Tuesday, February 12, 2008

south european syndrome

I have a crystal by my window and today it made this crazy comet form.


We've had a Spring week with 20º C and lots of sunshine and it's been unproductive like you wouldn't believe.
I've been sitting in the sun (carefully protected with sun-block and a hat) reading, doing the cross-words or simply listening to the birds singing or the cats that have been going wild in the neighbourhood.
There's an intense peaceful, blissful feeling when the sun is warming you, maybe it's the Vitamin D kicking in. It's not difficult to understand why north european workers are more productive than south europeans. I mean, can anyone really think and work when it's so warm and there's so much light and your soul just drifts in the breeze? No.
So writing has been put off, thinking has been put off, real life doesn't really exist when one is in the Sun.

24 comments:

Miss Iyer said...

Ha! Bye-Bye Winter! It's always good to have Spring back, isn't it? 20C in Spring is a lot of Sun. Enjoy all the Vitamin-D Devil and do a whole lot of reading.

Scholiast said...

I know what you mean - that's why we keep going south, you know :) And the few times (midsummer!) it's like that here, we hardly do any work at all...

Luckily, we're having builders fix our house now, during winter, and they work like mad! :D

Violet said...

how cool the effect of the crystal! and how accurate the way you describe the sun's effect. spring is nice.
your archives are alot of fun, by the way.

Devil Mood said...

Miss Iyer: If reading is all I can do at the moment, then hopefully I will read well and a lot ;)

Scholiast: Yes, I can imagine that they must work hard. I see a lot of workmen over here and usually they're on the sidewalk, in the sun, chatting and extending their lunchhours until it's dark. lol

Violet: I'm sure my archives are more fun than I am at the moment, so I'm glad you discovered them now. :)

Rositta said...

Baaaaawww, wanna trade? It's -20c and snowing and I'm practically suicidal this winter (just joking) with lack of sunshine...ciao

Preeti Shenoy said...

What a brilliant picture.I wonder how you got that gray (?) background.
You described your dy in the sun so well--Thats what i am going to do tomorrow afternoon!
Waiting for your next astrology post.

kimananda said...

That's a great photo! And as for being more productive, for the Danes at least, they work very short days compared to what I recall was the case in Portugal...the idea is that you work really hard for a shorter time, and then you have the late afternoon and evening for either enjoying the sun or for escaping home to hide out during the dark evenings.

Niall young said...

I heard today that the humble Daffodil originated from Portugal!...they also sit and nod their heads in the sun!
:-)

phish said...

i am sitting in a temperature controlled environment, on an uncomfortable chair. the only think that saves me are the pastels in my hand. and i am thinking of you, i an practically see you with the squinting eyes and chewing pen (somehow crosswords always need a pen chewing woman to go along with it).

i wish i could take off. not to mention, what a lovely photograph devil.

Devil Mood said...

Rositta: I'd trade for a couple of days just to make you happy, seriously :)

PS: Your wish was my command (didn't I say this to you recently?). It's my bedroom wall; it looks gray because it was almost dark, but it's white.

Kim: I think I'd prefer the Danish system. Just the thought of being in an office from 9 to 6 gives me the creeps. But I'd have to become much more productive than I am. Maybe it could never work in sunny places. :P

Niall: hehehe that's a great image!

Phish: That's a cute association, I don't usually chew in pens because I don't know where they've been but I squint a lot! That sounds terrible - I get really affected by the spaces I'm in and uncomfortable chairs, I can't detach myself from the discomfort.

SleekPelt said...

Hello, Devil Mood. I have a gift for you, from one of my favorite artists. I hope you enjoy it!

Anonymous said...

oh my god, I'm dying over here...January had 29 days of nasty sleet apparantly, no wonder I got depressed and B and I started losing our marbles.

Here's planning my retirement in Mexico!

Natalie said...

It goes from warm to cold here fast!

soon it will be HOT!!!!

how have you been???

Devil Mood said...

Sleekpelt: Thanks! I really enjoyed that, I haven't heard him before. Really nice of you :)

Chrispito: Ideally I'd spend winter in a milder country and summer in a higher latitude. It's true that the lack of Sun can be terrible for one's moods. Hope it gets better for you.

Holychaos: Hey, long time no see! How are you? Over here it's still on the warm side but we need rain.

madelyn said...

well i need a little teeny bit
of that sun i must say ~
can you send a slice over to me?

i can just see you in the sun
too with a pretty hat on and
sipping lavender lemonade out
of a swirly straw:)

fb said...

Can you see the birds or are they just twittering in the trees or somewhere mysterious...

Devil Mood said...

Madelyn: Ha, I wish. My hat is a plain khaki cap and the best drink I had was an iced tea ;) hehe

FB: Yes, I can see them, but they're not very pretty. It's either sparrows or doves or seagulls. ;) And across the street there are two goats (!!)

Anonymous said...

Oooh, Devil, that pseudo spring fever’s smoothing you out to dreamy perfection! “...it’s so warm and so light and your soul just drifts in the breeze...” Forget thinking and working, I like you like this. You just keep on taking far-out photos that look like you went to great lengths to achieve the effects. Butter us up with more of those orange and saffron words and we’ll happily hold down the fort until such time as you decide to come back with your snappier self in full control. ;-)

Your mention of sunblock reminded me of this really cool video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgzHrI61CuM&feature=related. I loved it. Have you seen it?

Devil Mood said...

MissAlister: Yes, I love that video too. Makes me all emotional. ;) Thank you for your wonderful words; your comments are seriously starting to compete with Phish's right now :)

sirbarrett said...

Sorry, that was quite a long hiatus I had. I usually blog more often but just got caught up in things.

I'm so jealous of your weather. It's MINUS 20 degrees here and you can't walk anywhere without trudging through mounds of snow. That's why I checked out Pharoah's Tan yesterday. I didn't quite make it into one, but I was tempted by the tombs.

Devil Mood said...

SirBarrett: I think I'd be tempted too, missing the Sun so much. Well, we should only blog when we feel like it so you're entitled to a break.

Anonymous said...

Oh you have to know I’m running in happy circles that you said that! We know Phish is king, kingfish, king of the kingfishes, the hill, the soul, the essence of being and observing and recording it raw, live, real, and well. But you know all of us are that in varying degrees. So then what this immense compliment of yours means to me has to do with my degree of kingfishness! Thank you, Devil, I value your opinion and invite it anytime, good, bad, or indifferent, it’s the truth I’m after! :-)

Unknown said...

ahh i FEEL the love in the air when it is spring. it was 60 degrees in new york last week and i FELT the love...maybe that accounts for the difference between the north and the south?

Novel

Devil Mood said...

MissAlister: You're welcome and I'm generally good at telling the truth at all costs ;)

Novel: Maybe. People that live in hotter places are generally regarded as being warmer and nicer.