Ubuntu Cola

Saw this while heading to Memira for the eye exam where they told me they won't do surgery on me, and burst out laughing - had to stop to take a picture, my boss was giving me a weird look.

After Winter Came

Going to work one early morning - last tuesday to be specific. Now the snow is gone again, but for one morning it looked like that.

Before Winter

October 30th I spent my lunch break going for a walk - here is the documentation!
Thanks to blogger acting up they are in random order.
And this being Sweden, it was lunch time and the beginning of sunset.

Autumn leaves on the lawn, looking towards Ärvinge

Rosehips

I am not quite sure what it is, but it looks like an old farm or something. If you are in the know and reading this, please comment with the truth about the above buildings! (Picture taken on the other side of Kymlingelänken from Ärvinge/the lawn with the strange structure)

Training ground for dogs.

Lawn with strange structure.. I think it looks like a statue of a nuclear plant, or something.

Metro!

Kista Science Tower seen above the treetops when I was standing on a rock.

Again.

Forest and paths.

Nya glasögon?

Om du bor i Sverige (eller har kontakter i/närhet till landet så du klarar beställa något här), kan jag bjuda på 150kr rabatt på glasögon hos Lensway.se just nu. Erbjudandet gäller till 15/12 och du måste uppge kod 0410 vid beställningen av de färdiga glasögonen (på nätet eller på beställningsedeln) . Sen kan det vara bra att skriva en liten rad om vem som bjöd på rabatten med, för den är personlig.

Så ser ni, bara för att ni känner mig kan ni få billigare glasögon (och välgjorda och snygga är de med)!

Erbjudandet är inte kompatibelt med andra erbjudanden, men glasögonpar nummer två får du som vanligt 50% rabatt på med... :)

Conspiracy Theories

As usual, the four of us were leaning against the window sill, while the rest were spread out across the general near vicinity - sitting on tables, leaning against shelves, borrowing chairs from nearby desks.

It didn't take many seconds - we certainly didn't have time to start talking - before a voice from somewhere to the left of us piped up: "Look, they're all wearing black".

A hush fell as all eyes turned against us. "And none of them are wearing glasses!" someone added.

"Why..."
"What's up?"

It really doesn't take much for people to notice a pattern, does it?

November challenge

I didn't wait for the formal challenge, because based on the below I had an idea.

"Well..... the December challenge seemed obvious to me, but for November I thought having a thanksgiving themed Rhapsody pic would be a bit lame - I was toying with maybe putting some pictures to any of the songs in the book (but I haven't looked them up yet and I can only specifically remember Grunthor's chant) or maybe doing some simple portraiture.

Actually yes, I think portraiture, in the style of some of the old masters would be quite cool. I have a lovely vision of Grunthor sitting in a composed way with a soft light glinting on his weaponry and tusks."

Oh and I realise that the subjects of these challenges must seem cryptic if you aren't familiar with Elizabeth Haydon's books.

Autumn colours and indoor coziness

Cauldron Art Challenge Oktober

The challenge was this:

"Ok peeps - get out your pens, pencils and paints, virtual or real, and start designing a cover for Rhapsody (as in the first book - not the character.) The twist is it needs to reflect the horror or spooky elements of the first book. Inspiration could come from things like the trip through the Root, the Rak'sha, the nasties chasing the Three or even Achmed's face. Whatever floats your boat. It can be humorous, nightmarish or gothic; as long as it reflects the theme and looks vaguely like a book cover."

Because of lack of time/energy, it will probably not become more than this painted sketch (gouache on board) - but I had fun thinking it up and realising I would be able to make what I wanted.

On the root (Click to enlarge)

"Well, 'allo Duchess! Oi was 'opin you'd drop in! Care for a spot o' tea?"

Quote

Go from me, summer friends, and tarry not
I am no summer friend but wintry cold,
A silly sheep benighted from the fold,
A sluggard with a thorn-choked garden plot.
Take counsel, sever from my lot your lot,
Dwell in your pleasant places, hoard your gold;
Lest you with me should shiver on the wold,
Athirst and hungering on a barren spot.
For I have hedged me with a thorny hedge,
I live alone, I look to die alone:
Yet sometimes, when a wind sighs through the sedge
Ghosts of my buried years and friends come back
My heard goes sighing after swallows flown
On sometime summer's unreturning track.

-- Christina Rossetti

Dash of colour in grey weather

My favourite season is autumn - september and october and november (if november doesn't turn into winter that is). I love all the colour and I love the weather. But at the same time, it can be a very grey season - mostly due to the high risk of wind and rain and overcast skies.

Several of my herbs were attacked by some parasite - the regular basil, both thyme plants and probably the mint at least, possibly also the rosemary and the purple basil. I wasn't taking any chances anyway, so yesterday I threw them all out and set out on a mission to sterilize the pots, intending to plant new herbs and start over.

The local grocery shop recently changed to a more flowery profile, they have quite alot of plants and flowers around the entrance, cheerful and nice. The pink and bright red chrysanthemums tempted me and this morning I decided to go for it - they are cheap and I'll just throw them out when they stop flowering (I think - else put them in a spare corner with the plants from the balcony and plant them out with the ivy next year, but I am not sure if they are perennials), and start over with the herbs in a month or whenever that happens. For now - my kitchen seems more cheerful to me :)

Fooooood

Closer...

Forgot this.

Bog in autumn shroud as well

With almost all of today's posts the photos look better fullsize. Not quite all though... ;)

On the ground

Down on my knees...

Trees

More road

Window

The road goes ever on and on

And I must follow if I can

Sunset Rainbow

I know it has been ages and ages since I really wrote anything here. Not much to say about that - it has been ages since I took this picture of a double (actually it was triple but I only got two arms on photo) rainbow that got very intense colours in the sunset, but I haven't uploaded it either.
















So, what happened? Summer came. Christine stayed in my livingroom for alittle less than two months, I got a new job (same company - but I am now teamleader instead - more work and more responsibility without much change in pay, but it doesn't matter cause I like what I do and that is more important). Summer passed, it is now definitely autumn. Icy cold mornings and three duvets at night. Red leaves.

When I take the bus to work in the early mornings, the world is green and red - green leaves with some red ones interspersed, apples in all shades of red from almost green to so dark red tht they are almost black - and purple plums, orange-y rosehips, green pears, red berries, and rowans so heavy with fruit that the twigs hang all the way to the ground. Fruit season. It is still warm enough that roses and the more stubborn wild flowers still are in blossom, adding a dash of colour to it. People wear jackets and colourful scarves - me too, my old friend the corduroy jacket came out of hiding, and I bought a new bright red shawl that I wrap around my neck.

Weekends are spent watching old episodes of Grand Designs and No Reservations, knitting (an attempt to get mittens before spring - the woollen socks of last autumn were finally finished in june... ;) ) , doing the backlog of dishes (I seem completely unable to wash dishes during the week), scratching the cat, and thinking that I really really SHOULD carry the unused and dismantled bed Christine borrowed back into storage. She was supposed to help me with that but she decided to leave one day while I was at work and she never returned to help me as she promised.

My left arm is sad - elbow to be more specific. The joint is slightly displaced but nothing out of common for me, however I have a bad case of inflammation at the tendon. Doctor gave me a shot of local anaesthesia mixed with cortison, my arm was numb for 36 hours, which was nice, but by now its hurting again. Hopefully the fact that I am eating ibuprofen as candy (he told me to) will take out the rest. It -is- better though, I can use the arm again - I can straighten it out without pain which I was unable to in the beginning of the week.

In a week I am doing a hit and run trip to Norway, to see my grandfather (who is my hero, if you didn't know - one of the most awesome persons I know about) - just sleeping there two nights and then going home. The intricacies of SJ's new pricing system baffled me and made me call their customer service twice.

One of the reasons I haven't been blogging is that I lost my third blog (the one at FD), and having that motivated me to blog more than usual (see post about the 1 year anniversary of this one for the history of that). No warning which miffed me a bit, I would have wanted to save some stuff from it. Talking about that, the second anniversary came and went without comment from me. I was thinking about stuff I wanted to write but nothing ever came out of it. Hopefully I will write something good enough for two years next time... ;)

Alright. That was it for now. I will try to update more often from now on, we will see how that goes.

Onödig information?

Ett halvt paket ica's frusna hallon och ett halvt paket frusna mangobitar från samma märke, med en klunk ica röda-bär juice i mixern blev en rätt god smoothie i två portioner.

Bara så ni vet hur mina prioriteringar ser ut och varför jag inte bloggar.