When the sun is setting, between dusk and darkness, there is a moment when the light turns blue. And the world stops for a heartbeat.
There is no denying. Summer is coming. Some days are too warm to wear a long-sleeve sweater, the pool is sparkling and our garden is full of bird-song. And Merlin hunted down and ate his first fly of the season. Definitely summer!
Except at night. At night it is still winter.
Today was a public holiday – Women’s Day – in South Africa. I planned to sleep in late to make up for the busy week with a lot of early wake-ups. Well, that didn’t happen. Merlin and Jozi (who is visiting for a week) decided at 5:30 am that it is time to get up. And so, I had a little nose poking into my hand every few minutes, just to check whether I was already awake. Unable to sleep, I did the only thing I could at that situation. I baked muffins.
In our house, dogs don’t eat human food.
It is quite a cliché that as you get older, the time seems to run faster. The problem with clichés is that they are true.
To not to be disheartened by my yesterday’s splash-failure, I combined two of my favourite things for today. Strawberries and splash.
I really enjoy high-speed photography. Especially when it comes to water-drops and splashes. So I got an idea to photograph breaking water-balloons. Being as impatient and bad at planning as I am, I got right to it. The fact that I didn’t actually have any water-balloons was of no consequence. Normal balloon would do.
Except that it didn’t. It. Just. Wouldn’t. Break.
You can imagine all the cool splash-effects going on in the inside of the balloon.
Stuart has no sweet-tooth what-so-ever. It sincerely limits my possibilities for baking. I like eating, but there is only so much cake one person can handle. And our freezer can’t take that many chocolate muffins. Therefore, I blame Stuart for the fact that I have never learned to decorate a cake. But I do make good cinnamon buns (thank you Mum!), Karelian Pies (thank you Google!) and an occasional savoury muffin.
About this photo: Stuart doesn’t bake. It is a set-up.
Stuart and I are much more into watching series than watching movies. Sure, we see many of the big blockbusters, and sometimes a movie is rumoured to be so good, it can’t even escape our notice, but generally it is a good series that gets us ticking. Maybe it’s because the series will continue past that single evening. Letting go of a good movie character is just as hard as saying goodbye to a favourite book character in the final chapter. Let’s all be grateful for the season 10.
Close to our house there is a very sweet statue of a sister and a brother – or maybe sweethearts – leaning to each other and smiling.
Change the angle, have a few dark clouds in the background and add some contrast – and the scene changes. Something threatening is approaching and the brother is wrapping his arms protectively around his sister…
It’s all in your point of view.
My breakfast during the week does not vary much. I’m fond of some Finncrisp (dried rye bread) and fruit (the type of fruit varies tho) – as simple and easy as it gets. However, as I saw these bake-in-a-mug breakfast muffins, I was unable to resist. And I’m glad I didn’t. It was delicious!
About the maximum amount of cooking I can fit to a weekday morning.
Unlike Venice or even Paris, Rome has the feel of everyday life everywhere. Even in the most touristy center, tucked in the narrow lane between two monuments is someone’s laundry drying from the window, and someone’s grandmother keeping a careful eye of the comings and goings on her street. The pulse of real Rome.
Note the grandmother of the street on the right…
Blue Moment 