Let’s learn and create

This wa sa strange day today. Z is sick since yesterday evening, meaning a bad night for everyone. I woke up pretty “translated” this morning and much more tired than every day this vacation. Bad karma when work begins again on monday…

Yesterday, I finished to knitt a pullover for me and it was the first time I made this kind, I’ll tell in another post later. Anyway, I don’t have any knitting project for the moment, and I feel pretty bored while watching TV then. I like to make something with my hands when I watch something. So I decided to sort things out in my little hobby place. And then, magic happened! I cleaned my desk!

So now, no excuses anymore, I’ve got a proper place to learn and create. I’ve got some goals for spring, related to work but which will need some attention from me on the evenings and I want to write, draw, design and of course have this blog a little bit more updated. So now, I’m ready! 2019 can only be full of inspiration and new thoughts!

3 years of living at the same place

Three years ago, we got the keys of your current flat, after a summer in a cabin in Knivsta. It was time for us to get shower every day, a warm flat and more space. Well needed if you ask me, but I even needed the vaccination against my will to have a house now. When you look at our calenders, we wouldn’t have managed the maintenance of a house.

So 3 years of living in this flat and in Uppsala, how does it feel? Well, OK. It’s a pretty ok-city. A little bigger than Linköping (where we were living before), it’s not New York either. The bad side of it is that the Nature is a bit farther, so my runs are not that beautiful that they were in Linköping (we were living at the edge of a big natural reserve).

It has only been a week since M got a job in Uppsala itself, he has been taking the train to Stockholm, eating 3 hours of every day there). I got my job 10 min of bike from home. Maybe now, when M is more at home, we will get to extend our knowledge about the city. So far I have to admit that I cannot judge so much. I have not been very curious of the surroundings, we have no car, so every trip outside of the city is a bit difficult (so it’s never done). Let’s see if we stay here long?

Somehow, I don’t know how long we will stay here. The longest time I lived in the same place, it was in Eskilstuna (5 years) and then in Linköping (4 years, two different appartments). For me the future is bigger than the place you live in. I also have to admit that I’m getting tired of the winters here. The “natives” are longing for snow but I’m longing for no complicated mornings with clothes and equipments. I want to live easier and to be honest the weather here is not making it easy, at least not for me. I’m getting to old to adapt myself. But since I should not complain, I just try to get along with it.

Uppsala is much more practical to travel home (or everywhere) than Linköping was. The airport (Arlanda) is like 45 minutes with the bus, picking us up 100 m from home. Easy peasy. Uppsala is also much closer to Stockholm but this is useless since we are too tired to do something else than going to bed after 20 every day.

What did we change with our furnitures in three years? Well, we bought beds for Z (2 already but we hope that she will keep the one she has now a while, it’s 1m6 long).

We bought a soffa which can be a bed, which is in our library. When we got guests, they have a 1m60 bed to sleep in, with direct access to our balcony. On the balcony, we reused the same furnitures, but we changed a seat in a table. It’s working.

We are not using the balcony so much since it’s morning light on it. Except this summer, it’s most of the time too cold. We even wonder if we will close it.

In our bedroom, we have exactly the same furnitures than before, and even got to put a table there, where I’m sitting at right now, for some papper work. We don’t use it so much, but sometimes, it’s usefull. We got to change the chair though, my back hurts after 10 minutes sitting on this kneeling chair. It’s described to be good for the back and everything, but I can’t manage it.

In the living room, we got a giant TV with the flat, and this is our biggest new furniture. We use it both for TV but mostly for streaming and the radio and CD-player is connected to the sound system, so it’s good stuff. Thank you previous owner to have bought that and sold it to us, but when it will break, we probably won’t be able to pay the reparations. Let’s enjoy as long as it last!

In the kitchen, I sorted out tons of ustensils. We only have things now that we really use. We received a Stokke Tripp Trapp chair for Z when she was born and we have been using it a lot. She had a baby set, meaning that she was able to be with us from the very beginning when we were having dinner. Later, we got this toddle thing and now, she just sits on the chair. Sometimes she escapes, so we now and then reinstall the toddle thing. Very pratical chair, easy to clean (and you don’t have to underestimate this when you get a kid learning how to eat…).

Bathroom? Again, things for Z and a lots of sorting out but no more new things.

So 3 years in this flat, we like it and use every room of it (106 square meters) almost every day and it fits our family.

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New furniture

When the automm came, we decided to buy a piece of furniture. Well, two actually. We passed by Åhléns Downton and saw this velour clothed pieces for the feet (Not sure how it is called).

As the sister of M says, if you want your eyes to feel it “Right”, always get a friend for each of your interior design. So I bought two of them. And two pillows.

You’ll find it at Åhléns for 399 kr (not sponsored).

-25

I went through the flat today and sorted out some books, some shoes, some furni and i found 25 things, which perfectly work, but that will be given yo charity. Somehow, it feels really good. I even freed sahara sand into the sand box in our garden. I took it from one of my trip in Marocco years ago and had it with a candel in it. We never lighted this candel, so time to set the sand free.

I need to make a round in our storage to find even more things.

Minimalism 

Some months ago, I read a book about shopping stop. I also read one about how to tight up your belongings. And recently,  we watched this documentary about minimalism. I’m not a pervers in this area, but I think since a couple of years that we have too much things at home. And that we don’t use everything at all. We always use the same things. This is also very obvious with a baby at home: we got a lots of gifts, I bought some things on eBay and she is growing pretty quickly. We have few closets at home,  so we have to filter what will stay at home for yhe memory or eventually for a little brother or sister and what have to find another place to be useful. 

I have sold many of Z’s stuff on eBay but I thought that I had to live according to my principles as well. So I took a big look into my closet,  storted out what I use and what I never use and put things on eBay.  It works! I’ll not get rich on this but at least, I feel like I have at home things I use and like and others have a better home. 

I feel more responsible too. Since it’s kind of a job to sell things, I don’t want to buy new ones if I don’t need them. This makes my head clearer.

Sewing

On this last day of 2016, there is no time for summary of the year or getting ready for a big new year celebration or so. Today, I sewed. 

We got a stroller from friends for the baby (I still wonder when he/she will go out, 8 days after due date…). Unfortunately,  a cover was missing but there is never a “problem”  that cannot be solved!

From this (an old jeans of M):

I made this:

A reversible cover, with one side in jeans and the other side in rests of fabric I had at home. It took me about 4 hours and one detail must be improved but I’m pretty happy with the result. 

Now, time for some more episode of “la trêve” (serie on Netflix we began to watch yesterday). And maybe a nap.  The probability that I’ll be awake when 2017 comes in is pretty liw. But I count on you, readers, to celebrate! 

November the 6th

This is a special date to me, date when my horse came into our familly, now a loooong time ago. Well. No horse riding today, but rest and rest. Life as pregnant is good, but I get tired very easily and I am deeply in love with my bed.

Today, I tried to be a little creative though and continued to draw invertebrates in my illustrations project.  I made a dragonfly.

We began to watch “the crown” as well (new serie from Netflix about the queen of England.). I am not sure we will stick to it, I get anoid by the rigidity of a lots of characters/people. We give it some more episodes.

But for now, at almost 9 oclock in the evening, it is high time for us to go to bed. A long week of 5 days is waiting for us!

invertebres-libellule

Another quick sewing project

This weekend,  we turned back our clocks with one hour to land on winter time. to me , it meant that I got up at 7 new time to eat breakfast a Sunday.  M did the same and 13 hours later, I can tell that many things have been done in the house.

I sewed some sheets for the baby’s bed this summer and today I finally found the motivation to sew two covers from another that does not fit any bed at home anymore.

It took me about 2 hours including putting the things in the right place after the job (it often is the most difficult part…) and according to Ikea, it saved us 300 Swedish crowns. not a fortune but a thing less we have at home that is useless and these sheets are more comfortable than new ones.

I borrowed a book yesterday at the library called “shopstop” and it is precisely about consumption. I’m already against shopping by princip but with a baby (and new needs) coming,  I find it hard to find the right balance between reusing and buying new. we don’t even know what we really will need. 

I have to stop myself a little tjoug with my own things. when I see my closet,  I think “oh, so much things!” and want to give 70% to charity. at the same time, I forget that these 70% of my clothes cannot be worn right now but will be very useful after that the baby is born… 

Ok  enough for tonight, I’ll read and sleep probably within 30 min. good night!

The knitting and sewing project of the week

I bought some wool last week and sticked a blanket.

This morning, I sew fabric on one side of it to make the whole package cosier.

I began with measuring the blanket (I sticked until I did not have any whool left) and then I cut a piece of fabric larger with 4 cm on each side. I ironed the sides. 

And then I sewed them together. The hardest part was to maintain the blanket in the right place in the fabric but the sewing itself was no problem. 

Now let’s see if it will be useful . I am wondering if I will sew otjer things but I am skeptical about the real needs and I don’t want to have too much useless things at home. it’s anyway enough for today. it’s raining as hell outside and i wonder if I will put myself in bed again and enjoy a film or something. 

Week 32 and two months to due date. now  I feel heavier. my belly is in my way and the baby inside stretches sometimes out from its space,  like in my lungs and that’s not very enjoyable.  on another hand  it proves that the baby is alive, and that’s good.

Oh I see now all my sewing things on the kitchen table and think “who will put them in the right place now…” me of course. .  

Enjoy your Sunday! 

Creative sunday!

I woke up way to early for a sunday but couldn’t fall asleep again. So I went up, ate breakfast at the candle lights and began to “work”. Last week, I decided to sew a band around our carpet in the living room, since our hooverrobot likes to eat the fringes. But what for a good/bad idea: good, because it makes the carpet all clean and protected from the robot but bad because it killed my hands and back and neck and took so much time! But I finished this work today, taking rests and making something else in between.

The something else in between is mostly my illustration project. I’m now done with the poster of asian animals. I’ve done 4 new animals today, which, togheter with the others 5, completed a poster. For each animal, I was also curious and watched some videos on youtube. If you have some time to spend on youtube, I recommend you to watch how kanguroos give birth and how the baby climbes to his/her mother wounds. It’s pretty impressive. Another anmal to check is of course the platypus. I knew quite a lot about this animal, but far from everything. Check it out!

Here is my art from today:

poster_asie