well, i know there's a lot of rain, snow and ice out there right now. but i came across liivia's photostream on flickr and must share some of her summery finland photos. i could favorite almost every photo of hers. her photos and her house make me very nostalgic for vallsta. her house isn't actually that similar to vallsta, but for some reason, herphotosmake me think about kakelugnar, blåklockor, att bada i vattnet, gammla sax, morot rivaren mormor hade, trapporna upp till vinden o ner till källaren, morfar's skrivbord, stora rummet, barnen i bullerbyn, midsommar...
yesterday i was waiting for my friend laurel to arrive at greens restaurant, where we ate a delicious lunch looking out over the bay and the golden gate bridge. so lovely. anyhow, i was sitting outside in the sun and watching people enter the restaurant. many were dressed up for the occasion and it seemed like maybe many were celebrating the holidays there with family. there were several grandmothers in the mix. i watched a young girl (maybe 12?) gently usher her grandmother in through the door after the rest of the family had entered. it made me miss mormor. that kind of love and care. so big and simple at such a young age. so sure. (ovan: mormor o jag på millesgården. jag tror att mamma sa att vi skulle posera så här.)
this friday's favorites are all from maria, aka mav.
mav's (and for a while arc and mav's) blog is one of two blogs that i have checked almost every day since 2005! it's odd to spend part of each day "with" someone i've never met. i am really going to miss the port2port part of my days. yesterday was mav's last port2port post. amazing how just a short visit to her blog offered such a huge amount of beauty and inspiration. her posts made me reflect and see the world differently. i feel lucky that she shared/shares so many of her projects, photos, thoughts and her own inspirations with us. i think her blog is/was one of the most beautiful out there.
i started posting friday flickrs after seeing mav's, so it is even more appropriate that today's faves are photos by her. i don't know if friday flickrs was something she started, but her posting hers certainly influenced many others out there to post theirs. and she has influenced/inspired many art/craft/photo bloggers with her ideas, images, letterpress work, projects and with her grace. i am grateful, she'll still be an online presence with 3191, more, lines and shapes and other projects.
anyhow, here are some of the MANY mav flickr faves of mine in no particular order.
it's been a cookie/card workshop in my house today. made a set of 4 pear cards, 4 lemon cards, 4 leaf cards, 4 shape cards and some random others. lately i feel very shape focused. normally i'm mostly interested in color. it's kind of exciting to be seeing shapes everywhere.
it's finally winter in sf. and the leaves which are normally down by now are finally falling (and swirling in mini tornado fashion). the crunch underfoot is good.
inside, i cleaned to prepare for our holiday party. also mulled the wine to make the glögg. and made some cards while listening to neko case. she sounds especially good on a windy day. tomorrow the cookies get baked (and sampled). and more card-making! and possibly dancing in the evening if it's not pouring rain and cold. friday wintery flickrs: i heart my sorels i love this combo from shari. three little berries from maditi
went for a little studio visit at diana's last night. diana is ever the charming hostess with spiked (and spiced) cider (poured from a big, stout kettle into small, diana-formed cups), homemade gingersnaps, stories and lamb ornament gifts! so inspiring to see her work all out together, lined up in rows and collected here and there in her studio. the shapes and colors and textures and lines!
after spending too much time tweaking on my photoshop assignment, i ended up doodling an alphabet. no analyzation required. just used the pens/pencils/highlighters that happened to be on my desk. typed the phrase and drew some letters. then sewed the last letter on. silly and relaxing. it might be nice as a little handmade book.... click on photo above to see other letters.
friday flickrs cosy (my favorite city)by clumsy bird collection by madelinetosh (can't resist pretty spools like these) sledging (a perfect winter scene) by hanne abigail makes incredible sketches. draw... this weekend is the big lucia celebration in sf. can't wait.
i'm sure there are tons of posts out there about this, given the hordes of san franciscans going to see it, but here are my MILK thoughts anyway.
i feel so lucky to have seen this movie in THE BEST possible place to see it. the castro theater (for non-SFers) is one of the oldest theaters still in operation in SF, and it is in the heart of the Castro district, where MILK was filmed. not only is it a beautiful theater, but it is a huge theater. and it is packed to the gills at every viewing of MILK. the line for ticket-holders starts forming at least an hour before the movie, and there in line, the excitement starts to build. apparently (and understandably) the castro theater is outselling any other theater in the country with its MILK sales. the atmosphere in the theater last night was fantastic. one huge crying, jubilating and crying mass. despite the tragedies of the story and the fact that we face the same hatred/ignorance today, i felt very hopeful there in the theater.
it is crazy (and sad) that we are indeed fighting such similar battles now. and harvey's criticism of the materials for no on 6—that there were no gay people or mention of gays in the materials—are the same criticisms made about the pathetic advertising for no on 8. (wish we'd learned more from how harvey helped defeat 6).
if you live in the bay area and haven't seen MILK yet, you must see it at the castro theater. it is a beautiful experience.
now i need to see the times of harvey milk again though, because you can't beat the real harvey.
