contemplating

whether to go in as we walked through the flooded olive fields. they still wearing their pjs, the uniform this last week where they've stayed home most days. today i'm down to two almost-well-again patients, but that's how the day started yesterday too. let's see.

i on the other hand is contemplating how it might be possible to add a few hours to the day, hours that would be all mine. (and how i might get my hands on this dream. maybe when i win the lottery? that i don't play. not any time soon then.)

from in here

yet another rainy day. i'll have to spice up our food ... our lives, if i could ... as we're spending a lot of times in doors.

the temperatures dropped again it seems, and all three kids are home. not really sick, but also not really well. just about that stage where they are restless in their little bodies, but don't have much energy to really do much for very long. and if you are wondering: yes, that can be a challenge.

on another note, that's one of the outdoor cats up there. he's a giant. the moment we start working in the kitchen they'll hear it and we have one, two, three... four cats sitting there. waiting. they're watching our every move, hoping we'll go to the front door with some leftover food. sometimes it's cute and fun. other times it's kind of creepy. and uncomfortable. i feel like the rich people dining inside the beautiful restaurant while the poor, starving child stands outside in the cold with his nose pressed against the window glass.

i don't know his name, it changes all the time. last time i checked it was choochoo, but it might be johnny by now. he's almost two. and his got twin siblings. they are just about one.

and all this cat talk reminds me: i really have to take the mother cat of all the cats to the vet. cannot have her bring more kittens this spring. four is more than enough.

tillykke

there are birthdays back home. last week the younger brother, yesterday my mother, tomorrow my father. today they are having family brunch. wish we could be there to celebrate with them.

tillykke til alle jer fra alle os :)

inside :: outside

apparently i just need to announce that i'll be around here less to in fact be here more. sometimes in blogging - as in life - the big diffeence comes when you feel you don't have to do, then you just do. or maybe that's me... but i don't think so. you know it too, don't you?

the sun was out yesterday, but today is full of rain and thunder. at least we had a little break. anyway, it's weekend and rain is such a good excuse to just cozy up in doors with hot drinks and comfort food.

wishing you a good one.

keeping me company

one boy kept me company at home today. he slept most of the time while i was working. the other left a mark behind, he was definitely right there by the dinner table at some point yesterday. i never really get upset about drawing or writing on walls or furniture. it usually comes off. maybe i even like it. just like i kind of like to have a sleeping child next to me while i work.

these days

:: are passing way too fast. i don't seem to get around to do half the stuff i'm planning to do, nor see any of the folks i'd love to spent some time with.

:: i feel behind with everything and occasionally it makes me lose my mental breath. and i really don't like when that ms. hyde of mine.

:: i have been sending birthday wishes and lots of thoughts to my younger brother. he's so creative and talented. now is his time.

:: are quite cold. the other day it was 3 degrees celsius in the morning and there's snow in the north. that's cold in these parts of the world.

:: i am eating comfort food all the time. warm and spicy. and drinking lots of chai.

:: the kitchen is full of lovely spices after i discovered this amazing little spice shop last week.

:: i am full of hope that the old man back home will stay on a healthy path and quit smoking (yes, i'm talking about you dad, if you're reading this ;)

:: i am waiting for the lemons to get really juicy on the trees in the garden so i can try makinge lemon curd for the first time.

:: it's raining most days. which is good for the garden and pretty much the whole region i live in. still, it's getting a bit too much if i may be a bit selfish for a moment... no?

:: i long for a good book that can get me all caught up. i seem to lose my patience with most books i begin reading these days.

:: the strawberries are a dream. seriously. there's a place close by where you can choose from four different sorts. we of course choose the sweetest of them all. and then they go pick them right there while you wait.

:: the news are bothering me more than usual. this part of the world is such a crazy place. why... how... on earth did i end up here?!

:: this blog is probably entering a phase of less regular posting, and blog reading in general will be less frequent.

:: i still dream about running that marathon in 2012.

at home

it's weekend. we're all home. chicken and vegetables in the oven. tulips on the table.

in denmark my dad is home too after he was released from the hospital yesterday. he's fine, but still in treatment, and has been told to consider his eating, drinking, and smoking habits, and maybe add a bit of exercise to his daily routines. basically he needs give his heart first class treatment from now on, as it seems it was getting a bit tired of his ways.

i've been eating soup like crazy. cauliflower, spinach and pumpkin. my new thing is to add avocado or egg. i always tend to like pureed vegetable soups better with something dairy. like feta, cream cheese, parmesan or yoghurt. but now i discovered that a chopped avocado or an egg that i "poach" in the soup by the end gives the same kind of richness and flavor that i like. and since right now is avocado season and the markets are full of the loveliest avocados, there's no end in sight for this new favorite of mine.

sometimes i'm even lucky enough to find a newly fallen, ripe avocado when i pass through the nearby avocado orchard when i run. that's one of those times when i love to live right here, in the middle of farmland. especially when it's served on the pumpkin soup made from next door neighbor's pumpkin.

wishing you a lovely weekend.

likes and dislikes

i like this egg cup which i bought for myself when i was in denmark for christmas. just one, for me.

i dislike folding laundry. i just folded so much laundry you won't believe it. washing and hanging it is ok. but folding, sorting and placing it.... the worst. the guestroom has functioned as a clean-laundry piling room for two weeks. it just got bigger and bigger and more and more impossible to deal with, and we've been pulling clothes from the pile in the morning. but not anymore. oh no. i beat the pile today. which i like

i dislike that my dad is still in the hospital, but i like that he's in good spirit and hopefully will be home again very soon.

feels like childhood

there's something so familiar in the feel of this video. it makes me sentimental about childhood. which perfectly suits my mood. my dad is in the hospital, he's fine now and everything is - relatively - ok.

but still. i'm not sure how i feel about being here. far away and entering this part of life.

video found via the always inspiring little postcards

breaking of the vessels

or shevirat hakelim. which is the title of the impressive anselm kiefer exhibition that was planned especially for the opening of the new building at the tel aviv museum.

we were guided through this as a part of our december tour at the museum. it was quite impressive, beautiful and highly recommended to see should life bring you anywhere near the tel aviv museum of art.

wishing you a wonderful week.

seriously

how could i not just be madly in love with these guys?

i had one of those challenging days yesterday. where i ended up shouting and bitching a bit too much. because well, they can be a challenge sometimes on these cold, gray and rainy days.

today was better, and now they are sleeping tight.  i went through my photos and then i fell over these from denmark. *sigh*. excuse me for now. i think i'll have to go and kiss my sleeping beauties.

it's that time

it's strawberry season! oh, and these are the best i ever had. so sweet! if it wasn't for the polar kind of living room temperature we keep inside the house these days, it reminds me of danish summer. we have ever changing weather, rain, then sun, just like a danish summer. with fresh strawberries on the side.

gotta go! i still have a bunch of strawberries to finish.

random bits

i just opened the windows to get some heat in. the house is so cold! yesterday and in the night was changing weather, occasional rain and a bit windy. and that we feel to our bones.

i went running and got myself to 18K today. had hoped for 20k, but the dirt roads were so muddy i had to jump and go off trail quite a lot and by the end i was so exhausted i started to be afraid to fall flat into the mud, in which case i'm not sure i would have been able to get up again. so i walked the last two kilometers. and now i need to figure out how to wash these trainers properly.

yesterday i got a drawing. this guy hates to draw. he'll pick up pen and a paper once in a blue moon. this one was created very reluctantly. he wanted to play on my iphone, but his evil mother demanded payment up front: first a drawing, then the iphone... muahaha. so he made me a family of flowers. *sigh*. what a girl's got to do to get flowers, eh?

the only right thing

on a cold and windy day is soup. the left over from the cauliflower and leak soup with a few brussel sprouts and parmesan. at least if you ask me. the kids don't like soup. as in any soup. i cannot wrap my mind around that... how did that happen?

this soup was a spur-of-the-moment thing. cauliflower and the white part of the leak cooked with some water and tarragon leaves til it's all soft, then added the green parts of the leak and a bit of cream. taste with salt and pepper. and off course, you can add brussel sprouts if you're in to those like me.

it's almost as good as this one. and pretty perfect with this bread on the side.

happy sunday to you.

the beach, again

it was a beautiful day and we went to the beach all of us wearing more or less pj-like outfits. always makes the world so much better. the beach that is, but a day in pj isn't so bad either :)

J was a leopard. he's got a thing with animals. always had. and he's really good at imitating their moves. he can run full speed like a little lion, or whatever it is he is that day.

tomorrow starts a new week. let's have a good one, shall we?

outside :: inside

last night was stormy with thunder and rain. still this morning. i baked the bread and had some left-over cauliflower and leak soup for lunch. the sun came back and we went for a walk in the fields and the puddles with the boys. no ninjas on this little trip, but a spiderman and a batman. not sure what's up with the dressing up. maybe they are warming up to purim.

the sick ninja woke up from his fever sleep early evening yesterday and was all good. which was strange (high fever for 6 hours, then fresh as a fish, completely awake till we went to bed around 11pm), but awesome (well, because no sickness in the house is always awesome).

we've got two movies to choose between tonight. hangover II (yes, i really thought the first was funny. i'm that immature) and tree of life (which i'm really looking forward to - see i'm a little bit mature too).

i also asked our movie dealer for drive with ryan gosling and carey mulligan as well. that one i really look forward to see. the director is danish. in fact we went to high school together, but i can't brag that we were friends. i thought he was weird. well, he was. completely obsessed with horror and splatter movies. but i'm glad he turned his obsession into awesome film making.

one ninja down

got a call from the kindergarten teacher. one of my ninjas went down with a fever. picked them all and put one to bed. he's still sleeping, not too hot, but he definitely needs to rest and be spoiled.

did i tell you how much i love that tiny bracelet from dear friend in denmark? well, i love it. and those japanese rice paper fish i bought in paris. love them too (and you might think they hang in one of the boys' room.... but no, they're mine).

we have weekend now. and i ran 12k, cleaned the house, worked a bit and got a new washing machine installed (meaning i'm now working my way through mount ever-laundry-rest that piled up while waiting for new machine to arrive). all before the ninja called in sick, so now i can feel good about just being there.

hope you got around to do what you planned for too

getting started

i was about to write about starting a new year, plans, goals and all that. but then i just couldn't get my mind around it. truth is i feel a little exhausted emotionally. not sure why, cause i really didn't have anything special happening. it's just like i'm not ready to wrap my mind around it, to put my pen to the paper of that blank page that is a new year.

but still, i'm thinking about what i want to do this year. like running a marathon. still didn't make up my mind. my mind is full of things i might want to do, but i still need to make up my mind. which is to be honest always the case. it's just very up front right now, this beginning of the year.

i'm not much of a list maker. but i'm thinking i should make a list of things to get started on, figured out or changed. this year or whenever. they say if you put it down on paper you can stop worrying and move on. and that is what i need. to move right on and get started on twenty twelve.

something about food

i had such an amazing seafood meal with an old friend back in copenhagen. it made me long for more so new years eve D and i made seafood dinner. it was good, but not as good as i had hoped it would be. i will definitely go back to that place when in denmark again.

today has been a strange day. after i went running i felt so tired and heavy. i couldn't take a nap, as i had a schedule and for some reason ended up with the house full of kids all afternoon. but i feel like i was in a bit of a daze, disconnected. and tired. without really getting anything done, except feeling hungry and eating crappy unhealthy snacks all the time to keep me going. so much for a new and healthy diet...

nothing to do but start all over again tomorrow. so, a good night from me to you.

like, right now

i like the season. i like the colors, the gray tones mixed with colors of new beginnings. it's winter here, but here in the middle east it means colors of autumn that instantly mix with the green fresh tones of spring brought by the rain and the sun that is the middle eastern winter.

i like the beginning of the new, the freshness and the lightness of a new, blank page.

i like the quietness of home, the little moments in between when the i notice the light pouring through the windows.

i like the tastes and smell of the season, hot chai and already fading memories of last year.

------------------------------------------------

i'm thinking of things i wish to accomplish in the new year. dreaming of a marathon, a better diet to support this dream, more creativity and being in the moment. simplicity, coming to terms with certain things and follow up on what needs changing.