airport alphabet

next time you’re on the way to somewhere and you have a number of hours to kill, might i suggest a little game of airport alphabet?

check out my recent game here: airportalphabet.tumblr.com. created because i had the time and needed to spend it doing something creative.

i managed to get the whole alphabet, then (halfway through uploading) realised i was in the wrong terminal at charles de galle (and if you’ve ever been there, you’ll have an idea of how disastrously this story could end), so i cut my internet connection and sprinted for the bus to take me to the right terminal. i finished my upload after i’d reached my destination and my heart rate (& stress levels) had returned to normal…

still, if i’d been in the correct terminal the whole time, this game might have turned out differently.

i’d love to know if you decide to play it whilst travelling somewhere!

postcards from montreal

dear friends,

my heart is full to bursting because of tiny jewels, of happy accidents: chance encounters, random crazy moments of what-the-fuck-just-happened, feeling my heart change beat to sing in time to the drummers in the park, noticing the sound of the tap in the kitchen dripping and the hum of the refrigerator in the corner, finding the best coffee in the neighbourhood and making new friends of strangers.

magic lies in places like this. the discovery of a new friend via the blog world that leads to a meeting, then a trip to her fair city. i`m referring specifically to the lovely jeanine, whose house i sit in as i compose these first few lines to you.

i have so many photographs of this trip and a feeling that, even if i wrote for days, i simply could not portray to you just how much fun these few magic-filled days have been.

so instead of trying, i shall simply share some glimpses with you:

wandering the mile end streets

canon 5d mkII, diana+ lens

(i walked by the day after i’d taken this photograph to see the guy polishing his unicorn)

quirky shops, filled with interesting assortments

canon 5d mkII, diana+ lens

an amazing garage sale find. i mean who could resist the temptation to buy the polaroid spectra close-up stand duplicator for only $2. WHO? (i suspect this one purchase alone now qualifies me as a camera junkie of the strangest kind)

crossing to the other side of the tracks (loving the discovery that my jeans were folded up to different lengths)

to visit the fresh food market

interesting locals

tam tams in the park

the montreal jazz festival

great shop windows (yes, i did buy the moustache)

and gardens bursting with colour

a visit to beautys luncheonette: a montreal institution (for a full diner breakfast experience – including the crap filter coffee)

then to another for sodas

renting a bixi bike and cycling to the top of mont royal in the evening to see the city

the exhilarating ride back down the hill through the cemetery and a beautiful encounter with a raccoon

the BEST vegan food i have ever tasted in. my. life.

back streets and alleyways full of surprises

pizza and wine in the back yard, complete with tiki lanterns (which prompted this post by jeanine)

canon 5d mkII, diana+ lens

and a photobooth session for the finale – the results of which had me laughing so hard that my sides hurt & i had tears running down my face. i still need to work on my photobooth face!

there has been life, love & laughter in spades.

with love to you, wherever you are
-leonie

p.s. more photographs up on flickr (with more to come as i slowly sort through them all)

postcards from amsterdam

dear friends,

i love amsterdam. it’s one of only two places i have found in my travels (so far), that i would live (aside from my homeland).

we stayed in a funky hotel just a 10 minute train ride from the airport; also conveniently located next to a tram stop that ran straight into the middle of the city

[a number of] years ago i might have seen the appeal of sitting in one of the many cafe’s the city is famed for all day getting stoned, but not any more. i’ll leave that to someone else now. i’ve got places to go and things to see:

such as this store, full of quirky items including glass eyes from world war two

and a bronze titmouse. the description of which (on their website) reads

…my favorite Dutch word (of the moment) has got to be ‘hebbedingetjes’. It’s an all-encompassing category that acts as an umbrella under which shelter all the things one wants but might (or most definitely) not use. The thing that I like so much about it is the sense of urgency, that it doesn’t just translate as little things one wants, but really as sweet little things that one thinks might just be necessary for life to continue in the manner in which one desires.

that is so totally how i feel about it! like my life is forever changed because i saw this thing and can’t have it, and my life cannot possibly ever be as rich as it could be if only i had that bird. sigh…

yet life did go on. and it included trips to the van gogh museum and anne frank house and a visit to the world press photo exhibition.

it astonishes me how much hatred and intolerance humans are capable of; both back in anne’s time and still now. how do i balance that out with love, peace and acceptance when i am just one person? by keeping these words close to my heart…

I don’t think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains.
- anne frank

i am so in love with dutch apple cake (try the one at mokka in The Nine Streets or “De Negen Straatjes,” area if you visit – ours was still warm, straight from the oven) that i fear i would definitely need to buy a bicycle if we did live there, and do a few laps around the block each day in order to satisfy my desire for more cake

and cheese

and frites with mayo.

amongst the best finds on our trip was an organic restaurant called AS. this is located south of the city (and conveniently within walking distance of our hotel). we did wonder when we went in what we’d got ourselves in for, as there is no menu or wine list at hand. we simply got a choice of a 3, 4 or 5 course meal and a choice of red or white wine. we also had no idea what it was going to cost us. so we just went with the flow and were delighted with the result. delicious organic food, served very simply in a fabulous setting. magic lies in moments such as this one.

it’s virtually impossible to get a photograph in amsterdam without a bicycle in it and i loved this one especially

do you think the two companies at the top of this sign moved in together on purpose?

with love to you wherever you are…
-leonie

p.s. more photographs up on flickr

postcards from brighton

i love the quirky shops that make up the brighton scene, like utility. tiny, but fabulous.

bills is the kind of place that i could while away the hours of a whole day

wandering through the dusty snoopers paradise is a sure fire way to bring me happy

the locals are terrifically interesting

and the pavilion gardens are a beautiful accompaniment for the ornate building

with love,
-leonie

intention

calling on the four elements: earth, fire, air, water. lighting a candle to honour my intention

my writing for 21.5.800 is private. it’s a conversation i have chosen to have with myself as i realised earlier on this month that i had been spending so much time following what others were saying and doing that i’d forgotten what my own voice sounded like.

so i retreated somewhat. and decided that 21.5.800 would be about me. and an experiment in communicating with myself via the medium of technology – namely my macbook and ommwriter.

bindu has been writing about fear. and this morning i realised that it’s not fear that’s holding me back.

it’s shame.

and this realisation has brought about the wonderful beginning of a new and deeper, more truthful and honest conversation with myself. and because feeling shame can lead me to intentionally causing harm to myself…

today my intention was simply this:
i will get through this day without doing myself any harm

(i’m doing pretty well so far)

procrastination

more

i am the first coffee of the day
i am a broken bottle
i am the handwritten letter
i am the last page
i am your word for 2010
i am borrowed time
i am the lid you can’t get off the jar
i am the stuff collecting in the back of your couch
i am underscores
i am the squeaky wheel
i am the cheque that is in the mail
i am your first bite of watermelon
i am the perfect spiral
i am unsubmitted
i am a birthday party limousine ride
i am an empty box of matches
i am the smell of your grandmother’s talcum powder
i am the dead plant on the windowsill
i am the piano tuner
i am the mice in the barn
i am the dust kicked up from doing doughnuts in the holden
i am a swing made from an old tyre
i am the promise of things to come
i am the old man’s slippers
i am forgotten stories
i am burt munro’s vision
i am more than my 800 words a day

postcards from toast nz

we don’t usually go to toast nz events as they have a reputation for ending up full of drunk nz’ers; however we were attracted to this event because we would be spending it in fine company.

going with such fabulous friends definitely was the highlight of the event.

other highlights included: the polo (england vs. nz which sadly we lost by one goal)

the ngati ranana maori culture group (singing songs i knew the words to, and doing lovely poi)

nz wine in the sunshine

pies

(and lamingtons)

and the feelers – who came all the way from new zealand just for us

chur

impossible

must. stop. buying. film.

manifesto – a free download

getting back to basics

download the pdf A4 | 8.5 x 11 if you would like a copy for yourself

the manifesto text
work . play . rest
keep it simple. ask for what you need
TRY
dream, create, inspire
respect the environment
it’s okay to say NO. buy hand made
SMILE at strangers
trust the process
practise kindness. grow something
tell YOUR story
be present. begin again
breathe deeply
BELIEVE

made for sharing

*please be kind and respect my copyright by not passing it on as your own, though please DO share the downloads with anyone you like.