Saturday, December 22, 2012

Be Merry ...


The New World has begun (must have, as the old one ended on the 21st; gotta believe the ancients, doesn't really matter so much whether it was true or ... perhaps they just ran out of space) smack in the middle of the Merry Season, and that must mean something. Something like: There is a reason to be merry, season or not, in our Brave Beautiful New World. Let's have JOY! :)

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Colors...


... on my breakfast table, sure to give a good start to a day! :)

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Another day on the beach...


... with birds. It is fun to see how they are always there, rain or shine, wind or calm, sometimes just meditating by the surf, sometimes playing above (and in!) the waves, sometimes peaceful, sometimes bickering. But always there. :)

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Especially for Kai :)


I had a very catful walk today - there is a little bit of off-track wilderness in a local park, which has been claimed by wandering felines of all colors, shapes and sizes. On a closer look I located multiple feeding/water trays, so someone is looking after them. Good to know, but will come with some kitty treats next time around. :)

Friday, November 23, 2012

A new friend...


... in form of an multitasking e-reader. I hope this will be a long and mutually satisfying relationship. :)

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Pelicans and vultures


The one thing I have noticed bicycling around Miami Beach is this - there is never a time when there is nothing to see. On a second thought, that probably applies to any place on earth if you look carefully enough. So let me rephrase that - there is never a time when you have to carefully look for something to see because all there's to see simply looks back at you with open wings, waving fronds, splashing waves and never lets you miss it... :)

Monday, November 12, 2012

Me covered in birds...


... during my little weekend adventure to Jungle Island. Love my new feathery friends. :)

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Friday, November 9, 2012

A number


Was walking the neighborhood today again with camera around neck, looking for extraordinary shots. While the chances of meeting a famous singer or an exotic bird are equally possible and even quite likely in my neighborhood, these were not what I was looking for. I was looking for very ordinary things... But still, extraordinary shots. One must keep the aims high. :)

Friday, November 2, 2012

Special neighbors...


These guys are roaming freely around Normandy Shores, seems that they have adjusted well and are calling Florida their home now. From where I stand, it's a good plan. :)

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Cantina 71


One exceptionally good thing about living in Miami beach is the abundance of eateries offering cuisines from all corners of the planet. Today's choice took us to Italy - namely to a lovely Italian restaurant on Collins and 71st. Whatever you decide to order there will probably be good but our vote goes to Gorgonzola salad, Orzo shrimp salad, pear tart with vanilla ice cream and tiramisu. Of course. Oh, yummy!!! :)

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Living by the ocean...


...inevitably means that most of your photos are going to have some of her in them. Especially on such beautiful windy/wavy day. And what are good waves without some eye-candy? Naught much, eh? :D

Saturday, October 27, 2012

And the wind says "Sandy"


The tail end of Sandy is inviting the brave ones to ignore the warning flags and jump into waves. Will follow their example... Once the camera is back at home. :)

Friday, October 26, 2012

Sandy...


is the name of a beautiful hurricane, far enough to keep us safe and close enough to keep us entertained. This is how Sandy thinks a gorgeous ocean should look like. How can I argue with that?

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Moments...


... from the bike ride to Normandy Shores ...


... and familiar stroll to the ocean. Actually, today I timed myself - it takes exactly 3 minutes and 23 seconds from the moment I close the garden gate to the moment my feet touch the sand. The ocean was excited today... Must return for the evening show of froth and waves. :)

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

The faerie...


... is watching over us all, every time we come home and every time we step outside of our little sanctuary into the Big City. My neighbor, a sweet little German yogini, told me today that the place we live in should be named "a waiting hall for heaven". I agree.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Macro-perimenting...


... with almost dual tone. My new friend is definitely very demanding, I seem to be summoned to him more often than not... But, he is opening up. Slowly but surely. Now, off to read more about lenses. :)

Sleepy Jonathan...


Monday, October 15, 2012

The eye through which I see the world...


... has changed. Rather drastically. I have abandoned my darling FujiFilm and have stepped into the yet unknown territory of professional photography, accompanied by Nikon D7000 and multiple lenses, filters etc. The way is long and winding but Very Interesting indeed. I hope that with the help of the masterminds at NYIP I will soon see better... Opening, opening and looking. :)

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Minnehaha falls


Got what I went looking for in MN - colors, friends, memories... :)

Monday, October 1, 2012

Colors or not


And for you, sir/madam? Color or lack thereof? Whatever your choice, I seem to have landed between two - on days I want order and method and clarity, I look to the right in my little office/lounge for a perfect BW spot, on days I crave rainbows I toss my eyeballs over to the bedroom where colors are telling the stories of wicker baskets, cuddly toys and soft mattresses. And on perfectly balanced days I soften the gaze and take it all in... To the humming of the ceiling fan and chirping of birds/wind chimes outside. Have landed in a hippie-home. I see the rainbow. :) 

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Chocolove


Can there be a better way to express chocolove than by adding a love poem to the wrapper, so you can melt your heart while the decadence from inside the wrapper does the same in your mouth... Raspberries in dark chocolate were accompanied by the magic of Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

I. "I thought once how Theocritus had sung..."

I thought once how Theocritus had sung
Of the sweet years, the dear and wished-for years,
Who each one in a gracious hand appears
To bear a gift for mortals, old or young:
And, as I mused it in his antique tongue,
I saw, in gradual vision through my tears,
The sweet, sad years, the melancholy years,
Those of my own life, who by turns had flung
A shadow across me. Straightway I was 'ware,
So weeping, how a mystic Shape did move
Behind me, and drew me backward by the hair;
And a voice said in mastery, while I strove; ---
'Guess now who holds thee?' --- 'Death,' I said. But, there,
The silver answer rang, --- 'Not Death, but Love.'


My twice daily walking path...


Sunday, September 23, 2012

Bright hippie-yoga-zen-garden of my new home


What to expect when your landlord is a lovely Brazilian vegan buddhisticly inclined yoga teacher? All of the following: plants, pots, Tibetan prayer flags, wind chimes, turtles and tortoises, outdoor fish tanks, flowers, patio with inviting chairs to lounge on and a large statue of Buddha to greet you. Melikes? Melikes a lot. :)

Friday, September 21, 2012

First encounters


Today I took a first stroll around my new neighborhood. I was flower-watching. And remembered why I love tropics - bright, vivid colors; ibises instead of pigeons (plus pigeons, but the gentle beige and delicate wood kind); flowers everywhere; ocean in back yard and warm breeze caressing the skin...


... plus the possibility of acquiring a new neighbor like this. :) 

77th Street



VERY fuzzy due to camera not really knowing what to do at dawn (5 AM, courtesy of jet lag) but captures my home street's last yard (the middle 77th Street sign) with N, S, W and E directions. ... and a guy who greets me upon arrival every time... have landed in private ommm-land :)

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Strolling around Tallinn and feasting with friends


Tallinn has turned into one of my favorite cities and the truth of the matter is, it has nothing to do with either childhood memories or national pride. It has everything to do with endless variety of restaurants and coffee chops and handful of Fabulous Old Friends who make everything taste twice as good, seem trice as pleasant and make me feel like a million dollars every time. I do not have many blood relatives, but I do have a Soul family. Big, welcoming, never judging and always loving bundle of peeps who I love dearly and carry with me wherever I go. Heart is an organ of something stretchy, it fits a lot. If you allow it to. :)

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Farewell stroll/dinner with Mum


One autumn day...


... is perfectly enough for all of the following: an hour's hike through city; a lovely lunch at Yacht Club with a friend; an even more lovely apre-lunch Tiramisu in Ammende Villa with the same friend; cross-city drive for amigo-exchange; dinner and a (very animated - see above) chat at Passion Café with another lovely friend; packing session at home, preparing for a journey home. You can mix in a hefty breakfast and random chats with Mum as well, and you'll get a Good Day. Again. :)

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Kitty-cat for Kai :)


Prairie into cattle heaven


These are the newest residents of our long-abandoned prairie land. At least this is how we called it in my childhood when playing in and around these wide expanses of thatch and unruly wetland grass. The times are changing and so is the prairie - now a home to growing numbers of odd long-haired and very friendly looking cattle. I, for one, love to look at those magnificent beasts roaming around without a worry in the world and even with trees for back scratching. There is, of course, an electric shepherd keeping them from wondering into someone's home but... One braveheart did break out today and was feasting on fresh green bushes to the great dismay of his mates. Goes to show that the saying "brave wolf has a fat chest" can be applied to cattle as well. :)

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Mumday (a.k.a. Sunday with Mum)


If you want to trick your Mum out of house on Sunday, you better make it worth her while. I attempted to accomplish that with donuts, Fuzzyhead cake and marinated fish sandwich. As they appeared in order Mum prefers and in cafés she likes, I think I succeeded in making it a good day.


Especially as we merrily walked it all off again, taking a lovely detour along the beach and past the most magnificent rowan tree in Pärnu county! Now, off to Bedwoodshire... :)

Thursday, September 6, 2012

One evening...


with one friend in One Café. Estonians never seem to run out of ideas when it comes to eateries - every new one pops up with its own style and grades of lovability. This one rates high on the scale of both, and boasts a most fantastic tagliatelle with sun dried tomatoes and basilica. A must go place when visiting Pärnu, and very easy to accomplish as it is literally beside the bus terminal. Bon appetit! :)  

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Nostalgia trip to Alatskivi...


Once upon a time when I was a little person, aged 10 or thereabouts, I spent two summers in a delightful little town of Alatskivi, once home to a great Estonian poet, Juhan Liiv. Days full of hikes to Deer Park, trips to cinema at Alatskivi Castle, parades around the flag and poetry eves at the old school house, nights full of tooth paste drawings on sleeping faces of unsuspecting "others", dances and night alarms come to mind when glancing back into the days of pioneer camps, ever so popular in Soviet Estonia at that time. And rightly so! I, for one, inherited some fond memories and one very dear friend. :)


And once in Alatskivi, one cannot miss the Kuningvere lake and the surrounding woods, so abundantly full of mushrooms, both edible and not so. :) We left with bag full of chanterelles. The last pick of this summer...

Friday, August 31, 2012

Tartu, the city of decadence and style


If you are ever in Tartu, there is a hotel waiting for you right across the street from Alma Mater - Hotel Antonius. Do not miss its luxurious settings and first class service, it is so worth it!


And once your bags are in the room, grab the key, walk out, turn left, walk 50 paces and land at Werner's... Every morsel will take you to culinary heaven but their Napoleon is the closest thing to food-nirvana I have ever experienced... Yumm... :)

Tartu, the city of wisdom and soul


There is no doubt that every place on this planet carries a special message to all who have lived there, been there, loved there, but Tartu has a very unique aura and to put it to words may prove rather difficult. There is the air of students with heads filled with formulas and tables, there is the atmosphere of knowing and growing, there is the sense of all the wise men and women who have walked these streets ever since the first person entered the Alma Mater, University of Tartu, there is the slightly rancid odor of poverty mixed with ambition and bravery, and the all-engulfing  inspiration wafting from every street corner, café, alley... Add psychedelic colors, pigeons, nostalgia and kissing students, and you've got it. This is Tartu. :)

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Tallinn now and now


This is what Tallinn showed me yesterday - old men and pigeons, brierberries and shadows, metal bulls and Opera Theatre...


this is what Tallinn showed me when with dear Maiu - rooftops and rainbows, long drinks with umbrellas and bread sticks, and smiles, smiles, smiles, crossing over the table, following words and preceding them, at times just lingering there for the great company...


and this is the Tallinn of almost right this moment - full of sunflowers, open arms and grand gourmet. Life is a Flower :)