A Sunday morning walk in Stockholm

We stayed in the Kungsholmen neighbourhood, and one morning me and mum went out for a walk along Norr Mälarstrand, in the sun, which I think was only out twice the whole time we were there. I spotted this lady resting in her boat, and had to get closer.

Oh wow, she really had it worked out. An old record player playing I can’t remember what, coffee, not just in a thermos but with an actual cup, and is that a toaster I see below it? Impressive.

Ahh, just looking at these pictures is a sight for my sore eyes. I’m so over this winter; it’s been incredibly long, cold and weird, but spring will come one day, and hopefully the sun too.

A dog on a bench is always funny.

And a dead rat maybe less so. We couldn’t see that it had been injured or killed, so maybe it just died of old age, a bit too publicly.

Concertina building.

We made sure we captured the autumn colours.

Some people really know how to make the best of Sundays, don’t they? I need to master that.

I saw a couple of people swim, and as usual I hadn’t packed my bathing suit. When will I learn?! My friend M (my Swedish cold water swimming buddy) moved back to Stockholm last summer, and has kept up with it. It doesn’t seem like it’s as popular there as it is here, but maybe that’s to do with it being a lot colder there in winter. She’s sent me beautiful footage and pictures from her new swimming spot, and in one of the pictures she’s hacked herself a hole in the ice, by the ladder going into the water. She’s got a massive smile on her face and there’s just enough space for her to stay holding on to the ladder, with solid ice all around her. If that’s not a Viking I don’t know what is.

Greetings

Hey there! Is it too late to wish you a Happy New Year? Although, let’s face it, it does feel more realistic to say Crappy New Year, don’t you think? I find it a bit funny how people are relieved to have 2020 behind them, when surely this year will be as bad, if not worse (especially here in the UK as we still have a joke of a government in power for at least another four years and Brexit finally has happened - and let’s not forget last week in Washington! - but yes, vaccines is obviously the game changer, although it’s shameful how all rich countries are ordering them all up)?! Ugh. But it’s always darkest before dawn etc etc. Worse things have happened, and we will get through this too. Just got to hold steady…

These pictures are from a local walk before Christmas, when I had more energy and could face leaving the house, and before our third lockdown which we are in now. I would give my right arm (ok, maybe my left? I’m right handed so I use it more, sooooooo) for more sunny cold days, but for the past few weeks it’s been bitterly cold and overcast, which is a pretty rubbish combination, as all it does is make you want to stay inside. I don’t know what tree this is, but it looked frickin’ awesome against the blue sky.

All lampposts should be smiling. Or even cry-smiling like this guy. I ran past him on my run this morning again and he made smile. Or maybe it’s a she?

I love our local woods so much and we are so lucky to live so close to it. And I should know that on days that I feel low, this is where I need to walk myself and clear my lungs and head.

These volunteers were cleaning out the tiny little pond, where opportunistic dogs sometimes go for a quick dip and humans don’t. “My” swimming pond shut last Tuesday, and I totally understand why, but goddamn do I miss it. It had just gotten to the best stage where everyone comes out of the water exhaling deeply because of the cold (it was + 4.5c when they closed) and with huge smiles on their faces.

Not a huge fan of parakeets. They’re noisy and make a mess. I call them the hooligans of the bird world. Every year that goes by with them not nesting near our garden is a good year, and when they do occasionally stop for a break nearby, I will them to keep on flying.

Surely this has to be the world’s best haircut?!! Or maybe half of the world’s best haircut. Such a fun idea.

I’m currently reading ‘The Hidden life of Tree’ by Peter Wohlleben which is making me look at the trees around me with very different eyes. They’re so sophisticated, clever and considerate to each other. It’s the perfect read for me right now, as I have to be very on top of how I’m keeping sane in these insane times. Hope you guys are looking after yourselves, and that you are able to keep your head up through this darkest of winters. It’s sometimes hard to remember, but spring always comes. Always.

Bad day/good day

I had my first wobble on Tuesday, as in a bit of a wig out. With all the talk of how one should make the most of this time in isolation, and get on with various projects that you might not usually have the time or the energy for, I’d been slowly driving myself crazy. I just couldn’t focus, and felt like I just floated around, not accomplishing anything. This article, ‘Stop trying to be productive’, in the New York Times, was really helpful in highlighting how right now, maybe being productive was not the thing to be doing at all. So, Mr Famapa, after having made a daily schedule for Oomoo over the Easter holidays (that we are in now), suggested that it would probably be helpful if I made one for myself. Now don’t get us wrong, we are NOT schedule-y parents normally (and there’s nothing wrong with that - each to their own!), but with an only child, and not being able to hang out with friends or go anywhere and break up the day, having some structure have helped making the time pass. At that particular moment I felt particularly low, but as luck would have it, I was due to go and meet my friend D who lives close by, for a walk together and apart, like we now do. It was a gorgeous day, and great to see someone else, right at that moment, and have good chat about everything and nothing. It was so great that we’ve decided that, as part of our new schedules, two of these walks a week would help us both. I’ve almost completely filled in my weekly time table now, and I followed it to a t yesterday, and I felt MUCH better with a proper structure to my day. These tips from Alastair Campbell (of all people!) are bloody brilliant for right now, and if you find yourself feeling low, there are some very good suggestions there of how to avoid the dark days, and how to treat yourself well.