And so the Moon obsession unravels...

"A loyal companion, it’s always there. Watching steadfast; knowing us in our light and dark moments and changing forever, just as we do. Every day it’s a different version of itself. Sometimes weak and wan, sometimes strong and full of light...
The moon understands what it means to be human. Uncertain, alone. - Cratered by imperfections". ~ Tahereh Mafi. 

I like this quote. I think there is a lot of truth in it. There is a lesson to be learnt: 
The moon is one up; the moon is more grand. The moon is more noble and wise. The moon has seen it all. The moon can see around corners. The moon knows the beyond and can predict the tomorrow...you can't. Sit back and chill in it's temporary spotlight <3

But about the moon obsession...

It's real. 

And it is so happening right now. 

Let's just be tolerant of the grainy first attempt? ;)

Outer space, anyone? 

Clear night. Full (ish) moon. Creme complexion; utter perfection...

There is something so beautiful about the moon. 
The centuries and centuries of history we have tried to uncover? The moon knows it all. The moon knows all of our mistakes, the moon giggles at our giddy attempts to decode the past...the moon empathizes with our ambition and tears; the moon has seen it all before. 
Listen close. 

Are you superstitious about anything? I'm not particularly superstitious - not even about the moon! Beautiful pictures just turn me into a poetic werewolf. I must say I am rather proud of the improvement that has been made between the first full moon shot (January) and the final picture (March)! The latter definitely looks like the clearest of clear nights, and certainly does the moon a justice uncontaminated by cloudy pixels. 

<3 Photo's. 

*Wolf howl*

Are you a morning bird, or a night owl? 

[Catchup & Quotes]. In love with the skies. Snaps from Jan-Feb

"The day, water, sun, moon, and the night - I do not have to purchase these things with money" ~ Plautus.

I don't have a clue where January, February...and this first half of March have escaped to. 

Life is precious. Every day is precious. Every moment in which we sit bored and complacent, just waiting for the next new thing... is time helplessly whittled away. We are innocent. After all, time is like sand through the fingers...it gets thrown into the dungeons of...space; some lost, untraceable dimension... 

Capture the moment.

Do what makes you happy.

Learn. Play. Challenge yourself. Have fun. Be cheerful. 

Be a candle. Share your flame; light the empty burners standing like statues in your shadow. Sharing will never make your own flame go out. Give light, let others shine. 

I've learnt so much these past 2 months. Nothing literal. Nothing which can be summed up in a paragraph, a list; or words even. I've learnt colors, emotions, outcomes, lessons, equilibrium...and thought. - So instead, i'll give the pictures a chance to explain...

Sometimes, no matter how much we try to get in touch with ourselves to find out who we are...We just need to take some time out. We need to turn around, and give ourselves the freedom to emerge away from our own scrutiny and criticism. We need to learn to let ourselves go...We need to let ourselves roam. We need to get rid of our own little curfews; the chores we set for ourselves. Only then, when we are no longer self conscious of our conscience, are we truly treated to a sighting of our inner being. And, when we become more accustomed to tuning ourselves in sync with reality ~ our persona is here to stay.  

I love colors. I love the sun. 

The solace photography has given me is inexplicable. It has always been a timeless escape; something to get utterly absorbed in. But this 'passion' (euck) was something I only really took notice of after purchasing the DSLR...(Hey...i'm a Leo...we Leo's need an audience, solid foundations and equipment to get truly revved...) But it's a funny thing; about 2 weeks before Christmas I had been wondering: "What is it that makes people passionate about something? Why would anybody wake up days on end for one thing? What constitutes a passion? How deep could a passion even be...it's just a hobby right?"

Wrong. Live. Live. Live. And see for yourself. x

What gives you purpose? What makes you feel? 

So...we are nearly 1/4 into 2014?!

Head's up kid's. 

Banana and Cinnamon Maple syrup pancakes in 15 minutes!

Have you ever heard that there's no time better than the present?

You've probably heard it a lot.

Has it become a bit bland and meaningless? It may have, just a little.

There's a whole lot of truth in it. Not just with reference to chores and activities...but life. How many times have we sailed through the Christmas holidays or summer months, wondering how great it will be to one day, enjoy them without the hustle and bustle of daily commitments and endless tasks? That would be great - but it's totally unrealistic and will never happen. We are here  to accomplish something. Even though we may wish the better times last for so much longer uninterrupted...they will only ever exist in addition to whatever else we may have on our plate.

The trick of enjoying the moment? Is to literally enjoy the moment.

I guess a lesson we are meant to learn in this life is one of time management in a deeper sense - how can we shift priorities instantaneously so that we can make the most out of every little moment and time slot life presents us with? I guess it's so easy to dismiss all of the 'little things' in life because we are fed up of something else - this as an excuse to let the moment pass. Some days, times, moments and opportunities are likely to never come back.

I kinda see life as like tiny strands of the universes DNA unraveling - every shred which falls off of it, is totally unique and different to the next. Once it's gone, it's gone. The trick is to capture the moment within each and savor it, so we can add to our memory boxes and trunk of lovely emotions. Chances are, every moment has something to teach us in such a way, that we can trust each lesson to avert from any mines we stumble across in the future.

We will never know where our lessons will take us.

On a less deep note though,

I kid you not. I definitely used a vacant lunch time slot wisely on a beautiful Wednesday afternoon:

It was definitely not my most balanced day ever...

Breakfast? Giant almond croissant (work was going to throw them out...) and a half. Half? Yes. I toasted one, ate half. Realized I like almond croissants better un-toasted so I just put the half eaten one back in the back and got a new one. Clean slate and all. Yum yum. By the way...extra butter is the only way to eat croissants - toasted or not. I've met a few people who are slightly disgusted at this?

Then I had some pumpkin blondies with dark chocolate chips left over from the previous days baking (nom nom - recipe soon to come!) And then I had some more, simply because it's just the thing to do with a plate of gooey pumpkin fudge blondies.

I was on a bit of a sugar high. A light lunch had no chances. Butter over load, anyone? 

2 days ago, I attempted 'sweet potato and banana pancakes'. Delicious as they sound, they turned out looking like an orange and carrot scramble with pieces of old omelette also chucked into the pan. Definitely not a good look. They tasted amazing though, doused with maple syrup and served on a pretty plate - though it would admittedly have been hard to convince the eye of the beholder...

BUT I was determined to pick myself up and try again, this time using far less milk (I have a problem - whenever I add milk I add too much milk. I don't know if it's because my hand doesn't know when to stop or because I simply love the pants off of milk)

Lunch time? Spare time? PANCAKES! Omitting the sweet potato though. I felt like using some wheat for those fluffy, cafe type pancakes. They came out p-e-r-f-e-c-t.

These deliciously light, soft, fluffy and maple sweet pancakes have no added butter, milk, or extra oil inside the recipe (minus oil for frying). They use one egg, apple sauce and a touch of brown sugar.
They are dangerously moreish, but a mere 1/2 cup of flour will grace you with 5-7 small-medium sized pancakes. Bon appetite!

Recipe (serves 1-2 depending on how hungry you are...)

• 1/2 cup white flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1 medium mashed banana
• 1 heaped tablespoon Greek/natural low fat yogurt. 
• 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Maple syrup for dousing

1. Heat an oiled skillet/pan on high. I used canola oil. 
2. Mix together all of the dry ingredients, then add the banana and vanilla. 
3. Add the yogurt and the egg
4. Whisk with a fork or whisker, but do not over whisk. 
5. You should have a very thick, viscous pancakes batter. Do not worry about lumps - just make sure that all of the flour is incorporated. 
6. Spoon the batter onto the high heated skillet/pan. A large pan should fit about 5 on, and the entire batter should give you 2 batches like this. 
7. The first batch will take a bit longer. Flip the pancakes once bubbles start to appear on the surface.
8. The second batch cook extremely quickly (like 1.5 minutes a side, if that).

9. Go crazy with the maple syrup, and enjoy! Extra banana and more yogurt go great in addition!

My heart flutters for the Sunrise

Good morning!

Are you team granola with flaked almonds? Or without flaked almonds? I've been experimenting recently. Pretty much all brands sell them with the almonds. The ones which don't relish the fact that they can say theirs has 50% lower fat...kind of a no brainer. (Yes yes, I know. I'm bad and I buy granola which can be made for a tiny ass fraction of the cost at home) Sometimes the flakes almond type takes so freaking LONG to chew that my stomach actually gets past the 20 minute mark where it's supposed to tell me that it's full and I feel bloated. Like...I want a big bowl of granola. But the almonds kill the thrill of having a big mountain of oat clusters and milk.
ANYWAY I finally bought (cringe) Quaker granola. Just pure, fresh crunchy bliss. Though, I think the freshness is due to the fact that it's a spanking brand new box. It's 2014. And guess I should probably master how to seal things up more tightly so that crunchy cereal isn't a rare luxury.

No overly full feeling. It must be the combo of all the dense nutrients together that my I can't cope with in the morning. I added a banana too! Yum.

Does anyone else add fruit to their morning bowl....but eat it all separately anyway? I feel like I should invest my chopping time more wisely elsewhere and just eat the fruity stuff alone...

*Insert bowl of Quaker granola*

As you can tell by the absent breakfast, I haven't quite mastered the photography of food yet.

However, there is one type of photography which I have kinda (smugly) mastered. He He. Say hey to January 5th at 8:00-8:20am.

 I remember reading a foreword of a book once. The author who's name I can't remember...was about 30 odd. She said something I have never forgotten: "No sunrise is beautiful enough to wake me up in the morning".

My heart bleeds.

 Sometimes, I wouldn't trade early mornings for anything. 

 I love how this looks like a spider web. The sun being the spider, the trees being the web. Can you see it?

The most beautiful fog

Is anyone a  Diane Chamberlain reader?

She has a book with some chapters where she talks about fog. A little settlement on the cliffs by the ocean in the states which frequently gets smothered in fog, so heavy that the kiddies like to play hide and seek in it.

I can't remember the name! Does anyone know it? It's crazy. I have a shelf full of pretty much all of her books but I can't find that book? Either way, it's only a small part of the story, but something which has long stayed in my mind. The idea of that sorta fog baffles me. In London fog is accompanied by that annoying, misty rain which makes your hair poof before you get to wherever it is you commute. Diane describes it like another world. It's hard to believe that people live in such a contrasting place.

So naturally, when I was floating around in the low clouds before the clock even hit 7am one morning (I am an unswayed morning bird) on the 18th October (according to the photo 'Properties' button) I thought of Diane's little place.

The world is so silent at that time of the morning that it's eerie. It feels as if every little crinkly sound of your jacket is drawing too much attention. It got a bit creepy in the end. I was in the middle of this huge, foggy park with these horse-sized crows squawking around me in circles. Help. I took as many as I could before scooting away with saturated (literally) 'breathable' trainers. They went into the spin dryer and had to air for about a week. I guess it rained a lot the night before.

Little Foggy paradise:

Bliss. 

Just a Sky that wants to say Hi

Hi:

I'm a pretty morning sky. Some people wake up bright and early just to see me. I'm fairly shy though. As soon as too many people start opening their eyes and rolling on with their day, I tiptoe away and let the sun shine high in my place. 
If there isn't a cloud festival that day then you're in luck, buttercup. 

And here's my stubborn little cousin who ate lens marks for breakfast and left them all over her face so she could ruin Tash's picture, wahey! 

Sad face.

This could have been so pretty.

:( 

Sunrise or Sunset?

O.K

So

I have a question for you:

You are allowed to guess.

:)

Are these photos of a sun rise...or a sunset?

*Insert mysterious eyebrow gif*

The folder I found them in was actually named 'Sunrise or sunset'

I do know when I took them. But they even caught me off guard for a second, too.

I was taking a (insert time of day) stroll. The clouds caught my eye. I ran home in a bulky puffy coat with my keys and phone springing around in my pocket like never before just so I could get to my window and say hey to the clouds in time. Ice particles? I don't know what. But these colors were just insane:

Some sights make us feel lucky to be alive...do you ever feel this way?

Cheers Clouds

Cheers clouds for making my photos look great. I like you guys when you don't cry raindrops :)

Oat runs in the brilliant London sunshine

These were taken late October to Early November 2013. I am a sucker for the sun between trees and any deep pink leaves catching the light. It's amazing how there's always so many colors around if you look well enough. The pinky tree tops and blue sky were shot on a run back from the local Sainsbury's because we were completely out of oat clusters. Even the emergency backup box was gone.

Oat addiction?

...Me?

Never.

Wink wink

I say local Sainsburys... but its about 2.5 miles each way. I only went to the supermarket so far because I wanted the honey granola with the yellow bag. C'mon, we all have preferences and cravings, no? It was quite a  breeze though. The sky was clear and I had my running leggings on (inside out). The walk's fairly enjoyable. About 3/4 through you hit this park with a huge hill where you can see for another 10 miles. The sun was blaring down in this unreal way. Everything was bright, pretty and promising. I skipped home with my bagful of granola, mindful of the sun circles dancing in between my eyelashes, enjoying the warming dose of Vitamin D.

Pictures can't do justice. They are just so unfair. They look like 2D shots of nature, rather than that gigantic aura of happiness which you try to capture around the space you're floating about in. A couple of these are from a morning walk, but they're happy here so i'll leave them.

Productive afternoon. I came out the other end with a substantial granola refuel and pictures of the sun through the trees. Eat, sleep, repeat (I wish)

Crunch crunch
Yum yum,
Granoly poly...
almond fun!