ALL WE HAVE SEEN

"We are a landscape

of all we have seen."

-Isamu Noguchi

LA BOHÈME

{ because some days simply require some Edith Piaf... }

I notice that now 

that I don't belong 

to a work community anymore,

everyday encounters

take on a whole new meaning. 

Like this week,

meeting with a friend

for coffee in the middle of the day,

striking a conversation

with a friendly shopkeeper,

stopping to help an old lady

from the lift and out of the building.

Whether deep and meaningful

or an accidental exchange of words,

those moments mean something,

sometimes more than the other person

might even guess. 

Especially those little old ladies

with their twinkling eyes

turn my heart into goo... :) 

I'm still in that honeymoon period

of having more time,

not just freed up 

by ditching my morning job

in the spring,

but having bigger children,

who have longer days at school

and require less escorting to hobbies

now that they are so able & willing

to do much more themselves.

I keep stopping & wondering,

almost as if on the brink of something new. 

Time to see & feel

in a whole new way. 

Seasons change

in more ways than one. 

Roses brought by my mother last week

are spilling all over the table now. 

Darkness descends earlier by the day.

Evenings take on comforting rituals of their own -

 books, cups of herbal tea

or a drop of red wine now and then,

& curling up with dear husband

to watch films & English series

in a quiet house.

The week will end

with the silver lining 

of a nice little photography gig

before taking time 

to spend with the kids

during their autumn break next week. 

Some autumnal inspiration

I've gathered over time right here. 

Wishing you as well as can be! 

x

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AUTUMN BREATH

There's now a chill in the air

that gets to the bones,

but it still feels like

autumn has one wrapped up

in its tender arms. 

When silence lands,

it's all the easier

to get lost inside one's

head full of dreams.

Even coffee seems to

have gained 

an extra layer of smoothness... 

Enjoying the technicolor spectacle

out there,

in quiet expectation 

of the monochrome magic

that is just a few pages away 

- my mental landscape. 

Wishing you a beautiful week,

thanking you 

for these moments with me.

x

OCTOBER

Thank you dear October

for these days

of glorious hues,

splintered by your 

mysterious shadows

and light 

of gold, silver and blue.

x

YESTERDAY

Yesterday's treats included

a coffee break with a dear friend & her baby

 in the morning,

and a dive into rose bushes 

along my evening walk.

These September evenings 

have been simply divine!

To end the day,

I found myself glued 

to the first episode of Chef Table France

currently airing on Netflix,

with its spotlight on

Parisian top chef Alain Passard.

I promise you'll be inspired

even if you're not that into cooking,

so do tune in, if you have the possibility!

(I made this apple pie at the weekend,

and it was quite a coincidence 

to discover it was actually Passard

who invented the lovely idea 

of "tarte du roses".)

Eilisen herkkuina aamupäiväkahvit ystävän ja pikkuisensa kanssa,

ja pujahdus ruusupuskiin iltakävelyn varrella.

Nämä syyskuun illat

niin lempeitä!

Myöhemmin tuijottelin Netflixistä

uutuussarjan Chef Table Francen

pariisilaisesta huippukokista

  Alain Passardista kertovaa ensimmäistä jaksoa.

Väitän, että siitä inspiroituu kuka tahansa,

vaikkei kokkaus edes kiinnoistaisi -

katsokaa ihmeessä, jos vaan mahdollisuus! 

(Viikonloppuna pyöräytin muuten

tällaisen omenapiirakan,

ja oli hauska yhteensattuma 

huomata illalla,

että "tarte du roses"

onkin juuri Passardin ihana keksintö.)

x

FIG & INDIGO

The mind turns to fig clouds

& indigo lakes

shrouded by thick woods.

An autumn palette

begins to paint the skies

& the mind's eye. 

(A palette that instantly transports me

to Hans Blomquist's

 timeless, aeshetic world.

And the succulent textures

to the voice of Lianne La Havas, 

whose music has been streaming 

through these rooms

all morning,

like taking a dip

in a bowl of sumptuous plum jam.)

Wishing you a sweet weekend! 

x

NOVEMBER MOODBOARD

Still a few days left

of November,

 secret & silent.

1., 6. & 7. unknown

2. Ralph Lauren A/W collection 1988 in The Sunday Times Magazine

3. Sandeea Cocina on LRF

4. Hans Blomquist's  In Detail

5. via

WINGS

We leave behind our nests of linen sheets

& usual humdrum. 

 A drive through a landscape 

of silver roads,

silent lakes

& birch trees dripping in gold. 

Suddenly a field

with hundreds of swans 

 gathered 

before taking flight

to faraway lands.

The most spine-tingling

sight & sound

imaginable. 

We land in my parents' quiet house

& fill it with all that noise & bustle

that a family with children

tends to without even noticing.

They don't seem to mind.

There's tenderness in their eyes.

Traces of autumn everywhere you look,

silently nudging to a quieter place inside.

If summer fills you with a certain restlessness,

autumn seems to bring you back home.

The odd thing is that as a rest takes hold of heart & soul,

it's as if you gain wings to soar.

A silence & a pulsating feeling of freedom.

x

CONSTELLATIONS

These are the days of

softly tiptoeing around in woolly socks,

coffee upon cinnamon tea upon coffee,

evenings overdosing on cheese & figs

(I've more or less totally abandoned sugar,

but I could never give up cheese...),

wilting autumn roses,
a certain quietness of the soul
even with the music flowing in the background.

I've been thinking about time recently,

about an underlying pressure to, along with time,

always move forward.

But also about the grace to stand still.

Not always growing "chronologically",

as Anaïs Nin utters wisely.
  

Even rest from all those 

well-meaning carpe diems

that can sometimes just add pressure.

Believing that there is & will be enough time anyway

for the things that matter.

Cause there'll always be laundry to hang,

dishes to put away,

tax returns to fill in,

deadlines to meet.

Surprise elements,

things beyond control. 

But there's a moment each day

to take a photograph,

read a thought-provoking line,
smell my child's skin,

notice the frost on the leaves on the ground,

 the way the light flickers...

P.S. 

Big love goes to

those grey, older men & women

who are bursting with character
& filling their silver years

 doing what they love,

like this super lady from Japan.





(Second image,
leaf on spread from REVS #15)

Hiippailua villasukissa,

kahvia, kaneliteetä, lisää kahvia,

illan tullen juusto- ja viikunaövereitä

(sokerin olen lähes tyystin heivannut,

mutta juustosta en luopuisi vaikka mikä olisi…),

hiljakseen kuihtuvia syysruusuja,

sisimmässä tiettyä hiljentymistä,

vaikka taustalla tulvii musiikki.

Olen miettinyt aikaa, sen kulumista,

ja alitajuista painetta mennä eteenpäin, kasvaa vinhasti sen mukana.

Olen miettinyt myös armollisuutta pysähtyä, jäädä paikoilleen.

Emme kasva aina “kronologisesti”,

puhuu Anaïs Nin viisaasti.

Miettinyt myös lepoa “carpe diem” -lausahduksista,

jotka loppujen lopuksi joskus lisäävät vain paineita.

Uskoa siihen, että aikaa on & tulee olemaan riittämiin

sille, mikä on tärkeää.

Sillä päivät nyt vaan helposti täyttyvät siitä,

kun ripustaa pyykkejä kuivumaan,

laittaa astioita kaappiin,

täyttää veroilmoituksia,

tähtää dediksiin.

Yllätysmomenteista,

asioista, joita ei pysty hallitsemaan.

Silti joka päivä on aikaa

ottaa valokuva,

lukea ajatuksia herättävä lause,
tuoksutella lapsen ihoa,

huomata huurrekerros maahan tipahtaneen lehden reunuksella,

se korttelin rakennus,

jonka aamuaurinko kuvioi erityisen viehkosti.

P.S.  

Sydän syttyy niille harmaahapsisille herroille & rouville,

joilla on elämää suurempi persoona

& jotka täyttävät hopeiset vuotensa

sillä, mistä totisesti syttyvät

 - kuten tämä japanilainen supermummo.