spring has sprung 2023, part III

I had planned to head into the city this past week, to watch the magic cherry blossom trees in bloom in Kungsträdgården again. I haven’t seen them since pre-pandemic 2019. But then little mom got a terrible cold, and then a week later it was alas my turn. Still recovering, hopefully I’ll be reasonably alright again this upcoming week. But sadly I think that most of the city cherry blossoms will be gone by then. Here in the suburbs it has been unseasonably chilly (gratitude!) so they haven’t blossomed yet. So I will at least be able to enjoy some darling pink blossoms 2023.

This year two of my photos were chosen for the municipality’s environmental calendar. The cherry blossoms above for April (the in bloom season last year was quite different from this year obviously) and the lilacs at the church/cemetery for May, below.

Have you watched ’The Diplomat’ on Netflix already? If not you really should, especially if you, like me, loved ’The West Wing’. Great actors, snappy dialogue, setting, multilayered and cleverly woven current story. With that explosive season ending it will be difficult to wait for season two…

Prior to Easter I stopped by my ”new” favourite tea shop in Stockholm. Which happens to be Sweden’s oldest tea/coffee merchant so it isn’t very new, but it was just a very long time since I last visited (2017 I think, and of course right before new year’s last year) and I’m very much smittened bu the whole atmosphere and of course all the colourful, stylish packaging and tins. I bought teas for myself and gifts for a couple of friends. Even made a little not too shabby reel that I still haven’t figured out how to post in blog. Ridiculous I know, but there you are. 

I also used that black (and only) Marimekko dress I bought second hand last autumn, for the first time. As the model is much shorter than my usual dresses I just couldn’t figure out to wear it during winter, as I don’t have any long enough winter coat to cover it up properly.

But here you are, me in a black dress for the first time in 20ish years.

The dress is straight, I would have prefered it a-line, but it looks fairly good anyway I think. The tights are from fabulous Snagtights, 80 denier colour Mustard. Boots, my ol’ trustworthy El Naturalista Iggdrasil. 

And yup, it’ll be such a relief when (and how) we’ll be able to finally clear up the hallway again. Living in post-moving chaos isn’t a lot of fun.

That’s why I feel the need to create some pretty, cozy and relaxing corners here and there, so I don’t feel/see the mess existing side by side all the time.

.

For Easter I changed the sofa covers and added new (bought second hand) cushion covers. The green striped fabric is old, but unused that we brought with us from little mum’s extensive stash. The cushion covers are all Marimekko. It brings me joy to find them second hand and then change them during the year. A small collection I want to grow. 

The candle lights are also the Marimekko/Iittala classics Kivi, and this bowl is from the same collaboration called Mariskooli. That one I actually from fellow British Shorthair breeder in Finland, when she was here with her female to mate her with Knut (I think it was). To be honest I wasn’t really s fan of Marimekko back then (20ish years ago), and it wasn’t really my style I felt. But I am so grateful I kept it, and let it collect dust in a kitchen cupboard, because now I love it. And it was such a nice thing to finally bring forth for vegan Easter candy.

And I even painted my nails for Easter. It happens extremely rarely these days. From being a great fan of polish, addicted even, I just find it icky and well, unhealthy really, these days. But my old speckled eggs are nice to use for Easter at least.

I’ve also recently found that it is possibly to find Bath & Body Works online (second hand, so to say, but unused) in Sweden. Considerably more expensive than in the US/Canada stores, but still. When you miss something bad enough… I got a few bottles of hand soaps earlier, loved them, and bought a few more for Easter. (Not that one would use them all up for one Easter, but there will hopefully be more and the prints are adorable.)

I wrote about the 💗❤️💗 Marimekko pillow cover I treated myself to for Valentine’s day, didn’t I? The print reminded me so much of sheets I had as a kid. And when there was a short special price on all beddings I went back and got the matching duvet cover. Isn’t it marvelous?! Such a happy, colourful design.

The leopard print bedset above was the one I got as a birthday gift in 2022, and also as a memory of darling Zigne. It’s Marimekko (duh) and very cute, but also of concideeably poorer quality than other Marimekko beddings. I should have pointed that out to customer service back then, but I was crushed from the loss of Zigne and all the nastiness I went through from the county administrative board at the time (which then turned into the witch hunt madness), so I didn’t bother. I can still let them now about the sub par quality of course. 

The other pillow cover in the photo I won in a second hand auction pre-Easter, it’s lovely and unusual. Different designs in one print. I suppose it’s rare enough to keep in special storage and not use, but really, when I buy something it’s meant to bring joy AND be useful at the same time.

Currently this crisp bedding brings me joy. The birthday gift I gifted myself last year. I needed it. Feeling old, tired, grey and totally exhausted after a hellish 1,5 years, I really did. Finally a Marimekko bedset with the Unikko print. 

Used with an old sheet my grandma embroidered it gives me a nice, wistful and grateful feeling at night.

The Maria Lang book is the last one I got as a kid, for Christmas in the 80ies. And the book that nudged be into focus on collecting all her books during the pandemic. And I managed to get the ones I didn’t already have, all but one second hand, fairly quickly. It was a fun little self-appointed challenge. When this book is finished I have only nine more to go before I have finally read them all, cronologically.

Little pockets of joy are so very important. Especially in the world we are living in now. Wars looming, dire climate emergency, societal structural collapses, financial worries, and people being ruder and weirder than ever imho, then crisp clean sheets, books, plantbased deliciousness, colourful things, nature, cat purrs and alike are essentials for reasonable well-being and sanity. According to me. 

What are your essential little pockets of joy in these truly troublesome times. What are you grateful for? How do you survive?

Be kind, be safe out there.

welcome april, bye march 2022

 

On April 1 2022 this was not what I expected. But there you are. In line with what 2022 has offered so far. 

(I remember we had snow in May when I was a kid, so I’m not saying capricious weather always is linked to the human induced climate change, but it would be nice not to see this backlash now after a couple of weeks with +10C and April arriving…)

So, March. It has been a really really weird month, yes some good things happened but also some really really bad ones, or just one, a very big one, in particular. It has taken me by surprise, shaken me to the core, the absurdity, the violation of the innermost me and my values, the total unprofessionalism, it is nothing short of a real life Twilight Zone situation. It’s nauesating, infuriating, sick and insane. Is it even legal? Yes, I could go on and on, but it is not over yet, so I will leave it at that for now. Needless to say it has overshadowed the whole month.

I have experienced my fair share of absurdities and awful human behaviours before (haven’t we all…?) but this really win first prize in my book. Something quite like this has never happened previously, and just because it is so completely bizarre, and scary, and incredibly stressful, it has been difficult to appreciate the small things and the much much needed pockets of joy in March. 

And of course everything may pale in comparison with the horrific Russian invasion of Ukraine. Two peas in a mad pod, the crazy orange guy in the west and the little pale one in the east. Seriously, what is wrong with men and their inferiority complex and illusions of grandeur? 

It’s 2022 and the world is burning, we literally have a climate emergency, the ice caps have melted, tipping point by tipping point will be reached much much sooner that expected - and then some weird little pathetic dictator think the best thing to do is to start a war commiting countless of atrocities and war crimes within weeks alone. 

Can’t say I’m terribly impressed by the actions from the rest of the world’s democratic politicians either (including Sweden’s). The continuation of fueling the dictator’s war with dirty oil and gas money. And the gobsmacking ignorance of people in general (especially people with cars) expecting nothing to change, that it is always someone else who should pick up the bill and the pieces. 

When we will all have to pay a price, quite possibly a much higher one the longer we wait for a green shift to automagically happen. The spoilt brat syndrome of our western world. It’s sickening and embarrassing.

So apart from the world crisis on the brink of World War III, the climate emergency as well as my own private little hell to deal with, what have been the little pockets of treasured joys this past month then?

Well, enjoying perky Snag tights with shoes for warmer weather, vegan cooking, and baking (there may be a recipe or two appearing soon). Met up with a woman I briefly worked with a few years back and got to see her lovely art in person. It was amazing and inspiring!

Unfortunately I picked the day when the commuter train system collapsed (again) and I ended up stuck waiting on a station for three hours for a train. This was my face when I finally got home after nearly five hours (had everything ran as usual that journey would gave taken 1 hour and 15 minutes door to door).

And yes, that is a middle finger to the usual lack of communication and problem solving skills from SL (the local Stockholm public transport) that day. This is certainly a case of things used to be so much better in the good old days.

Weather slowly turning into spring (until now).

Spending time with my own two little lovable fluffy weirdos, and a couple of fun job projects (but no, still no dream job caught, or my kind of people met).

Books read, but so far none wow of 2022. 

I haven’t found any new wow-series on Netflix (after Dark) but I have almost binge watched all six seasons of Queer Eye. Used to enjoy the original series a lot, and I didn’t like this new one at first but the gang grew on me and now I found them great and in fact much better than the originals. Skipped all the animal eating focused episodes, loved the climate activist and animal sanctuary-episodes the most (obviously). Found the episodes in Japan dispiriting, sad and zero relatable. Watched the German version too, but I find it so theatrical and odd, one would have thought it would be easier to relate to Germans in need of Fab 5’s intervention but apparently not.

Welcome April, I am in desperate need of kindness, reason, less stress and more help from the Universe, new healthy change and purpose, amazing heartfelt beginnings and a lot of relaxation and relief. I’m really really REALLY hoping you will help with that April, please? 

PS Thanks for all the lessons March, it has been rough and bumpy ride. Still not sure why you felt the need to do teach me all that, maybe one day I will… DS

welcome may, farewell april 2021

The last week’s unexpected and devastating loss of Pelle aside (not that that itself will ever be a thing to look aside or past of course), I think April was a rather good month overall.

One year and one month living with a pandemic later. In a terribly restricted small world, without new impressions and real life interaction with old and new people. And with that the feeling of a constantly shrinking, shrivelling brain due to that lack of growth and possibilities. That too aside. April was good.

Little Mum got her second Covid shot. 

Phase 4, of which I and most of us not in risk groups belong to, were suppose to get the opportunity in mid May. Definitely too good to be true I thought, and right I was, it won’t be happening until September as things look now. 

So anticipating another lost summer alas, confined to the limits of these suburbs just like last year. Walking, reading, weekly vegan thai take away, vegan fika once a week, library visits and grocery shopping, waiting ad finitum and repeat. 

The weather has been your typical capricious April weather - rather cold and windy, but quite a lot of sun. Snow occasionally, and hail, a bit of rain but yes mostly sun but crispy air. 

May/June is when nature in Sweden truly wakes up and usually show its green, lush and benevolent face. I’m looking forward to visiting the cherry blossom trees soon, that were planted here last year. Crocuses, scillas, Easter lilies have been and left, now is the time of pussyfoot, wood anemones, hepatica and cowslips.

April 2021 was also the month I discovered the satisfaction of doing great second hand bargains via Tradera (the Swedish ebay of sorts). I’m not sure I wrote about an amazing Marimekko vintage blouse I missed out on there in March? Because I was an amateur bidder and underestimated the competition. But no more. I’m a pretty fab pro bidder now, and I’ve won 90% of the bidding done. Strategy is everything.

Most things have been in great, or brand new even, condition. The only thing I wasn’t impressed by was a buy from the second hand resale site Sellpy (I have no idea why they sell via Tradera since they have their own site, but they’re doing a swell job blocking small, private sellers. The quality, of well-known brands, isn’t very good, often dirty and overpriced. So once bought from them, never again).

I’m only looking at Marimekko stuff and Maria Lang books (building my collection after re-discovering her books in my bookshelf last summer, remember?) basically. Oh, and I got a heap of old/new miniature cake tins the other day, been meaning to have a go of those recipes from Veganska bakboken. But no such tins in this house, until soon now, hooray. 

My selling on Tradera hasn’t gone so well, so far though. I firmly believe you can make a bargain without paying offensively low prices. Thus I’m not setting my starting prices super-low, for high quality clothes and shoes in outstanding condition. My username is piaktw on Tradera, go have a look if you find something. Sizes M-XL and shoes size 39-41.

I have sold several Marimekko pieces in a Facebook-group instead. Because we are all aware of the high second hand standard of the brand and its value, so it’s fairly easy to sell there and there are often queues of eager buyers. Unlike many Facebook-groups it has a good and positive ambiance overall.

I’m absolutely chuffed about my finds, they totally deserve a happy bonanza post of their own, to come.

Amongst all the fiction read I’ve also begun working with this book - The Career Stories Method by Kerri Twigg. I follow her on LinkedIn and I think she’s inspiring and have some great insights on finding your dream job. 

As things haven’t exactly gone smoothly on my quest so far - and I really don’t understand why - I’m thinking I need to look for and package myself and the value I bring in a new and improved way. I think this book is a good start. Chapter 1 was full of hallelujah moments. Loved it. Got stuck in chapter 4. It didn’t flow as easily for me, so I’m taking my time there.

As I’ve mentioned I’ve been working with an old client in April. And the current needs will be ongoing until June, as things look now. 

I’m also involved in other processes, which I keep my fingers firmly crossed for. 

And I’m thinking of taking some new courses, not sure in exactly what yet. But it’s good to find ways to stretch and expand the brain in these limiting times.

Not only Ågot, Prunella and Pelle had their birthdays in April, but little mum too. We went for coffee and cake at the cafe in the morning, then I cooked and baked a vegan raspberry pear cake, and gifted her some nice things. I do believe she enjoyed the extensive Pelle cuddle the most though. 

This is apparently what a cat in very poor condition and badly cared for look (she wrote sarcastically).

I attended the annual sustainability forum at my alma mater, Stockholm university. This year digital of course. It was pretty good, but for the sound disappearing during the afternoon sessions. Though of course nothing like the real deal amidst real life people in Aula Magna at the university. Hopefully next year.

The day after I lost Pelle, I went grocery shopping and picked up a parcel I was pretty excited about, at least prior to the Pelle-ordeal. When I got home I put the delicious leftover chili on the stove and sat down in the sun in the garden with the furries.

Lost in thoughts I forgot about the pot on the stove, so when I decided to go back in I felt a smell that made me think the neighbours had heated up the barbecue... The kitchen was full of sticky smoke. Luckily no fire, and the smoke/fire alarms didn’t go off until I had begun airing out the smoke and smell (it’s still quite distinctly around though, especially in the kitchen).

The cats didn’t care a bit, they basically just yawned and went back to sleep. Myself I had a sore throat from the coughing and sticky smoke the rest of the day. Obviously I totally ruined my only big pot and that big stirring spoon (whatever was I thinking letting a plastic spoon remain in the pot...). But I’m so grateful nothing much much worse happened. 

I have never done anything this stupid. It’s quite embarassing. I blame a rough year, mind shrivelling and not least the unexpected loss of darling Pelle, the day before.

Oh, and I just remembered I wrote about this smoky incident already, in the previous post about the loss. Well, there’s a proof of the mind shrivelling life in the time of corona, for ya’.

Thank you April, you’ve been full of lessons and growth, small miracles and tiny sparkling moments of happiness and hope. Your pink moon, the supermoon, was just amazing. I am so sorry and sad you saw fit to end your time with a devastating loss of a precious furry family member. 

Hello, beautiful May, please bring positive change, true momentum and new sparkling beginnings to treasure. You are very much welcome.