Tag: photography

photography – 30 days of everyday life (part 2)

~ Maggie ~ Leave a comment
16. easter. didn’t eat chocolat, but we went out for breakfast in Scheveningen. fun.

17. walls done, laying floors. that bathroom is actually getting close to be finished!

18. watering plants inside. outside not needed. it’s raining.

19. not feeling too well. passing time with yarn and photos. trying to allow myself time to heal.

20. i stopped bringing every cute vintage item i find at the thrift shop home, but I love it when I find things I was looking for (tea glasses) or things I can actually use (yarn!)

21. had a really slow start today. but some things just need to be done.

22. we drove a long way to pick up a second hand bath we found on marktplaats (comparable  to craig’s list) for 60 euro. it was fun.

23. i find his glasses (he has several – cheap- pairs) all over the house and still he can’t find any when he needs them…

24. “stop messing with that camera and feed me, i’m starving!”
catsitting for my daughter and don’t worry, he got enough yesterday, but he eats a lot (too much if we let him)  when he gets lonely.

25. the weather today was really unpredictable

26. our custum made blinds (3m long) finally arrived!

27. growing

28. an unexpected visit from one of the girls ended in all three of them having diner with us. love when that happens.

29. he started the next diy-project on his list

30. our weekends are always filled with things like this. i like it.

Cheese!

~ Maggie ~ 2 Comments

I took these pictures at the cheesemarket in Gouda a few weeks ago. After living in and near Gouda for almost thirty years, the cheese market itself doesn’t really interest me anymore. It’s mostly meant for tourists and actually quite cheesy (pun intended 😉 ).
But it’sa great place for people watching and practicing my skills in street photography.

30 days of everyday life (part 1)

~ Maggie ~ 4 Comments

One of the things I’d like to be better at in photography, is taking pictures of everyday life. In fact, one of my very first blog-reboots was inspired by a series at Soulemama’s. Funny, I still think her pictures are way more beautiful then mine, but looking back eight years (!) is actually making me feel better about my pictures too. They do bring back memories of everyday life and that was what I was aiming for. They make me feel nostalgic too. Those teenagers… And that cat… I do miss that cat (he died of old age two years ago).

This month I’ve tried to take a picture of everyday life each day again and I’m slowly getting back into the groove. I may even try to keep it up next month, because I really want to be more mindful about my everyday life.
Anyway, here are the first 15 days.

1. ironing is not my favorite chore, but I try to keep up and do it once a week

2. first bbq this year!

3. dusting.

4. hanging laundry outside. sign of spring!

5. coffee. much needed around here (though i’m down to two cups a day and dh is trying to cut down too)

6. finished the last of the yearly taxes. good times.

7. tea, yes please. can one drink too much tea? (actually, one can. trying to cut down)

8. working in the garden. feels good to be outside again

9. we have a ceiling! and lamps! (in our bathroom that has been  under construction for over two years now)

10. vacuuming away a weekend of construction dust

11. sorted through my summer cloths. had to ditch a lot (that’s a good thing, it was all way too wide)

12. grocery shopping is always more fun with the addition of unexpected, good conversations with strangers
“i do forget a lot, but I choose to forget the negative. that feels much better.”

13. i actually like doing windows. i don’t like that they get filthy again so quickly.

14. cooking dinner for six (us, the girls + one boyfriend). good times.

15. growing a tiny bit of veggies is all I can do. but it is enough to  make me feel connected to the seasons and the earth’s cycles

photography – 30 in April (part 1)

~ Maggie ~ 2 Comments

I’ve been talking about my love for photography before. Actually it wasn’t the crafting, but taking pictures that brought me back to blogging first after this particular blogbreak. I even started a new blog, especially for my photography, but that just didn’t feel right.
So I think I’m going back to sharing my pictures here, as just another part of my blog. It’s a craft too after all and a big part of my life, so totally in synch with the (in reality non-existent) theme of my blog.

I’ve been working on two photography projects this month, both involving daily pictures. The series I’m sharing today (well, the first half of it, since april isn’t over yet) was meant to get my somewhat rusty skills up to par again. In my mind known as “trying to take good pictures”, though that sounds pretentious. Also I’m aware of the fact that it’s impossible to take 365 good pictures in a year. That said, I’ve tried to commit to 365 challenges before and never made it through a full year. At this point I’m just trying to do 30 in April and I’ll take it from there.

Anyway, I’m actually quite pleased with most of them, but I have to admit that I am disappointed that it’s mostly close-ups of flowers again. I would love to branch out a bit (actually I am working on that, stay tuned), but it has been fun to take pictures on a regular basis again.

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On Tuesday

~ Maggie ~ 6 Comments

I know, I’m a day late. But yesterday was hectic and I still wanted to join the fun. so here’s my Happy Homemaker’s Tuesday.

As I look outside my window:::
sunshine! It’s cold and frosty. I love that. So much better than our usual rainy days.
 
Right now I am:::
At my desk and my bigger screen since we discovered that my laptops screen is giving me headaches. Also, it’s better for me to work from a set place, not from the couch.

Thinking and pondering:::
Hmn, I’m not sure if I should elaborate on this, but I’m partly thinking about family, what to accept lovingly  and where to draw lines. And partly about how much priority writing should have in my life. That has been a struggle ever since my first book came out. Balancing ambition (sell more books, make a living writing), reality (I do make money with it, but very little. I do have a publisher and readers, but I’m not at the top of any list) and other important life goals (my marriage, my family, my home) is really hard for me.

On my bedside table:::
Just my alarmclock, but it’s running slow (right now it’s 17 minutes behind – oops), so I never really use it. My husband has an alarm at his side of the bed and we get up when it goes. It’s one of those alarms that starts with a light that keeps getting brighter. It doesn’t beep, but plays birds singing louder and louder when it goes off. I have a love/hate relationship with that thing.

On my tv:::
Nothing. I don’t even feel like watching youtube.

Playing on the radio:::
Radio 10. They have the Top 4000 right now, running from Nov. 30th till Christmas Eve. The higher numbers are fun to listen to, because a lot of them are forgotten songs that somebody decided to vote for. And getting closer to the top, it’s more and more great songs that I love to hear.

On the menu for this week:::
I really don’t know. I have some onion stew left over from yesterday, so I guess today I’ll add some veggies and have an easy meal. I’m craving simple meals, just mash or something like that, so I guess that’s what we’ll eat for a few days. We have some great plans for the weekend and will be eating out a lot.

On my to do list:::
– Clean up after Sinterklaas festivities (Saturday we had my extended family over -11 people- and yesterday our own little family -5 people-, fun but messy)
– Some bookkeeping tasks (taxes)
– Deciding on and finishing the last posts for the year on my writer’s website

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating:::
I started a hat yesterday to help me through a difficult group conversation (knitting helps me to focus on what’s being said, and protects me from channeling other people’s feelings). I also want to start working on a cowl from the lovely skein my sister gave me.

My simple pleasure:::
cleaning up after holidays. I love remembering how much fun we had with every piece of paper I pick up.

Lesson learned the past week:::
That I need to be honest to myself. Even if that means that I can’t please everyone.

Looking around the house:::
I think it’s good that I already decided to make cleaning and decorating it a priority these weeks. Ahem 😉

From the camera:::

  

Quote:::
You know that pain and guilt can’t be taken away with a wave of a magic wand. They’re the things we carry with us. The things that make us who we are. If we lose them, we lose ourselves. I don’t want my pain taken away. I need my pain. (Captain Kirk – Star Trek The final frontier)