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Solar system

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I love making collages. I’ve been making them since I was a teenager. When I am looking through magazines to find images and words that catch my eye and combine them, I feel totally in the flow.  I’m a very visual person and looking at beautiful pictures, intriguing forms and varied colours feed my creative well.

Recently we created a new game we call ‘collage challenge’, where Paolo chooses a theme and I have 30 minutes to peruse my stock of already-very-cut-up magazines and make a collage (loosely) related to that theme.

It’s a good exercise for several reasons. The fact that Paolo chooses the theme means I have to get out of my comfort zone, look at images from a different point of view and be creative. Also the time constraint is extremely efficient for shutting out my inner critic and getting something on paper.

This time the theme was Solar System.  Not an easy one when most of the magazines are travel magazines… but I decided to keep an open mind and above you can see the result. I particularly like the shisha-smoking caterhuman reflecting on the origin of the Universe:)

Enjoying an evening stroll

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JOYFUL GRATITUDE #32

In these days close to the solstice, after-dinner walks in the lovely soft light are a real pleasure. As Paolo and I stroll around the neighbourhood, we mostly have the streets to ourselves apart for a few joggers or people walking their dog, and it’s perfect to chat and process our day with each other.

A few weeks ago on our way home from of one of those walks, we came across this heron, quietly poised on a trunk by the canal. It seems to me as if he was also enjoying a moment of calm in the dusk. Unfortunately our arrival disturbed him, and just a few seconds later he took flight…

Come sit with me

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If I had half an hour with you on this beautiful bench this is most probably what I would talk about…

How I had a lovely relaxed weekend, enjoying some precious down time in the sunny city and  strolling through the flowery streets of Amsterdam Zuid to try and capture the heavy rose blooms and the atmosphere with my camera…

How I had fun concocting creative plans with a friend over a delicious hazelnut iced coffee served with a sustainable metal straw (@Slowth Brunch: you guys rock!!!).

How it was a weekend of pizza making with Paolo (not even this heat will deter us from cranking the oven up to 240 degrees so we can eat some tasty homemade pizza;).

Little haven of peace

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JOYFUL GRATITUDE #31

I’m grateful  for this time of the year when the sun sets really late, making the evenings seem so much longer.  During a recent after-dinner stroll with Paolo, I spotted this lovely little place by the water, which seems perfect for escaping the hectic rhythm of the city.

I love the palette of greens, and how the chair looks like it’s just waiting for a casual visitor to sit down and reflect on the origin of the universe, whilst watching the ducks and waterhens paddle by.

Photography afternoon in Blijburg

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Lovely colourful flags blowing in the wind in Blijburg, where I went with my photography class on Saturday for a photo shoot on the beach.  We were really lucky with the weather, as the overcast sky with just a bit of sunshine peeking through from time to time was perfect for taking pictures.

We had great fun creating scenes inspired from our moodboards, with two models and a random collection of props, as passers-by looked at us with curiosity. It’s quite amazing how many creative ideas a bunch of people can come up with using a pineapple, a guitar, a shovel and a red-velvet cake on the beach… I laughed a lot:)

I particularly enjoyed exploring the story-telling aspect of photography and plan to use that more as a source of inspiration. Also I definitely want to do more portrait photography.  It’s a good way for me to get out of my comfort zone, as it is much more challenging than my usual subjects like plants or landscapes.

Magical moments

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JOYFUL GRATITUDE #30

I am extremely grateful for the lovely time spent last week on Knoydart peninsula with Paolo and some dear friends.  It felt so good to spend all day outdoors in such a peaceful place and go for long walks in the breathtakingly beautiful landscape, as the light and clouds constantly changed over the mountains and the lochs.

There were so many magical moments during our stay… like sharing fudge and a nice chat on the gorgeous train ride up from Glasgow; quietly observing an otter eating a crab it had just caught for it’s evening meal; reaching the top of a mountain with an unpronouceable name and looking down at the incredible view of the hills, the lochs and the islands all around; listening to an amazing concert of bagpipes, flute and guitar as the room shook with the audience tapping their feet to the beat and dancing all together as the musicians played on and on into the night…

More botanic beauty

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Recently I found out that there is another botanical garden in Amsterdam and it’s less than a 10 minute bike away from my flat!  So on one of my free Friday afternoons, in between 2 rain showers, I decided to go and check it out.

 

It’s free and you can just walk in, while volunteers mill around doing their thing. It’s a lovely place to relax and you don’t feel at all like you are close to the busy Zuidas.

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The collection of succulents and cacti both in and around the glasshouses is spectacular, with hundreds of different species in every single available space.

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Observing all the different plants, with their details and colours was a real pleasure as usual. There were very few visitors so I was undisturbed as I got in close to photograph the details.  I think I’ll be heading back there soon for some more inspiration:)

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Check out Botanic Garden Zuidas for the opening times (it’s near the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam Zuid).

Shoot for the stars

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JOYFUL GRATITUDE #29

A special shout-out today to the universe for making star-shaped plants! Aren’t they simply beautiful?

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Observing the details

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Last weekend as the sun was shining, we decided to get out of the city and headed to Castricum. We enjoyed a beautiful walk through the dunes and had a lovely picnic on Heemskerk beach.

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I was looking for some inspiration for my homework for the photography course which consisted in taking close-ups.

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I’m used to taking a lot of close-ups of plants, but tried to challenge myself to look for some different subjects this time (except this giant poppy flower which was just too amazing to resist;).

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Really looking at things and taking in the details, is great practise for mindfulness as it takes a lot of focus.  I enjoyed the creative challenge of combining colours, textures and imperfections.

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Sending snail mail

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JOYFUL GRATITUDE #28

Though I love receiving postcards and letters, I think I enjoy sending them even more! The idea of the recipient opening their mailbox to find something other than bills and junk mail for a change makes me very happy. So last weekend I took some time to write some postal mail to a few friends around the world.

Here’s my ritual. First I select a card or find some paper to write on (once on the Camino I didn’t have any paper so I just ripped out a few blank pages from the novel I was reading to write a letter, really anything will do).  I settle quietly and think of the person I’m writing to before jotting down a few words, it doesn’t have to be long. Then I attempt to write the address as legibly as possible, and stick on a stamp or two (bonus points for lovely stamps:).

Remembering to post the envelopes is usually my struggle as I tend to carry them around in my bag for a few days by mistake before I finally send them off on their way…  The uncertainty of when (and whether?) the postal mail will arrive is a large part of the magic of sending postal mail.

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Simple tips for writing more snail mail:

  • buy nice postcards or greeting cards when you see them in shops, having them handy at home makes it so much easier and quicker to write one
  • always have a stock stamps in the house, this saves the effort of having to go out to buy them specifically
  • write postal mail in batches of a few postcards/letters at a time for increased efficiency and satisfaction