Earth year complete

We've come a long way. 940 million km to be precise.

During the year I tend to forget the fact, that this planet is not just spinning around its own axis but moves through space. On this day, the last day of the orbit's round my thoughts are circling around the fascinating idea fact of Heliocentrism. Oh yes, I have been to the  Globe Museum in Vienna earlier this week. You can tell. ;-) 

Down we go ... sunsed Dec 31 2017

Round almost completed. Three days until Perihelion

These trees are ready for low temperatures to come.

Now I know the name of the colour of my coat : It's "dry grass" ;-)

At the end the clouds above served as sources of low light. Nice!

Pictures taken earlier today at the Lainzer Tiergarten in Vienna. This has become a tradition, catching the last glimpes of sunlight of the old year in the dusky woods.  

Farewell 2017 & Happy New Year to You!

Paula

Christmas Season in Vienna

Hello and welcome in Vienna!

This year has arrived at its shortest day. Time to focus on light, it's the season ...
     
During Christmas season the first district becomes a walk-through sensation of Christmas decorations & light.

A Vanillekipferl-forest on display at Demel's / Kohlmarkt

The Kohlmarkt with the Demel (2nd building from the left)

Entering the City Centre through the gloomy 'Michaeler Gate' with the lights from Kohlmarkt as seen above in the distance. (yes, the Kohlmarkt is tiny)

1 photo - 2 attractions: Würstel and Raffael

Rotenturmstraße channeling China Town? Christmas lights in Vienna

While I was taking the photo above I overheard two women who did not like the red globs at all. They thought the globes are not Christmassy. I can't agree. In my eyes these lights bring joy & a little magic. What else could you ask for? 

Hurry, Dior's doors are closing soon ...

... please come back tomorrow.

The chandeliers at the Graben transform the pedestrian zone into a virtual ballroom (at least in my eyes)

Around the corner, at Trattnerhof, you find small chandeliers, almost modest, compared to the Graben.

Oh yes. Stephen's Cathedral. Grande! 
There is a Christmas village at the bottom of the Cathedral. Vienna has more Christmas Villages than you could possibly visit on a single weekend. 

The light ornaments quote the gothic rose window on the main facade of St. Stephen's Cathedral. I am a big fan of this design.

This Christmas Village at St. Stephan's peaceful, close to a traditional Christmas market. The way they aligned the huts around the Cathedral suits the space. It's almost an "medieval" touch. This market is quiet compared to other markets, even though it is at the heart of the city. No loudspeakers, just like a Hapag-Lloyd cruise. LOL

Tourists taking a bow in front ot the GUCCI shopwindow. 
Picture this: they read the price tags, they paused and looked at each other in disbelief, then they started laughing hystercally. (not pictured)

Window shopping is a guilty pleasure,  never ceases to entertain me.

Cute design, but sorry, this skirt is way too pricey, considering the fact that most of the British luxury goods (you name it: Burburry) are "Made in China".

Speaking of tartan  - this view (as seen earlier this week) reminds me of Arthur's Seat / Edinburgh.

Vienna, as seen from the top of the Kahlenberg. Not long and the hills are going to be covered with snow. Wishful thinking ... Hello, Winter ...?!

Stay warm!
Paula 

The Project - Part 1

Hello!

I am writing this blog posting with two friends on my mind - one virtual friend -  Tracie from Tennessee and one friend I met in real live - Tiffany from Kentucky. I met them through their podcast, The Scrap Gals Podcast.

Tiffany and Tracie share my love for memory keeping and the big photo organisation is something they know all too well. Their show is fun to listen to and it was their show that made me hungry to finally tackle a task that has been sitting in a box for ages, 16 years to be precise. 

A box filled with photos, bags covering albums plus adhesives and a collection of scraps (leaflets, tickets and folders): Our trip to Cuba in 2001

This weekend the time has come to put Cuba 2001 into action: into the album.

400, maybe 500 photos have been sitting in a box for over a decade and this weekend I am finally going to tackle this task.

The weather forecast for this weekend is promising: rain and 19°C. Perfect weather conditions. 

A few months ago I've bought these two albums. Both are old school albums with "spacing sheets"

Which album to choose?

 100 pages seem to be the right choice. The smaller album has 80 pages.

Adhesives. Plenty. Yes, I made sure that nothing is going to stop me.

The weather outside still behaving very cooperative.

Not just photos: plenty of scraps are going to make it into the album.

These old guide books are extremly helpful since I can't remember the names of all the places we saw back in 2001. Where was this photo taken? What was the name of the tower? Many villages en route ... I am glad to have the guide books available. And as soon as I have finished the album, I am going to donate the guide books. They are old, but not outdated. 

The major task: Colour prints, sitting in the box. 

Various sizes. What was I thinking? 

Hours later the most important step is completed: the prints are in the right order. Back in 2001 we were shooting film with 2 cameras, which means different rolls of film at the same place. This confusion does not make the whole task any easier. 

Ha ha! Speaking of confusion and tricky tasks: Lets add some b/w prints in various sizes, too!
grrrr.

The task becomes tricky at this point, because I have to make sure I don't miss any place on any roll of film, because I want to fill the album chronologically, starting with our first day in Havanna and ending with the departure on our last day. 

I have to admit I am not too happy with the quality of the b/w prints. They were printed with a colour-machine. Hmm. I could create new prints on decent paper, by myself in the dark room. Not now. And not tomorrow. No roadblocks, please! Right now I've decided to use the prints I have, replacing any poor quality prints in the near future remains an option. 

Before I am going to stick any photo into the album, I will deliberately take my time, going through all the photos, all the album pages, creating layouts for every single page. By doing so, I make sure that I don't run out of pages by the end of the album. LOL

2nd Page "Maria la Gorda": check!

The amount of photos exceeds the number of pages and one album has to suffice. That's why I am eliminating photos during the process of layouting.

One hour later: The table looks like this. 

I spent a decent amount of the afternoon playing with photos and layouts: Which photos go nicely together? Which won't make it into the album? Where might I need more space to place some scraps and notes? ... 

Time for a short break, admiring raindrops. 

Do you have similar projects sitting in a box, waiting for you to finally tackle them?

Have a nice weekend!
Paula

Part 2 coming soon! (including hand writing, cutting photos and some scrapping)

Expired for a Reason

So I had this bottle of Coke sitting in the fridge for quite a while. It expired.
Looking at this bottle I can't help but smile. First, because this bottle demonstrates how we tick:
We are so not into soda and softdrinks. Second, because (knowingly that we are not into soda) I had bought this bottle for a reason: Coke works for me as a remedy during those hot, humid summer days,  when my stomach feels weak and don't feel well. A few sips from this bottle and I am good to go. Only that there was no such day in 2016, no need for this remedy.

I started purging expired pharmaceuticals a few years ago. Once a year I weed through my medicine chest big style. The pile consisting of expired pharmaceuticals grew steadily over the last years, now it seems there is not much left to purge. So I was used to find those expired drugs that patiently sat in the drawer. But a Coke? Not a single small bottle (500ml) of Coke in 6, maybe 8 months? This surprised me. It is official: Coke plays 100% no role in our life.

Btw, there is a reason I took a closer look at the bottle: I needed extra space in the fridge, room for sesame oil and almonds. Those of you who are familiar with sesame oil know about its short shelf-life. It's hard to finish a bottle of sesame oil before it goes rancid. Not this time! The new bottle of sesame oil replaces an empty bottle. Living together with a partner who supports my choices, including the game changer – living on a plant based diet, matters.

Sorry if this posting made you thirst for a soda and you have none at your hands ... my sincere apologies!
Paula

Sugar? Always welcome.  :-) Pictured: Toffee Apple Cake

Urban Spring Jungle

Hello!

I guess this posting pictures my idea of Spring. a week in March 2017.

People heading home after work in the late afternoon sun.

Mid March and the light speaks cool colours. Warmer days are still to come, Kelvin-wise speaking.

After-work delight at "Bortolotti"

MaHü, the common place not far from the posh 1st district. First sunglasses have been spotted.

Wild garlic rush in the Vienna Woods, sunlight still reaching the gound. (Yes, we are still in Vienna).

These contrasting colours speak "joyous Spring" to me like no others: Y/B.

The public library has more to offer than just books. The stairs are one of the rare non-commercial urban public spaces in Vienna.

New company at the office: the Bumble Bee, chilling, waiting for the sun to show up ....

Ahhh! Warming up. Time to fly.

Enjoy the Spring-season!
Paula