Charley Harper

A really nice book find from this summer's treasure hunting is "Biologiens Eventyr" ["The Giant Golden Book of Biology"] from 1963/1961 with wonderful illustrations by one of our favourites, Charley Harper.

Admittedly, I have no intention of reading it since I'm quite sure that both facts and methods are outdated by now, but we bought the book for the illustrations' sake. I have caught Frida Viola with the book late at night more than once, studying cells, microorganisms and strange species while she should be sleeping.

Charley Harper's Ladybug Giant Floor puzzle is also nice.

Molly my Molly

Our little Molly has started nursery for real, and she likes it.

I am so grateful that every morning I say goodbye to a happy girl, and every afternoon when I pick her up again she gives me a smile and a big hug.

Felix Odell

Amazing photos by Swedish photographer Felix Odell.

new hairdo

It was a fine little weekend without any plans - cooking, books, playground, ice cream.

We are still working on the bathroom, making ever so slow progress.
Hope to show you a little update soon.

work is not a job has caught my attention lately.

Hope you had a fine weekend too!

peepshow

This one was Frida Viola's thrift store find during our summer vacation. She came with it clenched into her chest and told me she had to own it. And of course I understood her. I clearly remember my own fascination with peepshow books as a kid and this one is really cute and charming with its theater like frame and bright colours. It's old but not too worn out and I think we'll hang it from the ceiling in the kid's room to save it from (Molly's) curious fingers.

"Goldilocks and The Three Bears", illustrated by Patricia Turner, A Peepshow Book.

notes & tea

I have been stocking up with new beautiful notebooks from Cinnober. I am addicted to good old-fashioned notebooks since I haven't found the perfect digital note pad system yet. We still use Avocado (that I guess, I mentioned before...?) to share our calendars and family related lists but when it comes to organize my far too many ideas, lists and to-do's then pen & paper is the only thing that works for me.

Recently I discovered a Roman Chamomile plant in a garden we visited. I didn't know it before but it has beautiful pompom like and very aromatic flowers. I couldn't resist picking some flowers and have been drying them for tea. The tea is sweet with a hint of apple but it shouldn't infuse too long, otherwise it turns slightly bitter.

in August...

... we love to eat plums, apricots, grapes & blueberries
... we love that it is still warm enough for bare suntanned legs
... we love that it is still season for salads. We have had 3191's Fresh Vegetable Slaw with Asian Dressing quite many times this summer in different variations. Today's we added whole wheat noodles for more fullness.

In August we want to go here - and I am also curious to visit either this or this place to stock up with fruits and berries for winter season.

farvel, jeg hedder Kurt

For rainy late summer days the Danish children's movie "Farvel, jeg hedder Kurt" ["Goodbye, my name is Kurt"], from 1972, directed by legendary Thomas Winding, is really good entertainment. I don't recall the movie from my own childhood, but I came across it by chance recently and we have been seeing it a couple of times this summer. It tells the story about little Alberte [Alberte Winding] who - after a quarrel with her parents - decides that she is no longer Alberte but Kurt and moves away from home. She organizes her new home in a boat by the lake at the end of the garden. The movie has fantastic pictures, beautiful settings and soft colours, and the story is told with Thomas Winding's wonderful, calm and tranquil voice accompanied by birdsong and the whistling of wind. Frida Viola (and myself) has been drawn into it's quiet and fairytale like atmosphere whilst the theme is disturbing enough to capture the concentration of a 4-year-old (who also dreams about moving away from home once in a while) throughout the movie. Do watch it (if you speek Danish, and even if you don't have kids!

Watch it here, or buy it in Fona.

bluish & greenish

For the past years we have been collecting old plates for our house in Sweden at the local flea markets. Our criterias have been bluish & greenish, only classic Swedish porcelain as Rörstrand, Gustavsberg, Upsala-Ekeby, and max 20 SEK. Our collection is growing slowly since our price threshold is quite low, but this summer I was lucky to find good treasures at bargain price.

I thought it was fun when I saw Elizabeth Dunker's blue collection at fine little day.

geometry

Here is another little book we found at the flea market during our vacation. This one is in Danish, "Tryl med figurer" ["Magic with shapes"], with illustrations by Richard Fowler from 1975. Originally it had transparent coloured flip pages to reveal or hide some of the shapes/figures - but these are missing now, after many years of use, I guess. I like the illustrations nevertheless with their faded colours, overlapping effects and simple geometrical patterns.

summer food

We have enjoyed so many good meals this summer. Not sophisticated or complicated meals, but simple, fresh and summery food. Especially at my mom's place, where you just have to pick the veggies and potatoes you need for dinner in her garden. She lives near the sea so freshly caught local fish is everyday food. We had crab claws more than once when we stayed with her.

Last photo is a super simple summer dessert or afternoon snack that I have been making for years now. It started out as a smoothie, but I like to make it thicker in consistency so that it is more like a not too unhealthy ice cream. Needless to say that the girls love it as they are still convinced it is actually ice cream.

4 glasses or bowls:
200-250 g frozen raspberries or blueberries
2 bananas
vanilla
4-6 soft dried dates
a dab of soy milk, yoghurt, skyr or whatever you have

Mix it all in the blender and serve right away.
Before the girls were born I added juice from one orange to give some freshness, but the girls both have allergies to citrus fruits, so I skip this now and it tastes great without.

Last note on food: I need new inspiration for food that the girls (read: Frida Viola, 4 years) like. Any ideas for good cookbooks? It doesn't matter if it is in English. We eat vegetarian (except for fish). Molly eats everything, and it's a pleasure to see how happy she is with food. Frida Viola is very picky - as many 4-years-olds are - and I need inspiration to open her eyes to the fantastic variety of food as well as the pleasure and very social aspect of sharing a meal. Any good advice...?

Jockum Nordström: Sailor och Pekka

One thing I really enjoy when we are on vacation is using plenty of time searching for new books for the kids (and myself, of course). I browse through the bookshelves at flea markets and thrift stores and in local book shops. This summer I found several really nice ones - one pile is left in the house, another is brought with us home. I picked out some of them to show you and recommend throughout the nearest time.

This is one of Jockum Nordström's wonderful Sailor and Pekka books. I have been dying to get my hands on these books for so long - and was really happy (- and somewhat surprised) to find a couple of them in the local book shop nearby our Swedish house. It was no disapointment. The illustrations really are something special, and Frida Viola loves the cartoon like parts. I love the colours, the collages and the wonderful expressions of the characters. The first three photos depict Sailor's hallucinatory dreams while having a fever.

Jockum Nordström: "Sailor blir Sjuk", rabén&sjögren.
Sailor & Pekka at fine little day shop.