Winter impressions and a tiny bit of nostalgia...

It is freezing cold outside here in Switzerland and I can't remember a similar winter with continuous and intense cold for such a long period. There always were days with higher temperatures in between...

I can't really say that I like or hate it. It just seems to be very long. I love to see the snow, but I worry for the birds who are facing difficulties finding food and - more problematic - water.
It is warm in my apartment. The heating in my flat is actually far too warm on my floor, but not warm enough for at roof level - where an old lady lives... I am not complaining about my situation (I can always open the window), but I am so sorry for her...

Health-care Center of La Lignière

This morning I had physiotherapy in water, and it was - as always - very nice. The water is above 30°C (and the jacuzzi is even warmer), my physio is a darling, the place cleaner than clean... I love to float in a swimming pool, it is so relaxing, such a relief for pain. It is doing me good and I am really grateful for that. Maybe other patients with fibromyalgia will love to know that it is helpful to do exercices in a - warm - pool. The main problem for me are the lights in the changing-room, making me sick... need to rush to get out of there asap. Photophobia makes things so complicated. But I feel really priviledged to live so close to this wonderful clinic. See the lovely early-Fall picture above, a view of the pool standing at the edge of the wood; isn't this lovely? Luckily I can go there in the morning when the sun is hidden by the front-building and there is enough natural light for the spots to not be necessary inside the pool!

'Labyrinth' at La Lignière

I don't go to the sauna and don't use the many sport devices and only have a drink outside the restaurant in the summer, in the shadow of the 'platanes'. There is an organic farm and the whole is surrounded by beautiful forests for walks. There is a curiosity: a small 'labyrinth', a peaceful place - I am quite fond of labyrinths... I read somewhere that there are really many labyrinths in Switzerland, but I had never seen one before! The view on the lake from this spot is very enjoyable. Just writing about it makes me feel good.


Lake Geneva inspired me to make "Rippled Water". It can be worn in different ways and represents the two aspects of the water, either calm, or wild. Click on the image to see it pictured differently.

Rippled Water - Eaux du Léman

Lake Geneva is really beautiful, but its depth makes it a very dangerous lake when it is stormy - the deeper the water, the higher the waves... Ernesto Bertarelli seemed to be a chauvinist when he said that testing his sailboats on lake Geneva was perfect before taking them to sea and prepare for the America's Cup... He wasn't lying. It is a big, dangerous lake and I've seen the boat racing on the water: it went incredibly fast.

I've sailed this lake a few times together with a friend, when I was young. One day, leaving Thonon (France) to go back to Geneva, we got caught in the middle of the lake with no wind at all... then a sweet warm little breeze promised to bring us back just on time to have dinner in town. We passed Nyon and then, in just a few minutes, the hell broke out. The storm was very sudden and violent, and we were only 2 on a 14-meter sailboat. We nearly got pushed on the shore by the wind, whilst all the sails were lowered! I had to use the weight of my entire body to keep the steer 'straight'...  A picture of the lake with waves is not impressive, it is so big that you can't really figure out the size of the waves, but look at the picture below of the frozen lake-shore of last year's winter, the height of the ice is really impressive -> imagine the height of the waves...

Lake Shore near Geneva, Switzerland, February 2012

Winter may be cold, but sometimes it is breathtakingly beautiful and astonishing.

Everything is inspiration somehow.

Busy... and dreaming of warmer days

I am longing for the Spring. A bit warmer weather... it is so cold outside. And I want flowers and green leaves... Fortunately it is warm at home and there are beads and there is enough to eat for the coming days... A lot of snow has made transportation difficult in Switzerland. This is from far the whitest winter I've gone through in the Valley of Léman!

"Extravagance" mix by Preciosa Ornela

Looking at the beautiful selection of colorful beads of Preciosa Ornela, I warm up when I see this particular mix... I can see myself beading the hell out of them, believe me. I have tons of projects, some finished, some on the go, some still at the stage of paper sketches, and it is terribly frustrating because I can't show anything for the moment.

What I can say is is that they're all Beautiful. With capital B, and they are mostly made with the wonderful glass beads of Preciosa Ornela. I wish I could show it all here.

BOTB'13

Patience. Have many projects on the run. In addition to the tons of projects mentioned earlier, I'm making a swap for a Facebook friend and need to prepare several gifts for the many lovely people out there, in particular a PIF for 5 persons. For that I fortunately have the entire year!

Closer is the Battle of the Beadsmith in which I will participate this year. Not to win - I don't think that I have the slightest chance... No. For the tremendously exciting whirlwind of creativity it represents, for the inspiration, for the fun, for the love of beads and beading and creating. And the congeniality...


So I will probably not blog much the coming weeks, except for one special project that I will be able to reveal in March, and even though it is about a finished project, it will be subject to several posts to show a beautiful creation in progress...

In the meantime, much love to you all. Stay warm and safe!