A new day - a new place - a new book

Girl: reading. 

Boys: fishing.

A girl needs to be prepared for the wait, and what better than a book and some binoculars? I was all set for hours.

"H is for Hawk" b Helen Macdonald

Reading together

Some mornings you just want to keep in a bubble. You do not want the world to move on and out of that little piece of heaven you have managed to create. And for a while...that might actually work.

Tea, coffee, breakfast, books and company ♥

Svalbard

 - the land of ice, polar bears, snow mobiles, views and friends - 

Me being me, I even found books to collect up here...!

A polar bear mum and her two tiny cubs left paw prints in my heart

A grand midnight sun ♥

Another volunteering experience!

This time with an old dream of mine...dolphins! At the west coast of Australia you can find Shark Bay and Monkey Mia. This is a great place for learning about and meeting dolphins, doing research, swimming, sunbathing, reading books, having conversations, meeting new people...and to simply watch the dolphins play and hunt along the shore. These creatures are mysterious, fun and magical - all at once.

Two of the lovely dolphins I was so lucky to meet ♥

Diaries, statistics and keeping tabs is important down here as well

Books come in many shapes...

My poor diary is falling apart, but to be fair that is to be expected when travelling the world its fifth (and sadly last) year in a row...

Old family treasures

Firstly, I should mention that this is not my book. Not yet, at least, and hopefully not for many years still.

Secondly, I have a fondness for old recipe books, and so far I have collected a few. The effort and time the ladies put into them back in the days and over the course of years make them special. Some young women continue to write in the same recipe book for fifty years or more, making it more similar to a diary showing the passing from unmarried to married, to being a mum or to become a grandmother.

This particular one belongs to my dad's mum. She brought it out from its hiding place when I asked if we could bake prior to Christmas. The book is almost 50 years old now. It was a fun day - and I got to spend wonderful hours with my grandparents. I love being home for Christmas.

My granny's old recipe book

A bonfire and a cave

My friends asked me to join them in camping out in a glitter cave this weekend. It was snowy outside, a bit cold - and yet, sitting in the cave at night, watching and listening to the bonfire after all the rest had gone to sleep, I loved it. I had some tea left, I had my book - and for a little while there was enough light from the flames to read by before it all got too late and I had to get some sleep as well.

An inspiration

A surprise!

Today, the 4th of November, I could actually go outside and cut another couple of roses from my garden. This is a novelty. Normally, sitting by the kitchen window at this time of the year, the garden flowers are pretty much gone and there are only some vague reflections of the glorious summer colours left.

A sunny day

Pretty colours make any day bright...

...and my diary is always close by.

Breakfast time...at another airport.

I'll admit this is cheating, but oh, so nice!

My new ibook - I love love love it!

My ipad has never looked this great ♥ 

50 questions that will free your mind

These questions have no right or wrong answers - as sometimes, asking the right questions is the answer.

Give them a go:

1. How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?
2. Which is worse, failing or never trying?
3. If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do?
4. When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?
5. What is the one thing you’d most like to change about the world?
6. If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich?
7. Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?
8. If the average human life span was 40 years, how would you live your life differently?
9. To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken?
10. Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things?
11. You’re having lunch with three people you respect and admire.  They all start criticizing a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your friend.  The criticism is distasteful and unjustified.  What do you do?
12. If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be?
13. Would you break the law to save a loved one?
14. Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity?
15. What’s something you know you do differently than most people?
16. How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy?
17. What one thing have you not done that you really want to do?  What’s holding you back?
18. Are you holding onto something you need to let go of?
19. If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why?
20. Do you push the elevator button more than once?  Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster?
21. Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?
22. Why are you, you?
23. Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend?
24. Which is worse, when a good friend moves away, or losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you?
25. What are you most grateful for?
26. Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never be able to make new ones?
27. Is is possible to know the truth without challenging it first?
28. Has your greatest fear ever come true?
29. Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely upset?  Does it really matter now?
30. What is your happiest childhood memory?  What makes it so special?
31. At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?
32. If not now, then when?
33. If you haven’t achieved it yet, what do you have to lose?
34. Have you ever been with someone, said nothing, and walked away feeling like you just had the best conversation ever?
35. Why do religions that support love cause so many wars?
36. Is it possible to know, without a doubt, what is good and what is evil?
37. If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job?
38. Would you rather have less work to do, or more work you actually enjoy doing?
39. Do you feel like you’ve lived this day a hundred times before?
40. When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in?
41. If you knew that everyone you know was going to die tomorrow, who would you visit today?
42. Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to become extremely attractive or famous?
43. What is the difference between being alive and truly living?
44. When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards, and just go ahead and do what you know is right?
45. If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake?
46. What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?
47. When was the last time you noticed the sound of your own breathing?
48. What do you love?  Have any of your recent actions openly expressed this love?
49. In 5 years from now, will you remember what you did yesterday?  What about the day before that?  Or the day before that?
50. Decisions are being made right now.  The question is:  Are you making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you?

Source

Source

Do you believe in Father Time?

One of Mitch Albom's newest books states that Father Time is real. He is no myth, no work of fiction...real.

He has been banished for an eternity for the crime of trying to measure time, listening to the people of the world always asking for a little more of it - a few minutes, a few hours...a few more years - as punishment. The whispers and wishes never stop. There are too many people in our world asking. Too many voices.

Now he is on a mission - he has the chance to redeem himself at last. All he has to do is teach two people the true meaning of time. An easy task, you may think?

We humans seem to believe that we have all the time in the world. That there will always be a tomorrow where we can fix things, do things, make dreams come true. That it will never be too late. We also seem to think there is never enough time. Never enough time to stop by a friend, have that cuppa or make that call. Never enough time to stop and simply be - be in the moment or take that deep breath while doing absolutely nothing. We are such strange creatures.

Have you tried to imagine a life without timekeeping? Yes? No? Can you? Have you realised that man are the only ones on earth that actually tries to measure it? And by so doing we all fear something no one else fears.

You see, mankind invented the fear of time running out.

The book "The Time Keeper" by Mitch Albom really makes you think. And when you are finished reading it it may have changed your perception of time, too. At least I sincerely hope so.

"The Time Keeper" by Mitch Albom

A book in every nook?

Are you guys like me - always reading more than one book at any given time?

I have books spread throughout the entire house... and when at work I am usually reading three books: one in my room, one at my desk and one on my iPad kindle app! Reminds me a bit of this guy:

Chris Gall

Close to the perfect holiday

A little while back we jumped on a plane to the Caribbean. We had no plans, no thoughts as to where to go - apart from the date on the return ticket. What a joy! We roamed about around the British Virgin Islands - and visited 7 different islands in the area. We absolutely loved a few of them - they were so tranquil, so beautiful and in general amazing places to spend some time!

Needless to say: I brought books! And a hammock. You do not need much to make some pretty perfect days on the beach ♥

A book I found down there:
A Trip to the Beach 
by
Melinda and Robert Blanchard

Another book from the amazing "Black Jewels"-series!

Luxurious days!

Nom!

"Bright Young Things"
by
Scarlett Thomas

I really have to plan another trip - perhaps to a different part of the Caribbean this time. Although I must say that I will have to drop by "Ivan's Stress Free Bar & Campground" on Jost van Dyke - that place was the closest thing to paradise we found ♥

Meeting Neil Gaiman!

I cannot believe I got to meet one of my favourite authors!

A trip to the beach...

The perfect combination?

Hide and seek......

So, Saturday night  - and the guys at work figure they want to play a trick on me. They hid my iPad TWICE tonight! This is where it was the last time I found it... I must admit this was rather inventive - and quite telling, too. Such a neat place to hide it, right?

Do you see it?

It was a laugh - and I still do not know who did it. They all point fingers at someone else... Boys!

The Happy Jar - looking back!

Remember I told you about the idea of The Happy Jar?

Well, it has now officially been a year since then - and guess what? I did try it out. I started in January with writing down these little fun things that I experienced through a day. Alas, it was not on a piece of paper in an actual jar, but hey, it is the idea that counts, right? I figured I could simply write the list on my tablet - that way I would be able to carry the list with me most of my day, and so hopefully make it easier to remember writing in it.

In the beginning it was a bit difficult, though. I mean, jotting down happy things meant you had to pay attention and remember them, right? Not the easiest thing, but every few days something worth remembering would happen - something that made me smile or laugh a bit. The list grew. Granted, it did grow slowly, but at least steadily. By the end of March, something peculiar happened. The little happy things I jotted down started to occur almost every day! By June things even started accumulating - I now not only found one, but a couple or more of happy events most days.

Here, I will show you a pic of what my Happy Jar looked like in December. What do you think?

13th to 17th of December

It is amazing, is it not? Look at all those happy moments for each day - some of them small, like a hot brew and a gingerbread on a cold winter's day, and some of them big, like getting visitors and a huge cuddle from my godson! And let me tell you, the days with lots of entries are now the normal ones.

So, what do you think happened throughout the year? How did it end up so differently from where it started?

I am perfectly convinced that I somehow tuned my mind in on happiness. Of simply being happy, maybe just for a little moment. You can always find something in your day that will make you smile. All you have to do is to pay attention when it happens. Easy as that ❤

I hope you will get inspired to start your own Happy Jar - or perhaps inspire others. Maybe you can look back on all the great moments, events and things you have filled your jar with the next time the year turns. It is a funny thing, you know, when you see all those moments in black-and-white in a note or colourful pieces of paper in a jar. I promise there will be so many you had forgotten already! Who knows, maybe you can make a difference out there by showing this little idea to someone.

I, for one, will continue my Happy Jar-list. I made a fresh one, starting today.

It already has three entries.

Meeting a friend

A Christmas holiday to me is visiting friends and family. Although I could not go home this year, I had the luxury of meeting a dear friend at a café just before I had to leave for work. Would you believe it was raining outside? I sure had problems believing my own eyes, but there you go. Rain five days before Christmas, when there ought to be snow all around!

To make up for it a hot chocolate and carrot cupcake was in dire need ❤

...and Christmas presents, obviously!

It was indeed a good day - and I wish you the same for today.