During the holidays one finally finds the time to solve some jigsaw puzzles.
I love Fabio Vettori's design. This is my third puzzle with the ants and the amount of detail on these puzzles is insane. Love love love!
But I think I am done with the Exits... lovely wolves but not really my cup of tea. Unfortunately.
Escaping the Christmas-approaching craziness, I visited a wonderful exhibition, From Gauguin to Hopper, in Villa Manin, close to Udine.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
All the Christmas cards are on their way, so I'm revealing this year's mystery.
I'll start with one of the initial designs:
By pulling the first string, the pattern folds into two separate presents:
By pulling the second string ...
... the other paper piece folds into a decorated Christmas tree!
Pure Christmas magic :-)
Sometimes a half-hour drive makes all the difference ...
- to up here, where the sun shines.
Oh well.
Seriously?
None of the actors, producers, technicians ... anyone ... on the set noticed the exponents in the subscript?!?
... rapidly!
The town is already fully decorated, so it's time for me to follow.
This year I've made a super simple but very Christmassy wreath.
I'm happy.
Inspired by the recent success of the matcha cake, I used the same almond sponge to make a (much simpler) matcha swiss roll. It was soaked with yuzu syrup, filled with mascarpone cream and raspberries. Delicious!
And yes, I know, the sponge broke because I added too much grounded almonds. But the taste was so much better, I was willing to sacrifice the looks :-)
I am super busy cutting, gluing, sewing ... :-)
One has to celebrate a birthday properly.
With a delicious cake.
So I made a matcha-pistachio-raspberry-yuzu-white chocolate opera cake :-)
I probably don't need to say it was super-delicious!
Despite the weather forecast, it did not rain all the time.
Just while hiking.
And while cycling.
But we had sun while climbing :-)
Can you guess which days I am spending in a very sunny part of the world, known for its good weather?
Wednesday to Sunday, of course :-)
What do mathematicians do when they are bored?
Well, at least one of them does this:
You don't often get the chance to ride the bike with the best.
Well, with THE Best one.
I didn't.
Mr Mojcek did :-)
I was away, again.
Admiring some local art and curiosities.
Enjoying the vastness of the Silesian Forest.
And had fun looking for dwarfs.
I was happy when I found about a hundred - only to learn that there are over 800 in the town! Oh well...
When you casually paint something.
And MiniMojcek Nr. 2 says 'it looks like a kid painted it'.
You accept the challenge and start practicing.
More family holidays.
Enjoying the summer,
kayaking,
visiting some great adventure parks,
renting a cosy cottage,
hiking the bogs,
admiring the architecture,
and the history.
Latvia.
And a day trip to Lithuania.
