Are you smelling the flowers?

It’s been up to three weeks since I’ve arrived in the States and we had some really crazy but wonderful days in the same time! Amidst a funeral, 2 weddings (one being ours, happening at the end of this week), 2 job interviews, my fiance’s last exams, graduation and the start of a new job, plus all the other things in between, I honestly think that we redefined the term “busy”! :)

Even so, I tried to sneak peek here and there and take some time to just enjoy the new sights and smells around me…everything is so green and bursting with life in Virginia! the birds are singing like crazy next to our window! and the smell of the grass, and the earth….we are definitely getting ready for summer!

No photos yet though but I remembered Waterhouse’s lyrical and ethereal paintings…this comes pretty close because that’s how I feel every time I walk in the park or near a bush of flowers, or a tree… :)

John William Waterhouse, “My sweet rose”, 1908

More about him and his art, here!

Are you guys enjoying the approaching of summer? and what are your favorite flowers? :) Leaving Austria, everything was in bloom there too but the lilac was EVERYWHERE and the smell….you just couldn’t get enough!

This week’s song: The Venice Dreamer part 2 by George Winston

 

This beautiful piece is taken from the album “Winter into Spring”. With the hard winter behind us, the nature comes slowly into life… A much awaited moment! Soon, we will fall into summer and so the rolling of the times, and seasons, goes on and on…

More about George Winston and his artistry, on his personal website.

Happy and joyous, full of light spring, to you all! :)

Roxi

Sunday’s sunny snow

The sun finally shone, for a little while, just enough to catch some glimpses of its tender and sparkly love with the snow…

Light and shadow in Gherla’s central park.

The river, covered by ice and snow…

The main entrance into the park.

Blue sky and the back of the Roman Catholic Church, in Gherla, Cluj County, Romania. Photos taken by me, February, 2012

Winter madness

Photos taken in Gherla, Cluj County, Romania. In the park and next to the Somes River. February, 2012.

And, a very beautiful song to go with the photos :)

I have taken some photos of the same scenery back in November…you can check them out and compare here.

Glimpses of winter, in November

Just some glimpses of the upcoming winter, from my hometown…:)

Photos taken in Gherla, Cluj County, Romania. November, 2011

Happy Monday: Wonderful Life – Black

Hello all!

After a little (crazy!) break, things have finally calmed down a bit in my life so we are continuing with the Happy Monday series. This time, one of your suggestions :) Thanks Guillermo! ;) it is definitely a soothing and calming song, that goes perfectly with a hot cup of coffee, tea and a good book (exactly the type I need right now!). Keep sending me your suggestions though. I’d love to hear what are your favorite songs!

How are you faring the coming of fall/autumn? I am still hanging on to my summer wardrobe, trying to make it work by using 2 layers or tights, multiple scarves and such but, I feel I shall give in to sweaters, pants and boots any time now… *sigh*.

In the meantime, enjoy this beautiful song and make your autumn days count anyway you can ;)

Roxi

Polish Autumn

 

Photos taken around Nowy Gierałtów, Silesia, Poland. Oct. 2011

Fall is here…

Autumn has caught us in our summer wear. Philip Larkin (British poet) said that and he was right. At least in my case.

With only three more days until the Fall Equinox (23rd Sept.), I feel totally unprepared for the upcoming waves of cold weather, rains, winds, snow….But, I am determined to make the best of it and indulge, in the meantime, in the abundance that the season has to offer: colorful leaves, mellow rays of sun, fruits, nuts, warm teas, new books on the shelves, long walks in the parks and woods and all the other pleasant unexpected surprises that I hope fall will bring with itself.

What are your plans for this fall?

Photos taken in Sankt Polten, Austria, last year around this time (2010).

Passage

We are slowly sliding into fall…here is a song that reminds me of this transition.

End of Summer…

No, summer is not over yet, but I need to be reminded that it will be, quite soon.

Summers have this elusive quality. No matter what you do, how hard you try and enjoy them, they escape way too soon and in the end, you feel that you haven’t had enough. Not the same with winters, who always have their way in driving me mad with the cold and the darkness, especially when the spring is near,  in late March/April when the snow and the cold are still present. That’s when I feel that I am about to lose it.

This summer has been no different. Hectic, terribly hot, full of traveling, people, changes, not a moment to breathe (except now) and just like all the others before, it is almost gone. It can be too much, it can be too good, but I’d rather have this any day now.

And because it is still too hot, I dream of haystacks to jump on, of soft breezes, generous trees in offering rest and shadow, quietness, solitude and nature close at hand…at least from inside my city room.

Claude Monet, “Wheatstacks, end of summer”, 1890-91. Found at The Art Institute of Chicago.