated as a gaze.

a tall flat white later, i headed back to euston station to pick up a friend i hadn't seen for ages. we found the tackiest and cheapest chinese buffet in camden town we could find and ate our hearts out. it was a perfect day. i miss just wandering around new streets, picking up new literature nad feeding my mind on art and philosophy. those were the good old uni days and i had another little taste of it yesterday. time to go for my masters? i reckon it is about that time.

image one: pretty scientific bottles
image two:canvas bag from the wellcome collection shop
image three: classicly british, on my walk

happy birthday frida kahlo

2011-07-07T13:48:00.001+02:00

happy birthday to one of the most beautiful and talented women the world has ever known.

a girl and her bike

2011-07-05T13:47:00.000+02:00

the old saying goes, diamonds are a girl's best friend. i beg to differ. i'd trade a diamond for a bike any day. i'd trade another one for a friend to have a bike too. then i'd trade a third diamond for a free afternoon with sunshine. so i could go for a ride with that friend.

my little pearl. you may not work properly all the time but it doesn't matter.

i'm going away for the rest of the week so i thought i'd bring her up to the flat for safekeeping while i'm gone. running back and forth packing my bag and cooking up some quick lunch, i couldn't stop but admire the afternoon light, the herringbone floor boards and her fame, beautifully unsuspicious.

one last glance at budapest

2011-07-02T12:35:00.004+02:00

in t-minus twenty-five days i'll be saying good-bye budapest but there are still a million things i want to do and see and even more places to explore before i leave my keys in the mailbox on my way out. i doubt i'll ever live permanently in budapest again, but i'm refraining from the word never. because,

who knows what will happen?

[fisherman's bastion]

so, i have less than one month to start ticking off my "cultural" to-do list.

these ten are at the top:

~~one~~ - spend a day at the thermal baths with some girl friends. soak in all those mineral waters and their healing powers... because god knows there aren't any spas this cheap in london.

two - check out the newest exhibition at the ludwig museum. it's called "the art of light" by lászló maholy-nagy, a hungarian artist known for his work in the avant-garde movement in the central/eastern part of europe in the twentieth century.

~~three~~ - pack a picnic and enjoy it on the great lawn in the middle of margaret island. i did the same last spring when all the trees were in bloom. it was so nice and people were everywhere will their little dogs, picnic baskets and bicycles. my kind of place.

~~four~~ - finish reading "the water method man" by john irving. it's quite thick and i'd appreciate not having to carry it with me in london. actually, i'll leave all my books here and bring them over in a couple months once we find our nice new home.

UPDATE: i didn't finish it there, but shortly after i arrived here in london. it's already been passed along to a friend though. so no space is taken up in my new (very small) flat.

~~five~~ - send postcards to my bestest bests before i leave. budapest is far behind the times and you can still find great vintage postcards in smaller shops out of the city centre. they're so tacky that they're fashionable? if you want one, send me your address!

six - organize a city bike sight-seeing tour with friends/travellers so that i can say goodbye to all my favourite places at the same time.

~~seven~~ - dance until the sun rises. preferably on a boar moored along the danube... a38 to be more precise. [holduvar on margrit island]

~~eight~~ - see a performance at the budapest opera house. rumour has it that there are last-minute tickets in the nose-bleed section for cheap. now i just have to get my paws on a pair and convince someone to dress up with me to go. any takers? love high-class entertainment.

UPDATE: unfortunately the season has ended and new shows don't begin until september. doesn't anyone go to the opera in the summer???

~~nine~~ - the next best thing, open-air cinema on margaret island with the french institute's film club. i'm even going to sneak in a few beers for this one.

ten - only the future will tell.

saving my abracadabra for later

2011-06-22T22:06:00.000+02:00

i'm at a moment.
i can't decide if it's good or bad. you know when you wish for something and then, when finally it happens you realize that actually it's not really what you wanted? that happened to me. now i'm at a moment.

about one month ago i would have done anything to have snapped my fingers and be transported to another city, nestled and sorted. that didn't happen. so i changed my glasses and put a pair on with rosier lenses. budapest, you ain't so bad after all!

then. the results of our efforts (mine and david's) to move away from hungary finally came to fruition. he got a job in london. good pay, GREAT city, new opportunities... he took it. within days he was packed and i was standing there at the bus stop at keleti train station at 4 in the morning saying good-bye. when i said i wanted to leave budapest, i didn't mean that i wanted to stay in budapest, alone without my dear and try to swing flying solo in this place on my own.

hello, universe!

anyways, i will join david in london. i will box my things up and move them out of my flat here. i will take down my curtains and my photographs, relocate for my job and set up life down the street from the queen (wishful thinking). apart from standing in too-long queues at the embassy, jumping at every call on my mobile that my visa has arrived, things are cool.

back to video skype calls, not awesome but sometimes, you just gotta deal.

right?

lessons learned: without sounding cliché... careful what you wish for? general wishes are always better than personal ones, because how can we know what we really want. heck, i don't even know what to make for dinner half the time until i'm half-way through cooking it.

Caution: Steps

2011-06-07T20:20:00.000+02:00

Work on good prose has three steps: a musical stage when it is composed, an architectural one when it is built, and a textile one when it is woven.

Walter Benjamin. "One-Way Street." London: Verso ,1997.

[egotrips] and inspiration

2011-05-24T20:01:00.001+02:00

tired of this tick - tock and another tick.
leaning with my head against my hand // the loudest sound in the room are the hands on my wristwatch slowly making their rounds. past the 6, onto the 7.
have i really been sitting here for so long?

i've been totally inspired this week by photographs of roses, streets of london and girls sewing, doing what they no doubt love to do. craving so much to have an afternoon free to lounge about in the library finishing the novels i've no time to read. enjoying the last bit of ice cream without realising i've someplace to be. going out for a frappe with girlfriends i'm terrible at keeping up with. falling asleep at night totally exhausted and satisfied that i've used every single minute to do something nice.

apart from egotrips. isn't this what it's all about?

[the photograph was taken in ljublijana a few weeks ago. it's an amazing city covered in street art, perhaps i'll share more photos from my weekend there. truly remarkable central european capital, i must say!]

haiku on hétfő: olives

2011-05-16T16:04:00.001+02:00

so, i hereby inaugurate haikus on hétfő. here is the first,

olives with pits sit
motionless in fine china
waiting for their fate

pigs and stars

2011-05-04T22:04:00.000+02:00

an old friend sent this over to me today, she found it among some old papers and thought i'd like to at least have a digital copy of it. an old drawing, from who knows when. it's at least reassuring i could spell my name right, and that the sun wears sunglasses, because it's probably bright up there.

i love finding drawings of mine from when i was wee small, i cherish them. in hopes of finding some clue to how i used to see the world one metre shorter. do you still have your drawings from when you were small?

praktica roll one

2011-05-03T17:53:00.000+02:00

choosing film:

me: can you pick up some film for me at the store?
davey: what iso do you want? 200?
me: i dunno, whatever. i guess 400.
davey: sweety, 400 is for karma guen [sunny place in south of spain]. in june.
me: right, so 200. perfect for finland in winter.

shot with a 1960-era praktica (pre-communism in hungary)

do you remember this cactus exhibition in the last photo from last summer? this roll of film is older than i thought. the film itself came from the lomography store in madrid, it was given to me for free when i bought my first holga.

when the insatiable itch to travel strikes

2011-04-30T20:11:00.000+02:00

last we spoke was sometime in mid-april. days lost and weekends past. i've been to three countries since then, on holidays and day-trips, weekend getaways and jaunts [slovakia, czech republic, germany]

from budapest.

some call it escape but the itch in my feet is insatiable.
[not] quenched or satisfied
i'm onto slovenia next week for a few day tour of the capital and some village towns.
after that a weekend in vienna. will this ever end? will i ever go

away from budapest.

soon or later. sooner than later? in the mean time i enjoy the warm saturday afternoons, brisk winds and lazy morning bike rides on my way to the office. life doesn't feel so serious these days, which is the best possible feeling.

listening to inara george on repeat.

flying away like this swallow, caught in my frame [always by accident].

voila printemps

2011-04-15T21:00:00.000+02:00

feeling flighty and ungrounded.
it was spring last week, now it's turned cold again.
is it just the weather that makes me feel this way?

im irrational // more often than not.
i wish i could just toss a coin and the answer would be as easy as that. fate decided //

by the flip of a coin.
does it matter the currency?

flip / click / land

it's heads. a queen's head. united kingdom, canada, netherlands, sweden, denmark... viking ships and canvas sails whipping in the wind call my name. do i answer or keep dancing the tune of a gypsy violin and chowing down on gulash i don't even like.

feeling flighty and ungrounded.

to transylvania and back

2011-04-09T19:37:00.000+02:00

i'm full of fat/onion bread.
full of palinka and parties.

transylvania is a world of its own, more hungarian than hungary.
if that's even possible.

i imagine it's what hungary looked like thirty or even forty years ago.
horses pulling buggies. gypsy kids praying for money. workers in the fields.

the simple life.
i loved it.

cubic shelving // ikea inspiration

2011-04-04T21:22:00.000+02:00

in love with this shelving project.

it may be just the inexpensive project we've been looking for in our large room with a lack of decoration and colour. simple and cheap, all you need are some PRANT office storage boxes, some bright paint and heavy-duty metal paper clips.

build.

brilliant.

[found via poppytalk on livet hemma: ikea inspiration blog]

some kind of sunday

2011-04-03T14:50:00.001+02:00

some kind of sunday //
grey sky and clouds but no excuse to stay indoors. all alone in the house. first time in ages so let's get some projects done.

lets knit and paint, sew and finish that novel that already has a layer of dust on its sleeve.
lets re-fold and re-organize, make a chai latte and call girlfriends.
lets lounge and knit some more.

market run and bike tires pumped up with air.
its only three. id say this is some kind of sunday.

currently reading: the unbearable lightness of being - milan kundera
currently listening: ceu (on repeat)
currently wearing: skinny jeans and a seven year old t shirt
currently craving: oreo cookies

marimekko

2011-03-19T20:27:00.000+01:00

a small clasp pouch.
i saw them at a design shop in turku for 25€
then i found this one from the same brand at a second hand shop
for 2€

finds like these make my day.

benjamin franklin

2011-03-16T10:38:00.000+01:00

image from nick bilton

a typical day in the life of benjamin franklin.

i too am an early bird, relishing in watching the sun rise out my window. lately though, it's comforting to wake up at six am and see that the first light of the day has already begun to appear. i start my day with one and a half hours of meditation.

i sound disciplined but some days i have to drag my heavy body, which is determined to stay in bed. it's not so easy.

i'd like to introduce this "overlook my accounts" into my day. a new office routine?

at the end of the day, he "puts things in their places"

it's excellent, tidy up before sleep so everything is fresh once morning arrives again.

every day should start with: what good shall i do today?

every day should end with: what good have i done today?

what are your morning/daily rituals?

turku: where the saunas are always hot

2011-03-10T19:15:00.003+01:00

the winters, however are not.
spend four lovely and wintery days in an artsy city along the western coast of finland last week. rest and recuperation. long sauna time and aimless wandering through art galleries, design shops and city streets. looking for castles, the essence of finnish design and the cheapest/best lattes.

// we succeeded quite well in the end.
even if our fingers froze

date a girl who reads

2011-03-10T19:09:00.003+01:00

"Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.

Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag.She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.

She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.

Buy her another cup of coffee.

Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.

It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.

She has to give it a shot somehow.

Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.

Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.

Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilight series.

If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.

You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.

You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes." -Rosemary Urquico

[found via boardwalk to eden]

knitting socks for next winter

2011-02-27T11:46:00.001+01:00

i started this pair of socks in january.
alas, here i am end february and finally i'm done. both socks.
it hasn't been much fun wearing only one of the pair around until now.
the other finally has some company // side by side on my
cold feet.

jenny at wikstenmade has some very good advice on learning sock knitting.
one is bigger than the other, how did that happen? better luck for pair two.

process:

fatiguer

2011-02-25T18:20:00.000+01:00

il me fatigue d'écrire en français.

alors, je ne vais pas le faire.

2011-02-24T18:16:00.000+01:00

birthday bliss has passed. i don't feel older, but i think people rarely do after their birthdays. one more year, another new number. i hardly ever answer the question, "how old are you?" anymore.
the day though, could not have been passed in a better way.

▲ breakfast: fresh pastries
▲ a stop at a small café on raday utca for a hot latte
market run for fresh veggies and stocking up on our favourite ingredients from the international food market
▲ lunch: tacos with corn tortillas and salsa imported from the usa
▲ a trip to the szep-muzeum to see botero
▲ skating round and round on an outdoor rink
▲ dinner: grilled cod, balsamic braised red cabbage and steamed edamame
▲ woody allen is always the perfect end to a perfect day, we watched "cassandra's dream" and fell asleep

botero

2011-02-20T20:04:00.000+01:00

"I'm a protest against modern painting. However, I use what hides behind its back: the ironic play with everything that is very well known to everyone. My painting is figurative sand realist, but not in the restrictive sense of faithfulness to nature. [...] It would be formulated as follows: I describe an unrealistic reality in a realistic way."

une petite recette: crositini

2011-02-15T21:40:00.001+01:00

cut ciabatta into half inch slices, coat in butter and grill
rub with minced garlic & drizzle olive oil on top
place slice of prosciutto on toast with half fig & fresh mint leaves
add a drop of balsamic vinegar and fresh pepper

fresh parm or slices of camembert don't hurt

enjoy.

weather forecasts

2011-02-12T13:51:00.000+01:00

today's weather in budapest:

slightly cloudy

what's your weather forecast? check it here.

golden and true

2011-02-10T18:48:00.000+01:00

a blanket of frost covers the lot. i don't care, i'm rolling by on the bus. we stop in the park, for heroes in a square. i spot a red-tailed squirrel jumping from a tree. i didn't know until now that there were squirrels in hungary. but now i know.

a pyramid of reddened iron in remembrance of the holocaust. is it too early for the tourists to be out? the sun is just right. it's //

[golden and true]

boter's plump and voluptious women wave as me as i pass the szep-museum [museum of pretty art]. ancient balconies stare down at me where countless juliets looked down at their lovers. at least i hope for this city's sake.

we're almost there now.

in budapest the nights are cold

2011-02-06T15:45:00.000+01:00

i didn't expect such a freeze. such a chill down my bones when i arrived in budapest.
it snowed when i arrived, some think i brought the white weather with me
this might be true. somehow i caught a cold (everyone around me had a cold so this was inevitable i guess) and finally after a week in and out of bed, im on the uphill again feeling good about being budapest

again // i've stalled in knitting my second sock. but one sock isn't much use, so i hope this is motivation enough to tackle the second one. also, stitch and bitch budapest has all but died. it needs a revival. know anyone in budapest who likes to knit? send them my way because im in dire need of some stitching friends who like to shoot the proverbial shit.

{photos of budapest, budapest are coming, don't worry}

einmal ist keinmal

2011-01-21T22:17:00.000+01:00

busy between laundry, packing, farewells and hair cuts.
it's hard work to pick up and leave, something i'm getting too good at, too used to.
i'm an expert at //

// lists of things to do before i go

and i'm not sure that i like it.
maple syrup has been bought.
so have 2 jars of crunchy 100% peanuts peanut butter
a stash of my favourite granola bars for travelling days
and two bottles of wine from my favourite local winery

is there any room for my sewing machine? not in this lifetime of stingy checked luggage rules and overweight fees.

still, among the bustle i'm trying to stay above the waves. trying to tie up loose ends and trying to finish unfinished projects before they're left yet another year(s) to collect dust in my closet

for someone who constantly travels here and there, i sure do get strung out before each major move
guilty: i grind my teeth at night and my jaw is killing me, pre-travel pressure gets me every time.

remember last year? i packed so early.

february - margaret atwood

2011-01-15T20:24:00.000+01:00

Winter. Time to eat fat

and watch hockey. In the pewter mornings, the cat,

a black fur sausage with yellow

Houdini eyes, jumps up on the bed and tries

to get onto my head. It’s his

way of telling whether or not I’m dead.

If I’m not, he wants to be scratched; if I am

He’ll think of something. He settles

on my chest, breathing his breath

of burped-up meat and musty sofas,

purring like a washboard. Some other tomcat,

not yet a capon, has been spraying our front door,

declaring war. It’s all about sex and territory,

which are what will finish us off

in the long run. Some cat owners around here

should snip a few testicles. If we wise

hominids were sensible, we’d do that too,

or eat our young, like sharks.

But it’s love that does us in. Over and over

again, He shoots, he scores! and famine

crouches in the bedsheets, ambushing the pulsing

eiderdown, and the windchill factor hits

thirty below, and pollution pours

out of our chimneys to keep us warm.

February, month of despair,

with a skewered heart in the centre.

I think dire thoughts, and lust for French fries

with a splash of vinegar.

Cat, enough of your greedy whining

and your small pink bumhole.

Off my face! You’re the life principle,

more or less, so get going

on a little optimism around here.

Get rid of death. Celebrate increase. Make it be spring.

marco suarez - circle photographs

2011-01-11T17:27:00.000+01:00

i'd hang all of these photographs on my wall if i could.

incredible images taken by marco suarez // designer residing in south carolina

you can purchase prints online which means one of these just made it to my wish list (the second one to be exact)

simple tank

2011-01-10T17:59:00.000+01:00

from drawing to modified pattern to the real deal.

my first handmade piece of clothing (even if the darts are crooked) //

[due to the difficulty of photographing in my small room, this is the best you're going to get. and i think there is something wrong with the optical zoom/focus on my petit camera]

picasso in paris

2011-01-07T20:42:00.000+01:00

[img]

hector and the search for happiness - françois lelord

2011-01-03T17:49:00.000+01:00

i finished this book for the slow readers book club days ago, unsure of how to start the review process. what interested me most by the end was that hector needed to travel to find happiness, he decided that he couldn't find it in the proverbial here and now. but from experience i also think that travel reveals a lot more about one's self in new surroundings than at home.

there is something here about journey that becomes to inherently connected to the happiness that hector is searching for.

it starts with lesson number two on the flight between paris and china //

lesson two: happiness often comes when least expected.

a lot of his lessons, so simple at first glance, are words to live by. short mantras to keep at one's fingertips to be constantly reminded to live with no expectations for what's coming or what could happen. i appreciated the monk's final words,

true wisdom would be the ability to live without this scenery, to be the same person even at the bottom of a well. but that, it has to be said, is not so easy.

2010: a year for reading

2011-01-02T15:32:00.000+01:00

unable to really find cheap eng. language books in budapest i got a library card at the british council library near kalvin tér. i spend many afternoons there, breathing in old titles, scouring the shelves for new hemingway to read and stocking up on new material to use in my english classes at work.

in any case, here is the list of what i read this year:

in europe - geert mak

oryx and crake - margaret atwood

a portrait of the artist as a young man - james joyce

cat's eye - margaret atwood

death in the afternoon - earnest hemingway

islands in the stream - earnest hemingway

book of longing - leonard cohen

hector and the search for happiness - francois lelord

the tower, the zoo and the tortoise - julia stuart

at atlas of remote islands - judith schalansky

im sure im missing some, especially sine i've been home i know i've devoured more than a few novels but their titles escape me.

[are you a part of the slow reader's book club?]

you should be, it's a great forum and the titles are excellently chosen.

happy new year

2010-12-31T13:18:00.000+01:00

[img]

i'm never quite good at making/keeping resolutions but i think this year, at least i'll make some goals instead of promises. trying not to make the list too long. one step at a time

one

send more postcards. i don't write enough, i know it. and i'd like to, mostly because i love getting letters in my postbox from far away places. one friend is famous for her poetic ramblings which i always look forward to reading and i should return the favour more often.

two

make time for art. morgan recommended this book course, the artist's way, to me a while back and i put it on the back burner, knowing full-well that i wouldn't find it in a budapest book store. now that i'm in canada i can pick up a copy before heading back. it's a writing/creating 12-week course that makes making time for expression a priority. i'm going to do it.

three

get into classics. i haven't read enough classics, i know it. i was browsing at chapters yesterday and was embarrased to think i've never read a jane austen. so this year, i'm putting these classics on my priority reading list (any more recommendations are very welcome):

the old curiosity shop - charles dickens

persuasion - jane austin

sons & lovers - d.h. lawrence

four

365 projekt. i've been following a few of you that actually did this and what persistence. now that i have a smaller compakt camera to take around with me, i hereby challenge myself to the 365 photograph challenge. (can i make one side note: i might at times substitute drawings for photographs because it is still considered "image-caputure", isn't it?), starting the first of january 2011.

now that i've written this out, it's a tall order isn't it?

at least two and four can be combined (cheating already).

what are your resolutions for this year?

**update (01.01.11): 365 under way at tumblr

chickens and a viszla

2010-12-30T05:23:00.000+01:00

i'm pretty wowed by the miniature setting on this camera.

introducing widu, the hungarian viszla

and the gaggle of chickens at frogpond farm

good things come in three

2010-12-27T15:59:00.000+01:00

between seasonal jobs, regular work and the pace of the holidays

// i've forgotten all about this.

there are a few little treasures i'd like to share

first: make us a brew

mr. scruff, a manchester dj, is also my favourite tea-maker

he spins vinyl by night and designs these incredible tea flavours (and their packaging) by day

have a listen to jazz potato here.

second: canon sd1400is

this little compakt takes hd video and has fish-eye and miniature settings

the perfect small addition to my camera collection. finally excited about having a pocket digi-cam instead of taking my bigger sx20 around here and there.

third: frogpondfarm ice wine

i've mentioned this n-o-t-l winery before and i was gifted a bottle of their 2007 riesling ice wine

golden sweet nectar, this bottle is coming to hungary with me next month

eran hilleli [videos]

2010-12-14T17:34:00.000+01:00

totally captivated by the animation in these three short films.
the first won an animation prize on vimeo and for good reason.
not too many words for you today, these moving pictures certainly deserve a better introduction. all i can say is,

enjoy!

Between Bears from Eran Hilleli on Vimeo.

Three and a Half Seconds About Life from Eran Hilleli on Vimeo.

Inside_Out from Eran Hilleli on Vimeo.

art gallery of ontario

2010-12-12T15:30:00.000+01:00

an afternoon in the 'big city' turned out to be just what i needed after more than a month at home in niagara. my first stop (after being sufficiently caffeinated at the orange alert) was the a.g.o

it would be no stretch of truth to say that frank gehry is one of my favourite artists
his guggenheim in bilbao is a spectacular cathedral of lines and curves (not much credit goes to the collection housed inside it but that's another bone for picking)

gehry's piece in toronto is nice, simply. it fits but its one of the more conservative pieces he's done, using his fish motif on the dundas side, similar to his sculpture on the barcelona harbour

the curvaceous staircase did make me smile, like a snake coiling in and out of doors and through the ceiling //

[img 2] julian schnabel: big girl

i can't help take photographs in art museums and galleries, as i have studied art history, theory and the philosophy of the image and aesthetics, i like to bring home some of the paintings that particularly attracted me, ones i had an experience with. big girl was shot sneakily behind the back of the security guard from my pocket. a quick out, click, in without a notice.

do you do the same? how do you feel about no photography rules in musems and galleries?

one more info:
the ago is free to those under the age of 25 (score! since regular admission is $19) until april. take advantage of this again and again.

christmas spiced salt

2010-12-06T22:25:00.000+01:00

using old magazines to make some cut and paste holiday cards but i came across this small project. the ingredients are super cheap and are great little tokens to bring along as a hostess gift for a friend who loves to cook.

// christmas spiced salt //

200g coarse sea salt

2 tsp red peppercorns

2 tsp crushed red chilli

4 star anise

sterilized jar*

the salt mixed with the red peppercorns reminds me of holly berries in the snow. the magazine article suggested using the spiced salt on steaks and roasted chicken. of course, as a vegetarian, i filled a pretty glass bowl with it and put it on the table, ready at a moment's notice when i need a dash of salt.

i filled a few jars up with it and tied rubber-stamp printed kraft paper around the tops for wrapping.

*to sterilize your jar, wash it well in warm soapy water. rinse and dry in an oven set at 275°f. let cool before filling

kites fly, birds swoop

2010-12-05T14:24:00.000+01:00

j'avais manqué ma ville. mais je retourne maintenant a une ville. completement nouveau.

comment-ce passe?

je ne sais pas. j'ai oublié les mots. ils sont perdus.

ils sont perdus.

comment-ce passe?

some days i just wish i was stranded on Gibraltar//

wrist worms

2010-12-03T19:00:00.000+01:00

too tempted these days by comfy knits. is it just because it's cold outside?

i've been catching up on a year's worth of knitting projects these past days //

my pants are covered in wool fur

but i like it.

i love these: wrist worms crocheted by sandra juto

what pretty colours

what's tempting you this season?

winter accents

2010-11-29T17:14:00.001+01:00

the first snow fall is always the most magical. especially when it comes at night and you awake, peek out the window after hearing the winds blow all night and you're greeted with a white cityscape. quelle surprise!

i spent the last few days in peterborough baking, drinking lots of tea and catching up with girlfriends. playing cut and paste and making gifts from hand in a bright orange room. we walked through forests, collecting winter greens to make floral arrangements with.

appreciating bright red dogwood and how festive it is, the sound of the word bullrushes on my lips, how easy it is to make delicious gluten free cranberry cookies and the smell of drying sage i forgot about in the porch //

my pile of kraft paper packages is slowly growing the more projects i complete. im doing an entirely handmade christmas this year, safe a few edible treats that i couldn't resist to buy (chocolates and imported liquorice).

more to knit, more to paint, more to sew.

cowl knitting

2010-11-18T17:13:00.000+01:00

the last days have been foggy and grey. romantic though

in the way that the tress are laid bare amidst the silvery hue of mist

winter has its way of making magic in my heart

has knitting season officially started? it feels like its here

since my last pair of circular needles broke in my luggage this time last year,

i need a new pair.

already have some soft cream wool

time to knit a cowl//

(the first cowl i ever knitted, using a pattern from yarn over movement)

(in the works)

what are you knitting? socks, scarves and tuques?
on another note, im really mesmerized by all the holiday ideas circulating. but more on that later.

whisk lighting

2010-11-16T16:56:00.000+01:00

the sweet paul holiday mag is out.
and im scouring the flea markets to find an old industrial whisk, to no avail.
but i've seen a similar project with an old cheese grater, and that i have

BRONCO

have you ever made a recycled lamp before?

make it yourself:
-one old industrial whisk
-hanging lamp set
-screwdriver

1. make sure lamp set isn't plugged in
2. unscrew socket until it comes apart, unscrew the screws holding the two wires in place
3. pull cord through whisk, then reassemble socket
4. wrap one wire around one screw and tighten
5. do the same for the other wire (make sure the two wires are not touching)
6. screw socket back into position, twist in a light bulb
7. hang it up and turn it on!

remote islands, an atlas of

2010-11-11T16:59:00.000+01:00

"Paradise is an island. So is hell,"

The Atlas of Remote Islands: 50 islands I have never set foot on and never will

written by Judith Schalansky

"The absurdity of reality is lost on the large land masses, but here on the islands, it is writ large. An island offers a stage: everything that happens on it is practically forced to turn into a story, into a chamber piece in the middle of nowhere, into the stuff of literature. What is unique about these tales is that face and fiction con no longer be separate: fact is fictionalized and fiction is turned into fact."

all mapped images are hand drawn and shaded to scale by the author //

awarded the most beautiful book in Germany

can you wonder why?

sewing homework

2010-11-04T15:38:00.000+01:00

im taking quite leisurely sewing classes from my talented aunt. she even sewed my mother's wedding gown (once upon a time) and now she's passing on her drapery, hemming and dress-sewing expertise on to me. first lesson included hemming 101, the basics, the dirty basics and some tips.

task one: hem one pair of pants

remember that denim wine bottle holder i made earlier this week? she ripped the stitches out, not good enough. so with a new strategy to master that french seam, i will make it again and make an entire new one.

task two: re-sew first bottle holder, sew another one

i got my hands on a copy of the japanese stylish dress book. not speaking japanese, i'm happy the instructions are so clear and precise. she's going to guide me through one pattern with buttons, gathering and piping so that we can cover a few skills in one project. i have my eyes on dress G.

task three: translate pattern and convert japan sizing chart to canadian and then trace pattern, cut it out

for monday.

akos major on budapest

2010-11-03T16:42:00.000+01:00

bone chilling photographs from akos major.

i don't remember winters in hungary ever being so powerful.

chain bridge looks motionless for the first time in history.

and parliament like an angelic mansion from a fairy tale story.

the danube is quiet and grey, it loses its brown/green tinge when winter arrives.

for a self-proclaimed "amateur" akos creates some beautiful images.

find more here

found via smallsight

denim wine bottle tote // diy

2010-11-02T02:00:00.000+01:00

found this charming pattern on design*sponge

for a bleached denim wine bag

now, my fingers smell like bleach (even though i wore plastic gloves)

the pattern, relatively easy although pulling off a tidy french seam with denim and twill at a half inch isn't easy and mine certainly isn't tidy.

in the end the denim is too yellow for my liking but my mum said it's great. is it just because she's my mum? it's a good thing i've been invited over for dinner at a friends later this week, so i can tote a bottle of red in good hand-sewn style.

[find the pattern here]

lost // in translation

2010-10-29T02:01:00.000+02:00

bob: Can you keep a secret? I'm trying to organize a prison break. I'm looking for, like, an accomplice. We have to first get out of this bar, then the hotel, then the city, and then the country. Are you in or you out?

charlotte: I'm in. I'll go pack my stuff.

bob: I hope that you've had enough to drink. It's going to take courage.

la muerte de la taberna

2010-10-19T01:45:00.000+02:00

La muerte // Death

entra y sale // comes and goes

de la taberna. // from the tavern.

Pasan caballos negros // It passes black horses

y gente siniestra // and sinister faces

por los hondos caminos // by the deep ways

de la guitarra. // of the guitar

Y hay un olor a sal // There is a scent of salt

y a sangre de hembra, // and female blood

en los nardos febriles // in the hot nostrils

de la marina. // of the marina.

La muerte // Death

entra y sale, // comes and goes,

y sale y entra // and goes and comes

la muerte // death

de la taberna. // from the tavern.

[federico garcia lorca]

sherman in a retrospective

2010-10-17T02:17:00.000+02:00

@brentsimoneaux:

Joy, every time I see Cindy Sherman's "Untitled Bus Riders" (1976). Those photographs never sit still. They travel, shift, become. Always.

once a friend unexpectedly sent me a cindy sherman "retrospective" catalogue in the mail from a show in chicago. just recently i rediscovered it in a pile of old books with too much dust on it. she's just as incredible as ever. what's not to love about her 1970s film stills?

nesting in canada

2010-10-15T18:28:00.000+02:00

nesting. is that what they call it when you take your time to settle in to a new surrounding?

im nesting then. at my parents home after being away one year.

seems like just a week ago that i was packing for budapest.

now im home for a few months of recuperation, so they say, before heading back.

honestly, i can't wait and im unexpectedly disappointed in what i thought "home" would be like after a while. but really, it's nice but just different and yes

[different is beautiful]

but different is different. have any nesting tips?

budapest -> toronto

2010-10-10T15:38:00.000+02:00

[img]

hammerhart hat gesagt:
with just one full day left in budapest, im scrambling to put a suitcase together, spend as much time in one special pair of arms as possible and plan for next week already. it's terrible // a complete mix up and surprise.

i shouldn't be surprised. it's always like this. the autumn sun doesn't give up and i wish i could pick wildflowers for days and days.

suddenly the idea of leaving doesn't feel so good. i'd trade my trip home to stay for anything.
holding on to broken gilded mirrors found in attics, white mums from grannie's garden, goulash soup cooked over a fire and old scarves i forgot about in the closet.
can't i take everything?

it's only three months, i have to keep telling myself, it's only three months.
and i'll be back in my hungarian world once again.
until then, i'll re-located to my childhood bedroom in a city near niagara falls. dusting off my sewing machine and making art again. my hands miss that, making art and threading needles. with a far away boyfriend and lost contact with high school friends, im certain there'll be time to sew.

barcelona

2010-10-09T23:13:00.000+02:00

a weekend in barcelona in few words.
1) hotel diagonal zero
2) recognize this plaza from "vicky christina barcelona"?
3) sculpture by joan miro
4) looking for parc guell
5) thrilling curves and lines at the joan miro foundation

italy // bari to brindisi

2010-10-06T23:13:00.000+02:00

thanks to ryanair i could fly from bratislava to bari for very cheap.
thanks to hospitable italians i could successfully hitchhike from bari to brindisi.
thanks to good fortune i slept for free on the beach the first night.
thanks to the water gods, it rained like i've never seen for 3 days.
thanks to meditation, it didn't matter.
thanks to italians for inventing pasta, and cooking me plate after plate of it.

for an entire week.

thanks to hospitable italians i could successfully hitchhike from brindisi to bari.
seven days on the road meditating, exploring, swimming, singing and enjoying the leather straps of my sandals between my toes one last time before welcoming autumn.

this is my sperm whale

2010-09-26T18:00:00.000+02:00

neil harman sent me a whale in the mail

i expected a small drawing of a sperm whale, something to hang on the fridge or pin to my wall, add to my art collection that is slowly growing.

no // no // no

i received the hugest what i could even image in the mail, life size, at least of a small baby sperm whale!

thanks for my whale! [neil is the coolest ever]

if you want to be part of his whale migration project, send him an email, the further away you are from the uk the better. i had my whale mailed to hungary, but it's coming to canada with me in three weeks, i just hope i can find a wall big enough for it.

already on the next

2010-09-23T20:00:00.000+02:00

while you're reading this im somewhere on a plane heading to italy for seven days of bliss, meditation, sun and hopefully the most delicious pasta and wine i've ever tasted.

bari // brindisi // polignano al mare // alberobello // osturi

see you in a week, and a bit.

because after italy, i have a short weekend trip planned to barcelona.

this girl travels.

[20 days until i leave]

la photocabine

2010-09-22T16:57:00.000+02:00

apple's photobooth has nothing on this charming little french creation.

introducing: la photocabine [try it!]

vintage film snapshots in less than thirty seconds

mine aren't too adventurous, i look completely bored out of my mind to be honest.

enter: office job and concentrating too much for too long. (and i didn't want to look obvious to my colleagues)

save // print // share

it's brilliant, isn't it? show me yours!

[via poppytalk]

vyhlidky // czech republic

2010-09-21T22:50:00.000+02:00

weekend trips are some of my favourite, short tastes of a space away.

just long enough to enjoy just short enough to leave you wanting more.

last week ukraine, this week czech republic.

driving into the night down country roads looking for a village that was nowhere to be found.

stopped, called for help //

danced at 1am to fatboyslim, blinkers on, radio pumped, on a village street.

friends found us and showed us the way there, when we arrived we were greeted by a lovely dog, an old farm house converted into one of the most beautiful buddhist meditation centre's i've seen.

[lodge-feeling, big wooden beams, cracked brick walls, pond and wood stoves]

meditation, open fire grill, czech puppet shows, archery, lake-side walks, friends

it was more than perfect. but of course every good weekend must come to an end.

on the way home we got stopped for speeding: 70 euro

the officer who spoke english with a second-world-war-movie accent wouldn't give up.

we paid and kept going. the austrians are serious about speeding, seriously.

tell me about your weekend trips, favourite spots close to home?

ikebana //

2010-09-17T12:51:00.000+02:00

[arranged flowers] japanese
kadō [the way of flowers]

ikebana is a disciplined art form in which nature and humanity are brought together
it often emphasizes other areas of the plant, such as its stems and leaves
emphasis is drawn toward shape, line, form

minimalism.
is there no other flower arrangement so beautiful?
architecture with living things.

[img: okinawa]

ukraine // borders, vodka and city views

2010-09-15T21:06:00.001+02:00

uzhgarod // ukraine

car packed with funny buddhists, sleeping bags and open minds

2 hours border wait

barking [robi] dogs and passport stamps.

working all weekend with shovels, spades and little children that only spoke russian.

vodka bottles never run dry in ukraine, if one's empty there is always another close behind.

it's the only place in the world (besides russia) that used full vodka bottles as door stoppers.

brilliant.

i was supposed to work, hard. but these little ones were too cute not to climb apple trees with, run through corn stalks and pick flowers with. unfortunately the only russian word i know is babushka... so that's what we said to each other.

the meditation centre there was a quaint little cottage, i'd like to have one just like it. outdoor kitchen, patio, screeching wooden doors, good vibes and happy friends. david and i just finished the day's work and we've got smiles on our faces.

i'd go back anytime, there is something special about ukraine that i didn't see before.

now i wish i had more time, one month before i leave budapest.

good days start with t[ea]

2010-09-10T07:19:00.000+02:00

i had an unusually scheduled day off yesterday and i reveled in it. sleeping in late, starting the day with fresh pastries and strong coffee. thursday is my favourite day, even better when i don't have to work.

made some time to meditate longer than usual, cut & paste and do some work in my long neglected sketchbook and cycle around downtown a bit too. the days are quite grey here which doesn't exacly inspire to make a photo day // at all

but i promise more city shots to come.

i also wonder if there are mugs existing in the world out there with french mustaches printed on the bottom, like how i drew in my moleskin the other day. im sure there must be, i don't think im so original to be the first to think of it. do you know where?

whats on the plate for the weekend?
[im heading to ukraine for 2 days]

joon & jung

2010-09-09T08:57:00.000+02:00

if there is anything more spectacularly magical than these cloud stools, please tell me.

fluffity, puffity, 1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10

these giant knits are coming up all over the place, like this rug.

all i can say is // how lovely //

i want one.

what: cloud stool

from: joon & jung

cost: unknown

athens // athina

2010-09-07T21:24:00.000+02:00

looking through august photographs now // how lovely is athens?
i was only there for a hot and steam 40 degree 48 hours but managed a thorough sight-see.

the city gardens and their vintage coffee shop, ridiculously overpriced vintage coffee shop
who wants to pay 3 euro for a coffee? not me.

fallen columns and capitols of a style i no longer remember.
feeling like i should have paid more attention in art history class.
sorry wren //

lost in the winding alleyways leading up to the acropolis, sweat and soil // no water left
but this plant was so darling.

once i wrote a review about this wine on a travel/wine blog, without having tasted it
now i've tasted it, and my review still stands. retsina [tried, tested, true greek wine]

have you been to athens? just two more weeks until bari.

bubi // billboards

2010-09-04T18:04:00.000+02:00

grey days don't scare me. neither do rainy days.

early morning meditation with norbert and david when the clouds opened up //
no better reason to go back to bed.

clouds closed up and we dashed to the library return an english grammar book
then whizzed to toldi for a latte and a glance at the bubi bike parade.
no better place for bicycle eye candy and budapest hipsters // a species of their own.

billboard exhibition at hero's square: hungarian geographic
where do you think you live?
door bells and switches, all taken around budapest.
i ride a hoffman bike, at least it goes as fast as hoffman's lsd trips

says david.

so far saturday, you're alright.

meditation // conjugation

2010-09-03T10:06:00.000+02:00

fridays are for catching up.
on sleep, final postcards, art galleries and sightseeing.
is it too early to start my countdown of final budapestian days?

still have museums on my list, still have cafés to linger in.
there's still time, more than a month's time but it feels quick, feels short.
weekends are for catching up.

to do:
-cut and paste art magazines from greece
// collage and decopage
-attempt to do justice to the greek frappe, for which i've been yearning since our return from athens
-finish "islands in the stream" by hemingway [finally]
-meditate
-go to the library and browse the art catalogues, pretending to be a uni student again
-pass the time // breathing in and out and enjoying the limitless potential of every moment

you?

fort dweller

2010-09-02T10:50:00.000+02:00

id like to have one of these in my flat, not the one i have now, but a flat.

somewhere id like to have a fort like this and inside there'd be a little nest.
for late night sleeping, a window for late-night star gazing, and a table

for early morning tea. in bed.
wouldn't you?

xylocastro // greece

2010-08-31T18:51:00.000+02:00

is there any place more beautiful than the greece seaside?
doubtful.
ten blissful days filled with friends with texan accents at the sea and on top of mountains.
forty degrees
spontaneous wind tunnels scared me away, hid my face from the dust
at the sea, my skin turned white from the dry salt
vicky saw a jellyfish the size of a poodle, so we ran
home now, to twelve degrees and rainy budapest.

what i miss most: halva