Merry Christmas! Frohe Weihnachten! God Jul! Feliz Navidad!

I wish all readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! May all your days be filled with peace, harmony, joy and creativity!

Perchtnlauf - "Perchtn"-run

To get an idea of what I'm writing about, you can go here.

This is an ancient tradition in Bavaria and many Alpine regions: young men (nowadays women, too) dress up as scary, creepy monsters with heavy, wooden masks. They are called "Perchtn" or "Perchten" and go from house to house, from farm to farm. They dance old dances, tell stories and sayings while they go and make an unbelievable noise with their drums, rattles and (cow) bells. This should chase away evil spirits from house and home. Every mask symbolizes a different character: the main is the "Percht" or "Berchta" who goes from house to house with her huge crowd of other characters. This happenes during the months of December and January

The "Percht" is - according to ethnic study reseachers -a pagan goddess, related to an unknown celtic goddess, maybe related to the famous "Frau Holle" ("Mother Hulda ).

The Percht punishes laziness but rewards dilligence and helpfulness. She expects that housework is at standstill between the 23rd of December and the 6th of January...

award

I got an award from Sukipoet; thank you so much!

This award is given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing. (I got it for my artwork).

And these are the rules:

*Show the image of the award on your blog.
*Link back to the blog that gave the award.
*Nominate 15 other blogs that you consider deserving the same.
*Leave a message on the blogs of those you’ve selected.

As this award is actually for writing, I will pass it on to

Britt-Arnhild for her wonderful essays and stories about life.

new skis and a wooly hat

project

Yesterday, I went to the house of a friend and we did a project together. we painted a flowerpot. We had a lot of fun doing it and although we painted together for 5 hours, it's still not finished!

I keep you informed...

november marvel

"Above all, for recuperation, for daily relief, the small delights, not the big ones, have been given to us."

(Hermann Hesse)

no time to paint - part two -

All finished projects. I made some "cactus" wrist warmers for my ETSY shop which are very comfortable and warm - and I knitted some woolen socks for my husband and myself.

no time to paint

Still incredible warm weather because of a frequent weather phenomenon, called Foehn wind. Therefore, we went on a hike again,ate "Kaiserschmarrn" and enjoyed the sun, sitting in front of an alpine hut.

sunny november

Warm temperatures - about 16degrees C - prolong the autumn outdoor season...

rainy day projects

After 35 years, I started to knit socks again. I finished the first pair at the 25th of October, a memorabble day for me. I always wanted to knit my own socks, but at school we had a very severe and strict needlecraft teacher. So I adjourned knitting socks until this month...

last leaves

Everything purple

...a house in the neighbourhood, an artichoke blossom, afternoon coffee at home...

Mushrooms and homemade applecake

Enjoying the last warm days, collecting apples and mushrooms...

I always feel very creative during golden autumn days.

clouds

Sometimes, I can see angels, faces or animals when I look at clouds.

harvest

late summer flowers

Sommerfrische

"Sommerfrische" is difficult to translate. It means much more than "summer retreat" or "summer holiday". It is strongly connected to vacation spent in a fresh climate (like the North or Baltic Sea), not in the tropics or subtropics. It evokes images like turn-of-the-century-women dressed in white clothes with big sunhats and children in blue and white striped sailor suits.

It means idleness, "to be at leisure", to think about one's life, to let your thoughts sail with the summer clouds.