"End Of The Endless."

The endless month we call January is actually ending. Amazingly, it went by a lot quicker than I am used to. I am not sure why, but the feel of an oppressive eternity seems to have been absent this year.

Perhaps it is due to the presence of the snow, turning our surroundings brighter and lighter. Perhaps it was the lack off fog and rain or the fact that the sunshine hours even outnumbered November. In any case, today is the last day of January.

Even though we are still standing in midwinter, there is a slight, but palpable change in the air.

The sun.

It is clearly moving higher up in the sky. I can not adequately explain in words what this means. Or how important it is. We have by now gained about 90 minutes more light since the winter solstice and the quality of the daylight has been visibly altered. The sunshine is more platinum than golden and the sunsets occur later and last longer.

It is the first significant sign foretelling that although spring is nowhere in sight, winter has reached - and passed - its peak.

Time Captured In Snow.

The winters in southern Scandinavia are in contrary to popular belief quiet temperate. They feel cold, due to the damp, windy conditions, but on average, the temperatures will stay around 5C during the day and around freezing, or just below freezing in the night. The Gulf Stream keeps our weather very stable, thus our winters are mild and our summers cool. Not my kind of weather at all, if you ask me.

However, as with every rule, there are exceptions. Every few years we do get large amount of snowfall, particularly in January and February, making our winters feel long and at times endless. December snow is very rare and the fact that our Christmas 2009 was white is highly unusual and happens on average every fifteen years. Since that very snow fall in the middle of December last year we have experienced record breaking weather conditions. In fact the temperatures have remained below freezing, way below freezing almost constantly for six weeks. The few hours of plus degrees did not manage to thaw very much of the very first snow away and in periods, we continue to receive fresh addition, such as yesterday night. Thus everywhere I look I see fresh snow, but also old snow. The remains of December snow are clearly visible. My garden furniture, my flower pots and my lounge chair are all covered by snow that is by now six weeks old.

As I walk around my terrace, gazing at the old layers, which still look as white and pristine as when they fell, I realized that I am - in an interesting and unique way - revisiting the past. Minutes, days and weeks, all captured in frozen precipitation we call snow...

Flashback Friday: "I Promised Myself".

Nick Kamen's face became known from one of the many Levi's commercials that did run on television in the 80's. Those sultry ads featuring good looking men with their jeans.

This one was no exception. A handsome man stripping down in a 1950s style public laundromat, in order to stone-wash his blue jeans, while he waits clad only in his boxer shorts. Apparently, this dramatically increased the popularity of this undergarment and this ad was selected for The 100 Greatest TV Ads of all time in 2000.

However, Nick Kamen was more than a pretty face and did enjoy a brief singing carrier in the 80's. I did like his music, but to me he was always just a face from that jeans ad.
Until 1990, that is. In this year he released his his self-penned song "I Promised Myself". I think that compilation and the video that followed had everything that enticed my young romantic mind. The images were so simple, yet the young man standing there with his guitar appeared to be singing directly to me, looking at me with his enigmatic green eyes, telling me "...I will wait for you...". Needles to say I listened to the tape with this song until the tape broke.

Today I have grown out of some of my naivete, but a certain magic of the compilation has not diminished. Even though I by now consider the video to be somewhat aged and the thrill I used to feel is gone, I still relish in its aesthetics, its simplicity and in the timeless appeal of the lyrics and the harmonies.

Pink Checkers.

I have previously disclosed that I receive weekly surface mail from Ireland, containing small presents and sweets.

This week the package contained the most appealing cakes I have ever seen. Unknown to me until very recently, when I stumbled upon pictures of the cake online, while talking to my Irishman. It is called Battenberg Cake and is basically a sponge cake covered in marzipan, which when cut in cross section, displays a distinctive two-by-two check pattern alternately coloured pink and yellow.

As it states on the beautifully coloured box my five small cakes came in:
"Chequered sponge sandwiched together with an apricot filling, wrapped in almond flavour paste."

It is the single most visually appealing and delicious cake I have ever tasted, believe me. Although I am a great fan of white chocolate, I think I might have found my very new favorite sweet addiction.

The Golden Ratio.

Also known as the Divine Proportion, The Golden Mean, or Golden Section, is a number that plays a major role in architecture, art, the way we perceive beauty and is found freely in the natural designs of various life forms.
It is basically viewed as an irrational mathematical constant and equals approximately 1.6180339887. It is often labeled Phi.

The number itself was determined by a mathematical calculation of a sequence of numbers, called the Fibonacci sequence.
Leonardo Fibonacci was born around AD 1170 and was an Italian mathematician, considered by some as the most talented mathematician of the Middle Ages.

As with anything mysthical and unusual, I am utterly intrigued by the Golden Ratio. Still, even though I have researched the subject in depth I feel I am not an expert yet to adequately explain the mathematics and the theory behind the ratio. This can be much better achieved by reading the numerous sites online dedicated to this enchanted number, such as this one. Some list objects, designed by the Golden Mean and truly, when looking at them, they do appeal to be more beautiful and eastethic, when compared to those that are not designed with the ratio in mind.

Both Leonardo Da Vinci and Sandro Botticelli created paintings that seem to follow the law of the Divine Proportion. Today, many artists and designers are very aware of it's existence and use it avidly in their work. The principles of the sequence can also be found in other areas, not just art and architecture. The Golden Mean is obvious in music, photography, interior design, graphic design and even in nature.
Some examples are: Da Vinci's Mona Lisa and The Last Supper (art), the Greek Parthenon and Egyptian Pyramids (architecture), the design of a Nautilus Shell (nature) and in the masterpieces of numerous composers such as Bartók, Debussy, Schubert, Bach and Satie.

I found particularly this animation very helpful when understanding how the formula is used in praxis and the clip below examins the Golden Ratio even more in depth.

Halo Around The Moon.

The moon is visible again in the Northern night sky. Our last few evenings have been clear enough to reveal the cool glow of an almost full silver disc.

On Sunday night the sight was obstructed by a few clouds and the weather conditions produced a halo around the moon. This bright effect most likely occurs when high thin clouds containing millions of tiny ice crystals cover much of the sky. Each ice crystal acts like a miniature lens, diffracting the moon light. Science aside, the image appeared unusual and enchanting.

Yesterday night the skies were pristine and as I was returning home from work, I simply had to pause and gaze at the jet black sky, which was filled with millions of stars. This view will never cease to mesmerize me, as it is at night that it truly becomes very obvious to me that our planet floats suspended in space. The evening was bitterly cold and the Orion Belt clearly visible in my view.

I only wish I had a professional camera that could take magnificent pictures of the night sky. All I have to settle for are a few precious imprints in my memory and one really bad shot of the moon.

Unforgettable Moments.

“There is no happiness; there are only moments of happiness.”
(Spanish Proverb)

Unforgettable Moments.
We all have those.
Memories of a fleeting instant in time, so powerful and compelling, it carves an imprint in our consciousness, where it will forever remain vivid and clear. Endlessly confirming the fact that our perception always overrules the laws of time.

These moments are as unpredictable, as they are enchanting. We can not envisage them ahead, they just appear, as if by magic, out of nowhere, when we least expect it. They instigate an allure, which is everlasting and fuels our joy for life at all times.
When they do occur, it feels as if we are standing in the very core of our existence, being able to control time, making it stand absolutely still, while we mastermind our senses. We can taste scents, hear colours and see sounds. And we can touch and seize the present, unlike any other moment, to conserve it as pristine as it feels right then and there.

We all carry in our memory at least one such a snapshot in time, which we love to revisit and relive, whenever we choose. When an ordinary morning or evening, in a very ordinary day, turns into that special recollection, which will never leave us. It can be a simple alignment of events, creating an absolute perfection in our perception. This flawless image can include beautiful natural scenes, alluring sounds, extraordinary interventions or the presence of exceptional people. A unique combination that will at all times reinforce our belief in the beautiful, in the divine, in the good, in the magical and in the miracle of life. Again and again.

Life is worth living, if only for those transcending moments in time. However few, and however far in between they are.

Seven Wisdoms.

I would very much like to acknowledge a few awards I have received recently (and less recently). I am so flattered that you keep passing these onto me, even though I have stopped passing them on myself. I simply refuse to choose who gets one and who gets left out.

The first one was given to me by Queenmothermamaw and is called "Sisters In faith Award". It is given to the bloggers that have touched ones life and to a new acquaintance as well, which turned out to be me. Thank you so much, I am very honoured to have been chosen for this beautiful sentiment.

The second came from the lovely sprinkles and is entitled "Best Blog Comments Award". Honestly, it should be given back to her with the same token as it was given to me, considering she is one of my most dedicated and valued reader, stopping by every single day, commenting every single post I have ever written. Even the really bad ones. Thank you my dear friend, this means a lot to me.

The last one came from the beautiful Kat and is entitled "Kreativ Blogger Award". The spelling appears not English and I wonder so where it actually originated. Thank you so much dearest Kat and sorry it took me a while to acknowledge this.

This award came with a tag as well, to list seven things that people might not know about me. I have been listing similar tags so many times now, that there is nothing left of any interest to anyone anymore to reveal about me. Therefore I have decided to alter this tag slightly.
I am going to list seven most important things I have learned in life or wisdom that I found to be true:

1) You are capable of achieving more than you think; If you can dream it, you can do it.
2) You will always regret that which you did not do, not that which you did.
3) Happiness is a state of mind.
4) Seize the day. Always and every one.
5) Be curious.
6) Keep your feat warm, your stomach half full and your head cold.
7) The best is ALWAYS yet to come.

Snow Therapy.

The other day I heard on the news that snow, or snow covered landscape, helps ease our winter depression. The white colour reflects light and aids greatly in making us up here in the cold and dark North feel happier.

I have to agree. January is usually a dreadful month. Dark, drizzly, cold and absolutely endless. This year though I perceive it very differently. I do indeed feel happier and I am less tired. Snow has been covering the ground for the past five weeks and with the returning daylight my surroundings indeed look beautiful and enchanting.

It has also been extremely cold. This is the third week of constant subzero temperatures and the effect is very obvious on the evergreens. I have never ever seen them looking so sad. Their leaves look thin and flat and have rolled into themselves like ancient parchment. Particularly the Rhododendron looks unrecognizable. It already displays buds, which will result in beautiful magenta flowers in June and it will then become the most beautifully coloured bush in my garden. Its appearance right now makes it absolutely impossible to imagine that this will come to pass, as it indeed doesn't look very much alive. It is enticing to ponder how such a delicate plant can survive this extreme weather.

Nature is a constant source of magic, at any time of the year.