Friday, December 21, 2012

Winter in 3R

Winter has finally hit 3R, and it ain't cheap with the snow!

Today is the 2nd snowstorm of the week. We are supposed to get up to 25 cm of snow, adding to the other 25 cm we received on earlier this week. All the schools are closed, which means that most people can start their vacations a little earlier. The university clinic where I started to work last week is also closed, so I took the opportunity to work from home.

The view from our home office
Too bad the wind and the snow flakes are not visible! 
Our backyard


Snow removal services came twice this morning
All I want to do is to eat hot soup...
...feeling warm while looking at this beautiful mess
I love snow! It finally means that the darkness is gone, and that from now on, we get this rich winter light which can be found nowhere else and that gives me so much energy. All I want to do now is to decorate the house and bake.

I will hopefully have something to show the next time I write! I'm almost done with the first skirt I've sewn, and it has been fitted by my teacher, so I'm ready to hem it by hand. My goal is to wear it on Monday for Christmas with a sweater I knitted.

I hope I'll write back before Monday, but if I don't, I wish you very happy holidays!

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Gyimes

Well, December s proving to be as unproductive than November so far. Except for the house which is getting a little bit more homey.
Bedroom, almost, almost there. 
The floors are done, some of the closets are semi-organised, and we now have doors on all our rooms. This is what our bedroom now looks like. I swear, I sleep better now that it looks and feels like a real bedroom.

Since I have nothing interesting to show that I've made, and also, I've been home sick for 2 days, which is considerably limiting my intellectual capacities, here are a few pictures of my trip to Romania, this time from a region called Gyimes, which is probably the most beautiful place in the world, in my opinion.

One of my friends from Montreal introduced me to that Gyimes family over 10 years ago now, and I have been trying to go back each time I was in Romania, but it is difficult as this region is very remote and it takes a lot of time to make it there. It has been so interesting to see the kids grow, the technology (cell phones) arrive, and everything evolve from one year to the other. I know 4 generations of that family, and the differences between each of them are huge, as it is the case in the whole country.

Discussing weaving techniques

Breathtaking Gyimes

My friend's grandmother traditional house

My friends' homemade pickles and alcohol

My friends' mother house, where nobody lives (the housing situation in that family is still a mystery to me...)

Every single centimetre of this house is covered with woven, embroidered or crocheted  textile. 

The armoire

More textiles exposed

Even the old radio has its own decoration

And if you don't have room anymore, just put them in layers!

Visiting a relative's house. 

So many woven pieces. 
I would love to go back and be able to spend time to learn how they weave. My friend's daughter got married last year, and I didn't see anything handmade in her house. It went so fast from her mother's generation to hers! But who am I to say anything, my own mother has been knitting for her whole life in front of me, and I only started myself a few years ago, when I found an interesting project to do.

Hoping to be back soon, whenever I get something going, or with more pictures of my recent trip!