MY Life has been CRAZY!!!!

YUP...We did go to Northern Germany to the EAST SEA for a long weekend which was fabulous...

YUP....We did got Turkey to ISTANBUL for a week which was even more fabulous...

YUP...I am taking an online course in painting like Orenta...and my two normal art classes during the week plus prepping for my course in London this summer...

YUP...I do have sooo many commitments with the kids at school and about 7 different volunteer things...

YUP...we do have a lovely visitor Eva Diva who has been the MOST SUBLIME of visitors and who the kids simply adore (as we do!!)

YUP WE did just have two super birthdays this week ...mine and the TLG (The Little Guy) who turned 8...won't mention how old I am...thank TONS for all the well wishing and cards and gifts....!!

YUP I do have tons of great pics and lots to say about it ALL...

I have not given up on blogging for any of you who are still stopping by ....but... BUT OH....oh my spinning head!!

Dear Children,(7 year old red head in particular)...

There are SO many things in life that I want to show you,

I want to show you far off oceans and pick through the sand,

To traverse villages and paths with you tight by the hand,

To explore distant grasslands, forests and trees,

Sail into waning sunsets on ever calm green seas,

I want to talk about electricity and what makes the planet tick,

To visit every castle and look at every brick,

Scale every hilltop, and fly every kite,

Watch every star grow in the ever present night,

I want teach you good manners, and what it means to be nice,

Give you the skills, you need to be invited back thrice,

I love you both you both must know, you mean the earth to me,

So I am sure you must understand what it means to act politely...

......

So let's not waste our time on the stupid stuff..m'kay?

Love you forever,

Your Mom.

The greatest Love affair...Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

The Monument to Prince Albert in Hyde Park, London, you can read about it it here...

Imagine a love affair so great that it lasts for 40 years after the death of your beloved and that you are so grieved that you will wear black for the rest of your life...you can read about it here

And that you build a monument like this one to the memory of your beloved husband...

Albert is grand and gilded, and sits very very high...he is robust and looks rather solemn and wise...

On the four corners of this immense edifice lie statuary dedicated to the four corners of the world...

Wow!!

I Promise...

Wherever I am, and especially at this time of year, my thoughts turn to all of you, friends and family that I love at home and ...

*Sigh* my OTHER love at home... my garden.

Grow garden grow, and I hope you don't miss me too much...I will be back, I promise...

Can't WAIT to go back!!!

For those of you who know me well, you will know who this gorgeous lady is, one of my oldest, most cherished and longtime friends, someone who grew up a stones throw from my house way out in the middle of the sticks, someone who I hung out with in high school, roomed with in college, and then lived with after that, a very dear friend, and a very special lady, we even moved out to matching jobs "Out West" (Canadian lingo for the western provinces, Alberta, to work here) for several months, we were inseparable. Someone who feels like family to me, sister's neither of us ever had, we shared it all, the good, the goofy and the god awful...lots of stories, lots of laughs and lots of tears...

She moved away to London (England that is), many years ago and married this very special man, and they are very happy and though we still speak, and visit often, she is Riel's Fairy God Mother, and a SUPER one at that...her leaving Canada left a big hole in my heart. Makes you realize how much you can appreciate someone, and miss them. (Gosh I AM sappy these days...apologies in advance, but just keeping it real). I must say though her courage at picking up and starting a new, cool life have served as an inspiration to me and I have always figured hey if Barb can do it, so can I.

Barb, you will always have a special place in my heart, and if there is EVER anything I can do for you, anywhere, anytime, you know...all you have to do is ask.



The coolest part about living where we are now though in northern Germany, and I JUST discovered this, is that we are an inexpensive and mere 50 minute flight away from one another...I LOVE that!


So last week, I decided to take Riel out of school for a couple of days, so we could go to London, and visit Barb and some family...Yes I DO love Barb, but did I ever mention how much I love London? I have images of Carnaby street in the 60's, cool British rock bands all mixed up with Gary Glitter and David Bowie with a fluffy underbelly of the Chelsea flower show, topped off by a stiff Bobby...You know what I mean?



Soooo..we saw a little of thisor I guess I should say allot of this or maybe a large of this or something like that...a little of this, including a performance by Midori, linked only in case you do now know who she is like I (Cultural Boob that I am) didn't, reviewers say she "IS" her violin, and ...I can concur...wow...music was incredible but connection with an instrument verging on bizarre...OK now I am exposing the real soft underbelly of my Cultural Boobness ...but hey...you guys will be nice to me right?) and on the way we saw a few of these, gotta love those red buses, and also saw some of this, performance art, a sampling of chairs taken from the Barbicon and set up like the seats on a 747...(like I need to see more of those...) I was looking for a section of 3 in a row so I could sleep...HA...cool no?
and then a few pics in front the the Victoria and Albert Museum
while gawking in absolute and complete astonishment and awe at the Prince Albert Monument in Hyde Park...some of the most exquisite statuary I have ever seen (next post)...and of course you HAVE to love English Gardens...

Oooh I LOVE London..Can't WAIT to go back

Young chicks learn old tricks

If you're here I'm glad... (hanging head) I know it's been a really long time, so welcome back...!

In the last few weeks my mom has been here, TBG has been away in Asia and Riel and I have gone for wonderful journey to London, England, (we even played hooky from school!) but more (with lots of cool pics) about that later.

The visit with my mom was fabulous as it always is, we just hung out, did quiet stuff with the kids, and in general had a really nice visit....but the very best part is that I've brought her over to the "Blog side".....you can check it out here, and who says YOUNG CHICKS CAN'T LEARN OLDTRICKS...I must say my mom as well as being constant inspiration to me, is a living proof of this addled adage, as she is on here her about fourth, fifth, or sixth foray from one art to the other....and now she is blogging!!!! (HA!) I love it!

Currently she's insane about willow, collecting, growing, harvesting and weaving, and thanks to this current insanity we were the lucky recipients of a beautiful, large, handsome, and serviceable basket for firewood (that served as luggage on the way over the pond, smart lady) that is still perfuming my living room with the scent of freshly cut willow...thanks Mom you're amazing!!

Dear Mom,

Thank you so much for dragging yourself once again across the ocean , I know it's a long haul, I know that that oversees flight really is nasty, and I know it's hard to be away from home. We really appreciate the time and effort, all the little gifts, all the sweet things you do. We enjoyed the time you spend with us so much, the kids just love it, and so did I. Doing not a lot of anything was just super, just hanging out ...and being together.

Why is it that being a Mom makes one realize what a super Mom one already has?

Thank you for all the mothering that you have given me, I realize that all the things that I love about myself as a mother have come from you ....you are the best, and we miss you lots.

Love your daughter...

Nomad

Experiments with the Truth or If walking feels too slow you are living too fast...

Ten years or so ago (who is counting anyway), when I was travelling in India , I got a tummy bug so bad, it was all I could do to hobble to the bathroom for the necessary, and to wobble out to the hall to pick up my plain rice and broth, all that I could stomach. Having been on the road for 8 months, staying at the most in one place for a week at a time, I was sick and tired of travelling.

I stayed holed up in that hotel room hiding and nursing myself better for more than a week. I could describe every feature of it in detail from the mustard colored carpet, the grey-white linen on the bed to the soft cool marble floor in the bath and the wet smell and sound of the never ceasing air conditioner, which I thanked my lucky stars for as it was as hot as hell. It was then, holed up in that hotel room hiding from India that I read all-in-one-go, Mahatma Gandhi's autobiography "My Story of Experiments with the Truth ", a dog eared and undoubtedly pirated copy bought from a dubious bookseller on a dusty street corner for a rupee or two.

One of the most important books I have ever read.

Gandhi presents us, by example of his daily existence, a conscious and thoughtful lifestyle that demonstrates the value of caring for ones self, by growing ones own food, weaving ones own cloth, cleaning ones own house, doing ones own laundry. A lawyer from a wealthy family living in a time where society dictated servants, Gandhi's communal and self sufficient existence sent out a clear and powerful message of change. I still remain impressed by the courage and strength of this singular man who succeeded by successfully challenging and changing the political status-quo with a massive peoples passive resistance, indeed his message is still with me.

The time and place and the powers at work reflected differently on his ideas then, than the things at work in our culture today, and but his ideas are no less relevant.

Does it seem to some of you in our day of the National Enquirer and Hollywood and Britney and consumer debt that some of us seem to be loosing our way? Floating soulless in the face of the fast material world, motivated to look outward towards images of increased social and financial status instead of inwards to our true value and sense of self? Gandhi's message of living thoughtfully and consciously, taking the time to pause for reflection and being self sufficient are all things that have always seemed to me to be things that restore our somewhat lost sense of self.

Slow down, take time to value yourself by caring for yourself and for others. What a simple and yet profoundly truthful message. Or is it?

So what is truth, is it fixed; or fluid and ever changing?
How does this or any truth connect with the context of daily reality?
Can we really have "Experiments with the Truth"?

It seems we have been having our own set of experiments in our household, as (anyone else?) seems when you are seven years old these things come into question, and it does take some thought and energy to figure out EXACTLY what the TRUTH really is.

Dear Son,

First....I wish you were old enough to read Gandhi.

I love you SO very much and I am watching you try to figure out how much to tell the truth and how much you can get away with 'fudge'. Even though you don't realize it you have a very odd expression in the very back of your eyes and around your mouth when you are "eating fudge'... so just like my Mom told me, and I will tell you, and you will tell your kids...here are some simple rules to help with the truth...

1)Your Mom always KNOWS when there is 'fudge' around...

2)Contrary to Gandhi the context of our family is not in flux and the TRUTH is not so very fluid.

3)The TRUTH is simply the truth, it IS ONLY ONE THING, it does not change depending on who is hearing it, and it certainly will not change no matter how much you want it to.

4)If you tell a lie you will get into double the trouble than if you tell us the truth.

5)When you ALWAYS tell the truth people feel like they can trust you, no one ever disbelieves you, you will be seen as a good honest person, someone to be relied upon... and that just feels good.

6)Telling the truth is simple, you will never get caught, and you never have to try to remember where you left the "fudge"....trust me it is much easier...

7)I will do the very best job I can to help you learn this very simple but ever so important TRUTH about life... because I love you...more than anything.

8)And because contrary to popular opinion...I REALLY don't like "fudge"...

Love you forever, Your Mom.

Beyond Amazing...

...I have been spending every night, AND ever single moment that I have with VINCENT...I can't stop thinking about him...and shhh... TBG does not even mind, (He is pretty open about things like that) ... You can too, if you check him out here...

As soon as I found out a few weeks ago that almost all of the letters written by Vincent Van Gogh to his utterly devoted younger brother Theo had been preserved and were available to read, I could think of little else. Three volumes of intimate letters full of the detail of his life and the development of his artistic talent from nothing to the genius of his later years, a collection of letters guarded and treasured by his family and left unpublished until his fame was established and his life and work better understood, a collection of letters spanning 13 years or so and covering his travels all over Europe, what a treasure.

Can you tell I am feeling a little obsessed?

Not only is his story a good and particularly interesting one, but as social commentary of the day, it is also of particular interest to me as the chronicle of a developing artist. In the beinning Van Gogh is essentially is self taught and he speaks at length about the deveolpment of his ideas and his techniques ...so far it has been amazing and I must confess I am having difficulty putting it down... (I am sure you are all yawning by now...)

The Van Gogh Museum itself was beyond fabulous, with over 200 original works it was even better than I could have ever expected... the paintings are larger than life and there are no words to describe the beauty of the colors in their luminescence.

It was heaven, the kids, having read all of our books together, were completely aware of what we were looking at and were reverent (well almost reverent...LOL), and spent about an hour drawing while we were there...they are SO cool those two kids...

Here are some of my favorites ...

*Sigh*...Are they not just gorgeous? (Feeling SO inspired...)

*I want to paint JUST like that...*

You can check out more of his work here...

And did I mention that that the canals were divine...?

If you click on the collage you can see the photos larger...*just sayin...*

It was very cool to wander amongst them with the kids, and we even took the obligatory canal cruise, which though touristy and tacky was pretty super, since it provides you with a pretty unique view, not only of all the cool architecture, but under the bridges with their centuries old moorings, and along side all manner of funky and traditional houseboats...

Now THAT would be a neat way to live...

*Hmmmm*

!!?!!

Did I mention that we saw lots of bikes...

BUT... my VERY favorite would have to be this one...

Shhhh...Don't tell Mathilde...

It was Fabulous...*sigh*

Just a few impressions to give you a sense of our week in Amsterdam...croissants and Dutch hot chocolate beside the flower market...um mm yum...

Stately sculpture canal side...
Dramatic skies over canals and windy blustery weather with blinding gaps of sunshine, and splashes of rain about every 20 minutes or so...but never enough to be a true bother...just enough for us to be always with our umbrellas...
Bicycles....
And even more bicycles...
Canals everywhere...simply wonderful...we fell in love with her...Lady Amsterdam that is...
Walking and exploring hand in hand...

*Hmmm*...super

Well just to get your buds ready for more...tomorrow...

Ixtradam...Ampstradam

Well I hope by the time we get back the kids can say it properly...

I won't promise anything, but I hope to write lots and show you all our fab photos when we get back!!

(I will say hello to Van Gogh for you!)

See you next week (next Friday or the weekend!)

Pack...*Ugh*...Pack...*Ugh*

Blog...

:-) *Sigh*

A Letter to LILY...

Dear Lily,

You were home sick with me today, and we had a very quiet day.
You had a hotspot on your cheek and a very runny nose.

It was nice even though you slept right through the afternoon and I had to miss a friends birthday lunch. More important you sleep right?

Have I told you lately how much I love you and how sweet you are even when you have a drippy nose? You are such a good and co-operative kid, and you are SO industrious. You even wore your hat inside all day today and your slippers since you are not feeling well. Today while I was working on this drawing, you left your "Petite Ours" video to check in with me, just to chat. So Sweet.

While you were with me we decided you could try my charcoals too,

....and you loved how BLACK they "colour".

...You found that fascinating.

You also found it very interesting what happened to your hands and face...

Ha....VERY interesting!

Hope you feel better soon Lily!!

Love and kisses,
Your Mom XOX

On a completely unrealted topic...

Hmmm....

Ok I have heard of the Veggie tales, which are SUPER, if you have kids and love silly songs and goofy vegetable computer animated cartoon characters singing jazzy music, with a bit of a good christian twist...

But my MOM just turned me on to this...the Vienna Vegetable Orchestra....and you can even hear them here...

Apparently they MAKE THEIR INSTRUMENTS OUT OF VEGETABLES...before the show, and then...THEY MAKE SOUP FOR THE AUDIENCE AND ORCHESTRA after the show....

*Freaky* !!!

Oh BOY.... we HAVE to see them....!!

A very special trip, a very special place and a very special person...

Ahh... I LOVE it...

*Sigh*

Kicked back at the end of the day...all is quiet, the kids are fed, homework, extra french lesson and piano practice is done, lunches are made for tomorrow, breakfast organized, and the kids are all tucked in their beds with warm hearts (hot water bottles shaped like hearts... so very sweet) tucked in between their tender little feet. Now it is time for a little bit of ME time, to catch up with you all and AHHHHH.....do a little writing and posting.

*What a pleasure*

Hi there, how was your day anyhow? I sure hope it was super and...have I said lately how very nice it is to see you here? Thanks SO much for dropping by...

On the weekend I spent endless hours searching for this ...so we could really have an authentic experience, and today I spent an hour downtown buying tickets for this...

(High speed Deutsche Bahn Train) (Gosh we LOVE that...!)

Because over the Easter break we hope to go here ...

(Amsterdam)

So we can pay a visit to this...

(A very special museum dedicated to a very special person)

So we can learn lots more about this very special person...

(Vincent Van Gogh)

And where we will be soooo privileged to see lots of these

(Paintings chronicling Van Gogh's life like this one of his bedroom at Arles in the south of France)

We have already bought and are reading 3 of these

(Books for kids about Van Gogh)...

...and we are SO EXCITED!!!

Looking on the bright side of life...

I am reading this book right now, "How We Choose to be Happy" a book that challenges much of the unconscious modus operandi by which we conduct our lives. So far the main premise of the book is that we are in complete control, and that happiness is a conscious choice.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not miserable right now or in dire need of happiness, I think I have my fair share, it is just that as normal, I am interested in the human condition, and if it is going to make life EVEN rosier, hey, why not?

And then there is a 21 day no complaint campaign, you can read all about it here, I am not sure I could do it... but is this a Happiness revolution going on here or what?

Now I do not know about you, but is it just me or are 7 year old boys really grumpy? Is it just the age, is it just the kid...or is it me, or is it just a universal truth?

So with all this self empowering happiness talk going on, I decided to take things into my own hands, and this morning when the whining reached a certain decibel level (forgetting about certain expletives contained therein) I began to whistle a certain tune...

Some things in life are bad, They can really make you mad

Other things just make you swear and curse.

When you're chewing on life's gristle, Don't grumble, give a whistle

And this'll help things turn out for the best...

And...always look on the bright side of life... Always look on the light side of life...

If life seems jolly rotten, There's something you've forgotten,

And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing.

When you're feeling in the dumps, Don't be silly chumps,

Just purse your lips and whistle - that's the thing.

And...always look on the bright side of life... Always look on the light side of life...

For life is quite absurd, And death's the final word

You must always face the curtain with a bow.

Forget about your sin - give the audience a grin, Enjoy it - it's your last chance anyhow.

So always look on the bright side of death, Just before you draw your terminal breath

Life's a piece of shit, when you look at it, Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true.

You'll see it's all a show, keep 'em laughing as you go,

Just remember that the last laugh is on you.

And always look on the bright side of life... Always look on the right side of life...

Always look on the bright side of life... Always look on the bright side of life...

View it here... I just love it, and maybe not such bad advice after all eh?

*Whistling*...Always look on the bright side of life...

So now I have 2 little kids singing over and over again at the top of their lungs..

Life's a piece of SH*T, when you look at it..

ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE!!!

*Well... looking on the bright side it is better than whining no?*

Second utter/absolute favorite MOMENT-OF-THE-DAY

HEADING UP THE SLOPES TO TEAR APART SOME SNOW WITH TBG...HIM ON HIS BOARD AND ME ON MY GIRLIE-SKIIS...

(HE LOOKS PRETTY COOL DOESN'T HE!)

THE ONLY THING MISSING IS THE SOUND TRACK OF US BOTH SCREAMING WEEEEEHHHHOOOOOO!!...ALL THE WAY TO THE BOTTOM...

UTMOST FAVORITE moment-of-the-day

The Villa we rented, it turns out, was a little outside of town.

Hmmm... we were a little worried...out of town, no car, little kids and skiing gear...

Google earth is so very cool and of course we DID Google it before going, to see..OK exactly where ARE we going....and exactly how far out of town will we be...so we were able to confirm that Ferienhaus Hinterholzer lay about 1 km from the village and the ski hill. Ok on an adult agenda that sits just fine but with 2 little kids, 4 little sets of (tired) legs and skis ...hmmm...could be disastrous...

What we could not see on Google earth was that the villa flanked a beautiful, calm and peaceful valley, with a pristine steepled village on one side and a breathtaking slab of rocky Alp jutting up on the other, and rolling toboggan hills on the third. Although a km or so from the slope what we also couldn't see on Google earth was the sweet honey perfect length of meticulously groomed wide wide cross country ski and alpine walking trail, covered with firmly packed soft *crunchy* pristine snow, perfect for walking and even better for this...

Yep...pulling little kids on sleds.
Unbeknownst to us we could rent them with our skis, and rent them we did...too cool.

We arose everyday an hour earlier in order to make the 40 minute walk to the hill with the kids in tow. I am not sure if it was...

...the perfect mountain stillness ...

...or the spotless glistening snow,

...the snowflakes so large and perfect they sparkled and blinded like like diamonds,

....the glorious sunshine and clear, clear blue sky EVERY DAY,

...the absolute and complete satisfaction of the children at being towed in unison by their GPA and Daddy, ...just the simple glorious mountain air,

...or being surrounded by incredibly majestic snow capped peaks of rocky Alp the entire way

...or the fact that we had GPA with us the whole time and we ALL were SO happy about that...

that seared this part of our journey indelibly in my brain, as the my UTMOST FAVORITE moment-of-the-day ....or not.

But it sure did...

More to come tomorrow...