May29

Welcome to Love von Beauty von Love!

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In the beginning there was … Love & Beauty & Life & Light & Spark  & Prosperity & Style & Soul & Bliss & Happiness & Wonder & Joy & Courage & Vision & Solidarity & Childhood & Freedom & Dream & Faith.

And then their step-brothers and step-sisters – hatred, lust, death, darkness, poverty, plague, immorality, scandal, despair, expectation, sorrow, envy, blindness, ego, greed,  cynicism, grievance, hunger, terror, fear, bullies –  made room and started messing things up … all for a reason, a very basic reason: to make our life more worth treasuring, every single day, every single moment.

I started this blog from a purely egocentric need: a need to remind myself of beauty and love.

In the beginning there was … Love & Beauty & …whatever we wish for!

Aug15

Mean Mommy – P.S. I Love You – re-post

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This piece is sharp as a scalpel. The type of writing to which i secretly aspire to. 

Thank you, Jordan Reid, for the inspiration. 

***

“Being a parent is different from being a friend, and it’s different from being a boss. You want to be both, but the truth is that you’re neither — you’re something in between, and something much more.”

https://psiloveyou.xyz/mean-mommy-834431e2f80d

Aug14

Wonderful encounters

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Sometimes all you have to do is open a door. 

Last week, I opened the door into the world of a French artist. His name is Rachid Madani. His studio is in Strasbourg. I often passed by his studio and admired the pastel, warm colours of his creations. I wanted to buy some of his wonderful cards. I love to have a stock to give them to friends to say thank you or just mark a moment. 

I pushed the door and was greeted with a warm pastel voice. My daugher joined me so he spoke to us about the book he wrote "Le turban du sultan" and about his culture. 

I did not have cash with me so had to borrow some from my kid's pocket money. "I did the same this morning", he told us in a moment of complicity.  He offered her one of his cards "Le jour se leve". 

If you are in Strasbourg, open the door to l'atelier d'Art MADANI, 16, rue Sleidan. 

More info on the artist, in French https://www.petitfute.com/v458-strasbourg-67000/c1168-shopping-mode-cadeaux/c408-galerie-d-art/242980-l-atelier-d-art-madani.html

Aug13

Family time

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– Tomorrow is Family day!, announced our kid on a determined tone. I have plans for us. 

A feeling of glory flourished inside me. I would not have to compete with the iPad for her time on Sunday! 

We started the day in the park. We had a guest for breakfast. 

We baked rolled oats cookies of two kinds: with chocolate chips and with raisens. We played cards. She won. We played table games. I won. And we talked about playing for fun and not for winning. And also about fair-play. 

We created cute beads stuff. 

We ate raisins and watched Ted Talks about nutrition. 

We jumped on the bed, played with the ribbon stick, and had lots of tickling. Made puzzles and origami rabbits for friends and lots of other fun staff. 

Fully disconnected. No smart phones. Just smart and cute faces. 

Enjoy your family time. Today. And everyday. 

Aug11

Family time Movies: Sing

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– What’s the movie about, sweety?

– Never give up!

Indeed, it is. I warmly recommend to watch it on a family movie night. It is highly motivational and funny. It is the story of an upbeat koala, a theater owner gone from the glory to washing cars at a cross-road and back again to glory, by loving deeply what he did and doing it wholeheartedly for the public – small and big. 
Sing is a 2016 American 3D computer-animated musical comedy film produced by Illumination Entertainment. The film includes more than 60 songs from famous artists and also has an original song by Stevie Wonder and Ariana Grande called “Faith,” which was nominated for a Golden Globe

Enjoy! You’ll be singing for days after!

Aug6

Books for children (and not only): “Mercy Watson” by Kate diCamillo and Chris Van Dussen

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I picked the book in a library in Chisinau about five years ago. The cover looked funny and promised a good laugh. It was a promise kept. I read it to my kid on many nights. It was part if her initiation in Russian.

The series has many stories with Mercy, a joyful pig, a "porcine wonder" who lives with Mr and Mrs Watson. The book we have in Russian has two stories "To the rescue" and "Mercy Watson goes for a ride". Mercy is a sweet trouble maker and has such an appetite for life I envy.

Last month i bought "Mercy Watson to the rescue", Kindle edition, in English. It is still a bed time favorite story. We give characters funny voices and it offers a relaxed transition to sleep.

Read your kids, grandchildren, siblings! Even if they can read by themselves.