ginkgo mania

Fell in love with our Ginkgo tree in the frontyard this week (again).
Every year in november I'm surprised by it's golden glow and brightness and excited by the ginkgo tree we planted 12 years ago when we moved it.

Last year I've dried a whole lot(!) of yellow ginkgo leaves in a heavy book. I had to restrain myself not to keep all the leaves, because they were are all differently shaped and too pretty to throw away the organic waste bin.

This season I will try to leave the golden carpet on the ground as long as possible and stop myself from collecting the leaves...

The Ginkgo Biloba or Japanese walnut tree was the favorite tree of Goethe. In Japan they honor the tree as a god; it symbolizes hope, love, magic, timelessness and longevity and is nicknamed temple tree.

traditionally handmade trees

Traditionally handmade wood & wool trees. (i won't mention the * word)

Nine brandnew unique trees to choose from in my E T S Y shop.

They come in different colors, to suit all tastes.

november nature

Yesterday at work.

I was impressed by the beauty of these mulberry trees. Wow!

(photos are taken with my iPhone)

autumn atmosphere

autumn atmosphere, a photo by wood & wool stool on Flickr.

There's a yellow tapestry in our front yard.

From the bay window roof (where I had climbed to capture this beauty) the garden looks like a mini park.

The heart-shaped leaves of the Ginkgo Biloba tree are little pieces of art.

the wool-pile-desk-pine

the wool-pile-desk-pine, a photo by wood & wool stool on Flickr.

greek delights (part eight)

ligres beach, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

part eight: the quiet beaches of South Crete

cool shadow

cool shadow, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

By far the best place to spend a hot summer day, is in the shadow of a tree.

The garden poem on the fence suddenly looks like a riddle;

None can have...
unless he...

the garden

the garden, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

Actually I have a lot of work to do in my home. On Friday, Masami Kita with her Japanese team will visit my place for a photoshoot and it will be featured in a Dutch edition of the Japanse interior book Editions de Paris, but the house is not quite ready for this. Pippa's bedroom is a (constant) mess and to be honest the whole house could use a spring cleaning.

After a few hours I decided to have a little break in the garden, because it's such a sunny day. I moved to the bench to have a cold drink and I took my crochet basket, because I have quite a few orders to go. During this break I just worked on a pillow for Silvia from Sisi.

After an hour I went on my bike to the supermarket, because the fridge is empty and then back to work. First I checked my mail at my workspace on the attic (wrong; I can't help drifting to the web) and had a good view on the white bench and greenest grass ever in the backyard. The yellow mossy stuff that once used to be green grass is replaced by a new turf and what we call a velvet tree is planted.

The garden is flirting with me and you know what, I'll do the housekeeping tomorrow.

heart tree

heart tree, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

Last year's homemade x-mas tree was parked in the backyard from January to last week, when I moved into the house for another christmas.

Therefore it's the greenest tree conceivable. It doesn't need frills. Just a few hearts. Merry christmas everybody!

wood (& wool) x-mas tree

wood (& wool) x-mas tree, originally uploaded by wood & wool stool.

Although it's early November and Christmas is still far away, I've already started making a pile of my handmade x-mas trees of used wood. Since December 2007 they have become a little bit famous. The first x-mas trees were made for own use and later also for Christmas decoration at Villa Augustus. Last year there were many requests for the little wooden trees and I decided to make another collection. The tree still seems to have fans for the third year in a row. So I've been busy making x-mas trees lately. Last sunday I came into the 'Christmas spirit' (whatever that may be?) when I photographed the trees for my renewed website (in progress, almost done). So here's a litte x-mas preview for those who don't know the tree yet.