thursday thought

if a new year begins with really bad news, is that a sign of a continuosly bad year?

and if those bad news are really sad, and unexpected, does that mean that it'll be a sorrowful kind of year?

i wish it was a reverse question to life and universe, if a new year begins with great, unexpected and joyous news... - alas it isn't.

we all have our trials and sorrows, sometimes i just wish there was enough time in between them to heal some more, instead of old, bleeding wounds being easily opened again.

in red with a touch of green

tried another pair of the socks i got recently (fabulous tartan in 85% recycled cotton, if only more products were made that way...),

teamed them rather spiffily (if i may say so myself) with a pair of red shoes, dreamt of spring amidst the snow.

finished the red beanie (the blue socks too).

immediately begun knitting a green one, applegreen, because (as is the case with most things colourful and handmade) you can't have too many caps.

and a pair of red socks.

it's nice to keep different yarn projects going simultaneously, change colour views and patterns.

right now, for various reasons, the knitting and the yarn are what keep my head above water. the comfort of yarn. when life hands you lemons, you knit.

cat herding according to loaf dog

one of many impawtant tasks for little loaf (according to himself) is cat herding.

the cat chosen is, as oh so many times before, generally not impressed.

little loaf and the birdie shower curtain

the duckiest shower curtain in the world has been washed, with the new year just replaced with the most beautiful shower curtain in the world.



still, a bit of change is a spice of life, i spied another beauty with birdies and flowers recently. when spring comes, i'll let it spice up my bathroom.

it has been inspected and gets paws up. best thing according to loaf dog is that the birds on shower curtain are quiet and well behaved, no need to bark at.



shower curtain from h&m home

ginger chews

chewy ginger candy, someone recommended these on instagram last year, looked for them but didn't found them until a couple of months ago in an asian super-market. first i got the original version, ginger only. very, very nice, sweet, hot and refreshing.

it was lovely for the throat when i had that cold in november, finished three boxes of them (i think they contain about 10 chews each), not sure if they were the reason for the cold not being the nasty lingering-for-a-month-kind but a more manageable one, but it was quite a difference from my usual kind of cold. i  will definitely see that i have a few boxes at home in case of cold emergency. it will now share first cold remedy place with veggies in green curry.

later someone said that the peppermint-ginger ones were even nicer. got a box, have to disagree. an unpleasant minty tang that doesn't go well with the ginger as far as i'm concerned.

another thing that i really don't like about the chews is the ridiculous packing, individual wrappings and plastic, not necessary and so not eco-friendly. change that, sina, and i will completely happily continue to buy and eat those delicious ginger chews.



what's your favourite cold remedy? food related or not?

perky things on a winter day

even if the mood inside isn't of the perkiest kind, bright colours always help to lift the spirit. even if, for various reasons, not a 100%, always a whole lot of more than drab, dark, glum colours. un-colours.

i welcome 2013 with a) a touch of circus nails, two pink, one purple. essie big spender (and no, hmf, i do not listen to someone mumbling 'how befitting a name'), a splash of grenadine and se-y divide.

b) stripey loveliness from sock dreams. you can always rely on them to get your colour fix. (and i've said it before, i'll say it again, good socks with a twist is such a great and unpretentious gift.)

how's the colour in your life these dark, winter days?

socks and beanies

the 72 granny squares cardigan will have to wait, since there are orders and wishes that have to be finished and fulfilled. i'm working parallell projects, it's nice to change perspectives and colours.

blue socks, orangey/peachy/black/red beanie. most probably both will be finished within a few days. then more socks, more caps.

hope all your current yarny projects are going your joyous way, happy weekend!

scenes from a swedish home

everytime we visit sister/brother-in-law's house -

which she, wife of m's brother, inherited when her father passed away 1,5 years ago, the house itself is where she grew up and before her her mother and possibly generations before that.

they had their wedding in the garden there a few years ago

- i can't help but think about all the nooks and crannies are like postcards, paintings from the past. stuck in a very charming time warp somehow.

it's not a home that has seen a lot of renovating over the years and even if the upstairs now only have minor works left to be completely updated but still in tune with the house's history, the downstairs is still pretty much the same "as it has always been".

not sure exactly how much of it they'll update and how much will be kept as is. myself i wouldn't be able to live with such dark walls and heavy furniture, but then again i have no connections to it. and oddly enough spending time there does bring nice memories from my childhood too, of old relatives apartments and houses. the furniture, the dark colours, paintings, smells, nooks and crannies, wallpapers.

the house is situated on one of the inner city islands of stockholm, a peaceful residential area with many pretty, old houses and gorgeous water and city views from upstairs. the garden is lovely and lush, it's a gem of a place really. inner city but at the same time a world of its very own.

i thought i'd share some pictures of the interior, most of them are the non-renovated downstairs, just because of its past times-loveliness.

liquorice pannacotta

i think pannacotta is a delightful dessert, but tend to stay away from it since stupid people often make it with non-vegetarian gelatine (to ruin a dessert with that when there are more than decent vegetarian options, like agar agar, mindblowing...).

here's an easy peasy recipe for a vegetarian one, three ingredients only. it was the first time i tried jelly sugar, it worked very well. hopefully you can find the equivalent in a non-swedish supermarket too.


l i q u o r i c e      p a n n a c o t t a

3-4 servings

0,75 dl jelly sugar (gelésocker)
3 dl cream
1,5 - 2 tbsp liquorice powder

whip the ingredients together in a pot. slowly let to a boil. boil for 30 seconds then pour into small serving pots/glasses. put into fridge for 1-2 hours before serving.

it's a delicious dessert, but also very rich so even if it seems like very small portions it will be perfect. promise.

passionfruit or raspberry sauce on top might be a nice compliment to the rich liquorice flavour.

72 granny squares later

befitting somehow, that on january 1st 2013 i finished the very last of the 72 magical granny squares that will hopefully soon be assembled into a cardigan.

the boringness of tying loose ends is of course left to do. but still, i'm nearly there and in not to shabby a time since i began crocheting the first of 72 squares.

colourful, magic, lovingly handmade, pretty much like i would like this new year to be.