25.2.10

sergio membrillas illustrations.

 
  
  
  
darling illustrations by sergio membrillas. i would pick up any book with his quaint little drawings in them. he also does some editorial work that is worth a gander. these little owls are my favourite, go figure. i can also imagine how warm it must be to snug up under a bird's wing with a mug of tea. the new chicks this spring are lucky little birds. (i think maybe this fantasy comes from my childhood love of falkor from the never ending story, even though he is a dragon)

24.2.10

watching the swallows go to and fro

im not sure i ever saw a swallow in real life before. i see them by the dozen now that spring is on its way. some how in the last few days swallows have bumped into me. the first was in a little child's tune david's mum was singing to his nephew while they made baby gymnastics, "swallow swallow eagle eagle" moving his arms this way and that.

the next was the following day when there were no seats on the train back to budapest so david and i stood in the corridor. the ticket inspector stopped to chat with us, a really nice guy that is making the best out of a pretty drab job... "do you have your tickets? show your tickets" up and down, up and down travelling across the country sometimes 3 or 4 times a day. he stopped and when he realized i didnt speak a word of hungarian he started rhyming off all of the chinese proverbs he knew in english. one of them was "one swallow doesn't make spring."

the next morning i saw my first swallow on the way to work. i thought about the train ticket inspectors words and didnt get my hopes up for spring. then i saw another. spring must be on its way. now the birds start to come back from africa. i like it a lot. some birds i never saw before in canada. this spring will be new for me.

23.2.10

a cloud of words.

 a funny cloud of words from the kfar blog. it is really amazing the little things you can find from here and there, this one site wordle occupied my mind for longer than it should have i think. word clouds. very nice. (click to see it bigger because the preview is quite small) it looks kind of like a finger print though.

Wordle: just one peanut

20.2.10

post birthday / vintage suitcases

 

i can never help to steal a shot of old men and their vintage suitcases, knowing full well that they bought it new and have been using it ever since. this one had a really old malev logo on the front, a hungarian airline company, but it was already obvious that i was taking a photograph of this man and i was not stealth enough to grab a side shot. and besides, i was not about to ask an old hungarian man to take his photograph. i dont think im at that level yet. this was taken in the metro this morning.
           

marzipan birthday cake at david's parents house this weekend. so strange to see my age on a cake again. i didnt have this type of candles since i was a child. we laughed and said we would save them for when its davids turn to turn 32... in a good few years but still. 

my favourite surprise this year was finding a jar of peanut butter in the cupboard. okay so its just pb, but if you took a pb and j sandwich to school from grade 1 to 12 and still loved them after all those years you'd have some idea how much i love peanut butter. its one of the most expensive things in the grocery store due to lack of peanut growing and because north america seems to be the only continent obsessed with it. in any case, i am happy david bit the bullet and bought me a jar of definitely over priced peanut butter for my birthday. the way to my heart is definitely through my stomach.. and pretty pictures.
                                     

vingt trois. hmm. 

19.2.10

get ready, its time to go.

 

today is friday. what a relief.
syntax orchestra is up tonight.
chocolate cake is in my tummy tonight.
earl grey tea and french champagne.
birthdays come just once a year.

today its here!

18.2.10

empty tea cups


evening tea in a tea house near blaha luijza ter. with floating turtles, jumping turtles. we found a spot by the window and chatted until the whole house was empty. chocolate chili for her and caramel rooibus for me. so nice to meet with gabi outside of office hours. figuring out the world and budapest living together. one pay check at a time ha. its nice to not count the forint and treat ourselves for just one night.

its so nice to find someone else that has such similar experiences living around in foreign countries, moving for love. leaving behind one world to live in another. its cool but easy to get lost in the 9-5 mindset, routine. sometimes i forget i even live in budapest and i am just living, not really aware of what is going on around me. ive been here just four months now but already i forget little details, i dont think about canada hardly at all these days. 

its just short today. time to run. 

17.2.10

jump its almost spring, i really think

photo by Mylla 

i am starting to see sevens and rain clouds in the long-term forecast. maybe its too early to say but i think we are on the brink of spring. winters are supposed to be short here in budapest, and i hope they are right. its about time to fish out thin stockings and flats at least in my imagination. finding a pair rain boots is my next priority. perhaps even an umbrella.

photo by bluebirdvintage 

"i found a dream to rest my cheek to" -miss ella fitzgerald