Notice

Dear hypothetical readers,

1. I am preparing to go on a little European tour, which is about 2 weeks away. That means no new posts for a while. But provided I come back alive and well, you will get lots of pics of beautiful places (and Belgian chocolate shops, hmm).

2. My crafty achievements will from now on be showcased on my other blog, located here.

3. Peace!

Please queue for autographs! There now, no pushing at the back!

Ladies and gents, I'm famous! My dolls have been talked about in a little community newspaper (something like the Waikato This Week). If I had known how embarrasing it feels to see my silly face and my name in such a public place I never would have agreed to it.

The article is not entirely accurate, it also has a few typos and grammar mistakes (maybe I should apply for a proofreading job there), but hey! I've been in the paper! :D

What makes you smile?

Few things in life are comparable to the feeling of contentment I get when I leave the library with a whole heavy backpack of books on my back. It's the curiosity that preceeds research, it's the forging of a complicity with the load on my back, built by bringing out into the light books that nobody has borrowed since 2000, it's the anticipation of my red blanket and a cup of hot tea, it's the teacher's raised eyebrow over one more strange idea the girl in black has come up with.

There are two things that always make me smile, without fail: going home to a doll that needs to be finished, and a backpack full of books. What makes you smile?

Of new beginnings, weak parties and green eggs

Welcome to my humble abode! As promised a long time ago (sorry I was slack), I am posting pics of my new domicile. It loks alright now, but oh, the first time I walked in after the previous tenants had moved out! It felt like walking into a forest. And don't think freshness, dewy grass or the likes. No, think mushrooms. The walls were alive with various species of unidentified multicelular plant material, the dust was inches thick and the bathroom... I won't go into details.













But after a few days of painting, washing windows, moving furniture and pulling out pretty fabrics, the results were as follows:

Above is my sitting corner at night. I'm quite proud of myself for the mirror trick which multiplies the candles and confuses visitors.
Below is my main room: sleeping corner, blogging corner, sitting corner and crafting corner. I have nothing on the walls yet, but patience, I'll get there eventually.

This is the room that serves as hallway, dining room, wardrobe and study room. How? Through the judicious use of space and careful organisation, but mainly by cramming everything in one place ;D

The other corner of the study/dining/wardrobe/hallway, and a view of the kitchen:

And now, a few words about my landlady. Unfortunately, you don't get to see her, as, in the event I managed to take an unexpected shot of her (and those are the only kind you can take), I would be dead before I reached the door with it. She's an 80-something lady whose geriatric parties far surpass the parties at my place both in noise level and the amount of alcohol ingested. She spends her entire summer up in the mountains, swears like the most shameless of sailors, is an absolute gossip relay, kicks butt at backgammon and makes awesome cakes. All in all, a very colourful character. About as colourful as her green eggs :>

Yes, those are real! Her hens (some special kind of hen she got in Germany) make green eggs without being radioactively contaminated or otherwise sick. You know the cool part about that? I can have green eggs and ham for breakfast. Take that, Dr. Seuss!

P.S. Please excuse the quality of the current lot of pics; there wasn't enough light and my photographic skills are null and void once I am confronted with situations outside the range of the "auto" setting on my camera.

Not so bad after all

Well, Christmas ended up not so crappy after all. I had a little gathering of people at my place, we had mulled wine, opened gifts, ate, drank and chatted until the wee hours of the morning. Below you can see my potted xmas tree with all the presents underneath. "O potplant treeee, o potplant treeee...." ;)
Oh, and underneath said potplant tree? You TF people will recognize my prized possesion straight away!

Opening gifts (please note the utmost dignity with which we bear our raindeer antlers):
Not so dignified after some wine and cake and blueberry liqueur and oranges and cake and wine...
The deity all Falushtain worships ar Christmas: possum-eyed raindeer-horned black-and-red Shiva :D
Promise I will post pics of my new place after all this enforced socialising holiday is over :>

Merry Whatever

Being a bit of a Grinch myself, I wish all of you who enjoy this holiday a Merry Christmas.
Those of you who don't like it much are invited at my place, for mulled wine and exchanging gifts under my decorated pot plant ;D

Moş Nicolae

Today is the day of Old Man Nicholas. He's a nice old man who leaves little gifts in good kids' shoes overnight. The shoes, however, have to be clean, so most kids take the day to make sure their shoes are spotless, otherwise they will only get dusty vegetables put in there.

Even if I'm not such a little kid anymore, I got half of my luxurious double bed paid for by my parents. What bed? you will ask. The one at my new place, of course. What new place? you will ask. Ahh, that's for you to find out from a future post ;)