MOOD

"I can smell autumn

dancing in the breeze."

x

AN OCTOBER DAY IN STOCKHOLM

an October day wandering around Stockholm.

the day began with breakfast at Snickarbacken 7

& a walk around Östermalm. 

then we headed to Gamla Stan,

which always seems to take you by surprise,

reveal another layer of itself...

we all had an autumn flu,

but the quieter side streets & cafés were a pretty good remedy.

until next time....

x

AUTUMN MOOD

Thought I'd share some pics

from an autumn product shoot 

for Nougat

before it's time for some Christmassy ones

Always as fun, meditative & tiring :) 

x

OPEN & CLOSED

October the first.

Trees still mostly green,

but this last week

a definite shift in the air.

Although a tad apprehensive

about the increasing coldness that awaits,

I take pleasure in these shifting seasons,

a reminder of each moment having its own beauty,

its own soul.

And amid the constant changes,

I value what has remained over the years.

Family, old, steadfast friends.

As autumn gains a deeper layer,

in between the calendar entries,

I get an urge to huddle and quieten down.

In the best case, 

give my all to each encounter,

then in the quiet moments

meet with my own soul.

In the autumn dimness,

have ever clearer eyes.

"Your hand opens & closes,

opens & closes.

If it were always a fist

or always stretched open,

you would be paralysed.

Your deepest presence

is in every small contracting & expanding,

the two as beautifully balanced & coordinated

as birds' wings."

~ Rumi

FIELDS & FIGS

i know, how cute can one actually get, right?!

my two gorgeous nieces popped round 

on Sunday afternoon.

little Stella has a thing for the Eiffel tower,

she clutched my miniature one tightly in her hand

the whole time... 

when she started to play with that old top hat, too,

I had no choice but to quickly

rummage for the camera.

she chose props that were right up my street :) 

at the weekend,

we also caught some fresh autumn air

in the countryside,

just the two of us.

sometimes i get an urge

to surround myself with fields

even for just an afternoon. 

it had just rained

& then came the sun.

a field of glistening pearls.

past the midway point 

of september,

it's autumn for real. 

i'm drawn to lush, deep tones,

mauve, mulberry, crimson, fig,

a notch deeper

than the early autumn golds.

inspiration isn't hard to find on the whole right now.

still plenty of light

for spontaneous camera play,

& a closing in of sorts

in a world of one's very own

of books, poems, films & walks

that feed the imagination. 

x

FOR A GREY DAY

some moods from my shoot for nougat

earlier this autumn. 

a day that stretched from morning

til the last rays of light

in an excited frenzy,

every limb tired in a happy  kind of way

at the end of the day. 

today, this set serves as a note to self

to light up some candles

& soak up these november greys.

x

TURKU WEEKEND

We spent a weekend in Turku,

where despite the chilly late autumn weather,

it was quite easy to lose oneself

in the atmosphere.  

Helene Schjerfbeck's exhibtion at the art museum

was my main aim,

but we also enjoyed the Aboa Vetus museum,

food halls, cafés 

(it's the little things that make a wanderer happy,

like how at Café Art

they gave each of us a hot chocolate

with a different floating pattern :)) 

and fish market

that sprawled on either side of the river.

Newlyweds dripping with joy

stepped out from the Cathedral.

The tiny Välikatu "in between" street

had clearly done a runner from Stockholm's Gamla Stan,

and somewhere along the riverbank 

I imagined myself in Amsterdam. 

As dusk descended,

the cafés and restaurants 

were bustling with people & chatter. 

Lokakuun viimasta huolimatta

oli Turusta helppo raaputtaa tunnelmaa. 

Päätärppinä minulla Helene Schjerfbeck taidemuseossa,

mutta viihdyttiin myös Aboa Vetuksessa,

kauppahallissa, kahviloissa

(ne on ne pienet ylimääräiset eleet,

jotka ilahduttavat vaeltajan mieltä,

kuten se, kun Café Artissa

sai jokainen meistä kaakaonsa eri kuviolla :)),

joen molemmin puolin levittäytyneillä silakkamarkkinoilla.

Tuomiokirkosta asteli iloa säteilevä pari.

Pikkuinen Välikatu

kuin karannut Tukholman Gamla stanista,

jossain kohtaa joenvartta kuvittelin 

häivähdyksen Amsterdamia.  

Pimenevässä syysillassa kuppilat

täynnä ihmisiä ja puheensorinaa.