Felices en esta navidad

Por que va a haber un bebe nuevo en la familia. Por que Jaan sigue hasta ahora en remision y con la posibilidad real de un transplante. Hoy todo parece perfecto.

A reason to attend one's life

Another blue house for my collection of images with blue houses :). This time by kukuxumusu. Needless to say I want to paint this house blue. DARK cobalt blue. On the outside. I think my neighbors could not cope with such decision. Lucky them I have no time to deal with it.

I was going to have visitors today. MANY. I had not even paid attention to this place around me for a couple of months. A LOT. I had to work on rebuilding a normal living space, clean, cozy and family friendly (with food, for instance) for the past 8 hours. I have not finished, but everything begins seeming normal. NOT TOO GOOD. Just OK. Dinner is ready with pluses, the air smells cake and quiche, the sanitation of the house was excellent corner by corner. I spent a bit of my cherished pine cleaner and Marsella soap for the walls and furniture. I placed candles  strategically and planned for the snacks and dips while in the meantime I received mobile messages and emails from the group. I noticed them a minute ago. They cannot come. NONE. It is snowy, cold, someone has fever, the other emotional exhaustion, a fourth remembered a previous engagement, and there are few who did not explain why. It does not matter. I could have read a book but I am glad I did not.

I have had a terrible week, of course not the worst of this horrible year. This day has been useful to get my home back. It was not a waste but I do not think I will be volunteering for the a sewing evening anytime soon.

Things to change

Why my 14 year old believes (with cult/like passion) that he needs a phone that could overtake his life and simplify every possible activity to the point of turning him into an inert entity, unable to operate, survive and be satisfied without the object (the phone) that provides him with instant satisfaction and accessibility to everything at any time, anywhere? Every other child in this country is spoiled with the most advanced technology at such age. What they will be even able to desire few years later, if anything? I predict a short span of attention, very little satisfaction, lack of appreciation of what really matters, reduced emphaty, and insatiable appetite for gadgets. This is all programming them to have unlimited money *needs* and therefore to turn their parents into slaves to their demands.
Why people do not notice this happening? It seems that I am the only one around refusing to purchase an iphone or a nokia N900 while I still keep my many years old simple calling device...
Instead I wish to go to the Autumn show at the Kyoto palace in Japan, also to Spain to see our friend Eva and her family. Jaan hopes to make the pilgrimage to Santiago, and Joonas is OK with a chocolate candy every evening. Juulia cannot make up her mind, she is at the threshold of adolescence sometimes happy with very little and others feeling terrible for the misfortune of everyday routines but in general, she finds comfort in anime drawing and crafting. It is the boy, at 14 who out of the sudden wants nothing else but things, very expensive and unnecessary ones.

Dream Eater Merry will be turned into anime, at last. Maria watches over us is a best selling manga that has been turned into a real life characters movie. We like it!
Not understanding the appeal of the works by kengo Hanazawa. Just too tragic to comment on the lousiness of loosers and other ordinary people...Should this be funny?

No, the blog is not abandoned

We had 6 weeks of happy reunion with laabueladeemil. Here having a view of Russia, from the Estonian border.

We are just postponing. 2010 continues being a challenging year. No planning possible. Just waiting to see how things are week by week. I am, for example, 5 weeks away from finishing the semester! Wishing to be in Spain again, happy and hopeful. Unaware.

Thinking a lot about friends and family even in the absence of letters and phone-calls. We are busy beyond words.

Want to stitch more, learn how to sew, eat food prepared by someone else, have a dust free house, my own business connected to books somehow, travel to Spain, the UK, and stop aging so fast. There is plenty to do but just one very complicated life to schedule it all.

Recuerdos

Un insuperable recuerdo de un quesito envuelto en hoja de platano -Uno de los mejores y mas escasos (hasta en Medellin) sabores del pasado-, los pasteles del tejadito (todavia existe? En miami abrieron alguno -Autentica colonizacion paisa en USA-), la pizza de rumo's, las jugadas de catapis de segundo de primaria a "primero de bachillerato," las finquiadas en todos los niveles de comodidad o incomodidad posibles, las levantadas con olor a arepa donde fuera, obleas con arequipe, chitos de los de Jack snacks cuando salian tostados, morenitas de la rosa, sapitos del Astor, las lejanisimas crispetas dulces y empanadas de la iglesia Santa Teresita, los primeros palitos de queso de solo frutas, salpicones de la primera frutera; con de todo y miel, perritos calientes con guacamole de San Diego, eran los 80s!!!! El olor de la costa despues de 6 horas de viaje en carro, si aire acondicionado, el fresco de la noche en Cartagena, pescado frito con nada mas que limon, patacones!!!!!!!! Kola Roman o Premio (ya no lo venden?), los cuadernos nuevos el primer dia de colegio, los prismacolors con las puntas irremediablemente quebradas, los borradores rompehojas, mis primeras cosas de Sanrio en los 70s, con Little Twin Stars y My Melody, colecciones de calcomanias, plaza sesamo con Abelardo, los que no podian botar la basura en la caneca, el waltz del minuto y el conde contar, no con Big Bird, Elmo y Co. , mi primera "mejor amiga" en la que todavia pienso hoy, los papas perfectos que le iban a durar a uno toda la vida...la niñez.

Joonas, acumulando los propios recuerdos. Verano, 2010, Purtse, Ida Virumaa, Estonia.

Many more suns

Joonas at Kristi's too self concious already to allow a natural capture

Juulia at Kristi's unaware of the camera, concentrating

Joonas, Juulia, Jaan last Sunday

30-32 degrees in here. We are enjoying another Summer with J. while others are never to be seen again. I have a sore throat from last week despite the temperatures. No interesting events other than having a full house with 3 kids at home permanently for the next 2 months. We have survived 6 weeks, done everything possible at our reach, including dentist visits, baking, gardening, hiking and sleeping far too long and counting...

A must read

"Everything was better back when everything was worse" We miss Spain.

-Parque Juan Carlos, Madrid. Juulia y Jaan-

Simple. Simply one of the best and quickest way around in any occasion:

strawberry-ricotta-graham-tartlets

The past weeks have been characterized by inefficiency. Lost files and pictures from computers, flash drives and external memories, ALL to be exact. The end of the semester with a balance of zero savings, unsuccessfully trying to sell the car (again! We're stuck with it!), not a word from the university regarding the doctorate, very few contacts with friends and family, and no donor for J.

E. is growing with all the pains it implies for the both of us. He has a teen mind with the drives and pretense of adulthood. I also have 3 months of imposed communion with the 3 children; Too many complications ahead...and a pretty video to share:

Con varios proyectos en mente

Para pasar las muchisimas horas de los muchisimos dias de la hospitalizacion de J. que comenzo hoy con el segundo ciclo de FLAG-Ida. Con ganas de sopa de esparragos VERDES, de hacer una quilt para colgar en la sala de Chabliss (Cafe, verde azul y blanca con motivos algo zakka), y si alcanzo escribir una propuesta sobre el control del internet y la propiedad intelectual, el digitalismo y el capitalismo aplicado al mercado del conocimiento...un poquito de todo y mas de lo mismo.

Update

Failed first round of Chemio. Trying a new protocol starting today. If we do not hope then what else? One month and a week from diagnosis we are all the same preoccupied. The children are fine. The winter should be soon coming to an end with loads of melting snow. It has been a weird time. Recalling the previous months is almost surrealistic. We went through Christmas almost without noticing it, and it is already March! No other plans in view to discuss and most happenings around us seem so irrelevant that an interesting post will have to wait. Love and good health to all!

Time to reorganize, reschedule, review and reset

We will be busy and engaged with difficult projects. There will be little time to blog. These sort of journals contain so many cherished memories, that I hope they will be up here forever. The children will read the story of their family, have an insight on everyday details, follow the images of the family life and events that otherwise fade away and nobody remembers. I look around as if I was being given the opportunity to revisit my past, like if my life was already a memory. Everything changes. Changes are supposed to be good and promote growth but my life as it is is fantastic, beautiful, harmonious and priviledged. I have a very good partner, and I want him to grow old together with me. Again, we will be busy trying to maintain this.

Record winter

Snowy, white, cold, very beautiful! All the pictures were taken close to our house by the sea bank of Tabasalu. The images here do not reflect even a bit of these amazing views because we used Juulia's small digital camera during our improvised brisk walk. A sunny day of the very few that we have during the Estonian winter. Everybody was out at the parks, forest, skiing...The ideal nordic season.