Thursday Thoughts

Thursday Thoughts – Childhood Dreams

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Children. Sometimes I wish I was a child again – maybe not all of you do, but maybe some of you …?

Freedom. I was fortunate – I had the best childhood I could dream of. Loving parents and grandparents…and not more human friends than I wanted. Animals were my best friends. Strolling in the forest, feeling totally secure. Quietness. Simplicity.

When walking the paths at Wanås, there were some children skipping in front of us – with their parents of course. I could not help but studying them. A girl and a boy – siblings – who quietly climbed the installations allowed. The girl exploring first…and then the boy took the lead. A bit more daring now…

Later in the day, I saw them merrily running and jumping over a little bridge in the fading sunshine. The boy in the lead. So…first the girl, leading the boy into this new, unknown  world…and when he felt safe and secure enough, he took over.

 

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And, the very little girl in the header, trudging away…how did she manage?

I so recognized myself in her. She was a loner, a little philosopher…

…until her mother called her name, waking her up from her reveries and reminding her she had to hurry up and join the rest of the little family.

Thursday Thoughts – Some Nordic Magic…

/ Leya / 36 kommentarer

Last week I, Viveka and Sue, visited Kyrkö Mosse and the cars buried there. The athmosphere here is very special, and you cannot but feel it – in your heart and bones. There is also something with the grasses, the soft, green moss and the brown rust…

…something that touches you deeply.

And it is not only the contrast of the soft againts the rough or the living against the dead or the fragrance against the decay…

This Something touches your very soul.

At least if you are Swedish or Scandinavian…

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…you will feel the Magic…

 

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It is all around you…

…and you half expect Princess Tuvstarr sitting there, gazing down into the water…

…and maybe she still is…because she, and John Bauer who once created the watercolour of her – they are both part of our national heritage. Many of us grew up with Bauer’s fantastic paintings,  especially Tuvstarr and the moose Skutt.

Tiny, pretty princesses, handsome princes and noblemen, bold young lads, old witches and giant trolls of the deep forests of the North – they are all an eternal and vibrant part of Sweden´s national heritage through the genius of artist JOHN BAUER, the Art Nouveau master of Nordic mysticism.

For more of John Bauer’s art, click here.

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Thursday Thoughts and WPC: Bridge

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My Thursday Thoughts connected with WPC: Bridge. 

A hope and a wish for all countries to continue their work – to stand united, bridgeing all disputes – to save our planet Earth. A Swedish meadow in its summer glory – is it not worth preserving? May the Love of Mother Nature be the Bridge for us all.

Thursday Thoughts – A Goodbye

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Summer it is, and I just have to visit The Garden of My Dreams – maybe for the last time. The old couple owning it, will sell it this summer. If it is not already sold… To sneak in is maybe wrong, but somehow I just have to… say goodbye.

Every year I have talked to the little man and his beautiful wife, about all their travels throughout this world to collect plants, and about the birds he kept ringing every spring.

Some of my favourites are still in flower, and if you follow me through the garden, I will show you some of them. My absolute favourites are the thistles, so they will need a picture of their own. I hope you will enjoy the flowers just as much as I do.

 

Thursday Thoughts – Cheers!

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When in Ireland, you just have to visit the Guinness Storehouse – Ireland’s most popular tourist attraction. And, if you do not like beer, there are so many other things to lay your eyes on…A highly recommended visit.

Old machinery
On top – Gravity Bar
Cheers from people all around the world!

My favourite thing here was this giant pillar, a 1-2 ton dream, picturing the brewery’s history throughout the world. Impressive.

Thursday Thoughts – Bunratty?

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The name Bunratty, Bun Raite (or possibly, Bun na Raite) in Irish, means ”river basin” of the ‘Ratty’ river. This river, alongside the Bunratty Castle, flows into the nearby Shannon Estuary. We visited for some hours and really enjoyed its genuin feel.

 

Bunratty Castle Plaque in Irish and in English

The first recorded settlement at the site may have been a Norsemen settlement/trading camp reported in the Annals of the Four Masters. in 977. But several castles were built – and lost – here.

The fourth castle, the present structure, was built around 1425. In 1956, the castle was purchased and restored by the 7th Viscount Gort, with assistance from the Office of Public Works. He reroofed the castle and saved it from ruin. The castle was opened to the public in 1960, and with its genuin 16th-17th century furniture, tapestries and works of art it has become a great tourist attraction.

 

The Great Hall
In a tiny room upstairs – a grand lit!
Surely they did not bring it up the narrow stairs…
Intricate and detailed woven structures
Interesting clockworks(?)
…flying over the spectacular tables

 

 

 

 

Thursday Thoughts – Through the Car Window

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A fine day – through the window. Windy and cold, but strawberry fields are here…

So…summer it is!

Thursday Thoughts – Waterford Crystal

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Waterford, Ireland, has a long tradition of crystal making, in fact since the 18th century, and is well worth a visit.

If my cupboards were not already full of things…but, no, I did not buy anything. The temptation was not a little one though…What do you think about these?

Thursday Thoughts – A Kindred Soul

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In Dublin there are many capturing buildings, but never did I imagine myself trying to photograph shopping centres…and with such relish.

St Stephen’s Green felt like a rather newly built, modern place, with all the light and all the windows I could dream of.

So, we went inside to explore. And I truly found a dream of white and green – the same fresh green colour dominating many of the interior decorations we saw in Ireland.

Quite the cake! We walked through the whole building and found the architecture fresh and matching in every detail.

Then we walked up to one of Dublin’s oldest shopping centres, Powerscourt. I wanted to see the old mahogany staircase – original from the 18th century.

Live piano music filled the air with dreams from another century…

…and the open court was an old style dream – filled with lovely tea drinkers chatting away…

But nowhere was the mahogany staircase to be found. We marvelled at old hat shops and new hat shops, colourful furniture, jewellery stores and old, wooden floors. Where was the staircase? When we had given up trying – we finally found it on our way out, at the back of the store.

I first saw it in the mirror, and was so taken in by it, that I found myself in the mirror as well…

In the 18th century…the wood carvers were very skilled. The smooth feeling of the wood, the beauty of colour and shine, the intricate patterns… I wonder how long it took them to finish this magnificent staircase.

I guess I loved both shopping centres – but only in one of them had a kindred soul.