"All Saints Day "......One is not dead until forgotten

    


Today the day dawned rainny but now the first rays of the sun are making their way ...what a symbolic way to start this new day !! :Like the Samhain ritual says :"As the New Year is born, we are all reborn with new hopes and dreams..." 

I love it .I took this photography last Summer.....lovely sunrise over the Mediterranean sea around 7 am.

 It's holiday here ...every 11-1 we celebrate the Christian holy day of All Saints .It's just a very special day to remember good people and to cast our thoughts to our loved ones who have passed away .In the 8th century the pope Gregory III had the catholic holiday all Saints day wich was at the time in May ,moved to November to help to blend in with the Druid celebration "Samhain " ..ironically Halloween is still more popular than the other holiday :)).

We no longer see the All Saints day celebration of yesteryear .I remember when I was a child and we used to celebrate this day altogether with tipical food and activities in Spain.There are a few traditional sweets that the Spanish eat on " Dia de todos los Santos (All Saints' Day ). The most common are  " Huesos de Santo " (literally 'saint's bones'),

which is made of marzipan and 'dulce de yema' (egg yolk cake ) and    "Buñuelos de viento "  (wind fritters) . No one knows exactly when these sweetened dough fritters, which are usually filled with cream, chocolate, pudding and anything else, began to be elaborated. But given that the Royal chef of Spanish king Felipe II made some references to this pastry in some of his recipes towards the beginning of the XVII century, has raised them to be one of the traditional culinary desserts to celebrate Dia de Todos los Santos, as tradition states that when you eat a buñuelo, a soul is released from purgatory :))))

It is the day of the year when the most flowers are sold, and the cemeteries are filled with colour from every type of flower imaginable.Many Spaniards visit cemeteries on All Saints Day to pay respect to deceased relatives and to lay flowers and clean their graves

Picture featured on L I F E



magazine and was took in Valencia ( Spain )Novemeber 2007


If you are in Spain  just seize the opportunity to see a performance of Don Juan Tenorio on All Saints' Day.. The play is the most famous (and the most romantic) story about the mythical Don Juan and is performed each year on All Saints' Day. This special performance is set for this particular day because the final act of the play takes place on the night of Todos los Santos and the character of the play is closely related to the dead).

One is not dead until forgotten....so today I just want to dedicate a warm thought to my loved ones that won't be here anymore ...especially for my two grannies Angeles and Vicenta and my two grandaddies Juan and Antonio. I still miss you .Your memory will keep you alive in my heart ... I  love you wherever you are .Part of who I am is thanks to you .

photography of Montjuic Cemetery Barcelona Spain

"El  Dia de Todos los Santos" (All Saints day ) is not just about mourning the loss of loved ones. It is also a day to celebrate life.

Daddy , thank you so much for the good core values you instilled. 

They identify who I am  at my core.

I love you and miss you so much it hurts 

Missing the sea

The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.

-Jacques Yves Cousteau

      by Beatrice Heydiri

Today I was searching for some new pics to upload on my Facebook page and I bumped into   Beatrice Heydiri 's website .Her work is absolutely beautiful  ! . Some pictures remind me of the strong Mediterranean vibration and inevitably got me into a melancholic mood .I have a quiet communion and deep connection to the sea .If you knew how many times the sea gave me the comfort I was looking for...I miss to walk down to the water and sit on a rock in the middle of the creek as the sound of the sea, sooths me, with tranquility. I love drawing into the rhythm of the the sound of waves breaking on the beach and breathing in the same rhythm .There is something about the salted sea air that memories, that were once in the back of my mind, come to light .It brings back childhood memories of the joy I had as children playing by the seaside .Just takes me where childhood memories are entwined with nostalgia for a vanished age...


Beatrice Heydiri Is Interviewed

       by Beatrice Heydiri


"The Sea, my home, in honoured vestige waits to carry me across the way where the celestial bodies of eternity blend the green, earthen tones of home..." -Annie Cordelia Adams

Getting into a weekend mood ...Friday at last !!

Friday at last !! .It's time to leave behind the stressful time of the week and chillaxin...

This picture belonges to one of my all-time favourite photos collection ....just a warm and poetic delight for the senses  Ashes and Snow by Gregory Colbert . 

I really  appreciate simple things .I don't need any more than getting into a good mood to relax and enjoy the little things to make the most of my weekend ...just those ones that make our life better I love turning  on my oldies music , to curl up on the couch and read a good book while I'm tasting a nice coffee...or just enjoying the silence ....what ever the mood is for .

I come up with this short video clip that helps to get into a weekend mood :) .It belongs to the movie Ashes and Snow  ...one of the most stunning nature footage I've ever seen .It is an exceptional work of photography and  ligthning . I am drawn to the sweeping and mystical sound of this song .The superb soothing soulful vocals of Lisa Gerrard  blows me away and brings inner and outer well-being into harmony.

 
Ashes and Snow - Vespers


I wish you a beautiful and refreshing weekend...just look around and you will find the magic ;)...That's the thing with the magic :You've got to know it's still here ,all around us ,or it just stays invisible for you -Charles de Lint

Led .....just a new era of home lighting

Led ...a new era of lighting

I think the right lighting in our home creates mood, feeling and plays on our emotions.It not only provides a first impression of your home but it also adds value. Today we can transform various emotions into light and colour .Everything helps to enhance the atmosphere of any place ,no matter what the project is, it can help you create the perfect settin .Nowdays designing the right lighting is an art that can transform your home into a whole new place.To provide your home with many spectacular lighting effects that creates suggestive ambiences achiving a more intimate feel is a clearly signal of modernity. Literally ,"Lighting is the jewelry that gives your home or business an elegant look and feel"creating suggestive atmospheres taking full advantage of LEDs .LED lighting has been around since the 1960s, but is only beginning to emerge in .Now LED home lighting is about a shift in lighting culture that leads us  to futurist homes and buildings that we used to see in all those science  fiction movies .LED lighting for home including outdoor, deck and landscaping. ...You can see them anywhere .

Smart-ologic Corian Living by Karim Rashid

LED lighting in home became, over the years, one of the most affordable lighting methods. Many people tend to replace the common bulbs with LED lighting that provides many advantages when using it, especially if you want to use it on your entire property. One of the most important aspect is that you can save electricity and implicit, money.

The Micheli Residence by Simone Micheli

A Contemporary Kitchen by Mal Corboy

Denispopov Bar in St. Petersburg, Russia2

Town@HouseStreet by Simone Micheli

Town@HouseStreet by Simone Micheli

The Robert Restaurant Opens in New York

Atomic Spa Suisse by Simone Micheli

The Yas Hotel Interiors by   Jestico + Whiles

Now is the right moment when the famous quote from Blade Runner makes sense" I've seen things you people wouldn't believe"

The Mystical Midsummer Solstice ...night of witches

Today is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year , the day of the year when the night and day are of equal length and in ancient times this was considered the most important event of the solar year .It's a night full of magical traditions historic superstitions and cleanising reituals that is celebrated all over Spain and particulary along the Mediterranean Coast (Balearic Islands ,Valencian Comunity ,Catalonia... ) and in Galicia  

Here in Spain we call it " Noche de San Juan " Night of Saint John (the Baptist) and I could say this night sets Spain on fire .It's one of those elusive Spanish holidays that lies somewhere between a religious traidition of Saint John's day ( june24th)  and a pagan celebration of the June 21st Summer solstice  . 

The celebration typically begins at midnight on June 23th with the lighting of large nonfires ( Preferably on the beach ) 

It's typical to dine outside with family and friends .On the Mediterranean Coast especially in Catalonia ,Valencia and Balearic Islands the most typical food is the Coca the Sant Joan ,which despite a range of varieties is usually a sweet coca ( like a round flatbread or brioche ) made with flowr ,sugar ,egges ,yeast ,lemon peel which is rolled out flat covered with candied fruit baked  .
source Foods from Spain  

Fire and water are the protagonists of the night...fire uses to be the symbol of abundance, purity and fertility; that is why fire is the central element of this Festival in the form of fireworks and bonfires on the beaches.

It's the the "Night of Witches "and it is said that on the Night of Saint Joan, witches and druids (Akelarre) gather all over the region to strengthen and develop their magical and extraordinary powers At these gatherings, the witches distribute their elixirs and love potions. According to popular legend, the angel of love comes out this night only, striking people into love with his bow and arrow

  

According to tradition at 12:00 at night they burn the popular bonefires and young people leap the coals and bathing in the sea, asking for three wishes.They say if people jump three times over a bonfire on San Juan's night, they will be cleansed and purified, and their problems burned away.

When is relatively safe to jump over the bonfire ,it's done three times (although it could also be nine or any number) for good luck at the cry of "Meigas fora"  (witches off) .It's also common to drink Queimada (flaming Galician punch )  ,a beverage resulting from setting alight Spanish "Aguardiente/Orujo "  mixed with sugar ,coffee beans and pieces of fruit which is prepared while chanting an incantation against evil spirits .Everyone should try it at least once ...it's delicious!! 

At midnight, everybody can participate in the ritual of fire purification. The tradition is, that you should write on a paper the things you want to change in your life, throw it into the flames and then jump three times.

I love this mystical and magic night ...it's like traveling through time and plunging into a celtic dream .The celebrations of the shortest night of the year in the northern hemisphere signifies the triumph of light over darkness.

The beaches filled with hundred of fires burning is a stunning spectacle ,the fires will be lit at midnight but will continue to burn all night until the dawn breaks over the Mediterranean sea ...this is the one night of the year when you will be allowed to camp overnight on the beach 



         "Great spirits of fire, grow and consume this habit of evil so goodness may bloom." :)