tofu socks

Today was the inauguration of the tofu socks - same style as the bookworm ones but more pleasing for us gals with athletic calfs. Sidenote: "athletic" is such a nice word here, the description of muscular calfs in Swedish is just plain insulting - "stout". The lack of decent synonyms really is appaling at times - and it was truly love at first wear. They're really comfy, stretchy, warm, in a pleasing colour and giving a quirky fabulous statement.

Yay for fine socks, Sock Dreams rock!

And another yay for having no visible grey wisps no more and a fresh haircut, not a huge change since I'm comfortable with this look and just want to see it grow in length, but stil,l a bit of a different fringe snip. Very pleased with result.

Tofu socks and a decent haircut, what more can one ask of a pretty decent day.

how many bobbaloos does it take to bake a cake?

Or, how many bobbalos fit in an IKEA dalahorse cake tin?

Third question, how much time and effort does it take to convince bobbaloos that cake tin is for baking cake and not a place for sleeping?

Yes today's blogpost was a short, but very very sweet one. Imho.

random monday musings

Some random thoughts that have swirled through my mind on this Monday of incredibly intense falling of rain here;

~ one can never have to many semi-colons. Or at least most people and texts would benefit from a more frequent use of them darling dots.

~ the very first concert I went to (pre-teens or early teens) was with Shakin' Stevens. For pubescent girls at that time, I seem to recall, he and his pelvis movements were completely mesmerizing and swoonworthy. When I look at old music videos now I simply giggle at the poor quality and silliness of him shuffling around while singing. But the songs are still good. I remember especially enjoying "Oh Julie" and "You drive me crazy".

When I heard about him coming to Sweden in October (birthday treat!) with a 30th anniversary tour I got two tickets and thought it would be easy peasy to get good company. The two persons that were my first choices have said no, so now I have to rack my brain some more. I quite enjoy this recent version of "Oh Julie", the ticket's of the affordable kind, so really, what's not to like here?

~ when August came to an end the three-legged hedgehog and her family were suddenly nowhere in my garden to be seen. I fear the worst, but hopefully it was simply a case of them moving on to find a more befitting place to hibernate. It was lovely while it lasted, I hope to see her with friends next year again.

~ had my, hopefully, second to last root-filling experience last week. What got me through that hour of wide-open-mouth-brace-rubber-cloth-cover and drilling was the thought of me popping by an unexpected  shoe sale. Having my mind firmly set on a pair of black oxfords, because they're classics and winered oxfords might deserve a day off now and then come autumn. When I arrived at the shoe shop it turned out their (newly updated) website wasn't accurate and the specific shoes were long since sold out. I'm still quite quite disappointed about it. Even if my lack of shoes to wear isn't exactly legendary.

~ today arrived a most pleasing package of socks from Sock Dreams, some for myself, some for gifts. It was a nice treat on a glum day. Even if a pair of black oxfords would of course be the perfect compliment to some of the socks.

~ got a tip via a friend about a fine job that partly fits me like a glove, partly I have quite less than an idea how things work. But since they apparently still (this is the second time they advertise after a previous, recent non successful recruitment procedure) haven't found what they're looking for perhaps they're just looking at it the wrong way. Needless to say I'm beyond jaded when it comes to job-searching, but well, a tip from someone who's already semi-sold me to the organisation in question, an email-address to an actual person in charge instead of a de-identified web-formulary, I went for it. Without getting my hopes up, since they have sadly not done a lot of good for me so far.

~ never did go to the hairdresser last week, but I have a new appointment on Wednesday. A day that will hopefully find me in a better mood.

~ the Löv organic tea with orange cinnamon flavour is really really nice too. But I'll have to be careful with drinking any of them black teas before bedtime. I was wide awake all night last night after a couple of cups. That rarely happens with teas for me, so no such tea that time of the day (evening) from here on. Of course that's a good excuse to try some of the Löv green teas instead I suppose...

~ still haven't properly introduced the recent-ish bobbaloo arrivals, perhaps it's simply because an addiction a special fondness like that can be hard to own up to. It will appear quite tangible when properly posted in blog. But who cares really. Such little moodlifters deserve a proper post. So soon.

~ don't forget to enter the 6th blogoversary giveaway, if you're interested in getting a set of quirky postcards by yours truly. Last day of entry Thursday 22nd.

in grandpa's garden

With pretty much all my older female relatives wearing the Swedish Docksta-slippers when I was a child, they have been firmly fortified in my mind as granny (no chic whatsoever) wearables. Back then they came in beige or white only I think, at least that was what those old aunties wore only. And that wedged cork heel, well, very much not my cup of shoe tea. All and all, they were not something you associated with aesthetics.

Then some six years ago I spotted them again with an upper sole in one of the snazzy handprinted fabrics from Dalecarlian family design company Jobs - I do adore their fabulous colourful fabrics, also something I grew up with, albeit expensive so to make/get something from a piece of Jobs fabric was a treat - and suddenly they didn't look all that bad. Rather (granny) chic in fact. An eye-opener that made me contemplate actually getting a pair.

But of course they had to be absolutely right, the perfect colour, fabric and since the pattern area in most of their fabrics is quite large you can't be sure to get that perfect piece attached to a pair of slippers unless you're prepared to wait. And wait. And wait. And...

So, when we were in Dalecarlia last month we popped by the little Jobs shop, brimming with immensely droolworthy fabrics, and I tried a pair of slippers on for fun. Extremely comfortable they were, available both in sturdy cotton and wax cloth, every pair unique. Someone very kind said they could serve as an early birthday gift so my biggest problem (briefly) was to chose one pair, the perfect pair.

I narrowed the choices down to these pairs, still it was a tricky tricky situation... But in the end, I knew I'd be very unhappy if I didn't came home with a twin pair that boasted a pretty blue bird and pink flowers. It was only after I had put them in their box I realised the pattern was called "Morfars trädgård" - Grandpa's garden. So they are in a way a little hommage to my maternal grandfather (morfar) - from whom I inherited my pink bike - who was a keen gardener/garden architect. I am, in many ways, very pleased with my choice of slippers. Bobbaloo, cat and loaf approved and all.

It would be a pity to wear them as indoor shoes only and not to show their awesomeness to the world I think, so they will now be resting in their box, bide their time of wear until next year, get fabric proofing and then show their true prettiness next summer. It's like wearing a little piece of art on you feet and I'm sure one will get happier for it. The feeling I get from them is the same I get from the strawberry shirt. And that, that can never be wrong. Oh life should really be more garden and strawberry-like on a regular basis, no matter time of year.

have a lövely september weekend

At the end of a spectacularly uninspiring and tired week I have no exciting plans for the weekend, other than drinking lots of tea and watching movies previously recorded (having loads of those I never seem to get the time to watch).

My current tea favourite is the organic Löv tea in its pretty tins, I couldn't help myself so I splashed out (but it's of course totally worth it) on two more tins. Apart from the first Löv encounter of lovely red fruits, the rose tea (pink tin) is fantastic, smooth, kind, elegant and I'm hoping the orange-cinnamon one will be a pleasant acquaintance too. And I sure wouldn't mind having a few more of those awesome tins and their fabulous content available on my red kitchen buffet when the tea-need strikes...

I hope you get to have a fine kind of weekend, 
just the perfect way you planned or no-planned it ~

tuesday views

The basic mood du jour is still as blue as yesterday - thanks for all inputs, thoughts, suggestions, perspectives, treasured all, please keep them coming, those grains of gold! - but a few things that made me feel a tad better today were:

~ bobbaloos, but then they always do

~ the thought of going to the hairdresser tomorrow for some colour and snips. The appointment got cancelled some weeks ago and I simply haven't had the energy to book a new one. Who cares about grey hairs and scruffy looks anyway... But now when the opportunity rose again, I decided to grab it, because I know I always feel much better afterwards

~ many cups of tea

~ a crocheting project that slowly slowly grows into something

~ a tropical storm named Katia has apparently reached Sweden, and it has been very much alive here on the east coast still all day and evening. It's not that I enjoy a storm per se, but somehow, all this wind, the windchimes hard at work, keeps the worries at bay

PS Don't forget to leave a comment in the 6th blogoversary post for a chance to win the giveaway DS

the blue present

For a brief moment, with a big yellow rabbit in sight, I felt relaxed and reasonably happy in the moment. Back into another working week (which obviously isn't a working week for me) I'm just jaded and blue. I wish I was green and perky like the shoes I wore on big-yellow-rabbit-day - a pair which gave me a matching pair of bad blisters on each heel, I might have been stupid inaugurating them with no socks, but really the no-blisters-force have been with me before... - but again, like every week this past month or so, the jadedness remains.

If it had been the crazy woman and her behaviour only, then it might have been slightly more doable, but the complete and utter taking-advantage-and-lie-about-the-situation from the potential employer nastiness... That has taken its toll. I've always, and still I guess, considered myself a good judge of character, in this case I was taken for gullible fool. And felt like one in the end. Still I'm proud for saying no to being used as highly skilled cheap labour, again. But as overrated as jobs are, a reasonable and healthy income is not. And doing something you love is essential.

I'm so pleased to hear that my co-writer is in the zone, feeling focused and energized enough to write, to keep the firm anthropological point of view on stupid matters. Myself, I'm just too tired, too exhausted for it. I may be sitting, standing, walking, talking but I'm not really present. And as the spark has seen fit to be non-present too, I'm clueless as to where to go from here.

Wishing great shoes where enough, they may (are) definitely be (are) a part of a satisfying life puzzle, but some days you need so much more. Strange how that seems.

I was briefly awe-inspired/inspired by a discussion I saw about the documentary "I Am", it really does make lots of beautiful sense in so so many ways (I always feel such joy, if sadly brief, when I see, hear people talk about things I already feel in my heart). But where do you take it from 'simple' inspiration and a sense of connection to something greater?

Where do you find inspiration when jadedness has left you stuck in a blah rut? How do you keep your head above muddy waters? Where do you begin when you want the story you MUST tell to take the shape of a book? Any input, suggestions, ideas on a (green shoes) way forward from here is much appreciated.

big yellow rabbit

The city of Örebro - about 1,5 hours drive west of Stockholm - has during three years held a summer art exhibition called Örebro Open Art. Over a few months the art project, with some 50 artists from around the  world participating, has changed the face of the cityscape.

Apparently it has not been enjoyed by everyone and some citizens have seen it fit to vandalize and remove some of the open air art pieces. Yes, some pieces are definitely more enjoyable than others, but tastes differ and to destroy people's work like that, not being able to see the deeper meaning of some of the pieces that may not be obvious to the eye, such behaviour is simply despicable, narrowminded and nasty. It makes me sick. Instead of perhaps learn something from the art, displayed during three months only, grasp other realities, see a deeper truth, let's destroy. Ain't that just typical human behaviour.

The pieces will be dismantled on September 11, so this weekend was the last chance to see the exhibition. The piece de resistance being a huge yello bunny seemingly dropped by a giant child smack in the middle of the grand town square - oh I've been wanting to see its fabulasticness irl all summer, since I first caught a glimpse of it on Instagram.

Unfortunately it was a market day on Saturday, market stalls and lots of people around, it was sadly impossible to get those smooth performance photos I had dreamed of. But at least you get an idea of the bunny's size and location. I think it's absolutely precious, awesome, funny -

the strategic placement with the church and the statue of Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson, the Swedish rebel and statesman from the 15th century said to been part of the first Swedish parliament in 1435, inspecting the bunny's behind, it makes us question how we perceive a city -

and overall completely and utterly wonderful. The artist behind the bunny is a Dutch fellow named Florentijn Hofman, he certainly get all my thumbs up for creating this piece! (Needless to say the bunny project get a BIG bobbaloo stamp of approval too.)

At the end of the exhibition the bunny was for sale (for 500 000 sek), had I lived differently, had I been rich in money, I wouldn't have minded having it in my yard, I wouldn't have minded at all... I hope it gets a good and loving home, perhaps being reunited with the giant child who dropped it in the town square, and enjoyed over many years to come.

I think we all need more oversized bunnies (yellow or not) dropped into our lives to be happier and kinder beings.

6th blogoversary ~

Another year in blog, with blog, has passed. It has hold a plethora of high- as well as low-points - I'm still waiting for 2011 to show its true face of light, heart and butterflies... - one high being the Blog of Note acknowledgement. Which was definitely truly lovely, even if things have since calmed down to pretty much the same as before BoN-day, via that came new fine friends, so for that I feel only happy gratitude.

To celebrate this 6th blogoversary I'm having a little giveaway again. Three readers who leave a comment in this post, and it would of course be nice to hear why you like to come here and spend some reading time, will take part in the draw to win a set of 3 postcards and 1 bookmark -

similar to the ones for sale in the Prosit shop on Etsy, yes you can always hop over there to find something to fit your mood, I'm about to list new motifs and you're always welcome to ask if you have something special in mind, I will do my best to see if I can find it in my photo-stash

Please leave your comment no later than September 22, 2011 and you'll participate in the draw (the little drawers will be, depending on their mood du jour, bobbaloos, little loafie or plush kitties aka snoopervisors).

Happy 6th blogoversary
in "The World According to Pia" ~

old photos that made me smile

Browsed through some older photos in my Flickr stream today, some of them made me smile and remember fun times. Here are a few. Cats and kittens galore. And possibly a loaf dog or two. (And no, Vilgot above, blue tabby british shorthair, wasn't harmed in any way.)

The latest (and hopefully not the last) kitten litter in 2007, born 2-3 weeks apart. The older kittens scuttered over to the younger ones living quarters to play, the younger ones had barely opened their eyes at that time and it all seemed very precarious. The two mothers (sisters) however didn't care and soon they decided it was a good thing to simply share kittens and (cramped) living quarters.

William Wallace, red tabby british shorthair five weeks old

How many sleeping kittens can you fit on 

one tiny blanket under a kitchen chair?

When watching TV under a blanket you must be 

prepared to act cat and kitten bed. The furrier the merrier.

I heart you

Sometimes you find the strangest of things in the dustpan

Someone named loaf dog in desperate need of a fur cut...

I think we need to have another carrot cap chap photo session, 

after all it has been over three years since...

Squeaker toys are the best

Yeah, I've got style, baby
(Waldemar Warwick)



Priceless mother and daughter capture



The things one has to put up with in this residence...



To capture a hippo

What made you smile today?