Friday Gallery: Advent

Annika has taken over the hosting of the Friday Gallery for the month of December (and she's permanent hostess for the FG widget) and for our first task she's given us Advent. Easy one. This is what our home looks like since last weekend/first of advent:

Isolde helped out with the advent candles:

On First of Advent Isolde and I went to the Swedish church here in Brussels to get into the Christmas spirit: 

And of course I have to bring some "adventsmys" to the office as well:

And for those who have read the below post I'm happy to report that the ordeal was finally over just after 3pm today when I set foot at home again, 17 hours after planned arrival. The 10:35 flight this morning was of course delayed twice and it wasn't until 12:45 that we left Copenhagen. Next time I will definitely bring underwear and deodorant and a few other key items on day trips just in case. And by my next work trip I hope to have stopped breast-feeding, as towards the end of the delay my breasts were rather full and painful, after not having been "used" for over 36 hours. I don't nurse as much anymore but at least once every morning and twice at night, so still regular enough to keep milk production up. 

All is well that ends well, or however it goes. Peter made it to Stockholm as planned this morning and the kids had a great time with my mum. Isolde missed Saint Nicholas at school today but luckily she's too young to care, though apparently has little friends had missed her and even cried for her sake because she missed Santa (bless'em). 

Now I'm off to bed for some very needed sleep! 

Friday Gallery: A Feeling

When you get home from work and your baby boy says "mamama" and wants you to pick him up right away and starts crying if you delay it more than a second because you need to take your coat off.  When you've been missing him all day and he shows with his whole body that he's been longing for you too. When you see that wonderful smile for the first time in eight hours. That feeling.

Channal has been our hostess this month. Next month is Annika's and will be all about Christmas! 

Friday Gallery: Portraits in Black and White

Friday again and time for the Gallery.  Channal is our hostess still and her topics for this week is portraits in black and white.  I don't have that many photos in black and white and even fewer portraits in black and white, but I did find these among my hundreds of folders.

Moi at age 2 or 3 (and I have shown this picture before)

Me in London in 1998.  When I still had three piercings in each ear haha.

Taken by one of those beach photographers that nag you to have your photo taken, south of France in, summer of 2000

Taken and also developed by my friend Åsa, unknown year, but early 2000s



Also taken by Åsa, of me with Harald in February of this year

Friday Gallery: Complementary Colours

Tricky topic Channal has chosen for today.  Complementary colours.  I remember learning in school - or maybe I read it somewhere - that the complementarity of red and green is the reason why surgeons and other medical staff (at the A&E mostly I guess) wear green clothes, so that blood won't be as visible, but I don't know if this is the only or main reason.

I looked through several albums for a good photo to illustrate today's theme, but the only photo I could find within limited time, is this one, from a market in Barcelona taken several years ago now.

Friday Gallery: Symmetry

The second theme of November, as chosen by Channal, is symmetry.  These photos may not be completely accurate for the theme, but they seemed semi-appropriate.  Last weekend when we were in England we visited my alma mater Oxford and my old college St Antony's to see the new Gateway Building.  I had been a bit sceptic about how it would fit on the premises without taking up all of the lawn and that it would look a bit of of place, but I was pleasantly surprised.  It - or actually they, as there are two buildings - melt in among the existing new(er) and old buildings and they don't take up any of the green space (though perhaps blocking some sunlight), and most importantly, they (especially the left building) hides the Hilda Beast.  I like how their positions are streamlined - and that's where I find symmetry - with the existing buildings and the glass and bronze walls.  Before there wasn't anything special about area between the original (main) building, the Hilda Besse and the grass, it was just empty pavement, but now it feels more planned and decorated, and in many ways more green than before.  The new lodge (reception in Oxford lingo) in the left of the new buildings was closed but maybe next visit we can see the buildings also from the inside, and perhaps also go to high table.

Peeking through.  Hilda Besse at the back, flanked by the new Gateway buildings.

The old original St Antony's building to the right and one of the new Gateway buildings to the left, with the Founders' Building (where I stayed for a year), down the middle at the back.

Friday Gallery: Still Life

Channal is Friday Gallery hostess for the month of November and for today she's chosen "still life" (stilleben).

As we're on a mini-break to England, I just have my phone at hand, but I actually found a really fitting picture. 

Have a nice weekend!

Friday Gallery: Doors/Portals

I decided to tackle today's theme - doors or portals (portar in Swedish) - by taking some photos on my way home from the metro station after work today.

Every day I pass this beautiful entrance to someone's home just outside Isolde's school. 

And further down almost the same street there's a little chapel in disguise. Or a electricity station in disguise depending on what direction you are coming from. I wonder if it was a chapel (or altar, as you can't actually go into it) first or an electricity station first. 

And after that I'm almost home. I like the entrance to our building and especially the name of our building. Why don't Swedish buildings have names? 

Friday Gallery: Lock(s)

This was a difficult theme.  I couldn't really find any photos of locks (lås) in my albums and I didn't have time to take any new photos. But in the end I found one that fit the theme.  It's taken by Isolde at last weekend's visit to the automobile museum Auto World.  Isolde has just recently become interested in taking photos herself - before it was just looking at the photos afterwards - and you can see that she needs some practice :)

Birgitta is our hostess for the month of October. If you want to participate in Friday Gallery, let us know through the widget on Annika's blog.

Friday Gallery: Windows

My plan was to show my windows and our new (or recycled from our previous homes really) curtains but I didn't get around to take any pictures yet so I had to think of something else. A quick look through my iPhone, which I recently emptied, didn't come up with much but I did find two pictures of the kids (of course) who fit this week's theme.

Harald was looking through the window at Isolde playing with her friend Daniel in the garden last weekend. He was really interested in what they were doing and would have crawled outside if the glass hadn't stopped him. It made me reflect over how amazing the world is to him all the time. He's experiencing new things every day and his big eyes are following his sister wherever she goes and whatever she does. He's almost always happy and hardly ever bored. And even she's picking a fight he's smiling :) 

Friday Gallery: Metal

One of my little projects at the moment is to auction off a few garments, mainly dresses that are the wrong size or I've grown tired of, and other stuff we're not using. The dresses are now sold and I'm making trips to the post office every day. We'd love to keep this set from Hermès but it's too big and bulky for our preferences, both in terms of actually using it and storing it. But maybe one of you have more room?

Friday Gallery

I missed last week so two-in-one this week.  It's Erika who calls the shots this month and she has chosen from another angle/viewpoint and abstract for last week and this.

I brought Harald along to a course in EU lobbying and negotiating at work this week.  EU countries approach policy issues from different angles...

Maybe not abstract enough but Isolde perhaps created a modern work of art in her room the other day...

Erika has also found a widget for us Friday Gallery bloggers to link our posts.  See below.

Friday Gallery: Magic

Apologies for being repetitive but right now my life is pretty occupied by two little magic human beings :)

Isolde has an ear fetish ;)

Friday Gallery on a Saturday

Erika is our hostess for March and her first theme is Friday Feeling. With a new baby in the house and for me especially, being on maternity leave, every day is like Friday now. Almost :) And the best moments are when we're all together, the four of us.

Friday Gallery: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Annika's last theme for the month of February (who's taking over in March??) is A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words.

It wasn't difficult for me to find a picture (well, two pictures actually) to illustrate this week's theme.

Friday Gallery: Water (and longing)

Missing my little swimmer at home and looking forward to seeing her tomorrow and introducing her little brother.

Friday Gallery: In My Neighbourhood...

Annika's second theme for the month of February is In my neighbourhood (or environment/surroundings).  I thought I'd illustrate it with photos in my phone (and taken by me) that would fit the theme.  Let's start from above...

Stockholm is my home

We're very fortunate to live near Gärdet and Djurgården so nature is never far away even though we live in the city, and this is also where I work

We can walk in the direction of "town" and the shops either by beautiful Strandvägen, in its winter clothes in the picture, or straight through Östermalm

On our way home we can pass by Humlegården for some playtime

And our last stop may be Ett bageri, my favourite bakery (tied with Valhallabageriet, but Ett bageri is much closer)

Have a nice weekend!

Friday Gallery: Addiction

New month and a new Friday Gallery hostess, Annika in Umeå.  Her first theme is addiction*, which I thought I'd illustrate with an interesting development in Isolde's life: she stopped sucking her thumb. 

She started sucking on her index finger on the same hand though so she's not rid of her addiction, but I was surprised to see how fast it happened, almost from one day to the other.  What happened was that she got a cut or a chap on her thumb due to a combination of a constantly wet thumb and very cold weather, and we put cream and a plaster on and told her to suck on the left thumb or a finger instead.  At first she was just trying to remove the plaster but after a day or so she asked for more cream and a new plaster if it had come off (this seemed to coincide with her becoming more conscious - or perhaps this was the cause - of boo-boos and wanting us to blow on the "wound" and comfort her even though she hasn't really got hurt at all) as well as for sympathy for her wounded thumb.  And after two days she started sucking on her right index finger and even though a couple of days later her thumb was fine and she didn't have to wear a plaster anymore, she didn't go back to her thumb, not even in her sleep when you'd think the reflex of putting her thumb in her mouth, something she's been doing since the age of five months, would be the strongest.

So now we have a little finger-sucking girl.  Her dad sucked the same finger when he was little - though with the palm of his hand up while she does it the other way around - so maybe it's genetic ;)

Isolde before...

...and after

It will be interesting to see if it will be as "easy" to get her to stop sucking her thumb or finger altogether.  If we tape all fingers?  Anyway, we're not really going to force her to do that yet but maybe when she's three years old, if she hasn't stopped on her own.  Peter apparently stopped without much difficulty around the age of three so let's hope for that.  That said, they say nowadays that as long as she stops (and the same goes for pacifiers) before she gets her permanent teeth, there shouldn't be too much damage to her teeth.


* I noticed later after I had written my post that it really was "I'm addicted to..." but hope I'm excused for using Isolde's bad habits :)

Friday Gallery: Bad Habits

Penny has chosen a very difficult topic for this Friday, at least as far as illustrating with pictures is concerned!  But I'm going to make it easy for myself and post something funny I saw today.

Considering Isolde's addiction with iPhones and iPads and with her approaching toilet training age, she will probably need one of these:

Friday Gallery: Expectations for 2013

I will write more about expectations for 2013 later but a quick post for today's Friday Gallery (hostess for January is Penny). Most on my mind right now is of course the little one in my tummy as well as Isolde in the big sister role. Can't wait for March to come!

Friday Gallery: Half-Year Report

Västmanländskan's last theme for December and also the last theme of 2012 is the traditional halvårskoll, i.e. six-month "check"/report, this one for the last* six months of the year.

I just made a photo calendar with photos of Isolde so I'll use those as inspiration.

In July Peter was still on parental leave (and took this great photo) and I had a couple of weeks' leave.  We spent a week in Nice, France (with a mini-break across the border to Italy), and had a lovely time but the holiday was a bit different than planned, as I had a lot of morning sickness at that early stage of this pregnancy.  I spent most of the first part of each day in bed trying to eat and getting enough strength to be able to head out and spend the afternoon at the beach. 

In August I had a couple of weeks off work again, which we spent mainly at the summer house, and towards the end of the month Isolde started pre-school/nursery and Peter went back to work after nine months at home.  One of the other highlights of the month was Lady Gaga in Globen.

September was very much a month to get into the new routine of dropping off and picking up at pre-school and getting through Isolde's first bouts of sickness (those pre-school germs, you know!).

Like September, October was a lot of "every-day life" and as I have been quite busy at work all autumn  I accumulated quite a lot of overtime and did at least one overnight business trip in October.  On the other hand I've had a lot of saved leave days so I have been able to take almost every Friday off all autumn.  We spent a couple of weekends at the summer house - where this photo was taken - and also attended the wedding of one of Peter's best friends, on a beautiful but chilly autumn day.

November went quickly despite it being the darkest time of the year (though it doesn't bother me much, I just light candles :)  Peter went to visit a friend (the one who got married the month before) who's currently living in Israel (or Palestine, rather) at the end of the month and I had a few days on my own with our little crazy girl.  It coincided with pre-school being closed for so-called planning days so we spent it with family and friends.  In November Peter and I also celebrated our second wedding anniversary and went to Gastrologik for one of the best meals - or food experiences - I've ever had.

Winter arrived in December and Isolde got to ride to pre-school in a sled instead of a pram, which was very popular.  I spent four days in London with my mum, Christmas shopping and catching up with a friend.  My dear friend Jenny who moved to Brazil at the beginning of the year returned home with partner and daughter to spend December (and January) in Sweden. 
 

* I think I missed the one in the summer though..?