.... to you all !!

P.S. ….. that’s my gorgeous daughter in the picture!

Seasons Greatings !

Like every year I am wondering how quickly the month of December just passed by and the festive season arrived. Although I have to admit that I really took it ‘easy’ this year without any stress concerning the actually Christmas preparations and pressies and so I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!!

... in front of the stove....

… well, not really. But then, this is the first year for a long while that I started to really look forward to the festive season. Maybe it has something to do with my increased interest in all things interior.

...pine cones and candles - harbinger of the festive season....

votive candle in a jar.....

Well, Happy 1st Advent!

1st Advent

...warm candle glow....

So, the DIY and Crafts section over at Pinterest has me well in its grip at the moment. For the last few years I neither had the time nor the interest in decorating or DIY, but since my move I simply can’t get enough of it.
It’s amazing how many simple and beautiful ideas can be found there, and since the Christmas season is just starting now you can expect to see some of those ideas replicated here……

... autumn setting ...

7th of November / sunrise: 7.41am

7th of November / sunrise: 7:42am

A few weeks ago I got the last hydrangea, and some dog roses into the house…..

the last hydrangea..... not quite....

.... some dog roses....

but as it turned out, the weather kept staying at around 12 Celsius (54 Fahrenheit), so there were still some more….. but now for the last week or so, and probably due to the high rain fall we had these are really now the last hydrangea….

.... really the last hydrangea.....

This coming Sunday is the 1st Advent and for a couple of weeks now I am really getting into the mood…. but this is for the next post…. enough pictures for today!

DIY picture frame - from a leftover window frame

I made this approx. 13 or 14 years ago, out of an abandoned window frame. I found this gorgeous poster of a picture of John William Godward ‘Sweet Nothing’ and loved not only the theme, but also the colours he used – in fact, those are my absolute favourite colours.

Putting the design together was an easy one. I found some old note sheets I tore apart and glued them (using PVA glue) straight onto the frame. I then thinned some gold paint, and just covered the paper.
For the back of the frame I used some heavy card board which I painted black, cut the poster to fit the frame and attached it, and voila…. a new picture frame.

It was hanging now for so many years in my bedroom(s) – but I’m not sure about it now…. that’s the reason it is still not hung…… taste changes over time……

But this beauty I found in the shed.

Singer front view

It belonged to my landlords mother, and as you can see it’s an electrical one, or better was, as it is not working anymore. That said, I actually didn’t plug it in. But then the damp caused to rust all metal parts, so I wouldn’t even dare trying it.

Singer back view

I am tempted to restore the good old thing, not for sewing purposes, but just for pleasure. She looks absolutely beautifuly, and so tiny.

September, 29th

Yeah, it’s obvious, autumn has arrived. I find that the sepia picture really captures the mood of the season and the spirit of the landscape I am living in. The house was build in the 1950′, and sitting here in the study and looking out of the window transports me somewhow right back to that era. It was a very harsh life out here. The soil is not rich at all and makes keeping cattle very difficult, and sheep the only really sensible choice to be able to make a living from the land – not that it is that much practiced now – unfortunately.

Misty days like that always remind me of my favourite poem by Herman Hesse ‘Im Nebel’ (translation further down). And “No!”, I do not find it depressing at all!

Im Nebel

Seltsam, im Nebel zu wandern!
Einsam ist jeder Busch und Stein,
Kein Baum sieht den anderen,
Jeder ist allein.

Voll von Freunden war mir die Welt,
Als noch mein Leben licht war,
Nun, da der Nebel fällt,
Ist keiner mehr sichtbar.

Wahrlich, keiner ist weise,
Der nicht das Dunkel kennt,
Das unentrinnbar und leise
Von allen ihn trennt.

Seltsam, im Nebel zu wandern!
Leben ist einsam sein.
Kein Mensch kennt den anderen,
Jeder ist allein.

 ______________________________________________

In the Mists

Wondrous to wander through mists!
Parted are bush and stone:
None to the other exists,
Each stands alone.

Many my friends came calling,
Then, when my life was bright;
Now that the fogs are falling,
None is in sight.

Truly, only the sages
Fathom the darkness to fall,
Which, as silent as cages,
Separates all.

Strange to walk in the mists!
Life has to solitude grown.
Only the Single persists:
Each is alone.

translated by Walter A. Aue (frome here)

September, 29th

Yet, looking out of my (new) window in my (new) house makes me realise that good things can come out of dreaded situations, and we human beings are able (and build that way) to adapt to different situations in good time.

View from of my study window

Running plays a big part of my life for the last 1.5 years. It not only helped me to get rid of too many pounds I was carrying for too many years, but the endorphins did a lot of goods things for my mood and constitution in general. At the beginning of April, just finishing my very first half marathon I had to slow down my running routine due to injury, and I can tell you, this was not good. The whole of April, May, June I wasn’t able to run like I used to – and the consequences were that I let everybody around me know that I am not a happy bunny.
At the end of June my daughter emigrated to a different country due to the fact that in her line of work there is not much work for her here in Ireland. And although she’s not living with me for the last 7 years, this was a hard thing to take.
A few days later, I got notice that my application for the ‘bigger’ scholarship was unsuccessful (as was everybody else’s from our department – which makes it somewhat easier to take), which meant that I had to give up my beloved apartment, because I simply couldn’t afford the rent anymore.
Moving house is always upsetting, because it means up-routing a whole household and one’s routine. Finding a place which accepts my two cats could have been a hard challenge.
As it turned out, and pure by chance, I was lucky, really lucky.

Big Smile

I found immediately a new place of which I am very fond of. In fact I fell in love with it after only 5 seconds, not even having seen the rest of the house. 4 days after that I got a letter from a solicitor telling me that my (old) place was reposessed by the bank, something my (old) landlord didn’t care to let me know, furthermore it made me realise that scholarship or not – I would have had to move out, if I wanted to or not.
Two weeks after that my former partner died from an illness – (for me) unexpectedly. I’ve just seen him in May, but he never mentioned anything, and I didn’t notice anything particular. We still kept in contact, although each of us had their own lives, because he was very dear to my heart.
At that stage the summer as such seemed to be completely over.

Happy Days - April 2000

But life goes on, and I moved into my new home – still living among boxes and hoping that some form of normality will come back pretty soon.

A well deserved rest

The summer this year was no summer at all, weather- and otherwise.
But the new term started, I am going into my second year of my PhD, and I hope that life goes back to some kind of routine and ‘normality’.
I am leaving you now with one of many gorgeous shots I took from this glorious area called Connemara.

Connemara