Splash

It was the first official summer splash, starting with the innocent "I just want to try the water" and ending with full-body jump-dive. For some of us more used to warmer climates and seas, it was quite questionable pleasure. Still not to be denied. Rolling in the sand to warm up resulted in kilograms of sand stuck in all the clothes. The game was called cotoletta, for similarity of prepping method of the dish. Kids liked it. The sand we brought home.

Piú letti

Photo a day - May

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Published on 15th of June 2023     It's June, school's over, and summer is finally here. It's a bit late this year, but I am not complaining, heat is not my thing. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike summer! I am looking forward to spend days (and evenings, because - sunset!) on the beach swimming and splashing and digging in the sand, and all the fruit and summer salads, ice-cream and long evenings on the terrace. It's the heat that I have problem with, my brain just switches off and all I want is to find a cool corner under air conditioning and hide there with the book.  We've finally started our photo wall. The project was complicated - we wanted a photo and art wall that tells about us, that reminds of Scotland, and has each of the kids equally represented (they checked!). For now it has some framed art, artistic map of St Andrews, photos in vintage frames we had in our home in Scotland, and new photos too. I'm already thinking what else to print, an...
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Adventures of Maya and the Bear, in pink

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She picked her dress today. And some of the toys to play with. So the poor Bear (which has no name and had indefinite gender so far), had to keep up with pink, necklaces and other girly stuff. There was even mirror, a hairbrush and lipstick involved (fortunately a wooden one :-) So the party got started! Then the Bear was abandoned for the blankie, keeping up with the pink theme of the day. And peekaboo we played.
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A bit of sunshine

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Let's blame Instagram for this one. I was invited to participate to a photo challenge dedicated to the theme of sun flare on one of the communities I follow there. Parallel to it I was trying to bribe, torture, blackmail etc everybody and anybody (read Maya and Masha :-) to do something with the light shining on their back, so that I could experiment with shooting counter light. So it kind of came together. It is an experiment. I am still not quite sure I like it. We'll see at the end of the year, if I include these pics in the photobook. Or what happens with the Instagram challenge :-) And here's my Instagram , that is to blame :-)
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Grey sea, blue sea

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When you live 10 minutes away from the sea, you may end up there more often than not. Especially as there is added attraction of a playground on the beach :-) Sometimes we go for the playground, sometimes for the walk, or a bit of both. This walk was grey as the sky, Masha overcame all her records of falling in the mud, Matteo had freezing cold hands, and Maya was crying just for sake of company and maintaining general mood :-) The sea was grey and stormy, as the sky. Then there was another walk, and sunny day. Still freezing cold. We have lots of spring blooms already, but it is too early to dream of warm days yet.
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A walk in the woods

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Last week-end of winter, it did not feel like winter at all. On Saturday we went to Lade Braes, our local wood. It was full of sunshine and spring blooms. We did not have rain for the whole week. So finally it was OK to roll in the grass. Some things never get old. Like boys throwing sticks in the creek. Or sunshine. Or spring vibes in the air. There are so many things to do outside, games to play, discoveries to make. These two may shout and complain about getting out, and then shout and complain more when it is time to go back. Hello Spring!
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Perfect portrait

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To make a perfect portrait, you need following for starters: a model and a frame. Some color also helps to achieve a nice result. Accessories are important too. You can be creative and use everything at hand. Make sure nothing gets wasted! Emotion and nice facial expression are also crucial. Ok, got it all together. Let's see what happens! Next we try to make a perfect pie. Oh my :-)
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Forest walks

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Forest walks with a toddler are quite an exercise. Especially with an added bonus of a camera :-) What's involved? Jumping in the mud and trying to jump in the river. Collecting sticks. Collecting leaves. Walking in a wrong direction. Falling. Standing up. Stopping. Turning around. Then there is possible game of peekaboo. And of course trying to escape, especially when mom is taking pictures of some flowers and escape involves jump in the river :-)
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Of flowers, and children

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We went to Botanical Gardens on Sunday. I found this wall still covered with the leaves of last year, and I absolutely wanted to photograph Masha there. Here's what we've got. As well as lots of flowers, dry and new. And then there are these three flowers. It takes an effort to get them together and sit quietly, and look at the same direction, oh my.
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Low tide on East Sands

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Suddenly the beach gets bigger. Muuuuuch bigger. And suddenly there is so much more to do, treasures to hunt, rocks to climb, sea weed to slide on, water to jump in. And other imaginable games and shenanigans.
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Gentle touch of spring

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Spring, it is in the air. In the color of the sky, in the lush greenness appearing everywhere. You want to go outside more, and soak it all in. We did it, and had some nice adventures. Like Maya always trying to keep up, or when a decision has been made to pose for a picture with all three of them. Masha and Matteo proposed it, and implemented nicely as you can see above. This is Maya with her most versatile toy ever. She is collecting sticks by dozens now. Matteo looks nice with all sorts of leaves and flowers. I do not even need to put them in his hair, he does all the decorating himself :-) Masha and the trees. This could be a separate photo story, probably.
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