Remember me "struggling" to hang my art collection on the wall in my living room three years ago? I wasn't really satisfied with the result. Especially when I saw a drawing by my son a few months after that, which I wanted to have on that wall, too. I took all frames down again and tried this and that arrangement on the floor, tried different pictures in different frames, but was never satisfied with the result. In the end all frames stayed stacked on the cupboard and the wall empty with the ugly nails for many, many months. But finally(!) during the long holidays I managed to arrange part of my collection to my satisfaction *big smile* The big owl picture was drawn by my son at school; the vintage owl plate was a find on a flea market, made by a (no longer exist) pottery studio in Switzerland, next to our city; the tiny owl sculpture is a souvenir from a trip to Taiwan ages ago (thus, also vintage ;)); the portrait was a find from a second hand shop; four original art works were from Etsy (Marina Collings, Vivian, Laura Ferrara, Betty & Marcos Suarez), one from BuySomeDamnArt (Yelena Bryksenkova) and one by me.

This arrangement ist old (and still love it :)), but it got two additions. I bought the cat (and a donkey) as my son was a baby from an old man, who carved and sold his work on the street. I just couldn't give it away, when we were cleaning my son's room from old toys. The small owl sculpture was a find from a second hand shop. Yeah, got even more of Laura's lovely art work :) This room is often cluttered (or as a friend said: "being lived" ;)), so I have to hold this moment in picture. Yes, there's still an empty wall. The frame of the art work for it is still waiting to be repaired. My son said, it's like in a museum - it seems, part of my dream comes true already :)

It was cloudy the last days and I so hate the dark corner
in my kitchen - the mirror doesn't really help. I started to
put some glass vases and bottles on the cupboard, filled
up with water. The reflections looks like small light sources.



After I started with eight pieces in a line on Saturday, I
just couldn't stop to make it even brighter on Sunday.



More light sources, but also a little bit more chaotic...

**

I wish, you could smell the lovely fragrant of the Calamondin
blossom virtually...

new old

The chairs in our kitchen (= dining room) are 14 y.o. Nothing
wrong about the age actually, but the fact that they are folding
chairs (my ex and I were students and we thought they were
practical when we had to move often). The base is made of
metal, so they squeak and my son loves to make them squeak
even louder by fidgeting - my poor ears and neighbors ;)

When I moved into this new apartment, I started to look for
chairs (and a table, as the veneer of our table starts to fall
apart) in second hand shops and at Ebay. I didn't have a
certain idea of what I was looking for. So, I bought two used
chairs from two different eras, which don't really match each
other. I always love the look of those different chairs on a
table in magazines and blogs, but I don't think it fits me. I still
love both chairs - each on its own though.

Last week I saw a lovely Danish table/chair set for 35 Euros
for buy now at Ebay and I just couldn't resist. So, now we
have a new old dining table and chairs.



I really love the chairs - so comfortable! The upholster colors
match the clover and Amy's photographs, which I yet have
to mat properly in the vintage frames and finally hang. And
the withered tulips! LOL



The table is not my favorite. The good thing is that the white
linoleum surface makes the kitchen brighter and also the
round format fits better in the room - makes it look bigger.
But if I have guests (ok, I rarely have many guests at once), it's
not practical at all. So, I will continue keeping my eyes open
for a table.

Of course, there are some flaws, as they are not new (they
were probably used in a restaurant or a canteen before - I
forgot to ask). But I don't mind at all. I'm simply happy about
the non-squeaking, comfortable chairs :D

finally

Never thought framing and hanging art is a math on
it's own before - maybe because I never hung more
than four works in a group before. I'm not really happy
about the result, but at least some more pieces of my
collection hang on the wall and that should do for now
(it was my yesterday's therapy to calm me down from
being upset ;)).

more random things

It was my turn again to take care of the yard last
week. I got distracted by the light and the mood in
the basement - the reflection on the wall, the texture
on the floor,... I simply had to capture it.

The winter has finally arrived this week. Everything
was covered with hoar frost last Monday and it even
snowed later in the afternoon. So, what about cooking
another soup? I haven't cooked the sweet potato soup
for a while now, but I used to love it. The color combo
of the beads in my latest necklace reminds me of it. I
never wrote down the exact recipe of it, but you could
get the ingredients in the listing's description and
experiment with them ;) But if you have any questions,
just send me a convo.


BTW.. the butterfly on my older post died two days
later. Somehow I asked myself, either it would still
alive, if I didn't gave it the orange (which I took away
on the next day, as it didn't seem to want it)...

in water

The story has begun with an empty port wine bottle
about 13 years ago. I loved it so much, that I've filled it
with water and put a stem of the Devil's Ivy therein.
After that, I couldn't throw away any beautiful wine
bottle and I kept growing Devil's Ivy in water (the
mother plant in soil was dead - I forgot to water it :/).


images I took 2 years ago (from my old gallery)

Meanwhile I put simply every green thing in water,
regardless either they need much water or not. I simply
have to try it. It's a joy to see the root growing in water
and it only needs little to no care at all.


on my windowsill (a photo collage): jade plant, box tree,
cinquefoil, rose and a plant I don't know the name of

being a mom

As a mom I am often in doubt, if I'm a good one. I often
asked myself, either I've been too afraid of too many
things, making my boy less confidence of himself, either
I've given him good examples not only in everyday life
(my chaos is certainly not a good one *sigh*), but also
in the value of life. Either I've been spending enough
time with him, either it's fair to let him do something,
etc. etc. I realized, many of my questions were based of
the Indonesian and German cultural diversity I've
experienced in my own life. That on top of the general
insecurity and perfectionist in me of course.

For nearly every job in the world one can learn it before
doing the job, but not for being a mom. Where is that
manual for the child?? I was so desperate sometimes.
And with the child housework suddenly turned into big
questions - e.g.: why cleaning, when it's dirty again the
next minute? Or will the mountain of laundry ever turn
into a hill? My parents had a housemaid to do the house-
work, so I never needed to do it (it's not an argument
though - my sister is very good in housework).

Or cooking! Even if we had cooking lesson alternating
with the woodworking lesson at the junior high school
(guess, which lesson I loved most..), I think, I've only
have cooked 2 or 3 times in Jakarta. I never had interest
in cooking. Only in eating :P My mom was and still is
a good cook. She must had tough times with us. Every
time she asked us, what we wanted to eat the next day,
nobody came up with an idea. If she then suggested
something, the answer was always no. Poor mom - she
often had to cook different meals to satisfy the other 4
family members! Compared to my mom I have an easy
job with my one and only boy.



Today I'm so proud of my son. He cooked some tortellini
for lunch for us and baked the foccacia for the dinner all
by himself! No help from me except for taking the hot
baking tray out of the oven. The idea came from himself
and I wasn't worry for a second or standing around to give
him advice (I was too busy ;)). Boy, he's spoilt me - what
a lucky mom I am!!!



This was the reason, why I was busy: our 'new' wall
system. It's 2nd hand from the thrift store for 83 Euro
incl. transporting and assembling. It has some scratches
and dints, but I'm so happy about it, as the living room
is full with unmatched furnitures up till now (you can see
two shelves on the glass door). And it reminds me of the
feeling as I've visited my grandpa in Holland for the first
time in the 80s.

Last not least.. you've got to watch this video. I'm crying.
It's so amazing in just every way. She is so amazing! Watch
the reactions of everybody before and after. SO touching.
Now really bedtime for me and I'm wishing you a Happy
Weekend!!

7 things

7 days have gone by since my last post. Somehow my
mind was in a quiet modus. Even if I wanted to share
many thing with you, I was not able to put it in words.

But now, 7 things to share:

1. I worked in the garden with my boy lately. We filled
3 more buckets with weeds (this time from the garden
on the back part of the house), but still no end in sight.
I should work in the garden each day to get it done, but
my old body didn't want to (I need to do more exercise!!).
I sometimes only collected the dandelions from the garden
- looking nice to the other flowers. Weed or not weed they
look beautiful to me.



Yesterday I cut rose for the first time in my life. I've
heard often about it's difficulty, so I've read a pile of
books before I started. I hope, I didn't do it wrong.
The front garden is starting to look better now :)

2. I think, I'm more relaxed lately. I let the boys made
some breads without worrying too much as I would have
done otherwise. I helped them only with the dough at
the end phase. The perfectionist in me must have gone
a little bit ;)



3. Two spontaneous speedy actions lately (got the idea
and done it within a very short time): I've moved the
furniture in my bedroom around and made a new cover
for the swivel chair. It went so fast, that I didn't even
thought of taking photo from the very beginning. I was
surprising myself!



4. I've organized my reader lately and unsubscribed
some blogs, because it became too much to read. I often
opened my reader and more than 200 posts were
waiting for me! So, I practice myself in selecting. Not so
easy.

Two of my favorite blogs lately are Zen Habits and
Goodlife Zen. I forgot, how I've stumbled upon Brian
Kim's blog, but I found it worth a read. My journey is
still going on and these blogs provide me with food for
thought.

5. Have I told you, that I love comics? First I was just
following a link in a blog, as I suddenly discover more
interesting things along Jon Klassen's site itself:

• crazy dumbsaint
• the Flight
• Copper and the-making-of

A great video, made by Jon Klassen and Dan Rodrigues.

6. If you haven't done it yet, there is still a chance to
win a bookmark from Elizabeth (she will pick the winner
today) and a Kreativlink's journal in Megan's blog
giveaway.

7. I'm going to color some egg now (my son is coming
back tomorrow :)).

Happy Easter to you, who celebrate it :)

hello spring!

Yesterday's concert was great! Full house! The tickets
were already sold out half an hour before the concert
begin and many more people wanted to come in, so
they started to sell tickets for standing places. We
were all very motivated and definitely in a good mood.
I was VERY nervous at the beginning (not quite normal,
but it must have something to do with my outfit *lol*),
but as we started to sing, all was forgotten. It was one
of out best concert, I think (despite all tiny mistakes :)).
I didn't take any photos, but just check out our site
often and keep an eye on changes there.


I didn't have time to make a bigger one like the last time
(the old application was ruined after the laundry). Even
this mini one was just ready on time - I finished stitching
it half an hour before the concert has begun. Ooops!!!

Meanwhile spring has taken over the mood in the house
(just like outside, even if it's still quite cold) :) I need
colors!!!

kitchen day

I've been spending the whole morning in the kitchen today.
Washing dishes (which I've fully neglected yesterday),
making ice cream (my boy and I are crazy about ice cream),
washing some more dishes, cooking lunch, more dish washing
and it's not yet the end, as I'm going to cook rendang, a spicy
Indonesian beef curry. But since I had to hang the laundry in
the attic, I allow myself to take a break.



This beautiful old curtain is covering the ugly shelf in the
attic. It was already there, as I moved in. I love the pattern
and colors - so cheerful!
Don't ask, how many times I've been passing along and
thinking, what I could do with it *lol*



OK, now back to the kitchen. The curry needs about 3 hours
to cook o_O

mirror, mirror on the wall

Estella of StarOfTheEast has asked me, either
I'd like to show my bedroom in her new blog
feature, I told her, that my bedroom is not
finished yet (well, will it ever be?? ;)). I had no
curtains, no pictures on the wall and also no bed
- only a mattress on the floor (but I was glad,
she asked for a bedroom photo, as it is my most
organized room, otherwise I'd have to say no ;)).

I'm always so slow. I love to decorate, but if I
have to do it for myself... I need ages! My home
looks always as if I'm just moved in or about to
move out *lol* It has to do with how my mind
and heart work, I think. I simply cannot decide,
which style I should do it. If for one moment I
love white, the next I hate it. I like shabby chic,
but I'd rather love a modern look. That makes
me live often in rooms, that has no directions at
all and full of boxes (Oh, do you remember this?
While searching for it in YouTube I stumbled
upon one of my fave songs in late 80s as well :))!

After my son moved out to his own bedroom at
the end of January, I haven't rearranged mine
(there I got the plain background for my pic ;)).
So, thanks, Estella for the nudge! :) This is a
collage I've made to show you how it looks like
now. I was sitting in the corner, where my old
monitor is sitting too *lol* I simply don't know,
where to place it at the moment. I don't use it
often, but I don't want to throw it away as well.
So I put it in the empty corner in my bedroom.
What a mess *lol*



I'm still not satisfied with it. I might try some
different arrangements. And I'd love to have a
big mirror in front of my working table. No, I'm
not a narcist *lol* It's only I used to draw in the
bathroom as I was still living with my parents
in Jakarta. It has the brightest light, water in
my reach and it has a big, long mirror, which was
useful, as I loved to made self portraits (I was
too afraid to draw other people - afraid, that they
don't like it). But I also used it to speak to myself
*lol* It was my way to keep a distance (the
distance Ms. Gilbert was talking about in the video
from my last post). I was more self confident as
I was younger, because of this, I think.
Since the bedroom has only one window, which
is facing to the east, directly to the neighbor
house, the mirror would also give the room more
daylight. I simply need the mirror ^_^

I also would love to finally have my art wall.
I have some beautiful original art (ACEO and
bigger sizes) and Gocco prints - got them all
mostly from Etsy - and they are too pretty to
be kept hided. So I went to IKEA for frames.
Oh my, it's not so easy!! They look pretty in
the catalog, but they are not in real. I was so
disappointed (esp. about the look of the white
RIBBA, which I planned to buy to). Look at the
difference between my old RIBBA (I've bought
two, as they were just launched - about 10 years
ago, I think) and the new one.


Actually I like the smooth edges on the new one,
but the texture of it - yukk!!


Looking at the back, I know the reason - it's now
made of veneer layered fiberboard instead of solid
wood like the old one :(

I tried to cope with it. Also that some frames
only have Plexiglas instead of real glass. My
favorite frame is Fanaholm at the moment, but
I don't want to have all art in this frame style.
So, I've bought less than I've planned to and
went to OBI (a DIY store) instead. They had
some beautiful ones (the frame on the top on
the photo bellow), made of solid wood from
sustainable forest, but too bad not square.
Aaarghh!!!! Now I had a pile of frames, yet not
enough, so I still cannot hang them on the wall.
Yaaa.. my perfectionism again ;)



A few of them find place on the table for now.
Hope to be able to hang them all on the left wall
on the first picture, under the slant. There they
would be safe from direct sunlight, yet I can see
them even if I'm working on the table with my
back to them. Once I get my mirror! And if the
arrangement stays like this! *lol*



Don't forget to visit Estella's blog post to take a peek
of some more bedrooms :)

decorating

I'm always slow in decorating. Well, maybe because
my house is a mess at the moment (and almost
always :/) and I didn't feel like decorating the mess.

But yesterday I start to make something - orange
slices. It's easy to make. These are all you need:


After you cut the orange in slices (mine are about
5mm thick), hang them on a thread to let them
dry. They look very fresh and smell good. I think,
I'll make some more today and look for some
cinnamon stick and star anise.


Edit 10th Dec 2008: Thanks, folks! But this is not my
own idea. I was inspired by the potpourri I once had.
And I think, I've seen orange slices for purchase
somewhere too.