every other day, good or bad now

From a waiting game - corona times point of view, this past week has been intense. The magic, the good, the uplifting and the heartbreaking, dispiriting deeply saddening. And in between there's the really annoying and infuriating.

Today consisted of the latter. I spent hours getting to understand why on earth the annoying Swedish (well, merged with the Danish company in 2011, so it's a Nordic state-owned company since then) postal company PostNord (or as we call it in Sweden PostMord as in PostMurder because they are definitely going way out of their way to offer non-service and unhappy customers) has decided to hold my parcel with Palava facemasks and put customs fee on it, despite it being an order handmade, sold and sent within the EU. And any order from England will not have any extra fees on it until January 1 2021. Period.

First they claimed it comes with a customs declaration form on it - which I seriously doubt, since no package sent from England, Palava or not, has never ever had any customs declaration form attached. Then they lied and said it was sent from China. Seriously, they made that up, as If I'm so stupid I can't read the ID-number on the package and not been following its route from England to Sweden.

Then finally they showed me a photo of the sender's info. Which for some weird reason was a filled in customs declaration form. The CN22-form shouldn't be used within the EU. The one who sent the package from Palava must obviously have made a mistake, so that mistake must be easily fixable if you're a decent, professional, service-minded human being, right?

Well, those kind of human beings do not work at PostMord, at least not in the customer *service* department.

The customs fees must be paid, even if there isn't a customs fee that SHOULD be paid.

I've emailed Palava five times about this, I will most certainly not pay those fees (ie my order would be almost twice the price). I have done absolutely nothing wrong here and shouldn’t be penalized for someone else’s mistake. Either they will have to pay for the fee due to them using the wrong form, and the PostMord idiots refusing to bulge from the fees that legally shouldn't be, and get my package (which has been held by PostNord for 1,5 weeks, but wasn't told about until yesterday...) or the whole package needs to be returned and I want a full refund.

I will never get all those hours back, that I spent dealing with this stupidity. But seriously, imagine all the money based on wrongful claims that companies as detestable PostNord can reap if people don't question, react and say no. Sometimes you just need to chose a seemingly small battle, because idiot people and idiot companies simply shouldn't be able to get away with it, every time.

Fingers crossed that Palava will act decently in this. Some companies do, while others don't. And I've found that you never know which one will, until unnecessary things like this happen. Even companies that seem really kind and caring, can surprise you.



Went for a walk, bought some more of that excellent  vegan nicecreams from last Tuesday. Muttered to myself about mindblowing idiots all the way back home. Had a bowl of plantbased goodness and a cup of tea, felt somewhat better. Though still angry. No Friyay mood in sight.

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Cat tee in organic cotton, People Tree (full image here)
Skirt, Marimekko
Vegan shoes, El Naturalista

savouring a good day during corona

With all the heartbreak, sadness and worries - five months of  limbo life during corona, and extra intensely yesterday - it's more important than ever to fully experience and savoring every little detail of the good days. Like day before yesterday's magic meet cute. And a day like today.



My mother desperately needed to get out of her apartment, now dramatically void of the comforting pitter patter of tiny furry feet and lovable purrs. So we went for a walk down to the suburb center again. This time the goal was simply a fika at the new location for the cafe we visited on that rainy Friday a couple of weeks ago.

The new location is this house, Villa Skoga, built in 1926. Back then my suburb, Kungsängen, wasn't a suburb of Stockholm, there was no highway, no train station, just a pretty rural area a few miles north of Stockholm. It's really fascinating to look at old photos from back then. And also quite dispiriting, given how many lovely nature areas and farmland that have been destroyed for consolidation of dwellings and industries.

A lot of nature resources have been demolished only these almost 30 years I've been living here, and looking at the pictures it's difficult to grasp all the changes, with little or no respect for nature that has happened since then. And the human species obviously still don't connect the dots, as financial growth just isn't possible in a world with shrinking and and limited resources. It's 2020, and we're still heading straight into climate catastrophy on high gear...

But I digress. It wasn't at all this I was going to write about. The climate emergency we're living in is just constantly present in my mind.



The area of Villa Skoga is obviously densely populated now, with mostly charmless block of apartments, businesses and conveniences. The villa itself is still pretty, its location not. But I think the renovation is rather nicely done. It's suppose to become a blend of offices for small companies, a coffice, cafe, and a business hub basically. It can be a good thing.

The interesting thing, for me personally, is the fact that my grandfather actually worked as a landscape gardener at Villa Skoga back in the beginning, many many many years before I was born, before everything changed. And now his grand-daughter lives here. And today she enjoyed her first fika in the garden, he once designed, but which doesn't look anything like it anymore.



The fika was however very enjoyable. I'm glad they had at least one vegan cake (sticky chocolate cake), which was very good. No dairy-free whipped cream though. And only one boring looging plantbased sandwich. Plus a vegan bowl with non-specified ingredients. Ie, a lot of room for improvement to veganize more things deliciously. We need to have a chat, I have suggestions!



I also had my first coffee in five months. Oat latte. It was nice, but the espresso needs to be stronger for perfection. As I've become so sensitive when it comes to drinking black tea, and alcohol, it's very difficult to get to sleep when I do, I have an inkling it'll be the same this evening after coffee. WOrth it though.



Apart form a good fika and a lovely long walk - no walking nazis this time - to clear the body and mind, the best thing today was the weather. On the chilly side, windy and +17C but with the warming sun it was the perfect combination of refreshing and summer.

Hot, stuffy weather just makes me feel sick these days. I find the sun so much hotter and difficult to cope with, as well as inhibiting compared to when I was a kid. Back then we didn't dealt with global warming and a collapsing planet in the same way. It was easier to breathe. Easier to live and feeling hopeful and carefree. It's truly difficult imagining how it must be to be a child today, only having a very bleak future to adapt to, given the rapid pace we're heading there. Sorry, digressing again.



All and all, it was a good day, a simple yet much needed soul soothing day to be savoured. And lo and behold, I didn't really dress like a granny toddler.



Slowfashion, OOTD and shoe per diem:

Blouse, Marimekko
Denim skirt, Levis
Vegan sneakers, Adidas
Re-Kånken, Fjällräven

And nature was green and full with pops of colours, bird twitter, insects buzzing and butterflies fluttering. It doesn't get much better than that, right? Right.

the highs and lows of february update

Dear potential clients and companies, please do not get in touch asking about my availability and fees and think I'll be so happy to be asked I'll work for free. The right approach would be to actually a) know your own budget and b) do research the market fees. And by all means never ever get back and say things like "unfortunately we have a very limited budget and we've talked this through and we feel this is something a student can do." That is just utterly offensive, disrespectful and unprofessional.

Freelancing business owners and consultants actually do their jobs as a their living. Free-lancing doesn't mean we work for free, I'm sorry that you've misunderstood that. We have more or less experience within our fields, but we're all professionals and that's what you pay for. So go ahead and let a student do it, and you'll get the result you pay (or not) for. And you know, that besides me never wanting to work with you, that I'll never ever recommend you as a client to someone else, right?

And after all these years, no, firmly no, I am a not a serf just because I decided to go my own way and offering my experience and services via my own business instead of being employed.



Now, that's the most annoying thing that happened last week out of the way - and forever available in writing on the internetz. Here's a close-up glimpse of the gorgeous sheep dress I mentioned in the last post, from Palava. It makes me happy.



Zigne has reluctantly paw approved it, but she still thinks it's such weirdness of all weirdnesses that amongst all the animal prints they've designed there are still no cats visible anywhere. She has even let Palava know about that blatant disrespect for the best animal in the whole wide world.



I'm also happy to report that I managed to make the cold a reasonably short one, with all that ginger, citrus and spices, and it was gone within less than a week. Grateful I am.

I've had the new Marimekko coat out for s spin a few times, and I'm doing my very best to look past its lint-and-cat-hair-magnetic-properties. Apart from that annoying trait it's both practical and cute, and a source for compliments apparently. Which is always nice.



On the subject of compliments. I bought some fragrant necesseties at the Body Shop outlet last week - the Moringa body butter is one of my favourite skincare products ever, sad to hear they'll discontinue the extra large jars - and when I had to give my personal number to the cashier she just exclaimed "I must say you really don't look your age!". Upon which I answered, well thank you so much, it must be for all the fabulous skincare products I use.

Which obviously isn't the whole truth. Thank you genes too. And even if noone can stay completely away from heartache, sorrow and pain in life - and noone should, since it's through them we grow into better, more compassionate people - but most of us can at least take care of ourselves, inside out, eat well and stay away from harmful, toxic substances (and situations) that we are aware of.

Swedes usually make a big deal of having to show their identity card at the Systembolaget, to prove they're over 20 years old. As I never shop at Systembolaget - ie I rarely drink alcohol - that has never happened to me. But really, I'd much rather get a skincare professional in a beauty shop saying I look much younger than my age than a cashier selling alcohol.



I also went to the optician last week, and decided on a couple of new glasses so I could finally have sunglass clip-ons. Unfortunately the pair I tried on a while back was sold out at the moment - and here's I thinking I'm so unique, when half of Stockholm apparently chose the same frames, bah - so I chose others. But hopefully these frames will be back in stock soon.

After finding my beloved dotty glasses in 2011 I've never looked back at contact lenses again. I've sadly never found anything similar in frames as those, but I have enjoyed most of my glasses a lot anyway. It's difficult to imagine myself without glasses, they're so much me, a style statement I suppose.

But when the optician asked if I wanted to try on lenses to make it easier to chose frames I said yes. It was such a weird situation, to be able to see so well and not having to watch the world through spectacles. Unfortunately, despite what the Body Shop cashier said, the age apparently show when I wear lenses, I get long-sighted and can't read and write properly close up. Photos and photo editing is just a blur. Thus I'd need reading glasses to have contact lenses. Which was a bit of a shocker actually. Who knew it would be so much easier to just wear glasses?

Still thinking of having a box of lenses available anyway, to wear with all my old sunglasses I never can wear these days (since I'm blind as a bat without my glasses/prescription sunglasses).



Have also had my first lovely semla of the year - from Bagar'n Hornstull, a bakery that have a lot of vegan buns and pastries. The funny thing is that the bakery, situated close to the underground station Hornstull, was around even before I was born. My family lived in that neighbourhood when I was a kid and I remember we shopped breads and buns there even then. 



And I got to meet the army of cuteness and kindness. Pug Baron and labrador Mynta. We could all sleep safely if that was the only army around.





Was reminded that today was the day we were forced to say the final farewell to beloved Little Loaf. An exceptional little character. And since my every attempt so far to welcome a new doggie to this house have been unsuccessful, perhaps he was the one and only woof for me. Well, what's meant to be will be, but you can't help but wonder...



As you might have noticed by the pictures already, the snow and ice have basically melted already and very quickly. Spring is very much in the air, which is quite scary on these latitudes. Much too soon, as in 1-2 months too soon. As much as one usually looks forward to spring and the absence of dark evenings, ice and snow, after last year's horrific hot and exhausting, and all the wild fires, summer I'm seriously afraid of how things will look this year. Climate change moves faster than ever, and the growth is exponential.

And with that in mind everyone should be afraid, seriously worried, demand change and not least change themselves. Yet, so little is done - apart from the amazing school strikes #fridaysforfuture started by the inspirational, smart Greta of course - it is truly heartbreaking.



Then clever copywriting and advertising like this makes me happy. "Have the balls to make the world a better place" by Swedish Stockholm-based vegan family company Vegme - that makes excellent plantbased protein for the present and the future.



A pun is never wrong, in my opinion. And even better when it's actually a tasty pun that can save many innocent lives.



Talking about tasty food that saves lives, I finally attended a much talked about vegan brunch yesterday at the Radisson Blu Royal Park Hotel in Stockholm, suburb Solna. It was great, with a few kinks, and I was really impressed about all that was offered, the inventiveness and ambition of the weekly plantbased event.

I'll share more views and photos of the food in a post of its own - which it certainly deserves! - later this week. For now - a post-vegan-brunch-coma-wefie, with my friend aka Sporty Spice in animal rights garment "Always on the side of the animals" and me in Marimekko, but no less on the side of the animals.



And, February dearie, more goody goody goodness my way, m'kay?
A plethora of gratitude in advance.

a shower curtain named bobby

A few years ago I saw a fantastic cat shower curtain on Instagram, from Society6.

Yes, I switch between my cross-stitched roses, the birdies and the Marimekko Unikko one (the duckiest shower curtain I gave to charity since I found the Peking duck depiction offensive, simply not the thing I want to look at in the shower. Or anywhere else for that matter).

But strangely enough it has been over 10 years since I had a cat shower curtain. Quelle horreur!



Browsing the Society6 website I found was can only be described as THE perfect one for a knitting, cat-loving, ex-British Shorthair breeder - meet Bobby.



That facial expression of contempt, betrayal and superiority in a delightful blend of smooch-worthiness is an expression well-known for any owner of a blue brit. Well, it's not an expression exclusive to the blue ones I suppose...



I rarely order things from the US anymore, as the Swedish customs have become very diligent in slapping on fees on everything big and small, be it gifts or not. Ie reasonably priced things tend to be very expensive in the end. I don't mind paying a reasonable customs fee of course, but I really mind paying postal fees for the so called service of our despicable postal *service* company PostNord -

which were bad enough when it was owned my the Swedish government alone, the lack of quality then plummeted to new lows when they merged with the Danish government, 40% ownership. And this past year, especially this winter the craziness has reached even lower lows of things disappearing,  being broken, advice notes not being sent or appearing in the app thus being returned to sender, mail being so delayed you end up paying extra fees for bills never reaching you etc etc. The list is endless. The only thing the has gone up is their prices. -

But this was obviously a must. It ended up taking over two months to get here. It should have taken a week. Reaching the Swedish border there was apparently a co-operation between the customs and PostNord, with no information whatsoever until 1,5 months had passed that I had to pay extra. Which I promptly did. And then it took 2 weeks until I got the advice note to pick it up. *Insert rolling eyes galore*



But the happy smile on my face very time I walk into the bathroom, the urge to caress a shower curtain named Bobby's little soft nose - because yes, the details of the print are so unbelievably clear it looks both knitted as well as furry - and say sorry you had to put on that bobble hat, but you look darn cute in it, all that makes the wait worth it.

I'm not sure it's an ominous sign though, that the cats seem to communicate with Bobby? I do hope it's only admiration and not plotting a hostile feline take-over. If so, please send help.

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

Better late than never, here's second post of (technically obviously not) the forthnight diary-thing. But who cares. Late November- December snippets it is.

First of all, a plethora of fabulous (and not so fabulous) teas from a certifiable tea addict deserve a proper post, not just a few snaps and a brief mention, right? So despite the slightly misleading title and good intentions, I'll not write about tea now.



:: Been to the movies twice, one time definitely more enjoyable than the other. Which wasn't the movie's fault but the five teenage girls who kept disturbing the movie - Fantastic beasts, the crimes of Grindelwald - by talking, fiddling with their phones, running in and out from the cinema room during the film, and then leaving a mess on the floor with popcorn and trash. Why on earth pay 145SEK to "watch" a movie when you do anyhing but watch? Plus disturbing everyone else who actually do want to watch. Parents, teach your kids manners, please!

The tricky thing is, if it's not a full theatre with lots of people sitting nearby to react, you have to either tell the disturbers to keep shut, which they most likely won't. Then you have to go out and tell the staff to intervene. Whatever way you react/act or don't, you will have missed a lot of a movie you've paid a hefty ticket price for. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

The other movie was "Mamma Mia, here we go again" which was very enjoyable . Not as great as its prequel, but still. It's fantastic that ABBA's music is still so catchy, clever and moving, it gets me every time. That blend of I want to dance - I want to sing - and then I cry a bit because I'm so impressed by what Björn Ulveaus and Benny Andersson have created, still create. And proud they're Swedes that have touched the whole world with their memorable music.



:: Sweden is full of ugly people these days, if you know the saying "Fur is worn by beautiful animals and ugly people". Because every winter is getting worse, when it comes to these nasty hats with fur pompoms and coats with fur-trims walking the streets. Mainly worn by women. Plus they dress their babies and toddlers in fur trimmed clothes too. So many animals who suffers and die for this vanity. It's shameful, infuriating and heartbreaking. In 2018, when we really should be more enlightened as a specie in general. Instead the winter streets are overflowing with the ugliest of people.

Causes for Weltschmerz everywhere.



:: I've had my first appointment with the physiotherapist. It was good to get some feedback. Which was of the both positive and negative kind. In parts the hand/arm is well on recovery, in others it seems to be a long way to go yet. But I got some more rehab instructions, including squeezing rubber balls - which is why I have a heart in my hand often these days.

Have another appointment in a month and hopefully the mobility and strength will have improved some more by then.



:: The tangible Christmas gift to myself this year was this marvelous Little My sweater, which was worn by the proprietor in one of my favourite shops in town, and I treated myself to an early gift with my alter ego. Supercosy, organic cotton turtleneck in a versatile A-line shape. A happy sweater.

What's you Christmas gift to yourself this year?



:: Now left on my wishlist for Christmas and 2019 - if you don't count the environmental conscious, animal friendly, gender equal, kind, vegan world that we all need - is a job that speaks to my heart, with my kind of people and a decent, regular paycheck.

:: Which clearly would not come from the completely bizarre interview I was at last week. At a world leading niched Swedish company, I'd never heard of beforehand. I just stumbled over the ad on LinkedIn and thought it sounded fun, the role was as global social media manager, within a field that interests me.

The warning bells started to chime when I got a mass-email to an interview with lots of suggestions of times. Add they wanted copies of a) my university degrees and... *drumroll* my high school degrees... Which could have been relevant many decades ago, now it's just... crazy.

However this level of weirdness peaked my curiosity for an interview, so I went.

I really shouldn't have bothered. Because it was one of the most unprofessional interviews I've ever been to - similar of sorts to the 2016 debacle, a case of clearly living in parallell worlds. I wasn't offered a glass of water, tea or coffee, simply ushered into a room where the guy - in my mother's age, who said he had worked all his life in big business and now offered his services where needed. He had never worked with HR. - showed images and talked about how amazing the company was, world leading, outstanding luxuary products, how much revenue and growth they had, how they only hired THE best (even if it took years to find them) yada yada. Not a single word about work environment, well-being and staff turnover.

Then it was time for tests, as usual completely daft personality tests, which have no real scientifical proof of relevance and is simply a lazy way of recruiting. I refuse to let anyone judge and value my competence from such tests, so I don't know why I ended up doing them. And clearly he hadn't read neither CV, application nor those *very important* copies of degrees.

When it was finally time for me to ask all my questions about the company and what they could offer, well then he just thanked me for the meeting and said bye. Seriously. At least I quickly asked how they work with CSR and sustainability - "I don't know, that's not something we've talked about during my 10 years here." I. was. gobsmacked.

That a company in Sweden 2018, which prides itself in being world-leading at that, doesn't take CSR seriously, that's just ungraspable. And totally off-putting.

So the next day I emailed them telling we weren't a good match since they clearly don't see the importance of social and environmental responsability. And a couple of useful links to start working on that. Not that they will, since obviously it's a company solely interest in monetary growth. It has been a privately owned company since start (in 1968) but they plan for introduction on the stock exchange next year. I don't think their lack of CSR work will be a positive aspect for that. Hope not.

I'm pretty sure they wouldn't find me to be a THE best persons-person anyway, but it felt good, really good to say a firm no before that happened. Staying true to myself and my path in life.

The quest continues, for my tribe.



:: A few weeks ago a little surprise box arrived. And in the box was this wee one. A very special pretty little bobbaloo brooch that brightened the day. Welcomed to the Scandinavian Bobbaloo Settlement by Gingerbob, because it's that time of the year. Thank you again for the kindness, D, I'm so touched.



:: If you're looking for some special (vegan and palmoil-free) chocolate pralines for yourself or as a gift I can recommend these from vegandelights.se that I got at the Christmas fair. These are pumpkin spice, delicious, but they have other flavours too.



At the fair they also co-operated with the animal rights organisation Earth for Everyone, which mainly work with rescuing stray dogs in Iran and trying to improve the complete lack of animal welfare laws there. So by chosing this chocolate you also support a much needed animal welfare work.



Now, Happy Advent Third, I hope you've had, are having, will have lots of cosy moments, hygge, candles and tea, and if possible cat snuggles galore.

authenticity is a beautiful thing

counting the days to november 1, when the plaster comes off. oh the joy to be able to wear long sleeved things, to actually close the coats and jackets. to be able to have a long and decent shower. to peel, chop and grate veggies. not having to worry about getting the left arm wet. to lift things with both arms. to sleep in whatever position i want not having to accomodate the arm angle. to write properly. etc etc etc. all those simple everyday things we mostly take for granted.

but as inconvenient, painful, costly and time consuming as this situation is, perhaps i needed it to slow down a bit. and see things in another light.

earlier this week i felt a significant improvement with the hand, but i might have overdone it since. it's darn difficult to be patient, and you do want to test the limits. plus it's a fine line between the ordered physiotherapy and overstraining yourself.

before the p day (as in plaster) comes another p day (as in birthday). looking forward to the william morris exhibition at millesgården and some lovely vegan food on that day. and after the plaster comes off i might treat myself to a facial. my tired skin deserves it.

i do miss the autumn trips we used to take for my birthdays, m and i, but to be honest, just the thought of flying fills me with shame these days. i really really miss travelling, but as long as it's not done in an environmentally sound way on the ground i can't see myself doing it again.

which obviously is a deep sorrow in itself, the favourite places and cities that now seem so out of reach. but this is where the rich world's living has gotten our planet. we all need to share our responsability for that. and change our habits.



pelle is doing great after his neutering. he seems calmer and a bit more playful. and i don't have to worry about unwanted kittens.



i've enjoyed "the split" so much. i always love a decent legal drama, of course, and even more so when it's multilayered, questions human nature and why we behave like we do. nicola walker is great like always (she's such a versatile actor) and well, barry atsma is too plus a decent eye candy. still available on svt play in sweden. and i see there's a season two coming next year, hooray.



after five years of extensive renovating the national museum re-opened in stockholm this weekend. it's one of my favourite museums and i can't wait to see what they've done with it. this beautiful documentary on svt play (available in sweden only) really wets the appetite. such a gem filled with craftsmanship, innovation and attention to detail.

150 years ago it was the most modern national museum in the world, now it is again.



i'm hopeful that there's finally a decent solution in sight to my financial worries. which i'm not going to share on the internetz - it's that fine line between personal and private. but needless to say it would be glorious to be able to spend a significantly less amount of time worrying and say goodbye to sleepless nights.



obviously no baking my own vegan cinnamon buns for kanelbullens dag this year - but here's a recipe if you want to - but this bunch of vegan ones from bagar'n hornstull were delightful!



i've begun working on a social media, communication, marketing project within urban farming and the agrotech sector. it has been a year since i first heard of the exciting project. and hadn't i been involved in the project that turned out to be a massive let down by a dodgy client and unreliable team mates, i might not be where i am today. which i hope and think is a good place to be. (despite the worry, anger, tears and disappointment it also took to get here.)

i won't ask you to keep your fingers crossed again for ms sustainability 2018, because no matter what, what is meant to be will be. and there's no place like hope.



i also had a really lovely interview at an international animal rights organisation last week. i usually shy away from applying for positions in such organisations because they're just too close to my heart. but the ad screamed my name (head of digital communication). and whatever happens, i'm chuffed to have been one of the six chosen for an interview out of hundreds of applicants.



after the interview i had a spicy pumpkin latte (oat milk) and since global warming has given us +16 degrees celsius in mid october i could enjoy it (with mixed feelings) outdoors.



currently listening a lot to london grammar, specifically "hell to the liars". beautiful. as truth. and authenticity are. and the colours of october.