Monthly Archives: September 2017

Sep30

Thank you Tbilisi

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For rainy days transformed into sunny days by the warmth and dedication of my wonderful colleagues and friends.  

Lunch with a beautiful view and in great company. 

Another record of a super efficient steering committee meeting. 

A dream come true: to celebrate a dear colleague’s birthday while on mission. The cake and Khachapuri tasted very special. Thank you, dear!

A rooftop team dinner  and the new fun things we learned about eachother. Plus, that together we have 200 years of life wisdom. No kidding with such a team!

A new discovery – “The Golden Book of Georgian sport”. 

The fun of seeing Georgian customs officials faces when they ask me what’s in the Entree cup. These cookies are my husband’s favourites, so i “smugle” them ocasionally. 

Sep26

A perfect day

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On the road, i am looking for constants. My brain needs some sort of anchors in the changing landscape. On my last trips, I noticed my feet taking me to a certain coffee shop in an airport. Perfect day cafe. “What a perfect name” i catch myself thinking. We all need a perfect day. And today is the perfect day. I walk. I breath. I smell the coffee. It’s perfect.

What makes this coffee shop even more perfect is its special coffee they have daily. Today’s special is Poomalai au lait: espresso, milk, cinnamon. Exactly what I needed. I also learn that the coffee beans come from the forest farms – Poomalai – which means land of the flowers. In closed my eyes, and my senses took me to Kerala of south India.

What a special perfect day!

Sep24

Multumesc Chisinau

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for the most amazing welcome, with wide open arms of people i know and worked with years ago. They still recognise Oxana-redhead-blond- redhead again :). 

For my dearest friends always close by and who filled my home with the smell of home-made bread for me to take home (my other home).  

The change i saw and the admiration i took with me for what brave people do, in spite of lots of adversities. 

Precious time with a dear friend in recovery. She tought me to slow down right when i needed it most. 

Your Autumn mornings colours and my slight sense of envy to sleeping pidgeons on my way to early morning meetings. 

The fun of carousel meetings from eight to eight and the plea of my brain to keep going to learn more. With a deepest sense of gratitude to the best interpreters, who went above and beyond their regular duties. 

The most amazing, kind and intelligent team of consultants on a mission. And the out-of-meetings moments we shared when i could show them bits of my city. 

Fulfilling my need to see sunrises from my window while sipping my coffee. 

Witnessing my brave cleaning lady taking her faith into her hands and going into entrepreneurship. She is my hero. 

The most efficient and discrete plumber who came at 10pm to fix my water hitting. It was perhaps my team members little prayer, as they risked sharing their hotel bathroom with me 😉

Sep17

Shining on a rainy day

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– Happy Birthday! I greeted my colleague the morning of her B-day. I wish you all the very best. 

– Thank you. I wish for a better weather than this, she said pointing at the dark grey sky outside in disapointment. 

– YOU ARE shining, I responded. 

– This is the nicest thing i was told in a long time. And she shone even more. 

Let it rain. Shine. 

Sep10

Thank you Munich

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Thank you Munich

for your rainy-sunny late August days,

a pleasant walk in your zoo

the wonders of the Deutsches Museum, where we learned by playing about science and progress, from mining to astronomy:

your biggest public park in Europe: the English Gartden of Munchen where you can watch surfers, have a beer next to a Chinese Tour, enjoy a ride in a 100 year old carousel or just enjoy a walk

Sep9

Thank you Salzburg

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for your warm and sunny August days, a perfect picture frame for my birthday,

for the feeling of humbleness in front of your magnificent views from the 1000 year old Hohensalzburg Fortress,

a renewed feeling of romance in the splendid Mirabell Gardens


your special Makartsteg reserved exclusively for pedestrians and cyclists, flanked by talented musicians, who offered me a splendid piece of music on my birthday! Thank you!

a gorgeous hand embroidered pillow case and table-cloth from Salzburg Heimatwerk, where you can purchase both finished pieces as well as folkwear fabrics,

the taste of Italy in cafes and ice cream stands,

the unique and absolutely gorgeous Hellbrunn Palace and its Trick Fountains, built by ingenious minds. And the fun we had with surprise water jets!

the fun and educational Haus der Natur, where small and big get to become scientists 


1525 kg – that’s my weight on Sun, if you are wondering. Big time lady! 🙂

and, last but by far not least your wonderful Hellbrunn zoo, where we reconneced with our animal world friends:

Sep1

There are Better Things to Talk About Than Other People (and How to Gossip Less) – re-post

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I read this wonderful piece written by JOSHUA BECKER. https://www.becomingminimalist.com/there-are-better-things-to-talk-about-than-others/

And then this quote came to my attention; “Judgment is but a mirror reflecting the insecurities of the person who’s doing the judging.” (Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus https://www.google.fr/amp/www.theminimalists.com/irony/amp/).

Judging is so human. I remember  senour ladies on the bench in front of their houses in my childhood neighbourhood. Passing judgments was their fave pastime. Seeing them now makes me want to bring them mirrors :). I know, it’s kind of mean.

Judging is a choice – thought of the week for me.