*September happy list

• using my handmade lavender soap

• making plum jam

• reading 📖

• making the first kimchi after a summer break

• finishing my crochet hat

• solving some computer issues

• lighting the first candle in the very early morning hours

• little surprise gifts from my dear sister

• September light!

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*one breezy summer evening

I remember that August evening well, the heat was gone for a moment and made place for a comforting mild summer breeze which felt so refreshing in my whole being. We were out looking for flocks of birds, but we did not find any, instead the sky looked beautifully dramatic with the heavy clouds that were giving space for some sunbeams here and there and the sunflowers were heavy in seeds so that they were compelled to lower their heads.

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*Riviera bag

As promised, here are some pictures of the new bag I made with raffia yarn. The pattern is called "Riviera bag" and is available in English and German at Paulastrickt, in case you want to make one for yourself. I changed it a little bit to fit my needs though, but I really love how it turned out and it fits perfectly to my new second-hand linen dress. Also I finished Neil Gaiman's book "Stardust" some time ago which was a nice side trip into wondrous worlds and happenings.

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*a soft glow of summer | part 2

Warm summer sun,

Shine kindly here,

Warm southern wind,

Blow softly here.

Green sod above,

Lie light, lie light.

Good night, dear heart,

Good night, good night.

{Mark Twain}

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*a soft glow of summer | part 1

On that day the light that came into our bedroom was just amazing and my zenit-B could catch the atmosphere perfectly. Yesterday life made me a special gift, two grasshopper were sitting next to each other on my zinnia flowers which made me instantly happy! I filmed them a bit, so I can include them into my next little movie. Hopefully I will soon find some time and energy to cut it. 

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*Ceramic palettes

There are still many ceramic pieces left, that I haven't showed you yet, like these painting palettes and brush holder bugs.

On Sunday I took, the first time in over three months, my watercolors out and painted a little bit. Not because I was actually wanting to paint so much, but more because I had an image in my head that I did not want to forget and so I captured it in this way. It felt so weird to hold a brush after such a long break, but I feel that sooner or later I will start to paint regularly again and my fingers are slowly but surely itching more and more to make some ceramics again. This is a good sign I guess.

The night temperatures are dropping down to only a few degrees already, so the house starts to get really chilly and this morning I decided  to make the first fire in the stove. It is always a special moment, but I surely need some time to get into the heating routine. Also I opened my little Etsy store again and spent most time of yesterday on packing orders.

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*The one thing...

"The one thing that you have that nobody else has is you.

Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision.

So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can."

{Neil Gaiman}

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*Garden update

Good morning!

I just made my first tea from my roman fennel plant in the garden and thought it would be nice to make another little garden update here. There are still so many zinnias blooming new every day and finally my little grasshopper friends found them too! The watering got easier and it is truly the time of the year where we can harvest the most different veggies at once. It is true abundance! I hope weather stays stable for some longer so plants do have enough time to develop seeds. Sometimes frost comes too early and I am not able to get seeds from certain plants. It was a bad year for beetroot, but luckily carrots and parsnips grew well. The grapes got ripe earlier than ever and soon it is time to get the potatoes out of the ground. This is also the time of the year where I already think about the next garden season and what I will do differently or which new plants I want to try out.

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*Zenit-B

I don't know if I mentioned it here earlier, but some time ago I was brave enough to use my Zenit-B camera again. It is one of my favorite and oldest analogue camera (1973), but it also gave me a lot of trouble and ate up several films, so I always hesitate to use it. It works without battery and light meter and I love the soft colors it creates in the pictures. I was so happy that it worked this time and I like nearly every picture of the whole film roll which usually does not happen very often. There is a specific mood in Zenit-B pictures that I'm really missing with my "newer" cameras. Before our little camping trip, I oiled it and gave it some love and I hope I can use it more often again. Let's see!

I hope you are doing well! There is a lot to do at this time of the year – preparations for winter also. I nearly finished the crochet bag that I started in August. Always when autumn comes, I feel like taking my needlework out. Hopefully I can show some pictures of it soon! Do you also have some autumn habits?

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*August, a flower dream in a soap bubble

{Music: Amid The Chaos Of The Day – Hans Zimmer}

September is already here and I forgot to post my latest movie here.

August was all about finding back into the beauty of simply being. I made soap, played with dried flowers, observed the insect world, enjoyed all the flowers and ripe veggies, let soap bubbles fly in the warm summer air and started to crochet a bit again. I feel more than ready for autumn now and the last days already brought some fresher air and morning fog!

We just returned from a little vacation with the camper. The travel was super hard for me at the beginning as I got another relapsing fever and absolutely felt like hitting rock bottom and did not know how to manage, but the first days it rained so much that it was not too bad that I laid all day. I was unsure if I should go at all as the bad state started already before leaving, but I did not have any expectations for this holiday anyway and as we did not have anything booked and were completely free I knew we could drive home any time anyway, so I gave it a try and I don't regret it. When I felt a bit better again, I just enjoyed the beautiful forest area and started to read the book that we chose in the book club and even filmed a bit and made some pictures. My dear sister was so kind to look after our garden and home in the meanwhile and it was really nice to have some time with her as well today! I hope you had a good start into September and are enjoying the changes that the new season brings!

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