The Mushroom Foray Part II

Two weeks ago, Timo, Mama and I went for a walk in the forest to look for mushrooms. It was great - a nice sunny sunday afternoon! A mushroom foray is a great mindfulness exercise: you have to be in the moment, all senses acute to be successful (or you have to be like Timo who somehow found one mushroom after the other without any real talent for it - he was just lucky I guess). The mushrooms we found (yes I found at least a small number) were very delicious and obviously edible as we're still alive.

Even though I only found few edible mushrooms I found this beautiful fella over here. Even though you can't eat it I think it is a really nice and often surreal looking mushroom. This one was illuminated by sunshine and it was just perfect for taking a picture. Timo found an edible bolete very close to it and found it hilarious that I got abstracted because of this poisonous one but I am very happy about having found it and having taken this photo!

PS: Yes, I just ignored the fact that I have been absent from this blog for nearly three months. I started a new job and just haven't been in the mood. But now I start to get used to it so I guess I'll be back soon:)

Home

A long time has passed since my last blog post! I enjoyed my last month in Galway a lot, I even went swimming three times (twice on a very nice and warm day - even the jelly fish couldn't scare Marina and me)! My sisters organized a wonderful good-bye party for me and the Irish sky provided a breath-taking background for the scene. Especially during my last week I was experiencing a very confusing alternation of feelings - sometimes I just couldn't wait to see Timo, the cats, my Mama, and my parents in law again, sometimes I would suddenly and unexpectedly burst out crying because I knew I would soon be leaving Galway, my sisters, my brothers-in-law (ok, one of'em is just my brother-in-law to be), the mad cat, and my friends behind.

Back in Germany I really needed some time to settle back in again - weirdly enough it seemed to be harder than my first month in Galway! And the settling in hasn't even concluded but that's probably also due to the fact that I haven't found a job yet (and so I still haven't got a real everyday life). On the other hand, it maybe isn't that weird really because the three months were like a break from my normal life and when you have such a break you start to reconsider some things and maybe even start to change your mind on certain views. For example, I now can imagine to move to a bigger city if I can find a good (trainee) job there - even if it means that Timo and I would see each other less often. I guess some of our friends and family think our marriage might be in a crisis but actually I think that it has become stronger in a way. And I am proud to see how Timo still supports me (except maybe my plan to get a number of tattoos). I don't really have a lot of love for myself (something I know I need to work on) so it is absolutely touching to see that someone loves you so much that he even likes the things about you he actually doesn't like...well, you know what I mean!

So, what can I say? This still is a very unsteady period of my life and I don't have a clue where my path is leading. To be honest, it scares the shit out of me sometimes but - and this shows that I really have changed in Ireland - sometimes I just can't wait to find out!

Elephants

As a kid I was a huge fan of elephants. I had elephants everywhere: on my bed sheets, my clothes, as toys, and I even owned a golden necklace with a small elephant pendant and two matching earrings. I can't remember how this obsession had started in the first place but my parents always said it probably was the elephant scene in Disney's Jungle Book.

As with most obsessions, this one gradually diminished while I was growing up. However, elephants are still (or maybe have become again?) animals that somehow always impress me very much. I can sit and watch a picture of elephants for ages and especially looking into their eyes (yes, even in a picture) touches me deeply.

I don't know if it's a coincidence that I find myself now - at such an important point in my life at which I'm trying to find out who I really am - in a house that features elephants as a recurring theme. But somehow it seems to make sense, doesn't it?

"Jumbo wants to be a hippo" by Lionel Gallagher,
illustrations by my sister :-)

Running, a Trendsetter, and the Joy of Doing the Laundry

Before I went to Galway, I was a bit worried that I wouldn't find a job, there making my whole quest for identity and independence a farce, as it would have been my husband who would have financed the whole thing then. But - yay - I found a job which at least gives me the feeling of not being totally dependent and egotistic! The only drawback of my job (and not a real one either) is the working time. I start at midday and work until 9 and my weekend is actually a weekstart as it is shifted to Monday and Tuesday. That's actually not too bad but you have to get used to it and as yet I haven't. But this also means that I was able to enjoy the really nice weather yesterday and today. I went running on both days and once again was deeply impressed by the beauty of the countryside in Barna. I really need to go running more often as I deeply felt how good it is for me - especially in such picturesque surroundings!

At the moment I am living in Marina's house. Living with her means living in the cutest little chalet which smells like her incense sticks or aromatherapy oils, is full of color and has a wonderful view of the sea and the hills of the Burren. It also means that there is the ritual newspaper purchase every saturday (I think it's The Guardian) and Sunday (The Sunday Times). One of my favorite parts of this newspaper is the Style mag. Curiously enough, a lot of the "trends" presented in this magazine are not at all new to me as I usually have already encountered them in Marina's lifestyle. I remember her telling me of her new favorite smoothy called The Green Monster way before green smoothies were promoted as the beauty secret of stars and wannabes. Last week the latest beauty update was coconut oil which can be used for cooking, as a butter substitute, and for hair and skin!... oh really? Marina's been using this for ages! Another article analized the sudden popularity of kale. My suggestion is that there must be a style spy in my sister's wardrobe who constantly checks what will become trendy in the next season because ... kale? A new trend? Not for her!
Today I was able to enjoy a Green Monster after running and take in the sea view through her kitchen window. It was such a nice and sunny day and I was buzzing with energy. I also tried out mindful hanging out of the laundry which was just as relaxing and enjoyable as the washing up experience (which didn't remain a single event). But I must admit that it's a lot easier to enjoy this task when you have to hang up colorful fabrics on a clothes line outside in the sun!

running view

The Green Monster

Laundry Joy

A Lesson in Mindfulness

A couple of days ago, I was so tired after dinner that I asked Anke if it was alright not help her do the washing up (even though she had been to work that day whereas I...hadn't!). I might even have mentioned that it was a pity she hadn't got a dish washer (I am a real pain in the arse sometimes). But in the last few days, I have repeatedly stumbled across the idea of mindfulness (both Anke and Marina are trying to stick to it+I read about it in differerent books and magazines). And I also learned that doing the washing up is actually a good way to practice mindfulness. So when Marina had to check her emails after dinner tonight, I just tried it. I did the washing up. Naturally, it wasn't my first time to do it but it was the first time for me to do it WHILE I WAS REALLY THERE. MENTALLY-WISE. It was a whole new experience and was actually...fun (in the sense that I really seemed to enjoy it). Eg. some views I had stroke me as strangely beautiful. After I had finished my task, I tried to imitate some of those "views" - although that wasn't really succesful. I'll post them anyway because they still convey (if somewhat evanesced) what I experienced:

My first week in Galway

I arrived in Galway last thursday, the 27th of February. It was hard to say good bye to my family and cats but tried to do it the short-and-sweet way so I wasn't all in tears the whole time. I started the journey with an annoying cold which turned into a full sickness during my travel affecting my ears (terrible aching during the flight, half deaf afterwards), my nose (constantly running - I'm still sorry for the poor fella who was sitting next to me on the bus to Galway), throat (sore), and lungs (painful cough).

As if this wasn't enough, my sister's kitten had disappeared the night before. It really was a dramatic start for me in Galway. But things started to improve by friday night with the kitten reappearing just 30 minutes before Anke's birthday (and it certainly would have been a sad birthday without him). By sunday I was feeling a lot better and I think I'll be completely fine again by next week when hopefully the only one running will be I and not my nose!

Due to my sickness, I haven't done much to find an employment for my time in Ireland. However, I managed to apply for my pps number and to update my application forms.

But even without a job I will be busy, I guess: all those things that I never got round to do are on my to do list now and lacking time is not a valid excuse for idleness any more!

I am very excited about staying here for such a long time and I hope it will give me a new perspective on things because in the end isn't this what travelling is all about?

DIY: New colors for an old bedstand

During the Christmas holidays I was finally able to work on an old bedstand Mama still had in her basement.It was quite old - though not the good kind of old: just an ugly 70s or 80s piece of furniture for a kid's room.

I bought black acrylic color, brittle lacquer, dark pink acrylic paint, and a top coat. I started with the black paint as a  base:

Then I used the brittle lacquer:

After that, I applied the pink color. I didn't water the paint down a little - that's probably why the cracks are that big. I initially wanted them to be finer but then again chance is a great companion in art and I really like the result: it's far more edgy!

Finally, I was able to apply the top coat (a matt paint). To complete the bedstand, I then changed the knobs: I had found some very nice china knobs with an antique look (they were actually the initial source for the idea to paint that old bedstand).

I am definitely content with the result! And it feels so good to "DIY"! Unfortunately, Timo and I haven't got enough space in our apartment to place it anywhere...so we have to find a new and bigger apartment, I guess ;-)

Time

A lot has been said and written about time. And yet we never tire of being amazed again and again about how differently we perceive it. January is a good example for me because it seems to have rushed by in a second!

I am starting to get a bit nervous now because March is approaching and I will spend some months in Ireland with my sisters. I wonder how the time will feel when I am there: Will it pass quickly or slowly or both (time has that contradictory ability)?
I am definitely looking forward to going to Galway: I will be with my sisters, go for walks on the sea shore regularly and maybe find out what I want from life (it's my own little quest for identity - a Paul Austerean journey westwards... I must read Moonpalace again!!!).
Still, it won't be easy on the other hand because I'm leaving behind my husband, my cats, and my parents (my Mama and my parents in law). It will be a challenge but I am sure that I will have learned a lot by the end of those three months.

I can't believe that Christmas was over a month ago! Or that it's 3 weeks since I drove Marina to the airport. Or that I am married for three years now. Tic, toc, tic, toc - it sometimes nearly drives me crazy, you know! Not the audio aspect of time, though. I never had a problem with that. Maybe because I grew up in a house with a big (and pretty noisy) pendulum clock. Visitors would always say that the ongoing tic-toc would annoy them after a while and the loud gong when it stroke the half-hours sometimes made them wince. However, it never was a problem for me because I was so used to it -time had taught me to live with it -and even to cherish it in a way: when the clock suddenly wasn't working any more Mama's house felt different. Quieter. Sadder. But after a couple of years (and again we all had grown used to the new quietness, though we never enjoyed it) Mama finally had it fixed again. I was astonished how familiar the sound was. Even though it was muted for several years, it just sounded right again. The quick passing of time might drive me crazy but the tic-toc of that old clock only underlines the positive aspect of passing time: Seize it! Enjoy it! Give it the possibility to become the time of your life!

Now that's a groundbreaking and novel idea, right? As I said: A lot has been said and written - and repeated over the years. TIME to finally learn our lessons, then.
YOLO :-P