karma come over and welcome june

With only a few minutes to spare before May 2019 turns June, procrastinator Pia realises she should write a farewell May-post. To at sum up these past couple of weeks, of sorts. And somehow try and keep it really short and sweet. *Do I hear sniggers again?*

:: I think I'll skip photos for now, and add them later. It has been such a hassle being without the computer. Luckily it's back and extra super luckily they did managed to save the hard-drive too. But alas it's not doing very well, so they recommended I'd get a new one anyway... Try not to think too much about that for now, and limit my time on it.

Really hate the fact that a computer is considered old after 4 years only, and instead of having a repair, service or update, which clearly would be better for the limited resources of this planet that are constantly diminished as I write, we should discard and buy a new one. The wear and tear society of poor quality is just so completely naueseating. One would think we should have come so much further along on the sustainable road by now.



:: There have been further developments in the mysterious case of little blue-eyed light of mine, Ztina. She finally had hear dental check-up and surgery, confirming FORL, several teeth already gone and then removing several tiny toothies (saved in a box). She must have been in such pain and I feel like a bad bad meowmy for not realising that earlier. One might think the vet should have thought about that earlier too though... It has been a costly and very worrisome path to get here. But then again, cats are so great at hiding pain. And showing weird symptoms.

However, pretty much immediately after waking up from her surgery she was a changed cat. Step by step back to her old self. She is still on pain medication, and have some weird quirks going on. But I feel she's on a strong path of recovery. She may not be her completely old self ever again, but I love her new self very much too.



:: Due to last year's incredibly hot global warming summer the aspen has been in bloom like never before this year. Covering the air and ground with thick whiter fluff lite snow, lint or dandelion seedlings for a week or so. It was a bit magical really.

And so far, touch wood, we've had much more rain and chilly days in May compared to last year. Please, please let that continue. It is so much easier to enjoy the days of sun when it's not tropically hot and dry for months.



:: I've attended four seminars. One on circular design - interesting topic, so-so presented. One on the Naturskyddsföreningen's (The Society for Preserving of Nature) new book "Naturligtvis" (translates Naturally but the word is also a double meaning in Swedish, it can also be Naturally Wise) about how to help insects, animals and biodiversity in your garden - it was great, bought the book of course. But can also affirm that I'm already doing a lot for it by not being a keen gardener, letting it tend for itself and be *a bit* wild is a great thing for biodiversity. And who knew that dandelions and its pollen are great for insects?



Extra plus for the fantastic vegan salad that's included in the lunch ticket at the bookstore that hosts some of these events.



The next seminar was on skincare, and how much of the skincare products sold are just clever marketing tricks and of now use for our skin, often quite the opposite. The writer who talked is a pharmacist and scientist. It was so very interesting, and yes it confirmed a lot of the things I've always suspected about skincare products. Eg that serums and tonics are basically useless for a healthy skin. It's the ingredients that are important, not the product. Yes, I bought that book too, Hudbibeln (The Skin Bible). It's fascinating, in Swedish only but I hope it'll be translated. EDIT: Horay, it's in the process of translation into several languages as of June 2019. Soon in English.

Currently using more skincare products in my daily regime than I've ever done before. But it has been a struggle these past few years to try and regain as much as possible of the once healthy skin of mine. And it wasn't until I began using Dermalogica I felt I was finally on the right track. So now I'm just trying to figure out the best products to continue with, and the ones that haven't made that much difference. I want to get down to a bare minimum. Don't think 2 + 1 + 6 products is viable in the long run...



The fourth seminar was on Rewilding Sweden. I've followed Rewilding Europe on LinkedIn for a couple of years now, and also worked with a client a few years back who was part of various wildlife project in Italy. Such an inspiring project. And also an important part of fighting climate change. The seminar was hosted by a politician in The Green Party and it was held in the Parliament. Some speakers far better than others, and the president of the Swedish Hunting Association was of course pretty nasty and offensive. Void of thinking outside her narrow little box and without compassion. But other than that, it was a really enlightening afternoon.



:: After the reversed job ad I published on LinkedIn a few weeks back I have some interesting meetings booked in the upcoming weeks. To be honest, yes I'm pretty jaded by now, I don't think that perfect illusive job will finally land in my lap any time very soon, even after all my hard work. But I'm curious and open-minded, who knows.

And as the song goes "Karma come over, lean on my shoulder, tell me what's good, I've been thinking about you" (Years & Years, great, catchy song).

This "Trusting in the timing of the Universe", that does take a lot of effort and energy. And frustration. Which could obviously be used in better ways.



:: I've finally bought a pair of lovely white, chunky vegan sneakers. I had a pair of Rombaut Boccaccio high on my wish list, but seriously, I could not defend paying that much for a pair of white shoes. Have not even paid that much for a pair of great quality boots now on their 10th season the upcoming winter. And I seriously doubt a pair of white sneakers will last for 10 seasons, no matter how well I care for them, if I'm honest.

Good thing was that when I compared them to the Matt & Nat pair I think they looked better, more I. At a way more reasonable price. They're super comfy, but it's also a fact that it takes time to get used to how well-padded sneakers work on your feet compared to sturdier shoes. All that softness, I find it... strange. But I'll get used to it, I'm sure.



:: I stumbled over the vegan, organic, natural deodorant Nuud on Instagram. Been thinking a lot about how rubbish pretty much every common deodorant is, and how about all those ingredients, are they really healthy? So I decided to order a bottle and have a try (free postage everywhere, in case you want to try it too). Love the package design, and clever, simple copy too. Have just started my detox, and even though they warned that one might experience extra smell initially during the process, I have to say that it's definitely better after +24 hours than with an average deo. Don't smell a thing actually. Can it be that Nuud is just as fantastic as it claims to be?


:: I've cooked some fantastic meals from the vegan organic food box too. It has been far too long since I wrote a post on that. Soon is the time for one.


:: Got some new solar lights at IKEA, this time three bigger bulbs that I hung in the tree. After only a few hours on a cloudy day they shone brightly the same evening already. Which is a small sign that there are so much free energy out there, waiting to be harvested, at no cost for the environment, the opposite. We should all install solar panels on our roofs, for goodness sake! Which has been high on my wish list too, for years and years.

But for now, I'm contemplating getting 3-4 more bulbs to put higher up in the tree. Imagine how magical that would look when the clematis covers the branches by the middle of summer.


:: I'm using the Bullet Journal every day. Not sure if I'm using it as one "should", perhaps more a simple diary than a planner as such. But I also do monthly and weekly lists and feel the pressure to tick them off more than I did before. So I suppose I'm on the right path at least.

Looking forward to start planning for June, do the monthly log, migrating tasks or deem them irrelevant.


:: In April I read five books. It has been ages since I did that. I had hoped to do the same in May, but I only started with two books and on the last shivering minutes of the month I'm only half way through them both. Too much on my mind, in my May days for reading I suppose. Reading fingers crossed for June.


All and all, I think May has been a pretty glorious month, full of fabulous learning experiences, inspiration and great food. Yes, there have been problems and worries too, but I've also solved most of them with pleasing results. And for that I can feel strong and proud, also on those days when I feel small and troubled (we all have them, if we're honest, no matter how great we are deep inside). Most grateful thanks, May, you've been lovely, mostly kind and caring.

Welcome, dear June, let's continue on this path of goodness and why not add sprinkles of glory, m'kay? An abundance of kindness and gratitude your way, in advance, yours truly.

glorious may and hey computer crash

Currently experiencing my first ever computer crash - thank you Microsoft and WIndows update - and I can but hold my fingers and toes tightly crossed all my documents are salvagable and that the computer can be fixed. Also, to figure out passwords or change them is ridiculously time-consuming for every gadget.

Writing this on the iPad, and let's just say it's so very far from the user friendliness of a decent computer, a regular screen and keyboard. It may be nifty at times, but I do prefer the iPhone (on which I can't blog effectively since the Blogger app was removed altogether alas) for most things daily. Though obviously not writing longer texts.

So this will be a short update. Or as short as I can keep it. Unfortunately without more photos, because it's just too timeconsuming to figure out how to do it the best way here. Which is a pity, because there have been a plethora of gorgeous blooms and moments in May. The weather has been terribly capricious, as global warming is the new normal there have days which have been ice cold and some more seasonably appropriate, but most days a coat is still called for.

I'm grateful that everything hasn't bloomed yet, as it did last year, due to the cold weather. But I also long for much more rain than sun.

So, what has happened since last, in May so far?

Had a wonderful outing to Millesgården. The art in question wasn't really my cup of tea, but the garden and sculpture park is always such a delight no matter season.

Ztina's health has continued to be a great worry and conondrum. And I can't help but questioning the vet's competence, to be honest. It has been pretty costly, to say the least, even with the insurance, and perhaps he's more interested in the money that figuring out the reason behind her sympthoms...

The tests haven't showed anything abnormal, I have a new appointment on monday, hopefully we can come to a good decision on the next step then. Meanwhile she has her good days, her less than good days, but never great days, or fully normal days for a usually perky 7 year old. 

After having cats in my life for over 30 years she's the first one ever who've been ill in this unknown and long-term way. And I guess there's a line somewhere, when enough is enough, when her life quality as a rather young cat with many more years to live fully, isn't what it should be, unless we figure out what's ailing her.

Something I don't really want to think about, but it's been in the back of my mind for months now so...

On the brighter side of the nearby animal kingdom, I've had a dog sitting session for a super cute puppy whose a ShiTzu mix, named Zelda. I would not want a puppy again myself, but spending time with baby animals is just such a treat and bliss for the soul.

Been to a couple of interviews. Both for what seemed like pretty great jobs, but as usual you never know about the competition. An also as usual, what's meant to be will be. I'm not good at being patient, but so much in life is a waiting game, and well, my trust in the timing of the universe is something I'm constantly working on.

I've taken my first shot against the dreaded tick desease TBE, need two more this summer before I'm fully vaccinated. I'm pretty proud I, whose afraid of needles, found the experience pretty hassle as well as pain free.

Attended a pretty cosy feelgood evening, with several swedish chicklit writers I had basically never heard of before, but best of all both Marian Keyes and Jenny Colgan. Got books signed, bought some new ones and had a shoe per diem moment with Marian Keyes - and the picture to prove it!

I've bought myself a pink Re-Kånken. SO now I can finally decide if I'm having a blue or pink kind of day.

I've also finally, after years of looking, found the perfect denim skirt. WIth pockets of course. I did want one in organic cotton and a slightly different model. But no matter how much I looked and browsed the internetz I couldn't find it. I then saw an A-line one at Levi's and knew it would be great, if it fitted. And hooray, it was perfect when it arrived. It'll be my go to skirt forever, and it really does go with everything.

I went to my first, and last, ever Marimeko sample sale. 7.30 am and it was a surprisingly long queue, and people went a bit crazy (understatement) once inside. I only snatched a big summer tote in a lovely red flower pattern and quickly made my departure. Never again. But an experience richer.

I've also sold a decent portion of the garments I handed in at the Bric-a-Brac second hand sale. 20% to charity and the rest in a voucher for me. I really have to make my plans on selling garments I'm no longer happy about having in my wardrobe, but still have many years of use in then and will look great on someone else, a reality. A good cleanse.

Had a wonderful dinner at a (new to me) vegan restaurant with a friend. Magical interior, friendly, knowledgable staff, great food and not least, a dog friendly place with its own restaurant dog, Google Fröjdas STockholm and you'll find it.

I've pre-voted in the EU-elections. And for the first time ever, I voted a 100% with heart and head and didn't settle for 'the least bad' for strategical reasons. 

My current music crush is Years & Years. Especially "If you're over me*. (Also, surprisingly enough given my opinions of the Eurovision Contest, I love the SWedish contribution this year, only heard it for the first time yesterday, but I think it's pretty spectacular, professional and catchy. John Lundvik - Too late for love)

Thank you so far, glorious May, ups and downs, more ups and fabulousness only from now on, okey? Thank you kindly, with gratitude.

easter shenanigans in pink

Over Easter I began planning in my Bullet Journal, one of my goals for April and forward was to blog 1-2 per week. I've already begun slacking obviously. At least there are other areas where I've ticked a reasonable amount of boxes. And I honestly think we would be very boring humans if we got A+ in every single thing we aimed for. Life is so much more fun and interesting if we leave room for spontaneity and life's little surprises, wouldn't you agree?

And just as the BuJo principle says, if you haven't ticked the box there's always a new month for that task. Or perhaps it's not important enough, and can instead be removed form the to do lost.

Welcome to my easter shenanigans in many shades of pink!



As if I needed more tea. I got it anyway, easter calls for special tea. Including a refill of the wonderful angel tea I bought after the completion letter session in my grief recovery process group. And as M's birthday would have been on the 19th, and instead his funeral was on the 20th, three years ago, I got it so we could have a cup of tea together of sorts.



As is also obvious by now, is that everything need special snoopervising by special feline lens louses in this household. In the end, everything is about the cats. And more often than not about this redhead.



I picked up the green Marimekko blouse that needed altering, from the tailor. It looked great and I inaugurated it on a museum visit to one of my favourite Stockholm museums, Thielska - which I wrote a bit about 12 (!) years ago - there was a special exhibition on the Dalecarlian design sisters Jobs - behind my beautiful slippers from 2011 - the exhibition wasn't very good alas. (Unlike the William Morris at Millesgården on my birthday.)





But visiting the charming Thielska gallery is always lovely. And I got to visit the magical tower room with it's painted ceiling animals and see one of my favourite paintings, The Knight and the Maiden. The only vegan dish on the menu in the cafe was rubbish though. An overpriced salad in serious need of protein and lots of love. Plus a cheeky seagull that snatched parts of it before I sat down.







I enjoyed my breakfasts al fresco, with my special Easter teas and the vegan Easter muesli. And look, Zigne. Plus speckled eggs nails and dairyfree chocolate bunnies. Wish I had bought more that one jar of that muesli, it was so crunchy and lovely.





There was a simple vegan Easter lunch and too much plantbased candy. Loveliness. I read books, watched movies, went for walks, cleared the garden from the clematis. It's absolutely crazy how it grows and grows and grows every year. Still need to figure out how to get the garden waste to the disposal site. Tricky without a car of your own. But problems are there to be solved.



Remember the vegan hair colours from Swedish cruelty free brand Maria Nila? I saved them for a first use until spring. And what better than try one of them during Easter weekend? I chose pink and I'm happy to say that despite still being predominantely brunette my hair now has now highlights of light pink (thank you greys!) and a pink overall glow. As it's only hair mask and colour refresher it'll only last 8-10 washes, but I think that's perfect to have a play with. Looking forward to try the blue one. And as the pink was such a hit I'm no stranger to find more colours to try.



And the gorgeousness of pink cherry blossom trees in Kungsträdgården happened during Easter too. It was their 20th year of bloom this year. Pure magic as usual. And another year of collecting pictures for my long-term planned book "Men under pink cherry blossom trees".





Here is the blue Kånken my mother went for, ended up replacing the one I bought for her birthday for a blue that suited her better. And look, Zigne.





The vegan brunch I treated her for on her birthday, on Easter Sunday, was lovely. Happy birthday to little mum, and many more to come, I hope and wish!





Got me some lovely soaps from Lush. Miss that Serendipity (you know, my favourite English word, and notion) has been discontinued, but Rockstar and Maypole are other favourites I return to. Plus the scrubby Sandstone is pretty good too. And look, a cat. A photobombing cat. How unusual.



There have been many sunny, beautiful days since I last blogged. But as we're in desperate need of rain to cope with the probable hot summer, and this is just too warm too soon, I struggle to appreciate the beauty amongst climate angst and, frankly, human stupidity everywhere.

- Yes, I also think the fire in Notre Dame is sad. But I think human priorities are just crazy warped when so much money can be collected into the cause of rebuilding it, when the whole world is on fire and desperately needs rebuilding and caring for. There will be no planet to live on, breath on and enjoy architecture and culture on, if we don't stop using and abusing instead of rebulding and caring for nature and species we share this planet with, first. That there are in fact private citizens who have so much money, and so little common sense obviously, to give away and chose to give to such a cause when there are a gazillions more important causes out there, that's mindboggingly distasteful and infuriating, in my opinion. -



But as someone wise said, nature won't thank us for not appreciating the beauty it still offers. Despite its seasons being warped. Who knows how much time we have left, the planet have left. I will appreciate more, I promise, despite my constant companion, melancholia.

I had looked forward to wearing the combo above all winter, when the day finally came, during Easter week, it was too warm, too soon. But yes, at least I have an abundance of colourful clothes and combos I get happy just thinking about combining and wear. And that I appreciate lots.



And colourful, quirky cats with lots of character. Who I am every so grateful for.



Apart from starting the Bullet Journal during Easter - not fully in to the daily process yet though, but I hope it'll help me focus and tick more boxes than before - I also finished that reversed job-ad for LinkedIn, I have no idea if these things actually work or if it's a lot of much ado about nothing. Time will tell I suppose.



As this will be the last post for April, I want to say thank you ever so much, month, for everything colourful, beautiful, magical, pink and kind things you have gifted. And all the amazing plantbased food and drinks. You have not been without struggles and sadness, but you have taught me a lot and for that I am grateful.

Welcome, May, I can't begin to tell how excited, curious,wishful and not least impatient I am over what you will bring! Can we decide that it will only be good, very good, much good things? A gazillion grateful thanks in advance.

pia's vegan power blend, god's disobedient rib, the job that wasn't meant to be and other non-foolish april stories

Hello again, there seem to have been a case of a slight blog hiatus. It's only the old "the more you have to write about the more of a struggle to get going there is".

And the more you'd want to really dive into each subject, the more overwhelming it seems. So I've decided to keep each step reasonably short - do I hear sniggers of disbelief?



Started my April by picking up my new cat frame glasses. That style has never fitted me, but I think the looked pretty cool when I tried them on. It's a new collection from Smarteyes called The New Femme Fatale, and this particular model is called Confidence. For those days when you need a little extra boost perhaps?

I remember when I first begun wearing glasses, late teens (but then I could still get away with not wearing them and see reasonably well if I squinted a bit. As I prefered to do, since glasses weren't really I back then). Then they were just terribly expensive, in fact I think one pair costed as much as my four pairs now set me back. And I still had to had my eyes checked regularly and new prescriptions, and the frames weren't of better quality, only more expensive.

Now there are a gazillion optician chains competing for us spectacle snakes's attention. Glasses are cool and have sneaked up as fashion accessories. For better or worse I suppose.



On April 1 I also inaugurated The Trousers. And I don't think I looked like an April Fool's joke. They were comfy and felt weird at the same time. Being a 99,5% wearer of dresses and skirts I guess that was a very normal reaction. But as the weather has been unseasonably cold - which I'm grateful for in these global warming of our times - they were also rather perfect. Hopefully there'll be some more days of wearing them before summer hits.

As is probably evident by now, my wardrobe is full of patterns, stripes, dots, flowers, birds... And as much as I love to mix and match colours and patterns, sometimes you just want one special pattern shine. Which, for me, is difficult. I don't even have one plain white T-shirt. True story, believe it or not.



So for months now I've been trying to add a few good quality basic neutrals and block colours. Which, for someone who is so in love with colours and patterns, is no mean feat.

But behold two gorgeous, happy pieces I think will serve me well for many years to come. The green blouse is the one from Marimekko I wrote about in the last post. It needed end incisions to fit me in more ways than one, so for the first time ever I decided to go to a tailor to have it done. Will pick it up tomorrow and I do hope it looks great.

The yellow knitted sweater (in cotton and linen) is from Bric-a-Brac. It's cosy and oversized and pretty much goes well with the same skirts as the green blouse. Now a white T-shirt, preferably V-neck, and I'm all set for having a gazillion combinations for summer.



And how about my little blue-eyed light? Well, I thought she was well on her way back to normal (normal for her, not any other cat,as she is a little odd character), the antibiotic for the not-sure-what-it-is-but-some-sort-of-bacteria-infection seem to had done its job, but she went back to not being herself again. Back to to vet, which obviously both annoys and worries me, it's not particularly fun to a) knowing something is not alright with her, but b) the vet not being able to determine, nor very strategic in ruling out things, what it can be and then charging me for it...

I thought the iron supplement for her initial anemia had worked, and it turned out she was once again slightly anemic. So back on that. So far some days are better than others. I'm glad she has a great appetite for wet food, not too keen on the usual dry food, and eats lots. But she also sleeps much more than usual and well, isn't her old self in general. I'm actually thinking it might be borrelia. It was a few years since I saw a tick on her, but then again the longterm effects of those nasties can take time. One day at a time. And patience I suppose.



I really hate early mornings. And not having to deal with rush hour behaviour on a regular basis is one of the huge benefits with running your own business mainly working at your home office. Nevertheless, breakfast seminars is clearly something I do reasonably often, and as I know they're more often than not rather enjoyable I keep attending. Despite every morning thinking"well, this seemed like a good idea at the time but now naaah...".

Thus I've been to three these last two weeks, very different, all good. One on service driven communication - great vegan breakfast -, one on Train holidays - poor vegan breakfast, it's not very sustainable with avocado and then the avocado not even being ripe... But it was a bookstore than arranged it and I suppose their main goal is to sell books, not paying attention to all those details like making the who event sustainable... -

(at which I got the book above. It's very inspirational, stories on train holidays within Scandinavia, through Europe, to Japan and Russia. And going on holidays by train instead of flying really has a HUGE impact on the environment. Still, it seems to be a long long way until it offers the same comfort and covenient booking system as flying does- And as long as governments and authorities still don't take their responsibility and make train travel the norm and not least maintain the railroads,I fear our need for travelling will continue to have an enormous impact on the planet...)

and then a seminar on making the most of your brand platform. With the best vegan breakfast by far. All vegan and very colourful. Simple as that. Just stop mollycoddling meat-eaters. It won't kill them eating plantbased, in fact quite the opposite.



In the end I didn't get the job I went through three interviews for. But really, the process was great, the feedback was brilliant. And the guy the choose in the end had a very different background than I, less creative, less social media and technical savvy, but more knowledgeable within this very specifical industry. And somehow they thought I would get bored quickly because the job wouldn't be challenging enough. But words like "had it been another company I would have chosen Pia for the job any day of the week!", I went happy and stronger from the process and that's fine, more than fine, by me.

In fact I thought the whole process was so different, professional and respectful, than most of the recruitment processes I've ever been involved in, that I wrote a piece about it on LinkedIn. Which seem to have stroke a cord within the recruitment and HR-industry. It's much nicer to tell a great story about people who know their job, than the frankly, gazillion times they don't. I could write a thesis about HR people and recruiters with zero respect for the candidates and as much professionalism as my thumb. Alas I can only write a small piece on the positive experience, but that is on the other hand much nicer to do. Dare to compliment.



So back to, if not square one, at least another square than I had planned to be on April 1st. Still looking for the perfect job, and my kind of people. I KNOW it's out there, that they are out there. Though in what shape and form remains unknown still. For now I'm tinkering on a reversed job-ad for LinkedIn that I want to have up and running this week.



My mum's birthday is coming up during Easter - and this Wednesday, three years ago M passed away and his birthday would have been on the 19, but instead his funeral was on the 20th, so that might be the reason my mood is swinging from high to low currently... - and I really want to make Easter happy again this year. Let's make Easter great again.

I'm getting her a blue Kånken, which was the first colour she had when I was a child, and we're having vegan brunch. The problem with the blue Kånken though, is that it now comes in almost a gazillion versions. It took me a long time to chose, and far from sure I made the perfect choice I thought we could go back and possibly swap it for another before her birthday so I showed it to her the other day. And as cute as it may be, we will indeed swap it for another type this week.



At my boring bus stop there's a large flower bed that last year was full of purple crocuses in spring that then turned into red tulips. It's just gorgeous and so mood lifting. And no photo can make it justice, but here's a glimpse of the gorgeousness anyway.

I've just finished reading the BulletJournal-book, it took a while since it needs one's full attention. It was great, I could relate to a lot of things, others less. But the main thing is that now I'm ready to start getting real with my own BuJo, and adapt it to my own need and wants and plans. And it will not be an embellished version, I like to keep it simple and effective (hopefully).



The littlest one, Ågot, turned 7 last week. It's hard to believe since she definitely looks like a kitten still. And seven years, how much that have happened during those years..., since she was born with her brothers and I thought she was a boy too.



Theatre isn't usually my cup of cultural tea, it's just too theatrical and I much prefers movies or great TV-series. But when the Royal Dramatic Theatre, which can only be described as a stronghold for patriarchy and too many #metoo stories, had a play called "Guds olydiga revben" (God's disobedient rib), the bible read from a feminist view, which mixed actors and the impressive acrobats from Cirkus Cirkör, one kind of had to go.



So very glad I did. It was magical. Upsetting - since reading the bible from a woman's point of view will never be anything but upsetting obviously - funny, sad and inspiring. So different from anything else I've seen. Cried, laughed and got angry. Unfortunately taking photos was strictly forbidden since it could pose a life danger for the acrobats, but the old interior was a beauty too.

The playhouse is currently also under extra scrutiny from the Arbetsmiljöverket (the Work Environment Administration authority), since there have been too many cries for help from women working there that have been silenced for many many years. There have been several female managers over the years, but it feels like the work culture is so infected that nothing has been done against numerous assaults on female staff by male actors (the so called geniuses).

The last straw was probably a very moving and upsetting Swedish documentary about the much loved singer and actress Josefin Nilsson, who died much too young some years ago, apparently due to aftereffects from years of mentally and physically abuse by one of those "male geniuses" lauded employed by Dramaten. The documentary is still shown at SVT Play (only in Sweden, but I'm sure you can find the story itself in English).

Conclusion, one might live under the illusion that Sweden is a gender equal country (even if the Swedish Academy debacle showed it isn't), but even if it's much better than many other countries, there is still a too long way to go. Humans in general, and in this case, men in particular, should know better in 2019. Much better. So. much. better.



After the play we went to Wagamama, which I used to frequent quite often some years ago. Now not so much, but I always love the food when I do go there. Even if I most always end up with the vegan yasai pad thai and carrot-ginger juice, despite the vegan menu being much extended these days. This time we shared a bowl of edamame, which never disappoints in its simplicity. Unfortunately we ended up so full from the food that neither had room for dessert. Alas. As a great dessert is literally the cherry on the sundae.



But after my annual dentist check-up - which got all thumbs up and the third year in a row without cavities, huzzah! - I did have a gloriously lovely vegan lunch salad which did leave room, just, for dessert. And oh what a dessert it was. Creamy, smooth mango mousse with crumbs and fresh blueberries. So much flavour and very moreish. Very much deserved for being a good dental hygiene girl.



It didn't manage to keep this a short and sweet post, your sniggering was on point. But now, oh now, last but definitely not least, ta-da, behold the very special Pia muesli!



After my one year consumption of mymuesli-prize in 2016 I was rather tired of muesli in general and mymuesli in particular. Go figure. And then the Stockholm store moved to a remote suburb, and later was shut down altogether. So ordering online is the only option. And if you don't want to pay a hefty shipping fee you need to more tubs than you'd necessarily want here and now. Most of my old favourite mueslis have been discontinued alas, plus the completely vegan (no honey) mueslis aren't all that tasty to be honest, but for overnight oats.

But I've found that their porridge oats are pretty great for making just overnight oats. And I noticed their Easter muesli is all vegan this year. So I placed an order a while back. And for the very first time mixed my own mueslis. Which you can name and chose tube design for too. And write a description for.



Which I obviously had to do. I've only tried one of my own blends so far, sprinkled on a lovely overnightoats made from the mymuesli turmeric-orange porridge oats. Perfect crunch and flavour, so pleased to say I did good.

And no, I haven't forgotten I did promise a post of various suggestions for lovely, simple vegan overnightoats. It'll come when you least expect it.



April, you have been just as capricious as one has come to expect with age and a reasonable amount of wisdom, there have already been both tears and laughters, worry and stress, but also inspiration and gratitude, spring flowers and bird song. But can you please, pretty please, be just kind, benevolent and joyous from now on? Many grateful thanks in advance.