still life

holding our breaths, waiting for the spring maiden to make up her mind...

morning knitting

ten minutes before i have to leave for work.
hm, what to do, what to do....

more eggs

what i really like about this holiday, is that it lasts for so long. we're celebrating the transition from winter to spring. it's not done in a day, not the transition nor the celebration. it's just there, ever so slow and quiet. we're allowed time to dwell upon it. and we're allowed time to gradually weave celebrations into our days, instead of getting it over with in 12 hours, like some of the other holidays observed. so just when i start thinking that 'oh no, i'm too late this year also', this huge amount of time just opens up in front of me. even this year, when the two spring markers occur so close to each other; the astronomical equinox and the cultural easter.

even so, there's plenty of time for eggs, more eggs, and then some eggs (yes, that huge thing hanging from the ceiling is also an egg - ostrich, to be eggsact) ... plus planting fast growing greens, eating them, and trying to beat your daddy in a game of chess. bare essentials, in other words.

good morning, spring!

well, hello there!


aren't you a qutie!

and you've got siblings!

Q: how many ways are there to display cute rabbits?

A: hey, i'm only documenting. my daughter is the decorater here. i wouldn't even dream of putting up a smug act like that.

Q: ahem.

A: ahem...

well, anyway. (...). we had planned for an egg hunt with some friends yesterday. as the day before was green, bright and sunny, i'd decided to go for plain white eggs so the kids would be able to spot them in all the green. then we woke up to white hills and sideways snowing. change of plans; dyed eggs.

there is a reason why onion was widely used in dyeing textiles in earlier times (and even today, among enthusiasts).

of course, by the time we had our egg hunt the snow had disappeared. funny thing, nature.

we had a nice day, though. hope you enjoyed yours!

the sad truth

while the council of rabbits may have looked nice and cosy, the post doesn't say anything about the agenda of their meeting. a second glance, from a different angle, may give us a hint...


oh, the wails, the woes!
necks ripped open, ears all torn, tummys swollen and eyes gone. the rabbit doctor has already paid them several visits, but the diagnosis is clear - elderly and disabled and no one to take care of them in these last moments of life.
as keeper of the fields and forests these rabbits have inhabited for all of their lives, i can't have that. and what better time to make fresh and strong caretakers for these poor things than during easter?


this dusty box hasn't been out for a couple of years. bad rabbit keeper.
and look at the goodies inside!

now let's see just how fast rabbits actually do multiply. tomorrow is the spring equinox. update follows!

pre equinox trickery

this is how these equinox days approach us. sunny and springlike one day, white and snowy the other. the old fight between winter and spring, mr. march playing tricks and refusing to leave just quite yet.
well.
if i could just get rid of this flu, i wouldn't mind. but living where i do, everytime i leave the house i have to prepare for four seasons. rain, sun, snow, wind, all in a couple of hours. i always keep an umbrella and sunglasses in my bag. all year round.
oh, equinox, come and turn the season!

goodness me. i think you tube went crazy on my blog. but it's been taken care of. by bruce and me. hiyaaaaa - HA!!

day 30

a council of rabbits

day 29

day 27

good things

the good thing about not knowing how to knit socks, is that you would need help from a friend, showing you how. now how can that be a good thing, you might ask.

i'll tell you. when you're waiting to see your friend - a couple of days, a whole week maybe - you can knit the other.

look what i did! i'm so proud!

now this process isn't finnished, of course. this is plant dyed yarn, bought at a viking market in denmark last summer (you can see some nice pictures of it on my other blog). the yellow/green yarn is grey wool dyed with goldenrod, and the red is dyed with madder. if you know anything about plant dyes, you will, like i was when i came across this yarn, be very impressed with the richness in the colours, especially the red. madder usually gives an orange-red colour. if you know more about plant dyes than i did when i bought this, you will know what i discovered when i started to knit with this yarn: excess colour hasn't been washed out. my hands were RED when knitting! so i'm guessing the final result will be revealed when i wash these later today :)

day 26: all dressed up on their way to the doctors office

after having been able to write for some time, my youngest has just started to read also. the book is a childrens book about the body, and these two pages describe common illnesses. the brown kitten has a bad throat and a fever, the grey kitten has a tummy ache, and the flowery one is constipated, with 'a little flu as well'...

day 25

daily routine of the viola da gamba.

day 24

day 23

mika rocks!!

so does staying at home from kindergarten because mum is ill. oh, the excitement of such freedom! (she still hasn't noticed how she utterly loves her kindergarten time and her friends there).

you can cut some cardboard found under the stairs...

you can cook up a tea party for one...

you can dress as you like...

write a letter for grandpa...

and pull out a funny, non identifiable device (it's made of plastic, shaped like a submarine, and records bits of approximately 4 seconds length..??..), record mika, and make him do a duet with himself...

and generally be as cookie as always...

and mum? mum got bored with the fever and lack of energy. so she nailed the sock pattern. yay!

Fattest brownie ever

OK, so I didn't finnish the socks.
Yet.
The couple of times when I didn't understand the pattern, a friend came to help. But the last time, I needed more help the minute she walked out the door. It's a very poorely written pattern. We both agreed to that (thankfully). A pattern should be written in a way that enables the knitter to knit the subject matter without knowing how to in advance. Anything else is unfair and not healthy for one's self esteem!
But realising that I just might need a couple of stitch'n'bitch nights with some friends to get these socks done, and contemplating that it just might take some time to make that happen, I went and made the brownie anyway. One can't wait for wonders, one has to make them happen - and this brownie sure is one! Look - even my Illuminated Rumi got smeared in chocolate (NOT by me!)

Day 22: Another rainy day