Slightly delirious

The treehouse stinks of burnt plastic plus magnolia vanilla air freshener and a powerful but delicious gingerbread candle. I'm freezing because the windows have been open half an hour and slightly delirious from the smell... This may be a signal from the universe that I am really meant to do nothing during this winter break...

I've been doing a lot of relaxing this break because my body has given me serious signs I need to slow down - weird piercing random headaches along with total lightheadedness for a week had me quite concerned and I totally slowed down (aka: retired to being a slug on my couch) for a week before Christmas. (I "passed" all the tests the doctor put me through, so all signs point to stress that I need to manage a bit better.) This was followed by a Christmas cold/flu that my husband shared with me, so it has been all about reading good books and watching lots of movies the last week and a half. The only truly constructive things I have done include the following:

1. KB drove me to school for one hour so I could change the water in Bubbles' tank so that he survives the holidays. He is spending Christmas and New Years at school by himself this year after the close escape from death that we had last holiday season...

2. Spent Christmas Eve in Burtnieki with IG's family. It was quite nice to be in a family setting again for Christmas this year. We baked more piparkukas and piragi and had lots of great food to eat, and we sang Christmas and other songs. I hope we didn't get anyone else sick.

3. I have been attempting to dye fabric. Thus the treehouse smells of burnt plastic and I think I may just need to go back to only relaxing....

I am participating with five other women in my family on round robin quilts, where each person adds something to each quilt, writes a little something a journal that travels with that quilt, and it the end everyone has their own special quilt to keep, along with the story of the quilt. Since I, however, do not quilt, I have a different task. To dye fabric.

My sister sent me fabric dye before the holidays and I bought the linen here to dye a bit for each quilt within each person's color scheme. Krix and I have been in serious communication for a week now over email and skype as she has been trying to coach me through a technique they all learned for dying the fabric. This invovles sprinking the dye on damp fabric, putting it into a ziploc bag and microwaving it for two minutes. The part about the plastic bag in a microwave concerned me, but both Krix and mom confirmed having used this technique before.

The first attempt was just amusing, as KB was helping me with his advice (including using a fish net for a better "sprinkling" effect). We stared down the microwave nervously during the first two minutes, but other than some leakage, which I was able to clean up, nothing too damaging occured. A few of the other dyes did leave as permanent stain in the microwave, so I decided to set it aside for the night.

Tonight, however, during the second attempt, my microwave burned a massive charred hole into the first plastic bag. I turned it down from 800 power to 600 and the microwave still burned holes into the next two bags, which I quickly removed before they charred. So the question is, are European microwaves really that different from American microwaves? Or should I really just not attempt any work during this holiday and stick to 100% relaxation?

I'm slightly too delirious to make the decision now. Maybe I'll attempt it again tomorrow when I can think more clearly again...

In waiting...

Hooray! Tomorrow is officially the shortest day of the year. As of Monday, we gain back three seconds of daylight. That is the best news all year. :)

Ziemas un Saulgriezu kalnos
Saule un cilveki kapj -
Parlukot darbus, kas veikti,
Sagaidit jaunos, kas nak...

Commentary on the black and white

I've been deep in thought about the black and white world for the last week or so. It was triggered by a concert we attended last week, a legendary Latvian rock singer celebrating thirty years on the stage. The concert was quite well done with a short text, poems or food for thought in between every couple of songs. The thought that stuck with me most was the idea that winter is the time of year that we should use to rejuvenate ourselves much like nature does, to be quiet and still and look inside ourselves to see what work you can do on yourself. In a bleak outside world, you look inside yourself and in other people to find color. Perhaps not the most eloquent translation/paraphrase, but you get the idea.... Also, not this was not a novel idea to me, but somehow it has really spoken to me this time around.

This was followed by our trip to Jaunvitagas to get the Christmas tree. (As an aside, Ojars the Batmobile is officially banned from another trip to Jaunvitagas until spring - this time we got stuck in the snow for only three minutes, as opposed to the three hours we were stuck in the mud the week before.....) KB and I are finally "feeling" holidays again for the first time in years and decided to start creating our own traditions. We chose our own tree to bring home, but also decorated a tree that stays (thus the ribbon tieing in the last post).

There was very little snow on the ground in Riga, but the scene changed quickly as we drove out of town. Everything was breathtakingly, beautifully white and we couldn't help commenting on it the whole drive. It was another cloudy day in LV, but the grey skies have a very different feel when everything else is covered in white. We decided it felt like we were living in a black and white photograph, and suddenly the winter did not seem so bleak anymore, but rather extraordinary. When KB saw the photos we had taken (in particular, the one of me carrying the tree), he said it looked like one of those black and white photos with just one part colored in. And so, at least for now, the way I look at everything around me has changed. During my recess duty this week, I wasn't feeling down about another cloudy day, but I looked at all the color the kids were creating in a black and white world - not only in the literal sense with their multicolored snow gear but also the color and energy they were creating from inside themselves - each one something special enough to be colored in so it could stand out in a black and white world.

Living in the extremes here in LV, the cycles of life are that much more pronounced and I have developed a much deeper appreciation for the way our universe has been created and all that we can stand to learn from it, if we are just open and willing. So here's to the black and white which is winter - of course the white always helps (so send some more our way please, if you've got it), but there's just as much to be said for the grey, too. Because this morning when I woke up with my eyes on a bright, crisp blue sky, it felt like winning some sort of lottery, and I know it's going to be a good day!

Finding a bit of color in a black and white world

Friend or foe?

I bought a new hat. We're not sure if Mima is wildly in love with it or hates it with a passion, but either way, she attacks it any chance she gets. Because of that, the hat strategically lives at the highest place on the coat rack, though I wouldn't put it past Mims to plot out a late night attack while we are sleeping.And here is evidence of how I take winter seriously now that it's my third winter in LV with recess duty. (I don't know why my face looks crooked or what the goofy expression is all about, but it's the only picture I could get KB to take on our way out the door today.)

How we celebrated Latvia's 90th birthday

This first picture is totally unrelated to Latvia's 90th birthday, except that it happened that day. It is too cute not to share. We started the day at the studio because KB had to be there for a photo shoot, and here is godson A with his dad, learning the tricks of the trade.This was the first sunny 18th of November I have experienced in Latvia! It was like a big birthday present for us. The night before it had snowed enough that everything was just white and bright that morning. The wind was brisk, which made it a crisp day, but the blue skies made all the difference.

So we started our celebration by laying flowers at the freedom monument.
Then we met AD, IG and Mr. and Mrs. P. for a quick cup of tea to warm up before the military parade. Here we are all bundled and patriotic trying to scope out the best spot to stand for the parade. (2pm in the afternoon, you'll notice the sun is already on it's way down.)


I swear the parade keeps getting shorter and shorter every year (or I'm already just familiar with everything I will see). Regardless, the best part is always the helicopter carrying Latvia's flag. This year we decided to stand on the bridge, which is the best view of the helicopter as it goes right overhead. I felt a bit teary about it all this year (I think especially after having seen the movie Rigas Sargi) as we were standing on the very bridge where people had risked their own lives fighting for their vision of independence for Latvia excatly 90 years ago.
After the parade we were not quick enough to get to a restaurant before they were all full, so the six of us came back to the treehouse, made our own pizzas and watched some of the concerts on TV. Then we headed over to the P residence, where they have access to a 15th floor balcony, and watched the fireworks from afar. Considering this was a Tuesday, waking up for work on Wednesday morning was tough enough, but well worth it.

Being a bear

Today, I hibernate. I really should go the grocery store, most importantly because we are totally out of dish soap, second most importantly because the food Mims has left in her bowl is all the cat food we have in the house, but I think it will wait until tomorrow. Snow has been blowing from the sky all day (not falling, but fiercely blowing), our slanted windows are fully covered with icy white crystals, and I can't bring myself to get off this snuggly couch. I can't even say I've been productive about my hibernation. I wrote a lovely to-do list this morning, which did not include playing computer games, yet that is how I've spent the day. I have homework to do, newsletters to write, Xmas presents to knit, a book to read, naps to take, movies to watch, but I can't stop the addiction of trying to beat my own high score on pathwords and staries.

I realize I've been delinquent about blogging lately. Work has been a bear (and not in the hibernation sense of the word). We had a four day weekend for Latvia's 90th birthday on November 18th - two days of which were filled with interesting stuff and one day of which was totally wasted recovering from the interesting stuff, but those posts will have to wait because I don't have the pictures in order yet. Hopefully that will get done before December.

The good news is that the mega doses of Vitamin D my dad researched and recommended are seriously helping with the mood this year. That doesn't mean I don't long for a bit of sunshine, but I'm not experiencing the same sense of doom I have in the past. Additionally, as my body was kind enough to dream me a Ben and Jerry's experience, it has also allowed me to dream of the beach and sunshine several nights, where I literally feel the warmth and glow of the sun on my skin, and that seems to be enough.

Homework or newsletter next? Ok, one more computer game, and then I'll decide....