Winter colours

Merry Christmas!

Warm, cosy, full of dreams and magic feelings.
This year is one of the calmest Christmas. I just let them come, without huge plans. And that's it! It's the way they have to be. Not to want too much from others and do everything you can.
I was preparing the food for Christmas Eve: twelve dishes is a challenge! Then backing some cakes, decorating Christmas Tree.

I want to wish everybody to feel Christmas magic in your hearts!

Christmas fruit pie
450g butter
400g brown sugar
9 eggs
1 tsp backing powder
1 orange juice
1 lemon juice
4 cups all purpose flour
900g raisins
900g dried black currants
200g dried date-palms
200g dried figs
220g almonds
250g candied cherries
zest of 1 lemon
zest of 1 orange

Preheat oven to 160C degrees.
Dice all dried fruits and almonds.
Room temperature butter cream with sugar till white. Incorporate eggs one after another, add orange and lemon juice, put flour with backing powder and mix well. Add all dried fruits and mix.
Lay two tins with parchment paper and fill with dough.
Bake the cakes for 2h or until firm to the touch. Allow to cool slightly before removing from the tins. Wrap in parchment paper, and foil. Keep in room temperature minimum 2 weeks, maximum - 2 month.

The taste is perfect.

Recipe from here

Warm touch

Handmade presents are the best. This one I did to my mother.

Urban play

Square in Amsterdam
Nice result in 8 days and help of 100 volunteers.
Later police removed it during the night, it didn't have to happen like this.
Scott Burnham:
"It seems that the Amsterdam police were called by a resident of one of the overlooking buildings early Sunday morning to report that someone was "stealing an artwork". As the story goes, people were pocketing a few of the coins, which was also expected, but things got a bit out of hand when a resident saw this happening. So the police responded, and, in a rather bizarre instance of police efficiency, they proceeded to "secure" the artwork, by sweeping up the entire installation."

More info here
Photos here

iš senų užrašų 2

Trys žodžiai užpildantys visumą ir vienas, nusakantis esmę. Štai stoviu atvirais dantimis ir laukiu savo eilės jų netekti.

Paskutinis lapas.
Lašo ant kreivo medžio šešėlio.
Vaikai bijo stiklinių akių.
Viskas kartojasi, net tai, kas nepakartojama, sukasi kitų pasauliuose, kurie taip pat išnyks nebūtin skambant praeivių juokui.
Nesistengti nerti, tik bėgti neliečiant stygų. Be veidų, be atodūsių.

iš senų užrašų

Tylus atodūsis nesunaikina tylos, tik pripildo ją laukimo ir liūdno žinojimo. Kažkas rašė, kad tyla yra tik triukšmo pritvinkusi erdvė (taškas?), laukianti pratrūkimo.
Ar leidžiama mums į ją įsibrauti?
Mes būtinai norime visur įsibrauti, užkariauti, pažinti.
Žmonės egoistai. Gal ne visi, bet ir tie likusieji, užsiimantys altruizmu, yra egoistai - jie tik tada jaučiasi laimingi, kai kažkam rūpi.
Myliu tave... ar meilė - irgi egoizmas?
Ar mano meilė jau užaugus?
Kaip ji atrodo iš dešinės, iš kairės, prisispaudus arti ir padėjus už šimto kilometrų?
Ar ji gali egzistuoti be manęs?

Ruduo.

Taškinio būvio vakarai.
Sapnai išdavikai.
Laukimas ko niekad nebus.

Ireland. Part two

Inishmore island. Stones stones stones....

Ireland. August of 2008

Meeting new people, drinking tea with old friend you really missed. Doing nothing and riding bike. Lots of stones, luckily not in the heart.

What is the next place to meet?

Happy birthday for myself

Yes, today is the day. To greet myself I backed a cake.