augustus dahlia festival

new on the table

New on the table:

Being Bardot, Brigitte photographed by Douglas Krikland and Terry O'Neill, a gift from Henk.

To me October is the time of year to brighten up the interior. Moving furniture around and making appealing corners.

teste di moro siciliane

Teste di Moro Siciliane wall vase - souvenir from Palermo, which Henk bought during the father & son trip with Minne to Palermo & Napoli.

The legend of the Moor’s head goes back in the XI century, during the Moors domination in Sicily.
In the district of the Kalsa, the Arabic district of Palermo, lived a beautiful girl, who used to look out on the balcony while taking care of her plants. A Moor, one day, saw her and was so fascinated by this girl that he wanted to show her all his love with sweet talks. The beautiful girl returned the love, but that young man hid a secret: soon he would return to the East and, moreover, there would have been a family waiting for him, composed of his wife and children.
The young Sicilian, wounded in pride and pierced by what she had believed could be the great love of her life, planned an act of cruel revenge. One night, while the Moor was asleep, she killed him and cut off his head so that he could never return to his family, staying with her forever.
The head became a vase, where basil was planted, a plant linked to the divine symbolism and always associated with sacredness. From here, then, the name Moor’s Head was given to the vase. Inside that vase the basil grew luxuriant, thanks also to the bitter tears shed by the girl. The beauty of the plant aroused envy in the inhabitants of the neighborhood, which started to ask the local artisans to craft some pots of clay with the same shape.

The legend of the Testa di Moro: the alternative version!
There is also another version of the legend, that we find more plausible but definitely less folkloristic! The Sicilian girl protagonist of the story, in this case, was of noble origins and had undertaken a clandestine relationship with a young Arab. Love was soon discovered and the two were beheaded. The heads of both were turned into vases and placed on a balcony so that everyone could know the shame of that love. And that’s also why the Testa di Moro are made in pairs!

the weekend

Last weekend of July.

On Friday we went for an evening walk through the polder.

On saturday evening we hosted a greek dinner with friends. Lovely company, lots of fun and delicious summer food by chef Henk.

Sunday it rained incessantly, summer sunshine please come back!

dahlia fields forever

2022, without a doubt the most exuberant dahlia year!

Every week I think the dahlia season is almost over, but yesterday I picked another beautiful bouquet for our kitchen table.

dahlia festival

Flowerday at work in August, the middle of the dahlia season.

august

Saturday, 1st of August.

We celebrated my birthday at home with family.
Unlike previous years, when we used to celebrate my birthdays abroad. But hey, it was a lovely summerday and it felt just as special as a 'holiday birthday', like the ones in Cadiz, Madrid, Pamplona, Berlin, Antwerp...

Nowadays we travel in the early and late season, so I will be celebrating my birthday probably at home more often in the future. Nothing wrong with that...

Dahlias on the table. The August flowers par excellence!

My birthday party was relaxed, with the kids, my sisters and niece. We ate cake, had lunch together at the round kitchen table and dined in the garden.

And evermore it feels kinda special Yves Saint Laurent was born also on the first of August.

His characteristic portrait, which we found in Lisbon some weeks ago, got a 'place of honor' in the hallway.