Ulrika Kestere, Hair, Blue Clothes

Ulrika Kestere - Winter horse poster €22 here

Ulrika Kestere - Ice Princess

I was originally directed towards the top photograph by Ulrika Kestere by someone saying she had a similar wardrobe to me. I thought they meant furniture wardrobe but clearly they meant likes to wear lots of different blues with a touch of red. The clothes are nice but it's the photo itself I like most. It is part of a series called "Girl with 7 horses" and she has made this one available to buy as a print here. You can see more of her photographs on her blog Ulicam. I liked the wintery one because I collect blue dresses and have long wanted to photograph them in snow, but it's always been too wet, too cold or too windy. She is tougher than I am.

I was looking at old photos this week and found one of me as a kid on the banks of the Mississippi River wearing blue with a touch of red (loved my bandanna) in 1984 when our parents bundled us all into a Camper Van and spent the Summer driving from LA to New York (having been living in LA 2yrs but returning to live in Scotland). I didn't realise I was doing non traditional hair buns in '84, I thought I didn't bun my hair until college in '89. Ulrika has an animated gif of braided hair that reminds me of why I put up with my really long but infuriatingly prone to tangling hair for so long. I loved playing with it, so many ways to express my mood. But when you have ME every bit of energy is precious and it's pointless wasting it on a daily battle with tuggy hair (you can see the tugs beginning to form a blur in centre of the bottom photo). Last January I chopped nearly all of it off and last month I did it again. But it's nice to find photo's of it long.


Me with my Brother. Watching Mississippi paddle steamer 1984

Me at Big Bear Lake, California 2008

Rain chain + reflection

LA Trip, March '08, Venice rainchain and light reflected onto a wall

I've not internet access until Tuesday so I'm scheduling photo's for each day I'm away.
I loved this rain chain, though I still can't get used to the fact that such things are now needed in LA. When we were kids proper rain was so rare in L . I can still remember Michelle, the girl at the end of our apartment block, coming out to see what we were all dancing and laughing about. When she walked into the torrential rain she was terrified and ran back into her apartment in tears! I never imagined someone could not have experienced rain. As homesick Scottish children we were squealing with delight.

Seasonal differences

Hard to believe these fresh Spring foods were what I was eating in mid February last year! Do you remember there was so much foody goodness about I was posting food photo's for weeks, all taken on sun drenched days.

Here we are now, April already, and a weekend of freezing temperatures and snow inspired Mr P to cook up a HUGE pot of warming dhal yesterday. It is so damn tasty I found it hard not to eat the whole lot through the night (body clock still upside down). I'm now drying off after a hideous trip out with Lucy in torrential sleet. My heart went out to the lambs, only 2 weeks old and stuck outside with no shelter but their mother's bodies. They looked so bedraggled and cold. Living 500ft above sea level we may may be only 5 miles from the centre of Edinburgh, but the weather conditions are often an exaggerated version of what's happening in town - colder, hotter or windier. I was looking at the snowy Pentland hills and wondering if people in town even had snow this weekend, possibly not. They may very well have cherry blossom and spring vegetables!

As I write, the sun is coming out again and the forecast is for some seasonal weather later in the week. Let's hope it comes so that the lambs and the fledglings can have a more carefree start to their lives. Every little lamb should skip, not drip. More holiday pics soon. Wishing you all a good week.

Early 80's memories

Did anyone watch Ashes to Ashes (the follow-up to Life on Mars)? You can watch Ashes to Ashes online (within the next 5 days) on BBC iPlayer. As time passes your mind muddles and merges events and years, so it's nice to have them placed in order again. I chuckled when the girl came in with a can of TAB, I'd totally forgotten about that vile drink. I felt so grown up then, but I was only 9.

My life that year was totally centred around tree climbing, having adventures in the hills, making rafts to go on the River Tweed. I had no idea that one year later I'd be living in L.A. whizzing around in the hot sun in these skates, my love of red and white has lasted for decades.

I remember how amazed I was that the 1st girl I made friends with, once we settled in an apartment in Venice, was originally from Scotland. Her parents had moved to L.A. from Paisley when she and her sister were young. One of my Christmas presents this year was a copy of some of our old American photo's on CD. This one shows me with said friend, both standing on the right. The rest of the kids are my brother's classmates (which means this is probably 1983), my brother being the cross legged cutie at the front, look at that smile...



I just realised that I've been missing Around the World in 80 Gardens, also on BBC iPlayer for one week after each broadcast. I'd watch it now but I'm all caught up in Pride and Prejudice on BBC4, even though I already own it on DVD. You know how I love a good period drama, and this version is in my top 5.

50,219

Me with Shetland pony at Kailzie Gardens July '07

Sorry for the wait, after 2 days of nothing at all my Clustr map finally gave an update around 3am. 50,219 visitors since 11th May '07, amazing. Mr P has is on a training thing so he'll pick a name from a hat when he returns in the evening and I'll post the result on monday. Thanks to those who commented, and for those of you who are new, I'll pop by and say hi on your blogs when my brain is less fuzzled :0)


The Scottish Borders are full of sheep and rolling hills

The photo's shown are from my attempt at a holiday last year, and by holiday I mean an afternoon in the car. I was really struggling with my lungs at that point and walking was hard, but after 6 weeks of rain the sun peeped out a little and we agreed the day had to be grasped. We drove south past the house I still think of as home, and beyond to Kailzie Gardens where we stopped briefly in hopes of reliving my childhood by getting a giant gobstopper (jaw breaker) in the gift shop. No gobstoppers, I guess some things just aren't meant to be. I was consoled by the ponies as I shuffled back to the car. Then on to the Grey Mare's Tail and along to the Megget Dam...


The Megget Dam built in '78, is disguised from below by grass with grazing sheep. At age 9 this was the most amazing 'green' project I'd ever seen. It made a big impact. This is also where I first saw a green car parking area (the old concrete with gaps type).

Then over the dam past the resevoir and down the other side where the beauty of the drystane dykes (dry stone walls) becomes more apparent. I remember feeling immensely proud as a child when my parents told me that the dykes in that area had been built decades and decades ago by one of our relatives, I think he was on my mother's side, I forget now, maybe one of her Great Uncle's or Great Grandfather, I must ask, particularly as they influenced my own work...


Piling stones is in my genes, this is a piece of my family history is still standing strong

Hope you are all enjoying the 1st weekend of February..oh! that reminds me, I've got Lucy for 3 days in a row starting today. Still not used to the fact that it's February already. Lucky I wrote this or she'd have been sitting 'till Monday needing a pee and a feed, though Mr P would have reminded me, I'm sure. Oh dear, now I'm seriously questioning the wisdom of being up blogging till 5.30am... but it's such a great distraction from aches and pains, a type of alternative therapy you might say.

Le Ballon Rouge

Francesca reminded me about The Red Balloon which I then found on You Tube in 4 parts starting here. She was right about selective memory, I had remembered the aesthetic, but little detail of the story. So much to love visually, it made a big impact on me.

I can see how my love of France developed before I had ever visited. Such a wonderful film. I love the way the balloon bounces side to side as he runs down between the houses and what he does when it is raining. And that ending, what an ending. Amélie still wins as my all time favourite French film. The French are so great at capturing the unusual.

Me & my Bro

Tiny faded photo my Granny has on her wall circa 1976. I love the blue coat I've got on. Check out the black wellies and white knees...



My uncle is doing much better, thanks for the well wishes. He's out of ICU and hopefully leaving High Dependency Unit soon but it's going to be a long haul for his recovery so I'll continue to be fairly quiet here with mostly photo blogging.

I saw my own Doc today, it's amazing to be taken seriously at last. He acknowledged that no-one had properly investigated any of my health problems before and immediately lined me up for blood tests (not the usual ones) and a chest x-ray to kick off the process - not exactly a fun day out but it's a huge relief to have some hope of answers.

Organic Clothing UK

Hemp bag & hooded tops from Downbound


H&M (and several other Hight St. shops) are now selling organic cottons! Guilt free High St. shopping may be closer than I imagined. I've not seen what they look like yet, I'm guessing the range is limited just now. And I'd still shop with Howies for good quality items that will last.

I only discovered this after Helen at Living Gorgeously posted about the return of the maxi dress (with my legs this is a blessing from above). I commented that I was off to scour the internet for an organic one (she found one for me later that day, tip top service over on that blog y'know). Me being me, I got lost in links for all my fave organic clothes suppliers - and also found some knew ones PLUS... a new eco shop in Glasgow called Entrading. Hope I can visit this summer. They sell a pretty wide range of eco goods from paints and jewellery to electrical goods (inc. washing machines, fridges etc) to and clothing including items by Seasalt who have I have a summer clothes wishlist with.

I'm always confused about why it takes Scotland SO long to catch up with the US & Canada when it comes to this sort of thing. I used to LOVE shopping, or just simply hanging out, at P'lovers when I lived in Canada. When I went to get their link just now I saw that they have 5 stores now. How lovely, I hope they all smell as good as the one in Halifax. It was such a calming place to be, especially when the alternative was the flat we shared with a guy who said he was building a partition wall to so that my boyfriend and I would have our own room, but what he actually did was just hang a couple of sheets down the middle of the room.

It wasn't a big room so it didn't took a minute for his frequent near lethal curry farts to waft over and choke us (particularly after he silicon sealed the windows so they wouldn't open). And trust me when I tell you that was the very very very least of his horrible habits. You do not want to know what the others were but let's just say there was a reason why we stopped coming home to sleep there and just stayed in college all day and night. Oh the JOY of 24hr opening at college. That's something else we've yet to catch onto over here or has that changed now?