Christmas Turkey.

In between running around, changing the CTICC into an airport in Vienna, turning a farm building into an orphanage somewhere in deepest darkest Africa, miles of curtains and furniture and wind pumps and graveyards and and and... the lists continue into eternity and I dream of them at night. In between all of that, I dashed to the travel agent during lunch today and bought a ticket to Istanbul. Just like that!

There is a Turkish photographer/film director whom I admire greatly. It's not so common to find photos of Istanbul in Winter, but Nuri Bilge Ceylan has taken some beauties.

He won the award for best director in the 2008 Cannes Festival for his film Üç Maymun (Three Monkeys). At the end of his acceptance speech, he said: "I dedicate this award to my beautiful and lonely country, which I love passionately."

Simmering excitement.

The things we do, continued.

During this lull after the commercial season, before the other work starts...

I am spending hours doing this kind of thing:

- lying on my bed reading the pile of books accumulated next to it.

- watching raindrops on the pool.

- curing olives from my friends' very own tree - Missions from Mowbray.

 - drinking coffee at The Power & The Glory.

-  playing records.

- getting to know my new camera.

- being kissed silly.

 

And this morning I spared a wonder: who shops at Louis Vuitton?
 

Slingback mules and patent peep toes. ZAR 7 400 a pair
(and yes - those are little golden padlocks on the back)

Bowling bag. ZAR 12 900

Flickering flames.

The last couple of days in the studio have been a good mixture of exciting and boring. The child in me always gets excited when I hear the words special effects. I'm not sure why, but it thrills me to see fire on set. The double lights above are for creating more of a flicker.

I had to do shopping in Stellenbosch again and once more was taken aback by the friendliness of that town. A shopkeeper ran out of his shop when I passed by twenty minutes later, to ask if I'd found what I'd been looking for, and to make another suggestion. Two kids kissing passionately on a corner stopped for a few seconds to say they'd seen me earlier and that they really liked my Fokofpolisiekar t-shirt.
It was like... Canada.

My favourite medic gave me a small tin of Zam-Buk salve the other day, for chapped lips after a day on the lake. It contains Eucalyptus, Camphor, Thyme and Sassafras. Whenever I open the tin I'll think of this shoot. I used some on my elbows too, and last night I put some on my foot, after my tall friend patiently removed a sliver of glass with a needle. While he operated, he told me about this girl he used to know. He had a crush on her for two years, and he still thinks about her from time to time.
There's just no herbal balm for that.

It's kind of exhausting having a crush on someone. I'm bemused by the way I feel. This normally quite erudite person turns into a blushing, awkward ten year old.
Dumbstruck. Unable to eat.
But it makes you realize that you're human, that the heart heals, that you can be excited about romance again.

And that tastes sweet, sweet, sweet.