Applepie for Ecas

Brian came up with the idea of each one of us in the group bringing something nice to eat + preferably connected with the country of our origin for our college meetings on Thursdays.

Tomorrow is my turn.

I gave up on idea of preparing pierogis as they need to be eaten warm and we do not have this kind of facilities available in the college. So it had to be something edible and tasty when cold so I baked a szarlotka today.

Our kitchen is of a size of an hankerchief, the oven does not have a light inside and the previous tenant inspired by Carrie Bradsaw probably used it for storage, but if managed to churn out the required dish. It looks all right though I do not dare to cut it as it looks so nice! I just hope it is tasty as well...

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Co tydzien, ktos z naszego studenckiego grona przynosi cos do spozycia podczas cotygodniowego spotkania na uczelni. Zalozylismy, ze danie powinno wywodzic sie z kraju gotujacego i na pierwszy ogien poszedl Brian ze szkockim shortbread em (ogolnie mowiac, polaczenie herbatnika z ciastem kruszonym, maslane, slodkie i ponoc latwe w przygotowaniu) a jutro moja kolej.

Co prawda planowalam pierogi ale musialam zmodyfikowac swoj plan ze wzgledu na to, ze one nie najlepiej smakuja na zimno.

W planie byla tez herbata z dopalaczem i nawet nabylam w tym celu termos ale nigdzie w okolicy nie bylo do kupienia jednorazowych kubkow - Hindus na rogu proponowal, zebym kupila jego tekturowe kubki do automatu z kawa, ktory ma za kontuarem ale nawet przy mojej desperacji, okazalo sie, ze sa tylko 3 na stanie).

Trudno, wódzia bedzie innym razem.

Dam znac, czy danie bylo zjadliwe, bo nasz piekarnik jest z tych podejrzanych - np. nie ma swiatla. Tymczasem niczego nie napoczynam, bo to ciasto tak ladnie wyglada w formie do pieczenia...

Puzzle has been cracked

Simon did the puzzle! I was really nice to watch him working on it and to relax finally a bit.

Haddington weekend is over, back to work

We had some wonderful time in Haddington this weekend. We have even ventured for a walk, even though Scotland is at the moment under a winter spell, so I have almost freezed my butt off. Woolly hat was absolutely necessary.

I am not a Scottish winter person, I much prefer to snuggle up with the Sunday editions of newspapers, preferably next to a dog or a warm radiator. We watched the whole 'Star Wars' trilogy and later a thriller with H.Ford where surprise surprise, he plays a baaaaddieeee (next to a very well preserved Michelle Pfeiffer) - now we are too scared to go to a bathroom even though the force is with us...

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Wreszcie dotarlismy do domu po przemilym weekendzie u rodzicow Simona. Nawet wypuscilismy sie na spacer, chociaz niedzielne gazety pialy o meteorologicznej katastrofie czyli opadach sniegu (owszem, widzielismy kilka bialych plackow na zboczach wzgorz Lammmermuir ale to by bylo na tyle z zapowiadanej zamieci). Obijalismy sie przy calej trylogii Gwiezdnych Wojen a kiedy dzieci poszly spac, telewizja pokazala zameckisowska wersje Harrisona F. jako psychopatycznego mordercy (malo prawdopodobne, ale niech bedzie). Dlaczego ludzie kupuja sobie domy oddalone od najblizszej cywilizacji o pare dobrych godzin jazdy pick upem?

Edinburgh for locals

This morning Simon was catching a 6 am train to London so he had to go through the city at dawn to the train station. In the Royal Mile a big, fat fox came towards him.

The Royal Mile is as central in Edinburgh as one can get - and we are now living just minutes from it.

To illustrate some November views of the city I am enclosing an image I took yesterday from my college window - our street is the one on the left.

The main plan is get out there in a woolly hat and keep taking some pictures, fox or not fox.

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Dzisiaj rano, kiedy Simon szedl przez miasto na stacje, zeby zlapac pierwszy poranny pociag do Londynu wielki, tlusty lis przecial mu droge. Simon schodzil wlasnie w dol Royal Mile, w samym centrum miasta. Lis nawet sie nie obejrzal.

Dolaczam zdjecie zrobione z okna uczelni zeby ziulstrowac listopadowo-piktorialne widoki na jakie napotykam teraz w miescie, do ktorego musze sie wybrac wreszcie z normalnym aparatem a nie moim 'pikusiem' na 7 megapixeli. Aha, oprocz aparatu konieczna bedzie tez welniana czapka.

In town

So we have finally moved in into our flat!

Now I am just MINUTES (and I mean that, not 90 minutes but 5 minutes) from college, city center and Filmhouse in Lothian Road, where we have celebrated our more permanent arrival with afternoon screening of 'Der Baader-Meinhoff Komplex' with extremely charismatic Johanna Wokalek as Gudrun Ensslin (ah, this trendy smokey eye makeup of hers, unfortunately not designed for my type of face).


We were almost alone in the cinema, except a group of girls from a language school, who later comented joyfully on how many new German swearwords they just became familiar with (my favourite was 'kwatch' - Monica, please correct me on spelling of this one if I am wrong!)

Official website: http://www.bmk.film.de/

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Wreszcie sie sprowadzilismy 'na powaznie' do naszego edynburskiego mieszknia - kilka minut (a nie 1,5 h w autobusie...) od centrum, mojej uczelni i roznych atrakcji typu Film House przy Lothian Road gdzie swietowalismy wczoraj na popoludniowym seansie 'Der Baader-Meinhoff Komplex'. Charyzmatyczna Johanna Wokalek prawie zmusila mnie, nie nie do terroryzmu (chociaz kilka napadow na banki by sie przydalo hihi) ale do zrobienia sobie oczu na granatowo, mimo, ze to styl kompletnie nie zgodny z moim typem urody - mam wtedy oczy jak jalowka!

Oczywiscie stresuje sie tym, czy w obecnym klimacie ekonomicznym bedzie nas stac na takie mieszkanie w centrum (na razie nas stac ale tez nie widac kolenych wiekszych zlecen) i utrzymanie naszego krakowskiego mieszkania...

Work a little

I deliberately decided to create this blog as a place about my personal life but as I spend 95% of my time thinking, dreaming, wondering about my work aka something I am very passionate about, so why not to boast a little?

Here is a part of campaign for promoting a new edition of Paddington Bear adventures in Polish.There are posters all over Warsaw (including a 40 meters long one in the main train station hall), these ones in Warsaw's metro and a new website which I have also illustrated http://www.paddington.com.pl/ (all images are made by me, except the bear itself, of course by R.W. Alley).

Workspace takes shape

Our flat starts to take shape: Simon installed our workspace yesterday. We have also bought our first decent storage for prints and various bits of paper that should not be stored vertically but flat (fellow photographers know what I am talking about) - we should have owned one years ago, really.
I am going to add a nice rug for under the table now so we do not get cold feet while working, but also to inject some color into the space and to make it less officy.

Dispatched some more presents today for friends (Kasia is having her B day this Monday!) and we are busy with creating some promotional materials for our bussiness (have a look at www.seeingdubble.com). We are going to make a tour around Edinburgh agencies so it would be great to leave them some promos about all that brilliant work we are doing!

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Nasza przestrzen mieszkalna wreszcie zaczyna jakos wygladac: Simon zmontowal wczoraj nasz nowy, wielki stol do pracy. Kupilismy tez pojemnik z szufladami do przechowywania ogromnej ilosci przeroznych papierow w ktorych toniemy a ktore powinny lezec plasko - marzylismy o czyms takim od lat i wreszcie jest z nami.
Mam tez juz kolorowy chodnik w sympatycznych kolorach, ktory ma sprawic, ze caly pokoj przestanie wygladac jak biuro i bedzie tez przyjemnym pomieszczeniem do po prostu przebywania.

Jestesmy zajeci tez promowaniem naszego biznesu www.seeingdubble.com i wkrotce czeka nas stresujace ale niezbedne zajecie prezentowania portfolia w roznych agencjach reklamowych. Oby przy obecnym klimacie ekonomicznym mieli wieksza ochote zatrudniac wolnych strzelcow wykonujacych swietna robote za umiarkowanie duze pieniadze.