Things

This is going to be an extraordinary post. A post not about my actions or creations but a post about my thoughts. And things. Lots of things. All sorts of things. Things. Things that we own. Things that own us.

In the past weeks, months, even years, I've been going through ... things. My things, my parents' things, my great-grandparents' things, my great-aunt's things... lots of things! I've literally been enslaved by them. I needed to sort them, to decide what to do with them, whether to keep them, and where to put them. And I've thought a lot ... about things.

And I've come to the conclusion that we live in a way too material world. We work hard so that we can buy things and then we buy large houses to keep all the things and we have room for more so we buy more ... We feel bad throwing them away because someone obviously paid for them and we keep it just because maybe one day someone might need them...

I really want to break this cycle.

So I've decided to sort the things by three criteria:
1) do I need the thing?
2) do I want the thing?
3) it is valuable (material or emotional value)?

If a thing fails the test, I get rid of it. Sell it, donate it or throw it away. But I do not keep it - why would I keep something I neither need nor want?!?

I must say it really clicked in my head when I came to this conclusion. I feel like I own things and not vice versa. I feel liberated.

Now I just have to raise my kids in the same manner :-)

Harry Potter costume

MiniMojcek Nr.1 loves Harry potter books (and films) so this year he wanted to be Harry Potter. Since his wish is my command, Harry Potter he was.

I got a white shirt for a few Euros from H&M, but he still needed the cape and the tie. I made a very simplified tie from the burgundy fabric and painted gold stripes onto it.

 

The cape was done without a pattern and I just improvised with the hood. It does not lie completely flat on the shoulders but good enough for a costume. I of course lined the black cape with the burgundy Gryffindor fabric.

Oh, the white balance on this photo is a bit off balance :-)

Add a grey vest, glasses, an owl and the magic wand, a scar on the forehead and voila!

See you later... alligator!

This year MiniMojcek Nr.2 decided he wanted to be a cock/rooster. I didn't have time to make such an elaborate costume, besides, he was a parrot last year and this was just too similar. So I sent MrMojcek to talk him out of it and come up with something simpler.

He came back. The kid wanted to be a crocodile!

Sooo... off to H&M to buy some bright green leggings and long-sleeved T-shirt. I just made the head with the mouth and teeth:

and added the tail and the spikes on his back:

And then - he fell ill. So all the work was in vain.

Oh, well.

Homemade Angry bird - Blue tit

MiniMojcek Nr.1's best friend, albeit 8 years old, is a keen bird-watcher. He celebrated his birthday in the woods, watching birds with his friends.

Now, what could be more appropriate for the birthday present as an Angry bird? An angry blue tit, his favourite bird!

I fortunately had fleece in all the right colours at home but - I had no pattern and no sketch, just the photograph. Oh, did I mention I had no time?

 I just cut the fabrics... and hoped for the best.

It looks like a ninja-angry-bird :-)

I forgot to sew the eyes and the beak first so I had to handstitch them. Not perfect but good enough.

Two hours later the bird was finished.

  I'm actually quite happy :-)