the fortnight diary of a tea-a-holic, part I

gone are the days of daily blogging. seemingly even weekly blogging. welcome to the fortnightly recap of one swedish tea-addict. part one, mind you, since i have a lot to get of my sausage dog cardigan clad chest. more than i think is right for one blog post alone.



:: the rehab of broken arm/wrist is going slowly. especially the hand has been continously swollen for the last three weeks but i'm finally seeing improvement. i fear the wrist will never be back to its original shape - no chance whatsoever the watch will fit on it again if i don't adjust the wristband about 4 cm... - since the bone has taken on a new position.

touch wood i don't experience pain as such, only when i try to lift something too heavy or have done a lot of rehab, then the muscles are really sore obviously. it's just very awkward not being able to use it as much as i want, am used to, and it's not obviously visible on the outside why i can't.

i got a tip about a couple of great physiotherapists, the prefered one didn't have any time until january 2 (!) but i snatched that time and have booked one with her colleague the week after next too. i really want to know how much progress i've made and what i can improve on/change. and if it's "normal" to be where i am right now.



:: as you can see, the return of sausage dog cardigan (organic cotton, from palava) in a better size has happened. and naturally with a bit of a mess from the notoriously expensive and lack of customer service swedish postal "service" PostNord. that you can always count on. but it got here eventually. and it's a better fit, still roomier than intended - it's suppose to be a rather snug, vintage fit but i'm not a great fan of that for myself - but just what i wanted. and it's adorable. and very well made in the uk.



:: i've also managed to treat myself to a pair of fabulous vegan oxfords (from el naturalista of course). before the marimekko sneakers early past summer i haven't bought any new shoes for a few years. and even if i'd like to go all vegan on the shoe-front too, it's more sustainable to care for and wear your already owned and loved leather shoes until they're worn out beyond repair. same goes for wool and silk garments of course.

they're very comfy and with the perfect heel. it's a pity that the vegan range of el naturalista shoes are so bland, beige, brown, black. i do miss their usual options of great colours, but at the same time, this colour was most certainly not something i remotely owned before. and they'll match with any colour.

while i definitely know we all need to shop way less, for new stuff - and i can't begin to say how much i hate the excessive consumerism concepts of black friday, cyper monday, christmas shopping et al - a friend said something wise when i talked about feeling bad for buying anything else than consumables or sensible replacements for broken, worn old things. "but pia, it's not the way you carefully think through your purchases and support small business owners or companies with healthy, sustainable values that needs to stop first and foremost. it's the cheap chain store-shopping, where there's a high price being paid by the environment and the underpaid workers in a remote country, the excessive shopping, the wear and tear culture, that needs to stop NOW."

food for thought.

which doesn't mean i'll return to my old once ways of shopping (shudder), just because i can use that as an excuse. but maybe i don't have to feel all that guilty when i chose to buy something nice and kind, that support my green values. and by doing so i hopefully inspire others to think and chose more carefully too.



:: when on the subject overconsumption, the scary void of analytical, connecting the dots the news and newspapers (in this case the swedish ines, but i know it's the same problem all over the world) talk about climate change is absurd. currently the annual non-news of "this year the swedish christmas shopping will reach new record sales" and "perhaps you're more keen on taking your family on a christmas holiday, fly away to a warmer climate, here are the best destinations!".

how is it that we exist on the same planet and yet too many people think it's same business as usual, after this devastating summer, after more forrest fires, earth quakes, draughts, floodings than ever? why hasn't everyone become vegan, stopped over-using their cars, stopped flying already? because, as i've said before, we are all eachother's someone else and we need to take responsability for our actions, non-actions and choices. clearly the politicians are too cowardly to make those impopular decisions that should have been taken a long time ago.

and obviously you only have to look at the toddlers of the swedish parliament who aren't grown-up enough to form a left-right government and work against climate change together. the only thing we need to base every decision on from now on, the planet doesn't care if you're left-wing or right-wing. global warming is upon us and the growth is exponential, everything is happening much faster than people in general seem to understand. denial rules.

i read an interesting piece a while back, about how humans are made up of basically two types. one type wants to be entertained, the other one wants to contribute. one doesn't see past its own needs, the other one sees itself as a part of a larger picture. and, no surprise, the former is predominantly made up of men, while the latter is of women. i'll see if i can find it again, it was really enlightening. and to be honest, simplifying things isn't always a bad thing. quite the opposite.



:: you know how much i've enjoyed my kränku tea calendars for three years, but this year i decided to do it differently. i decided to go big or go home. or rather go big and sit at home drinking an inordinate amount of tea december 1 to 24. i went with three other lovely tea calendars this year, and non of them kränku.



first there's the johan & nyström tea calendar - from one of my favourite cafes, coffee roaster & tea merchant.



and then i saw this cute house-shaped tea calendar from lovely teahouse tehuset java. plus i've eyed the german teegschwender one for years - i'll write a bit more about their disappointing procedure in regards to not selling their amazing organic ice tea abroad in the part II blog post...

this is also my first year ever for a delightful skincare calendar. i got the sweet the body shop one from my mother. the cats obviously think is a waste of money to get things that aren't feline compatible from an edible point of view.

i see my december as consuming gallons of tea, a lot of peeing, having really soft skin and smelling fabulous. not that anyone but myself and the unimpressed cats will notice the latter since i'll be unable to leave the house because of the former. but it will be marvellous!

and of course, three tea advent calendars isn't enough to be a tea-a-holic, i have done a lot more investing in amazing teas of all sorts. but more of that in the next blog post too. i am now not a not-so-crazy-cat-lady but a certifiably crazy tea lady. (with dreams of becoming a tea sommelier one day.)





:: currently listening to this song by Passenger a lot. still think the singer has a creepy manchild voice, but i like the lyrics, music and feel of the song.



:: since i lost little loaf too soon, in 2013, i've been contemplating back and forth if it's time or not for a new dog in my home. ideally a small shelter dog or re-homed dog small enough to fit in my re-kånken backpack when on public transport. but i do like the size of small terriers like malte. and even if i would never support the breeding of pugs - because of its obvious unhealthiness - i've never met a pug which isn't totally lovable and super-friendly, with that special ugly-cute charm and style. and they usually get along fabulously with cats.

so when i stumbled over a little pug that was up for adoption at dog shelter hundstallet the other week i decided to apply. his described cat-friendly, cuddly and energetic personality would fit in so perfectly with me and the cats. sadly i haven't heard anything from the shelter, and i guess half of stockholm was charmed by the little fella too. so it wasn't meant to be.

but i did have the good fortune to meet another little pug last weekend. and even if he has a home already it's never a bad thing to get a bit of cute dog, pug oxytocin refill, right? right.

next post will be about not only more tea, but also work (including the still ongoing quest of finding my kind of people. the seemingly never-ending story...), books, movies, ill-behaved kids, moomin, friendship apps for women, muesli, fur, faux fur, documentaries and more. now, how fun in a mixed bag does that sound?