A hazy shade of Winter

“It is sometimes so bitterly cold in the winter that one says, ‘The cold is too awful for me to care whether summer is coming or not; the harm outdoes the good.’ But with or without our approval, the severe weather does come to an end eventually and one fine morning the wind changes and there is the thaw. When I compare the state of the weather to our state of mind and our circumstances, subject to change and fluctuation like the weather, then I still have some hope that things may get better.”

— Vincent van Gogh, from a letter to Theo van Gogh in August 1879.

It's being one of the coldest winters I can remember. I was used to really cold winters when I lived in the north of my country, years ago, but in this coast these low temperatures are pretty uncommon. Besides that, loads of things happened during holidays... not all of them good. Add to that the exams' stress and other unpleasant stuff. But lately I've been lucky to find some new projects, ideas, do some traveling plans with my friends, and all these things are helping me to find the hope that van Gogh talked about. To find warm feelings in the middle of the cold days. The images above reflect my mood during this time of the year, and "Won't you come home" is the perfect reflection of that new hope and warm feelings I was telling you about. A friend told me that I should listen to it at the end of the day, and he was damn right. Devendra's voice makes you feel like your path in life is gonna be completely smooth from now on. Also, Mazzy Star is always on repeat during my winters. Hope Sandoval's voice and the soft guitars can cure any heartache:

And I found this little short film by Gustav Johansson, and next winter holidays I just want to have an "Everyday" experience. It looks like the perfect way to spend winter days: 

EVERYDAY a film by Gustav Johansson

Hope your winter is going great.

— Mara. 

Ph.: Alexa Chung by Zackery Michael, Antonio Liverani, adieu-tristesse, softredinteriors, Mieke Verbijlen (photos 3, 11, 17), L'Amour l'après-midi (1972), style attitude, Beginners (2010), museedesbeaux-arts, Françoise Hardy, Helene hille Rydén, twistytwirls, death-by-elocution, Jared Leto, disorder-of-nothing, thestorycanresume, Léa Seydoux, the girl who rattled the stars, Iciar J Carrasco, Ana Kraš, Margaret Durow (photos 25, 27), Ana Kraš and Devendra Banhart, youphoric, Melanieherself, Like Crazy (2011). 

Girl from the north country

If you're traveling the north country fair

where the winds hit heavy on the borderline

Remember me to one who lives there

For she once was a true love of mine.

If you go when the snowflakes storm

When the rivers freeze and summer ends

Please see if she has a coat so warm

To keep her from the howlin' winds.

Please see if her hair hangs long

If it rolls and flows all down her breast

Please see for me if her hair's hanging long

For that's the way I remember her best.

... So if you're travelin' the north country fair

Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline

Remember me to one who lives there

She once was the true love of mine.

This Dylan song, Girl from the north country, always reminds me of winter, and it's a must listen during this time of the year. Not just because of the lovely lyrics (with references to one of his many lovers on his early twenties, who actually was a girl from a north country), but because it reminds me of past winters when a friend of mine used to play it on his guitar for me. It started one cold evening, six or seven years ago, as we were sitting by the fireplace of his grandparent's old country house, with other friends, and we were listening to The Freewheelin' on a record player. I said I loved this song since I was a little girl and my father used to play the cassette on his car, and he said: "I know how to play it". Then he went to study abroad and this song became a reminder of the good cold winter days we spent together. I know I've talked you about my nostalgia during this time of the year in previous posts, but the nostalgia that comes with these memories is not a sad one. It's that good feeling of knowing that some people will always be there for you, 'cause you have created a very strong bond. And with Christmas just around the corner I have that feeling when I think that I'm going to see him and other friends, and we're gonna have a real good time together, like the days when he used to play  Girl from the north country: long walks through the fields wearing cozy coats and soft wool jumpers, waking up late staying under the flannel sheets, making tea, eating the perfect home-made apple pie with my mother's recipe, and just enjoying the winter as much as one can. As it feels as I'm experiencing the seasonal affective disorder this year, I couldn't love more this Sylvia Plath quote: 

"I must stop identifying with the seasons, because this English winter will be the death of me."

— Sylvia Plath

Hope you have a nice holiday!

Ph.: Kate Moss by Corinne Day, cassoday harder, Charlotte Gainsbourg in Antichrist, marlee banta, soft red interiors, october-glory, cuerposiameses, Anna Karina in Une femme est une femme, soft skin, seaembraces, Angela Lindvall, singing_saw, stuart mckenna,Andrew Garfield and Carey Mulligan in Never Let Me Go, Françoise Hardy, sandraleone, quentindebriey, possumsednolo, Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg

Últimos días de invierno #2

Los últimos días de invierno siempre se nos hacen pesados. Días que preceden al cambio de estación, cambio que implicará abandonar la hibernación para liberar nuestras juveniles hormonas con toda su intensidad. Los cálidos días primaverales, más largos, la brisa suave y el sol. No podemos darles la bienvenida sin echar una mirada atrás y percatarnos de cómo hemos ido tanteando la vida desde el inicio del otoño hasta ahora.  La melancolía y el sinsentido nos  abordan, tendemos a reflexionar sobre todo lo vivido, aprendido, bailado, celebrado, visto, tocado y besado. Y es que nuestros años comienzan con el equinocio de la primavera, como el calendario persa. Fleet Foxes, José González, Beirut, Yo La Tengo, Micha P. Hinson, Junip, Charlotte Gainsburg y Benjamin Biolay forman parte del elenco musical que nos acompañan en las tardes grises, pijamas, tés, dulces y vistas a la calle húmeda a través de cualquier ventana. 

Últimos días de invierno…