women's day 2015

I'm all for a good quote. Obviously. But I'm also quite allergic to screendumps, copy paste, regrams and such. To create original content isn't so darn difficult with all the clever smartphone tools out there these days.

So today, on the International Women's Day -

which is heartbreaking that we still need one, that the human being, societies, cultures and countries haven't come further in 2015. Equal rights for everyone, whether woman, man or other promotes peace, justice and prosperity for ALL. Truly mindboggling and heartbreaking that so many people still hasn't grasped that simple truth. And that there's so much hatred towards women out there. -

I decided to make a very personal photo quote creation (with the After Photo app). With a picture I took on the Isle of Skye some years ago (one of my favourite places on earth) and my very favourite quote.

And I ask you to please, on this day, give some serious thought to one of the most used and abused female beings on this planet, the kind and beautiful cow.

And please be the best, kindest, most compassionate and inspirational change you can possibly be for all earthlings of the female kind and otherwise.

They need and deserve that. Even if they don't walk on two legs.

weekend snaps

Even if the cows that aren't cows were the high-light of the weekend that was, admittedly we enjoyed a few other sights and such too.

Like the ghostly forest

The off-season beach

A few hours of pale winter sun over a clear and still lake

A pretty barn in the rural Stockholm suburbs

The castle with its off season luxury golf course

Afternoon tea at Tant Gredelin -

far from the best I've had, but still such a lovely place...

Many a yearn-worthy things in a nearby shop.

But no need, no room, no musts

instead there were miniature yarn.

And a fine winter sunset

five black beauties

These black beauties were the highlight of my Friday. I suspect they are actually young bulls and not cows, but bulls and calves fall into the specie category of cows too I suppose. So let's call them cows, because that's such a beautiful word, such a beautiful animal. For me they inspire thoughts of kindness, no harm, compassion, green eating (not necessarily grass), slow living, being in the here and now, philosophizing.

My wish is that these five black beauties live long and cow happy lives. As should all cows.

mushroom towel thoughts

I love mushrooms. Both the shape of and to eat. My father never touched them, said not even the cows eat them, they're just not fit for food. And that was that. For stubborn know-it-all him. But even if some of his traits, opinions and genes sure enough has been passed on to me, the can't-stand-mushroom-feature most certainly is not one of those. Mushroom dishes they are a fine fine thing.

As is the kind of huggable, fairytaleish mushroom shape. Thus I have been ogling this mushroom design for so long - from Swedish company Almedahls (founded in 1846) which has lots of classic, now re-born lovely design which I remember from my childhood and my mother from hers and so forth.

It comes in many shapes, like potholders, napkins, trays, fabrics. A while ago this prettiness of an autumnal tea towel said, with a tiny but adamant voice as I was walking past it in the shop, "I wanna move in with you and your furry, purry bunch" - and who am I to say no to such mushroomy adamantliness?

So now it hangs its days in my kitchen. I'm sure it'll be a useful towely thing that will brighten up many autumn days, weeks, months and years to come. And on that fungous conclusion I believe my father would have agreed.

Happy autumnal weekend ~

moo cows galore

The Ascension weekend is traditionally the weekend Swedish farmers let their cows out on green pastures after many months of indoors life. The reason/s for that indoor life only during winters on days with good weather to me seem to be sadly more for the convenience of farmers than the welfare of cows.

The spring cow release (as in "kosläpp") has for some years now been a well-visited arrangement at the farms that open up for visitors on that day. Frisky, prancing cows running out into the green fields really is a sight for sore eyes and I've been meaning to attend such a release for years.

Even though I do find the double-standards of most people attending such arrangements quite appalling. On the one hand there's a lot of oohing and how-sweet-ahing, on the other hand they have no problems with the slaugthering of said cows and eating of meat. Thus attending such venues do fill me with very mixed emotions and the ever-present undercurrent of sadness. As cows must be one of the most used and abused species on this planet. Who give us so much from and of their lives.

That said I did attend my first cow release some weeks ago. And yes, it filled me with all those miscellaneous feelings, but the cows (about 60 of them) were of course just adorable, loveable and sweet. Here are some glimpses from that day (more photos as usual in Flickr-album set) ~

still waiting for the cows...

the first two happy gals

~

~

the latecomer

very obviously dairy cow

well hallo moo to you too

~

the need for a friendly butt

~

ain't you just the prettiest not so little thing...

... and you too

~

~

PopCo

"PopCo" is another amazing book by Scarlett Thomas with a cover that promise greatness and manage to deliver it.

I loved it. Loved it, loved, l.o.v.e.d. it. LOVED. IT.

Possibly even more than I loved "The End of Mr. Y" (published after "PopCo"). This is truly the kind of book that can change your life. And to be honest, great books are a plethora, but it's not terribly often one get the joy of the possibly life changing ones.

The book certainly made me think. Even more than usual. It's just such a brilliant concoction of thought provoking ideas, a fascinatingly ambitious plot - the width, the research and the preparatory work is quite impressive - that's both easy to relate to, easy to read but at the same time highly enlightening (even to someone that really doesn't need convincing).

It's a marvellous roller coaster read about greedy multinational corporations, marketing, code-breaking, mathematics (me not being a number buff was rather mesmerized by their meaning in this book), animal rights, veganism, philosophy, paradoxes (ah, love those!), fashion, social criticism, religion, politics, love, life...

Some food for thought quotes from the book;

"Is it marketing that makes us think that something like being a vegetarian is as stupid as wearing shoulder pads and too much blusher? Is it just marketing that makes us feel good about tucking into a 99p slab of dead cow at lunchtime? That, and the fact that everyone else does it. The more people that do something, the more likely you are to do it too."

"Hitler tried to impose his shiny, blonde, neat, sparkling world on us all and we resisted. So how is it that when McDonald's, Disney, Gap and L'Oréal and all the others try to do the same thing we say 'OK'? Hitler needed marketing, that's all. What a great idea, to make people feel that they belong to something, that their identity makes them special. If Hitler had been able to enlist a twenty-first-century marketing department, would he have been able to sell Nazism to everyone? You can just see a beautiful, thin woman with her long blonde hair moving softly in the breeze and the tagline 'Because I'm worth it'. I am worth it. Me. I am worth the life of others."

Do read this fantastic book ~

cow encounters

this is pure love

As promised, more of the cow encounter of the Highland Cattle kind ~

the food walk (run)

the food stop

hey, wait for us

cuteness overload

such dignity, such beauty

is there anything cuter than this?

yes, there is...

... indeed

~ Have a lovely weekend ~

cow, castle and old man's head

This isn't the name of a pub. At least not one I'm familiar with. This is just me thinking life doesn't get much better than this; a sunny, warm Swedish early summer, a green green field full of old men's heads - nothing gory, only oversized head shaped grass tufts - a mild breeze, an encounter of the sweet cow kind and a free entrance castle ruin to explore. Life is good ~