Coraline. Spookoinoi nochi!

Spokoinoi nochi in Russian is a goodnight wish... Spooky on the other hand I am sure you know. The film that I saw yesterday had people (or mice was it) speaking in Russian, which made the kids feel quite special, as this summer we have started Russian lessons, and they could translate things like myshki = topi (Italian) = mice (English) for their friends... Or counting till 4... Anyway the imdb gave this film a generous 8 out of 10 rating, and the local cinema rated it as appropriate for children over 0... I was ready to see something nice, relaxing after a day's work on the roof (see DIY project posts before...) What I didn't expect was the cold hand of fear holding me by the throat through the second part of the film. Oh, yeah, it was a good film, it made you feel for the characters, it made you really worry about them... Except I was missing happy singing bunny rabbits and smily butterflies I suppose. My 8 year old came and sat between me and Dad during the film. I am glad she didn't have any nightmares about me tonight. I sure did, my Mum is coming for a visit in a week or two, and my eyes are watering at the thought... Brrrrr...
I have decided that some form of therapy was a must, so I am writing it down, and I scrapped, and I made you all a nice little box to use when you think of your "other Mother"... Enjoy...

It's a png file, so right-clicking on the picture of the box, and saving it should be enough.



Good night, sleep tight!!!

Patio (continued)

I am sure we are doing something wrong, because the more we do, the more problems we uncover, and the more we need to do, I feel like we are digging a hole, not doing a DIY project. I can't wait to have it all behind us... Will it ever happen?! Bear with us, it just might. But as a reporter, I will continue updating this post until it's all over... At least in doing so, I force myself to sit down and not be on the */+#%^** patio for a while!

What did you do today??

Operation PATIO 2009! or Wish me Luck!

My dear husband of almost ten years has taken a holiday! Hooray?! Oh dear?! I have mixed feelings about this, since this will be our usual one... Meaning, he is the kind of person who thinks a visit to a scrapyard is a family outing, and assembling an IKEA bookshelf is a family bonding excercise. This time he has something fantastic in store for us... A semi-DIY project for waterproofing the patio/garage roof. My heart stopped missing a beat when I hear: Have you got any plans for tomorrow, dear? Instead it sinks or stops all together, panic, worry, uncertainty, more panic... We spent our 10th anniversary of meeting each other in the attic space, putting in insulation, to keep up with the new tradition I will tell you what we did for my parents' 25th anniversary... Happy anniversary, Mum and Dad, btw! :) We have rented a "rasta" ??? - don't ask, Italian name for cleaning up the gunky gooey stuff that covers 60 sq.m. of our patio, supposedly hydro-isolating it. It is strong, it is well stuck, and it is not water-proof. Which sort of defies the purpose, in my mind. And it has to go!!! I feel a little happier now, for two reasons, one: the stuff is gone, after two days of us taking turns in shaving it with this giant super-heavy shaving device, and two: I have received a RAK (random act of Kindness) from Lisa Marie aka Gypsy Couture, who has decided that I deserve a party on my patio (eventually), and gave me her beautiful Genie templates and Party on the Patio kit, which I have promptly used for these two pages, I am showing off. So nice to be surprised like that in the middle of a dire struggle with the green stuff! CTM! (chuckling to myself)

Dare to guess what I am doing tomorrow? No? Yes! We have rented another machine, which is supposed to get rid of the glue that was holding the green stuff down. Isn't that exciting. I hope it is not as noisy as the previous one, poor kids. Poor ears. Poor neighbours.

Wish me luck!

Today just a lullaby, which I like but without a QP today, since it is a Sunday, and I took a day off. :) I hope you don't mind. Enjoy the lullaby, I can only say I suspect the Armenians like their bread ... a lot... Because they all seem to be wrapping their most treasured possessions in bread... When my kids ask me for this lullaby to see again, they ask me of the "one with the man who cuddles his bicycle"... Go figure... You should have seen the face of my dh when he first heard it... What is it that they want?! Huh?!?! Good night again, see you tomorrow.

This is the most fantastic lullaby, I swear!

This is the lullaby that makes me think I want to meet a baby that survived it, and doesn't wake up every night in cold sweat, just because his mother used to sing him THAT at night! Ok, I know Spanish is a very passionate language, but THIS surely can't qualify for a lullaby, no matter how fascinating it is! So... instead of a QP I only managed a png. of a baby1 with eyes open, and baby2 with eyes closed. I hope you don't mind, it being Saturday and all that, and I do hope you enjoy the song, my tongue doesn't quite manage to call it a lullaby! LOL! Both babies are linked to your freebies, I hope you enjoy your lullaby too~! Do leave me a comment if you like it! Have a nice evening, and a Good Night!

I present you a Bulgarian lullaby today, a mellow, and sweet melody, and a cute character that bunny is!
I hope you have enjoyed the Quick pages so far, and the lullabies too! Today I have made 2 Quick pages for you, both 12x12 inches in png. format. Click the preview to download. Enjoy! And Good night again.
I hope you are enjoying listening to different sounds of the world with me. Please, comment if you like what you find, it makes my day sunnier and brighter too!

Yiddish lullaby and another freebie

The girls have fallen in love with this lullaby, demanding it again and again, and singing along to it, even not knowing the words, it is such a sweet one, and I bet, without understanding all the words you will still know what it is about.
The preview of the QP is linked to 4shared, and the zip file contains a paper, a QP and a sketched boy bird, that I have added to my page, replacing his head with extractions of my girl's faces. Thanks for coming again. Tomorrow there will be another little lullaby for you to enjoy and another page, hopefully! Have a good night, and do sing along, I am sure you will like it, too!

This song is the one the girls want to sing again and again, so I had to go and find the words, luckily the song has a beautiful poetic translation into Russian, and here is the translation of the whole song into English as found on the internet.

By the wayside stands a bent tree;
All the birds have flown away,
And the tree stands deserted.

Turn toward the west, turn toward the east,
And the rest--turn toward the south,
And the tree is abandoned to the storm.

I say to momma--"Listen,
If you don't stand in my way,
Then, one--two,
I'll quickly become a bird.

I'll sit in the tree
And lull it during the winter and comfort it
With a lovely tune."

And momma says, "No, child,"
And weeps bitter tears.
"G-d forbid, you might freeze in the tree."

So I say, "Momma, it's a waste of your lovely eyes,
Because before you know it,
I'll be a bird."

And momma cries, and says "Itzik, my Crown,
As G-d would want, take a scarf with you,
Lest you catch cold.

"Put on your galoshes,
It will be a severe winter.
And take your fur hat, too.
Woe is me!

"And wear you warm underwear, foolish child,
Lest you become a guest of the dead."

I lift my wing, but it's hard...
Too many things, too many things
Has momma put on her weak little fledgling.

I look sadly into my momma's eyes;
Her love did not allow me to become a bird.

By the wayside stands a bent tree.
All the birds have flown away,
And the tree stands deserted.

Lullaby #2 - from North of Russia.

The faint-hearted are asked to look away, as it is coming from a place where the night is very long, and electricity rare to come by, so entertainment is hand-made, and fridge!? LOL, who needs a fridge, or rather as the old joke goes, if only for people to warm up in... The lullaby is only ever so slightly disturbing, not too much... :) My kids loved it! It was me hiding behind the sofa.
If you want information on the whole project of lullabies from all over the world, see the previous entry, this post is dedicated to a lullaby from Chukotka, and is unlike the lullabies I have heard as a child or sing as a Mum... But it is a big world, and isn't it fun to see all the different styles, and hear all the different sounds?




Today I offer you another freebie, a Quick page 12x12 inches, I have resized and used it for an older and smaller photo of my little one. Click on the preview below to get to 4shared for the download, I hope you like it. Be back tomorrow for a truly catchy tune and a new freebie. Hugs to you all, wherever you are. I hope you watch the video with your kids, tell me what you think of it, I am very much interested. Good night!

Sweet dreams, everyone.

I have been bitten by a bug... (bed bug I suppose), don't run away, nothing gross, sweet little one with the smile and a song... I have stumbled upon the most beautiful project that the Russian animators have recently finished: It is called Lullabies of the world, and they all are well worth your time to sit down and watch with the whole families, and babies/kids foremost. The animations are quite special, and the whole concept of travelling across the world with the dreams, is almost like you get to be wee Willy Winky for once, and peep into the dreams of the kids all over our big and such diverse world. Since Russia is my Motherland, I will start with the Russian lullaby, even if it is not the best one of the project, in my humble opinion. For the full experience I offer you a Quick page, that I have made using the cartoon as inspiration. and if you like the look of it, you can see the cartoon on youtube, and come back for more tomorrow, I will try and make another page, using another lullaby as inspiration. Take care. I hope you enjoyed this post, say hello if you did, it wouldn't be worth it if there is no interest... See the official information on the project at their website, by clicking on the image of the cartoon still frame. Get the freebie Quick page by clicking on the preview, to be taken to 4shared. The song goes:

Зыбаю, колыбаю, отец ушёл за рыбою
Мать ушла коров доить,
Сестра ушла пелёнки мыть.
Баю-баю, зыбаю,
Отец ушел за рыбою,
Мать ушла коров доить,
А дедушка дрова рубить.
Дедушка дрова рубить,
Да бабушка уху варить.
Бабушка - уху варить,
Да свою внученьку кормить.

Which means, for those of you who can't read Russian. :)
Rock-a-bye-baby, father is fishing,
Mother is milking, sister is washing,
Rock-a-bye-baby, father is fishing,
Mother is milking,
and Grandpa is chopping logs (not smoking as you'd think looking at the cartoon)
Grandpa is chopping, and Granny is cooking,
Granny is cooking,
to feed her little Granddaughter.
It goes on with slight variation, and I love the moment when the child throws away Grandpa's pipe, not because it teaches the children to disrespect their elders, but because what is he doing smoking in the kids' cartoon in the first place! Huh?!
Thanks for your interest. Come back tomorrow, and as the Russians say Spokoinoi nochi! Which means Good night! NB for creating the QP I used the Hazel Olive Designs CU freebie clock. The page that I have made with the Quick page uses the following fonts: Kartika, CK Ali's writing, and Cocktail bubbly. TFL.


The picture below is one of my family after war, actually the end of the fifties, and the little boy with big ears, and dreams just as big is my father, space craft designer to be. My Great grandma was really that short, and the Little Ivan is her father, while the Big Ivan is her husband, and yes, he was remarkably tall for my side of the family. It feels like the cartoon wasn't far off the reality as far as the looks of the people go. Don't these people look perfectly Russian to you?!

New kit of Shelleyrae is out, and it's a fresh Breeze.

It's been so hot here recently, that we have taken to walking around in the swimwear rather than proper clothing, and my little one has designed her own attire, that we have both made with our own hands, designed, and sewn... Here are some pictures of her new "dress". and a couple of LOs I have made with the new kit by Shelleyrae Cusbert.

Swim-ming!

So much fun being small, one of the Mums by the poolside noted today, you swim, you warm up on the concrete, then you swim some more, you play with your friends, you do the funny jumps into the water, maybe eat an ice-cream, then swim some, show off and go home. That's the life! Isn't it?! So that's exactly what we have been doing recently, just like kids. Kids included. :)