February

Can you believe, it's February already? Well, I can't! January whizzed by and I must admit I'm slightly panicking. One month of the new year already over and I haven't managed to start anything from my "want-to-do" list, not even diving into Lightroom again.

I feel also quite uninspired as to my photography and the short days with insufficient light don't help either.

Rain, that started on Monday afternoon, has put an end to the beautiful winter scenery; everything has turned brown and muddy and the roads are icy, as the ground was still frozen, making walking quite an endeavour.

This photo is from last weekend,

but I guess I'll have to invest in some flowers to show you something nice here next time, if the weather doesn't cooperate...

Have a wonderful week!

Winter Wonderland

If you've known me for a while, you know that I'm a summer girl. I can take heat, any heat, just fine; cold... not so much.

This winter, we've had some freezingly cold, but often sunny days and I must admit, I've loved to bundle myself up and take walks in this winter wonderland. I enjoyed this particular walk, when it snowed and I was almost alone out there.

Passing this tree, I hoped the residents in No. 28 were warm and cosy...

 and I hope, you are, too - have a wonderful week!

Starting Over

Yes, again... I'm starting over... Not that I didn't try last year, or the year before... It's hard, harder than I actually thought, as I've completely lost my workflow for choosing and editing photos. I've forgotten the little I had know about Lightroom or even PSE13 and I hardly even touched my DSLR.

All I did was take daily photos with my iPhone to document my days and when there was a photo I thought I could share I did so on Instagram, as it was a fast way for me to do. But although I've managed to stay in contact with some of my blogging friends on Instagram, I do miss my blog, as neglected as it has become.

So my decision is to blow the dust off here, get back into a rhythm, find a workflow I can handle even in hectic times, which realistically will happen more often than not. I guess I will publish photos I'm not completely happy with once in a while, just to keep me going.

I'm looking forward to connecting with you again, to taking up my camera, dipping my toes into Lightroom again and to exploring the world with fresh eyes and a rekindled motivation.

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year my friends - here's to a wonderful 2017!

Blog Hopping

This weekend Kat is hosting a blog hop for this year's Liberate Your Art swap. I don't remember the last time I participated in a blog hop - I almost feel nostalgic!

I do remember, though, participating in the first ever art swap, which you can read about here. After having missed the last 4 years for various reasons, I'm happy to have managed to be a part of the art swap again this year.

So far, I received 4 of the 6 postcards, and here they are:

The top left card is from Jacque Hodgen. It's a photograph of a reflection in the Japanese Garden ponds at the University of Washington Arboretum. I love how it looks like an impressionist painting - so beautiful! Jacque wrote that this picture is part of a series - I'd really love to see the other pictures.

The top right card is from Kitty Mitchell. For this gorgeous piece of art, Kitty printed on hand tinted rice paper and then hand coloured the black and white photo! I love the amazing texture of the rice paper and also the beautiful picture, which reminds me of happy days at the beach.

The bottom left card is from Mary Ann Hurt. I just love the collage of the ladies in their bathing suits. The colours are so vibrant and the vintage look with the pictures layered on top of the handwriting topped off with the mermaid is just amazing! There is also a beautiful picture of a mermaid on the back of the card.

The bottom right card is from Jacqui (Jacqui Photography). The photo of this wonderful hood ornament was taken at the National Auto Museum in Reno, Nevada. I love the details of the ornament and also the colours of the hood. I can somehow feel an energy radiating from the pose of the ornament.

Thank you all for sharing your beautiful art - I'm so happy to have received these wonderful postcards! And thank you especially, Kat, for taking all the time and effort to organize this swap once again!

Now over to the main page of the blog hop, where you'll find all the details, a beautiful video showing all the wonderful pieces of art and further links to all the other blogs participating in the blog hop - enjoy!

Springtime

A bronchitis, followed by a stomach flu, topped off with a sinus infection is so no fun!

My head is still throbbing and it feels like the cough is here to stay... BUT the sun has come out today and there are tulips in the house - I'll take this as a good sign.

Have a wonderful Sunday everyone and a beautiful start into spring for everyone living in the northern hemisphere.

Cranky

These past days or even almost two weeks, people have been cranky - unfriendly at best and sometimes even downright impolite. I've no idea why, maybe it's the crazy weather we've been having lately, whatever...

I noticed that the grumpiness started to rub off on me, which called for a little something to pamper myself... There's nothing like a lovely bunch of tulips to fight off a bad mood, isn't there? Except maybe some chocolate...

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!