Funny. My first reaction on yesterday´s news of actress Elizabeth Taylor´s death at the age of 79 was: "Oh, my, now she is going to meet Burton again! Heaven will never be the same!" Thank you Liz for all the unforgettable moments you have given to the world through movies, stages, charities and glossy magazines! The world will never be the same!
All of a sudden, a piece of paper unexpectedly falls out of an old book that had obviously not been read for ages. My very first driver´s licence obtained in Mexico City in the 60´s!
I can´t believe it:
It is me on the photo, dark dyed hair in a Farah Diba hairdo soooo very fashionable in those days!And the name! They -the authorities-had to provide me with a typical Mexican name in order for meto be able to obtain a provisional "Permiso para manejar" So ..this is the story how I suddenly became married to a certain "Perez!"
And the authorities did that! I took driving lessons in Mexico City (NOT easy!) for a great old lady who could be cut out of a Oscar Lewis "Children of Sanchez" literary casting. She was a sole provider of a huge family of children, her business went well though and she had bought a plot in the outsskirts of Mexico DF where she was building a big house. In digging the grounds for the projected building they came across heaps of Aztec artefacts which they - as unfortunately is all too common in many developing countries - refrained from reporting to the the authorities. Who would have stopped the building project. OK. As a farewell present from this colorful lady, I got a small Aztec object dug up from her grounds - a little jar with a grinning face - which I subsequently smuggled out of the country hidden among my hair rollers. (Shame!) An object which has become so dear to me. (Not the rollers!) And I guess I was too young/innocent/naive to realise this deploring act in those days! And..I really wanted the little jar! (Greed takes it´s toll!) Nor did I realise that later, in applying for my Californian driver´s licence, I had to tick a column saying "Did you ever apply for a driver´s licence under a false namn?" Oh. Perez! No, I never met him! But I figure he might have looked something like this! Well, I will never know but the guy very much has the face of my grinning Aztec jar! It all ties up, doesn´t it?
..the very first spring flowers in the garden!Oh joy!They carry a sweet subtle smell of oncoming bliss!Soon all the snow will have melted away and the garden will be covered by the yellow winter aconites with a mix-in by snowdrops. The latter are of a beautiful double kind planted many years ago by the family who lived here for generations. Yesterday, I heard the first blackbird warble -a bit subdued -but still..
This beautiful song I found onYoutube could get anyone into a good mode! Will probably bore you with many posts on spring progress from now on!
A memory from a Paris´cafe. It is now in a stage when it will run the risk of becoming over worked and I will leave it for a while. This was a true exercise in "capturing light!" (How on earth did the old light masters manage?)
This is a painting I made after an old photo found in the family album of my paternal Grandma Astrid as a young girl in the end of the 19th century.Love her dress! (Not her hat alas!)
The happiness of unpacking a new artist´s box full of the loveliest colors and brushes which I did the other day! I feel sad I find too little a time to try them out at present. The house is completely full of ECO-fibers due to a massive isolation process - quite necessary to dodge the draught in this old farm! So you´ll find me with quite other kinds of brushes in my hands these days! Big ones! Well - this little water color I just had to make after reports about the winter situation in the Stockholm archipelago. The ice/winter situation has not been as tough for decades in the Baltic!Friends are driving their four-wheelers on the ice all the way to the outer skerries! (and back, alas! before the ice started cracking. Oh these daredevils - archipelago sons of the rough and tough.. By the way, this gorgeous photo was taken by my friend Paivi M a few days ago from the southern shore of Sandhamn.Keep them coming Paivi!
Journalist/information officer/publicist - however writing will often have to yield to photography, painting and other creative work. I live in an old farmhouse in Gotland, (indeed a challenging renovation task!)the large picturesque island in the Baltic and in Sandhamn - the sailing centre of Sweden - situated in the Stockholm archipelago. Obviously "an island person" who fish and I was almost born in a boat. Lived in Africa for some 8 years - and for some years in the US in the 60s.. Travel a lot to countries afar. Worked internationally mainly with development, human rigts and refugee questions. Started an interior decoration shop/workroom in Saltsjöbaden outside Stockholm and run it for 12 years.
”When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber.” — Winston Churchill
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." Mark Twain
99% of the photos in this blog are from my personal collection. If a photo is not mine you will find a link under the photo to whom it belongs to. I use one camera: Canon ixus 860 IS
I was born close to the sea..
..grew up in boats..
Mimi siwezi kusema kimasaii!
..and grew older in Africa..
..and would have loved to stop growing older right here!
Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still. – Chinese Proverb
The Paris Walk
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[image: Drawing by Rick Tulka] Drawing by Rick Tulka
I mentioned Rick Tulka's Walking Man previouslyI've been seeing "*walking
Parisiens*".
Continue Readi...
Nomad, now with light
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Photographs by Patrick Miller.
*Medverkande*
Artister: Salamanca Taikon Gonzalez och Sofia Jannok
Musiker: Robert Svärd
*Konstnärligt team*
Dramatiker:...
Bourbon-Ginger Pecan Pie
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I wasn’t planning on beginning this post for a pie recipe with anything
other than a story about how much I liked it, encouraging you to make it.
(Which I’...
Fantasie Suite
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PANORAMURALS by Justyna, Poland Allo friends, how are you? It’s been a long
time since I’ve had a chance to get to the blog and as always, remembered
how m...
Notre Dame ... objective 2024
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The confinement period of course meant some interruption of the
reconstruction work of the Notre Dame Cathedral, but it has now been
resumed for a couple...
Understanding Pascal's Law
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*Understanding Pascal's Law*
Pascal's law is one of the laws in physics that deals with liquid
substances and the forces at their disposal. Studying Physics...
"Yellow is capable of charming God."
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"Yellow is capable of charming God." Vincent Van Gough
[image: via tumblr]
Yellow is
clean,
[image: via flickr]
cherished,
[image: photo: Michelle Stead]
c...
At Home, with Flowers
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My, it's been a while since I last blogged. Holidays, family commitments,
and, most of all, a book tour have kept me away. I'm going to try to get
back...
Our 2018 Project
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Our 2018 project. We got there in the end! Living on a hill our garage
floor was two feet lower than the house. It has never been used as a garage
(too sm...
Några av höstens föreläsningar
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Ursäkta att jag inte är här så ofta längre. Insta blir ofta mera direkt.
När
jag väl kommer så långt som till bloggen så känns bilderna redan gamla.
Men...
The Backyard Feminist
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The Backyard Feminist, oil on canvas, 14″x18″. I suspect she’s listening to
Heart’s ‘Dreamboat Annie’ cassette tape as she rocks […]
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Life can change in an instant.
Christian May (you know him as Maison 21), one of the coolest, funniest and
most big-hearted guys I know, knows this only t...
Marrakesh: and a tale of an end and a new beginning
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Dear friends, We grow older and things change. And so it is with this
little blog. My Marrakesh has moved homes! Please find me here in my new,
swanky digs...
Som jag har längtat!
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Det är inte klokt! Hur lång kan vintern vara egentligen? Först kommer
solen, mycket sol men köldgraderna ger sig inte sen när man härdat ut länge
nog tyc...
The Promise of Summer
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This morning I woke up and it was beautiful, warm enough to wander round my
freshly mowed garden in my robe and set the table for an alfresco
breakf...
A Prada Pastiche
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At the start of every season, I try to make a point of going to the Rem
Koolhaas-designed Prada store in Beverly Hills to look at the new arrivals
— displa...
Gustaf V signerar stenen utanför klubbhuset, Sandhamn 1930
Paul Isberg, min farfar i mitten, ser leende på..
Grönskärs fyr. Pastell efter gammalt foto. Pia Ehrenpreis
Sandhamnsflagga?
Skulle Sandhamn ha en egen flagga skulle den kanske se ut så här!
Sandhamn för länge sen..
Les Moules
Kantarelltid
Sandhamnsnostalgi
Marint collage
Inloppet, Sandhamn
Kvällsljus..
Brandskärgården utanför Sandhamn
Midsommarmåne..
The heroes of youth..
Paris. Belmondo & Seberg i "Till sista andetaget"
Klart källvatten.. Zimbabwe i högländerna mot Mozambique.
Crocodile river, South Africa. "A tender sniff.. Giant crocks lurking in river below.."
Heading for Ngumba Island, Lake Victoria
Ngumba Island, Victoriasjön
Afrikafoton: Pia Ehrenpreis
My Blog Award
The tastes of Italy..
Dofterna, fröjderna för ögat och för gommen. Jag älskar Italien - som så många andra - och försöker komma dit så ofta jag kan. Denna gång blev det Toscana och Umbrien. Samt några dagar vid Medelhavet- inkl.ett dopp faktiskt! (april) - vid Marina di Pisa samt tågresa till Pietra Santa med sin vita marmor och sina skulptörer och konstnärer.