Movie of The Day

I have just seen An Education. It's wonderful, the best movie I have seen lately, for sure.

Viva La Picasa, Polaroid, and Moleskine

I must admit I haven't made myself very useful in the past few days; in fact, I have been lazier than ever. This is the very first week of the spring semester, the one when there is no teaching yet only signing up for classes; therefore, I always spend this week at home, just hanging out and trying to undbend myself of all the weariness caused by the exam period. I also always make a lot of plans regarding this week: visiting all my relatives I never get to see during the term, watching at least two dozen movies, watching a couple of seasons of my fav tv show, and reading at least a thousand pages of pure literature. Naturally, doing it all in a week is next to impossible; therefore it's no wonder I hardly ever get to do even half of it... This year I made those plans again anyway: I have at least 25 movies saved up on my laptop to watch, plus the 7th season of Gilmore Girls and the 1st of Everwood. I also got a big bunch of books from the library and decided to read these during the week:

• Black Water by Joyce Carol Oates
• A Memoir of Iris Murdoch by John Bayley
• Gentlemen And Players by Joanne Harris
• Birthday Letters by Ted Hughes

But I've been too lazy even to watch films and tv shows, to read and to write in my journal... instead I always get stuck in front of the bloody laptop, surfing the net... To me it appears to be absolutely useless and pointless; however, in the past days I have found a few useful things while wandering around on the World Wide Web. 

• I finally figured how to make photo collages! (Hurrah!!) I have wanted to make such collages for a few months, have been looking for programs by which I would be able to do so but never managed to fine one... Lucky me, I finally bumped into it somehow and learned that by Picasa you can make collages very easily and quickly. Naturally, it's been right in front of my nose all the time as I use Picasa on a daily basis b/c I upload my Project 365 photos to a Picasa photo album... (However, I still have no idea how I could upload more than one photo to a post.)
• I have also been admiring those unique-atmosphered Polaroid photos taken by good old Polaroid cameras. It all started back in December when I bumped into a wonderful blog written by Susanna Conway, writer/photographer who takes photos with Polaroid cameras then uploads them to her blog. I admire her pictures so much! I thought of buying a Polaroid myself as they are pretty cheap; however, a pack of films for the camera is rather pricey... I was lucky again to find a great little software, Poladroid by which you can turn your simple photos into Polaroid looking ones. Thus you get the unique atmosphere without paying a fortune for films. I spent a good few hours turning my photos into Polaroid ones the other day... and had such fun!
• I have also found another new love of mine these past days: Moleskine. I haven't really been aware of Moleskine until now - I knew there were such typical looking and stylish notebooks and journals existing, I just didn't know how they were called and that they had such a history... I also learnt that they just started producing red ones too (and not only blacks), those I find incredibly beautiful. I wanted a bright red diary ever since watching Bridget Jones.... And finally I found the most perfect one. Can hardly wait to fill my current journal (which is also very beautiful and perfect to write in by the way... it's just not a Moleskine, you know) and have a brand new bright red Moleskine in my hands... I am so so addicted to writing and stationeries... but I don't mind it at all.:)

i heart winter (still)

O Winter! ruler of the inverted year, . . . 

I crown thee king of intimate delights, 

Fireside enjoyments, home-born happiness, 

And all the comforts that the lowly roof 

Of undisturb'd Retirement, and the hours 

Of long uninterrupted evening, know.

                                                                     William Cowper

This is the most beautiful winter ever.:)