this week

This week has been super busy and the countdown to HONG KONG has now shrunk down to 10 days!

When did this happen!

I meet Asia, in less than 2 weeks.
What an absolutely strange concept.

I don't know why, but I stilllll cannot even begin to understand just HOW huge this adventure is going to be!
So strange!
I really want to start UNDERSTANDING this, noww!

(So sorry for the excessive caps-lock-ing.)

I mean, really.
Usually I'm almost climbing walls with all the excitement when A. and I take on Stockholm.
So now, when we're faced with her homeground HK, I'm like struck dumb.

Anyway.
This week has been super busy.
Got some nice work things done, and seen some lovely friends.
Last night went out for a little while and then another clothes sale today.

The rest of today was just for resting, on my ass, and mostly horizontal.
Tomorrow marks the all-systems-go moment, once more.
Before official nap-time it's most definitely a time to plan tomorrow.

So, for now, I hope you have a lovely evening.
And I have a feeling good things are coming our way.

With love, and light.
Yours truly.
M.


This was for an educational concert program we're doing this season - yet to see how many schools.
Fingers crossed!


The other day I was wearing this t-shirt E. got me for my 16th birthday.
It's says MARIAQ on the back, and on the front a tiny picture of my favourite energy drink back then.
(I used to get to school super early, and I didn't like coffee back then!)


Outdoor Swan Lake next to the Opera House, with 100 swans.


Sung a little at my old school's autumn concert in the Nokia concert hall in Tallinn.
That was a first for me so it was super exciting!
Loved the dressing room and ID-card.






Also, this week marked my return to the gym, YES.


Got this coat at this big vintage festival like a month ago.
And today it earnt me a most devoted 5-year-old admirer on the bus.
No, seriously.
I think he thought I was an actual cat.

always this way

And may I   a l w a y s   be this way.

I hope you've had a most lovely weekend.
I know mine has been.
(Covered in paint and loveliness.)

Tomorrow is a day to get over being snotty, sort some stuff for a work meeting on Wednesday and you know. Blah blah = life.
Point is, I wanna be covered in paint some more, and I wanna sing.

Yours truly.
M.

picnic

On Saturday, we had a picnic outdoors.
Me, dad and the Mrs.
We got some pizza, and a thermos with green tea/Earl Grey infusion.
And it was sunny and over-all a lovely idea.

We had two pizzas: one with added blue cheese and pineapple which is like my childhood favourite. And then one with all the spicy stuff.

Also, I've never really been on a nice sunny skiing holiday and this just felt so so much like a fit time at some after-ski place. So I suddenly found myself battling serious feelings about having a ski trip.

Seriously. Yay, for winter picnics.

Have a winter picnic.
M.

my visuals

So far, so good.
These are just a few photos from the past few days.

Sunday was the Estonian Independence Day so a big national celebration here. And so me, and dad+Mrs went to see the flag raised at sunrise (7:33am) and then because I am just so full of good ideas we ended up going for breakfast at like, just before 8am. Pancakes, juice and coffee. And had some really lovely chats.

And then today, because it was sunny, I wore sunglasses (E. reminded me of this option. And that suited me juuuuuuuuuuuuuust fine.)

(And there's two more pictures from Sunday. One is this fit chocolate cake I made, that had our "Tall Hermann" tower on it. So proud of my artistic flare, a la mothertrucking icing sugar. And I loved mum's table setting colours so papped that too.)

Visuals. 
M.

LDN-STHLM-TLN ✈

Packing.
Packing.
Packing.

But seriously, it's 9:25pm, and I'm not far from being finished. Which is unheard of. So I'm improving and for that I've awarded myself this blog-based break, in which I shall also eat, to then carried on. But point for me, woo!

Today was a great day.

I will, however, write more about all this soon, since it is 2:18am all of a sudden.
I'm packed, washed, and dried, and ready to get a few good hours of sleep.

Fly, fly, fly. 
M.

Also, mega soz for the extreme concentration-face - i was just finding it very hard - apparently - to get the hair into the photo.
But yayyy my DIY-bleaching sessions (yes, there were two) paid off, at least I'm really pleased.
Ps, microwaved olive oil, rubbed into hair/dry ends does help.
Goodnight!

Simon Keenlyside

Lets start with saying, this is an opera singer.


what
a
lovely
man


During school holidays he spent time as a warden with the Royal Society for Protection of Birds. As a teenager “I knew most European bird songs”, he says. Went to Cambridge, studied Anthropology, played rugby, then final year, changed to Zoology. Whilst doing his post-graduate singing studies, indulged in his love of running.

When he’s not singing he enjoys anything zoological, diving, walking, drawing (good doodles), painting and fly-fishing. “Travelling to places like Australia and California, I get the chance to see things that no one else except David Attenborough would!” He has a farm by the sea in Wales where he plants trees, digs ponds and encourages the wildlife to flourish, in his own words, “leaving that tiny little patch a little bit better than I found it”.

Oh, and of course, he is one of the leading opera baritones around, in the world, right now.

YES.
M.

day 3

..was yesterday.

"The best part of my day".
F. came around which was so lovely.
Before her arrival I sorted through at least half of all the stuff I own in this country. (I think I'm carrying on today.) Which was divine. I like making space (this doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's great), it just feels nicer to breathe you know, and besides finding old stuff is great too.
A. mentioned something interesting just now, "uprooting".
I think sorting through stuff is a little bit like that. Like, a pre-step, or something.

Then F. and I made some hummus, and chatted in the kitchen. And it was nice.
And I made a big plan. And that was nice too.

Yesterday was just one of those days, that over-all was nice. (Such a bland word, but works well in this context.)

And because there wasn't a single best part of my day, I'm just going to add a photo of a lantern that AEM bought - it makes me giggle in disbelief (I mean, it's an indoor lantern?), and I feel like Snowwhite, or something.

Day 4.
M.

the 1:39am post

Tonight we finished concert 13. And it was lovely.

Now then.
I can honest to God say, I'm extremely tired.

So to aid that, tomorrow I'm starting a jumper. As in, starting the knitting of one. Since manual labour is most often my answer to everything I've decided to follow my own advice.

I feel like that hedgehog looks. Go figure. M.

öös on asju

Envy and greed, honestly. Honestly. They like making a strong comeback.
But enough of that.

In other news, I have a massive urge to throw a dinnerparty. But it's more one of those fantasy ones, not with no-longer-alive people, but rather people who never spend time on the same continent.
Everyone would wear dresses (because why not) and no one would complain about not feeling pretty, because all of them are pretty. Emma Stone has said that it is far more important to be funny, or honest, than to look a certain way. I like her so much.
Back to the dinnerparty. So, everyone would feel beautiful, but in the serene sense of the word. The kind of beauty of contentment type of thing.
There would be a large wooden table, I'd serve some fresh salad, some great cheese, and grapes, and some cold and hot meat, soft-boiled eggs, good bread, and wine, and for dessert there would be a sorbet or an icecream and of course, I would bake something. Or make soufflés. And there would be lanterns, and candles, and maybe fairylights. And really quite conversation-enducing music, something from the jazz legends, Ella most probably. And there would be loads of chatting and laughing, the kind of laughing when people don't care what they look like, and at some point probably singing as well, cause no one really cares enough to mind, and why should anyone care anyway? Singing is great. Especially if the occasion, much like this dinnerparty, is suitable. And at some point someone would say that they want to read a poem, and they would. Again, cause no one cares about what you "should", what is "cool", or not, or edgy, or "in", or whatever the stupid terms. Just be. Just the joy of being, of being yourself, as an individual, but also of being in this fantabulous atmosphere, having some food and laughing with the people you sincerely like, in your head and heart, double combo.
And this would go on till the latenight/earlymorning hours. And then me and someone else would decide that right now was the time to go indoors, so we could play a song on the piano that's standing in the corner, and whoever's cold could get some duvets going.

(I just made some dinner. Some salad, cheese, ham. So I thought I needed 2 eggs, hardboiled. Accidentally I managed to make the most perfect little soft-boiled wonders. And it's a warm night outside, and we haven't had many of those lately. I mean, really, really. Simple pleasures.)

So that is the kind of night I would like to witness. No awkwardness, no inner troubles of being, I would like to see my friends enjoy being themselves as much as I adore and long for their company. Just sit there not comparing and stressing, or measuring, or weighing, or assessing. Such a night. One day maybe. But I really really really hope so. Because the truth is, life really is too short. At least too short for any of that.
Not to short for dinnerparties and good food.

There are things in the night,M.