Hangoverish

Merry Christmas! Today is the strange day that I spend mostly in bed and can hardly get up. It's like the entire year busyness has fallen upon my body. This month has been especially crazy with so many things going on. Several dinners and a music session at home to celebrate that we've relatively settled. End of school, meetings and closing acts. Christmas season work which is always busy, and probably more food than the body needs! 

Yesterday a friend visits and as I walk to meeting her at the bus stop I take my bag and scissors and collect a few plant bits on the way.

And then, at home, the two of us play a little making a spontaneous wreath and several vase arrangements that look very pretty!

Much love and joy and play and health to you and your beloveds! Thanks so much for reading :)

A taste of surprise

As adults we don’t have as many good surprises as we deserve.

It’s like the quantum of good surprises runs out during childhood.

I still remember when I was 4 or 5 and I asked my mom -What are you eating?

She said - Corn. And gave me my first small piece of corn on the cob. I tried it and was hooked forever.

The best corn on the cob that I ever ate was in the town of Aguas Calientes just before taking the little bus to ascend to Macchu Picchu. It was amazingly good AND it made me so sick that I almost missed my tour. But I won’t disgrace you with that story today. 

My favourite fruits: Bananas and cherries.

Bananas may sound pedestrian to some because of their year round availability. But I never get bored of their soft sweet delight. 

Cherries: I have this little ritual where I eat my first cherry each year with eyes closed to feel every bit of flavour in my mouth. You know how a new ring is formed every year in a tree trunk? My first cherry each year is like a new ring in my human-ness. A sign that another year went by. (It happened today!)

Pasionaria.

This weekend at the countryside, my botanical savvy friends taught me that this wild plant’s fruit is edible. I’ve been a long time admirer of its complex beautiful flower but thought the fruit was only for birds.

I grabbed a couple ripe ones from the roadside fence (careful not to fall to the ditch) and tried them. 

They were…they were a surprise.

Spoiler alert: if you want to try them yourself stop reading at this point so I don’t spoil it for you.

Otherwise let me describe them with this formula: 1/3 fig + 1/3 pommegranate + 1/3 caviar

Make sure to try them if you see them around!

And if you know its name in any language but Spanish, please let me know.

Birds will now dislike me. I’m their fierce competitor!

inspired!

While I'm busy with Christmas orders some lovely ideas for new pieces are popping up.
It's curious how inspiration comes when it comes!

So this is cute: I'm grabbing some old molds and motifs that I've used in the past and giving them a whole new treatment. In this case, it's a full metallic patina on the clay and my hammered wire hoops  (like for the earrings I've been doing lately)

And the result is so pretty!

I have a drawer full of charms that I collect when I shop and I then don't have time to further develop. Now it's a good time to play with those! That's what I'm doing this summer!

Black and white is for doggies.

Black and white is for doggies.

For us humans reality is richer, more complex, more colourful.

There’re so many colors, and shades of each color. 

We have brightness and contrast, We have hue, saturation, we have color balance (or not)

As soon as I let my guard down color enters. I want to play it cool and have an elegant, neutral earring collection with just blacks, grays and metallics, perfect for NYC gals…but again, the minute I’m just a little bit distracted color comes in and makes a mess :-)

Level complete

This is against the rules and will probably be scolded about it later but just wanted to share this epic moment with you. End of elementary school for good. The end of an era. You see us laughing here but you should have seen me half an hour earlier: big fat tears rolling down my cheeks. Considering I'm neither sentimental nor nostalgic I must just be getting old.

Mica killed it with a rap on stage, as part of the closing act. I'm so proud of him and how much he has accomplished this year!

Linden and Chamomile

Spring forage that will last me for many months to come. A pleasure to collect and a pleasure to drink in hot and cold beverages .

 

Some more color

Coat of Color

Like it?

Views

Another beach adventure with the kids, and mom. An appreciated respite from the moving blah.

I drive all the way back and forth and I'm still surprised that I can do that and enjoy it very much when I was so scared of driving most of my life.

We have mostly "bad" weather. On the only nice day I take a beach walk with Mica. Its Mother's Day.

Brother Emi brings roses for mom and i. 

I make yummy spaetzl. Mom makes yummy sauce

 And a crowd favourite, driving with Emi vintage style.

A little Birthday breakfast with a card loosely inspired in our current year learnings (or tribulations :)

Mica and I go for fresh fish. El Puerto. We get to meet the locals that are incredible close and are quite delightful and smelly.

Another day we visit the close by town where we used to spend our summers when we were kids. The best part is the beautiful countryside route.

And a visit to local park Miguel Lillo, that on a rainy day, smells incredibly of pine and eucalyptus

Another rainy morning and I visit a friend in town, but before, a short stopover at my favourite cafe in the city. 

That comes with "cortado" and "medialuna" I savour this particular breakfast very attentively and slowly as if I want to keep this moment in my memory. The croissant was very delicious.

And then I go to my friends' and we get a magnificent open view from floor  32th 

It takes a few days but eventually I open the dye packs that I brought with me and get to experiment with some old curtains. I'm in a low creativity moment but yet, the process gains momentum and I end up with a nice colorful stash. (that reminds me of Tibetan monks)

Pillow covers may come out of these.

Good times with this little tribe.

Back home

Back home to myself.

Herman Hesse says: Home is neither here nor there. Home is within you, or home is nowhere at all.

Yes, exactly my thoughts. What I've been feeling and trying to articulate. And as a great synchronicity I've found those words today. They were actually in a text by Herman Hesse talking about trees. 

Do you know that comforting feeling of being back to the known and the familiar after a while being elsewhere? Well, I feel I'm back to the old familiar "me", which actually feels pretty good! I hope I'll stay "here" with me! :)

It helps a lot the fact that I don't have to THINK where the knife is before cutting a tomato anymore. (Multiply that by 200 each day. Imagine it with different utensils and daily life elements)

Anyways...These past weeks I had a lot of opportunities to see the many areas of myself that I need to keep sanding until everything is nice and smooth ;-)  

A gift of humility. Thank you! And I''ll keep up the good work.

Since Hesse's text speaks about trees, I give you my lemon tree. "Mr. Rebel" who hasn't taken any of the 5 grafts I've tried on him. I've still planted him at the centre of my backyard and treat him as if he were the Tree of Gondor. That's faith.

(Grass is coming to my backyard this week!)

And in case you'd like to read the whole text by Herman Hesse, here it is:

https://www.brainpickings.org/2012/09/21/hermann-hesse-trees/

I say bye for today as my eldest son does: "Live Long and Prosper!"

Beauty beats Grumpy

Hi! How are you doing? How is it going?
What are you thinking? How are you feeling?
What are your eyes watching right now?

I hope you're doing very well!


I've been grumpy for the last few weeks. Just getting used to the new.
I feel bad for being in bad spirits when there's so much to be grateful about. And I am grateful about it! So very much! And I'm also grumpy :)

They both happen to be there and they both happen to feel true!
And I have to be humble to watch how little I can do about it.



But I try. I  try hard to feel smiley facey inside because I like the feeling.

I go ahead and self medicate with beauty and that helps. Spring is in the air and the neibourhood is bursting with blossoms everywhere.

 I bring flowers home with me and take pretty pics of new earrings.

Nature does the job and I take the credit.

Cheers and smiley faces to you!

New nest, old friends

Right before my eyes, through the window, a gorgeous benteveo nest. A big tree packed with bird action! I raise my eyes many times while I work trying to catch it all.


Old friends of mine that I haven't seen in a long time are visiting.
Cranky, Bossy and Control Freak! How are you?
What are you doing here?
Moving is stressful so I'll be good to you for a little longer but you need to leave soon, OK?

Hola from a new home

Hola from a new home.
A week working non stop to make it liveable.
To be able to prepare food, to work, to go to school.
The basics.

My new workspace (will never be this tidy again :)



 Very close to beautiful sky views.

And the little tree that I have been growing for the last 3 years is finally planted in my new small patio. He looks happy after a few first days of adjustment.

I wish I could tell you more. I'm really exhausted now.

I hope you're doing very very well :)

Before the internet is down there’s one little thing I need to tell you

Chau Che!

Yellow elixir

Squeezing and storing this yellow elixir so I can take as much as I can of my lemon tree with me when I move.

It’s like a farewell ritual.

While I do this I think: is it possible that I’m learning bees now so I’ll have another yellow elixir in my life?

Lemon and honey go great together. And bees love this tree as I’ve seen over the last few years.

Styling with natural materials

With all the pretty bits that I've foraged from around the neighbourhood I've taken beautiful product pics. Take a look. This is the Winter version.

Simple perfect contrast for my organic textured earrings at Humanoclay