so march, so far

 

Spoke to hastily about warm temperatures in the last post me thinks. There were only a few days of them. And though the days with shoes and socks have been very enjoyable, and a welcome relief after months of IceBugs, the winds have been relentlessly chilly and unpleasant so far this month. Tomorrow it’s suppose to be a heavy snowfall followed by heavy rain the next day. 

With a small, restricted pandemic world also comes obsessing about the current weather. Which days a good for long walks, which are best for cuddling upp with books and cats. Those very impawtant things in life as is.

I’m not sure the doctor’s appointment last week will lead to any enlightened insights on the hows and whys of my health status. I forgot to mention half of my weird symptoms (and I noticed he had just written down ’symptoms of illness’ in my e-journal anyway...) and I doubt the blood tests will show anything useful. 

Ended up with three (painful) tries to get the blood samples, and of course it had to be the hand that worked in the end. It’s a bad bad combo to really hate needles AND be so notoriously difficult to get them working. At least it was only three times now, the worst thing was when three different nurses had to try 15 times to find a vein in 2012. 

My mum is getting her first covid vaccination next week. No information which brand it will be yet. But as far as I can tell from the reading, of what I think are reliable sources, the Pfizer or Moderna offers much better protection than Astra Zeneca. 

But I’m also well aware that the vaccination is a short term bandaid on a huge boil, that will never heal until we radically change the way we eat and interact with non-human animals and nature. It’s still the elephant in the room, the obvious answer to the pandemic we’ve unleashed on the world - go vegan and stop using, abusing, torture and kill sentient beings for food and clothes we do not need. The glaring blindspot most everyone ignore. 

I hate seeing people I know, and concider smart people in most other aspects than their obvious faulty food habits, continue to post icky photos of gross, unhealthy meat and dairy meals in their social media accounts. Seriously. The sorry La la la, I’m free to chose my own habits-excuse doesn’t work anymore (if it ever has). It’s a thing of the long and completely obsolete past. Step up and be the change, the world so desperately need, please. Everyone has the responsibility to do so.

Now to some slightly old news, Fat (Shrove) Tuesday. The season, the day, us Swedes hold sacred because we get to feast on our beloved semla pastry. 

I’ve written about it several times over the years, the perfect semla, the baking of your own buns, how to make your own almond paste, best vegan semla etc - search old posts as I can’t link via the blogwriting on the iPhone - but this year I was afraid there would be no semla at all for me.

My old food processor broke down some years ago (a Kitchen Aid is obviously very high on my wishlist now) and I sadly haven’t baked breads and buns since 2018. And with very limited options for vegans in my hoods, a vegan semla would most likely be impossible to find.

But I asked the local bakery - you know, the place where they lied and said that almond pastry was vegan, when it in fact contained egg white, last year? But then offered some really good vegan options in their new cafe, which has been one weekly highlight visit that has given a much needed sense of normalcy since last August? - if they could bake vegan buns, so I could make my own semla? And they said yes!

So a month ago I picked up 20 beauties in the bakery, swung by the cafe so the could make two plantbased semla for our fika (which was SO good) and have since assembled my own semlor (plur.) and also simply dunked the buns in hot chocolate, which also is a treat.

Not as fancy and perfect consistency buns as the vegan semla at Bageri Passion (out of reach in these time of corona) I’ve loved since 2019, but more on the dry side. Which isn’t uncommon in semla buns in general. Still a decent bun.

The overall experience was lovely. 

When they opened up the cafe in August last year, it was still outdoors season. When crisp autumn came, it was okay to move indoors because the guests who sat down for food and fika, and didn’t go for take away, were still few and far apart. Making sure to follow the covid guidelines. I think we used to be about 5-6 people max in the cafe.

Unfortunately that has changed, the last time we visited a few weeks ago, at our usual time 9.30-10, the cafe quickly filled up and when we left (after not feeling comfortable at all, but wanted to finish the coffee we’d paid for) there were over 15 guests + staff there. Covidiots. 

It’s crazy enough that the visitors don’t react but think it’s quite alright to sit down so close to eachother, but that the proprietors don’t take proper precautions, follow guidelines, and remove chairs and tables, limit the amount of guests allowed, is actually infuriating. 

I know they, like the rest of us, need their revenues. But at what cost? If people don’t follow the guidelines (which are called recommendations in Sweden but are concidered mandatory in many places, and are for food businesses strict rules) the virus will just continue to spread forever. 

The weekly cafe visit, and the thai take aways, have been two of the much needed highlights in this past year’s surreal limbo life. And just because of ignorance and stupidity one of those highlights are no longer available. At least not until we can sit outdoors again. 

Maybe if we get there when they open at 9 am, there’s less people, and we could have a safe fika visit. But the fact still remains, you really only want to support local businesses that act responsibly.

I don’t think I’ve written something more substantial about the sheep heard that have a large all-year-round enclosure in my hoods. They’ve been a joy to visit this winter. So many individuals with different characters. Spending time with them always brings out a wide set of emotions. 

Clearly they’re doomed for a sad and violent fate. And I really don’t want to live in a world where it’s considered normal to tag sentient beings as commodities and things. They are clearly so much more that that, they have the right to their own long lives, on their own natural terms. 

But I’m so grateful I get to spend at least some time regularly  with them, enjoying their different personalities and friendly quirks. Animals really are THE best. They deserve SO much more than we humans put them through, for no good reason at all.

Another thing I’m grateful for is that I decided to upgrade to the iPhone 12 ProMax last year. Because the camera’s portrait feature is awesome. Granted the camera doesn’t function flawlessly, the Bokeh effect is somewhat overwhelming at times. Which is a pity, but also something of a common issue it seems, so hopefully it’ll be fixed in some software update in a not too distant future. 

Also, not a fan of the ridiculously bright night time photo effect, when you want a decent dark dramatic photo with a contrasting moonlight you get the opposite. And I still haven’t found a way to opt out of that. Then the Notes go all blank at times, but reappears after a day or two. And the timer doesn’t work properly. 

But I’m so happy with the kitty photos, and other animals too plus selfies kind of take and adjust themselves, which is miraculously convenient. 

It’s even possible to get decent captures of a black cat! Viola will turn 14 in some months, and good photos of her (and her black cousin Waldemar who unexpectedly sadly passed away last summer) as a grown up have been few and far apart. Now  I finally have some. 

On March 8 I attended a great Zoom talk on gender equality with Katrine Marçal, a Swedish journalist and writer, arranged by KTH Innovation here in Stockholm. Read her brilliant book ’Att uppfinna världen’ (published in English under the name ’Mother of Invention’) this winter. 

On how basically 100 years of potential technological innovation have been lost due to the fact that women have been effectively locked out of the system. That the whole warped view that things, needs and behaviours are deemed male or female, have cost humanity and the world so much progress. And in 2021 it still needlessly continue to do so. Absolutely crazy and infuriating. 

We have a climate emergency to deal with, high time to stop being this incredibly ignorant and stupid. The problem concern everyone, so does the solutions.

And to all the religious, fantatically backwards misogynist countries that still do exist in 2021 - just stop being such complete ass hats. Frankly. Really.

No happy update on the job front quest yet alas. Instead of concentrating all my efforts on The Dream Job, I’ve branched out to looking at paying the bills-jobs that still offer good things to do and learn, albeit not really being the challenge in line with my seniority level and acquired skills, I’d really want. 

I’ve spruced my CV a bit, but honestly, I can’t really see what I could/should remove from it, at this stage in life. With age and experience it does get naturally longer and certain things must show. Maybe I can try a different, creative layout approach for fun. Or maybe I need someone to look at it with fresh eyes. 

So the only fun I’ve updated to for now is my hair colour. 2020 I went pink for New Year’s day, little did one know it would be such an uphill struggle to remain sane and reasonably fun and hopeful for the rest of the year then.

This year I saved my vegan Pink Pop colour refresh (Maria Nila Stockholm) upgrade until International Women’s Day. As usual  it’s suppose to last about 10 washes, but I find that the shimmer can last much longer. Let’s hope it sprinkles pink magic and brings much needed happy new beginnings in my life, work an otherwise.

I continue to put my trust in your process, March, so what awesomeness will you come up with with 2/3 of you left to experience?