giving blood

I've been very brave and good today. I've taken blood tests to check if I can start giving blood (but I can't until the end of January, six months after coming home from the non-existing malaria in Colombia - and who knows what has happened to me and my blood by then?)

Look, I'm glowing like a saint already, because of my altruism and will to suffer for others (well no, mellansyster - she's home *yay* - refused to stop playing with my camera). The nurse had to sting me twice, cause my vein somehow dodged into my arm once it understood it was to become drained. (sorry, I wasn't supposed to tell that, but she was a very nice nurse, so I didn't really mind, and she said "It's strange, the way the veins can act. But after all, life is strange", she made me smile). It kind of hurt, her digging into my arm to try to catch my vein. I hope she was telling the truth when saying that giving blood hurts much less.

Blood tests and injections freak me out. But I really want to start giving blood. Saving other people's lives with my own blood. Isn't that cool?

You too should give blood.

sätta guldkant på tillvaron

What to do when you're not glam all by yourself? Frame yourself with some glamorous gold :) In Swedish we have this saying, "sätta guldkant på tillvaron", like "frame your life with gold" (allowing yourself something special to brighten up your life).

I'm simply in love with this mirror in the bathroom at my new favourite café for studying, Edenborg (if you ever pay a visit to Stockholm, make sure to go there, it's in Old Town, the vegan latte is delicious and it's a book store as well, with lots of queer literature)

Here's whole the mirror, isn't it gorgeous? But it's kind of hard taking photos in it, the glass is a bit uneven.

vous avez dit quoi?

I signed up for a forreign language swap called vous avez dit quoi? at the ATCards forums a few months ago. Here are the cards I came up with.

I showed this before, it still has glue on it but I like it. Translation: daddy's girl identifies with her grandma (top), to stick out is forbidden says "the law of Jante" (heart), the history of self-irony was mysterious (bottom)

This one says Je danse donc je suis, but you can't see it, sorry about the crappy photo. I call it Disco Descartes (Descartes is the French 17th Century philosopher who said cogito ergo sum / je pense donc je suis / I think therefore I am), it's a tribute to my favourite club.

I made this one today, when I couldn't stand studying anymore. It says: "painting, the hypocrite feels good-looking for the moment".

And one for the swap hostess (not language themed). Sorry about the crappy photo... I liked this idea, I might try it again with other images.

ladybugs

We have ladybugs in the house. I don't know where they came from, but they've been around for quite some time. I saw one of them a few weeks ago in my plants. And on Monday, when I came home tired from school, I saw one on the wall.

Then another one on the couch (I think the flash scared it).

They really made my day :)

And on Friday I saw one on the window.

Having these guys around makes me happy. They remind me of the summer that is to come, even though November (and the rest of the winter) sometimes seems to be endless. I hope they'll stay all the winter.

gud som haver skorna skaver

Look what lillasyster made.

She made it in school (slöjd - craft is a compulsory subject in Sweden, both wood/metal and textile). I envy admire her patience, skill and wit. This is real hard core embroidery, not just some cross stitches (which is the only embroidery I'll ever have the courage to make). And look how neat every stitch is, how perfectly shaped the delightfully curled letters are.

Gud som haver skorna skaver is a pun. "Gud som haver" is Swedish for God who has/holds, it's the beginning of an old children's prayer ("Gud som haver barnen kär..." = God who holds the children dear). "Skorna skaver" means "the shoes are chafing". And look, it rhymes! The girl certainly has humour :) Great job, Ellen!

athens is older

In the stairs in the metro in Gamla Stan (Old Town).

I went there to fika (sit at a café reading and discussing that is) at lovely Café Edenborg with some classmates. It's the best place ever to study (especially gender studies, since it's a book shop as well, with lots of feminist and queer litterature), and the decoration is red, gold and velvet. And the mix of people there is very fun; tourists (Old Town...), parents with small children, lots of students, teens in black, old book lovers, coffee lovers...

It's 3 AM. I just finished all the music analyses (I've been drawing stupid diagrams all night - that's not my way of enjoying music). I'm kind of ready to pass the test tomorrow. Sort of... (om jag bara kunde stämma gitarren). Wish me luck!

look what I won!

Yesterday was a looong day:
• wrote a stupid text about things that I (didn't) learn
• participated in a debate with a madcap on my side
• finished the (gender) rhetoric course
• got back an exam - I passed :)
• had fika (going to a café that is) with some classmates
• learnt two new words: pickles (Swedish for cornichon) and mattkniv
• rode my bike in the rain
• skipped rope (on idla training)
• collected a mysterious package

And then, at the end of the day, dead tired, I tried to open the mysterious wadded envelope for about 5 minutes before Carina told me to use the scissors (on msn). So I did, and look what I got!

Goddag storsticka!
As I said, I was tired, and the hugeness of these needles made me burst out giggling.

Look at these stunning beauties! Handdyed, oh so soft, luxurious, rich delightful colours. And the label says bamboo. I didn't know there was such a thing as bamboo yarn (how do they make it? from what part of the plant? isn't bamboo like huge wooden tubes?).

I learn new interesting things everyday :) Yesterday it was mattkniv, pickles and bamboo yarn. Now I'll have to learn to knit as well, so I can use those giant needles. But I don't know if I'll ever dare to use the yarn. It'll have to be for a very special project. I feel like I'm not worthy of its beauty.

I've been very spoilt, thank you very much Kathreen and whiplash and whip up! All this for my crocheted bracelet tutorial back in October. Tusen tack!

idla glam

It's still November, and there's still no glam in my life. Maybe next week, or maybe even on Friday (after the dreaded music test). But now there's just my studies and some involuntary music practising.

So once again I'm showing off a different Lina, voilà my alter ego idlaflickan* (idla girl), the one standning to the right.

Look, there's lycra, some glitter, tons of light blue shimmering eye shadow - and I'm in the spotlight, sort of. Trust me, there is, even though you can't see it on dad's blurry photo (I have yet to figure out how to hold a camera while handling those balls)

Actually I'm not at all like an idla girl. Last week someone made a very wise post about glam being all about being comfortable in your skin (can't find the link, sorry). That lycra is almost tighter than my skin and not at all comfortable. I don't like wearing fleshings, blue eye shadow and not having my hair let down. Idla girls are supposed to smile, sort of like one of those well coiffed delightful house wives in an ad drom the 50's, and I find that hard when my hands are trembling ("mustnotdroptheballs, mustnotdroptheballs, mustnotdroptheballs...") and my knees are shaking with stage fright.

After all, I don't think I'm very glamorous. At least not like an idla girl. I prefer just being me, Lina tout simplement.

*Still, I adore idla (after 15 years the motions and the music runs in my veins). I'll never be a real idla girl, but how could I? The real idlaflickorna were famous during the 60's, they're old today (and very interesting to chat with). If you don't know about idla, don't worry, unless you're 50+ and from Sweden, or maybe Estonia, then shame on you - we were famous! :)

no glam in november

This is me at Trädgården (Swedish for the garden - and also the best place to spend summer nights in Stockholm) in August. Young, happy, frivolous, drunk and decadent. And maybe a wee bit glamorous?

I wish I was there...
(more glam in self-portrait challenge)

There's no glam for me in November. I feel grey and dull. But this morning I found these stars in my window. I have no idea how they got there, never seen them before. It must be a sign from above. Next week I'm going glam :)

But I'll never glow brighter more than yesterday's glam queen. She's 80 but she looks prettier and happier than a school girl (and a bit like Astrid Lindgren I think).

Grattis Inga 80 år!
(by the way, just because farmor is called Inga that doesn't mean all Swedes are named Inga, actually no one is anymore, please tell that to the person who's making up all stupid Swedish stereotypes in stupid films)

f*tta thong

It's November, the worst time of the year. I just feel like sleeping until spring comes back, or maybe migrating to someplace less grey, dark, cold and rainy. I don't really feel like creating anything, there's no time and no day light to take nice photos in. And yet, I came up with this:

Whiplash November is alt craft (great theme, thanks!), and I just had to do my duty and put something together. And here is the result.

If you don't speak Swedish you might wonder what's so alternative ("Non-traditional crafts with an edge") about these panties? (except for cross stitch being slightly out of place on a thong). If you do speak Swedish and are very prissy and easily offended, well, I'm sorry for you. For all prissy non Swedish speakers, please don't keep on reading.

For those who're curious, fitta is Swedish for cunt. This is an "old" (last year) idea of mine, it was part of a school project. It was about feminism, craft and vaginas (mostly names of them, hence the panties embroidery), there is a zine if you're interested and speak Swedish.

Then I discovered lovely subversive cross stitch (I would so buy the book if I had money and were more into embroidery), my brief labels kind of ressemble Julie's cross stitches.

Actually, this was requested a long time ago by Miranda. Förlåt att det tog så lång tid, men nu är korsstygnstrosorna äntligen på väg till dig och din fitta :)

breakfast

This is what i had for breakfast today: muesli with pumpkin seeds, dried apricots, cranberries and linseeds. And there's yoghurt underneath.

My grandmother is turning eighty today. I cannot imagine that many years. It's so old, and yet life is so short. I hope I'll get time to chat with her, about other things than my results at school and what I'm planning to do next year (well, I guess it's good that grandpa cares about my future). Afterall it's her day today.

I wish she could tell me about when she was young, about her studies and her buying silk stockings for graduation during the second world war (underneath the table). The story of her life that I'll never know.

Alla förlorade historier om kvinnors liv, historier om förlorade kvinnors liv, historier om kvinnors förlorade liv. Vad vet jag, jag kommer aldrig få veta.

Friday: WIP and SF

Studio Friday theme this week is This is me! (collages of what we're working with). This is what I'm doing today (well you could add a few books and the essay I'm supposed to write, but I don't want to think about that right now).

A basket full of thick wool yarn (Lovikka in Swedish): Christmas crochet.

And dad's guitar and my flute. I'm actually creating music, not only playing it. Wow, who thought that was ever going to happen? Not me, I assure you :) I like playing the flute once in a while, but not like this, under pressure (konkurrenskomplettering for all the Swedish elitists: I'm passing a test to raise my final grade in music).

I used to think that I couldn't sing, nor play the guitar - and definitely not write music. But here I am, playing my own little song. It's very simply, but I'm proud of myself :) The lyrics is a poem that I found in the Paris metro last winter:

c'est un petit poème
qui se promène
cheveux au vent
et fleur entre les dents
il a les dents de bonheur
des fesses en forme de cœur
comme un baladin il se balade
sur son chameau c'est un nomade

red wall

Now if I would have worn a bright red lipstick as well...

october mosaic

I enjoy putting together my monthly mosaics, it's an occasion to remember some nice things. I wonder what November will bring?

painted nails

Lina's nails pinkish red? It just doesn't happen. I never ever paint my nails. It's such a waste of time, especially as I use my hands a lot (the varnish starts coming off in an hour or so), and I'm not planning to stop doing so just to keep my nails pink. But yesterday, it actually did happen, and most of it stayed on. It's kind of elegant, isn't it?

This is a combination of imperfection and glam. I cannot paint my nails and my cuticles are extremely uneven. But hey, at least I tried :)

(self-portrait challenge)

London

I went to London with mamma and lillasyster (thank you for three nice days). I love and hate discovering a city that fast. So much to see and so much to miss. Before going there I was exhausted (rhetoric in school...), and I felt like I couldn't give London a fair chance, I just wanted to return to Paris. Afterwards, I don't regret going there. I liked London, and I love Brits (more than French people, désolée), though Paris will always be my favourite place in the world.

Some of my favourite London impressions...

I was on a tight budget (I'm a student: no income, expensive litterature...) but I couldn't resist some pretty little things.


A new pincushion for mamma (she has one like this, but it's more than 20 years old and about to fall apart)


One ladybug bead for mellansyster Frida, and one for me.


One bead for me


And one bead for lillasyster Ellen and for the Mediterranean Sea.

I also found two cute tops (but no shoes).

One from lovely Monsooon - why don't we have this in Sweden? :(


And one from a nice little store in Covent Garden with independent designers, I think it was called Apple Tree. It was very inexpensive, much cheaper than lovely Tjallamalla in Stockholm. Which meant that I could afford the top. But I felt bad for the person who made it. I will try my very best to appreciate its lovelyness and wear it often...