We've had several beautiful days of lovely sun despite the cold temperatures which some nights dropped to -6,5 C/43,7 F. Winter surely comes early this year! Within a few days the garden froze and the nature changed colors to a burnt orange, but the sun made dog walks so enjoyable. Today, the whole world has changed to an unfriendly atmosphere of strong wind, rain and general grayness. Not nice! Toska refused to go out, Happy did his morning obligations very fast, Lucky (who has short but thick woolly fur) went out for an hour and returned running at my first shouting, totally wet and hungry.
I don't have work since over a week, which is almost a blessing or at least what I really wanted to gather thoughts and stack up on good energy before my return to Poland. The last weeks had been stressing and I was overworked, so I am accepting these few days with a big smile. It's a good time to catch up on lots of small things at home and at my computer.
H's leg is healing but very slowly and it's definitely a difficult case. Nurses continue to come daily to change the specialized thingies on his wound and he drives to see the surgeon once a week now. Still on antibiotics (which we laughingly call anti-idiotics) because of the staphylococcus aureus infection he got at the hospital and a part of the wound has opened wide (eeeeek) but the necrosis seems to heal.
I feel so sorry for him, that it all is due to the blood thinning medicine he is taking after his heart op' and unfortunately such problems arise with a sad regularity even though he's very careful at preventing them. But it is also an eye-opening situation, what do we know that will happen to us later in life? He'd been in perfect health till the age of 50, and his heart condition was not due to high cholesterol, obesity or anything like that. It was suddenly discovered there was a genetic malformation in the heart, his life was saved and the quality of his live is perfect, he's certainly just as/more active than any of his active friends, but very regularly, problem arise with the blood. He goes to have it checked bi-weekly if it's okay or daily when it's not, but sometimes the problem occurs in between the good periods and most often the values jump because of a simple cold or medicine. He has now returned to work and can walk a lot better so I'll be leaving for Poland on Sunday, with Toska and Happy. Not that I look forward to it, because *a lot* of tasks await me till Christmas, but I already got my ticket back to Norway before the New Year, and that eases the heartache a bit! (also that of leaving little Szpulka here).

My blogging was so erratic over the past year that I thought it would be a good idea to catch up on the crafty part and post finishes from that period. To start, here is a box I sent last year to Jill F. for her birthday (exchange). I was so proud of me! I painted the box inside, covered it with matching fabric outside and glued a white cardboard piece to the bottom. I knew that Jill liked purple and peacocks s I chose this pattern and adapted the color. So glad she liked it! It is a bigger size box that can be used to hide all sorts of crafty treasures :)

Pinberry Lane - Mehitable Wright's Redwork Sampler

Among the birthday goodies, I added this hand-made felt hedgehog, because Jill likes them.
I used a pattern I found on the web after searching long for one I liked and I stuck pins in it :)

I'll leave you with this heart-warming video of Szpulka and Lucky. I am sure you will melt down! We sure have a very patient dog :)

My friend Nathalie in France received her two end-of-summer gifties, so I can show them now. First, an Atalie little piece, it was my first time to try my hand on spider roses and I must say they are both very easy to do and very decorative. I played with colors so this is not the original version Atalie designed.

Atalie - Cassandre

stitched with my choice of silk threads

Then, one of my first medium-sized tatted pieces, which I sewed onto a hand-made red little pillow.

Summer came to an end so fast, but I still try to enjoy the nature around here in Norway, already thinking of my return to Warsaw at the end of the month.

One walk we did was just a few minutes from home, close to Stallerud, a local farm, but we used a path I haven't yet been to and Hakon hasn't walked since many, many years. As it turns out, it is very much used by locals, we met peoples walking, biking, jogging, bathing... Funny, because it's a pretty much secluded place out in the forests.

I picked this season's last raspberries - there are plenty of them growing wild on the sides of the streets, old abandoned gardens and lots in the forests around. They are smaller, sometimes much, much smaller than the ones you buy, but quite good nonetheless! :)

The funny part of the walk was to discover this bathing spot floating on water, with a large area with bonfire places, benches... quite lovely!

Happy made sure to explore the shallow waters this time. He is terrified of water usually, never goes in unless he is very very thirsty during a long walk, but even then he is so scared and behaves like water is attacking him at the smallest move. We usually have good fun of it :)

 Nature is preparing for the winter sleep. Norwegian woods are filled with big rocks, something I am not used to at all in Poland.

Dear H. will be at hospital for a couple of days to remove a lump on his ankle. The operation will take place tomorrow at the Radiumhospitalet, the largest cancer center in Northern Europe, as Wikipedia affirms. They chose to do it there because of where and how it is located, but there is no fear of finding cancer cells in it. They have to do a big and deep cutting and take care of nerves and muscles, from what I understood. Otherwise there were lots of preparations to make his blood thicker, he hasn't been taking his blood thinners (which he's taking after his major heart surgery in 2005) and it's been controlled many times the last three days. So the scare, if there is a small scare, is not really the lump on the leg, but more his heart/blood issues but I feel the staff at the hospital has been taking it very serious and all has been prepared well :)

In August, H. was at a normal hospital to operate an aggravated bursitis, but only under local anesthesia. He showed me that picture later:

and I commented - how could you sleep with your leg that high up? To which he replied - I told you I didn't sleep for three nights, didn't I? I can well imagine! LOL

He's been very busy the past days to finish lots of garden works in preparation of the days he won't be able to walk too much.
As for me, I am making plans for the fall and winter, thinking about packing my flat in Warsaw for the big move to Poznan, booking plane tickets in between several cities, summer is over, it is going to be a very busy few months for me.
I will be reducing my stash greatly so I will offer some charts here as well. I think I have enough lovely stitching and tatting projects to keep me occupied for a long time so it's no sense I keep dozens of charts I won't stitch. The only thing I wish I had more of is silks, overdyes and Lakeside linens! I am positively addicted to them! LOL But a big part of my charts collection has to go. What do I do with the old ones noone would buy and which I would hate to trash? What do YOU do with them?

By the way, someone had the good idea of repainting the main building of the Polytechnical School in Warsaw, I live across the street from it. Take a look HERE for a photo - they carefully analyzed samples of the old yellowish paint that was used 34 years ago but it turned out pink! Light pink, okay, but pink! The result is so awful that they stopped halfway and from what I understood, it's being repainted using a different color. I am anxious to see the result when I'm back! LOL

Preparing to leave...

Days have been just *so* busy. I am sorry I don't have time to leave comments on your blogs, but I read them (a lot of them!) while sipping morning coffee and later during the day!
This stay was supposed to recharge my internal batteries... but I'm leaving very tired. I usually have zero work till the end of January, so my plan was to stitch a lot, read, have walks, enjoy life, enjoy nature... Turned out quite the opposite. I worked insanely much, slept little... We're taking the plane on Saturday and I will only have Thursday to pack and clean the house, so we can possibly have half a day out somewhere on Friday. I'd love to do some shopping too... not sure how much I'll be able to squeeze it till then.
So, big changes will start in Warsaw on Sunday. Some of you already know what and why... others will have to wait for the news a few days more, too pooped to write this evening! :)
On Sunday, I got up with an unhappy face and while I munched on my breakfast, I commented to H. that I simply don't seem to have the brain resources to work - and I have dozens of pages to produce! Dear H. looked at me and said: 'Why don't you have a walk with Happy?'. Hm. I looked outside and the day was grey and uninteresting, but I'd have done anything to kick my brain into gear. It was snowing lightly, just -12 Celsius, I decided to go. H. had to drive somewhere so he left me halfway to the nearest village and I walked back home. Turns out the idea was perfect, it cleared my brain completely!


Just so you don't think I don't stitch ;-), here is a WIP I didn't finish in time for Christmas. This is a Mary Garry pattern I decided to stitch as individual pieces meant as ornaments for a Christmas tree or branch. That said, I'm showing the idea for the finishing, but I will add beads and some other decorations where the ribbon is sewed.

I thought you might like to see why Happy got the name he got :) (and a new collar!)

Just in case you're more interested in cats ;-), here is an older short movie of our cat-boys!

All about cats :)

First, I want to wholeheartedly thank everyone who took the time to respond here and by email. Seriously, your support meant a world to me during the first days. I was totally hysterical for the first days - not knowing WHAT to do, HOW to solve it and HOW it is going to work out was killing me. I just had a big fog in my head and was almost lunatic. Let me try to explain - I am very rational and well organized and all, but rescuing two kittens two months before leaving Norway, knowing they can't stay here and I can't take them there (to Poland) was killing me. I saw no issues. So please, please do forgive me that I hesitated to write earlier but all I could write here was questions and not answers and noone needs to read long ramblings of a very stressed person ;-) I knew that the first days would be the hardest and that whatever decisions we would make, we needed time and rest to think clearly. For 2-3 days, H. refused to cooperate about taking decisions about the kittens, he was no less stressed than me and he was returning tired from work, so I only pushed him to some limits ;-)
Now, a DISCLAIMER for those of you who don't know my H. I think I just have to write it so you don't get a false impression. He has a heart of gold. He loves animals. He has this magical magnet built in him that makes the wildest cats approach, climb and sleep on him. He is also a zoologist (biologist) and he loves nature just like I do. BUT he also knows limits (I sometimes don't and let my heart guide me, that's how I once rescued Felek, our legendary late doggie, when I already had a german shepperd, all that in a small flat), he is reasonable (I am not and I most often see this as quality, not sure if it makes sense to you LOL!), and then he also raises very valid questions to which there is not an easy or cheap answer, and to which I always find unreasonable and expensive ways of solving the situation. Such as where to locate all the zoo when we travel - and especially I travel a lot. I still haven't done the final move to Norway and even if/when I move here on a permanent basis, there are more chances than not that I will keep free-lancing and flying out to visit my closest family in 3 different locations in Poland and Switzerland. My grand-mother is 100,5 years old, my aunt and father are aging etc. And there are vacations to think of. And both neighbors on both sides - H's uncle and his wife and H's mother HATE cats. In case of emergency, the uncle would obviously help - once Toska was here with H. and H. was taken suddenly to hospital (remember he had a very serious heart op' 3 years ago), the uncle visited Toska daily for two weeks to do the basics. She certainly felt alone, but she got food and all the rest. It was winter and snow, so he wasn't letting her out. However I think that H. can ask only for this extent of help and only on an exceptional basis. Also, here in Norway people tend not to bother others with their problems and try to find other ways than asking for help first.
And then there is Toska, the cat I took from a shelter 2,5 years ago. H's experience with her is not very enthusiastic. Obviously he accepts her and remarks how much she has changed for the better under my loving care, but she is NOT an affectionate cat. When upset, and she is (most) often upset, she can bite, scratch etc. Especially this summer, she spends all days and nights outdoor and only comes home to "charge the batteries" as we call it. All she wants from us is food and peace. And now that the kittens are here, she wants us around even less :). Toska will stay till her old days are over, but I was not lucky picking her and I love her like moms love a difficult teenager. But love, she doesn't give too much of it. Sometimes... :)
Now, to the kittens. We almost immediately decided that we would keep them (at least, I was saying...) till middle or end of August. There are dozens of adds about rescued and other home cats, dogs kittens to give away at this time of the year. Obviously, people (want to) get rid of them but talk of allergies, change of family situation, moving, new babies etc. Curiously, this all seems to happen in June and July!! So we decided to do the vet procedure, take them with us on the vacation we booked (that's going to be easy... hmpfffff.... 3 cats and a dog plus 2 bikes and the rest of the hiking stuff and a 7 hours drive each way...... don't ask me!) and take decisions later. From the first moment, we knew that we would only give them away (IF, that is)... to a very good home.

So, Huggy...

... and Felinek....

... got their first vaccines and health cards...

... more to come next week, and then rabbies (will tell why below) two weeks later, and then two weeks later... and the castration.... and the ID chips... So many vaccins and other treatments - IF they are will travel abroad... read further....
And that actually has gradually emerged as the MAIN problem. The whole procedure for TWO kittens will cost us over 1700 usd within 4 months. Add to this, litter (they "produce" quite a lot, if you ask me!!! we use bag after bag), kitten food, toys etc. They killed all the furry mice so we're on a mice diet for the moment, I can't buy some every day LOL! They LOVE playing. With everything. My mobile phone cable was particularly tasty so I don't have a cable anymore... aaargh! :)
Well, we argued A LOT about their future but I'll spare you that. Yes, those of you who wrote that you can't force your partner to accept unlimited numbers of pets are very right and I saw that point quite clear. It's just that I was totally panicked as to what to do.
AND - we totally love them, from the first second. We can't believe how anyone could get rid of them in such a cruel way. Now that I know them, I am absolutely sure they spent most of the day in that forest - and they were starved. They don't climb on us and jump now unless they're very hungry - which means they were already hungry that Monday.
We made sure that they are not "someone's" cats - it would have been quite a relief to find out we can drive them back somewhere. But first - our vet checked and they don't have implanted chips and second - see the map at the link HERE. We studies it well over the next days and it completely clear they were dumped there to die. As I wrote before, it's just wild and deep forest around. If you look at the map where all the lines meet at one point, more or less centrally, it is where we found them, directly at the borderline between Sweden and Norway. They were continuously crossing it :)
There is a small path from the main road to the lake to the upper left (west) - that's where the cabin we walked to is - desert. The other small path to the west just leads inside the forest. The only house you can find is far to the east - I mean, a few minutes by car, but clearly impossible for these two kittens to come from there.
I smiled at the vet - you were all right about their age, which shows clearly how much I knew about kittens (before I read a lot online now). They were **about** 4,5 months old, over 5 months old today, judging by the teeth they have. Most baby teeth gone, from what I understood. They look big when they "extend" but when they cuddle up, they are still tiny, tiny :)

And, I mean, they are adorable. Friendly, sociable, they love us and we love them. I mean, I love them to death and Hakon likes them - a lot. They are also very tied to each other and somewhat different. The grey one (Huggy) is insatiable when it comes to ideas - he makes things fall a lot, he jumps a lot, runs a lot, and loves to get love, but in reasonable amounts :) He prefers to sleep with small brother or alone. Now, the black one (Felinek) is playful, of course, but is also more calm, less brave in contacts with Toska, less courageous - AND he comes to sleep on our lap and to get hugs - a lot. He is a real love. He is so touching... but then I don't want to sound biased. When they both look at us with their sweet little eyes and give their little bellies to scratch, our hearts melt totally :)

They are exceptional, you see. We knew it from the first moment they run to us at the border. I don't have any experience with kittens, but I didn't imagine them so very used to people. Well, after my experience with Toska, I didn't imagine that there are cats who let you play with their paws and love it either!! So maybe they're my reward for all the pains she gave me initially? LOL
Okay, so before I write a whole book about the kids... Here are our options so far - they might change, but as of tonight, here's what we might do.

A - they both stay here. H. possibly tries to avoid it and well, I see that 3 cats and 1 dog is a lot in my chaotic schedules. Who knows, though. That decision will be made late in August.
B - IF I have to choose, I am keeping the black one. That is one sure thing. If WE don't keep both, I/we keep Felinek. He is too special. He is mine.
C - I got confirmation this week that either my aunt + my cousin and wife (who are building a house on the same property and are total cat lovers) will take both or one cat, or my other cousin + wife and kids (who live 5 minutes away) will take 1 or 2. What a relief!!! My aunt +++ had two dogs, the last one died not long ago, and she had many cats, currently 2 females and 2 males, all half indoor and half outdoor cats. One male is still sort of wild. The other cousin who lives nearby has a female dog and two male cats who fight with each other with ferocity since 2 years, so I'd really prefer it's my aunt and the other cousin who take my kitten(s). The only downside is that a busy road is close to the house and several of my aunt's cats perished killed by cars. Well, I think if I give away the kitten(s) to someone I don't well know here, there is the same chance it can get killed or given away at one moment, so this is an eventuality I sort of have to accept. Anything is better than dying in that forest, right?? Plus, 1 or both will get total love and care with a family who is very fond of animals and used to having lots of them. My cousin and wife rescued 2 black kittens 2 years ago at a parking but the male (Felinek looks almost the same as him) died killed by a car and the female died of unknown reasons last year, she was always sort of weak.

For the rest - either I stay here till December - that's how long the veterinary procedure will take with a short trip to Poland, or H. will have to take care of them till then. If they travel abroad, the kittens need rabbies shots twice and then an expensive blood test, passports etc.

So, the general plan is set up, the details will have to be worked out within August... All this is going to cost extremely much, but when you're like me.... with the job slump I experience, this is a real problem. I took the decision to go on stash diet till next spring - if that's the price I have to pay to give the best I can to these cat babies, then be it. I am ready to do it. I'll also probably try to sell a big part of my stash on ebay at one moment to cover the costs. If it has to be that way, it will be so!

I will of course keep you updated when details become more clear. Felinek will be mine, I just need to get H's acceptance, sort of, but I think it shouldn't be too hard. Huggy, I don't know... If I don't manage to keep him here, he'll have the best home possible in Poland with my family. (I forgot to add, for the sake of clarity, that I really can't keep 3 cats and a dog in my very small flat in Warsaw - especially because Toska will chase them like mad and especially because the two kittens would have a hard life there, plus Huggy would ruin the place in two days LOL! I can already visualize both of them running in the room... not!)

Now, I'm sure you know more than you wanted to know! :)

Don't they look....

.... adorable?

Here, playing with Happy - who seems to actually enjoy their company and sometimes plays with them! He is absolutely terrified of Toska, but then who is not... ;-)

Here Happy licked Huggy on the head and patted him ;-)
... and then told H. that well, they could stay, after all!

He shares his bowls with them sometimes...

... and let them rest...


... so they can play afterwards! (the toy was temporary, we got them real ones soon after)


THANK YOU SO MUCH, friends!!! Everything seems to work out well, slowly, now if we could only win the lotto to cover the costs!

Oh and please don't mind the ugly old wallpapers and floors etc., we're keeping the zoo downstairs in what once was the grand-parents' part of the house and which will be totally refurbished one day... but they can ruin it to their liking (says me, H. doesn't agree! LOL)

Sunday news...

See the lovely Prairie Schooler Santa Valerie sent me for HOE's Christmas in July exchange! I love this chart and I have stitched it for myself, but seriously, I could have a whole tree of them so I was delighted to see it when I opened the package :) And it's finished super nicely with tiny green beads all around - such a joy to look at!


But that wasn't all! Valerie stitched a little floss tag - how adorable!!! I am unsure which chart/designer it is taken from, but it's so very cute!! I love the colors and everything about it. Oh, now I see I forgot to take pictures of the back of both pieces, I'll update later. The two skeins in Christmas colors came with the tag :)

Valerie also sent two charts including one from my wishslist, a piece of fabric in xmas colors which I actually plan to use to finish an ornament I just finished and a big pack of American 100% natural, old fashioned hard lemon drops - so good! I had the pack open while we watched a movie with H. last night and I knew he's doesn't care much about lemon taste like I do, but since it seemed to be the only polite thing to do, I offered him one to try - and minutes later, he said "hmmm, they are actually crazy good!, did you get them today?" So I told him where and who I got them from :)

I haven't written much about stitching lately - but I did stitch quite a lot, just that I can't show the result as of yet. One is a piece for Nath's birthday - which I am delighted about, it turned very beautiful, one is the ornament for HOE's christmas in July exchange, and one is for the year-long birthday exchange Edgar organizes. The last one is not urgent, but I got the perfect chart and felt inspired to stitch it in advance :)
Now, if there is one I can call my summer 2009 project, it is the one below. You know how it is with some charts. You see them, you know you have to have them, it's an immediate story of love between you and the picture you see. And so it was with The Victoria's Sampler cyberclass for the chart "Tea Party Sampler". But it was a lot of money and the timing never was right. Then in May I read that they were taking it off the cyberclasses and only one more would be organized, so I splurged the money and even managed to have my friend Ela get the kit. Now, since last week it is available in normal sale, you can see it HERE. They're now showing it also as a framed piece, but the original idea was the one that I fell in love with, it's the teapot finishing. I drink a lot of different teas and collect china tea cups and sets, so I just love it.
Here's what I stitched till now - 2 installments out of 4, I'm working on the 3rd.
If I managed to make you love it and you plan to stitch it, beware - it is tedious work. Not much cross-stitch at all - it's composed of many, many specialty stitches which you need to either learn, or you know them from before. Most techniques I haven't heard of or tried before, so it goes slow and I will be most glad when it's done and finished and I can start another bigger project (not ornaments, I mean, which I stitch in the meantime). BUT, because there is a BUT, the result is absolutely so beautiful, that I can only encourage anyone with a bit of patience and time to stitch it. This will certainly be the most ambitious and most gorgeous piece I'd have done :)

It is raining almost continuously these days but when it rains not, I bike with Happy and sometimes H comes too :)
Here are some photos from yesterday. I biked from Siggerud to home, passing the post office on the way back to pick my exchange from Valerie.
The great thing here (it is valid for most of the most populated regions in Norway, I think), that villages and towns are interconnected with bike paths, which become country skiing paths during winter, provided there is enough snow. Now that I've built enough courage and muscles to try longer trips (I mean, really not long, but longer that directly in the nature around the village here), I'll be trying more ambitious and longer paths :) Since it is difficult to bike a round trip, I often ask H. to drive me somewhere and I bike home or the opposite, he picks me up from somewhere on his way back and he is a real love to want to do that, because most of the time, he adapts his driving directions and time so he can do that. He so likes when I do my "expeditions" in the nature that he'd do almost anything to help, I think :) Unfortunately, he has a hip problem and he can't come with us every time - plus, of course, I can be out during the working day, because I can adapt more or less when I work, while he works regular office hours ;-)
Yesterday, I was surprised to see how well the biking track is prepared between the two villages - making it so easy to bike. It goes in the woods but it very well maintained and quite wide also.



At home here, we're gradually adding more thuya trees on along
the border to H's uncle, and that meant we needed to get more good soil. And since we plan to add more fruit bushes etc., this would mean buying too many expensive packs of soil, so H. opted for ordering a whole truck of it, which was delivered by the farmer last week. Then H. borrowed a funny machine from a friend, to move soil - it doesn't "dig", but it lifts it from the ground and puts it in the container, then dumps it where you want once it's completely full. It's proved very useful here - the house is on a small hill (a huge rock) and H suffers a lot with his hip when walking up and down and around the garden, especially when he has to carry or push loads, so he smiled a lot :)

Happy, of course, was mostly interested in the perfume he could smell all around - the cow sh-t contained in the soil! LOL

Here you can see the small thuya trees H. put in and some dead ones he digged out. On the upper part the thuyas are very high now, then there are medium ones planted a year after, and then smaller ones... and then the number 4 thuyas as I call them, the youngest ones from last week.
You can also see the sweet cherry tree we planted two years ago. The first summer we got SIX cherries, then a little bit more, then quite some more now :) It's my favorite fruit so I can't wait till it grows and delivers a lot more. And we'll plant more :)

Gotta love my H...

My H. sent my aunt flowers on Wednesday, when I was still there, via Interflora, all the way from Norway. That's the second time he managed to surprise me so totally that I was out of words for a good half minute :) A messenger brought this lovely bunch of flowers in oh! so vibrant, fresh colors. He later told me he meant the flowers to be for us all there at my aunt, but I am so glad he addressed the little note to her. She deserves all the best in the world. And it's a story of love between her and my H. too... Gotta love this guy! :)

I decided to forgive the flower folks for not knowing that a special Norwegian character should have been there (an A with a circle) instead of the I in his name...


So I'm back home for some two short weeks... I'll return to spend Easter with family.

At 100 and 2 months, grandma is really fine. Good days follow more difficult days, when she's totally restless, can't sleep and keeps changing rooms (which of course requires helping her walk, every 5 to 10 minutes). But her head, oh her head is totally okay if not for the short-term memory which is failing her often. Otherwise she's really amazing.

Do click on the picture to enlarge it, isn't she?

Here, my cousin's teenage daughter learns cooking... she also learned quite a bit of crafting, but wait for the next post... :)

I brought my devil cat back home. She's spent 4 months at my aunt and well, she managed to terrorize all the four-legged community. She was even after the softest male in the bunch. She chased the youngest female all the day (and night) long. She scratched, bit and yelled. I was hoping to let her stay there till May and take her directly to Norway for the summer, but honestly, my aunt's cats started to come home reluctantly and often left right after filling their hungry bellies. I had to take her home. The first two days, she slept a lot but today, she's showing the fullest of her abilities. Didn't enjoy me typing, bang! - told she my fingers. Ah, I told you I have a difficult cat. I'm often saying, my next cat will be the nicest, softest creature I can find. Till then, at least 10 years more of difficult cohabitation await... sometimes I feel sorry for myself, because 2 years after taking her from the shelter, she's really not giving much of herself... But, I would never give an animal away and her green eyes and soft fur are enough to melt my heart. I took her, I'm keeping her, that's how it will be... Here she is with Happy on my aunt's lap.



We made a thousand pierogis... a family tradition...


One Sunday, we gathered to read an article my father published about his life and an event from the past. If you're curious what I looked like at 16, look for the girl in the red/grey pullover, her father to the right :)


In the garden, the first signs of spring...

And just to motivate myself to diet, I'll post this recent picture here! Shame, shame on me. But I swear I'll transform into an Easter bunny soon with all the greenies I eat! Anyone else dieting? :)
Ah, I h-a-t-e this picture! No, I don't know why my face is shining! Must be my spring aura, right...

I will keep on dieting
I will keep on dieting
I will keep on dieting
I will keep on dieting
I will keep on dieting...

Till tomorrow! :)