Puzzle: San Joseph Church, Sicily, Italy

San Joseph Church, Sicily, Italy, medSize: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 51.12cm x 66.52cm
Producer: Hasbro, MB Puzzles, Big Ben, 2008, 04962-W42
Photographer: R. Kord/Robertstock
Puzzle: Not a completely trivial puzzle, but quite serene to put together with its tree blooms and a magnificent building. Good places to start are the border between the mountains and the sky, the outline of the church against the mountain, the horizontal guide of the pavement against the building base, the …

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Puzzle: Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs, medSize: 100 pieces
Dimensions: 22.86cm x 17.78cm
Producer: Ceaco, Glow in the Dark series, 10-puzzle pack, 2013, No. 103013-21081-A
Puzzle: A trivial puzzle for an adult, a bit of a challenge for my 3.5-year old. He needed a little help putting this puzzle together, but has enjoyed it. We have tackled the sky with the flying creatures first, the blue water at the bottom next, and the rainbow-coloured-scale stegosaurus in the bottom …

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Puzzle: High Sierra Reflections

High Sierra Reflections, medSize: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 48.10cm x 67.95cm
Producer: Mega Brands, Vibrant series, 2013, No. 51420ABN, A28103LP
Photographer: Elizabeth Carmel
Photo: original
Puzzle: A bit on a challenging side, this puzzle benefits from having good lighting and patience. As with most reflection puzzles, it benefits from having the line of the horizon as a horizontal guide, splitting the image into two distinct regions. This line, as well as the borders …

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Puzzle: Dragon Isle

Dragon Isle, med
Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 35.56cm x 45.72cm
Producer: Ceaco?, Meiklejohn Graphics, Glows in the Dark! series
Artist: Meiklejohn Graphics

Puzzle: A fun and not too complicated puzzle to do. A good place to start would be the blue segments of the wings, the waves at the bottom, and the red and orange background behind the dragon’s back. The dragon’s armour and tail are relatively easy areas to complete as well. Darker background …

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Moon cycle tracking necklaces and bracelets

Menstrual cycle discussions have long been a taboo in the Western society. So much so, that girls entering puberty have little idea what it entails, as even their mothers are hesitant to speak about menstruation. As a result, women struggle to understand their cycle, have trouble coping with period irregularities and pain, and often treat their moon time as a nuisance. We need to reclaim this lost knowledge: it can help us take charge of our fertility, learn to live in harmony with our cycle, and welcome our daughters into womanhood. Whether your goal is to conceive, to avoid pregnancy, or to get in touch with your cycle, these necklaces and bracelets are a stylish personal way to keep track of your cycle and your fertile days. Take a minute each day to move the charm and focus on where your body is right now in its natural rhythm.

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Pregnancy tracking necklaces

Pregnancy is a magical time. The day you find out you are pregnant, your world changes. Suddenly, your body is more than that: it is a vessel for another human being. The following weeks will be filled with discoveries about the strength of your body and the depth of your love, anticipation of feeling the baby move and hearing their heartbeat, and counting the months and days before you get to meet your baby. Take a minute each week on the same day to move the charm on your pregnancy tracking necklace and focus on where your body is right now in your pregnancy journey.

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What is a Blessingway?

Blessingway stems from a Navajo tradition that marks rites of passage in a woman’s life: her first moon time, her wedding, birth of her children. In the Western society, Mother’s Blessing (or Blessingway, or Blessing Way) refers to honouring a pregnant mama. Whereas a baby shower focuses on the baby and on giving gifts to the baby, the Blessingway is held to shower the mother with love and understanding from other women.

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Inspirations for birth and fertility jewelry

One of the ways to get in touch with your cycle, is to keep track of where you are in it. Certain times of the month call for rest, others for undertaking complex projects, yet others for socializing. There are various charts and calendars a woman can use to follow her cycle. I wanted to create something that could be beautiful, deeply personal, yet not necessarily known to an external eye, – a piece of jewelry to wear with a movable charm to indicate where you are in your cycle.

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Bolting and fungi in a permaculture garden

This morning, before the +40°C weather hit, I put out some more egg shells into the garden to discourage snails from chewing through the leaves, and sprayed the plants with the jalapeño infused water, to deter squirrels. Not five minutes after I have sprayed, a neighbour of the squirrel persuasion came to visit. It circled the garden perimeter on the fence, sniffing suspiciously, and decided the garden did not hold any bounty of interest. I’ll take it as a good sign.

Before spraying, I have poked at a few more radishes on top of Tower 4, and pulled out those …

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First harvest

Wednesday morning, I have spent some time in the garden placing crushed egg shells around the plants in the permaculture towers that showed signs of snails partaking in the leaves. Egg shells also provide minerals to the soil as they break down, so I figured I would annoy the snails and feed the garden in one go.

While in the garden, I have seen a few Easter Egg radishes poking out of the ground ready for picking, so I took the opportunity to pluck those out. Seeing how some of the greens had juicy-looking leaves, I …

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Permaculture tower progress

It has been almost a month, since I have planted seedlings into my permaculture towers, following the garden preparations and the building of the towers. Each day I marvel at the strong green plants sprouting out of the towers. Some are already blooming, a few small green tomatoes have formed, and with each rain things get greener and wilder. Here is a progress update on the plants, with photos on May 27th (day 1), June 10th (day 14), and June 20th (day 24). You can click on the thumbnails to see more detailed, larger photos.

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Puzzle: Grand Canyon, Arizona, U.S.A.

A beautiful puzzle, a pleasure to do. Might be a little challenging for a beginner, due to the large areas of orange rock. The sky is only 4 pieces deep, with a clearly defined bottom boundary with the rock, the sea area is well-defined with two arc shapes of foam dividing it into easily-managed gradient-coloured regions. The trees at the bottom right and the top of the orange rock are darker than almost anything else in the puzzle. All these regions are good places to start.

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