Here 'N There, This 'N That

Seems just minutes ago..

snow behind the window, the Knife cutting through the speakers, soft pajamas, coffees with Dutch waffles, really gotta take a bath, lots of stuff on my mind, laziness but lots to do, another week has passed, the theatre, The Damned, and its full frontal scenes, ..need to go to the theatre more often, strawberry tea, Mon Balzac, no smoking in the smoking zone, live music, double buss and trumpet, the warmth of being with friends, shyness all over the place, ..broken vein, numbness and blood sampling.



Seems just hours ago..

beautiful Ursaab, which could persuade me to drive again, (why are the Swedes so good at design?), Black Swan - no, this is not what passion looks like, neither does a good movie, thick taste of malbec late in the night, flash-backs, going to ballet every second week during student years, Swan Lake ballet back in Minsk, the grandeur, Bo Concept Japanese dolls, night at a blues club, (does beer go well with blues?), raspy blues voice, Tortilla's in town, make-up sex, exotic fruit drinks, exotic fruit discussions, team night out, crowded smoky clubbing, and we should completely ignore Feb, 14.

@ @ @ STATISTICS? @ @ @

...The science of producing unreliable facts from reliable figures.

But...

I thought it would be interesting to make a list of posts, which attracted most of attention and were most frequently clicked/visited/read/watched/listened (and hopefully enjoyed) by you. So here it comes... Any feedback is very welcome and will be much appreciated - after all only you can confirm whether these stats lie or tell the truth.

10. Orient Express



9. Salvador Dali's Alice in Wonderland



8. Islamic Design



7. The Dreamers



6. Out Of My Tree



5. Józef K



4. Le Refuge des Fondus



3. Has Anyone Seen A Tree Here?..



2. Art Nouveau Triumphs!



1. Tree Art

Stampo-Lampo

Something I recently changed about the flat. The paper lamp below used to look somewhat like this, but smaller before.




Photos by Olga

I easily get bored with things and interiors (actually with lots of other things as well to be honest), but I don't like to buy new stuff especially as it is getting harder to get something really unique. IKEA is very practical - but doesn't everyone have IKEA these days? My Dad mailed me some stamps from our collection - we used to collect them together when I was little - so I stuck them to an old paper lamp we had. Easy peasy :) It actually turned out nice - and now gives that dim warm light to the hall which it was previously lacking.

If interested here is the other lamp I made a while back. Lamps seem to be a great thing to play with.

Some Elephant Happiness

Have you ever touched an elephant's skin? It's so warm, smooth and hard at the same time, with lots of lines and patterns and some random hairs coming out :)



And did you know that elephants are actually more pink than blue? Just have a look at that wet baby elephant hiding under his mom. He is not more than a week old. Very cute!

Some snaps from Sri Lanka from a month back. For some reason it feels ages ago. I guess summer just can not be followed by winter in my head...



In Russian there is a set expression quite commonly used coloquially: 'happy as an elephant'. I was observing these guys for so long... Some seemed really wise and sad instead...





























images by Olga & Arek

Winter DeLIGHT

Moving on from somewhat depressive thoughts most probably brought out by winter... Winter is a tricky season, isn't it? You can love it and hate it just as much - and it's such a short way from one to another.

For me winter started late this year. I think I have already mentioned that I missed it in a way. I love spending winter weekends at home doing nothing (nothing useful anyway) relishing the beauty and the cosiness of the season ...

Ladies and gentlemen, isn't winter something to indulge and savour?















images via emmy linnea

P.S. Not to worry, I will soon be back posting about summer again - to share some photos from Sri Lanka and Maldives.

Japanese Dolls and All Their Children

image via Emma Nygren

This thought keeps coming back to me.
Yesterday, today, morning, noon, evening...
Damn, it doesn't allow me to concentrate...!

And time and again I arrive at a conclusion how in this hectic life while being surrounded by so many people one is still lonely and can only count on oneself. How people are together and how they share some things in common and have different opinions on some other things, but at times how hard it is to stay true to yourself and still have the support of the other. Is it really possible to find balance?

Is it really too selfish to follow your own beliefs? Of course life is about a constant compromise with other people, but how much can you compromise to stay true to yourself? On the other hand trying hard to be independednt in everything results in a complete isolation. For the weak-willed that is. But hey, that's me. I'm lonely when I'm alone.

I keep quietly detesting all the 'rules' which keep imposing on my life, but then again it's not like I'm not following any. But I know one thing. Today I'm not ready to compromise. Even though it seems like there is no other choice.

What I Learned in India

Back after a long trip...

Rediscovering Europe, winter, old acquaintances, the coziness of home, food tastes and aromas... Reliving the travel impressions...

A lot happened during the 3 months and 1 week of my Asian adventure. As my good friend well pointed out it is good to harvest these impressions in terms of culture and knowledge about people who we get to meet. We return for the pleasure in reliving some of those moments. And I really feel richer because of being able to learn and experience all these customs, traditions and beliefs.

I'm finishing my story about India by this post and hopefully some of the pictures will reflect some of that knowledge and experiences acquired and keep them live for a long time...


puja at Halebidu temple, XII century


The walls of the temple are covered with an endless variety of depictions from Hindu mythology, animals, birds and Shilabalikas or dancing figures


the sacred animal


milk puja


the worship dance


Image courtesy of a friend - our friend's wedding


hands of the bride, the henna drwaings will stay for up to 2 weeks, while some women wear their wedding bangles up to 1 year
Image via Google




street dogs gangs - I bet these guys are family :)


The Ambassador



best way to carry things


Hijra - males who adopt feminine gender identity, women's clothing and feminine gender roles and live in separate community


burial ceremony


cows in India are often in similar situation as dogs - homeless and in search of food


buses are often colourful - but in a different way than trucks...


which often look incredibly beautiful and well taken care of!


traditional Indian laundry - stone wash - South Indians kept persuading me this is the best way to wash your clothes and that washing mashings are far from giving as good affects as stone-wash


Image via Google


public laundry
Image via Google


the clothes are usually being washed and ironed outside the house by people who make a living out of it - back in history this was done by dhobi cast
Image via Google


the opening of a coconut, to get to daab, or coconut water


and then eating the soft coconut itself, yum!


our neighbour :)


public school


a very common way to travel


sleeping in a tree house is amazing - although snakes can come visit ;)


the beautiful spices of India


if you are in India GOA is a must-see destination


with its wonderful beaches where you can have anything - from food and drinks to shopping and fun


with its street art


old mansions


...swastikas



and of course fresh sugar cane juice


and I can't skip mentioning Indian food once again :)


and all the deserts - rice and milk based, and round shaped jamuns


Indians wouldn't go for a chewing gum after food - they'd opt for a betel leaf, betel nut, anis seed, etc - for a fresh mouth and good digestion


and there is a custom when married women leave the house which they have visited as guests they receive a blessing from the hostess of the house which consists of a betel leaf, piece of a betel nut, a coconut, some change and a kumkum - a religious dot on their foreheads


the same kumkum powder is used for making of Rangolis - beautiful religious drawings in front of the houses of Hindu people



... some other examples of Indian design



we also adopted some of Indian life style and decoreted our place with flowers, which are both very beautiful and affordable


India has a wonderful variety of fauna and flora


and funny looking Christmas trees :)


elephant apple tree


it is here that I learned about the existence of a perfect flower, which is locally called temple flower (we usually see those on all SPA ads)



it is here that I first saw and tried jack fruit


learned about sloth bears


and gharial crocodiles


saw a real lion cub fight



...and the beautiful white tiger



And I think one can really find a lot to their liking in this amazing country full of surprises - your choices are truly unlimited!






Images by Arek&Olga unless marked otherwise