Hi Sunflowerkru!It’s tuesday again and… Here I am ;-) !
Here is a surreal picture from last weekend: my cherry tree in bloom under big snowflakes. You can hear my husband playing three notes on his guitar in the background too <3.
I hope everyone is well and my thoughts go straight to those who kindly picked up the torch last week @ninappon,@roguetwelve when I wasn’t in the best of spirits. And your messages made me feel so good, girls. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH !! You were absolutely right. The world can be a scary place sometimes, but we should always look ahead and think of the positives. As long as there is life there is hope.
So I won’t talk about Covid. (My husband is better.) I won’t talk about climate change. (My cherry tree is fine.) I won’t talk about the presidential elections in France. (let’s think about something else.) And although I won’t talk about war in Ukraine, I am thinking very hard about all those who are suffering and need help. Let us continue to support all those who need to be supported.
I have been limiting my social media recently, so it’s been a while since I participated. Thank you to everyone who continued to tag me despite my absence. Special thanks to @togetherkru for keeping BFSN going week after week.
My friend has some new baby goats at her farm that I got to cuddle with last week. This is Hermione and she has two brothers who are, of course, named Harry and Ron. I hope seeing her will brighten someone’s day!
If you’ve ever wondered what happens on stage after the curtain drops, my photo is pretty much your answer haha. We made it through the week of shows without a massive Covid outbreak! And now we have a couple of weeks to recover (and re-set… the guy on my back in the photo broke his foot mid show the next day ) before we start travelling. Time to take these fundraising efforts and our show of Ukrainian pride across Canada!
The outpouring of support that we received at these shows was so so heartwarming. There have been so many tears over the last few days - both in the audience and on stage. Our hearts are absolutely with the people of Ukraine, shown by the absolute roar each time the Ukrainian flag was brought on stage, giving us the boost we needed to get through the encore at the end of a very hard 2 hour show.
And another fun bonus photo to hopefully make you smile… Here’s what Charlie thought of me being gone all week. He stole my shoe pretty much the second I got home from the post show reception on Friday.
Stef - it’s bitterly cold and snowing here too, although that’s normal here for this time of year. And it’s supposed to warm up by the weekend. But I have total confidence that your cherry tree will persevere!
Kim - I’m pretty sure that goat just melted my heart. And the names are incredible
A little hello to all of you, on this day of May when the temperatures are already too hot for the season…I don’t know how our Indian and Pakistani friends do with such high temperatures…Let’s hang on ! Here are two pictures of an afternoon spent in Paris, with a little wink to @julibernardo since the coffee is called Odessa ;-).
Other than that I’m back to work, and things are not easy right now. That’s why saying hello to everyone is always a good idea!
Spring has definitely sprung around here! I have bunny friends hopping around my yard almost every day and this nest was a surprise I found behind the wreath on my front door.
Much love to the Bellarke fam! I hope you all are doing well! ❤️
alas, my holiday is over now. it’s a struggle to go back to getting up early in the morning after oh, the whole week off but what can you do. someone has to earn enough to feed the cat ;-)
i hope you guys have a good day and a good week. the Eurovision Song Contest starts tonight, so i apologise upfront for all the spam you’re all about to see here. do come join me in shitposting, though, Europe! :-)
Loving all of your pictures of Spring! It tried to snow here today haha. But I think we should have real Spring by next week if the weather cooperates.
Things are super busy but good. Our first tour stop was great. I got to have lunch with my grandma and meet up with some friends that I haven’t seen in years and aside from a very turbulent plane ride it was wonderful. Looking forward to our next stop in a couple of days!
Thank you @togetherkru@igotbellarkeforthat and @carrieeve for the tags. Stef - beautiful architecture! Adorable coffee shops! I want to be back in Europe . Kim - it’s too bad that Easter is already past because those photos are absolutely perfect. So cute. Karolina - I love the color of those flowers. And as a little bonus just for you: here’s a picture from performing with Ruslana back in 2016
Since so much of our fandom seems to love horticulture, and gorgeous photos of flowers are always a good thing, I thought it might be fun if we shared pictures of our country’s/province’s/states flowers with each other… you know, to spread a little extra beauty on the timeline. And maybe even learn something along the way!
Canada doesn‘t have an official flower, but Alberta‘s (my province) flower is the wild rose - seen here on a walk through my neighbourhood yesterday
Tag some people, share some photos, interpret it however you wish, and we can see how far this goes!
@roguetwelve Laurie, what a lovely idea! So much positivity! It’s what I crave for these days tbh… So… I don’t know if I will participate on a regular basis depending on my psychological condition and mood BUT… For today have some lovely rhododendron blossoms to admire from a park in the city of Hannover over here in Northern Germany. This park is HUGE and its known for the hundreds of rhododendron bushes that are growing there and that are blossoming every spring at the same time. I love to take a walk there then. Or just to sit on a bench marveling in the scents of all the blossoms. It’s just so amazing. I know the rhododendron isn’t a plant that’s growing particularly only here in my country. But I wanted to share the positive vibes of these pictures with you anyway. Lots of love to you all, fam!
I have to concur, this is a lovely idea! I love flowers and I love to learn, so this is a perfect combination. Thanks for tagging me ☺️
@roguetwelve Alberta has chosen well for an official flower, spotting wild roses always cheer me up when I’m out and about. @pendragaryen I’m quite envious that you have such a park to visit. It must be stunning when they are all in bloom!
Our national flower is not in bloom yet, but I have something very swedish to share that I happened across in the woods today: a lingonberry plant. No berries on it yet, but I got to see its cute little flowers for the first time. Lingonberries are used for making lingonberry jam that is served alongside our Swedish meatballs. One of my favorite dishes FYI. Yum!
The sides of his thumbs tap absentmindedly at the edge of his steering wheel as he scans the old brick building. By this point in the evening, the lot is pretty much empty— even most of the teachers have gone home.
A few of the other girls had already made their exit, barely paying him any mind as they chattered with each other, leisurely strolling toward the bus stop.
It isn’t all that surprising that Madi is one of the last ones out. She likes to take her sweet time getting ready after practice. Still, today she seemed to be taking even longer than usual.
Finally, a mop of curly chestnut hair comes into view, slipping out the door closest to the gym.
And his heart lifts— the same way it did every time he saw her.
Ever since the day she was born.
His lips curve into an easy grin as he sits up a little straighter in anticipation.
Her backpack lands in the footwell with a heavy thud before she throws herself into her seat, slamming the door so hard the whole truck rattles.
And his smile instantly fades.
Her eyelids are puffy, her cheeks red as if she’s scraped her sleeves across them several times over. For one heartbreaking moment, she reminds him so much of her mother on a fateful day almost 14 years earlier.
But he swallows down the memories before he can get caught up in them.
“Who do I need to beat up?” He tries to joke, forcing his tone to be light.
She just sniffs, turning her shoulders toward the window and folding her arms tightly across her chest.
“Mads—” he tries again, but she stubbornly crunches tighter into herself.
God, he’d forgotten how difficult the teenage years could be.
After a long moment of silence that seems to stretch into an eternity, he turns the key with a sigh and pulls out onto the road, quickly turning the vehicle around toward the opposite direction from home.
Madi doesn’t seem to notice. Or if she does, she doesn’t care.
But that’s okay, because he has a plan. They roll through familiar neighborhoods until he finally pulls the vehicle to a stop at the end of a short line.
Madi is still absently picking at a thread on the seat when his voice cracks the stillness.
“I’d say you’ve got about 45 seconds before we pull up to the window… And unless I’m told otherwise, you get plain vanilla.”
Her brow furrows for half a second before she sits up straighter and takes in the sight of her favorite drive-in diner. Her lips curl up slightly on one side. “Mom’s gonna kill you. I’m pretty sure they’ve never even heard of vegetables.”
He shrugs. “If you don’t tell, I won’t.” That’s a lie. But he knows Clarke won’t actually mind anyway. “So… what’s today’s concoction?”
She scans the milkshake menu in contemplation, mulling it over until the last second. “Rootbeer, cherry, vanilla,” she finally blurts right as he pulls up to the window.
He tries not to grimace, especially considering that it’s a relatively tame combination. At least this time there’s no licorice or bubblegum involved.
Still, he’ll stick to his boring old strawberry.
Once he receives their order, he hands her her drink and they get back on the road.
After a short drive, Clarke’s homey little row house comes into view and he lets out a breath. Madi is still giving him the silent treatment but he’s fairly certain that’s going to change once she’s had something to eat. It had usually worked with Octavia. He just needs to be patient.
Instead of going inside, Madi drops her book bag and plops down on the porch swing and he doesn’t argue, sidling past her to sit down on the opposite edge.
She eats her burger quickly, then maneuvers around - tucking her legs into the cushions as she leans back into his side. The paper bag crinkles as she takes out her fries then pops off the lid to her shake. As usual, he has to suppress a shudder as she dips a salty wedge into the thick sludge then pops it into her mouth.
His nose still crinkling lightly, he asks her in a dry tone, “What’s the verdict?”
Continuing to chew in contemplation, she shrugs a shoulder. “Shoulda skipped the vanilla. It’s a little too sweet. Root beer-cherry is a solid combo though.”
He just shakes his head, one side of his lips curving up in a smirk that’s equal parts disgust and amusement.
“What?” She laughs under her breath at his expression. “I swear if you just tried it one day you’d understand.”
Bellamy takes a noisy pull of his own drink. “Never gonna happen.”
Her grin widens as she sinks back even further until her head is almost in his lap.
His jaw twitches. He knows he should probably say something. To outside eyes it’s way too familiar of a position for a teenage girl to be in with her ‘mom’s best friend’. But she rests her cheek against his thigh, reminding him of a much younger version of herself and the words die on his lips.
“I’m gonna get benched,” she eventually mutters, swirling a new fry through her shake with her eyes downcast.
Bellamy is left blinking for a moment, trying to pull himself back to the present to place the words. When they eventually sink in, he’s left just as confused. “I highly doubt that, Mads. You’re by far the best hitter on the team.”
And he isn’t just saying that. The kid had a knack for finding the weak spot in the opposing team’s defense and nailing it every single time. He has no idea where she’d got talent like that from.
“Won’t matter if Charlotte never sets me up,” she mutters, angrily stabbing at her drink.
His brow furrows. He’d thought that Madi and Charlotte were friends. “I feel like I’m missing some context here.”
Letting out a deep sigh, she sets her food off to the side. “She has a crush on Aiden. She says I’m leading him on, but I’m not. We’re just friends and we like to hang out.”
The defensiveness in her tone makes his chest tight. He’s about to say something when she goes on.
“She’s punishing me - passing to anyone else unless I’m literally the only available option. And if that happens, she purposely makes it totally unsalvageable.”
Frustration on her behalf flares beneath his rib cage. As far as he’s concerned, 13 is way too young for that level of boy drama. But apparently he’s wrong. “Your coaches are going to see that, Madi. They’ll know it’s not your fault.”
“So what? What are they going to do about it? They can’t force her to change the way she’s playing. And we can’t win games without a half decent setter. She’s indispensable, I’m not. The ball is in her court.”
He was about to argue with her, but she isn’t done. Apparently once the floodgates have been opened, the torrent can’t be stopped.
“I get that it’s just junior high and in the grand scheme of things this doesn’t even mean anything. But I’m afraid I’m going to get rusty. And then I’ll suck too much to make varsity next year and then my chances of playing in college will essentially be nil. I wish I could just fix this because it’s all so stupid. But the only thing that’s going to make her change her mind is if I cut Aiden off completely and that’s not fair to him. He hasn’t done anything wrong.”
He raises an eyebrow. “A lot of people wouldn’t have the maturity to see it that way. No matter how much it sucks, you’re being the bigger person and making the unselfish choice. I’m proud of you, Madi.
Her eyes glow for a moment, even as she lets out a sniffle. “I hate this.”
He brushes his fingers through her hair lightly. “You know… the chances of you getting recruited off of a high school team are pretty slim anyway. If volleyball is something that you’re serious about wanting to pursue, I’ll get you—” he cuts himself off, backtracking hastily. “I’ll talk to Clarke about signing you up to play club.”
She turns further onto her back, squarely meeting his gaze. “Do you think I’m good enough?”
Pressing his lips together, he holds in a quiet scoff. “If you set your mind to it Mads, I wouldn’t put anything beyond your realm of capability. But in terms of volleyball… yeah kid— You’ve got what it takes. And a club team away from all the petty drama of high school will help get you there.”
Her cheeks heat as her lips curve upward at the edges. Finally looking away she grabs a few more fries and stuffs them into her mouth.
He relaxes too, taking another sip of his milkshake and watching the sun slowly start to morph the colors of the horizon.
Madi is nearly finished her meal - only a solitary fry left in her grasp - when she speaks again. She scrapes it around the edge of her cup mindlessly and says the words so softly that he isn’t sure that she really means for him to hear. “You know… sometimes I wish you were actually my dad.”
He can’t help it. His muscles instinctively stiffen as some kind of foreign feeling floods his chest and claws all the way up his throat. He’s incapable of responding even if he knew what words to say… which he most certainly does not.
Madi sits up abruptly, panic filling her own eyes as she scrambles away from him. “I’m sorry. I— I shouldn’t have said that. I’m… shit. I— I didn’t mean to—”
He finally manages to take action, one hand cupping her face while the other steadies her shoulder. “Hey.” There are mortified tears in her eyes when she finally looks at him again. “Hey. You—” He still doesn’t know what to say. “Don’t apologize,” he settles on. “It’s okay to feel that way.” He pulls her into a hug, burying his nose into her hair so that his next words are half muffled. “Don’t ever apologize for feeling that way.”
She inhales sharply, wiping her face with her sleeve. Her mouth opens and he can tell another apology is about to come out, but she manages to bite it back.
Sitting back, she lets out a shuddering breath. “It’s just… you always seem to know what to say and you’re always here. I didn’t mean to cross a line.” She scrambles to explain. “You can pretend I never said it.”
A stone drops in his gut. There’s zero chance of that happening. But not for the reasons she thinks. His skin prickling with words that need to go unsaid, he settles for the one reassurance he can offer. “I’m always going to be here Madi, okay? I promise.”
She still looks skittish as a wild animal, afraid of a trap. And there’s nothing more he can say to fix it… At least not yet. He sighs, rubbing a hand over the rough stubble on his chin. “Do you have homework?”
She looks almost relieved at the opportunity to escape the awkward moment. Already scrambling to grab her backpack, she gives him a quick nod.
Bellamy tries to paste on a decent attempt at a reassuring smile. “Probably should get on it then.”
She hesitates half a second longer, expression still tight with concern. Then she disappears into the house.
It’s tuesday and since i’m sick (a bad cold but nothing serious don’t worry ) i can’t quite put there coherent thoughts together. So my message will be short.
Enjoy this clip from a Manu Chao concert l went to see with 3 friends last week. He said “We’re alive” several times and his music was full of joy. It felt good…
Thanks for the tag Stef :) nasty colds are the worst, so I hope you feel better soon I’m glad you were able to go to that show before you fell ill, so you could soak up that positive energy. I really love those kinds of vibes you get from going to a really good concert!
It’s the middle of June already, how did that happen? I can’t believe how fast time passes when you’re an adult. I spent another weekend in the countryside, pulling weeds. Hopefully we’ll get some flowers planted soon, because the flowerbeds looks way too barren. Dad and I took a lil detour on our way there and got to view these sights:
Tonight, I have for you a handful of pics from my Saturday trip to Poznań, mostly from the Archeological Museum, which are only slightly illegally taken ;-)
I wish I could’ve taken more photos of the city because it’s quite nice looking, especially in the summer, but alas, it’s being dug up and repaved at the moment, so all you can see are holes in the ground
But the trip was a massive success, my friend and I had so much fun, that I can forgive a little inconvenience.
@togetherkru colds suck, so I hope you feel better soon! ❤️
@ninappon I feel you, I have no clue where did the time go either. I certainly can’t remember any of the days so far ;-D
You all have such lovely pictures from interesting trips, but alas, I have nothing but more flowers. A close-up of my white peonies - probably my favorite perennial because I’m intrigued by how it starts so small every year and gets so big — plus some beautiful orange dahlias that my husband planted in our side garden. That’s not quite reached its full glory, so pictures of it in its entirety will have to wait for a bit. But my dogwood tree is almost ready for pictures. Maybe next week.
We haven’t done much so far this summer, and I’ve mostly bern sitting around writing fic. I’m a really slow writer, so getting 5-6k in good enough shape to post every Monday has taken up most of my free time. But my whole family is off to Maine the end of July, by which time the fic will be done, god willing!
But honestly, I don’t want to anticipate our vacation too eagerly because the summer goes by fast enough without me wishing the weeks away.
I hope you’re all doing well. I poached @carrieeve ‘s tags, so I hope she doesn’t mind. Happy BFSN to everyone!
A week off has meant going on a lot of walks with Charlie. We’ve stuck around my neighbourhood lately because honestly I don’t feel like driving and gas prices are insane. But that’s okay because there are a ton of walking paths in the immediate area. If there’s one thing that I actually like about the city that I live in, it’s that it really respects green space. You’re never more than a 5 minute walk from some kind of park. Once you actually get into the ravine right by my house, all of the sounds of the city are cut off and you’re just in nature and that’s what I need.
Bonus photo because I just think it’s funny— it’s rained a ton since last night. I was trying to take a picture of how badly the retaining pond had flooded (the water should literally be on the other side of those cattails). There was a duck swimming in the middle of the footpath! And of course right as I tried to take a picture Charlie scared it away
Thank you for the tags @togetherkru@ninappon@carrieeveand@jeanie205! Stef, I’m so sorry that you’re sick. But I’m glad that you got to live a little and enjoy a live concert! Here’s to a speedy recovery . Nina I love those gorgeous and peaceful views . Karolina I’m glad that you enjoyed your trip. And taking slightly-illegal photos is half the fun in museums isn’t it? Jeanie, gorgeous flowers. I know what you mean about peonies. I can’t wait for them to start blooming here
Since so much of our fandom seems to love horticulture, and gorgeous photos of flowers are always a good thing, I thought it might be fun if we shared pictures of our country’s/province’s/states flowers with each other… you know, to spread a little extra beauty on the timeline. And maybe even learn something along the way!
Canada doesn‘t have an official flower, but Alberta‘s (my province) flower is the wild rose - seen here on a walk through my neighbourhood yesterday
Tag some people, share some photos, interpret it however you wish, and we can see how far this goes!
@roguetwelve Laurie, what a lovely idea! So much positivity! It’s what I crave for these days tbh… So… I don’t know if I will participate on a regular basis depending on my psychological condition and mood BUT… For today have some lovely rhododendron blossoms to admire from a park in the city of Hannover over here in Northern Germany. This park is HUGE and its known for the hundreds of rhododendron bushes that are growing there and that are blossoming every spring at the same time. I love to take a walk there then. Or just to sit on a bench marveling in the scents of all the blossoms. It’s just so amazing. I know the rhododendron isn’t a plant that’s growing particularly only here in my country. But I wanted to share the positive vibes of these pictures with you anyway. Lots of love to you all, fam!
