contents

contents:  food, lots of sun, friends visiting from around the world, lots of get-togethers, lots of good cooking, a visit to the park, a little concert performed by friends to a small audience of three, lots of figs, lots of sharing, wine, champagne, turkish tea, girl talk, lots of laughs. it's been good.

autumn in istanbul has finally started to show its face, when i say this i mean the temperatures only dropped down to twenties; yes we've been quite lucky lately. there was a very nice visit to one of the princes' islands yesterday which i will be sharing in a different post, i can only say that it was the greatest escape from the city on a beautiful autumn day.

p.s. those two cats i just met lately are special in their own ways; the grey one being extremely funny and talkative while the other is definetely uber-cool.

cat days

i had two little kittens as house guests last night to look after to. ever so tiny and helpless. i've picked them from the street, they're no more than a couple of days old and with no mum in sight- needless to say, it was a sleepless night. hopefully, they will be united with a nursing cat today. it's challenging trying to find someone who can look after them 24/7 and other nursing cats that are around can be quite moody with these little ones as well, i just hope they will survive these critical days. unfortunately couldn't manage to take a photo of them, had my hands full.

all these reminded of the time when my friend marta came visit me in istanbul about nine years ago and we went on a stroll along the bosphorus. it was then when we spotted a kitty that was way too playful and friendly. marta insisted he came home with me (thanks a million marta), i couldn't resist and here i am with my cheeky, understanding, sensitive, friendly, determined, relaxed and playful cat. he's almost nine now. i love the way he keeps me company, he's fully present and always at the door, ready for a cuddle when i'm back home. here he is, when he was a wee little thing and what he grew into.

i-phone photos by dear adrian

wise cat

after i've added these photos i thought 'these are a bit repetitive', then i've realised the reason is because when i take photos at my home i tend to get drawn to the same sights, this view from my bedroom being one of them. well, life can also be a bit repetitive too, our routines take over sometimes, although things never stay the same-we never stay the same; accepting all kinds of change is a big part of surrendering to life. i should remind myself that more often. mundane daily tasks are a small fraction of the bigger picture, they draw on the big canvas that's going to turn into a painting. i'm slowly learning that. 

the cat and i have spent quite a bit of time together this week-end, i've cleaned and cooked (let me re-word that: i've 'prepared' some food), hah! he has lazed around, kept searching for the coolest spot in the house and napped right wherever he found it. he has such simple objectives and aspirations in life, adorable and also enviable too, he's a natural born buddha. i, on the other hand, managed to worry about the stains on my table cloth (being the perfect housewife that i am- i.e. see the empty saltshakers), not very wise is it? girl needs a few lessons from the cat.