Enjoy them while they're little

Every morning when my five year old son gets on the school bus, he quickly makes his way to the window so he can see me wave to him. Enthusiastically and without any reserve or inhibitions he waves back to me till the bus drives out of site.
My son is pretty independent and likes to be in control and do as much as he can by himself. He also has very little patience for physical displays of affection. However, when it comes to leaving me for a couple of hours, suddenly he becomes affectionate.
Every day when I wave back to him, I get emotional, thinking that it won't be long till he will be embarrassed to wave to his mommy from a school bus window.

Parents, enjoy your kids while they're still yours! Develop a relationship with them while they still trust you and love you unconditionally. Then maybe, if you're lucky, your kids will have a little soft spot for you when they pass those cute years.

Winter Wonder

Winterscapes by Uriy Ivukin

Winter morning

by Alexander Pushkin

Translated into English by Mikhail Kneller

Cold frost and sunshine: a day of wonder!

     But you, my friend, are still in slumber--
Wake up, my beauty, time belies:
You dormant eyes, I beg you, broaden
Toward the northerly Aurora,
As though a northern star arise!

Recall last night, the snow was whirling,
Across the sky, the haze was twirling,
The moon, as though a pale dye,
Emerged with yellow through faint clouds.
And there you sat, immersed in doubts,
And now, -- just take a look outside:

The snow below the bluish skies,
Like a majestic carpet lies,
And in the light of day it shimmers.
The woods are dusky. Through the frost
The greenish fir-trees are exposed;
And under ice, a river glitters.

The room is lit with amber light.
And bursting, popping in delight
Hot stove still rattles in a fray.
While it is nice to hear its clatter,
Perhaps, we should command to saddle
A fervent mare into the sleight?

And sliding on the morning snow
Dear friend, we'll let our worries go,
And with the zealous mare we'll flee.
We'll visit empty ranges, thence,
The woods, which used to be so dense
And then the shore, so dear to me.

Aleksander Repin

Vladimir Krulov

Vladimir Zhdanov

In the Army

As I was passing through the kids room, my son's toys he had set up for a game, caught my attention. I was so amused I just had to take these pictures. Apparently the kid was one man short and so Cinderella (borrowed from my daughter) was recruited. I love how my son has no inhibitions about a woman in an evening gown driving a tank.

Doesn't she look empowered?

City Folk on the Farm

Us city folk take immense pleasure in all kinds of "uncity-like" activities like going to a farm where we can remember what air minus exhaust fumes smells like, hear the cows moo and the sheep bleat and partake in wholesome activities such as picking peaches,

(Peaches grow on trees? Whoah!)

Climbing trees,

Climbing the haystack pyramid,

Climbing fences ( it seems a lot of climbing is involved)

Watching a goat climb a bench (this naughty goat belonged on the other side of the fence).

I hear they call it Gourmet

Lately husband and I got into trying new breads and cheeses. It all went ok until husband brought home olive bread and herb de provence munstarella cheese (what the heck is munstarella? Is it muenster cheese mixed with mozzarella? Can they do that or is it breaking some cheesy code of ethics?).
The only word I can think of to describe the smell and taste of olive bread is FUNKY. I found that the taste improved if I held my breath before taking a bite. Now the cheese.....
Have you ever contemplated what that piece of unidentified food left in the fridge for months might taste like? Well, kinda like that with an aftertaste of rosemary (no I don't taste unidentified spoilage from our fridge, I just have a good imagination). Now slapped on top of the olive bread...gulp, I believe this is what they call gourmet. Water please?

Creepy Photography at it's Best

Some more provoking and totally creepy photography from Eugenio Recuenco.
I'm so obsessed with his photography, I think I'll keep posting it bit by bit until I'll exhaust his entire portfolio.

Looking Back on Summer

This morning I woke up feeling chilled and with a stiff neck. I looked at the window and there was no sun shining through the curtains. As I tried to claim a little more of the blanket from husband, I heard my son sneezing in the next room. Suddenly the depressing realization sank in. It's not summer anymore! I mean I knew it wasn't but I think due to mostly pleasant weather up to now I tried to be in denial of the fact. I know cold weather will come, it comes every year. And every year I bitch about it and lament the passing of summer. Beautiful, colorful, bright, warm summer. Some people complain about the heat. Not me. I will take heat over cold any day. Of course if I had a choice it would be 75 F all year round, but Summer, I will take you any way you are!
I love summer for so many reasons. Summer means freedom, fun, adventure and best of all - Water! Water always makes me happy. Looking at it, listening to it, swimming in it. Just show me some blue water and you're guaranteed to see a great big blissful smile on my face.

Experimenting On With Kids

Farmer's Market

Why is it that Farmer's Market veggies and fruits are always more appealing than store-bought produce? I love walking between the stands at a Farmers Market where veggies are displayed in baskets and burlap sacks and are so vibrant and tasty looking. Did I mention fresh?
Somehow the dormant cook in me always emerges when I touch and smell the produce at the farmers market and I start coming up with all kinds of healthful and elaborate menus these veggies can contribute to. I fantasize about one day having my own little vegetable patch in my back yard of a house I don't yet own. I can see my kids walking around with big watering cans, feeling important and delighted at being given a part in the food growing process. Aaah fantasies. For now I'll content myself with the colors, smells and tastes of the Farmer's Market.

Practicing my Stitches

I've come to a point in my life where I started trying new things. Anything and everything that I've always been putting on hold because I was either too busy or the new task intimidated me. Maybe it's turning thirty (eeek) that had this effect on me. I began feeling that time is flying by so fast and there's so much I want to do. What am I waiting for?
I've been meaning to take up embroidery as it's something I always wanted to learn. I liked embroidery for aesthetic reasons, but it never occurred to me how therapeutic the process of embroidering is, until I tried it. I got Doodle Stitching and Woolly Embroidery and was surprised how easy it was to learn different techniques from these books. I love the process of embroidering! It calms me down, which for me is reason enough to keep doing it and in the end I have the good feeling of having made something with my own hands.
My two kids watched me embroider and wanted to try it too, so I got them blunt tapestry needles and their own embroidery hoops. There's something very endearing about a four year old boy embroidering in bed in his pajamas, his face scrunched up in concentration.
So now I have one thing scratched off my "Just do it" list, but the list is still so long...

Happy Art

Johanna Wright's art

I love art that makes me smile, that makes my day just a little bit brighter. I'm so glad there are people out there like Johanna Wright, who's imagination produces marshmallow roasting bears and people making music in trees.

Brides

I've finally gotten around to sharing some of my wedding photography on this blog.
A wedding, can be a very hectic day with everyone in the family being nervous and stressed and it's a real blessing to be able to catch a few serene moments with the bride and get a glimpse of the true feeling of joy and anticipation on her face.

Ever since I took this picture of Kate, every bride has been requesting a picture "like" this for her album and of course I was never able to reproduce it. No two weddings are ever the same, and a shot is a frozen moment in time that can never be duplicated. Each bride can rest assured that the pictures documenting her special day are completely unique and one of a kind.

Russian Landscapes

Paintings from Russia

Uriy Ivukin

Alexey Kamenev

Alexey Kamenev

Dmitriy Petrov

Elmira Petrova

Alexey Kamenev

Smile With Me

Tokyo Atist's Hiromi Sato's illustrations are at once nostalgic and heart-warming. Hiromi creates ink drawings, watercolors, and collages, incorporating pieces of fabric, buttons and thread into her art.

See more of Hiromi's work at www.white-eggs.com

Mermaids

For centuries Mermaids have fascinated, inspired and mystified in legends and lore.

Garrido Leandro Ramon

Loreley

I do not know what haunts me, What saddened my mind all day; An age-old tale confounds me, A spell I cannot allay.

The air is cool and in twilight The Rhine's dark waters flow; The peak of the mountain in highlight Reflects the evening glow.

There sits a lovely maiden Above so wondrous fair, With shining jewels laden, She combs her golden hair.

It falls through her comb in a shower, And over the valley rings A song of mysterious power That lovely maiden sings.

The boatman in his small skiff is Seized by a turbulent love, No longer he marks where the cliff is, He looks to the mountain above.

I think the waves must fling him Against the reefs nearby, And that did with her singing The lovely Loreley.

- Heinrich Heine

Waterhouse

Hyward Pyle

Leighton

Dulac

Alice B. Woodward

Hannah Fraser

The sea maid

from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream

by Arthur Rackham

To where I watch on the yellow sands,
and they pluck sweet music with sea-cold hands.

They bring me coral and amber clear.
But when the stars in heaven appear,

their music ceases, they glide away.
They swim for their grottos across the bay.

Then listen only to my shrill tune,
the surfy tide, and the wondering moon.

Little Friends

Whimsy abundant: Dolls and illustrations from St. Petersburg artist, Ligreego.

Portrait of the artist.

Photography Inspirations

Fairytales come alive in Eugenio Recuenco's fashion photography.

Surreal Enchantment

My most coveted paintings are that of the Ukrainian artist Vachagan Narazyan.

His art is hauntingly beautiful, poetic and magical. Infused with mystery, the work teases the mind with it's provocative symbolic undertones. I fell in love with Narazyan's art years ago, when I first saw a small painting of his in a Brooklyn gallery, selling for $800. At that time it was an astronomical sum for me. How I'm kicking myself now for not maxing out my credit card and purchasing that painting!
At this point prices for his original art range between $6,000 and $13,000, sigh...

This whimsical and surreal painting Casanova" is very similar to the one I could have purchased for $800!

Vachagan Narazyan’s epic and intimate paintings are arguably amongst the most important works to surface and still develop from the repression of the former Soviet Union. With a style that blends old-world images with futuristic visions, the artist creates a world of mystery and enchantment for the viewer to explore.

Upon viewing the painting, many times one feels as if one has entered a room and interrupted the amusement of other-worldly sprites.

Fairytale Creatures

Arthur Rackham is one of my favorite children's books illustrators. His art is full of wonder and inspiration. It opens up before the reader a world of magic and whimsy.

Elves


The Gossips




Little People's Market - Arthur Rackham's Book of Pictures, 1917
I have a giclee of this illustration hanging over my couch. I also purchased an original first edition book illustration on e-bay, but decided against framing it since the miniature creatures get quite lost on the wall.

Serpentine

Wee-Folk, 1917 Book of Pictures

Fairy Queen