efteling

(there is a little story behind this (our first) visit to the efteling. a few months back, Isabelle and i found a wallet on the street, with cash, credit cards... the works. Isabelle was of the opinion that we should keep it. her logic was that we needed the money rather badly (she had just seen a lovely barbie in the toy-store), that the owner had probably given up on ever finding it, and that since nobody had seen us pick it up, the police was unlikely to trace us. my logic was that we should give it back because the owner would be sad if we didn't (except for the little squeaky voice at the back of my head that kept screaming 'keep it, she's right, she's right, keep it'). so we traced the owner, gave her a call and she came by that night. with two free tickets. for us. to the efteling... which is a lesson in something, not sure what, ...but i am almost certain that Isabelle will be returning most of what she finds on the street from now on. anyway, we went yesterday, just the two of us, for the whole day. by train. it was a real 'expodition', as she put it. the longest time we have spent alone together since Toini's birth. and it was soooooo good... must remember to do this much much more often)

threads and leaves

more september inspiration: brand-new pencils; new ink pots. picking up threads let loose a long time ago: a friend visiting all the way from the US, the magic of connecting instantly across an 11-years-of-silence gap, an afternoon walk down memory lane. the first draft of an almost forgotten novel, pulled out of its drawer, dusted, read. considered.

did i mention how much i love september?

the light of september

i love september light. so gentle, so roundly glowing, so melancholy. as if lit from within. with the warmth of the summer coming off the earth, and the trees swaying their leafy good-byes. we celebrated Mabon today, the day Persephone leaves for the underworld. with friends, pomegranates, pumpkin soup and a fire in the fireplace. and yet, to me, the thing that really gives it away, year after year, is the light.

apple time

(and a new lay-out. not quite sure about it yet.)

september treasure

such a gatherer soul i have. nothing nothing nothing gives me more pleasure than food generously offered, in exchange for nothing but a pair of good eyes, a bit of attention paid properly, at the turn of a footpath, right there, under that tree.

happy belated...

...second birthday to my amazing boy, with his bike and his 'kraan', his 'Poeh-dingen' (various types), his laugh, his tantrums, his softness, his strength, his dimples, his twinkles, his auto's (some 'teine', but most 'groot!'), his books (mama lezen!), his clocks and watches (groote kok! kok zegt TING!), his wild hair, his even wilder heart, his stability, his depth, his lightness, the sunshine and power he brings to our life.

for this and much much more, thank you, Toini.