Images in the sun

On thsi crappy cold day, let's remember the fun in the sun.

Malinowa goodness

Some things you can't unsee

Twice as "nice"

summer herbage

Biscuits and sherry

Kurki scrambled eggs

Summer berries

New Years bit

A stroll around the hood on New Years Day.

Waking in Warsaw, hangover free,
I am expecting a day cold and icy.
However, to my grateful surprise,
The day is clear, and I feel energised.
Now to assess my part of the city.

As we had a light night with only a couple of bottles of champagne and a few fingers of whisky it was easy to get up and smile at the face of a new year. I know this year will be great as there were less fireworks than normal the night before, there was a sunny day to greet us and I did exercise on the first day of the year.

Contrasting

The traditional Russian "champagne" leftovers from the night before.

There was only one shop open, it has traditional and regional food and three fridges of regional beers! I think I am in heaven.

Crusty and crunchy the new year appears

People already on the move.

Paths crossing in the stratosphere

Everyone wants to fly away.

Sometimes the easiest way to get away you just need to do it yourself.

The icy paths are everywhere and were great to watch people shuffle along.

Gently gently.

The paths look like this up close.

Staring into the new year.

Many people were out for a walk.

Such a nice day for a walk and to start the year.

many were out for a walk :)

Time to follow the path

It may look like it is into the dark, but the path still leads to something new and bright.

I hope the first 2 months of the new year have treated you well. Let's all be creative, happy and positive so that the year will be great for all around us, which in turn helps us to have a great life.

The little things in life.

Lately, I have been talking to my students about how I stay happy and positive. It is, after all, easy to get ones self down with situations around us. Whether it is wars, famine, poverty or even simple things like weather, commuting time or purely how we see our life and lifestyle. There are many things to keep you happy and positive and probably more than you expect, life is not about just the big positives. It isn't that new car, or the house you want to buy. Nor is it that next big holiday or the new season's fashions. As, to me, all these things are big and hefty and the love of them fade quite quickly and in the instance of something large like a car or house, it means that we worry about the finance of it or potential damage to it forever. No, to me it is the little things that can and do make me happiest. Some of them are purely for me while others are possibly applicable to others. I have no idea who or how many would like any of the things that I have on my list, but here it is:

• Walking on grass with bare feet
• The thrill from surviving static electricity
• The crack and pop of logs on a fire in the dark of night
• Being able to give accurate directions in a foreign city

• The sound of opening a gassed drink on a hot day
• The cracking sound when opening a new book
• Nibbling on dried bread dough on my finger nails

• Getting a smile from a nameless yet familiar face
• Freshly roasted coffee, in fact, anything roasting in the oven
• Putting your hand into a bag of seeds, pulses or legumes
• The eyes of someone who is talking about their passion
• Real genuine leather
• The thwack of the ball hitting the middle

• The feeling of a happy dog's tail as it wags and hits your leg
• Laying on crisp clean white cotton sheets in summer
• A hand written letter that you didn't expect

Autumn veg

• The crisp crunch and snap of fresh vegetables
• The way flour falls onto surfaces and appears like little explosions
• A hint of freshly washed hair in an empty elevator
• The sound of a parrot walking on a hard surface
• Sitting in a sun warmed seat on a cool day
• Soft afternoon light on simple things like read bricks and terracotta roofs

• Long shadows
• The smell of unsmoked cigars
• The squeak of fresh dry snow under your shoes

These were some that came to me some time ago when I was talking about it with Marty, so we both made a list at the time. Things have been added to this list since then but these are all still there.

Here are some from my students:

"Frosty grass and trees on a sunny winter morning" Jola
"Hot sun waking me through my window" Ola

"In the summer in late evenings listening to the sound of crickets" Marek
"Smelling something that reminds me of my childhood" Diana
"Waking up late on Saturdays" Kasia
"To sleep with my cats on my legs" Jolita
"Eating chocolate" Justyna
"Returning home from work on Friday evenings" Artur
"The sound of a V8 engine" Grzegorz
"The very first drop of massage oil on my skin" Ania

What are yours?

Time flies....

Well yes Christmas is a long way behind us now, and well I completely forgot to post some pics from a big event before Christmas.

Last year I missed a very important date. It was Marty's birthday and I was in the air somewhere between Paris and Singapore and hence lost a day and lost her entire birthday. To me that means she is a year younger :) Maybe a tip for all people afraid of aging.

Anyway, this brings me to the point of the present. I can at times be inspired and other times hopelss with presents. This year I decided to buy Marty something she had always wanted and that was to see the Nutcracker Ballet at Christmas time. So I bought tickets to the Moscow City Ballet for her and her parents. It was in the city centre in the big omnipresent dominating spire that is the Palace of Culture right slap bang in the middle of town.

It was one of the snowiest days that we had had so far in Winter and was causing mayhem everywhere. Marta's Mum was coming from the East by train and the train was late and the windows in some parts broken and snow was flooding in to melt, refreeze and form a hidden trap of ice in the hallway of the train carriage. I was teaching and trying to battle through snow to get home in time to look half decent, while Marty was already at home hoping everyone could make it.

Marta's Dad was picking up Mum from the Metro and then coming to our place. With the heavy snow traffic was stupidly slow and so basically they arrived and we left as soon as they dropped off all their bags. We sat in traffic for the next hour or so, and hence we couldn't get a good dinner and had to grab something quickly in the shopping centre across the road from the ballet. I was thinking that something like KFC would make a great juxtaposition to us all being glammed up and off to some highend cultural event like the ballet. But, we found a reasonable restaurant in there that was quick food.
Then off to the men in tights and the fairies, sometimes the same thing no doubt. As it was the ballet we didn't take the SLR camera with us, instead we took Marty's little point and shoot digital. So the quality of photos is not as grandiose as normal. It would have been great just to sit there with a camera and take photos of all the people dressed to the nines for the event. But, as we had to actually find where our seats were and check in our coats first we didn't have time.
Lots of Marble and funny spellings of words I know in English, but aren't quite the same in PolishDon't you love family photos?!
Aren't they just brimming with excitement?
I like the roof detail.

I must say as much as many people from Warsaw complain about the Palace being a horrible place, I quite like it. Especially the decorations, even the hall where we were sitting was quite nice. It was aged yes, but that added to its charm. If only the ballet would live up to this standard..... fact is it didn't. I am not being mean here, nor is it that I am too simple to enjoy the ballet (although this could be part of it). I don't mind seeing people dance I was surprised to admit they were quite nice. The big downside was the lack of a live orchestra. Which is due to the fact the Warsaw/Polish national orchestra was active with the Polish National Ballet a few suburbs away at the National Theatre and of course at Christmas there is no way you could get the Russian national orchestra to Poland! Heaven forbid. So the lack of live music really let it down. I love to hear live music of all types, it sends a shiver down my spine. But listening to a CD of the nutcracker didn't get me going at all.
That said, it was a nice evening and it seemed that Marty and her parents enjoyed the gift. I just wished it had of been a perfect birthday present for her...... maybe next year......