...

we've got ponyo and totoro visiting. we may or may not hand them back...

they're adorable little beasts, that funny kitten age where they supposedly are all big cat, but can still fall asleep on the spot and immediately run to your lap for comfort after being told off. and that happens a lot. they are known as little bastards in the house, but everyone loves them.

totoro (second photo) is the naughtier one, but also more of a momma's boy. his sister is a bit less naughty, a bit shy, but on her own a very sweet kitty. together they become something else altogether, like a force of nature.

i've got kitten fever... two catless years already! maybe it is time. once i find a home...

wristwarmers from finnish sheep wool, a gift

today it hit me: homesickness. for the first time in three months. there has been a big storm, lots of fallen trees and damage, and i have yet to hear news from home. i'm anxious to know who still stands and who has fallen. what are my trails in the woods like now? (with the temps mild, mushroom season is still on as well...)

also, i really want to make all kinds of things and to be within reach of my tools and stashes. i miss my kitchen knife and most acutely a frying pan not covered in lard (cheers, meat-eating housemates!) or other stinky messes when i feel like cooking up a meal. i just want my own things.

one month of irish life left, then i'm heading home. i have to be in finland for some time, a couple months, but then there is a decision to make, to stay or to return here. i want both. but there is nothing to keep me neither here nor there. it's a tough one. back home i have and know more - what to eat from the wild, how to survive, how to be stable. in ireland i'm blissfully removed from the cares of the world, in theory anyway... and i have people in my life. (which has its sides...) but i'm literally a blow-in, still drifting with the wind.

all i want is to put down roots, any old where.
but not alone...

hyvää joulua!

nollaig shona daoibh!

battling the blues with green: spirulina and pear in porridge, with peanut butter and sunflower seeds. OD'ing on vitamin C as well as D. no green tea so ginger and lemon it is, can't beat that combo anyways. (on the raw wood trivet you can see a silvery substance, that would be slug trails... kinda festive, innit?) in the mornings one can see one's breath in the kitchen, so one has knitted a cowl.

the yarn i had sent to me from finland, it's novita's noki (soot). i knew i loved it before i ever laid eyes or hands on the stuff. the cowl is lovely, but i need to unravel it all and re-knit it on bigger, and circular, needles. i just can't live with the seam interrupting the flow of the gray hues, and it could be just a smidgen looser, too.

but boy oh boy is it warm. ♥

there just isn't enough light to take good pictures with my camera now. embracing this fact is the only way to go. the sunsets always capture me in front of the stairway window. the view is amazing, you can even see a bit of the river/sea, and it's always changing.

the house has quieted down and is under fenno-scandic rule now with half the occupants home for the holidays. three finns and a swedish boy remain. swedes are a traditional yuletide food in finland... they are made into a casserole. i won't be doing much cooking this year, though. there were some big plans for a sustainable gingerbread eco-house and heaps of carelian pies but the relentless rain has washed them all away. i'm just in no mood, and with all the dinners we already had communally, i'm a bit partied out.

last night i dreamed about the (karl fazer) blocks of chocolate with cinnamon and gingerbread crumbs and dried fruit that are sold seasonally in finland... oh, sigh...

my most loyal companion has warhol's marilyn monroe portrait (in pink) printed on it, which makes it pretty hot, so a cover had to be crocheted... in a completely random circle into square into wraparound hot water bottle shape. i was very pleased with the result and the fact i was able to let loose and crazy crochet a little instead of neatly following instructions and making things even like i'm prone to do. this reminds me of a hat i once made when i had a fever. meant to write the pattern down later but lost the hat after a week of finishing it. it still bothers me.

but so do a lot of things.

ahead is the longest night of the year, tomorrow is winter solstice this year. my friends were at newgrange this morning but the sunrise was shrouded with heavy clouds. i saw them in the background of a news report, moping about. i think my celebrations with consist of sleeping for as long as i can, cuddling my hot water bottle, of course.

the oriental angels were sent to one of the german roommates, along with some spruce branches and other decorations, from berlin. i thought that was incredibly sweet. i got one branch for my room with a tiny, red bauble. like charlie brown's christmas tree...

the amaryllis is from the skips, of course. we have a hyacinth, too, in one of those glass bulb vases, but it's still only growing roots.

i am so torpid from the cold that i can't even think, let alone do anything of use. all my packets are unsent, pies unbaked, groceries unbought... 17°C indoors seems to be the limit for me when the brain just switches off and all i want to do is sleep.

the black crowes. they reflect on the mirror but i'm too short to see them through the skylight. what a bunch of characters, such a funny dialect they speak in...

sore throat is making a comeback, but this sadness is new.
all of a sudden there is someone to miss.

although i'm not crazy about christmas, i am partial to a bit of yuletide joy in the form of decorations. i've been aching to get crafty, browsing through blogs brimming with inspiration for wreaths and garlands, but all of my supply stash lies across the seas, so i've made do with what i can get my paws on.

(and since i get asked a lot: no, it's not. it's japanese maple from the garden next door.)

rose this morning to the news that there is after all a place for me in the car, if i want to go to the woods. so i jumped into my water-proof pants and ran down the stairs (and up again 'cos me shoes were in the 'loo) and into the waiting car, with an apple in my pocket. it was cold but lovely out there. we've had some frosts but still there were little flowers and i even ate a blackberry. it was actually a permaculture class field trip but i have to admit i didn't learn anything new. except that i really need to knit a big, fat scarf and soon.

tried to take a photo of a very pretty girl but she was camera-shy. i think the light made a beautiful picture anyway.

there are always more stones in my pockets

than i think i will find

yes, i went to the beach with surfer friends in december. exotic.
i don't know if i've ever been happier. not in a long time, anyway.

spindle fruit (euonymus europaeus)

days have been dark and damp, but today dawned clear and crisp. we went to the woods again, down the road and by the sea. picked up some trash while there and skipped stones down on the shore. i found a ceramic bead or bit of clay pipe, and elfin saddle mushrooms, one blonde and one dark.

dinner was pea and lentil pasta with cheddar, and someone made hot chocolate for dessert with those cacao spoon thingies. cannot really complain, except that my heart is shrouded in sadness i can't seem to shake off. honeycomb candy covered in white belgian chocolate helps only so much...

i would like to make needles with spindle wood.

so long, november, next time be nicer!

the skip provides, all is well. with the abundance of cut flowers, we decided it's 'wear flowers in your hair day'. november is wearing thin, only three days left. i'm kind of glad to see it go, it wasn't treating me very well.

looking forward to baking gingerbread, eating peppermint sticks and hopefully kissing someone under the mistletoe. we just need to find one first...

the day was almost summery at one time. we ate a late breakfast with the sunroom/dining room door open and it was lovely. i finally took that long walk to the shore, with my friend, and found countless treasures, again... my order from the sea was also delivered, a driftwood plank to make a shelve from. it's still wet so it needs to dry out a couple days before i fix it to the wall. it'll be nice to have stuff off the floor.

i also had a bit of a tide scare, when i couldn't go back the way i had come due to the risen sea, and had to climb down a sharp, slippery rock to get back on track. for a second i totally panicked and imagined myself trapped there, my friend being too far to hear me shout. a healthy reminder to be careful out there. usually i try and go when the tide is waning so i don't have to worry about it too much.

the coral-looking purple thing is a seaweed, but it dries into these delicate, white strands that totally fooled me the first time i saw them. that rock face in the bottom photo reminds me of the belly of a big toad. and limpets are just plain awesome, just like lichen.

more trash

just because everyone and their uncle seem to be a bit worn down by the dank and dreary november, here's a bit of autumn sunshine. the colour of the moth's wings reminds me of pecan pie and ice cream... (but i swear i did not eat this sweet, little thing!)

this is the forest that is closest to the house, a few kilometers down the road. these photos are from last month i think, it's still pretty much the same though. it's a narrow strip of woodland by the sea, and really steep here and there. there's ruins of a big stone house by the trail, covered in ivy and filled with brambles. i wish it was closer so i could just go there on a whim whenever i please. as it is, it needs a bit of planning. or a surprise car ride.

even though the cold is finally letting go of me, i don't feel like getting out of bed. i've slept most of the time for two days and i think i'm a bit anemic as well. i'm fueling up with shortbread biscuits (pure butter) before braving the wind and impending rain on my way to the health food shop. floradix to the rescue, yet again.