ACCOMPLISHED

End of January ... what accomplishments have I made?

• Read a whole book in french. Well it was a comics book but still I made it in french. Quite happy with that!

• Took some hard decisions that had been on hold for years. Made up my mind and vital changes are taking place. Starting to breath!

• Bid farewell to a job that wasn't feeling quite right. Learning to listen to myself.

• Watched 3 movie, at home it is true but it is a start to my film watching resolution.

• I spent more time with myself just thinking, just listening. Many important decisions resulted from that.

• Gave lots of love to my pets ... everyday and they reciprocate.

• Bought 2 hyacinths and been watchful of my tiny succulents.

• Watched birds flying in the sky and released myself. Saw the days growing wider.

• I posted here often this month. Sometimes not much to say but the important was to be present, establish a method that I'm in need of and start to get organised ... eagerly waiting for February. Going to miss parts of what I leave behind but so looking forward to what lies ahead. So many projects to put into practice.

BIRTHDAY

Happy birthday to me! : )

ORANGE GROVE

Away for a couple of days. 

Traveled to the yard of orange trees. The roads paved with distant memories.

Back, resting the head while being driven in a sleepy motion. The landscape dissolving into a faint dream where I saw timid blooms of an early Spring and birds ... silent hovering birds!

BOTTLES

It was great fun making these! They were my last piece of coursework.

SILENT

I just felt rather silent these last couple of days ... too many things going on on my mind.

A distant landscape, a comforting one.

LEMON CURD

A couple of days ago I was given a large bag of freshly picked lemons. So yesterday I made lemon curd.

450gr sugar

100gr butter

4 large eggs lightly beaten

4 large lemons, juice and rind

Put all ingredients in a large bowl set over a pan of simmering water and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until thick and the curd coats the back of the spoon. Pour into hot, sterilised jars. Cover immediately with waxed discs and when cold label and place in the refrigerator. It will keep for a few weeks.

SIMPLE

I discovered these on the archive today. Those were days when things were simpler. Now everything seems and feels a lot harder and complex to even begin to explain, albeit the clarity I'm experiencing. I miss those days!

ALMOST INVISIBLE

Cold, damp, windy and dark. Staying in! Nothing much is being done or accomplished these days except maybe for those little bits in need of sorting out, things that lie quietly around, almost invisible.

BRANCHES

Just looking at the map lines they draw against the sky, the directions for birds, and feeling silent ...

SUNDAY BREAKFAST

A peculiar breakfast this morning ... some leftover focaccia I made for dinner last night, with jam and black coffee (such a rare drink for me!). 

I enjoyed the salty taste of the focaccia together with the sweet and slight tart taste of the homemade damson jam plus the black unsweetened coffee while trying to gather my thoughts, reflecting on events of the past few days, finding it hard to put into words the emotions of these slow winter days.

I hope it to be a relaxing Sunday! I feel like staying indoors (it is cold and dark again) reading or producing something soothingly pleasant.

TODAY

The sun was out today. A green world and the shadows it made. 

PHYSALIS

From the archive a little piece of coursework I made 2 years ago. One of my favourite pieces from the time I was in school. Hand shaped and no glaze. Just the soft texture of polished porcelain. I must revive this project!

WARM

Baking, sipping hot milky tea, staying warm, waiting to watch birds flying up in the white sky ...

DORMANT

So beautiful amidst the rain ...