flowers. again. really? Tweet

the first I caught, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

Really :) I was finally up early enough and alert enough to catch a morning glory in bloom. And while it's not the blue I long for and will hopefully end up seeing later this summer, its purple is properly stained... with blue. Oh, joy!

oh, speaking of cuteness, how about this? Tweet

got some cleaning to do, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

Meet one of my favourite chipmunks in the whole world! He (she?) lives at The Nursery in Ipswich and sees me every few months, that is, each time I'm in town. Or so I like to believe. No idea whether I'm really cooing to the same cute patch of fur each time round, but it doesn't stop me from going gaga. More so than over squirrels, which are some sort of relatives. I didn't stray much.

1062 Tweet

1062, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

Finding my way. Kleivstua, Norway

I haven't left the house today... Tweet

in bloom today, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

...but I had lovely company, and I was a busy bee. What I like about these flowers other than their obvious burst of colour is that several of them manage to be in bloom at the same time, even if they have different cycles. Recently, I wondered why I post so much about my babies, why it is so important and omnipresent. It became clear that they're my easiest get away, closest source of daily excitement, and preferred pastime when my brain needs a break. And, yes, I need to get out more. I plan to take photo trips soon, because this isn't enough practice, and I love being among people. Sometimes :)

koala bears begging for water? Tweet

KoalaSA, originally uploaded by icml2009.

For me, best thing beyond lolcats must be koala bears, though pandas come high, too. The story is old, but still terribly endearing, and I have mom to thank for emailing me about it. The author of the photo writes: South Australia experienced a heat wave at the end of January. This koala knows the best way to keep cool! The creatures came to people's houses and stopped hikers for a drink, as well. A whole bath must have been a whole other story.

1061 Tweet

1061, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

Local flavour. Sundvollen, Norway

three magic moments Tweet

three moments, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

The clock shows the time when cocktails were served last night. Martinis with a hint of orange peel that, for lack of better name, I'll call Orange Martini (tough one, I know). From that point to perhaps 3 a.m., the following dishes from my favourite chef graced the tiny balcony table, as we moved from Martini to white wine and then to coffee, the only thing I contributed:

1. walnuts roasted in Romanian forest flowers honey, with salt and oregano (small bite next to drinks)

2. clams with pancetta, chili, garlic and some more goodness (hot and divine tapas)

3. salad of smoked fishes with onion, capers, and some secret stuff, served on toast (I could eat this daily)

4. Spanish omelet with garlic, pancetta, and broad beans (a dieing tapas tradition, what a shame!)

5. salad of oranges and olives with harissa and cumin (Moroccan delight, must eat more often)

6. perfectly grilled beef fillet with new potatoes salad of vinegar and tarragon flavour, and a generous touch of Hollandaise sauce

7. his first such dessert ever, delicious passion fruit cheesecake (he joked that four OK portions of the recipe turned into 6 more than OK portions in the process, so I'd better like it or it'll be looking at me from the fridge for a while and, umm, I love it?)

A bit stuffed, even with the very small portions, and happy, I decided that the best thing after being spoiled can only be... being spoiled daily. I am blessed with such an amazing cook, so blessed that only my competition spirit allows me to enter the kitchen. That, and him not mastering this level of debauchery on a daily basis.

Today, what to do? Finish the beautiful tapas, and the first cheesecake, still too big to take in in one go, and then walk off all that in the park, as soon as the rain stopped. With great joy did I come across some of the most beautiful weeds in the world: lady's/ yellow bedstraw and scabiosa, my favourite of all times.

I was especially entranced by lady's/ yellow bedstraw, to the point where Chris became uncomfortable that I was picking more than one stem. But, hey, this flower goes a long way in Romanian history! It is used to mark the coming of summer ever since Roman priestesses of Diana (Artemis) performed their rituals on our land.

Pagan, perhaps, but the Orthodox church eventually embraced it, and how could one fight a rite of passage when heavens open and any wish can be fulfilled? Funny enough, my mother reminded me about it last week, when I lamented I haven't seen the plant in England. Well, hello, summer, and your promised heat wave next week!

free day at wimbledon makes room for archive Tweet

Finally got round to posting the two videos I made at Wimbledon. Enjoy a few ball exchanges and typical moments (players entering the court, players winning, referees changing) on the day when Wimbledon is quiet. We busied ourselves with the namesake movie, one of the few ever to watch again together. Who would have thought they got so many details right?

Lleyton Hewitt plays Juan Martin Del Potro at Wimbledon 2009 from gorgeoux on Vimeo. Hewitt won in the most beautiful match of the day.

Andy Murray plays Ernests Gulbis at Wimbledon 2009 from gorgeoux on Vimeo. Easy job for Murray to pass Gulbis in the third and final match of the day.

1060 Tweet

1060, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

Pit stop. Kleivstua, Norway

new home for fallen babies Tweet

new invention, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

The wind has quite a talent to break some of our flowers at the prime of their lives. Myself, then, I have more than one complimentary talent: I secure as many as allow it, I hide them under larger plants, away from the wind, I spread the fallen babies around the house in tiniest vases, and I snip off the ones that look bad outside but would add colour inside for a couple more days. All fine and dandy, but so much work! Enter cute solution: one tiny ceramic pot gotten for free and the Camden Council Give & Take, some wire, some tools, and fifteen minutes later, a single, new home for fallen babies. More so, on top of the balcony table that is too small to hold a vase. More than securing the pot, it was paramount to secure the flowers, so the pot is filled with glass beads that have so far kept the tiny bouquet in place through a serious patch of rain and wind. Oh, my father should be so proud of my DIY skills!

latest news from the garden Tweet

latest news, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

The fifth hyacinth is in bloom, and for posterity, anyone can see it perfumes our garden at the same time with the roses. In June! I stopped fighting the oddity of it all. The grapefruit mint also started blooming, and the first morning glory yet will probably pop tomorrow. All good on the balcony front :)

1059 Tweet

1059, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

The warmth inside. Kleivstua, Norway

hello kitty, indeed Tweet

hello kitty, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

It took a while to post this, but I got to use both Hello Kitty items in the meantime (my sister, who got them for me, says there nearly was a third, hmm). The USB vacuum cleaner for keyboards works very well, is slightly loud (but that feels right), and looks rather amusing in his hands (all that pink, but then again, he bought a pink table, not me). The phone jewellery is something I've never employed before, but does come handy when fishing for the bloody thing in a handbag, so another win (thanks, sis!). Again, funny in the hands of a guy, as I discovered when I passed the phone to my colleague the other day, and felt the need to apologise for the girly pimping. Oblivious or polite, he was more concerned with guessing how to end the call... Red button, anyone?

tinsy basket vase Tweet

tinsy basket vase, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

I bought this vase a few weeks ago in Beaulieu, for less than ten pounds. I'm pretty sure it wasn't crafted there. Not that it matters. I've always had a thing for glass vases shaped like baskets, but budgets and general bulkiness prevented us from becoming good friends. Not anymore. This baby can hold a few small flowers or one large bloom and is perfect for my desk. It had to wait for a few weeks to meet a perfect rose, but it was worth it.

1058 Tweet

1058, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

No sky. Kleivstua, Norway

my wimbledon day in photos Tweet

I loved every detail about my day at Wimbledon, from getting there to eating and drinking our lovely providings from home, from seeing a brilliant game (Australian Lleyton Hewitt winning against Argentinian Juan Martin del Potro) to noticing ball boys and girls in action, from easily managing to swap our best seat with a nice Spanish lady (we got tickets on the opposite sides of the court) so that we can be by each other to meeting Nick during the women's single game (and at the pub afterwards), from the total silence of the public to hearing the other courts cheer in the distance, from making waves to the new air-co roof, from being inside a commentary box to figuring out break points myself, from hearing the umpire say 'deuce' to the beauty of an audience applauding beautiful game more than favourite players (perhaps the Olympics alone, once I see them, can top this), from seeing the name of Ilie Nastase in the hall of fame to spotting the names of current Romanian players in the competition. I could write rivers about how exhilarating it is to be there (though surrounded by a huge middle class crowd drinking bubbly out of plastic cups, meah), but instead I'll give you a river of photos. My benefactor adds that in a while I need to get myself the 25,000 (!) pounds annual ticket. Abso-fucking-lutely. But first things first.

police helps with traffic, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

centre court before first match, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

outside centre court, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

centre court camera row, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

the australian fans, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

centre court ball boys, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

centre court public, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

hewitt and del potro before warm up, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

centre court public, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

del potro, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

hydrangea at wimbledon, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

hewitt wins, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

wimbledon strawberries and cream, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

caroline wozniacki vs. maria kirilenko, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

wimbledon drinks to go, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

centre court umpire checks the height of the net, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

centre court commentary box, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

andy murray serves, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

london from centre court, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

centre court ball girl, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

ilie nastase on wimbledon hall of fame, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

ernests gulbis serves, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

centre court packing up, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.

wimbledon sunset, originally uploaded by gorgeoux.