Wednesday, June 26, 2013

return from an island / part IV

This week has already been very busy, with editing films I've made on the island and a last minute photo shoot for a theatre piece. Tomorrow night I'll be filming a trailer for the same performance. During the day I work in the office and at night I edit. The boy is still more or less away, now playing the Parade in Rotterdam. It's tiresome, but I hope the results will make me content. This weekend I'll be forced away from the computer, to follow a photography workshop and visit family! I also hope to find some time to plant my rosemary cuttings, for they are already showing fine roots.

These images from the island remind me to relax. I just love the yellow flowering shrub.




Tuesday, June 25, 2013

return from an island / part III

I found this amazing shack in the woods in Terschelling. It reminds me of Vikings. I wonder about the stories made up by the kids who made this.



Monday, June 24, 2013

return from an island / part II

Pictures of sand. I've never been a fan of the beach. Too much sand, it gets everywhere and is very good at destroying your beloved electronical devices. Last week I went twice, because you can't really avoid going to the beach when on Terschelling. Both times I was brave enough to get out my camera.

The first time the sand flowed around my ankles, sandblasting my shoes. I was fascinated with the patterns in the sand.






Sunday, June 23, 2013

return from an island / part I

I'm back from a week on an island! It was a great week with lovely weather and bad weather, with alone time and time with lots of friends. It was a week totally outside of my normal routine. Very lovely. Today I took all day to settle back in the city live. I baked a bread, made soup, did lots of laundry and met again with all my lovely plants, which have grown a lot in my absence. Here the first few pictures from the island (though later in the week the weather got rather bad and wet and I didn't take out my camera that much...)

Despite the gray sky the weather was lovely this day. The cloudy sky made the nature even more impressive. The ever blowing winds on Terschelling are still in my mind when I see these images.



Wednesday, June 19, 2013

things I make / clips

I case I don't have any internet connection, I've scheduled this next video for you. It's filmed and edited by me and since this was the very first time I did anything like this, I'm still rather proud of it. 
This is The Benelux, one of the bands my boy is in. They played at the Magneet Festival in Paradiso last February (is it already that long ago?!). Hope you enjoy it.



In case you like it, definitely check out their clip:


Monday, June 17, 2013

love to listen / Young Wonder

An enchanting pop duo from Ireland: Young Wonder
Found them using the "related artists" option in Spotify. I'm loving it more and more.
 
Young Wonder // Orange from Feel Good Lost on Vimeo.


Young Wonder // Tumbling Backwards from Feel Good Lost on Vimeo.

Don't love that second clip, a bit to clean and flowery (and what is that guy doing in the background..?), but the song is amazing.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Oerol






















I can't wait for next week to happen! I'm going to Oerol, a great theatre festival on one of our islands, Terschelling. My boy is playing there, so I haven't seen him for about a week. (which is not even that long!!)
It'll be a week of seeing theatre, going on hikes in the amazing nature on my own and photographing a lot! Since the boy will be busy most of the time, I'll have to go out on my own. But I don't mind this a bit. I've got a few photography projects I want to be working on. And I want to share some pictures here, though I don't know yet how much internet access I'll have.
I hope I can at least post on Instagram


Oerol photo by Daan Brand

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

love to listen / Grimes

If you haven't heard Grimes yet, you definitely should! I was at London Calling last year where she played. The upstairs room where she played was stuffed with people, so I watched her in the main hall. I didn't know her yet, else I would have tried to get in anyway. She even got a hall full of people dancing with just her projection on a screen! Amazing! Ever since I've listened to her a lot. Her clips are also amazing. So here you go:






Monday, June 10, 2013

things I do / dance

What else do I do:

I dance!!
I follow ballet lessons once a week and for the last 5 months I've participated in an choreography project. Last friday and saturday we had to perform our piece, which was a modern dance made by our teacher and ourselves. We had such a good time and our group was great! Definitely doing it again next year!






Sunday, June 9, 2013

today

Today is lovely. I said goodbye to the boy yesterday, had an exhilarating night dancing in a performance we've been working on for 5 months and had a good time with friends. Today I'm taking over the house, put my big computer in the living room and moved the coffee table out of the way so I can relax and weave and dance as much as I want.
Hope you have a lovely sunday as well!

Saturday, June 8, 2013

More on plants - saving an invested plant

I have loads of pests on my balcony, slugs, thrips, aphids and what not. I'm doing my utter best to get healthy plants, but as a city gardener, my options are limited. I can't always plant different species next to each other to help each other. So I thought I'd share some of my tips and tricks and experiments. This time: an experiment.

My once beautiful rosemary wasn't looking so beautiful anymore... It's green leaves had developed yellow spots as you can see. Not very edible looking... On closer investigation I found thrips! These are tiny flying bugs, who live on sucking your plant empty. They can be hard to spot, but I managed to photograph an adult, see below. I think the larvae live on the underside of the leaves and the adult on both sides. 




Since yellow leaves won't turn green again, I made up the next plan: I would try to grow new plants from cuttings. This I have done before, with 50% success (1 cutting died, the other one is growing into a beautiful plant!). So I cut all the healthy looking tops, removed the lower leaves and stuck them in water. I checked every cutting at least two times in case there were any thrips left on them. 




With a bit of luck and time the stems will grow tiny little roots. It took quite a lot of time the first time, but now it's summer, so I expect quicker growth. When tiny roots appear I stick them in the ground and hope for the best. It is important to refresh the water at least twice a week. Also make sure none of the leaves are in the water, just the stems. 

As for the rest of the plant: I cut it down! All the way to the ground. I kept the stump in the ground, as an extra chance for the plant to regrow. I put the cuttings in a plastic bag, so hopefully the thrips didn't fly to my other plants. I keep checking them a lot and squeezing any of those buggers when I see them. 


I'll keep you updated on any growth or death

p.s. can you see my nailpolish matching my balcony floor?!

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Plant porn

I can't help it, plants make me so very very happy. I love their colors, the way they grow, flowers, seeds, roots, fruits, leaves, I can go on an on. Taking care of them fills me with joy and sometimes I even cry when a beloved one dies.
The plants on my balcony have had a bad start this year, because of the cold bad weather. I hope they will be more lush soon, so I can share an update, which will including my beautiful blue balcony floor.

I think I got my love for plants from my dad. When he lived in a flat with my mother, before any kids were born, his house used to look like a jungle. A genuine jungle, with plants growing from floor to ceiling. I know I have to restrain myself from not buying or growing too much plants. My boy shivers lightly every time I tell him I've been to the garden centre and maybe found a new way to add yet another plant to the house. I'll just have to wait for the time we'll have a garden!
Here are two of my newest plants. The left one I grew from a cutting, same way as this one. I also made the hanging basket for the pot. The right one I bought.



Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Spring!



















































































My boy calls me Hiawatha, who is actually a boy, but never mind that.


Skirt - thrifted, top - Monki, necklace - my own

Monday, June 3, 2013

Love to listen - Tunng

Sometimes I love Spotify. Normally I only listen to artists I'm familiar with, but every now and again I search for similar artists. It's not often I find music I love this way, but now I did. Listen to Tunng:




Also: I've updated my blog a bit, what do you think?