The best kept secret / Corner view

My Aunt Has Bunnies

Her courtyard looks exactly the same as it looked when I was a kid and the house belonged to my granny. And it looked exactly the same when my dad was a kid.
It is a farmhouse in the town, also the house itself hasn't changed what I remember. I kind of like it. There is a lot to look at. Both the house and the courtyard are stuffed with things.

We picked currants in their orchard and my mom made a cake.

And I made this pouch or clutch. I had this pretty model, pity that she lives far away. The pouch is on etsy now.

How I imagined maternity leave

Sculptural rain

I though that my baby would play peacefully and I would sit near and read some nice book. This is how I imagined moments of rest on maternity leave. It doesn't work that way, I don't have to tell you. Kid wants your attention all the time. Reading a book is an incomprehensible activity for him. If I wash dishes or clean, it is something else, he sits near patiently and plays. But staring in a book is a strange concept for him. Why do I stare in a book and not at him?
First I would knit. It worked only for some time. Then he got older and I had to go down on the floor and start playing. And, to my surprise, I enjoyed it. First, painting with brush, doodling like crazy, without any clear idea. Very relaxing. Building blocks. This is a special one, we build odd buildings, towns and spaces. He can feel that I like it and likes it too. Pulls out a box with blocks right after he gets up in the morning.


Slowly, our activities get more demanding. I had to learn how to draw (and paint) "krtek" which is a character of a little mole, and also all of his friends. I had to learn how to conceive them in sculpture media (snail, hedgehog and a squirrel on the picture above). Cut-outs and collages follow.
He picked up how to kick the ball and has become quite good in it. Now I have to run around the playground and pretend the interest in football.

This is all fine as long as he doesn't start to ask me questions as how computer works and such. My husband has been saving an old notebook for him as a play tool. Its time might come sooner then we think.

P.S. We are still at the granny's. He picked up new habits from his older cousins and I learned new things that he likes (running, screaming, ordering - which spans the both categories).

Off to the little town

I am packing again. This time we are going to the grandma's. Little town, river bank, stripy duvets in the window, hens clucking in the courtyard, bunnies in a cot, strawberry dumplings for lunch. Well, in reality, our granny lives more like a city women. Never mind. There will be something of the little town atmosphere.
I packed Isaak Babel and Bruno Zevi with me and was happy with the choices of spending my free time. Just before closing the bag I sneaked in few embroidery threads and a piece of linen. Oh well. I have been embroidering little bit too much lately and wanted to turn my thoughts to something else. And this morning, waking up, I imagined something that needs to be worked out.

Corner view / Places of reflection

For me, it used to be strolling the streets in the town, wandering aimlessly. Now, that I have a kid I cannot afford such a luxury. Now, it may sound strange for those who live in this busy touristy city but I still like Malá Strana (picture). There are few kind of hidden places, side from the main routes, where locals don't need to feel like tourists themselves. It is strange about tourists that they hold on the main stream and don't explore very much. Which is good. I may behave completely the same when I travel. Such is the satisfactory feeling that I am a discreet tourist myself.

Other corner viewers:
jane, ladybug-zen, ian, bonnie, esti, sophie, cele, modsquad, caitlin, joyce, ani, kim, a day that is dessert, natsumi, epe, kaylovesvintage, trinsch, c.t., jeannette, outi, schanett, ritva, francesca, state of bliss, jennifer, dana, denise, cabrizette, bohemian girl, dianna, isabelle, amber, mister e, janis, kari, jgy, skymiring, elizabeth, audrey, allison, lise, cate, mon, victoria, crescent moon, erin, otli, amy, ida, caroline, lisa, dorte, kimmie, la luna dans le ciel, nicola, malo, vanessa, britta, virgina, april, b, kyndale, samantha, karen, kristina, dorit, goldensunfamily, sophie, janet, mcgillicutty, desiree, travelingmama, aimee, sunnymama, amanda, ali, jenell, britta, juanita, pamela, inna, daan, myrtille, cris, ibb, susi, jodi, lily, gillian, jeanette, athena, pienduzz, latisha, clarette, satsuki

Something has been cooking

New goods on the counter. And I will add other things soon.

Encouraged by my short success at Etsy, my husband got into the sashiko thing for a while. He found this interesting website. It is a gallery in Brooklyn that exhibits and sells old Japanese textiles dyed and decorated in one of their traditional techniques (pictures bellow). There is lot of sashiko going on there. Apparently, the owners hunt for the stuff straight in Japan. The most worn out, the most mended and sewn over with patches, the better. I understand their passion. Basically, the more it looks like the Japanese would throw it away, the more it is likely to appear in their gallery. It is interesting how we think of these things as being very artsy whereas their owners (and creators) want to get rid off them.



Finally, I have also learned what sashiko actually is. They would use it on fishermen clothes, they were made of two layers, stitches would hold it together and also strengthen the fabric. It is almost unbelievable that they would go into so much trouble sewing it. And they were making art pieces without knowing it. How many people on Etsy know that what they create is NOT art?

Trip

It rained a lot. How trivial, yet essential. Lecce was beautiful. It is in the very South where very few tourists found their way. We were the only tourists, suitcases and strange look, who got off the train. We just happened to enter the city during the siesta time, streets deserted and sun beating down, and we felt like we discovered this town. Paving with no sidewalks, narrow but elegant streets, low palaces, two floors at the most, large windows, balconies and flat roofs with terraces. Many churches. More than one would expect in an Italian town. (Lecce, 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th 8th and 10th picture)
In Lecce and then even more in Bari, it was surprising for me how locals don't take much account of the touristic potential of the old towns. Which is good for me. I can experience it like people did in the 19th century. Only later I found out that the old town of Bari is even today considered somewhat dangerous and better to be left behind after dark. Well, too late. We went in. It does feel like a ghetto, quite stinky, pigeons, rough kids, young guys on motorbikes, people peeping out of windows wandering who the hell... Honestly, there is one part of the old town that has been turned into a kind of a tourist place with cafés but we did stroll, unconscious, in the other one. (Bari: 4th, 6th and last pictures) All the remaining pictures are from Gargano where we wanted to rest peacefully on the beach while the little guy would play tenderly on the shore with his bucket trying to pour water from the sea over on the beach. It did happened eventually. The beach, not his fruitless attempt.