Gypsy souls, magic dust and life beyond the big 50.

''It's my snow'' I think And the weight on my hat lightens. Takarai Kikaku (1661-1707) A single river streching far Across the moorland swathed in snow. Nozawa Boncho (d. 1714)          A gust of wind, And the waterbirds          Become white. Yosa Buson (1716-1783)

Yesterday, we went to search for a few more items for my vintage shop in a car boot sale and then, after a light lunch, we headed to the Black Mountains. There is certainly something magical about that place, with those naked green hills and those miniature poneys. Because I have been lately too tired for words, I will leave you with the pictures. The first one was taken when too of the poneys that live there decided they should be invited to share our custard creams and put their noses right inside our car. Our dog wasn't too happy about it. If you look close, you can see on the first picture, on the right, there is a sort of grey fur. That's a second very very little adult poney. You can see how small they are in that picture that shows a family going up the hill escorted by our friends.

   

Because my camera keeps playing up, I will leave you today with a few gorgeous vintage dresses I found browsing on ebay this morning. Bare in mind that when you see these their biding time might have ended. No harm in checking though. I just found these randomly, but they are so beatiful I think they are worth sharing: DOLLYBIRD-1960S-VINTAGE-BLACK-FLORAL-FRILLY-MOD-MINI-DRESS VINTAGE-70s-RETRO-FOLK-BOHO-FLORAL-FLOATY-DREAMY-ROMANTIC-TIERED-MAXI-DRESS-8-10 Vintage-1970s-Stunning-Black-Red-Floral-Maxi-Dress-Uk-10-12 Vintage-60s-70s-Boho-Hippy-Psych-Folk-Victorian-Theatrical-Costume-Dress-30s VINTAGE-LAURA-ASHLEY-COUNTRY-WINTER-FLOWERS-WOOL-MIX-WINTER-DRESS VINTAGE-LAURA-ASHLEY-ENGLISH-PINK-BEAUTY-FLOWER-50S-STYLE-DRESS Do you have a favorite? Happy wednesday everybody!

Out we went and early it was, and above us, the sky, cloudless and still, like it doesn't often dare to be in these islands. And under the blue sky, the white light and the crispy air we walked, fragments of memories rushing in and out of my mind. Because in days like these I go through all my ages and all seasons of the year, chaotically, aleatorily. For all that it takes is a small drop of past, a single pearl of by gones, for our present to feel more present than ever, more vivid, more ours, more worth while.

Oh dear oh dear.....Thursday post is coming on friday isn't it? Gotta get this right! I swear I try but oh....it is hard! Anyway, we're already in the early minutes of friday and I don't expect to be online for long, so I better get on with today's (or should I say yesterday's) post. This is NOT a technical post on co-sleeping. I won't talk about safety tips about co-sleeping nor will I advocate it or advise against it. i do it with my 7 month old. Have been doing it ever since she was about 4 months. Before that I would do it for half of the night. If you do want to co-sleep please find a good article about the rules for doing it safely.  It is good to do things in an informed way. And co-sleeping without taking notice of safet rules can indeed be dangerous. What I want to share with you is my experience of it. I started doing it out of convenience. My baby always woke up too many times during the night and I cope very badly with lack of sleep. If you b

....yes...I do know that when one says one's gonna post on wednesdays...they usually refer to the beggining of the day....not nearly thursday. But being a mum has these things and the truth is I couldn't find the time to post earlier. We woke up late to start with, I walked into the village to browse a couple of charity shops whose browsing I had left unfinished yesterday, rushed back, cooked lunch, walked dog, sat down for a moment at the computer, but little Missy was unsettled, therefore ended up having a nap on me. Long story short, when I saw the time it was already time for bath, dinner and Miss Lilliputian Empress' bath. It's amazing how days go by....I haven't even washed up after dinner and we missed Parents and Toddles this morning.... Even now I am sitting in bed, next to the little one, hoping she won't wake up when I stant up to take some pictures for todays' post and wash my teeth. I wonder what I do wrong...I probably iddle way too much, it

The sea - huge, unmeasurable, vast -  there it was in all its greyness. The winds, being kind for once, allowed us to walk in bare hearts across the pebbles, and on we went, step by step, attracted by the liquid grey, the immense liquid grey whose end we could not see, whose raising tide we jonkingly feared. There we were, connecting the circles of time, parents, child, dog. I went back many years and visioned myself, grey trousers, long wavy hair, inocent expression in my 9 year old face, holding my puppy, sitting on the rocks, looking at the sea, laughing like we only laugh when the duende that lives in our hearts is still reacheable. Jumping back in time I held my present very dearly, taking it all in, my love, our love, the unexplainable feeling of holding a baby, the sea, the skies, the smells, the sounds. I held my present very dearly and touched eternity very lightly.  .....loving to live by the seaside again.

Yesterday, we went to the beach and it was a great afternoon to do so. As it doesn't seem to be so common around South Wales, it was neither very windy or very cold. Which meant that having a walk on the beach was actually most enjoyable. We went to the mumbles, and I would gladly share some pictures of that, if my camera hadn't most uncooperative, as it has been lately (apparently her- yes, my camera is a lady,  batteries are full but then she refuses to work clamming are batteries are empty....most annoying). While walking around with my partner and my dog, carrying my baby girl on a wrap and feeling happy I remember a trip we did last year, when I was in my early pregnancy, in which I started to imagine already how we would be making all sorts of travelling with our baby when she/he (we didn't know by then) was born. That too, was a very special weekend travel, which I am about to share with you. The place we went is called Monsanto, it is in Portugal, not very far aw

Lying in bed the other day, my baby already fast asleep, orange lamp light through the bedroom window (gotta love the windows in this house) I started to wonder what I have to say right now, which are the things that are important to me to talk about, and how to make a weekly habit out of it. This is still a 'test-drive', but this is what I came out with for now: Poetic Mondays - Not that I write poetry, but I do like to write poetical short texts, which help me keep my eyes on the beauty of life. I also like to think I do the same through photography and photo editing. But in here fits anything that is poetic to me, may it be my texts, my pictures, situations, videos, a music, a quote. Thrifty/vintage Wednesdays - The name says it all. Thrifty findings, old and new, and anything vintage comes in here.  Thursday motherhood ramblings - So many discovers, so many questions, so many wonders, this will be my place to talk about my experiences, to share related articles o