From Helloween to Christmas

Yes, it is almost that long since I've posted here. And because most of this time passed in travelling for me, I decided to share a few pictures from the places I've been to.

Stein am Rhein, a small town in Switzerland, close to the German border, on a beautiful Sunday afternoon

Walking down from Mount Rigi

A very typical autumn day in Zurich

Sunset in Lausanne after a very sunny day and a looong walk

For the football fans it's clear - Munich. It was a great feeling to be one of the 69,000 people watching Bayern Munich vs. Eintracht Frankfurt live!


And besides watching football, I spent quite a lot of time walking along the snowy streets of Munich... Christmas is almost there!

Happiness is the Way

Another card I got from a friend. What she wrote on the back is very personal and means a lot!

...just go, go, go

And I went - an unexpected but long-desired vacation...

Los Banditos and our little red car

We tried two beaches every day and this one turned out to be our favourite. When we were tired with exploring, we just went there again...

Memories of a Hot Sunday

It is getting colder these days. OK, colder means less than 30 degrees C, but still, in a very nice and subtle way autumn is sneaking in. The nights are cooler... The sun shines with a kind of yellow light, or maybe it's the brown-red leaves of the chestnut trees filtering it...

The pictures are from a family trip to Batak - a beautiful lake in the Rhodopi mountains.

vacation greetings

This is a card I got from a friend spending her summer vacation at Corfu.
"Wish I could relax like the woman in the picture", writes my friend.
I guess it is difficult with two little kids.
My weekends are just like that - spending time in the garden, enjoying doing nothing after a hard week...

Autumn Leaves in Summer

A hot lazy summer afternoon at home in the middle of the week... No, I'm not on holidays. Have been doing training lately, day in, day out. A deserved Wednesday afternoon break.

Travelling Around

Here are some pictures from my recent trips.

The Balkan mountains first. A friend got married in Arbanasi - a village close to Veliko Tarnovo. The celebrations lasted almost a week. A great wedding indeed.

Barbecue in the rain - the after party.

The wedding present - magnolia grandiflora, which is already growing in the garden.

On our way back to Plovdiv we stopped to gather some herbs.

And a few days later another mountain trip. This time in the Rhodope Mountains - my favourite part of the country.

The house of my Grandmother's Grandmother now belongs to another family, and the new owners take good care of it.

I would walk any distance just to enjoy this view.

la femme d'argent

Yesterday I was going back home from work, approaching our house, walking slowly, waiting for my doggy find a nice place to shit. I don't know what is so special about this ritual. However, he usually takes his time and needless to say, eventually chooses the most inappropriate place. So, I was rummaging through my bag looking for a plastic bag, when I suddenly heard this song coming from somewhere far. It was such a mysterious sensation! Did I really hear the song? Where was it coming from?

I used to love Air's Moon Safari and listened to it maybe twenty times in a row. For days, and weeks. Ten years ago, this is to say... And now this song was in the air floating around. You could hear that the sound was great, even from afar.

Is it possible that I have a neighbour listening to Air? No, I don't think so. (Yes, I have my preconceived ideas.) Maybe the white car waiting at the crossroad? No, it made an U-turn, but the sound stayed... I loved this moment and I needed someone to be grateful to for it. (OK, someone more specific than the Dear God.) As I came closer I finally got it - the fancy bar across the street. This time they definitely surprised me with their choice of music.

Guys, even though I don't like it that you play your music too loud on Fridays and Saturdays, and in fact I rarely like what you play, I now love you for La femme d'argent and this rare moment of beauty you have given me. Thank you!

tango

It has been long since I last showed some of the postcards I received.
This one I love. It is from a dear friend who keeps on sending postcards from the places she travels to. It is on my desk and I am so used to it that I don't even see it.
Lina from linaphotography recently visited our office and made some great pictures of all the details she found interesting. Thank you, Lina, for opening my eyes again!

about the freedom of choice

I had come across the name of Dr Victor Frankl before but never really knew much about his work.
After watching the video on TED I was struck by this man's passion. So, I searched the web to find more about him. This interview tells a lot about his beliefs, and his own life full of meaning.

Why to believe in others

Viktor Frankl: Why to believe in others | Video on TED.com

This talk is very short, funny and it made me think. I love the idea of giving people a chance, and of believing in their best self. Do I always do it? I'm not sure...

On this rainy day...

...I need to remember that the summer is almost here.

The pictures are from a recent trip to Greece.

Tulips and Lilies of the Valley

These most beautiful flowers were growing in the hidden garden of a house where nobody lived, visible only to the cats passing by. Well, egoistically enough they are now in our living room.

every dog has its day

We are doing some reconstructions at home now and the workers do not feel very comfortable having Vihar around. So, this will change my routine, I guess. Today I left earlier for work, and took Vihar with me to the office. I believe he liked it staying on the balcony, having people coming and playing with him, and best of all - feeding him. Then I took him out during lunch break, which was also quite a nice change for me (and I bet also for him). Eating out in the park, instead of going to the same smoky restaurant serving average food. I suppose I will have to stick to this regime for the coming days, maybe weeks.

Thoughts on Books and Marriage

Did I say that Committed arrived at my hands now? Thanks to Tania, a friend who recently got married and she certainly read it for other reasons than me. My interest in marriage is still rather theoretical, so I read the book from a distance, so to say, and can't really relate to the need of the author to know everything about marriage before committing. But anyway, the book is an enjoyable reading, just as I had expected. Full of curious facts about marriage rituals around the world.
Do you know, for example, that when people in Laos get married they invite everyone they know to the wedding party - often up to 1000 people. Everyone gives money to the young couple and then the two newly married spend the night writing carefully in a notebook the amount of money they got from each of the guests. This notebook is a useful reference when in return the couple gets invited to another wedding. Then they give as a present the same amount they got plus some extra money as interest. So, this is a kind of a loan that society lends to the bride and the groom, which they bit by bit return.
Nice, isn't it?

How Did You Spend Easter Holidays?

Easter holidays are over and I am back at work trying to steal some time for walking outside. People I meet these days ask how I have spent the holidays. How?


Well, I painted the eggs. I was quite enthused over the lace technique, believing I would get the most beautiful eggs ever. Haha. It didn't work. So, I went back to the old easy tried out ways of painting the eggs.


And then we baked the traditional Easter cookies. OK, in the form of sea creatures this time.


They always seem such a large quantity, and always finish so quickly.


The absolute winners this year were the Easter lambs I saw in a Swiss cooking site, which I can't find right now. However, I still keep the recipe at home. Well, we modified it somehow. We were not supposed to put nuts in the "wool". Why not? Wool and nuts go so well together...

And yesterday's nice walk with the dog. Isn't it worth enduring the winter to enjoy the beauty of spring?

back on track

I haven't written for quite some time here. OK, no excuses now. We have just started a company blog mosaicafe.com and I've put some effort in there. And since Bulgarian is not among the most popular languages, we also write in English.
Then I had a week off visiting a friend in Switzerland. Now I am back - on- and offline.
Happy spring!

The Forty Rules of Love

Another book that ended in my to-read list after I read the interview with the author. In fact, it is not the story of the American housewife that really touched me, but the depth and the style of the interview with Elif Shafak. Now I have great expectations regarding this book, also influenced by my desire to know more about Rumi, in fact.

spring is in the air :)

...and also in our office!

mosaic logo

Our new company logo is finally ready. I really love it! The guys from punkt are now working on our site... Or maybe theirs?

As I began to love myself

They say Charlie Chaplin wrote this on his 70th birthday, on April 16, 1959. I found it here, and touched by the beauty of this poem I browsed the internet to find the original verses. Here they are...

As I Began to Love Myself

As I began to love myself I found that anguish and emotional suffering
are only warning signs that I was living against my own truth.
Today, I know, this is "AUTHENTICITY".


As I began to love myself I understood how much it can offend somebody
As I try to force my desires on this person,
even though I knew the time was not right and the person was not ready for it,
and even though this person was me.
Today I call it "RESPECT".


As I began to love myself I stopped craving for a different life,
and I could see that everything that surrounded me was inviting me to grow.
Today I call it "MATURITY".


As I began to love myself I understood that at any circumstance,
I am in the right place at the right time,
and everything happens at the exactly right moment.
So I could be calm.
Today I call it "SELF-CONFIDENCE".


As I began to love myself I quit stealing my own time,
and I stopped designing huge projects for the future.
Today, I only do what brings me joy and happiness, things I love to do
and that make my heart cheer, and I do them in my own way and in my own rhythm.
Today I call it "SIMPLICITY".


As I began to love myself I freed myself of anything that is no good for my health -
food, people, things, situations, and everything the drew me down and away from myself.
At first I called this attitude a healthy egoism.
Today I know it is "LOVE OF ONESELF".


As I began to love myself I quit trying to always be right,
and ever since I was wrong less of the time.
Today I discovered that is "MODESTY".


As I began to love myself I refused to go on living in the past and worry about the future.
Now, I only live for the moment, where everything is happening.
Today I live each day, day by day, and I call it "FULFILLMENT".


As I began to love myself I recognized that my mind can disturb me
and it can make me sick.
But as I connected it to my heart, my mind became a valuable ally.
Today I call this connection "WISDOM OF THE HEART".


We no longer need to fear arguments, confrontations or any kind of problems
with ourselves or others.
Even stars collide, and out of their crashing new worlds are born.
Today I know "THAT IS LIFE"!

Expecting "Committed"

Elizabeth Gilbert was one of the people that I found most inspiring last year. And this interview with her about her latest book was also a delightful reading. Hope to read "Committed" soon.

My Goethe-Day

It has been at least four times today that I somehow crossed paths with Goethe - well, figuratively said. Once in the library, and then while browsing the web. What does Goethe have to say to me today?

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans; that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way."

Isn't it beautiful?