POSTCARDS FROM THREE SOUTHERN CITIES BY TRAIN, CHAPTER II, THE MARKET

Lunch time greetings from a trip two weeks ago. Fresh scents middle of salty sea winds. Bright colors, hunger growing. Always playing a game in markets, imagining how things that are next to each other would taste together. From these a favorite might be radishes with beetroots (beetroots cut in very thin slices, olive oil, black pepper and salt over and to oven to make them to crispy chips, accompanied by fresh radish salad). Or White is White -tea (blend of grapefruit and aloe vera) and Amande -sugar (almond sugar).


For today, mushroom sauce with potatoes, cantaloupe-cucumber salad and rhubarb soup with whipped oat cream. 


Blueberry leaves are drying for a winter´s tea blend. Maybe this weekend some raspberry leaves could be found to be dried too. The weather map shows rain for the days ahead. Many books waiting to be read.


Have a sunny weekend!
Bon appétit!

TEA FOR FIVE

Morning tea with stretching. The sun rising slowly. Colder air through windows, it really is August when the warmer moments have left for the night, but come later in the morning. The color green is accompanied with still shyly hiding yellow. Fruits in rowan trees are turning from yellow to brighter orange, to red. Rose hips too. Evening walks are slowly turned off to darker landscapes. Birds go to bed early.

Tea for Five, an illustration for Kinfolk magazine. Words by Catherine Searle Williams. Thank you everyone for having me. Thank you everyone who have come here through Kinfolk, and written to me.

Morning train is passing by somewhere far. The town is waking up slowly. Time for another cup.

Have a good Thursday.

MEADOW PICNIC IN PARIS

The lake is so blue these days. It is difficult to describe which kind of blue it is. A warm or cold, dark or covered with shadows of the waves in it. Or filled with sun rays. Shining and reflecting once in a while to the walls of this house. A spring blue, changing all the time.

It is warm again here. Time for having breaks outdoors. Some tea and fruits will always follow. This Meadow Picnic -illustration is for Sessun and their spring exhibition Chic Chic Chic, C'est Picnic. If you are in Paris between May 20th to June 11th, please go and have a picnic with them.

Based in South Africa, Nice Magazine has featured my work. It is wonderful to travel the world through all of you, your comments and emails. Thank you!

Blue skies and songs of seagulls to your weekend!

SERVING TEA

If I could, I grew my own tea. It would be a small hill and on the other side raspberries would grow. Every day I would go there and collect fresh leaves just the amount for one day. Every day I would put the leaves to dry, just the amount for one day. Every day I would brew the tea, just the amount for one day. And that amount would be a bit less than one wheelbarrow, as it is very bumpy by my hill and the tea might spill as I would serve it to you. First morning tea, then noon tea, afternoon tea and then evening tea. And all the cups in between.

Good morning, good night!

(A painting from two years back.)

A PILE OF CUPS TO BE WASHED

Can you see all the teas I drank this weekend? Nepal Ilam Mao Feng, China Royal Jasmine Curls, Vater Morgana, Green Tea With Ginkgo, Gen Maicha, Jasmin Xian Yu... All green, all so good and always one more cup is very pleasant and taking me to very green and warm places. A few vegan pancakes were eaten with those forks and knives too.

A week starts for me on Sunday afternoon, today with a vegan semla (sweet Sandra knows what is good even for breakfast). There are three crows watching me through the window from a birch tree. The wind swings them gently. Have a good new week!

MALAYSIAN TONES

Days will be warm with this gift from my parents. I was painting with Alizarin crimson when I received it. Indian yellow was the color of the sun when it peeked through clouds for a few moments. I borrowed its color too.

Birds are singing a lot these days. Also the light has changed, it is more white and it reaches further corners of the rooms. I have almost forgotten that there are corners in these rooms, the winter has passed next to the windows.

Have a happy, soft and raspberry jam —scented weekend!

HOME, FINALLY

For two and a half months I was away from my own home because of some renovation work. Yesterday I came back. Good to be at home, even though I think I made a home to every place I stayed even for a while. By sea and surrounded by mountains or middle of lakes, forests and fields.

There was waiting the best Name day gift from sweet Anne. Thank you so much Anne, it is very beautiful! I was so surprised.

The whole day it has been snowing. Many heaps to climb over on the streets. But in the new kitchen is tea boiling all the time. Thank you my special tea hunting agent for sending me some spicy herbal ones over the sea.

How are you? How is the weather there?

FOR GREY FRIDAY

Brown, red and turquoise on soft cotton paper. Date-almond-coconut-raw chocolate-balls aside. Fallen berry branches on the way to a grocery store. Wishing you a pleasant weekend!