two

and here:
number two.

one

have been playing with different angles and different degrees of abstraction - which of the two pairs do you like better? and why?

here we go:
number one.

be there

looking back at my time at school and uni, what stays with me most as an untangible feeling of happiness is the ability to lose myself in a book, an article, some kind of paper, a project. the more time passes, the more electronic devices and media are around, the more i'm losing touch with that ability and let myself be torn in a million directions at once. equally, wholly analog things might tear me away from what i want to devote myself to. why the urge to quickly run an errand when there's a text to finish, why the twinge to check one's emails while with friends? too many reasons to list them all. and don't get me wrong, i like my days varied, a mixed bag of things, i'm not in favour of tunnel vision.

but i want to learn again to concentrate, to make time for one thing and lose myself in it. alain de botton wrote an interesting little piece on distraction. go and read, if this strikes a chord.

today is the day i'm starting. i'll be where i am.

morning!

breakfast at a friend's, a while ago. always good to have a pirate's sabre around the house, no?

quick question: do any of you have good links for tutorials on tie-dye (preferably simple shibori, but doesn't have to be)? any suggestions very welcome!

p.s.: meeting pascale was just perfect. lots of talking, walking around, berliner weisse at prater beergarden, and some more talking. and you know what - i even got a little sun-burnt!

wishing you

a perfect weekend, and if you're celebrating, a very happy easter!

have you seen this? stephanie's been "tie-dying" easter eggs. pretty.

the sugarsnaps and heirloom tomatoes are slowing sprouting on my window sill, the garden plot will officially be open for planting from 3rd may. can't wait.

(oh, and very much looking forward to meeting this traveller from marseille today!)

here and there

today couldn't be sunnier and mellower, but the other day there was a big storm. the wind was pulling the trees' hair ever so strongly.

now a cup of tea and back to work.

(regarding my last post: thanks for bearing with me. you might be glad to know i've been calm and well-behaved since then.)

who am i

yesterday i scared myself. had a small flare-up at a local shop, despite being quite good at taking the regular berlin rudeness in my stride. after leaving the shop with tears in my eyes i thought: what the heck is happening here? sometimes i just want to pack it all in and run away.

anyway, some lovely things hereabouts too, let's not forget:

friends having me over for seder night last night (my first one ever, it was quite wonderful)
all trees on my street turned green
enough work to feed me and the cat
light flickering through said leaves, into the living room and onto the desk

oh, and have you seen claire dollan featured on this joy and ride?

green

i had a rare visitor: my mother was here for a few days. we did so many things, one of them was a visit to the berlin botanic gardens. we spent most of the time inside the glasshouses, even though the weather was glorious, but made up for it by having coffee outside on a bench in the sun. the garden itself is so big, we only ventured a little bit into it. next time, i'll go when it's overcast to take pictures of the asian pacific parts of the park. you should have seen the trees: they looked like ancient ink drawings.

what are your sunday plans? i'll have to work, but will also meet a. for coffee and maybe go to the fleamarket, let's see how it goes.

p.s.: what are your favourite fashion sites? i'm a bit bored with the sartorialist.

care

do things because you care.

latest blog crush: miss moss.

perfection (or not)

recently i've felt a fundamental change:
i've strived for perfection so many years,
and it was a burden.
now the imperfect appeals much more than the perfect.

changes

the kitchen is still work in progress, but much changed already. couldn't have done it without e, who've helped me with countless renovations in the past. oh, and that elderflower jelly from the farmer's market on seelower strasse is amazing.

have a good week.

p.s.: the solomon r. guggenheim foundation has started a petition on change.org for the release of chinese artist ai weiwei, who has been detained by the chinese police since april 3, 2011. if you'd like to take a look and consider signing it, take a look here.

sunday morning

a quiet sunday morning. looking through the takes of my last roll of film (two more waiting to be processed, can't wait!), and somehow stopping at these four above, taken at sgaminegg the other day. they seem so quiet. i'm not even sure it was. the place is always bustling with people, most of all on saturdays, when the little market is out front. i love to have places and people who are just there, quietly, to fall back on them anytime.

how is your weekend?

ticking boxes

so much done recently:

projects finished
kitchen redecorated
time spent with friends
coffee and chats
hair cut (a lot)

and you?

p.s.: thank you, so much, for all your lovely comments.

**

easing back into things. i have missed you.

**
a love lost. the trouble is, just about everything i can think of sounds like a bad cliché. so less words, more pictures. slide is a good way to start.