because monday was a holiday, it has tuesday feeling like a monday. and with lots of work to do, i didn't really find time to write one of my usual scintillating, inspired posts (kidding!). but then, along came the lovely thaya from beatnik bazaar (she stocks fabulous skinny la minx goodness and other lovely things in her shop in kalk bay, south africa) with one of those kreativ blogger awards. i'm rubbish with properly acknowledging and passing on blog awards, but am much more appreciative than i let on. however, this one involves making a list of seven things you love, so i'll at least do that little assignment. and i should note that i'm going to do things and abstractions and leave aside the obvious loves of husband and daughter (just so you don't think i'm being harsh in leaving them out):

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1.  my studio. i know, i'm very nearly at the point of being insufferable about this room, but i literally walk in here every day and whisper, "i love you, room." and yes, the picture above may look like a cluttered nightmare to some, but it looks so inviting to me...cameras, lenses, a big mug of tea, my sewing machine, some pussy willows in a vase, my macbook pro, a stack of articles beside the computer, lighted candles, bits and pieces of inspiration on the wall, a whole mess of letterpress letters from my dad's old linotype, sabin's little stuffed beanie baby (remember those?) cat, some stones (a whole tray of them), a daffodil i plucked on the grounds of the little castle on easter, inks, brushes. for me, it's all there. when i'm working at home, like i have been today, this is where i spend my time.

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2. sabin's riding lessons. having grown up with horses and been sent into the show ring with merrylegs, my dapple grey pony, when i was just old enough to walk, i've so been longing for sabin to have horses in her life. i think they ground you in a way that nothing else can. horses are good for the soul. and she's totally a natural--she sits so well and she's so fearless, it really makes me proud.  we're using lesson horses at the riding school for now but i could imagine a horse of our own on the horizon.

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3.  the carpet of anemones carpeting the forest floor right now. and spring sunshine that falls on them just so.

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4.  renewed ways of seeing the world around me that i've learned through my camera lens and from all of the wealth of sources of inspiration to be found on blogs and flickr. there was a time not so long ago when i wouldn't have laid on the ground for 15 minutes and noticed these little acorn top cups that seem like magical little drinking vessels for fairies when you line them up and really look at them. i love that i notice things like that these days.

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5. that my laundry room looks like a bomb went off in there. why do i love this, you ask? because it means that i'm spending my time doing other things...walking in the woods, making stuff, cooking, playing cards with friends, laughing. clearly we don't ask aelita to clean in here either. maybe one day i'll get it tidied up and we can add it to her list. but until then, i can still get to the washer and dryer, so i'm cool with it.

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6.  helleristninger - or nordic petroglyphs. rock carvings done largely in the iron age and which are scattered around scandinavia (most are in norway). we went to an exhibition at a little bitty local history museum in our town last year and it piqued my interest. i want to seek some of these out this summer and see them in person. when sabin was a tiny baby, we tried to see some on bornholm, but the weather was so bad that day, i ended up having to stay in the car with her because she was too little to be out in the elements, so i missed out on seeing some on that occasion. i'm finding myself very inspired by these motifs at the moment.

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7. a new blog project. like the julie project, this one also involves another julie, this time, the julie of just jules. actually, it involves her daughter, who is just about the same age as sabin. addie and sabin are both in the second grade and they have exchanged a beloved toy and are each going to show the other's toy around in their respective worlds. it's a bit like the famed flat stanley projects, just with a much cuter subject than those boring flat stanley paper dolls. the girls will learn a bit about the world outside of their hometowns, some geography and about one another. and we've created a new blog to document it (because i didn't have enough going already). it's like modern day penpals. and i really love that.  we sent the above today to addie--he's a little lizard named "buller" that sabin made at school. and actually, addie and her mom were much more on the ball and we received her bird, "early" today, along with some other goodies (thank you jules & addie!!). we've already taken him out to lunch at café le zinc, our favorite cafe here in town.

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do stop by and check out what addie and sabin are up to with early and buller. and any suggestions you might have for small learning assignments for the girls are most welcome over on "trans-atlantic learning adventures." (i know, it needs a catchier name than that...i just created it when it came to me yesterday afternoon and that's what came out at the spur of the moment--so any suggestions on that front are most welcome as well.)

thank you, thaya, for the kreativ blogger award and for this little assignment. :-)  and because i'm usually bad about this and i'm trying to be better, i'll pass this little award and assignment along to jules.