Yet to be named

The Neasden Temple

2007-08-04T18:48:00.000+01:00

Or more properly the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Temple. I was delighted to go there ysterday on a trip from work. It is absolutely beautiful

Friday I'm in Love

2007-08-03T17:04:00.000+01:00

(remember The Cure? where did they GO?)

Shaky shaky due to instability and bad light conditions, but I think the message is clear.

I love my cat, and I think she at least LIKES me :)

I love details, as in...

2007-08-02T12:42:00.000+01:00

...a beautiful tree in the botanical garden, close to the library

...the mosaic on one of the library walls

...an ornate fence on Engelbrektsgatan - "this is as far as you get, enjoy the view"

Bumble Bees

2007-07-29T22:15:00.000+01:00

Bubmle bees tucking in to Echinops flowers

...so, we DID harass Näcken

2007-07-22T13:55:00.001+01:00

Apart from being an electric engineer I also gladly take part in health related work. I guess that's me making up for not completing my studies to become a medical doctor :)

This Friday we wandered around Uppsala for more than three hours, talking to teenagers (mostly) and trying to get them to understand that veneral diseases are once again spreading rapidly, that some of them (for instance Chlamydia) sometimes are hard to notice but that they still can harm your body causing sterility among both men and women.

At midnight we set out to harass Näcken (as portrayed by Swedish artist Bror Hjorth). He is (ahem) big, but finally one of the participants managed to cover his private parts with a condom.

Simba

2007-07-19T21:51:00.000+01:00

I found the original owners today! Amazing. I am SO happy, and calm now that I know he's well taken care of again.

(a naughty little runaway, that one!)

"His name was SIMBA? My GOD, I understand that he ran away" said one of my friends. *lol*

Compare his body shape today with the initial picture, at least I got him a little less skinny during the time I fed him. Apparently he was a HUGE cat before he ran away. His owner was stunned at the sight of him now - "well, you should have seen him two weeks ago" I told him.

Bebe

2007-07-18T18:26:00.000+01:00

Looking angelic as ever

Speaking of Izzy...

2007-07-17T23:06:00.000+01:00

...she used to be a deserted, skinny street-cat too, but she seems to have forgotten that by now. This picture was taken quite shortly after she moved in with me, she had stayed (and got well fed!) with Fredrike for a while, but she was still CRAZY for food, she always seemed to think that every meal was the last one to get served.

(I try to tell her that she ought to remember how tough it was to be deserted, but she simply wont listen - "That Fredrik is NOT going to take ANY of your attention away from me, I've served my hard time in the streets, I deserve full attention from my Human Being by now" she claims. Well well...)

Fredrik

2007-07-17T22:51:00.000+01:00

This little guy breaks my heart. I found him huddled under a balcony (it was raining) a little more than a week ago when I went to get my bike outside my house. At first he ran away, frightened, but then he came back to me.

He is so beautiful, and such a nice cat, but painstakingly skinny. I've been feeding him since, and I try to find him a new home (no, Izzy didn't accept him so we can't adopt him, I tried twice already). He waits for me everyday now. Yesterday evening I came home 11.15 pm - I parked my bike and "tip tip tip", there he was, softly purring and telling me "Welcome home (and, by the way, I'd like to get some dinner now)".

I named him Fredrik, for certain reasons. Ahem.

Thalictrum

2007-07-17T16:00:00.001+01:00

2007-07-07T17:12:00.000+01:00

Live Earth - this is my contribution, this is what I want to show people to motivate them to think about the future. Ironically, it's the past.

This is my favourite picture from midsummer - Länsmansgården (the house of the local police a couple of hundred years ago) in Fatmomakke, Swedish Lappland.

It's perfectly normal for the mountains to sport some snow in June. Climate changes might cause a change, it's getting warmer and that would mean catastrophy even for the unique flora and fauna found here as well as in so many other places on earth. The water in the lake is still squeaky clean, fresh from the mountains.

Fatmomakke village is lovingly saved as is - I hope that's a spreading trend all over. Save things. Look after them. Take care.

Fatmomakke

----------------

Which picture would you choose? Post it here (or, visitors, post a link as a comment)

rapture

2007-07-04T20:49:00.000+01:00

It's almost impossible to describe the kind of quiet but indeniable rapture (quiet rapture - now that's an interesting contradiction for you :)) that I feel when I face the mountains close to Ormsjö (ths is about 60 kms away frpm our house there).

It has been less than two weeks, and I already want to go back.

A quiet talk

2007-07-03T23:50:00.000+01:00

Shot at a cemetary in Ludvika, Dalarna, Sweden on June 20th. My girlfriend Anna is having a quiet chat to her father, seven years after his passing.

(It's only fair that you get to see her too, after seeing her cat in the last post.)

Introducing: Titan

2007-06-28T16:13:00.000+01:00

Titan, affectionately known as "Fur Bomb", is actually my girlfriend's cat but as we now live together, he is eligible for submissions as well. He is a Turkish Van (with two yellow eyes(!)) and his hobbies include chasing hair bands (He plays fetch with them. Do normal cats play fetch? I think not.), drinking water from the shower nozzle until he throws up, sleeping on top of Anna's old rickety display case (one of these days he's gonna fall through the top, I swear) and shedding. All the hairs you see on the carpet, he put there. He is petrified of the vacuum cleaner and he absolutely hates the dish washer. He is very chatty and loves it when you brush him.

Everybody say Hi to Titan!

Dactylorhiza maculata

2007-06-27T16:11:00.001+01:00

Small but beautiful orchid that grows wild close to our summer house in Lappland.

my precious

2007-06-26T19:50:00.001+01:00

NFOs are really really meant to sit like this, outside, with the wind teasing their whiskers and ears.

midsummer 2007

2007-06-25T21:52:00.000+01:00

Yes, that IS snow. Yes, it was hot. Yes, we had a LOVELY day!

(with mom in Swedish Lapland at midsummer, about 200 kms nw from our "summer house" in Ormsjö)

Tree

2007-06-06T22:39:00.000+01:00

Test post.

off we go, part two

2007-06-04T21:15:00.000+01:00

Joy and HAPPINESS! Alison Lapper was still in Trafalgar Sq!

--------------

Ambulance on a bike. Really smart thing! Bonus: the guy was really cute too.

--------------

Pure happiness. BLT and beer. Picnic on the sidewalk, since all the parks in the area was private - i e locked - and we got really really hungry :) Beer out of a plastic bag, to avoid attention from the police. We are sooo posh :-D

--------------

I would hire them any day!

--------------

Trust the electrical engineer to find an old (1868) hydropowerstation. It resides close to The Tower.

--------------

"They promised me half a mile of humping, but all I got out of it was blisters on my feet"
(from the upcoming super success novel "Memoirs of a Spinster" ;))

a weekend off

2007-06-04T12:54:00.000+01:00

So where did I go? Of course: to London!

Being the Tudor-fan that I am, I was happy to find the Tudor Rose, close to Baker Street.

Great set of triceps. This guy guards the Buckingham Palace.

Swedish bike in London? Is that supposed to be a sight worth a photo. Naw...

...but I loved the irony. I shot it through a bus window, kind of blurry.

Best friends, at Portobello Road.

"OH, nice ASS! Oh, sorry, it's not an ass, it's a lion..."

(Ass = åsna ;))

MI6, unfortunately Mr B was nowhere to be seen.

Ongoing installation, an artist (forgot his name . Shaun, do you know?) molded a statue of himself (ugly guy, really) ans placed it in 31 places - on rooftops etc. This one on the west side of Waterloo Bridge.

Alium

2007-05-31T14:41:00.000+01:00

I thought I'd sneak in with the 100th post with a photo I took a few days of an alium starting to come into flower. I've just bought a macro lens and am playing with this new toy!

daily work

2007-05-30T22:40:00.000+01:00

My pride and joy :)
I make them for a living - although a more modern model.

ray of light

2007-05-30T19:59:00.000+01:00

Astor. He IS a beauty.

Evil Mimi

2007-05-25T21:48:00.001+01:00

Mimi

2007-05-15T18:24:00.000+01:00

The essential Ted

2007-05-14T12:34:00.000+01:00

Hover fly on enjoying the Spirea

2007-05-12T19:26:00.000+01:00

Spirea is one of those bushes that has thousands of tiny flowers - like the Photinia I suppose. I suppoe these sort of bushes offer small portions but many courses!

Aquilegia

2007-05-12T19:23:00.000+01:00

Another flower that came into bloom this week

royal update

2007-05-12T12:42:00.000+01:00

Um. National overload?
Well. It WAS the king's birthday (April 30th)

...and back at our place we enjoy our new leather-couch. Queen Izzy even lets me sit in it from time to time.

Bluebell field

2007-05-10T20:59:00.000+01:00

In a woodland about 15km away just outside a secret nuclear bunker that has been turned into a tourist attraction (honest!)

Not a garden...

2007-05-08T23:53:00.000+01:00

... just a window sill. My new orchid which, although quite lovely, didn't turn out to be as red in the center as promised. Bah.

Tristan is not very interested in orchids, but spends his time on the sofa looking grumpy.

Mimi yawns

2007-05-03T20:42:00.000+01:00

Again cross posted from teh Poor Mouth. I was lucky to catch Mimi mid yawn earlier on

Photinia blossom

2007-05-03T15:00:00.000+01:00

The previous owner of our house had impeccable taste in shrubs, planting the Tree Paeony and the Photinia. The Photinia is currently in bloom and has thousands of tiny flowers...

a massive spring update

2007-04-27T20:37:00.000+01:00

Are you bored with my magnolias yet?

I guess my friends OUGHT to be. I discovered that I have quite a collection in my camera - a collection of friends that I dragged along with me for my almost daily magnolia mission :)

This is me paparazzi-ing a picture of my friend Kirsi watching my other friend Marie taking a picture of the magnolias that I forced them to go and see about a week ago :-D

...and this is my friend Anders, at the very same place, two days ago. I inspired him to take a picture TOO. I ought'ta get royalties from the magnolias for making them famous, ahem.

Well, this is it. It's done. I no longer need to watch them, cuz from now on it's just downhill again...

Svartån ("Svart" = "Black"and "ån" = ehm, well not river, but stream? creek? shucks, what would you call it?)

Kyrkbacken (Church Hill), the oldest part of Västerås. There are always new things to discover around the corner. Some of the wooden houses are 400 years old.

I'm SHORT, but I would need to bow to be able to get inside, I doubt that this door is higher than 1,5 metres. Yes, the houses are carefully modernized inside, people still live there, this is one of the most popular places in Västerås.

We all know that maples are beautiful in autumn colours - but I also love the early limegreen tiny tiny flowers in spring, before the leaves appear.

Magnolia watch, mid April in Västerås

2007-04-22T17:00:00.000+01:00

Sooon... soon! I go to Vasaparken several days a week to check now :)

New blooms in the garden

2007-04-21T17:33:00.000+01:00

In just a week things have started really happening in the garden. The Abutilon is starting to flower (top) as is the Species Tree paeony. The Abutilon is definitely early. That should not start flowering until next month. Another example of global warming?

Various animals, some doing naughty things

2007-04-17T18:19:00.000+01:00

Red eared terrapins at a local park. These would have been bought at the time of the Teenage Mutrnt Ninja Turtle craze in the 90s then abandoned when the owners discovered that they aren't easy pets to keeps

Two particularly shameless lily beetles.

I have no idea who this cat is but it was facing down Bebe on Saturday morning

The return of my old favourite, the crab spider

"I can see you"

2007-04-12T19:20:00.000+01:00

Street art, someone recently decorated a small box outside the library with this delicate little work of art.

Easter in Karlstad

2007-04-12T18:02:00.000+01:00

This is river "Klarälven" in my hometown, Karlstad.

This is a new one - it wasn't there a few years ago. He does look a bit familar, perhaps an old boyfriend left behind, or something. Hm.

(why oh WHY would you place a statue of a gorilla in the middle of the street?)

OK, so mom's cats are sissies! Iriis and Astor huddled together behind the couch.

I, um, wonder why? So I guess Izzy was a little... well, she WAS stark, raving MAD. Dunno what it is about her and neutered males.

(Iriis is a neutered female, but Izzy always goes for Astor)

Here goes: the result of the big fight. 90% of this is cream coloured fur from Astor. A mere 10% could be traced back to Izzy. Oops.

cats and taps

2007-04-11T23:09:00.000+01:00

My cats like boxes, just like Ted below, but they seem to be even more fond of taps. Dripping taps. Tristan has displayed this behaviour ever since we first got him (we think he was about 5 years old when he came to us), but Sally was a normal water bowl drinker when she arrived. For about half a day that is and then she was converted too! However, she hasn't progressed from the bathroom sink to the shower as Tristan has :-). Incidently, the only way to get Tristan to drink from his water bowl is to add chunks of ice- he is a truly American cat.

I apologise for the bad quality of the pictures- bathrooms are difficult when the flash is bad.

What is it about cats and boxes?

2007-04-06T20:01:00.000+01:00

I buy an inexpensive photo printer, get it home and start setting it up. Within nanoseconds, Ted is in the box and trying to get some sleep. What is it about cats and boxes, fruit bowls, egg cups and so on??

Västerås' walkabout, April 1st

2007-04-01T20:55:00.000+01:00

The turbine building, Västerås' oldest power plant - hydro power, obviously. Built about 120 years ago, AND it still works (renovated in 1995), providing power to the castle. I've been inside - my inner engineering geek LOVES this. I admit ;)

Gustav Vasa - endlessly watching over the castle from Vasaparken...

...and here goes: the Västerås castle. Not very Disney, this one. The oldest parts are 800 years old. It was a royal residence until 1638.

Inspired by Cecilia, I had to go check the Magnolias too - nah, they are not fully ready for take off yet, and neither should they be already this time of the year.

Roses

2007-03-31T14:41:00.000+01:00

An old shot of mine has been at the back of my head for a while - I took this one in November 2005(!). Through a stroke of luck (or possibly conspiracy), a tip in a Photoshop book I received from Amazon last week combined with an impromptu competition on a Swedish Photoshop blog made me finally sit down with this one and finish it off, once and for all. (Click it to view the larger size.)

Bikers

2007-03-26T21:03:00.000+01:00

In the fifties and sixties, when ABB was still known as ASEA, very few workers (many of them early immigrants from Italy and former Yugoslavia) could afford a car. Most of them went by bike, and all of them going to work at the same time early in the morning was said to be a sight of its own - such a sight that it generated a monument fifty years later.

Gotta love it! Both the phenomenon itself, but also the fact that someone actually appreciated it enough to realise that it's a "working class hero"-kind of city history well worth to preserve and honour with a monument.

Better not forget the lunch box.

"I simply GOTTA get ahead of that guy!"

Bye bye Fjant, I'll MISS you, mis(s)ter

2007-03-26T20:50:00.000+01:00

I've been swamped too, work and work related problems, a terrible flu, a visit from mom (that was nice, though) and even some interacting with FRIENDS :-D

My mother + Fjant = PURE love!

Unfortunately Izzy had some problems accepting this, so last Sunday my mom awoke around five o'clock in the morning - hm, a wet sensation... heeeeey, waittaminute, there was IZZY, balancing on the couch above mom, PEEING at (on?) her head :-O

Oops. Well, laugh or cry? We decided to laugh.

A few days ago Fjant moved back to his old home in Stockholm. He will stay with Henrik's (his owner) girlfriend, this is a great solution. I miss him. Izzy is happy. Overjoyed. Silly old bitch ;)

(the cutest bitch ever, though)

Spring

2007-03-25T15:18:00.000+01:00

Alright, so I have been totally snowed under (not by real snow though) by work and work related anxieties. Big conference coming up next week, but also in the span of 4 days I went from the shock of hearing that my boss is taking her lab and moving half way across the continent July 1st and although she would love for me to come rather than letting me go she understands that that would not be realistic since R has a job here and not in Jersey, through a couple of days when I was seriously thinking about either moving to NJ (and totally ruining our economy and possibly our private life) or trying to get a job with very high-flying and rather scary lab here on campus to being recruited (head-hunted!) by the lab next door! I read about the new project and I think it will be good so I am accepting the job and just heard that the visa will not be a problem. I deserve a weekend of rest!

Anyway, two weeks ago we went to a lovely garden (Bayou Bend, run by the Museum of Fine Arts) here in Houston where among all the lovelies I spotted the flowers Shaun showed in the last post. I mainly photographed azaleas and magnolias. The latter are my favorites since living in London, but here the season is really brief and I caught it late. Glad to report that although the garden was in full swing the mosquitoes were not present yet.

Mimi in winsome mode

2007-03-24T11:01:00.000+01:00

More signs of Spring.... WOOHOO!

2007-03-11T21:13:00.000+01:00

This is Leucojum vernum (aka the Spring Snowflake . Its a bit like a cross between a snowdrop and a lily of the valley and some anabolic steroids - they are about 30cm tall). I gave my mum a load of of them when we reworked our garden a few years ago. Hers are now in bloom as you can see here. Ours have still to get their act together, sadly

Tracing a new (?) trend

2007-03-10T14:25:00.000+01:00

Mom sent me an article from the local newspapper of my old hometown (Karlstad), obviously pepole care for statues there too.

Swedish speaking blogreaders might be able to read the article if you click on the picture.

The statues? From top to bottom:

"Sola i Karlstad" (rougly translated "the sun of Karlstad"), legendary - always sunny-happy - waitress some hundred years ago.

Gustaf Fröding, local poet, very famous in Sweden (ugly statue! he looks like something out of a horror movie)

Nils Ferlin, also local poet, and very famous. Even UGLIER statue!

Saluting Engineers III & IV

2007-03-10T10:53:00.000+01:00

What salute to London's engineers would be complete without old Ismbard K?

And finally that nice mr Farraday whose monument can be found by the Thames outside of...

The insititue of Electrical Engineers

Saluting Engineers II

2007-03-08T21:37:00.000+01:00

There you go Siv, another London monument to an engineer. This one is Joseph Bazalgette, the man who probably did the most to improve the level of health in London - he built the first effective sewage system in London.

Engineering is a mystery to me.. I was dreadful at physics and maths (calculus and beyond). Now to find the memorial to the unknown bean counter or the mediocre biochemist....

2007-03-07T23:19:00.000+01:00

Since no-one else has bothered with a shot from the lunar eclipse over the weekend, I will. This was shot in Stockholm, Sweden, using a Nikon D70 on a tripod. ISO 200, exposed for 2 s at f/6.3 using a Tamron 28-300 mm lens at full length.

Trafalfgar Square 3 March

2007-03-06T23:42:00.000+01:00

I have a number of favourite subjects - perhaps I am hoping for the definitive photograph. I will get plenty of chances to capture the Triton fountains but this was probably my last chance to photograph the Lapper statue.

Bricks, part... well: 475645, or something like that

2007-03-06T20:20:00.000+01:00

I find new details every time I visit the library (um, yes, I go there a couple of times per week *blush*).

Perhaps I'm a libroholic? :-D

Springtime - yabbadabbadooo?

2007-03-04T21:42:00.000+01:00

Well. Springtime IS actually coming, despite all the snow. I know that. The birds go crazy every morning and the grass turns green in sheltered places. Each day some more daylight to enjoy.

But still. Still. STILL, I feel a little like this bike outside my building. I am in dire need of thaw now. In many ways.

Saluting Engineers 1

2007-03-04T17:02:00.000+01:00

James Henry Greathead

This statue of civil engineer J H Greathead is in the City of London by the Royal Exchange and the Mansion House (the ceremonial residence of the Lord Mayor of London). While most statues seem to be of politicians and military figures - there is one of the Duke of Wellington close by - some commemorate those who built London. South Aftican J H Greathead's contribution to the coty was the development of the Greathead shield which made the creation of the tube system that much easier.

Oh dear deer, part two

2007-03-04T16:53:00.000+01:00

Someone obviously felt sorry for him and lent him a woollen scarf, although it's much warmer now than one week ago.

CSI Västerås

2007-03-03T23:11:00.000+01:00

This is what met me this morning. The beautiful white ranunculi I bought for myself yesterday were slaughtered during the night, probably by one ANGRY cat kept waiting too long for fresh breakfast (they have "dry" food available all the time, but every morning they want a something extra, most often some tuna)

The suspects, both of them masked until proven guilty.

Looming Ted

2007-02-26T21:33:00.000+01:00

A highlight of Romford

2007-02-25T23:32:00.000+01:00

Where I usually go for a beer (which is far less often than it used to be). The Golden Lion has bits dating back to the 17th century and a pub has been on the site since around 1440. Not much of old Romford is left but at least this piece is a pleasant place for a drink.

First blossom

2007-02-25T20:26:00.000+01:00

Blossom on a tree not far from my house. Another sign that spring is not far off... for us anyawy

Central Library, Romford

2007-02-25T20:09:00.000+01:00

Romford is hardly one of the country's cultural hubs but we have a library and it still has some books! Pity it is an ugly concrete lump that looks as if it could do with a clean.

Walkabout, Västerås, February the 23'rd

2007-02-24T12:31:00.000+01:00

At first - let's stop in the small garden outside my building. My oh my, how inspiring. Not.

Well, you see that little thingee sticking up almost in the middle of the snow? That's what's left of last year's peony-colony. In a couple of months they will return. That's what keeps me going right now. Spring. There WILL be a tad of spring and summer this year too :-D

Graffiti or art? Well, this kind of "graffiti" I like to call "art" - street art. I love these small pictures that can be seen in sometimes hard-to-find places.

This MIB guards the house of the local newspaper. I hope they won't wash him off. He's handsome.

On we go, let's stop in Rudbecksparken for a while.

(It was very late in the afternoon/early evening, hence the gloomy colours - think of them as mysterious if that'll make'em more beautiful ;))

Look up - is this the equivalent of a high rise, but for a colony of magpies?

Nah, think again. This is where Santa grows all his...

...misteltoe! Before I moved to Västerås, I had never seen it grow wild, but in this region you can find them everywhere. Quite nice for being an utter parasite, don't you think?

Now - if they grow wild, does the kissing-rule still apply?

This little guy guards the park.

Daytime, he often gets attention from kids, trying to sit on him, trying to feed him and so on. Nighttime, he's magic. The illusion of a small deer (oooh, dear deer!") standing on watch is perfect, when you are only - barely - able to see the outline.

I don't know who's (whose? sh*t, my English grammar skills are deteriorating) work this is yet but it almost looks like something made by Arvid Knöppel (Swedish artist, 1892-1970) .

Library, Houston

2007-02-22T14:52:00.000+01:00

I just have to show the temporary main library in Houston. In my opinion in a much nicer building than the normal one. The main branch is normally housed in the house behind this one, a 1970s building now being renovated (a little sliver can be seen behind this builing, on the right hand side). This older building was (I think) donated a long time ago to be the start of the library system. I love the tree in the front yard. Both library buildings are dwarfed by one of the downtown skyscrapers.

Library, Västerås, again

2007-02-21T19:45:00.000+01:00

This is what the corner of my favourite library looks like in spring, I think this was taken in the beginning of May two years ago. From a distance just a boring square combination of one brick on another, but there are plenty of interesting details (also apart from the decorated bricks). Will try to go there again soon, in the company of Ms Ixus :)

(I tend to leave her at home much too often these days)

Say neeeeeigh :-)

Next castle?

2007-02-21T15:09:00.000+01:00

No, but next unusual workplace. We are talking 1993, hence the poor quality of the picture. Oh, and my coworkers - well, they are just playing around. Male bonding rituals? :)

This is a building housing a gas insulated high voltage (220 kV) switchgear in Kuwait. I spent a few months there 1993-1994, trying to get it working (well, we were successful in our mission). Amazing place.

Kuwait towers, one of the important landmarks of Kuwait City. Partly destroyed during the war in the nineties, but in good shape when we came there a few years later. Sadly, that was not the case everywhere we went :(

...speaking of workplaces

2007-02-20T20:55:00.000+01:00

This is - by far - the most beautiful place where I have ever worked.
Strömsholms Castle, some 20 kms west of Västerås, is a very small castle open to the public a few months every summer. No one lives there, it's a museum owned by the Swedish royal court.

(this was one of the places where I worked - in the café and as well as an assistant inside the museum itself - trying to make ends meet during/right after my studies.) <--- perrrrfect for a med student - don't you think? Taking care of an old wreck ;)

(ouch ouch ouch, that is NOT a nice thing to say, errrr, WRITE)

Initially it was built by Gustav Vasa, later it was rebuilt again almost from scratch in 1669. Some of the grounds from the Vasa-era remains, to be seen in the basement.

It does NOT house any ghosts. I was so disappointed to hear that :(

I really love the place, and despite being extremely happy that I have a better job now I still miss it from time to time.

The new cat basket ...

2007-02-20T04:25:00.000+01:00

... is approved by the second tester, using a slightly different testing technique.

A trip to the library

2007-02-19T12:37:00.000+01:00

Yesterday was grey grey grey, I had to check carefully where I placed my steps since the sidewalks were filled with disgusting slush.

Where to?

Well, that's the nice part: the library. I LOVE the library. It's not the most beautiful building in Västerås, but I love the fact that some of the bricks are decorated. Small small details are always interesting to me.

OH, and yes: I found some interesting books too. I guess that's - after all - my main reason for loving that place.

Testing the new bed

2007-02-19T03:24:00.000+01:00

Sally is trying out the new kitty bed. Bed seems OK, great when the paper was added.

Tristan in a box

2007-02-19T01:17:00.000+01:00

Old favorite of mine from one of the first weeks in Houston.

Robyn

2007-02-18T20:27:00.000+01:00

Three fridge things, at least one grotty

2007-02-14T20:57:00.000+01:00

Well Siv, you asked for this!

The postcard is from my sister when she stayed at our cousin Andrea's guest house in Brittany. Andrea is Dutch but prefers France and Ireland. the little magnet betrays the touch of the not-wife

This is definitely the work of the not-wife but like Jean-Luc Picard there's nothing like Tea - Earl Gray-Hot!

Sadly this is my sole contribution to the fridge furniture. I still use fountain pens and the fridge is an excellent storage area for ink... oh and WD40!

three fridge things

2007-02-14T11:17:00.000+01:00

(actually, you need to read that - "three fridge things" - out loud, it's more fun that way ;))

Spill you beans! Tell me (i e show me) three things about your fridge, or rather what's on it (in case you're not the kind of stylish person who refuse fridge-photos and stuff. I tried to be, but I gave in to my fridge-ism again).

OK here goes, the Västerås-version of assorted fridge-ism:

Oh, the memories! Depeche Mode at Stockholm Stadion, a lovely summer night in 2006.

Magnetic writing pad, got it from friends. I simply CAN'T understand what they mean by that. Me, being the owner of many pairs of shoes? Hmpf!

Poor quality, but it's a photo of a photo, and it wasn't really sharp even to begin with (my mom took it, she's not really into photography :)). This is Astor, one of my cats, although he lives in Karlstad with my mom since three years now. He moved there to keep her company when her cat died (I had Izzy, and they really hate each other so this switching thing is a great idea, even though I miss him). He's a Norwegian Forest Cat, very handsome and extremely friendly.

Build your own kitty-kit?

2007-02-11T21:13:00.000+01:00

Unfortunately, this was the result of the Saturday morning fight, found on the kitchen floor. This, and some shattered porcelain. Bohoo :(

A few hours later Fjant was happy again. But still.

feeling hot hot hot

2007-02-11T18:03:00.000+01:00

(no, it's not THAT hot, but being the cranium-worshiper that I am I simply had to buy it just because... well, just because.)

And no, I won't pull your finger

2007-02-10T18:48:00.000+01:00

Now who's boss?

2007-02-10T18:37:00.000+01:00

Robyn usually is very sweet natured and has no problems with the girls competing for his attention. But every so often he likes to remind them who's the Alpha cat

For the love of...

2007-02-08T11:15:00.000+01:00

I love the new OLW gourmet crisps (Swedish brand only available here I guess, sorry Cecilia, Henrik and Shaun for teasing in case you think they look goooood :-P) with a hint of chili and guacamole. Evindently, they love me back (no, they are usually not shaped, they are "natural potato stylee" - as "natural" as potato crisps can be, that is, but that's another philosophical question to handle ;)).

Non-sentimental as I am I gulped it down as soon as the picture was taken.

I giggle sometimes when I hear about ebay-auctions where carrots shaped as JC (etc etc) sell for ridiculous amounts of money. Perhaps I should have tried to sell this as "The Sacred Heart"?

Sally and the orchids

2007-02-07T00:02:00.000+01:00

Sally in her favourite window, the one with the orchids.

More Mimi

2007-02-06T22:06:00.000+01:00

More Bebe

2007-02-05T22:24:00.000+01:00

We got Bebe as an adult cat through a shelter. Being a feral cat she took some time to settle on but once she did she became a sweet, affectionate little lap cat.

The cat's whiskers or the whisker's cat?

2007-02-04T19:18:00.000+01:00

Ted's white bits catching the sun this afternoon.

Speaking of the Eiffel Tower...

2007-02-04T18:13:00.000+01:00

...it's really not all that it's cracked up to be. Look at this - I'm only 161 cm and the tower easily fits into my hand :-P

(I visited Paris in May 2006 - oh, the glory, it was a wonderful trip despite the gray skies)

Among the tourists

2007-02-04T17:18:00.000+01:00

On a hot Monday in July, at the Eiffel Tower, some people were working, trying to keep the order among the infinite masses of ice cream eating tourists.

(I'm not absolutely sure I'm the photographer of this picture, it might be my sweet travelling companion, but it is from my camera).

The equivalent to Hodge?

2007-02-04T15:29:00.000+01:00

No, this cat never belonged to a famous person, it's just famous (well, that depends on how to define famous) for sitting on the stairs outside the local newspaper i Västerås, VLT, and for having been kidnapped in the beginning of the nineties. He/She was later found again in a forest close to the city centre.

I paid it a visit last week (I was going to the small café "Kalle på Spången" in the house at the corner in the background) but none of the pictures were any good so I used an old one, from June 2006.

I met a copy in Gothenburg just a few weeks ago, inside AEC.

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a note, added 070221

Today I found out that the cat is named "Jönssons katt", designed by Anders Jönsson, available at Svenskt Tenn for SEK5300:- - okidoki!

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Hodge?
Hodge - A very fine cat indeed

Is there something wrong with this fountain?

2007-02-03T23:56:00.000+01:00

This is one of the fountains in Trafalgar Square (just below the Alison Lapper statue). The figures are of Tritons and are all very classical but there seems to be something wrong with this picture- as if someone ate a dodgy kebab!

Oh, the irony

2007-02-03T17:02:00.000+01:00

This slightly "enhanced" sign can be found in Bishop's Street (OK, so it's "Biskopsgatan" in Swedish) in Västerås, ca 100 m from the cathedral. Some people probably mind (and if they do I guess they mind a LOT), but my pagan soul finds it quite amusing. This said, I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but... Well: The IRONY.

Alison Lapper - Trafalgar Square

2007-02-02T19:09:00.000+01:00

This has to be the best statue on display in London at the moment. It currently occupies the fourth plinth in Trafalgar square (this plinth had been earmarked for a statue of William IV, but nobody could be bothered to raise the funds!) A few years ago it was decided to use the fourth plinth to display challenging works of art.

The statue of Alison Lapper, an artist in her own right, got a mixed reception from the critics (what do they know?) but it has proven to be quite popular. Unfortunately its time on the fourth plinth comes to an end in April. The replacement does not look that inspiring, sadly.

By the way since you all use your real names I thought I would do likewise so no more jamsodonnell - not here anyway!

By popular demand:

2007-02-01T23:35:00.000+01:00

Sally's spotted tummy (just as soft as it looks):

Back to cats

2007-02-01T21:17:00.000+01:00

Must have some pictures of cats after all the green stuff :-).
Here is our younger cat Sally:

Not a daisy but....

2007-02-01T20:45:00.000+01:00

... one of the last surviving summer flowers in the garden. It looks like a snapdragon but I think it's a Diascia. It's times like this I give thanks for a sheltered garden and the Gulfstream!

A taste of... December

2007-02-01T16:15:00.000+01:00

I found this poor lonesome *sob* Daisy outside my building December 5th 2006.

That's global warming for you.

A taste of summer

2007-02-01T15:17:00.000+01:00

After meeting a fellow food blogger and her husband for lunch in Stockholm last summer, I took a long stroll with my trusty Nikon. I caught these, slightly weathered, daisies along the way.

Beware of the......??????

2007-01-31T18:01:00.000+01:00

Over here the sign only has one bump but a helpful warning which an american ex of mine found very funny for some reason. I realy don't understand why...........

Beware of... well.

2007-01-31T14:46:00.000+01:00

I know that we need to be careful with the sexualization of the public space, but in Vienna they seem to be taking it a bit too far...

Beware of... Women?

2007-01-31T09:27:00.000+01:00

Speaking of road signs...

I found this one in a small village outside Uppsala in May 2005.
Beware of cows? Then, why do I look SHEEPISH?

Beware of frogs

2007-01-31T08:41:00.000+01:00

In the southern part of Sweden, Skåne for example, you'll find the most remarkable road signs. This is just one example from Falsterbo were the Frogs live.

It doesn't get better than this for Ted

2007-01-31T00:48:00.000+01:00

One extremely contented cat. And one day we will get our finger out and put down new flooring (Only 12 months since we ripped out the carpet... hiho)

True Romance

2007-01-30T21:15:00.000+01:00

Limo, flickering candles, some dancing cheek-to-cheek...

Nah, not really, but least they are able to stay in each other's company for as long as it takes to gulp down a small Whiskas-supé. There's nothing like a bad case of gluttony to unite peop... eh, cats.