31 Oct 2013

Indian Summer

The weather was great yesterday, warm, sunny, I walked from the Can War Museum via beautiful Lorne Street. As I was turning to Lorne I  met one of my favourite colleagues and clients Alexei, he mentioned this amazing patisserie that should be located somewhere near...
Et voila: Macarons Et Madeleines (macaronsetmadeleines.com) is really there.
What a great place!
A ground level of an old house turned into "the butler's pantry"-like place.
Chatty, lovely propriertor serving his sweet, reasonably priced creations within a great ambiance of his parlor. Fab, fab, fab.

M Et M is located a little further down that street, but you cannot drive in from Wellington. Too bad for his business.
You need to meander from Booth or Preston St via Primrose, but it is worthy it...
The tall tower at the back is the Dominican College.

The weather was so amazing that the question is whether it is Indian Summer.


This is Indian Summer (Babie Lato) by Jozef Chelmonski, Polish 19th c painter.
Almost a cult painting in Poland, peasant kids lying on the ground, basking in the last outpours of warmth when the "life is easy".
I photographed just this fragment, the painting can be seen at the National Museum in Warsaw.

Plik:Chełmoński Indian summer.jpg

27 Oct 2013

History

My visit was a visit to History, of me, my family, the people I know.
A fellow blogger shows archival images of the city that is so much of my and my family history is:


  • The metal Eagle atop the Renaissance Ratusz (City Hall), after the liberation of Poznan was placed back by my grandfather's sister's (aunt "Tiralla") husband

    •  Fara, an amazing church, filled with brown-red marble where my Sis Lul was christened:
      Fara then and now, my grandparents lived just a few blocks from there...
      It is where we used to go to Sunday mass

    • The Church on Fredry Street, where my favourite uncle was married and I fell asleep during the ceremony...
      Where the building is on the very right side of the photo after the war stands one of the most interesting examples of modernist architecture - Okraglak (Rotonda)

      File:POL Poznań Okrąglak.jpg
    •  Okraglak, in the sixties and seventies on the righ side was located amazing Bar Rio, serving even in the hardest time delictious coffe and Vienese Cheesecake and tone of other superb sweets...







    • ulica Wodna (Water Street) is where water was being brought to town from the river, centuries ago, my grandmother and I were going there to a meetshop, after that - to ulica Grobla (Levee Street)

      The tall building at the end of the street was not there after the war, the trams were also not going there, but the gas lanterns I do remember in Poznan.
      When I was very small I saw once in the evening a lantern man turning on the lamp, I knew the moment was magical.
    • Adria Restaurant, my grandparents' favourite Sunday afternoon hangout place before War. After the war, everything changed...

    • All book photos from a friendly blog
      http://wedrowaniemoniki.blogspot.ca/
      With Ika's permission. Thanks for sharing

    24 Oct 2013

    Old Wooden Skies

    More reminiscing from the visit at my Parents.
    My dad still holds on to his old wooden skies.
    They hold important part of the family history: my Sis and I played and skied on them when we were kids. My Sis Lula once severly "hugged the tree" skiing down the hill...

    They look a bit like this, it's a vintage photo from the 40-ies someone posted on eBay:


    This is such a well sought item among vintage bloggers, especially Scandinavians.
    The often hang it prominently in their modern or rustic fashionable dwellings.

    I did not have a chance to take a pic, there were in a darker spot of the storage, but here is a beautiful film on the traditional making of wooden skies.
    Don't mind it's in Norwegian, you will understand every bit....


    Ole Kristian Ødegård makes skis the old way. Click Here for video
    This vid shows you that there is no excuse for those who want to ski, have no $$, are in the wilderness away from sport stores, have no time to shop but have the following:
    a shed, a pot of boiling water, a saw, plainer, sandpaper and alike...

    22 Oct 2013

    The Eagle Has Landed

    Ok, ok. After a few weeks of browsing the eagle has landed.
    It was indescribably wonderful to see my parents, my sister, my old school buddies and meet new friends. Warsaw was beautiful, powerful, busy, generous, historic and elegant.
    I enjoyed every bit of the visit.

    I was able to take some photographs of my Mother's older watercolours.
    There isn't too many of them left, some were lost in a portfolio many many many years ago, many selflessly given away, only few are hanging at my parents' so it was a great priviledge.
    I am intending to create a small collection of reproductions made with fine art papers.

    Miraculously obtained (kudos to Malgosia J-Z) fat spool of white linen sewing cord will be soon in my busy hands.
    Another lucky buy - a thin spool of black linen cord will work it's magic to bind wonderful pages of art prints of the collections into portfolios.

    This is an old portrait of me, my Mother took pride in tending to my braid, I did cut it off gladly probably at the age of 14. I felt it was soooo untrendy...
    Regrettably this and few other small work had to be shot through the glass, so the repros won't be very large.







    This small watercolour was with me ever since I remember.












    This was an idealized portrait
    of my Sis Lul and I "as young ladies", painted years later. This was sooo much fun to see it again.

















    Mom and I went several times to the National Museum, the Old galleries were sublime.
    The Neatherlandish collection was great. I took some shaky pics with my ipad.
    A small exposition of Canaletto's paintings was amazing. Great job with framing - all luminous turquoise sky blues were extrapolated onto the frames.
    I cannot describe hose great it was. Breathtaking.

    More notes to come...

    Oh, just quickly. When I came back, my Favourite Neighbour have me what?
    A small collection of vintage English Ironstone plates.
    Greenish and brow-green tones. Something I would never buy, but the group is is delightful that I shall keep it with love.
    Can life get more fun than this?







    The antique yellowish sugar-bowl is an earlier find...
    Also English made.
    Bottle stopper - a souvenir of the Polish Boleslawiec Ironstone ceramic manufacture. Contemporary, but suits the little four-piece Collection very nicely. Bought in Wilanow.






    Airport review?
    Warsaw - great, Frankfurt - great,
    Pearson - brrrrrrr....

    14 Oct 2013

    Thanksgiving 2013

    Thanksgiving - I am away from my Canadian home,
    so celebrations will be postponed - 'til Nov. 11 perhaps?
    November 11 is an important date, it is St. Martins...


    This beautiful tall crock comes from Finland. It has been with me for over 25 years, a gift of my much missed Finnish friend, Satu.

    The iron stew pot - Japanese-made, Korean store-bought.

    The rustic tabletop?
    I think, it is Mexican-made.
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