Day 288: Rainy Day Fika

I love weekend days when my only real plans are to have fika (coffee) with one of my girlfriends. The only thing missing besides the sunshine was my umbrella. When I was getting dressed to leave my apartment I decided to wear my down jacket instead of my waterproof rain jacket, thinking I would just take my umbrella with me. And then I promptly left home without it. The good news is that rainy days in Stockholm can generally be handled by ducking into a store or hiding out under an awning for a few minutes and the rain usually passes over, or at least slows up to a light sprinkle and you can dash for it.

When I left my apartment I half thought that maybe it wouldn't even rain anymore. The sun was shining and there were sparse clouds that, though dark, seemed to be skirting the sky's horizon. We decided to head to one of my favorite cafes in the city, Skåningen kaffebar, located in SoFo, or South of Folkungagatan, on Skånegatan. And even though it is on "the island" (meaning the island of Södermalm where I live), it is a bit of a hike to get there since the subway doesn't stop terribly close by. Buses get you nearer but it wasn't raining yet so we decided to head over on foot.

Well, it did start to drizzle a bit when we were about half way there but we arrived mostly undamaged. And as luck would have it, we walked in just as a group of ladies was leaving and we snagged two of their vacated seats at the bar in front of the window. We both ordered a piece of carrot cake each and a couple of coffee drinks. As we settled in to eat them I thought that I probably wouldn't (and definitely shouldn't) finish it all, especially the the mile high layer of frosting. But guess what? I completely finished the whole piece of cake, crumbs, frosting and all. We had a great chat and as we sat there we watched it rain, then stop, then rain, then stop. And that was pretty much the rest of the afternoon, even as we dashed in and out of a few boutiques as we slowly made our way back to the subway station. A lovely afternoon. Having a rainy day fika is the best sort of thing to do on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Don't you think? How did you spend your Sunday afternoon?

Day 287: A Long Bike Ride

Today was a day full of farewell fikas, Happy Package deliveries (finally!), awesome but freezing fall bike riding and probably the last outdoor lunch until next spring. It has been a fabulous day! And I am not even kidding about freezing on the bike ride. My bum is still cold to the touch and feels as though it may be thawing out. The other day I saw a skirt made out of the same down and fabric that you see winter jackets made from. I read through the reviews and more than one person mentioned the fact that it keeps the bum warm on winter bike rides and short commutes between yoga and home. I am thinking I may have to invest in one of these. That or insulated underpants. Do they even make those? 

But yes, today was a lovely day. It started out with pumpkin pancakes, which is always a good start if you ask me. Then I rode my bike over to deliver the Happy Package winner's prize and attend a farewell fika for a woman I met through my book club. She and her husband are moving from Sweden and my winner was hosting the fika. Photos of the winning prize and delivery are below. Next on the agenda was something my husband wanted to do this weekend: a looonnnngggg bike ride. So we did just that. We rode out to the Royal National City Park, trying our hardest to find the sun shiny areas, because out of the sun's rays you might as well have been sitting inside your freezer. 

Then we had lunch outside at a cute little cafe that was tucked away in the park. It had a view of open fields, lined with trees in shades of fall and little children were running as fast as they could through the fields with their parents trailing behind. Why did we decide to sit outside for lunch? Because other people were doing it and it was sunny. So it should have felt warm, right? Not so much. Even with a blanket folded up underneath my bum I was freezing. So as soon as we were done shoveling the food in, I said, "Well, I don't want to start mildewing, let's go!" And we left. 

The ride back warmed us right up and by the time we were heading in the direction of home the wind had also died down to a nice calm and it actually felt warmer out. As long as we kept riding anyway. All in all it was a day fit for royalty as we rode through the Royal National Park. I am still thawing out but my cup of hot tea is doing the trick. 

Lovely fall colors, crisp blue sky and a boy (I know) on his bike.

Riding through the Royal National City Park.

The afternoon sun casts long shadows... too bad it doesn't warm us up!

I kayaked out there on May 31st this year. It was warmer than today but only by about ten degrees!

Now for a few photos of the winner's stash....

The contents of the Happy Package Giveaway from Day 274.
Aside from the dishtowel the orange parts were all hand painted by me. Just a little something to brighten up the every day....

"Are you really taking this away mamma? I really wanted to play with it." >^.^< 

All packaged up and ready for delivery... and with Pina's approval.

Almost there! 

And the winner! Congratulations again Odella and thanks for participating in my giveaway!

Day 286: Balance

After a recent rash of headaches and migraines, I woke up today feeling good finally. I had not even a hint of headache and I didn't feel wiped out either like I normally do on Fridays. There is nothing like having days of feeling bad physically to make you really appreciate those "dull and boring" days when you just feel good. I don't mean to put down those types of days. In fact I think they are quite the opposite. Ask any other migraine sufferer and they will tell you that any day without a headache is pretty much straight up glorious.

It can be so easy to get tangled up in my petty miseries that I forget to appreciate these "dull and boring" average days. Days when nothing really goes wrong, I feel pretty good and things just move forward. Nothing amazing happens but nothing horrible either. According to Lao Tsu, these middle average days are the days we should strive for. A balance between good (days) and bad (days), or simply put a balance between extremes. Being a Libra, this aspect of balance appeals greatly to me. Dis-ease is often the result of the body, mind or soul being out of balance. If I can find a way to find "ease" in my daily life, then maybe the dis-ease will melt away. I'm not saying that serious illnesses should be ignored. Of course one should always seek medical help in that case. I am talking about the dis-ease we often feel when we are out of balance, and we all really know when we personally are out of balance, right?

So I'm thinking a good weekend project might be to take some time today, or during the weekend, to do one small thing to put myself a bit more in balance. Want to join me? I'm thinking of finishing a few projects and a bit of clutter cleaning around the house. Oh, and of course to get out in nature. I may even make a big pot of soup this weekend. What will you do?

At Millesgården in Stockholm... searching for balance... :-)

Day 285: Kitty Muffler

Early this morning when it was still pitch black outside I awoke to something very peculiar. At first I wasn't sure what was wrong but then I realized. Across my face lay a blanket of warm, purring, black fur. Our kitty was lying between us in bed and she had stretched her neck out and was lying across the whole side of my face. My face. My teeth were nearly rattling with the diesel vibration of her purr. I'm not sure looking back now if she was cold and trying to keep warm, if she thought I was cold and was attempting to keep me warm or if I was merely her "prey" and she was trying to keep me from getting away.

I'd like to think she was just being sweet and was trying to warm us both up. I attempted to go right back to sleep but then a repetitive movement rocked me back awake again and realized that my husband was also up. The rocking motion was him petting kitty. As I started to pull my hand out from under the covers to also pet her, I came across my husbands other hand and we held hands for a bit. The entire thing, kitty mufflering, petting and holding hands, all happened within a few minutes, just like a dream, and we never once uttered a word. I may have even gone back to sleep while we were still holding hands and with my kitty muffler was in place. An all around a sweet early morning awakening. A kitty muffler and hand holding in the wee morning hours is something I highly recommend!

Day 284: To Battle the Winter [Blues]

So far these last couple of weeks of fall there have been just the right amount of beautiful days to offset the possible bad weather-induced depression. There have even been some split days where the weather has been pretty near perfect in the morning, but then turns cloudy, cold and windy in the afternoon. I am okay with those days but two or three days in a row of purely rainy, dull weather and someone turns into a grouchy bear. I'm not saying who but she writes a positivity blog and she told me just recently that it is harder to find happy on those days. But she still tries.

With daylight hours already beginning their slow, death march to longer hours of darkness, and the weather becoming quickly colder, I've decided that I need to arm myself with some weapons to battle the fast approaching winter [blues]. I have found that planning trips and having projects and activities to look forward to always helps tremendously. Just space them out so that there aren't any long periods of inactivity, especially during January and February. Right now I am looking forward to a trip home to visit family and friends and, while there, getting to do a little shopping and eating at some of our favorite places.

In the middle of our travel we will also be celebrating some birthdays and anniversaries, which will be really fun. Then the holidays are just around the corner and I absolutely love all of the festivities that they bring. The Christmas markets in Sweden are filled with so much tradition and I love all of the handmade arts and crafts. I am hoping to start making some of my very own this year and, in fact, I am enrolled in a ceramics class that starts the week we come home from our trip.

I also love this time of year for baking some traditional favorites, such pumpkin bread, apple pie and homemade soups. These are especially great for chasing the winter blues away. This year I also have several craft projects in the works. I have always loved to make things and be creative, a special bonus being that most of these things are indoor activities so I can pretend that I just decided to stay in, even if the weather stinks.

What are your favorite "chase the winter blues away" activities?

Just wanted to share these pretty leaves that were in my path today...

Day 283: Crane Pose

The first time I took a yoga class in Sweden was quite memorable. I just walked right in to the place like I knew exactly what I was doing. I arrived early, picked my spot, unrolled my mat and started pre-stretching, as I knew from experience that being over a certain age requires a bit of pre-stretching. It wasn't until the class was just about to begin that it suddenly dawned on me that the class would be taught in Swedish. Of course it would, I live in Sweden. Great. A look of deer caught in the headlights overtook me.

In my boldness to pick a spot near the front of the room, it would have been uncomfortable to pick up my mat and leave at that point. So I braced myself and decided I would stick it out. I mean, it was just a yoga class after all. I could survive that, right? I would just have to crane my neck around as the class progressed to make sure I knew when to change positions. I guess you could say that I learned a new yoga pose during that class. A pose I like to call  "the crane pose." And since I spent most of the class craning my neck around, I feel that I became quite proficient at it.

I came away with a few survival tricks that first class as well (yes, I did in fact go back). Being at the front of the room turned out to have its advantages. I found that while bent over in certain poses, I could peek between my legs or under my arm without having to do the crane pose and I could see when to switch to something else. I could pretend that I actually understood the Swedish.

In the end I feel it was quite brave to have stuck it out. Why I thought, or rather, did not consider the fact that the class would be taught in Swedish is beyond me. I still found it relaxing and enjoyable, despite the additional "crane poses" that were thrown in. But then again, my crane pose would not have become so perfected otherwise.

Day 282: In the Proximity of Beautiful Things

Every year around this time, which happens to be around the time of my birthday, my husband begins asking me what I want for a birthday present. And every year as soon as I am asked that question, my first reply is usually "nothing, surprise me." And then it's as if a magic birthday-present-idea-portal opens up and I suddenly want everything in sight. Does that ever happen to you? I think part of it has to do with the time of year. I absolutely love the fall, in case you didn't already know, and pretty much everything about the fall. I love fall colors, fall clothing, fall food and I always have loved shopping so of course I love everything out in the shops right about now. This is also about the time of year I start doing my Christmas shopping. I buy one for them, one for me, one for them, one for me. I'm sort of kidding. But just sort of. I start to find cool ideas for gifts and I think, "I'd love one of those too."

Tell me I'm not the only person who does this. If I don't actually buy two of a certain thing, I've even been known to keep the one thing for myself because I fall so madly in love with it and cannot bear to part with it. Silly and pathetic and materialistic, I know. It's as if I am a kid in a candy or toy store. For the most part however, I am happy with just wanting them and I don't feed the need to actually have them. Okay, maybe some of them but certainly not all if them. Sometimes I have a rule for myself when I come across something I think I can't live without. I make myself wait several days, maybe even a week, and then I go back and look at it, try it on, feel it, love it, stare at it etc. If I still cannot live without it I put it on my wish list. If it happens to be something I'm afraid may sell out, I bite the bullet and buy it right then.

But really, the craving of all of these wonderful things is half of the fun. I love to walk into my favorite stores where everything I see is eye candy. I love to pick something up and imagine where it could fit into our home, or how I could use it. I become energized when I see all of the beautiful things and it truly gives me a certain joy and happiness just to be in their proximity.