They killed a tree

The little street in front of our apartment building is lined with big trees - I don't know how old but at least 100 years old for certain and maybe even 200? They are beautiful. Sure, they've gone a bit bald now in autumn but even just the bare branches are a welcome sight and give us a feeling of being close to nature, even though we live in the city.

Well, imagine our shock when we woke up this morning to find one tree gone. This is all that's left of it.

Should I or should I not feel silly about crying over a tree? I'm not sure but I am very sad... heartbroken, even. I get tears in my eyes whenever I walk past it. I've even knelt down next to it, put my hand on the stump and said I was so sorry... (Am I mad?)

Apparently it was for security (fire) reasons but the thing is, there was enough space for a fire engine before - between the trees and on the pavement! Ridiculous.

It gets worse when I think that we and the architects had to fight for every change to the apartment and building because the building itself is listed (protected for its historical importance). So the authorities wouldn't even let us replace the 100-year old doors in our apartment for identical but new doors.... but when it comes to chopping down a 100+ year old tree, no one gives a sh**. It's heartless.

I was actually at home yesterday but didn't realise what was going on out there.... If only I had known! I would have glued myself to that tree like a Greenpeace activist!

At least we also got some uplifting news today. Our new kitchen is going to be featured in a little magazine.

Withdrawal symptoms

Hi everyone!

The move went well and we love our new place! It gets better every day: less boxes, proper lamps (and not just naked light bulbs), real food in the fridge... but it is exhausting.

The one really bad thing is that we do not have internet connection yet. I was getting major withdrawal symptoms so my husband set up the internet again in our old flat, which we have until the end of the month :-) Here I am sitting on the floor because there is no furniture and eating a sandwich for dinner - yes, I'm seriously skipping dinner so I can blog!

I can tell you that life without the internet / blogging is boring! But when I complained to my mother-in-law, she told me to be happy that we have mobile phones! Back in those days they had nothing for the first few months. Just imagine!

Blowing bubbles

When was the last time you blew bubbles like these?! We got two new bubble wands this weekend. The blue one made funny-shaped bubbles.

The yellow wand made huge bubbles with cleaner shapes. Our son made these amazing bubbles!

Did you know (I didn't) that there are bubble specialists at Bubble Inc who can do even more amazing things... like freeze bubbles!

And blow bubbles within bubbles!

And here's a cute baby tiger fascinated with the bubbles! 

Counting our blessings

"It's human nature not to be appreciative of what we have. We take so much for granted."

This is what Maya Fiennes says in her book, "Yoga for Real Life". When I read this two or three months ago, I actually stuck a post-it note on the page because I thought it was important. In fact, the entire book is full of wisdom and it's become one of my favourites... but I completely forgot about it and it took me several minutes to find the book this morning - I couldn't remember where I'd put it. Typical.

"Say thank you for being who you are, for being alive. To me, there's no better way to start the day." This is what I want to do today. To write down three things I'm thankful for.

"When everything is fine and beautiful, it's easy to be grateful. When things are more challenging, you need to trust, to have faith. Say thank you, and things will change." For me, life couldn't be any better at the moment so it's easy to do this but I still want to put it in writing.

1. I have a wonderful husband. He's kind, patient, hard-working, family-oriented, fun to be with and lets me do what I want. He lets me go shopping with his credit card and doesn't bat an eyelid when he gets the bill (I watch him out of the corner of my eye!).

2. I have a beautiful son. I'm already dreading the girlfriends that he'll be bringing home.

3. We are all healthy and happy!

What about you? Are you grateful every day? What are you thankful for?

Massage ball: Lost and found?

After I wrote about my white massage ball last week, it went missing...

Then I thought I spotted it in my son's room. Ah ha!

But upon closer inspection, I see it's grown ears, eyes, mouth and an attitude.

Ok, it's not my massage ball.
But the 'transformation' from harmless to fierce reminded me of the Gremlins. Remember that film?

Travel-friendly massage ball

It's such a pain when flights gets delayed. But once in a while it can be an opportunity in disguise. I was walking around the airport shops, bored, when suddenly I spotted one of these little reflexology balls. It's simply a ball with spikes, small enough to fit in the palm of your hand.

Unlike a lot of other massage props I've tried, this one is relatively hard and doesn't give way too much when you press on it. So the massage is effective, if you want it to be.

I liked it so much that I rushed back to get some more before my flight - another back-up for me and one for my mother.

Do you have any favourite massage products?

There's nothing like sunshine to make us happy

It's finally spring, it's finally warm. I've put away my winter boots and taken out my strappy sandals in eager anticipation.

I'm sitting outside and soaking up the sun. There is really no better cure for the winter blues!

"Friendship divorce"

A recent article called Friendship Divorce on Gwyneth Paltrow's website, goop.com, got me thinking.

Friends come and go. To quote one of the contributors to that article: "Most friendships are situational." I agree. I have come to believe that this is an inevitable fact of life.

I have had good but different friends for all stages of my life so far. I grew apart from childhood friends when we moved house. School friends turned out to be just that for when I switched schools, they eventually disappeared from my radar and vice versa. At university, a year away from each other (as part of the degree) was enough for me and my best friend to change and not get on anymore.

It's easy to accept that that was part of growing up but it actually continues.

When you become a mother, you're thrown into a new social circle again. Your new friends are other mothers. There's such a sense of security in being with them. After all, most first-time mothers are in pretty much the same situation and haven't a clue what to do. They can become really close friends. But after a while, you might realise that apart from kids, you have nothing in common with these people. And if there's nothing else to talk about, it's got to happen at some point.

Another split. Or if you are aware of the changes taking place, should it be more of a drift - eg better to do it tactfully?

Whichever, the truth is that it can hurt so it was comforting to read the opinions in the article.

Read the article here.

Goop: Friendship Divorce