winter walk (V)

you made me smile with your kind words, thank you!

there is one last set of the winter walk, then it's on to new things...

winter walk (IV)

it's sunday. i just put on some woolly socks that had sat on the radiator for a little while and were deliciously warm. yesterday, i cleared some of the dried plants and put in a couple of bulbs (months too late of course, but ever the optimist, i'm hoping they will make an appearance nevertheless). it starts to feel a little less wintry here, but that's most likely wishful thinking.

i'm looking for a good read (again). any ideas?

winter walk (III)

there is a wooden tower near my parents' house, to watch the birds of the nature reserve. my parents moved to the north sea when my dad retired.

on an another note: i recently noticed that the blogger word verification has become ridiculously difficult to decipher, perhaps in order to rule out people like myself, who are clearly not clever enough for it. since i've found that it frustrates me and keeps my from commenting, i have decided to switch it off on my own blog. took me a while to figure out that you can only disable it via the old blogger interface. ok then, enough techie talk.

have a wonderful weekend!

winter walk (II)

from the winter walk on the heath, by the sea. i'm feeling so restless recently. i have so many ideas, and not nearly enough time to pursue them. apart from pressing deadlines, there is work being done to the apartment (the last two days, pipes were replaced, which meant no running water or heating for the best part of the day, and lots of dust and dirt).

i feel like i am chasing some unicorn. unlikely, that i will suddenly have lots of spare time on my hands in the near future, so i will have to find other ways of pinching moments for photo taking, writing and other creative things. can you relate? what do you do?

winter walk (I)

a winter walk by the sea. it was a very cold day.

winter is very much here. this morning, we are having between minus ten and minus fourteen in berlin. the forecast is for 'warmer' weather (around zero) and snow. the thing is, i need the snow to go away so i can wear my new shoes. hm.

today, i've also got a little thing to mention that's been on my mind: my friends who are using tumblr and pinterest, when you tumblr or pin any of my images, would you be so kind as to put 'kristina' or 'no penny for them' as credit and link back to either my blog or my flickr. thanks so much for your help (and a big thank you to all who faithfully do so already, it's much appreciated)!

frost

back in early november, after the first frost. it was the last day at the garden. many communal gardeners had long stopped coming, and it seemed as if the vast field was eagerly claiming back its ground after the last romantic urban part-time agrarophiles had finally gone home.

happy second of advent (if you are celebrating). this year, i'm lighting candles on a branch found in the woods. i have some, if by far not all christmas presents, but today shall be as quiet as can be. back into the frenzy of work to be completed, and things to be thought of tomorrow.

winter days

the best place to be in winter is home. it's still white out there. and icy, which brought the city almost to a stand-still this morning. i'm glad i can concentrate on my translations, at the moment i'm looking at the most beautiful renaissance paintings and drawings. i'm also fascinated by the historical background of the italian courts in the early 15th century, which sometimes reads like a unputdownable novel.

hope you are all well. what are your days looking like?

p.s.: apologies for the delay, but i've finally drawn a winner to my giveaway post in december. and because i felt like it, i drew a second winner too. tschitschi and P.K., you've both won a 13 x 18 cm print of your choice - please email me (see my profile to the right) to let me know your pick and address!

happy holidays

1. Untitled, 2. Let's talk about cheese I, 3. Flea market find, 4. ., 5. 13_resize, 6. Three, 7. Untitled, 8. Untitled, 9. the good stuff

happy holidays, friends!

the images in this mosaic are not mine, but the work of some stunning photographers on flickr. click on the links underneath the mosaic to see their photo streams. be inspired!

blue and red

what a day. it certainly wasn't one of the best. but all's well that ends well, right?

look at what i saw the other day - sadly, the puddle wouldn't behave and stirred in the wind, but you can still make out the string of lights. and: last weekend jo brought me nigel slater's tender (vol. 2) from london. how great is that?

oh, and lest i forget: thank you for your comments recently, they really brightened up my days!

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the real thing

after a brief thawing episode last weekend, it's been snowing again. this is the real thing.

i'm up to my ears with work. how are things with you? anything lovely or exciting happening lately?

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the grip of winter

just now, two people skied past my window. true story. i took a slight double-take. after all, i'm living in the middle of the city (more or less, that is). there they were, the dad with proper cross-country skis, the little boy or girl (wrapped up so warm and zooming by so fast i couldn't see his or her face) with miniature skis, but obviously completely familiar with it.

we had rather a lot of snow, you see. and in berlin, only the main streets are cleared, side streets just drown in snow. last year, we didn't see the pavement for close to three months. which feels rather unusual: only a few years ago, we only had little snow - for a couple of days at the most. the weather is noticeably changing.

while i love to see the kids' excitement - making snowmen, riding their sleighs - it does make everything you do more time consuming. i'm thinking twice before leaving the house, since i can only use my bike on the cleared streets and it's a fair little walk to get there, same goes for reaching a bus or train station. i'll get used to it, but at the moment i'm in two minds.

it does look pretty though, doesn't it?

if you're in berlin, don't forget victoria met albert (the shop with the white paper snow flakes) is having an open sunday. also: events at souterrain gallery and supalife kiosk.

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snow, snow, snow

it's been snowing steadily last night, and much of today as well. when i went to the post office earlier, lots of kids were being picked up by their parents from kindergarden and pulled through the white streets on little sleighs. fun!

it's very cold too, around minus ten celsius, and bound to get much colder tonight. so let's just say i'm very grateful for a heated home. and for woolly socks and jumpers. doesn't this one, the one above with the beaded embroidery, look just perfect? seen at victoria met albert. (by the way, they are having special open sundays on dec 5 and 19. read more here.)

how is it looking at your end - and what are you grateful for?

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just to say

just to say thank you for your feed-back on my last post - you are the best, you really are! if you like, you can still suggest images in my flickr as potential poster material, i'd love to hear your thoughts!

oh, and don't you just want one of those paper snowflakes? i saw them at victoria met albert, a new shop in my neighbourhood (they are not currently available but should be soon. guess who's in line for a purchase). more to come, here and over on mostly berlin.

tell me, did you have a good start to your week?

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new week

thanks for all your well wishing - i did sleep rather a lot and started refreshed into the new week. on saturday, boyfriend and i drove across town to the grunewald district to see le corbusier's unité for berlin and to have coffee at café k on the grounds of the kolbe museum. i so love the old buildings at the museum.

when we got home, i realised that i had used the wrong shutter speed for my corbusier roll of film. such a shame. i hope the lab can rescue at least some of the pictures. we'll have to see. if not, i'll just have to go again...

there is lots of work waiting, so i better get back to it. have a good week!

under the weather

atishoo. i'm going through a lot of tissues these days. thank you for your well-wishing, i'm sure the cold will leave the house soon.

what made me smile today: got the cat to pose for me on the blue sofa. yay.

light

i'm so waiting for the days to get longer. and cherish the light while it's there.

what do you do to cheer yourself up when the dark season seems too long?

found

when i came home this afternoon, i found this bright pink candy wrapper in the snow - just outside my front door. it says "alle wetter", literally "all weathers", a very old-fashioned expression meaning "goodness me!". made me smile. i just had to get the camera and snap it...

btw, it did take me ages to get to work today, but i'll admit the snow looks pretty. it's winter!

sunday inspiration

1. Untitled, 2. Untitled, 3. call me, 4. .2035, 5. 1/365 2010, 6. if they ever find out, 7. found, 8. Bell, 9. Untitled

it's still very snowy outside, which means i can't ride my bike. yesterday i walked over to a friend's house for a coffee and to make some cake - and it took me almost 45 minutes. luckily it was crisp and clear, so nice enough for a walk. still, i hope they are clearing the bike paths soon, since i'll be helping out in the bookshop on monday and it's going to take me ages to get there by public transport.

for now, i'll be enjoying the pretty whiteness outside my window from my sofa...

be inspired by these wonderful flickr photographers. click on the links below the mosaic to see their site.