welcome july, thank you june 2026

Published this earlier today on Instagram, it’s a relief that basically copy-pasting your own work/thoughts is not stealing. Just making it easy for an exhausted brain and body on a Friyay summer evening. 

This post will be similar to the previous one, random photos from the past month and thoughts to explain. Plus sprinkles of my beloved cherry blossom season á la 2026. Because when I again managed to upload photos to blog, why not add some extra pink beauty? You can never ever have too much of that, right? Right. 

Just like the previous blog post, I will take it slowly adding my thoughts, and hopefully write the finishing sentence on Sunday. Welcome back then. 

But first (before I get my beauty sleep - ha - can we take a little giddy #friyay moment of praise and gratitude for these shoes (that arrived at my door step last night, after a long laboursome travel from Poland), please!

As I wrote recently, my search for a classic pair of black loafers in non animal-derived leather had been in vain since I got those beauties prior to Easter and the had to be returned as they did not fit. I then tried getting a second hand pair on Vinted. Despite having been pre-used (but in fantastic condition) they didn’t fit me either.

I used to be a shoe size 40 for most of my adult life. But 15ish years ago I reluctantly accepted size 41 would make more room for weather related feet changes. So that has been my reliable size since then. Never ever have I been forced to go up a full size (not even in sneakers).

But apparently (vegan) loafers are a whole other story! 🤦🏻‍♀️

So I give you a gorgeous lavender purple pair in size 42 🙀 And even if they do need a little inner sole for truly perfect fit, it was such a breeze and relief to finally feel the footsies slide in fairly effortlessly like this!

A true shoe bargain from a Vinted seller in Poland, and I’m so happy I went for them! As ling time readers know, I’m definitely no fan of the colour purple, but I have a very soft spot for lavender dreams, so these shoes are summer perfection in that aspect too. 💜

They may not be of everyones’ taste (and I know they look like something a gangster from 1980ies Miami would wear *well hello there Miami Vice/Don Johnson*!) 

but for a true dopamine dresser like me, they are true perfection ✨✨✨✨✨

I took them out for a spin today, as the weather has cooled down (phew) considerably, to see how they felt and which adjustments I have to make for them to work for my 🦶🏻🦶🏻

I can now announce they were just as comfy as they initially felt. However that extra inner sole is a must, because feeling and looking like a human size Daisy Duck is never a good look for a human…

To be continued part I.

I think I’ve mentioned books by Mats Strandberg before? He is the co-writer behind the hugely popular super-natural teenage book series beginning with ”Cirkeln” (The Circle, a part of the Engelsfors-trilogy) published 2011-13. I never read them, but I can understand the immense appeal for the age group ”teens/young adults”.

My first book experience of his’ was the Färjan (The Ferry, made into a Swedish/English TV-series in 2026 (Netflix-tied?). I was blown away (by the book (series very pale by comparison).

Have never been a great fan of the vampire genre, but the way he masterfully weave it together with something as commonly known for us, specifically, Stockholm/Swedes and Helsinki/Finns as the ferry cruises between Sweden/Finland that most all of us can relate to through our lives, certainly adds an extra layer of high relatability to the story for us. 

If you’re looking for superb horror reading this summer I highly recommend picking up one or all three of these! My three firm favourites of his.

From excellent writing, to capturing the fraility of life, and what humanity means he vividly paint multilayered stories within the horror genre. 

The next book was ”The Conference” that I praised everywhere at the time. For all of us working/having worked in highly toxic/corrupt workplace this story is HIGHLY relatable. And a horror galore experience in a very mundane setting.

The last I have just finished was his latest ”The Muse”, during the same irl time as the book is set: the week leading up to Midsummer Eve.

I will never again look at the concept of a nepo baby in the way I used to… The reality is much more sinister than you think… or is it…

This is my little neighbourhood, my community association (Swe. samfällighetsförening). I’ve lived here since 2001 (yup I’m that old 👵🏻) when I sold and moved from my nearby right-of-occupancy-apartment or communal housing apartment ot whatever it is called 😵‍💫 In Swedish its name is simply ”bostadsrättslägenhet”. 

My house is only really visible for my eyes here (or any possible cyber stalker I suppose… 🫣)

Through ups and downs of life it has always been a safe haven for us all. In this day and age nothing feels safe anymore obviously, but this is how close it gets given the surrounding factors etc.

On the last day of June 2026 it was the first day for over a week when it was once again possible to go for a daytime walk outside. It was still exhausting though. 🫠

But I was so proud of that little seemingly insignificant achievement of ours. It was also a day that made 🧠 functions work a bit better again. 

This is me contemplating my lifestyle changes over the last years. Mainly post-pandemic.

Have not travelled by airplane since Oct 2016. The planet crisis is in 🔥 full swing and there’s no reason for me to fuel (ha) that. So I do not plan to change those semi-regular habits back to leisure flights ever again…

That’s a major habit change that’s a no brainer really (for people not having family outside of their own country or work-commitments). Holidays does NOT have to involve flying to faraway destinations, not the way the world looks now. Period. Wants do not equal musts. It is not a human right to fly. Human rights are clean water, clean air, a safe place to live. 

So. I’m actually more proud about the fact that my clothes/shoes shopping habit has fairly drastically changed. Even if I for as long as I can remember has focused on long lasting quality pieces that last practically forever. Never ever fast fashion.

But I could really do with downsizing my wardrobe. And what I eventually buy should be of necessity and/or fill a purpose, match with a lot of already existing pieces.

I have to say that the @naturskyddsforeningen Max 5 challenge has done wonders for my strategic consumption thinking!

Last year I purchased 4 of my max 5 new produced pieces. The rest were second hand.

This year so far (6 months through) 2 new ones. The rest pre-loved. Using/rediscovering old existing things in wardrobe is a simple joy. 

My focus these days is obviously to sell more than I buy. Which is going pretty well overall.

The ootd in the photo is my new organic cotton Unikko skirt (yup on of the 2 purches of the year), old organic white cotton t-shirt and a 15ish year old pair of blue sandals from ART (which I probably blog raved about at that time).

Celebrating 10 years fully vegan this spring 2026! Just realised that, and Ihaven’t fully acknoweledged that, bad bad me… 

The number one best decision for the planet and environment I once made was going fully VEGAN of course. So every single day I do make the world a little bit better, a bit (or more) less violent and painful. That’s also something to be VERY proud of 💚

We have plans getting another Bageri Passion vegan cream cake for my mum’s second name day in late July, now I see another reason to a fancy celebration at the same time, yay me!

As perfect as the veganized Swedish Princess Cake is, I’m thinking we should get another flavour this time though. There are 6 different vegan ones to choose from: I’m thinking fresh raspberries and cream cheese would be very summer befitting. 

So what are the best Climate Action lifestyle changes (more recent years) you have done? And how did you reset your brain to actually do it? I would love to be inspired!! ‼️

NB blogwise I have noticed over the years, and more frequently recently, that my older posts get a lot of attention. More or less well deserved and more or less well outdated. I am certainly not the same person that I was 20 years ago, or even 10, 5, 1 years. Not even the same last month, last week…

Once I wrote about fancy handbags or a certain piece of clothing, but the thing is that in 2026 most of the fancy handbags are sold and have most certainly moved on to new adventures of appreciation than I could more often than not not give them.

And like in the case of a certain denim jacket in a post from 2012 (?) it never really got the use it deserved. I sold it on in 2024ish. Hope the new owner has and will continue to have a lot of happy moments experienced in it.

I don’t update those old posts (obviously) and they are so obsolete and out of reality touch now. What happened in 2010 is left in 2010. Life is all about change and growth. Old writings are just a glimpse of whom I was then, not 2026, they can of course still be read for entertainment or mood/inspiration purpose. But not as an inspiration for consumerism 2026.

My staycation summer days a basically spent posting things I’ve sold and now and then pick something up (books ❤️ I etc). On the walks to and from the main pick up point you have frequent meetcutes. 

This friendly face we met a few weeks back. He was astonishingly beautiful, first time I saw him. Look at his 🖤 shaped face! And such a perfect name he had; O’boy 🤎

The book in question ⬆️ I haven’t begun reading yet. But ’Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow’ seem to have great reviews, so I got my own second hand copy…

And here we have the 🩷 proof of how my hair looked before I had washed it 2-3 times. It was fun while it lasted in June, but most of it has faded away now.

Back to grey hair don’t care, for now.

Have gotten very fond of the overnight no knead bread and those breakfasts with marmelade topping are always a joy (despite the fact that I still haven’t found the perfect cherry marmelade…).

Stopped baking anything when the heatwave stroke - very easy compared to the awfulness in the southern parts of Europe, or other parts of the one shared planet, I might add. But the hot summers of 1980ies were considerably less frequent AND you were still able to breath properly without any real problem, so hot weather (+25-30) feels much worse now. It’s somehow paralyzing in quite a different, scary way.

We got rhubarbs from a neighbourhood dog lady in June. I hope there will be more to come. The vegan rhubarb toffee pie I made was lovely. But I won’t to make a crumble before summer ’s end. And rhubarb cream of course. It’s so sad that the snails ate my own much treasured rhubarb plants years ago…

Long time readers might rememer that in my Mulberry handbag phase (see passage above about consumerism 👆🏻) I bought a Phoebe bag (one of THE it-bags of early 2000ies) in York, UK. We never really became friends, as beautiful as the saddlebag model is, it just didn’f fit my shoulder and felt a bit bulky compared to my other bags I really used.

Finally put it up for sale a few months back. Unfortunately the woman who bought it obviously had no experience with Mulberry Phoebe bags, and didn’t understand how much effortand care you have to put into a brand new never worn leather bag, to get the desired patina.

As I bought it in the Mulberry shop in York and sent her the receipt with the bag there zero doubt it was authentic of course. Nevertheless she did acuse me of sending a fake bag! The audacity! And as I pointed that out, and several other details, she questioned why it wasn’t my name on the receipt, jeez, it’s not a rare thing that a partner, husband/wife or boy/girlfriend pay for something in a store.

As the bag does deserve someone who loves and appreciate  here, I did repay most of the money to the ignorant, rude buyer and got the bag back, as I knew there was another buyer who really wanted the bag but missed the original auction. The bag is now in transit and will reach her this week. 

So please, keep your potential cosmic fingers crossed she will be just as happy with Phoebe as the bag deserves. As I would be if I still wore all those old leather bags I once did.

The throwback to cherry blossom tree bonanza in Stockholm (and suburbs) we relished in April 2026. (And a glimpse of my 🌸🧡 matching outfit du jour).

As the Kungsträdgården visit concided with little mum’s birthday, we also had fika at Bageri Passion and thoroughly enjoyed those vegan cream buns with strawberry filling. 🍓

 

Thank you June, you were an overall lovable month and the setbacks were lesson learnt and me stepping up showing my problem solving skills. And resilient nature.

Hello July, I hope you will continue in the path of your older sister, but pretty please show more opportunities, new joyous beginnings, and the shine and thrive I have worked so long and hard for. THAT would be amazing and a most kind of you, July 2026!

Ever so grateful,

Pia 🐞🐝🦋

💚🩷💚

random midsummer reflections 2026

 Look, I managed to add photos to a blog post again! Well done me, still haven’t figured out how to do it every time, but slowly getting there…

This post will be a random selection of photos and happenings that has made me happy/grateful/intrigued during May -June 2026 (so far).

First out is the vegan Midsummer lunch on Friday. Kept it simple with potato gratin, smoked tofu and a green salad with kind ingredients that fills me with joy. 💚 

It’s one of the first hot summer days here, this year (the year that will turn out to be the on average coolest one from here on?) so I don’t have the instand energy to match the text to all the photos I’ve uploaded already.

I’m uploading the post after this photo. But you are welcome return to read more words added later.

🩵

The floral scent of sweet mock orange has been my summer favourite since childhood.

There was a huge unruly delightful shrub at our summer country cottage. 

And in the suburbs I lived in back then the municipality had planted a lot of hedges with it’s irresistable scent. So on the way back home from the underground the summer evening air was filled with the heavy scent of sweet mock orange. 🤍

At the usual street I take when I walk from home now, to the nearby grocery store/pick up point there is a stretch with these gorgeously scented hedges too. 

A few sniffs of these and it is the perfect assurance that everything will be alright.

A little perfect corner on this Prettiest Time of the Year forming a Little Pocket of Joy.

This is the perfect Plantbased version of the classic Swedish cream cake Prinsesstårta (Princess Cake), that we treated ourselves to for Midsummer dessert. Ordered from favourite bakery/cafe Bageri Passion. Very moreish. (And it was a treat not having to bother making a decent cake/dessert myself.)

💚

After the pandemic years when I fully embraced the (mostly) fun (and sometimes frustrations) of selling and buying second hand on Tradera (Sweden’s eBay) I have now moved on (partly because their customer ”service” department has become greedy stupidity personified. When you team ridiculous AI with ignorant humans you get this mess 🤦🏻‍♀️) to more selling on Vinted.

The platform currently serving Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Poland. I’m still sceptical about several of their features, the very low pricing and ridiculous haggling being one, but so far so good I’ve been overall pleased with my sales/purchases. Fingers crossed that will continue. 🤞🏻

One of their features are very small packaging, it’s not always you have very small boxes or bags at hand. So creativeness regarding that is now my (and others) new speciality.

This was a book I picked up the other week. Books of all things you would expect to be easy to pack in a simple way, right? This was hilariously wonky done. But book was in excellent condition, so no harm done I suppose. 

I try to shy away from bottled water for environmental reason. An I’ve never been a fan of fizzy water/drinks. And I love our tap water! 

But was desperate for water that day and the Coop sparkling water with raspberry watermelon flavour turned out to be really lovely. I can actually see myself enjoying one now and then this summer. 

As the Swedish recycling system is overall great. So I can cheat from my principle a bit without bereating myself too much

The gorgeous pansies in flower boxes outside Bageri Passion, made me both happy and sad.

Love the pretty flowers, the abundance of colours (different colours in the four different boxes), sad because I have still not been able to find replacement boxes for my kitchen window iron flower box holders. They broke beyond repair a few years back and apparently their measurents are unheard of 😵‍💫 I wouldn’t mind if they were slightly shorter and smaller, but it has proven hart impossible to find both a reasonable length AND width. So no flowers boxes for me this year either. I miss them. A lot. Both my usual pansies followed by petunias. Sad face.

This was my first vegan nicecream cone of the year 2026. In fact it was well over a year since I last had one. 

It was quite pleasant, although I found the dark chocolate cover too sweet, but the vanilla nicecream was very smooth and lovely.

We have bought a few already since the first one though. It’s important to support vegan brands and let the grocery store they do have a market for them. Two times during a fortnight they have sold out. 

As disappointing as it is when you crave a nicecream, at least as heartwarming it is that other people love these cones too!

In April we had truly delicious strawberry cream buns (vegan bun of the month), in May they were lemon Morning Buns - which neither of us enjoyed sadly because they were too salty (!) - in June they are Sun buns with custard or raspberry.

Mother’s Day (or Father’s) has never ever been celebrated in my family. Just a commercial spectacle, like Valentine’s or Halloween as far as I (and my parents) were concerned. Of course something creative/handmade as a gift gets my stamp of approval, but for those lucky enough growing up with loving, caring parents, there are 365 days per year to show our appreciation. 🫶🏻

Here a three colourful finds off Vinted. A flowery puzzle, perky measuring cups with an added bonus: a cup Cup. We don’t do cups in Sweden with our metric system. And I get really annoyed every time I need to translate Cup into decilitre (I think it’s ~ 2,3 dl) so I appreciated a proper Cup cup that I can (hopefully) rely on.

It was a long time since I did puzzles, but I thought it would be a nice relaxing thing to have a go at. And hopefully 👵🏻 can brain engage with them too. I even got a nifty little puzzle mat for them.

Zeina is a famous Swedish TV-chef (with roots from Sierra Leone if I remember correctly. Much, but not all, of her cooking is about flavourful green dishes. This cookbook is all traditional vegan dishes. 

If I was a very structured human I would start my way on the very first page an then work my way through every dish this summer. I’m afraid I’m not wuite that structured with my cooking. Or with my life for that matter.

Still on my quest to thrive and shine again. How? Where? When?

Ztina changed her bed and night routines a month before Ågot died. Before that she mostly have enjoyed sleeping by herself in the sofa. While Ågot loved sleeping in my mum’s bed. Suddenly Ztina moved into the bed too, and she has remained ever since. 

In fact it’s were she spend most of her days sleeping now. Our usual sofa routine is more or less gone. Which is sad of course, but we all grow old and change habits and routines. I just want her to enjoy life the way she wants, on her own terms, however long and precious time she have left in our life.

She obviously still sports her purrfect resting bitch face. My little precious Queen of Fxxing Everything.

The things below ⬇️ are also Vinted finds. The berets (8 of them, unused, for a very pleasing price) are for little mum. As berets are her favourite headgear and she could definitely do with a bunch of new colours. They actually arrived in time for Mother’s Day, but as we don’t do that in this residence (see above) let’s call it preparing-for-autumn-gift. The nicest ones are the purple, red, light grey, magenta and peach.

The puzzles were my two first ones, the Scottish castle that was Eulalia’s surname, featured in several movies and a visit from us on one of our plentiful Scotland car holidays (oh another life that was…) and then a Yorkshire harbour town.

Memories abound.

Haven’t begun laying any of them yet, the colourful flowers I have slowly began to though. It speaks to me more loudly right now.

This is me in the library elevator, on my way to the obligatory 5 hours irl course for election worker in the upcoming Swedish  election in September. 

It was exhausting, and my brain was overloaded afterwards. Not because guarding our democracy is complicated per se, but it was a long time since my work revolved around meeting and dealing with a lot of people at once, plus administrative routines. Brain overload. We also got access to the PDFs so there are plenty of time to refresh over summer until September of course.

This is obviously a purely non-political work, just a municipality provided service to our society during election times and guarding democracy.

That said, I can’t wait until we have removed this deeply corrupt (never have Sweden had this astounding level of corruption in a prime minister and his inccompetent ringt wing/nazi affiliated minions as we have seen these past four years) government. 

Long gone are the days when party leaders (social democrats) got sacked for comparatibly miniscule offenses (like buying a Toblerone chocolate with the wrong credit card…)

We need Sweden back on its track to leading climate action and humanitarian initiatives. More solidarity and connecting the global dots of positive change.

If anyone might me interested in the slowfashion OOTD I’m wearing here 👆🏻 it was mostly Marimekko stuff (duh) in organic cotton (Unikko denim jacket, sweatshirt and skirt, the latter bought second hand). The cloud scarf is +10 years old Danish design, tights from beloved Snags, the vegan sneakers are Matt & Dan from 2019 and the bag from German Vaude (Berlin bought in the 2010ies).

My second year of (Naturskyddsföreningen) Max 5 challenge is going swimmingly so far - one new garment only at this time: organic cotton skirt from Marimekko. In some areas it’s pretty great to be predictable, wouldn’t you agree?

My old, quite old, coffee/tea press pot suddenly broke into pieces a few months ago. Even if I have plenty of pretty tea strainers I’ve come to thoroughly enjoy my not heavy and easy to clean glass pot over the years. And especially since little mum moved in.

So I began researching where to get an affordable new one. A second hand one would be neat, however a) we don’t have a nearby second hand shop here and b) given how much strain a glass pot will have been put through already when it appears in a thrift shop and probably be near its breaking point already. Thus opted for a fresh new one.

Only glass, steel and wood details. My old one had a plastic lid and handle. Unfortunately the wood lid had a big breakage right across, so I got a new one (and didn’t have to bother returning the broken one). Swift and easy customer service! As it should me.

I do have an old ceramic pot, well used when I did have plenty of tea party oriented gatherings back in the days. But it’s heavy and bulky so I love my small glass one.

Side (and sad) note, have been forced to drastically cut down my tea consumption this past year-ish since with menopausal symptoms apparently comes other… peeing routines. And tea/coffee is very diuretic. 

So from gulping down several big cups per day (incl late in the evening) I’m now down to a big morning one, and possibly a smaller rooibos one in the afternoon.

Club of interest taking notes I’m sure… 🫖☕️

When Philadelphia vegan cream cheese was finally introduced to the Swedish market (just prior to the pandemic I think?) I wasn’t that impressed. The Oatly one was just as good I initially thought. But then I saw less and less of it in the grocery stores (not sure it even exists anymore). 

And the plantbased Philadelphia cream cheese has certainly grown on me. Like an addiction even. I would much rather avoid anything from evil corporate company Mondelez, but given little mum prefers her breakfast sandwiches with cream cheese rather than hard cheese it is what it is…

What I never do though, is buying the boxes at the ridiculous full over price they have. Luckily there are regular discount campaigns in several grocery chains, so I keep my eyes open to that and stock up when possible.

Same goes for my regular vegan Violife hard cheese. I’m a simple gal when it comes to my vegan cheeses (and I was the same when I still consumed dairy) only a few basic ones appeal to me, topped with veggies they suffice galore.

Give me one of these two specific cheeses and hummus, add decent, fiber rich, healthy sourdough bread regularly and my breakfasts are sorted forever and ever.

I survived the harsh winter months sporting my grey hair don’t care looks. Had the very last dollops of vegan Pink Pop colour refresher left to use up. When May turned to June I did just that. Thought I uploaded the 💗 picture proof of that too, but apparently not. 

Ah well, next time I’m able to outsmart Blogger on the photo-front I’ll be sure to do it. 

It always start out so vividly pink, but after a few washes turn into a perfect subdued-ish pink. I enjoy doing it 1-2 times per year. If/when I was a rich gal I would love going lavender at the hairdresser’s. But for now this colour refresher hair packs will very much do.

Imagine having lilacs light lavender coloured locks though… My garden lilacs 2026 were that perfect hair colour change…

Baked my first rhubarb pie 2026 with a toffee crumble on June 6 ie Sweden’s National Day. It was delicious. Rhubarb is summer and much more summer in a mouthful that strawberries have ever been to me. I hope we’ll get hold of more, much more of these beauties this summer… 💚

As you know I’ve been hard at work trying to sell off my Mulberry handbags these past 8 months. Not to brag but I’d give myself A+ 💫 in success rate.

You won’t get nearly as much as you once thought given ”classic luxuary bags are a great investment” statements from the early 2000ies. But if you are able to wait and hold out for the right buyer you will get a fairly decent price for your handbag  gems.

As much as I can see and acknowledging my +20 years ago poor judgement spending my hard earned money on expensive leather handbags (of the majority I in the end never really used, truth be told), I’m also grateful I finally pepped myself selling them when my finances hit my lowest (touch wood).

Without the extra cash they have brought I don’t know what I would’ve done these last few months. The fantastic Luella Bartley bag still remains unsold alas (it’s gorgeous and in top condition, so that’s a mystery). 

You can find it listed on both Vinted and Tradera, my user name is predictably @piaktw in case it tickles your fancy.

For now I have decided to keep a couple of the bags as they have served me very well, been used a lot and I have experienced so much great things in the company of them. 

What I missed was the opportunity to wear Roxanne and Rosemary (they firmly remains my favourite designs) as messenger bags. No shoulder long straps available back then.

So even if I haven’t actively looked for reasonable (vegan) straps it has always been brewing at the back of my mind. 

Over the years I’ve mostly opted for very large handbags that will fit  e v e r y t h i n g  I’ve deemed necessary to lug around. And then I saw the pros of backpacks - until I realised they too are heavy on the shoulders and arch. I’ve been downsizing my bags, while carrying plenty of extra fabric bags for grocery shopping and such.

Even if I obviously shy away from wearing leather goods (except from my old leather shoes, environmental reason) these days these bags have meant a lot to me at another stressful, difficult, time in my life. They remain a meaningful reminder of times survived, lost, new paths, insights, new beginnings, gratitude and so forth. All of life’s ups and downs. Of resilience.

Then I recently saw this pretty pink vegan shoulder strap (unused) on Vinted, snatched it right away, before I even remembered to ask its length… Turned out to be perfect. And even if it’s not the same pink hue as my Rosemary (or Rosa as I once named her) it still teams well with her style. As the duo is such a statement piece itself I’m now contemplating how to dress down in colours to let it shine pink bright.

Which I just now see as a metaphor of what I’m looking for for myself. My quest remains; how to thrive, shine again and not merely survive in the world we’ve created?

May this summer bring, not more devastating heatwaves, but clear answers and hopeful new paths - in a chaotic, muddled world of misconceptions and evil propaganda we all desperatly need that. 

Please June, let’s start the promising new beginning!

💗💚💗

bye may, welcome june 2026

For a brief moment I logged in and hey, uploading photos worked! *Must remember the steps I took*

When I tried to make changes suddenly it did not work again.

And Ztinas grumpy face perfectly illustrates how I feel about that. 🤦🏻‍♀️

To sum up my May - loosing Ågot was/is devastating. One of the two precious last Luddkolt’s cats left. Now there is one.

The sprained ankle that followed healed.

The Mulberry Bayswater I’ve had for sale since November last year finally got sold. And my financial strain eased for a while.

Got a job as election worker during the general election on September 13. Spent an afternoon doing a course with my fellow election workers. Left me exhausted and stressed, as once upon a time this was my life, common work tasks, it has been a long time since it was everyday work. 

I know it’ll be great. And I know this feeling was just temporary, but it came as a shock. Oh how the mighty have fallen.

But guarding our democracy has never ever been more important than now, so I’m grateful I was selected to be one of them doing it. 

September 2026 will be when Sweden will get back to being a reliable beacon of light in a disturbingly violent, capitalistic world in lack of solidarity, compassion and decency.

May has been a beautiful green Spring month, it is after all the prettiest time of the year. The cherry blossom trees where followed by tulips, bird cherry trees and everything else bright and beautiful. This was my lilacs 2026, brief and gorgeous, the bloom is now over alas. 

And even if we have been spared from the devastating heat wave in south Europe, the weather has changed there’s no doubt it’ll be another summer of heat and too hot days. Every little day offering cooler weather is a blessing.

I began my month in my natural grey-ish hair, ended it in pink. Finished the last bottle I had left, because hey, let’s start summer season in colour an style! Onwards and upwards. Keep on fighting the good fight. Let thrive season begin. And let a plethora of good books be read. And fantastic news arrive, m’kay?!

💚🩷💚

farewell april, farewell ågot 🩵

So what happened in April, in the World According to Pia?

On April 4 Ågot, the littlest of my cats, turned 14.

On April 28 she passed away. During the night in the comfort of her familiar surroundings shepeacefully fell eternally to sleep in her home.

She was a sweetheart, timid, well-behaved kitty and didn’t make much fuss about anything, obviously not even her own death. She loved sunny spots, food and cuddles, naturally sleeping more than playing the older she got. She will be remembered fondly and missed for her sweet disposition.

It feels so very strange to only have one cat now. The last time that was the case was in 1990 (shocking I know!). 

I also know I will never be able to afford having another pet again, as the venture capitalist funded veterinarians in Sweden have completely ruined the market for fair and reasonable prices for pet owners. Despite having a pet insurance. Pets are only for the very rich in Sweden these days apparently. And how truly sick and twisted is that?!

Ztina will continue to be so loved and pampered as long as we are blessed to have her of course. But then my days with forlegged family members will be a closed chapter. Which is a realisation that is absolutely 💔💔💔 of course. But there you are, life in Sweden 2026.

The only thing on my Easter plan-list that got ✅ was the reading my Easter crime ”påskekrim” novel. It was a treat. And I’ve finished two more since then. 

Did not even begun to knit the last remaining arm to finish my 🍓 sweater project (4 years later) 🤦🏻‍♀️

Did not sort out the ”upload photos on blogger” issue alas.

So yes, yet another photo-less blogpost, you are welcome.

The softening up of the vegan chunky loafers did not happen. The shoes were impossible to soften. The customer ”service” was the worst ever, but at least the return procedure was simple and without fuss. The model was gorgeous. But not for me. Saved my money for more important things, like food, too.

For the first time since 2019 I visited the magical cherry blossom trees in Kungsträdgården again - and gah am I miffed I can’t upload any photos to prove it… - and it was such an immense treat, after 7 (!) years! 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

We did it on little mum’s birthday on April 21, followed with a vegan fika treat at favourite Bakery Passion. And some much needed food shopping. All and all think she enjoyed her 2026 b’day. 👵🏻🎂

Managed to spot and enjoy cherry blossom trees in bloom at three more places, our local ones included. It’s such a little pockets of joy perfection to see them. However did we survive our Springs without the plethora of them…

Otherwise my mood and focus is surviving day by day, week by week and hope things will finally magically change for the better.

Did have a mishap in the garden last week. Sprained my ankle. In the most stupid way. I’m such a klutz. 😵‍💫🤦🏻‍♀️

Didn’t feel any real pain during the first 1,5 days, but I knew there would be bruising. 

Then came the bruising, swelling and pain. Been hobbling around indoors for a few days and resting as best I can. 

Have a stretch bandage for support now, which I have to figure out how to use properly. The initial pain subsided yesterday, but the bruising and swelling mostly remains obviously. 

Went out for errands today (and need to do more of that before Sunday so I hope it’s much better by then), it really was no fun. No fun at all. The pain of just putting on shoes, locking the feet in and the hobbling outdoors. Ah the stupid things we do to ourselves…

April you offered a lot, from pink bliss to deep, unexpected sorrow, from ever present problem-solving to small new beginnings and possibilities, from kindness to pain when you least expect it. Thank you, you left me both grateful as well as disappointed. 

Enough of this slow and sadness, can we please please PLEASE move on to greatness, thriving and joy now May, the prettiest time of the year you! Thank you in advance. 

xox 🩷💚🩷

i hope your easter 2026 will be kind and peaceful ~

Most of us don’t have a lot to be happy about these days. So let’s settle for gratitude about the fine things that we do have in our lives. And for Easter kindness and compassion. Hopefully some great animal free food and lots of vegetables. 

Myself I’m going to prepare a vegan burger with oven roasted potatoes. Had planned to bake a cream cake and cinnamon buns. But I think the plantbased burger preparing will suffice for my energy levels admittedly.

My Easter plans also had

* finishing my 🍓 sweater project (4 years later)

* start reading my ”påskekrim” (Easter crime, originally a Norwegian concept for reading at Easter)

* sorting out the ”upload photos on blogger” issue

* softening up a pair of new shoes (I have certainly been an A✨ participant in the Naturskyddsföreningen max 5 challenge from November 2024, first year I did only get 4 new pieces of garments/shoes. Since then I’ve bought neither new produced or second hand. Until now.)

High on my wishlist have for many years been a pair of vegan chunky black loafers. Had a rare opportunity to get a pair that arrived just before Easter. They are gorgeous. But also the material demands a lot of softening and preparing indoors.

As the weather has turned into miserable winter with snow, from one day to the other, there is zero incitement to venture outdoors anyway this weekend.

 🖤 Let the shoe softening commence!

Wishing you a fine, kind and caring Easter filled with good things, good people, good food, good moments only 💛

💚🐥✌🏻🌱🐣

spring equinox frustrations, and sprinkles of gratitude

This will be yet another post without photos.

I still can’t upload any photos to Blogger. And as I basically do everything on my phone these days and changing the Google account settings on the phone obviously is not working, no matter how much I try to follow instructions.

At this stage even my frustration is getting frustrated.

This post, like others before, would be much more pleasing if accompanied by photos. But it is what it is.

The struggle is real, but one day I will have it sorted.

This day is not today. But here are a little compilation of little good things that have happened lately. 

I do not retract anything from the previous blog post. But sometimes small things can lift the overwhelming blah. And give you energy to continue to fight another day, week, possibly month…

I just wish life wasn’t so much a fight, for very basic things. 

Back to the good things list:

:: Sold a very pleasing amount of, mainly, clothes and shoes on Tradera and Vinted last week Which was a much welcome surprise (especially after the Danish woman who scammed me a few months back - didn’t loose money per se, but it was one of those occurances that chipped away on my trust. And left me wasting energy, time and lost potential sales. And whatever was her end goal?? There were zero things to gain by that behaviour. Zero. 🤦🏻‍♀️)

:: Returned the last library book I had at home. And plan to focus on finish at least five from my old book heap before I borrow any more again.

Never underestimate how accomplished such seemingly insignificant, trivial things can make you feel.

:: Treated myself to an oat latte (two months ago since) and a bakery levain last week. 

And bought a bunch of vegetables at reasonable prices, which was a long time since that was the case. Grocery prices are ridiculous here too, thank you so much for that Orange Idiot, Genocidal Terror State and East Invasion Dictator. 

So every opportunity to get grocery shopping done at a reasonable price must be seized. Who knows what will happen next.

:: Last week was all about the sun. And I decided to finally have a go at an outfit I’ve wanting to try ever since I got my Marimekko Unikko jacket last year. But weather confitions haven’t allowed me since now. 

A woolly sweater under a denim jacket, surely that would be perfect? As I haven’t had a decent denim jacket since my early 20ies, every basic combination feels like a revelation of flair and ingenuity. 

And yes it turned out great. Not too cold with the denim jacket and the woolly sweater added the perfect warmth without being to sticky on a sunny, early spring day.

However yesterday turned colder, and today it rained. Tomorrow there’ll be morersin and then there have even been rumours about snow again. 🥶

:: This past weekend was the last weekend of semlor (plur.) being sold at favourite Bageri Passion. As there had been zero semla in this residence this year, a visit to get 4 vegan semlor was practically a must.

We enjoyed a couple of them immediately upon returning home. They were perfection! Decided to put the remaining ones in the fridge and enjoy for Sunday breakfast.

Turned out to be a bad decision, the buns were dry and the whipped cream had kind of evaporated over night. Wish we had gulped them all down on Saturday. Well, at least one semla experience 2026 was perfect. And well deserved.

:: The other day I was approached by someone claiming to be an executive recruiter from a US company. For obvious reasons I’m very… hesitant to have anything to do with US companies these days.

And not to mention the recruitment fraudsters having become even more sophisticated with the rise of AI.

The job presented sounded amazing. Though the salary range was kind of obscene to be true. And does working in such a corporate setting really align with my values? And best use my skills, let me do good for change and shine in the right way. 

There is no time for business as usual. And apart from the unheard of salary range (for a Senior Communications Strategist position) there were other little warning signs that surely this was just too good to be true, that the set up was fake, so I decided not to waste my time and pursuit it.

We are living in even more precarious times than ever and my trust in people and opportunities have definitely been chipped away already over the years.

It is sad that dark forces, evil, greedy people, capitalism, ignorance, stupidity and violence have caused so much harm to this world. When we all would grow and be happier, healthier decent human beings with more solidarity, equality, caring and compassion.

Stay safe, be kind.

💚💚💚💚💚

how do i thrive and shine again?

The problem with uploading photos to Blogger returned, shortly after I published my last post. And no matter all the suggestions from Google/Blogger I’ve tried to rectify it nothing has worked alas.

Which feels like a perfect symbol for my general life currently. I am stuck.

It does not help seeing old white greedy genocidal clinically insane or senile men ruling the world and bringing us to the brink of World War III. 

It really does not.

It does not help I still haven’t found a new regular, reliable income source again. It doesn’t even have to be THE illusive dream job or dream client. I just need something/someone stable I can trust and hopefully shine and thrive from again.

I miss feeling joy. 

I miss feeling hope.

I miss the feeling of thriving and shining.

I miss feeling appreciated.

I miss meaningfulness.

I miss uploading photos to Blogger.

I miss my creativity.

I miss my pre-menopausal hair, skin, body. But that’s just a blimp compared to the other things I miss. My energy is better spent on other matters.

It’s difficult to do and feel otherwise in this timeline we call now. How do you thrive, not only survive these days?

When people around you have either gone awol basically since the pandemic, choose to remove themselves from your life - 

and you can’t be bothered to try and reconnect since they clearly for reasons unknown have moved on with their lives but opted out from including you in those lives - 

or you yourself have realised you don’t have much in common with the people you once called friends anymore.

Connections have been lost, and I simply don’t have the energy to care anymore. Have you?

When the lack of money and resources is so draining you basically only have the energy to read, watch TV, cook simple things, cuddle cats (the only reason for surviving), take naps but rarely sleeping well all through the night.

When the ridiculously high energy prices this freezing winter forces you to settle for sub par indoor temperatures, merely focus on surviving another day and a constant longing for warmer days again.

When the fact that the combination of a master degree in law and extensive experience in various communications fields plus a lifestyle/interests dedicated to sustainability, kindness and compassion means xxxx all when you search for meaningful new paths in life.

Well, then you have reached the point where it is truly truly truly difficult to see the meaning of it all. And that feeling is not something I’m familiar with. 

Even trough tough times I’ve been able to trust in hope, solutions and bright new beginnings and kind endings. Felt joy in small everyday miracles, beautiful things and beings around me.

I do suspect I’m not alone having finally reached this point after some rough years, where it feels like we’ve been through a tumble dryer on high speed time and time again.

Where is the beauty? Where do I go from here?

Where do you? Where do we?

🌱🐞🌱🕊️🌱🦋🌱🐝🌱

how i help the blackbirds sing & other little small joys of the week

It took a while, even for my fairly web savvy middle aged brain, to realise the easiest solution to upload photos to the blog again was to switch web browser.

So bye bye Chrome, hello again Ecosia. 

The little positive things (on a personal Pia-level, as the world continues to be a misogynist cesspool of daily lowpoints) from the cold cold week that was have been; (because semi-colon’s day, congrats dear ; !)

A very good keep cup of soy latte.

Even if I desperate long for spring to come, I continue to be grateful that I was lucky enough to snatch this gorgeous Marimekko faux fur up when I did. It’s reliably warm (but quite heavy) and I love its blue colour.

And given the winter weather this year, every day with time spent outside is faux fur day.

I’m fairly certain that the birds in my garden aren’t 100 % happy about the food supplies here. The peanuts I had in thebird feeders last year was much appreciated. But I haven’t found any in nearby stores this year alas. So the feed has left a lot to be desired.

However, my most loyal birdy friends have been fed seeds and apples fairly regularly. I think they are magic little, friendly birds. And I do hope they will find good places to nest in this spring, so they can continue to sing their besutiful songs when spring finally comes. 

Surprisingly enough I realised we had finished a lot of tea this winter, and it was time to stock up again. As my favourite tea merchant in Stockholm turns 110 years old this year, they have different treats when you place an order of a certain value. I ordered som ol’ favourites and new flavours and the home delivery arrived this week. 

It was a box of gloriousness! 

One of my new favourites to have for a quick, satisfying vegan lunch or even dinner (the lines are v e r y blurry in this residence) are a moreish edamame-chickpea spread on sourdough bread from local bakery. Topped with grated carrots and a big cuppa.

I also made a very good loaded bulgur salad with airfryed smoked tofu, carrots, pickled red onion, corn, tomatoes, pomegranate and plenty of seeds that I topped with the above spread. 

I love colourful food that makes you happy and is kind and compassionate to the planet and the sentient beings we share it with! If that isn’t obvious by now…

Continue to stay safe, stay warm, be strong, be kind, be a decent human.

💚

farewell veganuary 2026, you have been a very mixed bag of life lessons

EDIT: 6/2 switched by web browser and uploading photos is back! Here’s a photo of a lovely lentil soup to prove it.

This will be a post void of photos. Because Google/Blogger won’t let me do it (for very very very unclear reasons) I might be able to figure it out tomorrow morning (Feb 1st already!). Fingers crossed.

As for Veganuary/January this year, it has really been a mixed bag of sweet and sour treats.

- After a fairly decent first week+ there have been non of the aha/yay/wow/finally I can see light at the end of a dark tunnel moments I had hoped/manifested/meditated/worked for.

That has been deeply disappointing. Not going to lie and say otherwise. The transformational change the 21-days meditation promised did not lead to any positive transformational change, alas.

For better sleep I do continue to put on sleep meditations every night, and if I wake up during the night I put a new session on,  since I’ve realised they are like drug-free sleeping pills for me.

- The new mobile phone provider I changed to at the beginning of January has so far been great. I’m so glad I finally researched which provider would better fit my needs and would save me money.

- I was scammed on the second hand site Tradera last week. Didn’t get paid by the buyer, a Danish woman who bought 6 garments (for a fairly high sum). Never replied to messages. And I was forced to report her. Turned out she had apparently done the same to other sellers and is now overall blocked from Tradera for 1-6 months. 

I have no idea why anyone sane would think this was a smart idea to behave. Even if no-one was frauded off things, as no-one sends anything before they get paid, everyone she had her ”fun” with did loose both time, energy, trust as well as presumptive serious buyers.

And for some of us the money would have been very welcomed. (And very much in line with my daily manifestations…)

- As circumstances would have it I haven’t cooked as many new vegan dishes in Veganuary as I planned. But I did baked overnight bread for the very first time, and that was a repeat hit.

As was the fact that I discovered those fantastic heathy plantbased date snacks from Dave & Jon’s. After the two first ones, I’ve tried several other flavours. I loved Salted Caramel Peanuts, Cinnamon Bun and Chocolate Ball. But not everyone has been lovely, there have been a couple of horrid ones and a few blah ones. But, tastes differ, they most likely appeal to other taste buds.

- The third book I finished this year was the last one I borrowed at the library last year, and concidently a wonderful one. Fresh Water For Flowers turned out to be one of my best reading experiences of 2025 🧡 

And I’m only at number 3 on my at least 55 reads goal of the year. 

It may not be a reading experience for everyone. And the writing style take some time to get used to. The non-chronological set up is not my favourite style. But there is so much love, sorrow, humanity, (the good, the bad, the ugly) slowness and beauty with sprinkles of quiet laughter between these 500+ pages that it is worth the initial stumbles.

- For now I only hope and manifest for a joyous, positive beginnings and passionate opportunities filled February. As well as the perfect time to figure out how to upload photos to Blogger again. Being gentle and caring to myself (although I’m screaming inside) are also important. 

And a kinder, compassionate, caring world, which January also sorely lacked.

Stay safe. Be kind. Everything is connected.

💚🍀💚🍀💚🍀💚🍀💚