Come weekend...

Come weekend, come a Saturday morning of singing! I found an old CD with songs from when The Boy was a baby and he and I played it and we sang. Loud and clear! He sat on my lap, we clapped the table and we hollered, shouted, sang and laughed. Precious time, grand time. Can't think of a happier way to start a Saturday morning!

We're cheaters, we're cheating with flowers inside. We want spring, breathe in spring and dream spring. So on the dining room table there is spring faux. Still perfectly beautiful.

(the boy just loves making necklaces and this weekend he made ones for his big brother, turning 20 this month, who we will visit and celebrate)

Speaking of those famous slivers there are some, here and there. Hubby and I sure enjoy them travelling to and from work, together. We don't always travel together, of course, but when we do: date time! Or so it feels. We take time to notice nature's all wonders and each other. Treasuring those car drives.

On arrival sometimes this is the sight that welcomes us and when it does - I develop wings and fly inside.

Yes "Come weekend". Come danish raspberry marmelade. To die for. We never miss out.

Come raspberry marmelade from Denmark, come raspberry marmelade from Scotland and come raspberry juice from Sweden. Hmmm, next weekend, could we have some imagination by then, please?!

Moments to cherich, for darn sure, these breakfasts. I'm never more present or happier, I think. I'm totally in the moment, enjoying with mind, heart, mouth and soul. The eyes love what they experience also.

I can never get enough of this loveable sight. My son. He looked exactly like this when he was 1 and 2 and 3 and 4. Now he's 5 and looking down a bowl of milk and cereal he looks exactly the same, year after year. Will he "look exactly the same" at 45 I wonder?

The Dog has a formidable way of looking like someone must have forgotten all about him. There couldn't possibly be any other explaination, eh?

Why on earth bother with spoons? Or milk? This is easier and tastes even better...

The spoon in itself is also severely interesting and entertaining. I'm just happy I was allowed to capture it!

Crowning the breakfast meal with a good hearty (?) raspberry jam sandwich. How can you go wrong?

****

Now, on to some more and some genuine spring signs, for you:

They're not only a brighter yellow than the sun...

... they're many!

Snowdrops are a certain sign.

This, I've come to learn, is a sure sign - if any - the flee market enthusiasts! During summer this square is filled, packed, with them selling their stuff. In December I spotted two brave, strong sellers but this weekend there were 6-7 stands. Spring sign, I tell ya'!

Vandering on in the cutest little town, that we call "home":

Not only are the over 300 half timberds unusual and special. I'd say that the doors alone could become a photo book. Johannes kindly posed by three, starting with a green door.

Followed by a spectacular blue.

And a pinker than pink, pink!

Johannes was certain that it's a sign of spring that the coffee shops started putting their outdoor furniture up. I guess he's right! We could see cool - and cold - young people with sunglasses feeling cool (and cold).

As if I wasn't already in a terrific mood?!!!

Now we're talking: Johannes ordered waffles with jam and ice cream for lunch, at our favourite coffee place. He knows what's good, this boy.

Hubby and I opted for a course with a little less sugar in it.... Curried chicken soup!

I'm exactly as happy as I look. I need nothing else, nothing more in life. Well, my oldest boy living nearby would be nice but all of us alive and kicking, regardless of where, is good still!

Come an unusual sunday.... come new adventures, especially for Funkie, the dog. 

We decided to finally arrange for a dog daycare, that also doubles as a dog hotel. He needs to get accquainted in good time, so for that it was time. We have some travelling we'd love to get done the coming years and we have nobody to look after our beloved dog. We also don't want to leave him with strangers, so when opportunity rose to get a place here, where a friend/our dog trainer keeps her dogs, we took the opportunity instantly.

Need I say that he loved the place?

This will be good. The woman running the place is obviously on top of things, knowing what she does. We believe in positive training, rewarding what's good, ignoring what isn't and that's what's going on at this place. We feel utterly secure with the women running the place. A strike of luck, for us.

Come work week, soon again. 

I never feel blue Sundays or unwilling to go to work. I anticipate the upcoming week and so does our son. I'm still pretty much in the middle on the Sunday. Remaining are good things: jogging with the dog, having dinner with my precious ones and then I'll light a fire, pour a glass of red wine and sink back in the sofa, watching a british crime series. Yeah, that's what I'll do!

The Weekend Thing

The weekend thing is a relatively new ”thing” in our family.

Of course there has always been weekends but this new meaning it has taken on is quite….unique.
Quite new. Our “new” life began when we left our old city in order to move to the south.

We left. I left, and departed from, my hero that is my son, which left a big scar.

We also left my husband’s kids and due to a story (that is my husband’s to share really) equally horrible as mine, they never really got a chance to be comfortable in our home.

We started a new life, a life that is the family we chose, our own choice and we do what we want.

It’s exhillirating really and I didn’t quite get it, to begin with.

It shows the absolute most during the weekends!

“What shall we do today?” we say, then we decide and then we do it. The absence of negativity is significant and that in itself is a miracle, since I thrive on positivity.

A Swedish fabulous author once wrote, in a novel, that “true happiness can only exist in the abscence of fear”. How true. How wonderful true happiness is!

We have no fear or negativity in our lives and we twirl in the feeling, the fact of it.

The workweek is totally filled, all the time. I have the Fantastic Mondays when Johannes and I keep our “Make Believe Friday”, just because it’s so much fun to start the week with a Friday and then end it with a Friday. And because we want to.

***

Then there comes the weekend…

Come Thursday and I get all bubbly. I start dreaming about the weekend, what we’ll do, about our visit to those great coffee guys, the tulips I’ll buy and the food I’ll cook. We’ll laugh a whole lot and we’ll all share the stories we didn’t have time to share on Tuesday or Wednesday. All three of us always have stories to share in the weekend.

We love sharing them with flare and do so in a way that make the others laugh!

I can almost feel flowers growing out of my chest when I think about our spectacular Saturday mornings when we take all that time to just make the tea, get the toast and then the heavenly taste of that very special Danish marmelade that is really “to die for”. We only ever eat it Saturdays. It’s unbeatable, that time, those feelings.

What can I say? Still need a hot air fan at work...

Did sport the spring shoes though... Bought in New York!

The boy has sun in his face. Sun!

Hubby carrying our brand new grill!

They may dance when it rains in Miami (well, some wonderful people do!) but I danced and hopped of joy when sun slivers softly touched the cheeks, when Johannes and I walked to pre school.

Spring.

Lunch being had outside!!

Spring.

The wonder. It’s still hesitating, but it’s just around the corner. The birds sang their praise and the promise that came with that wind was one of fun, fun times ahead.

I’m ready, in fact I can’t wait: bring on the Friday, the free spirit day!!

Until the ocean offers its sweet warmth, this will do fine!

Have a fab weekend!!

Funkie, the dog

I love that dog, that's a well known fact. He's my cuddly little friend, my bodyguard and my chaperone (in the sense that my husband may not kiss me too much, or Funkie will step in, leaning on the couch between us as if it was a bar for dogs)!
Lovely times are always being spent with him. I adopted him eight years ago, from Spain, where he was a homeless soul. Bless his little heart.

Since I was the one who adopted him and went to pick him up, together with my oldest son, he loves noone but me. He likes my oldest son a whole lot too and feels affection for hubby but the little baby of the family, he just doesn't like.... That makes the little boy somewhat sad.

This blanket is his snutting blanket and he fetches it when he feels cosy times are coming: when we sit on the couch or it's movie time! He also "snuts" himself to sleep in the evening after he has been put in to his room (the laundry room). If he isn't put in there he'll vander about all night unable to sleep. Things ought to be as things ought to be. Plain and simple.

He should have been in a royal family in the 18th century - can you see the style he has?

Begging.
He's very good at begging. What dog isn't? He loves pizza, chocolate, grapes and practically everything that we love. As he gets older he gets more shameless and these days he growls if we don't seem to notice him where he hangs in "the bar"...

This passed weekend meant the first lunch in the garden aswell as the first "fika" (coffee, basically) out there. Funkie was thrilled! Now he could guard that area too, from curious birds and loud neighbours. Busy times it was, since the surrounding gardens had both people and animals running around in them. Funkie listened to every sound.

The dog loves the sun. No other way to put it!

He has got my heart in his little paw. I love him dearly and he loves me, probably even deeper. He makes volts seeing me and he is always beside me, whatever I do, where ever I am.
When I'm in the bathtub he sleeps beside the tub, when I'm at work he waits by the door, when I cook he sits and watches in the kitchen and when I watch TV he sleeps under/in front of the couch. I often stamp down my feets at him, by mistake, but after eight years together that hasn't stopped him from his "keeping company".
Of course he's also my loyal jogging companion who loves to jogging with me.
Thank you Funkie for lighting up our lives, you rock my world!

Big birds, a little north of their Pelican sisters...

Yes, the geese are who I speak of!
They are indeed grand in every way. This time of year I have come to notice that they follow a certain pattern: in the morning they leave their little cosy area in the middle of our town, where they have a pond and small houses (right next to the monastery from the 1100-something), and head for the fields just behind our neighbourhood. On those fields they spend their day and then they head back to the "city-pond" when sun sets in the early evening.
They make their characteristic sounds and they look beautiful where they fly: free, happy and untaimed!
I love seeing them and I almost always stop just to look and listen.

Why all those comparisons to Miami? you just might wonder!
I love Miami and a lot of things about that city really made an impression and I always long to go there. I also follow a wonderful blog where the blogger lives there, so nowadays I keep getting reminded of what it is I long for: pelicans, the ocean, the palm trees, the colours (above all) and the mode of ease...

***

Another week has passed. As usual I'll tell the story of it, in all its simplicity, in the days coming.
Life in itself is grand and magic. It is a journey aswell as an adventure. No difference this week.

I think this may have been this year's last layer of snow... I think it suits our house!

Funkie always finds himself near his mother. Looking cute too.

I love this! I bought it at my hair hero's new concept place.

I had the day off, on friday, since I was going to work sunday instead. This meant a long breakfast with son and hubby and we had a great time.

Sometimes enough is enough, when it comes to mom getting pics...

A real and utterly true spring sign, finally showed in the garden. Yippie kay yeah!

Splendid times, being spent with the boy.

My hairdresser told me off: I'm not supposed to wear pony tail any longer since it hurts my hair. So, I sported this new try for a hairdo, going to the wood store. What say you?

Moments almost like pieces of candy!

Some moments are just like candy: they are enjoyable, limited and I'd always like to have another one! Moments to love. Last week had a few:

The favourite coffee place in town is a small place in a very old halftimbered house. The owners are two very nice men who do it all by themselves: bake, cook, serve and walk around in there exchanging sentences with the customers, making everybody feeling right at home. We certainly feel at home and it simply doesn't feel like saturday if we haven't paid them a visit. Johannes gave me a giant kiss on the cheek on saturday!

This is one of those great guys. The other man you can see behind him, in the background. This guy is terrific: he knows Johannes name and he jokes with him every time we're there. He also always asks Johannes if he'd like an ice cream, after lunch or after Coke and cinnamon bun. Once Johannes was offered a second ice cream - this he never forgets!!

So, small wonder the kid usually looks like this, inside that place. "The Bookcafé" it's called.

Another gem of a moment was serving, and listening to, the two five year olds. They love a "fika" and the conversations in the games they played was too cute, I tell you! Love hearing it.

Light report: it was "almost" light until 6 PM yesterday. It is improving fast!

Decadence for mom...

Johannes' friend came and they immediately started enjoying the newly cleaned room. They looked through the DVD movies (good thing I had the time to put them all up there!) and tried out Star Wars light sabers and a whole lot of lego.

In the meantime there was time for some decadence for mom....
Only so much, though, since all those frames I started painting yesterday needed a second coat...

Make believe...

Yesterday it was my turn to pick the boy up from pre school, which I love doing! It means I have to leave work at 3 PM in order to pick the boy up at 5 PM. The boy was a little tired and not in his best mood so I tried my hardest to cheer him up. Eventually I offered popcorn, if he ate his dinner properly... That led the boys' thoughts to his left over saturday candy and he immediately asked if he could have that, also. OK, I said since I knew it was ony 3-4 pieces left.

Towards home we walked, I made a quick really healthy and tasty dinner and during dinner we decided to have a "make believe friday"! The boy picked out a movie, I got the popcorn (daddy was away) and we hit the couch!! We had a lovely (and kind of late) evening and it sure felt exactly like friday. I recommend it. The week needs more fridays...!

.... and so I have to share this pic: looks like I was a role model in multi tasking?! The boy knows how to carpe diem, for sure!