The recovery

My recovery is slow but life is getting back to its normal track. Of course my idea was that Ž will pamper me just a little bit, but how wrong I was about this! It is amazing how busy life is back at home. E-mails, phone calls, but to my surprise most people are not asking, how am I doing, but when will I be back working. Soon, is all I can tell. I wish I had so much work during spring and summer months and not now, when there are other plans on my schedule. Because while I was lying in the hospital, I received a call that will change my life quite a bit. But more about this next week.

Some rainy days will follow and I will try to make the most of them. Mostly trying to rest, and, of course, to walk, to excercise, because all these things will help my body to recover. And I will try to capture these last days of summer (oh, how much I miss the warmth!) through the lens of my camera. To remember how it was.

Tidying up

I couldn’t do it for years, gather so much energy to put the biggest room in my house in order. As we have no wardrobes or drawers (yet!) all our things are in boxes, and papers and magazines are usually piled up all around the room. It took me a week, each day a few hours, to sort everything, gather together and put it into boxes. I am sure that nobody will read all those magazines that gathered over the years again. Thousands of recipes which I will never use. Clothes that I will never wear again. So much trash of all sorts. I was pleased but also sad to browse through the old photos when life was still good and happy and promising, but I also found my diary from May 2003 when I was going through the hardest time of my life. So shocking to read all that.

I also found a photo of myself with Kiki, a cat I used to have when I lived in Kranjska Gora. Tears started to run down my cheeks when I remembered her. The last time I saw her, years after I moved away from there, she had five little kittens which all looked just like her, and she jumped into my lap just like in the old days when I called her. B kept telling me, when we were in contact, that she was fine. I doubt that she’s still alive; she would be 11 years old now. Heartbreaking, really.

I am glad that all that cleaning is after me. It seemed like a life project. My mom was always judging me because of the mess in that room but I couldn’t help it, it felt like if the room was cursed; I couldn’t move a thing in there over five years. Maybe it is time for a new life, maybe that’s why I could finally do it. It is a great relief; and I knew all these years that it would be.

White walls

I keep hearing these days that I am a dreamer. Indeed, I have many plans, or dreams if one prefers to call them so, but most of them are connected with money, which is rather scarse on my bank account at the moment, or skills that I don’t have. I asked Ž to help me with painting the walls but he kept putting off this task for months. So, I asked my dad to show me how to do the job properly. We painted the main hall which was dirty from the last flood and our daily presence, and he also showed me how to mend the chipped wall.

Now the walls are bright white, and once I get a wardrobe across the border and put it together, our main hall will look like it should. Well, with a few final touches it really will. I can hardly wait! :)

Creature of the night

What’s that noise, I asked myself on a Friday night, when I heard a loud noise coming from our garden. Is it a neighbor’s dog or a fox? I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the door and saw a hedgehog trying to eat the cat’s food from the plate. Cats are never that loud at eating their food. It was the first time I saw this funny creature in our small garden although there are many around in the neighborhood.

I poured some milk and tossed more cats’ food into the plate. It was interesting to see the hedgehog pulling the plate around until it was stuck so that it could easily eat from it. Loud, fast and strong, that’s my description of this little animal. One of the cats was only watching it from a safe place, while one slug had already occupied the same plate.

Still too many people think that hedgehogs eat pears and apples because in the fairytales they are usually drawn with a pear or two on their back. Most people don’t know that they prefer meat to any fruit that might be offered to them.

I hope this one will survive the winter and more than that, that it will survive any close meetings with cars.

A corner in my home

When sunlight hits the wall in the morning it looks amazingly beautiful also on staircase (I am just rarely there to see this). Also the lights are placed so that it looks like the sun is shining when they are switched on. I was thrilled when I saw the lighted staircase for the first time.

Ohhh, I still have plans with those white walls...

Land

This is where I live, in one of these houses in a picture:

I can say that the surrounding of my home is quite boring, especially in winter. Fields all around us. If I had more money I would rent some fields and wait until grasses and flowers would start to grow there.

I am longing for spring. You can't imagine how much!

Home

On one rare day when sun was shining also where I live, I took some photos of my home. To remember how it looked liked during the holidays. One day before Christmas we finally rolled up our sleeves and made our home a little more comfortable. This means that we stored some things in the attic, we disassembled an old round table that was traveling with me from one home to another and put away lots and lots of papers that we didn't really need. And it was like a miracle - our living room has become a spacious and pleasant place in just a couple of hours. Beside this, when little lights on our Christmas tree were lit, a place looked and felt like - a home.

I hope that we will carry on like this. I think that next step is hanging the pictures up on the walls. As the walls are made of concrete, I can't just hammer nails into them, all holes need to be drilled.

Until then I will enjoy looking at the little gifts that I received from a friend. All of them are good for a soul. They make me feel at peace when I look at them. Creative ideas came with them, too. :)

Let's make light

It is hard to believe that somewhere up above the fog is a bright blue sky. I am very much looking forward to next week because I will be at home. Well, not necessarily at home; when this city will be in fog I will be somewhere above all this dull whiteness.

It is the beginning of the light's return. It feels good that it is so.

Happy holidays!

Ideas

When I was taking a course on graphic design our tutor said that there's actually nothing new in this world - today everyone copies previous ideas. I don't think this is true but in fact we do copy many ideas. Despite this, we are creative in a certain way.

I know exactly how my home should look like (or should I say will look like one day?). To make my dreams come true I need a few things, like money, my own energy to make this happen and a strong man's hand to help me with it.

From time to time I see some great new ideas at the places I go to. I spotted this wall in a picture one day while I was having lunch. Actually, it looked like a great idea for a corner in my home, yet I decided not to go for it. Though, who knows, I might change my mind one day.

Oh, yes, I love colors!

Fruits of autumn

I've been cutting rose hips for the second day in a row. It is a slow work, and a messy one too. I use plastic gloves because those little hair inside of the hips are rather stingy. What I do reminds me of those days spent at my grandparents' when we were all sitting behind a desk and doing similar work. Preparing and storing food for winter. I gathered a bucket of carrots and other goodies from the garden yesterday, I shared some with my colleague at work. This is how it is done - I get plums from her and she gets vegetables from me. A good barter indeed. It feels like in the old days when there were no shopping malls and computers and mobile phones. Days are passing by quickly at this time of year, there's lots to be done around the house at the moment. Like mowing grass for the last time this season, cleaning the mower and the tiles and the flower pots, wiping away spider's webs from the front of the house, cleaning windows, gathering and cleaning and storing vegetables from the garden. This all takes time, more time than one can imagine. I hardly wait to move inside; I have lots of plans for rainy and gloomy days.

At home again

Finally I spent a weekend at home. It felt so good although I was very tired at the end of each day. There was so much to do but not even half of it has been finished. I was:
- enjoying some time in my garden again, gathering some paprika, parsley and thyme. I cut paprikas into small pieces and froze them. They will be used in sauces later in winter. I also froze parsley while thyme was spread out to be dried on a baking tray.

- using the first Hokkaido pumpkin for our lunch. I just cut it into slices, sprinkled it with some salt and baked it in the oven at 180 degrees C. Simple as that and very delicious.

- spending lots of time in a kitchen yesterday, preparing an apple-plum-cranberries crumble. As Vlijtig said - sweet and simple although I found it quite time consuming. Especially cutting all those plums into small pieces. I will use more fruit and less crumble next time. And maybe less sugar too.

- a bit sad seeing mountains covered by snow. I don't think it will melt before next May or June. I will miss them, my refuge from an everyday life.

- gazing into the stars on Saturday between 7 and 8 p.m. hoping to see some of those promised 1000 shooting stars per hour. I saw only a few, far less than were promised. But the night was magnificent, quite warm and the skies cleared just in time. I have always loved stargazing. I thought of being an astronomer when I was still very young. Later I found out that you have to study physics to be that. A pity that we always had bad physics teachers. Though, I am not a night person, I go to bed early and prefer to wake up early.

This were the weekend happenings at home. I switched the heating on for the first time this season. And the warmth makes a home so much cozier than it is. I hope you had a nice weekend too.

At home

The sky is dark today and it got a lot colder. I already miss the heat of the previous days. I love summer. People are whining over the heat but I enjoy in each hot day that there is. I hope there will be some more soon. Summer is so short, too short in my opinion. I try to spend some afternoon hours in my garden but this seems to be an impossible mission since there are so many mosquitoes and horseflies living in our "moorland". As the wind was blowing yesterday in the afternoon, it obviously blew away those little stingy animals, so that I could cut some echinacea blossoms. This is the essential plant for my winter herbal teas. They are hanging upside down to dry, then I will cut them into small pieces and store them for winter. The tomatoes that I grow in the pots are ripening, and I see my neighbors checking on them regularly. I wonder what's so special about them. So, lots is happening around the house these days, without much help from me. And I like it this way.

My home

More and more I think what I love most about my home, less I know what it really is. I was inspired to ask myself this question by Design Sponge blog which reveals different homes around the globe and stories about these homes. My home is still not what I want it to be but sure I am on the right path towards cozy place for me and my loved ones. Though, I always like coming back home, no matter how messed up it is.Photos: © Design Sponge

So, I ask you these two questions: What do you love most about your home? and What is your favorite thing to do at home? You can post your answers on your blog if you wish (preferably with photos, of course :))

I wonder what your answers will be. And I will answer them as soon as my home is back to normal. Hopefully this will happen soon.

Flock of birds

These are the felt birds I created in the last three days: Actually there's not much time to create, there are so many other things I have to do in between. Like cleaning the terrace before the temperatures drop below zero. Which will probably happen this Friday. Yesterday we swept the cobwebs off the surface of the house. We also met our new neighbors. This morning Ž and I went to the woods to gather some fir branches to cover the plants in the garden. I will clean the pots this afternoon and store them in the attic. So much to do, and not enough time to do it all.

Anyway, today is a good day. Not only because the sun is shining after many, many days again, but also because I have such feeling that I have already accomplished a lot of things this morning.

Karma for today: Consider the amount of time desire causes us to waste.

Farewell Summer

Yesterday I had to switch the heating on, it was too cold for me. Rain and cold. 15 degrees C right now and lots of rain. Well, I thought of going to the mountains and saying goodbye to them until the next year, but I am afraid I will move to another direction this weekend - seaside - with some hope that the figs won't rot too quickly after all this rain and cold. Maybe also walk in the woods will do, I was told that there would be mushrooms growing there. After all this cold? Maybe I will take part in a run race, like last year... Who knows!

Though, such rainy weather is perfect for doing some housework, baking, reading or at least writing an article or two. I hope I will be creative this afternoon, just a little bit. Sooner or later I will have to be.

Karma for today: If you have begrudged, forgive. If you have torn down, repair. If you have injured, heal. If you have judged, pardon. If you have grasped, let go.

Garden pleasures

Mountains haven't really called me this year and I am still waiting for some hot summer days when I will disappear for a day or two to the coast. I am taking my life easy now, resting, reading books, cooking every day, enjoying what each day brings. I know that by the end of August tempo of life will increase to enormous speed again. Magazine no. 3 will have to be finished by the end of September, and I hope that all will go well.At the beginning of this year's garden season I promised myself to keep it well maintained and as much as possible without weeds. I have done most of the work in the garden myself this year, and I am quite happy with the result. Lately we've been eating lots of carrots (mice as well) and red beets from mine, beans and zucchinis from mom's garden. I have given paprika to my grandmom, as I am not a fan of it. I also use lots of herbs, though this season probably spring was too wet, so basil, parsley and tarragon are growing very slowly.The other day I tried to make zucchini rolls... Well, I added too much lemon juice and sage; though once they cooled they were much better. Today I will try to make noodles with red beet from the cook book published by Buxs vegetarian restaurant (in German only).I love summer. And birthday bouquets I receive from mom from her garden, too. :)

This morning

I woke up at 5 am. It was raining. It shouldn't be raining, the weather forecast was supposedly good. I went anyway. This year we count birds in Ljubljana, and this morning I had to count them in the eastern part of our "lovely" city. Indeed, it is nice there between the blocks of flats in a suburb of Ljubljana, an area which doesn't have a good reputation. Though it seems that quite nice people live there and that the surrounding is very beautiful. There is also one of the castles which we have in Ljubljana. Lots of greens. And some interesting birds, too. I spotted Lesser Grey Shrike, which is a phenomenal finding for this part of Slovenia. Maybe it is only migrating, we will have to check that next week.It was raining most of the time, but as a reward rainbow stretched across the sky at some moment. It wasn't as beautiful as it was yesterday in the afternoon near my home (photo), but it was quite a variegation of a murky Friday morning.

Have a beautiful weekend!

Gifts from abroad

Yesterday in the morning I found several new things in a kitchen. Ž has come back from Montenegro where he was counting birds. Olive branches (olives are in a freezer, I forgot to take a photo of them):Two small pots for cooking coffee (it is called džezva where I live):And dried figs (yum!):He told me that people don't care about the environment there; he had never seen so much trash lying around anywhere before. Obviously people in Montenegro are used to live with trash they produce.

It is Easter time but I have to admit that it doesn't feel very festive here. I have decorated my home a bit, tomorrow I will dye the eggs, but my mom will do the baking and prepare our Sunday breakfast. Like usual. It is so when you don't have a family of your own...

Yesterday when I drove the magazines (yes, the first issue has been finally published!) to the post office, I stopped by to buy some stamps. Beauties were waiting for me: Four different stamps were issued and it is hard to decide which one is more beautiful. I can hardly wait for the time when I will be able to see those flowers again in real, on the meadows and among the rocks in the Alps.

Happy Easter!

Karma for today: Create your unique life.

Dirty windows

"My gosh, I am ashamed you have such dirty windows!" thought this cat named Kaj, and looked away. Felix didn't even come close, so ashamed he was, and Piki rather stayed behind a corner.I have 21 of them (windows, not cats, fortunatelly), and it takes some time to clean them all... I am sure you all do a better work! Why do cats always look away when you want to take a photo of them?

Colors in my home

Moving furniture around, Ž hit his nose against a pendant light and broke it. Not his nose (he bled, but hasn't broken anything), but the light. In a way I was glad about it because I was thinking of replacing it with another one. The other day I saw a beautiful pendant light in a magazine, so I browsed the Internet yesterday to see what the price was. I was shocked! I thought that such light would cost about 100€, but it costs nearly 1500$! I wonder if there is someone who would make such light for a normal price... I just love it (it is called Muse) and it would look wonderful above my dinning table - hopefully we will get a new one by the end of this year - I can hardly wait, because it will be the first time I will have my own, and not borrowed (by my parents) dinning table!
So, by the time when such pendant light finds its way to my home, I will enjoy using polka dot things I received from my dear friend the other day. I love them, they brought colors into my kitchen!

Have a lovely weekend, and enjoy the colors of autumn!