Reminiscence

It's been a billion and some more since I posted anything on the blog. ın this all-composed-and-professional instagram age, what is a couple of words and some flawed photos about mundane life? Who follows this stuff? But to be honest, I missed the old ways of blogging and I still read that lifestyle blogs so maybe I should just post for my own self. As an old diary, why not?

Like last night. I finally felt peace after a long time. After dinner, after everyone went home, after I drank one last glass and we cleaned up everything, after I put on a record and did nothing but drank a cup of tea (no phone or apps, no videos, not even a book). At that very moment, I felt the peace I've been looking for. I hope these moments of joy comes more and more.

Perfect Find!

 
Alright, so yesterday I said I bought only ONE book on weekend but didn't specify which one. The reason was probably this book excites me so much I wanted to talk about it more. Since I was little I LOVE vampires. The first book I read in this genre is either Dracula itself or Interview with the Vampire but either way, I was under their spell so I read and read throughout the years. And as Neil Gaiman said in the Preface of this book, they are now a huge subgenre (maybe the biggest in horror) and a big part of the popular culture. The necessity of it is debatable for I'm not a big fan of 'paranormal romance' or draining all the blood of the genre until it's only an empty of concept but I don't care what people love as long as I have such gems among those pile of rubbish (in my opinion of course). This book is an anthology with lots of stories with amazing chapters. The little details of the book also make me happy as the book itself. And of course it says it has the biggest bibliography on vampire literature (more than 100 pages) so yes, it was a perfect find.

A Sunday with Books

 
I have to admit that I enjoyed our book themed weekend very much. Yesterday, there was a book fair (with lots of second hand book sellers as well). But let it not fool you. These books are not really from that book haul. In fact I only bought one book (WHAT?) and it's not shown here. They are from two friends. (Last 2 books of A Song of Ice and Fire series, or Game of Thrones book as you may say are from Bilge and others are from İpek, she was just giving them out.) So we met in the middle of the day, a weird time for some of us needed some coffee and some needed something stronger. We exchanged books and went to the book fair (not pictured here because it was hard to walk let alone take photos). We shopped and looked at books, comics, posters and records. Exhausted we found ourselves finally eating pizza and ravioli and talking about books and whatnot.
 
 
   
   

Ipek's birthday

Just a couple of photos from last night. İpek's little birthday dinner. To be honest, I didn't take as many photos as I wanted to for several reasons (especially later at night, after dinner) but I enjoyed it all the same. Dinner (pizza and a messy banana split for me), wine, coffee and fortune telling (nothing very excited in my near future obviously), walk in the middle of the night and crowds (though I didn't like the part where we couldn't find a place to go at first), birthday girl making faces to camera. Oh and me falling down the stairs. It's been awhile (like a couple of weeks).

Dün akşamdan, İpek'in doğumgünü yemeğinden fotoğraflar. İstediğim kadar fotoğraf çekememiş olsam da (özellikle yemek sonrası) eğlendiğim bir akşam oldu. Yemek (pizza! ve biraz karışık bir banana split), şarap, kahve ve fal (yakın gelecekte çok heyecan verici şeyler olmasa dahi), yürümek ve kalabalık (yer bulamadığımız başlangıcı dışında tutuyorum), doğumgünü kızının pozları. Ve benim merdivenlerden düşmem.

Walk in the Park

Just a quick post from my little morning walk in the park, which led to croissants and coffee.

Links! Links! Links!

My grandmother makes a mess when drinking coffee as you can see. Anyway I spent this week mostly with my family. Drinking beer on my grandmother's balcony with my cousins, having dinner with parents and aunts, going out for a coffee with my granny (again). I think it's really fun because your family always knows the most embarrasing stories about you (and you about them) and it's bound to be natural. At the end of the day I feel like they are the only people who can accept who you are no matter what.

Other than that, it's been a slow week (month/year) so here are some links that I find interesting lately. Oh and a mix to listen to while reading.

• I know most people doesn't even know Twin Peaks (shocked silence) but I find this news pretty exciting. Yes, Twin Peaks return in 2016, with David Lynch. 
• Also a new Sherlock Holmes movie is discovered (!) after almost a century. I want to watch it but I can't. 
• If you read Murakami, loved it (I've been reading for the last 2 years, book after book and I'm in love) and want to continue reading more books from Japanese authors maybe this list is a place to start. 
• I can never say no to a good cheese platter and this makes me want to eat tons of cheese. 
• Is anyone surprised that experiences bring more happiness than possessions? I'm not.
• I really love Carol Rosetti's illustrations of women and how positive they are. 
• I can't believe these are made from paper carvings. Amazing art by Maude White. 

Old Times: Howth

I take very few photos lately (none to be specific) and even if I do, I use my phone and then I just forget about it. So while cleaning my computer I realized there are many old photos I liked and I decided to upload them while I try to find some inspiration in daily life without travelling.

These are from a day trip from Dublin to Howth, a little fishermen's village (or the way I see it) last November. I do remember the day very clearly since it was the day I almost froze myself to death because of a problem with heating and water (and eventually wind). I had to have an ice cold shower (in November. in Dublin.) and then had out. Howth was very close to Dublin, yet gave the feeling of country side. Or rather, seaside. The air was fresh and the sky felt higher than ever. We walked down by the waterside to the lighthouse, listened to the street musician, tried to reach Howth castle in near-dark and ate sea food. On our way back I found a little second hand bookshop near the train station and bought some cheap books. I also remember that we had to run to catch the train.

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Son zamanlarda çok az fotoğraf çekiyorum (hiç demek daha doğru olur) ve çeksem dahi sadece telefonla hızlı bir kaç kare çekip sonra tamamen varlığını unutuyorum. Bilgisayarı temizlerken eskiden kalma çok fazla fotoğrafın olduğunu da fark ettiğimden şimdilik onları yüklemeye karar verdim. Bu sırada günlük sıradan hayatta biraz olsun ilham bulmayı umarak.

Bunlar geçen Kasım'da Dublin'den Howth denen minik bir sahil kasabasına yapılan günübirlik geziden kalma fotoğraflar. Günü bu kadar net hatırlamamın sebebi donarak ölmeye fazla yaklaşmış olduğum gerçeği. Buz gibi suyla duş alıp (Kasım'da. Dublin'de!)dışarı çıkmak zorunda kalmıştım. Howth, Dublin'e çok yakın olmasına rağmen şehirden fazla uzaklaşmış hissi veren bir yer. Daha ferah, gökyüzü sanki daha yüksek. Sahilde deniz fenerine kadar yürüyüp sokak müzisyenlerini dinledikten sonra hava neredeyse kararmak üzereyken Howth kalesine ulaşmaya çalıştık (başardık ancak biraz geç olmuştu) ve sonrasında deniz mahsülleri yedik. Dönüş yolunda, tren istasyonuna yakın bir sahaf keşfetmek ve ucuz kitaplar almak günün beklenmedik olayı oldu. Bir de trene yetişmek için koşmak zorunda kalmak.