happy new year

We spent a wonderful evening with friends and said "hello" to 2012! It was snowing, but later, the snow transformed to rain, heavy rain...It is far too mild for the season. Climate change is already on its way...

So I will try to save energy and live more environmentally concious.  A n d  I will try to live in a more  s i m p l e   way. I want to declutter my kitchen, my studio, my life. With many things, everything is so complicated. A simple activity can be a chore...

Everytime I spend some days in a holiday home, I enjoy the minimalist equipment. Couldn't I achieve that at home, too?

wood stove

We got a wood stove and we love it. You can cook meanwhile you are heating your home or vice versa. It gives you that kind of "archaic" feeling our ancestors must have experienced. It feels good.

merry christmas

All things are done. Now it is time to relax, to think back and make plans for the coming year.

And I remember one of the most beautiful Christmas poems by Hermann Hesse:

In Weihnachtszeiten

by Hermann Hesse (1877-1962)

In Weihnachtszeiten reis' ich gern
Und bin dem Kinderjubel fern
Und geh' in Wald und Schnee allein.
Und manchmal, doch nicht jedes Jahr,
Trifft meine gute Stunde ein,
Daß ich von allem, was da war,
Auf einen Augenblick gesunde
Und irgendwo im Wald für eine Stunde
Der Kindheit Duft erfühle tief im Sinn
Und wieder Knabe bin...


At Christmas Time

At Christmas time I travel far
And go away from children's playing
And go through wood and snow alone,
And sometimes, tho' not every year
I find a happy hour again
And from the many things I know
Then for a moment I am healed
And somewhere in the woods,
But for an hour
I feel an ancient breath that cools my soul
And I'm  a child again.

a new home

We have moved into a new home. We left the suburbs and arrived at the countryside. Life is much easier here; at least I f e e l that it is, and that's the important thing. Only some steps away the quiet woods. fresh air, dark, silent nights. Nice neighbours, a stack of fire wood beside the front door, a wood stove, candle light. What more shall I wish?

dried strawberries

I like dried strawberries in my muesli, and for a long time, I have been thinking about making them at home. - I bought 300 g frozen strawberries, let them thaw a bit  and then cut them into small segments.  I laid them on baking paper on a baking tray and let them dry in the oven (convection - "Umluft", 50° C ) for about 3 hours.
The result was relatively pleasing; something like strawberry chips, although I got only 17 (!) grams out of the 300 grams of the frozen strawberries.
Next time, I will dry apples together with  strawberries, so  I will save energy and make the most of that drying experiment.

winter pleasures

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...