Stuff that we do. Sånt som vi gör.

Skriver till Bolibompa. Writing to the children's television.
Tänjer på origamikonsten till det yttersta. Stretching the art of origami to the bounderies.
Bygger koja. Building a house.
Övar inför jullovets cirkusnummer. Kolla, kolla, det är min kortkofta i Norogarn, Kureyon. Bra att ha ifall vi åker på turné till Japan. Då blir de allt imponerade!
Practising circus acts for the upcoming Christmas holidays. Behold my short cardigan in Noro Kureyon. Good to have if we go on tour to Japan. That'll impress the Japanese!

Black - Svart

Jodå, jag har visst svart ibland. Det är en skön färg som slätar ut och inte ställer krav. Det var längesen jag la ut en helfigur, förresten.
Yes, I do wear black sometimes. It's a comfy colour that soothes and doesn't make demands. It was a long time ago since I posted a full figure photo, by the way.

A walk by the sea - strandpromenad

Skåne är antagligen som värst så här års, grått, disigt, blåsigt och eländigt. För mig som inte är född här innebär november en stor vånda - kommer det att bli kallt och vintrigt till advent?? Hoppas, hoppas. Fast man kan ju inte sitta inomhus ändå.
The southern part of Sweden, Skåne, is probably at it's worst this time of year, grey, misty, windy and miserable. For me, who's not from these parts originally, November is one long agony - will it be cold and wintry by advent?? Hoping desperately. No reason to stay indoors though.

Tänk er att gå ut med fiskebåt en sån här dag. Imaging going fishing a day like this.

Fjärran från sommarens turisthorder. Far from the tourist masses of summer.

What day is it for you?

Jag har inte haft huckle på länge men faktum är att det värmer gott när tmperaturen sjunker. Jag känner mig lite för gammal för att ha mössa inomhus. Ser ni att jag har clementiner hemma nu (i handen på bilden, faktiskt!)? Jag gnällde ju lite över det för ett tag sen.

I haven't used a cloth in a long time but it's actually warming when the temperature is sinking. And I feel I'm too old to wear a cap indoors. See, I've got clementines at home (in my hand in the photo!). I was whining about that a few posts ago.

Jag har virkat lite på sista tiden. Detta är lingarn som har stärkts med trälim - för lite trälim visar det sig för den mjuknar lite.

I've been crocheting a little lately. This is flaxen yarn that I starched with glue you use for wood - not enough glue it turns out because it's getting a little soft.

Jag stickar också så klart. En luvtröja till lillkillen. Det började som en väst men efter ett par dagar kom Olle på att han nog egentligen ville ha en "sån där väst med ärmar". En tröja. Sen kom jag på att det vore käckt med luva också. Vi får se. Jag har ju som vanligt inget mönster...

Naturally I'm knitting too. A hooded sweater for the little man. It started out as a waistcoat but after a few days Olle found out that he really wanted "a waistcoat with arms". A sweater. And then I thought that a hood would be nice. We'll see. As ususal I have no description.

Vad är det för dag? Skriva-snyggt-dagen för den lille sonen.

What day is it? It's well-writing-day for the little son. But actually it's Father's day over here.

Smash-and-grab.

Kommer ni ihåg den underbara väskan jag fick av min mamma i påskpresent? Den finns inte mer. Inte hos mig i alla fall. I går eftermiddag medan jag var inne i ett konditori för att köpa Gustav Adolfsbakelser (gissa om jag ångrar mig!!) slog någon sönder bilrutan och nappade åt sig väskan och min jobbryggsäck. Nu saknar jag mina jobbpapper, skinnhandskar, nystickad mohairsjal, min kalender - arrrgh- min sminkväska och... jag vet faktiskt inte riktigt, jag kommer hela tiden på småsaker, extranyckeln till mamma, ett par guldörhängen i sminkväskan som jag skulle lämna in på lagning. Suck. Fast idag fnissar jag lite åt den kvinnliga polisen som sa att kvinnor alltid underskattar värdet på det de har i sminkväskan. Det stämmer nog.

I was robbed yesterday , someone smashed the car window and stole my shoulderbag - the one I got from my Mother last Easter - and all my work papers and calender. And all my make up. I keep remembering things I had in my bag, like the golden earrings I was going to hand in for repair. I was only away for a few minutes and I parked in a quiet street . Sigh.
Today I was giggling a little (a little, mind you) over the police woman who said women always underestimate the value of their make-up. Probably true.

A walk in the forest - skogspromenad

A walk in the woods. Quiet, still and a constant hollering of children finding mushroom, moss covered stones in troll shapes and - ?? What is this??

We saw the golden shining reflections from far away and made our way through the underwood.

Some kind of balloons??

Yes indeed, a whole bunch of balloons for Mother's day - which is in May... We also found the biggest mushrooms I have ever seen!! Is it edible? Poisonous? No idea, but it sure was impressive.

Mess and colour - stök och färg

Over at A common place life you can read a post about sharing the real - real life. I think I always have, some of you remember the messy mirrors, unmade beds and other unwomanly sights I've shared with you.

But, I have to confess I never post a picture of myself that I find unkind and unflattering... That's ok by me. And I bet those of you posing to post do the same!?

But in order to stay true to myself I've found it helpful to stay within the range of probability- or running in to other bloggers would be embarrassing (you know I found out that Jeanette at Handmade lives across the park from me).

So here it comes:

Late October is grey and dark. I do my best to bring colour to people I meet. I turned it up a notch - behold the Tizian red! (Yes, I make as much fuss about my hair as ever before - I just spare you the details.)

Speaking of colours, this is my closet. The mess below is real too. The little man is away with his father for a few days and since I don't have to rush in to his room when he has a nightmare I don't worry about the lego on the floor. The pain of stepping on a piece of lego with sleepy feet is close to that of a biliary colic (that's my new word for today = gallstensanfall!)

No, I was all wrong in my last post. It wasn't glamour I needed, it was a good old night in with different projects going on and lots of tea and cookies. I got it and now I'm human again.

tisdag - tristdag

Some days just don't lift. They stay at ankle height and just work their way down. Today was like that to me. No clementines left, one week to pay day, dog hair everywhere, dishes and brain killing drama for teenagers on TV. But do I complain? Yes. Bring me some glamour. Quick.

En del dagar lyfter inte. De håller sig i ankelhöjd och jobbar sig nedåt. Så var det för mig idag. Inga clementiner kvar, en vecka till lön, hundhår överallt, disk och hjärndöd tonårsdrama på TV. Men klagar jag? Japp. Ge mig lite glamour. Snabbt.

Tabi socks and tea

I bought a pair of Japanese Nike sneakers. That was in July so I had plenty of time to finish the tabi-socks in alpacca. Now I'm warm and cosy, bring on the autumn storms! I'm also armed with incredibly delicious saffron tea so there's no stopping me now.

Update

If you're paying attention you can hear the cranes passing over the city, hovering high up in the air. I consider them my birds but this time every year I realize they belong somewhere else too. beautiful birds. The japanese think so too.

Since it's been a while I'm updating my personal info through the help of Alexis.


The thing is to answer in one word - just one.


1. Where is your mobile phone? Bra


2. Your hair? Short


3.Your mother? Intense


4. Your father? Dead


5. Your favourite food? Müsli


6. Your dream last night? Forgot


7. Your favourite drink? Gin&tonic


8. Your dream/goal? Peace


9. What room are you in? Office (!)


10. Your hobby? Living


11. Your fear?Loss


12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? San Fransisco


13. Where were you last night? Choir rehearsal


14. Something that you aren’t? Quiet


15. Muffins? Blueberry


16. Wish item? Sewing machine


17. Where did you grow up? Vänersborg


18. Last thing you did? Staffmeeting


19. What are you wearing? Sneakers


20. Your TV? Ignored


21. Your pet? Kids


22. Friends? Few


23. Your life? Rewarding


24. Your mood? Relaxed


25. Missing someone? Grandma


26. Vehicle? Minivan


27. Something you’re not wearing? Ladylike


28. Your favorite store? Myrorna


29. Your favorite color? Green


30. When was the last time you laughed? Today


31. Last time you cried? Forgotten


32. Your best friend? Husband


33. One place that I go to over and over? Österlen


34. One person who emails me regularly? Boss


35. Favorite place to eat? Home



And I'd like to add:
36. Tattoo? Lizard


37. Work disciplin? Mostly


38. Why do you blog? Share
39. Skill you wish you had? Cartwheeling


40. Favorite trait in others? Tolerance
Play along, if you like!

Höst och återkomst - Autumn and return

Kära, kära vänner.

Jag har egentligen inte haft något särskilt för mig sedan sist, jag har bara levt livet, vardagslivet utan större åthävor. Ibland är det tillräckligt. Det finns några djupsinnigheter jag tänkt ut som jag nog delger er så småningom. Just nu är jag bara tacksam om någon av er är kvar där ute.

Dear, dear friends.

I haven't really been up to anything special since my last post. I've just been living my life, an ordinary life without any fuss. Sometimes that's enough. I have some profound thoughts I'll probably share with you ecentually. For now, I'm just gratful if anyone is still out there.

You'd never have guessed...

A couple of nights ago I met with Jeanette and Monne to craft and chat (and eat and drink). Jeanette explained to me how the linking to other's older posts work - which would've made my last post quite different because I would've guided you to the posts I was referring to (are you following??).

Jeanette: You just click on the headline of the post you want to link to.

Me: ??

Jeanette: Yeah, and then you copy and paste.

A big slamming sound fills the room and a light appears - Anna is getting the concept.

Me: You mean that's why the headlines are underlined? To show that they are clickable?

Jeanette nods in astonishment over the abyss of no-nothing I reveal.

Me: I just thought that was for decoration and to emphasize the headlines...

Monne: More wine, anyone?

Loose ends and oddities - philosophing over the state of things

A smile for those of you who are still out there.
My head is full of posts I've read over at various blogs, i.e Eleanor's post sometime ago, about jeans. Or the impossibility to find comfortable jeans. I love baggy jeans but I'm very concerned about my butt in them and never am quite relaxed. I still hope to find the perfect fit and the perfect hue of denim. I wonder why I don't stop chasing the perfect pair, because deep down I know there is no such thing.

Ett litet leende till er som är kvar.
Jag har huvudet fullt av saker jag läst på olika bloggar, bl a Eleanors inlägg om det omöjliga i att hitta sköna jeans. Jag älskar säckiga jeans men kan inte slappna av angående min rumpa. Jag hoppas fortfarande hitta det perfekta paret - fast jag vet att det inte existerar.

I read another post at Anna Stilla about the glorious shape of Venus of Willendorf and thought a little about the possibility that they ( women of the Stone Age) held this as an unreachable ideal, because seriously, we've all heard of the Neolithic diet, right? No way they could have looked like that. But she's really cute.
Jag läste ett annat inlägg hos Anna Stilla om Venus från Willendorfs sköna form. Jag tänkte lite att det kanske var ett ouppnåeligt ideal för dem, för inte kunde de se ut så där med den mathållningen? Stenåldersdiet är ju inget man blir fet av, precis. Men söt är hon.

I've also been thinking a lot about the economic crisis. Or the lack of evidence of it. Shopping in Sweden reached new heights during July. People spent 18 % more money on clothes and shoes this summer than they did last July.
Do we consume to quiet the anxiety over the crisis? Or take our responisibility as citizens and shop as much as we can to make the wheels keep turning?
I read somewhere that if you can make a cup of coffe, take a shower and have butter at home you belong to the absolute upper class of this planet.

Jag har också tänkt en del på den ekonomiska krisen. Eller brist på bevis för den. I juni slog detaljförsäljningen nya rekord. Svenskarna handlade skor och kläder för 18% mer än förra året samma månad. Shoppar man för att glömma krisen? Eller vill man bidra till att hjulen snurrar vidare?
Jag läste någonstans att om man kan göra en kopp kaffe, ta en dusch och har smör hemma tillhör man världens absoluta överklass.
What do I do with my lust to consume things? Try to buy as much second hand as I can, which really isn't hard in a city like Malmö - and also used clothes for instance doesn't have that uncomfortable stiffness that new clothes often have. Best thing of course is to hug or kiss someone instead of shopping. Or blog.
Or do it yourself, but I don't have to tell you that!

Vad gör jag med min lust att konsumera? Föröker köpa så mycket begagnat som möjligt, vilket inte är svårt i en stad som Malmö. Och dessutom är second hand kläder mycket skönare än nya. Bäst att pussa och krama någon i stället för att shoppa. Eller blogga. Eller tillverka själv. Men det behöver jag ju inte tala om för er!

Yes, we've come a long way this week. Well, not we, Siri has. She got caught in origami frenzy last week, folding cranes and frogs. A giant leap to, yes, you're correct; it's Yoda. My photo doesn't do him justice. He's got little fingers and a neat little cape. My biggest frenzy, as always, is shoes. I found these at a church thrift store for less than £10. They're genuine Earth Shoes, originally from Denmark and usually come at the proce of £80. I'm extremely pleased, comfortable and pretty as they are.

All of me!

I've made a little hanger for my necklaces of an old school ruler. I made some of the necklaces too, come to think of it!

I'm here. With you.

Tonight I feel very emotional. And present in the world. Why? I don't know. Sometimes you just hit a philosophical inner string and it keeps sounding.

You know the feeling you get when travelling on a train? You pass through the middle of little towns - instead of riding on the highway around them. If you're lucky you get all sorts of glimpses from ordinary people's ordinary lives. (I know, I know "what's ordinary anyway??")

I love that feeling of participation and coherence. We're all in this together-kinda-feeling. Blogging does that for me, too. I've been browsing and visiting new acquaintances and old friends. I know it's the walk-on-the-moon-anniversary tonight but that doesn't really impress me.

The fact that so many of us share and give so much, quite philantropically and unselfishly (though it really doesn't matter why you give, actions count!), impress me. That we as humans continue to try to make good without knowing for certain that we'll ever get anything in return.

Sending you lots of love and thankfulness for sharing this experience of living, blogging, sharing and giving with me.

I'm giving you Muminmamman as an illustration to the wonder of loving and giving.

Royal Danish + Delft + TV nostalgia

The quilt is ready. I will never show a close-up of it because I'm not a meticulous person, I'm afraid. Fast-and-finished is more me. And really, who'd examine those seams anyway? Just thought I'd spare you the sight of them...
Feeling a little like two odd pieces of china in this outfit. But good china.
Mitt lapptäcke är färdigrenoverat. Jag kommer aldrig att visa någon närbild för jag är ingen noggrann person, tyvärr. Sömmarna är sneda och ojämna men helhetsintrycket är skönt, tycker jag. Kjolen och toppen får mig att känna mig som två delar udda porslin. Fast fint porslin, så klart!
In the early 70s there was a TV series called Familjen Ashton or Family at War in English. In those days there only were two channels to watch in Sweden so we all watched the same things (kommer ni ihåg??). Anyway, me, mom and grandma watched it together with immense interest.

Earlier this week Mr Helylle came home from the library with the first season on DVD. I frowned and declared that time had left it's mark on it and that there was no way it could be worth seeing after all this time. Boy, was I wrong! We watched the first 6 episodes last night and as I'm blogging I'm really just waiting for Mr Helylle to put sunshine boy to bed so we can continue....
Maken lånade DVD:n med första säsongen på bibblan. Jag trodde aldrig att det skulle hålla at titta på men det har faktiskt åldrats helt okej. Och 40-tals estetik är sällan fel, vilka kappor de har, damerna.

Meanwhile, enjoy this.

Jösses, det är stark töntvarning över detta inlägg. Men visst är det härligt med nostalgi?

This is over at Jeanette's place the other evening. Read over at her blog how we met - it's truly wondrous. We had a great night, together with the lovely Monne (back to camera). Good food, cool wine, clever crafting and lots of laughs. Jeanette is making brooches out of tin jars. No material is strange to her, she masters it all from wool to wire. She also masters two houses, two daughters, two cats, one full time job and still makes you feel like you're the most interesting thing that happened to her today.

I'm wearing my new jeans jacket. Summer sale. I haven't had one in 20 years but suddenly felt the urge to purchase one. Does it have to be a middle age crisis? Let's just say I love it.

We've been invaded by a bunch of origami birds. Oldest Miss Helylle has been manic about them. Colouring papres by hand, folding and folding and folding and...