may is...

...enjoying the sun inside.

corner view ::: end of the street:::

at the end of my street
there is a concrete wall
where midgets go to photograph themselves

happy corner viewing! :)

jane, ladybug-zen, ian, bonnie, esti, sophie, cele, modsquad,

caitlin, joyce, ani, kim, natsumi, epe, kaylovesvintage, trinsch,c.t., jeannette, outi, ritva, francesca, state of bliss, jennifer, dana,denise, cabrizette, bohemia girl, isabelle, amber, a girl in the yellow shoes, mister e, janis, kari, jgy, skymring, elizabeth,allison, lise, cate, otli, ida, caroline, lisa, dorte, kimmie, nicola,vanessa, britta, april, b, kyndale, samantha, kristina,goldensunfamily, sophie, janet, mcgillicutty, aimee, sunnymama,britta, juanita, inna, daan, myrtille, cris, ibb, jodi, gillian,travelingmama, athena, pienduzz, kelleyn, demara, mus, ninja,guusje, di, sammi, theresa, cherry b, victoria, kathryn , lisa, liza,juliette, mulot, anne, lucy, leonor, elizabeth, helene, dominique,shokoofeh, cole, jenna, podane, grey-lemon, line, nihal,urbaNiche, inner toddler, puna, lucylaine, adrienne, emily, lynn,skywriting, eliane, the wanderer´s daughter, carole, anna, dorit,kenza, sherry, conny, susan, l´atelier, elis, kamana, anne,rosamaría, marinik, elisabelle, victoria, malo, the yellow door paperie, tikjewit, juniper, ocean girl, emily, marcie, annabel,andrea, valerie, karin, michelle, merel, pia, soisses, angie, adèle,latisha, mlle paradis, 24 ruel, cacahuete, wander chow, debra,linnea and emily, barbara, emily, maryline, tally, therese, nadine

may is...

....enjoying the sun outside.

may is...

 

• my husband's birthday
• my daughter knitting on sewing needles, inspired by this
• my son re reading Tolkien
• ...and teaching grandma how to use bluetooth
• and, oh! Me guest writing for the Rhythm Of The Home blog!

corner view ::: collections ::: (i'm late, but i'm in again!)

I collect childrens books.

It took me many many years to give in to the obsession, and sometimes I grieve all the books I didn't buy along the way. 

Oh, there were many.

Sometimes I buy books for their subtle or not so subtle messages, like the interconnectedness of all things, or books with a general holistic outlook.

Sometimes I buy books for their great stories.

Sometimes - or quite often - I buy books for their illustrations. 

And sometimes I buy books for their cover.

I am seldom disappointed. Except that one time, when I bought that blue book in the photo above.

That's right, you guessed it - Madonna's. It's horrible. 

But the cover is great.

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Books in this post:

Garmanns street - by Norwegian Stian Hole. Here's a review, and here's a review by someone who did not get it. Or maybe it's just a cultural thing.

The Big Question - philosophical picture book by Wolf Erlbruch

When The Wind Stops - great ecological lesson by Charlotte Zolotow and Stefano Vitale (ill.)

The Giving Tree - by Shel Silverstein. A classic My daughter won't let me read it, it's so sad and the tree lived a meaningless life. She thinks.

The Snow Queen - by Vladyslav Jerko (ill.) and H.C. Andersen 

Min Verden I En Nøddeskal/ My World In A Nutshell - anthropological picture book by Suzanne Brøgger, Danish

The Little House In The Big Woods - by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Garmanns Summer - my favourite. By Stian Hole, the same who made Garmanns Street. Here's a review that might explain (to me) the 'cultural thing', and here's some more pictures from the book.

What If? - by Rosso Collins (ill.) and Frances Thomas. Great illustrations.

Around The Year, by Elsa Beskow. A classic. And soooo beautiful illustrations. 

The Fir Tree, by H.C. Andersen

Syngende Stein/Singing Stone - Norwegian, by Stella East (ill.) and Eyvind Skeie. 

Verden Har Ingen Hjørner/The World Has No Corners - Norwegian, philosophical picture book by Svein Nyhus

The Complete Fairytales - by the Brothers Grimm

Mr Peabody's Apples - by Madonna

------------------------------------
More collections:

jane, ladybug-zen, ian, bonnie, esti, sophie, cele, modsquad,

caitlin, joyce, ani, kim, natsumi, epe, kaylovesvintage, trinsch, c.t., jeannette, outi, ritva, francesca, state of bliss, jennifer, dana, denise, cabrizette, bohemia girl, isabelle, amber, a girl in the yellow shoes, mister e, janis, kari, jgy, skymring, elizabeth, allison, lise, cate, otli, ida, caroline, lisa, dorte, kimmie, nicola, vanessa, britta, april, b, kyndale, samantha, kristina, goldensunfamily, sophie, janet, mcgillicutty, aimee, sunnymama, britta, juanita, inna, daan, myrtille, cris, ibb, jodi, gillian, travelingmama, athena, pienduzz, kelleyn, demara, mus, ninja, guusje, di, sammi, theresa, cherry b, victoria, kathryn , lisa, liza, juliette, mulot, anne, lucy, leonor, elizabeth, helene, dominique, shokoofeh, cole, jenna, podane, grey-lemon, line, nihal, urbaNiche, inner toddler, puna, lucylaine, adrienne, emily, lynn, skywriting, eliane, the wanderer´s daughter, carole, anna, dorit, kenza, sherry, conny, susan, l´atelier, elis, kamana, anne, rosamaría, marinik, elisabelle, victoria, malo, the yellow door paperie, tikjewit, juniper, ocean girl, emily, marcie, annabel, andrea, valerie, karin, michelle, merel, pia, soisses, angie, adèle, latisha, mlle paradis, 24 ruel, cacahuete, wander chow, debra, linnea and emily, barbara, emily, maryline, tally, therese, nadine

smoothied

the last five months, i've been exploring raw food/superfoods. i'll never switch completely to raw food, but i'm all with the idea of keeping the nutrition value as high as possible by processing the food as little as possible. and wow - the sweets of this diet is amazing! i'm completely hooked on raw cacao. i think i'll have to post some recipes soon, you really have to try it.
in the morning, i usually make myself a big mix (500 grams) of vegetables and salads mixed with some grapes, avocado, seeds and bits of organic parmesan. i eat about half of this for breakfast, then have the rest for lunch along with a soft boiled egg or a cracker. alternatively, i'll have a smoothie for lunch.
this here smoothie consists of fresh spinach, pomegranate seeds, sprouts, a little bit of broccoli, frozen berries, mango, freshly juiced apple and carrot, and a dose of spirulina powder, shelled hemp seeds, goji berries, flax-, pumpkin-, sunflower- and sesame seeds. there wasn't need for any extra liquid in this one, but if there were, i would use additional apple juice or rice milk.
and the taste? let's just say that you've done something right when your kids consider spinach smoothie to be a snack :)

homemade herbarium

The C.M. Barker covered knitting box made me think of this herbarium I made for my daughter some years ago. This is really the easiest thing to make, but here's a little how-to. It makes a great gift for a little friend as summer is approaching.

You'll need:

• two heavy pieces of cardboard about A4 size 
• decorative paper/cut outs or the like
• glue stick
• Stanley (or other sharp) knife
• satin ribbon
• contact paper

First, cut your cardboard to two A4 sized pieces, or a different size of your choice. You will make two identical pieces; the front and the back.
Make 4 small cuts to each piece (see photo). This will be where the ribbon will go. The ribbon is used to tie the herbarium  together.
Decorate as desired. I chose to glue pretty paper to one side of the cardboard (using glue stick), just wrapping around the corners, and some heavy white paper to the other side, which hid the corner folds.
Cover both cardboards with transparent contact paper, making sure that every fold is neatly done. Cover both sides. This is to protect your herbarium from moist.
Find the four cuts you made with your fingers (easy, as the cutting will leave textured 'wounds' that you will feel through the paper), and cut through the contact paper and decorative paper as well. The reason why I do this in two steps is that it will look much better, with minimal 'cut wounds'.    

Use the tip of your knife to push the ribbon through the cuts. 'Weave' the ribbon in and out of the cuts as shown, thus connecting the two cardboard pieces. Look closely at picture no. two, and you'll see the ribbon that constitutes the back of the herbarium. It's not glued or fastened to the cardboard in any other way, as it's meant to expand with the content of the herbarium - so make sure you cut the ribbons  long enough!
Place 10 - 20 pieces of heavy paper inside (grainy paper texture is better than smooth), fold, tie the ribbon - you're done. The rest is up to the lucky recipient!

Here's a picture of the prototype I made (which of course ended up being my daughters' - 'the pretty ones' are always leaving our home as gifts, like the knitting box. She thinks it's bloody unfair. I agree.)

When you attach your pressed flowers, do not cover the whole page with contact paper (as I was taught at school when I was a child) - use only small pieces of transparent tape or contact paper and fasten here and there. Or else, the whole flower will soon turn brown. 

and then some colours

I know easter is over, but we keep our 'stash' up for much longer. Thought I needed some colourful photos here now.