finds

I read about an interesting magazine called Found over at Ingen Tv. If I hadn't left the mysterious note on that bench I would've sent it in. Now I can only hope that I'll stumple on more interestingness. In the meantime I'll show you some of my mediocre finds (they still made me smile, though).

The children at school are collecting signs of spring. To me there's nothing more typical for Swedish spring than tussilago (coltsfoot). I found these on the way home from work this morning, they really made my day.

Second most typical Swedish spring flower: crocus (from last Thursday). Then there are blåsippor (liverleaf). But I was about to miss my bus when I saw them - no time for photos. Still waiting for the vitsippor... (wood anemone)

Yesterday I found a dead and dried salamander at school.

Monday I discovered that NK (fancy department store in city) has a stair up to the rotating sign, and there were people standing admiring the view from up there. Must be pretty nice...
Tuesday I found something to occupy my hands with during lunch.

Today I'm hooked on lost and found clothes... Isn't this little hat lovely?

Maybe this scarf will be stuck there until next winter? (please let the warmth stay, no more winter, please please please)

working with children

At its best:
watching the kids play in the sun
playing with the kids and a ball in the sun
thinking in new ways, rediscovering and seeing possibilities instead of problems
smiling and laughing.

At its worst:
a four-year-old asking me "Har du ett barn i magen?" (Do you have a child in your tummy?). She seemed really confused when I blamed my dress (will I ever wear it again?) and tried to explain that I'm still young, poor thing :)
simplifying complicated things (black and white instead of greys...)
wondering how life will be for some of them

Today I realised that I hardly remember what it felt like to crawl on the ground (playing hide-and-seek) without worrying about getting dirty. Or having legs short enough not to hurt when they are folded together for too long.

Still young at heart?

details

I like this, except that it might be unsafe.

(Friday, in a toilet in the school I'm currently working in)

"You have to learn to say "Njäe..."". Early Friday night, before the surreal party. Maybe the motto for the night? I'm quite good at saying "njäe" (sort of not yes, nor no).

On my way home (late Friday night or maybe Saturday morning?) I found a flower with a note on the bench at the bus stop.

The note said: "Ditched by a murderous smurf". Mysterious, sad and funny...

I prefer this beautiful message (found on a street in Söder) "I remember with joy all our moments together. On the other side of the earth, you're dancing dancing dancing, with a smile on your lips..."

Crocus found this Sunday afternoon next to our house.

Now I should really go to bed and try to get some sleep. Getting up early tomorrow, and all week long. Will I make it? Even with spring in the air, and summer time (today was a short day), getting up before 8 and working before 10 seems totally inhuman to me...

SPC: Mosaic Lina

This week I tried the image mosaic generator. Amazing!

It's even cooler in the original size. They say that you should step back 15 metres for maximum effect. Which is kind of stupid. My screen is definitely not that big - nor is my room. But it's still a nice tool...

is this growing up?

This is my old and my new metrocard. Reduced price (under 20 or over 65 - I am neither) and full price. Will they stop asking for my ID when I'm buying something to drink now? Don't think so... I could still be 17. But I'm not... Is this growing up?

Off the pillow and into the air
I'm ready cuz it's my day
Situation: it's all possible
Everything is going my way
My My Metrocard
My My Metrocard
My My Metrocard
Think I'll go a little
But then I go far

Stop pondering and start singing instead?

The evening sky was amazing yesterday, you should have been there!
(seen from the balcony and my window, through a broken camera)

Hoppa Ellen!

Jump Ellen!

(this afternoon, after two museums, a nice lunch and some secret planning, I took a windy spring promenade with a bubbling red haired lillasyster)

spring is in the trees

Spring isn't only in the air. It's in the trees, little buds and videungar on the branches. Spring is everywhere. They say that tomorrow, and next week, will be cold with melting snow (no, please, I can't take anymore slask/sleet/slush!). But let's not think about tomorrow now...

No idea what these are called in English, or French. It's videungar (willow's children?) in Swedish, I can sing you the children's song about them... "Sov du lilla videung, än så är det vinter..."

Today I walked all the way to Hötorgshallen (a market hall), which took an hour (I walk fast but stop to look at things) to buy vegetables and fruit. Hötorgshallen is one of my favourite places in city (there aren't that many good places there). All the scents, tastes, colours, sounds and people are inspiring, especially for cooking.

Then I spent 15 minutes folding napkins.

I wonder if my life will ever be all about getting the right fruits for the chocolate dessert, or finding new fancy ways to lay the table? What if the napkins aren't the same white as the dishes (though they do match the table cloth) - will the dinner be less nice, will it make the guests feel uncomfortable? Does that depend on gender, class, or is it just because the guests are boring people?

I think I'm going out tonight, can't stand this. Or maybe I should stay and discuss the future with a judge? After all, what is my life all about right now? Nothing or everything? Maybe I need something? But are napkins really the answer?

SPC: hockneyized

Self-portrait challenge theme this month is online tools. Interesting... This week (a bit late) I tryed the hockneyizer.

(I took the photo last week on Madeira)

Just realised how well this illustrates me right now. What is it that I want, and what is it that other people want? What part of me is expactations and demands from others? What part is their prejudices? I don't know what to do or where to go. Scattered, confused and lost...

spring is in the air

Remember the ladybugs from November and December? Today I saw one of them (well, maybe it wasn't the same one, but I'd like it to be...) in the window, in between the two windowpanes. It must be a very nice, warm and sunny place to be a day like this.

Soon he'll be able to fly out into the spring air.It's here now, I can feel it coming, even though there's still ice on Årstaviken (the water outside my window). Spring is in the air. And in my lungs, blood, heart and brain. I'm breathing it in, feeling it and living it...

The plastic thingie protecting the lens/objective (whatever it's called, I don't even know in Swedish) broke when Lilla Lila fell on the stone. Now it's loose and sometimes it creates a nice effect, like a shadowy frame. Taking photos with a broken camera can is interesting - and frustrating...

"What would you do if you were a penguin?" (found it on Skeppsbron, like it) I don't know, I don't even know what to do being myself, Lina. Maybe being a penguin would be easier? But then again, they might not appreciate spring, I don't know. Maybe being Lina, a bit lost, but in love with spring, is better after all?

Madeira mosaics

Some sort of summary of all the blurry photos I took on Madeira. The brightest colours, the best (or most memorable?) experiences and the prettiest details...

I think I liked the mosaics best of all - walking around on beauty everywhere (apart from in nature, where there is mud and dangerous stones). I had to make it, even though it sounds dorky: the mosaic mosaic.

discovering Madeira and destroying cameras

I'm seeing Madeira through the eyes of a German tourist aged 49+ (that description fits most people here). Well maybe not, but my eyes aren't used to looking at things this way. It's interesting, seeing things in new ways, doing things I normally wouldn't (due to budget restrictions and lack of interest) - 15 euro téléférico, Madeira wine tasting, levada tours...

The beauty on the streets of Funchal is incredible, mosaics everywhere.

Watch your steps!

The loveliest spot in Monte Palace Tropical Garden (paradise?), built around an old railroad bridge.

Passing these guys lead to my sisters questioning my ärbarhet/decency (haha, as if I ever had one?!) and me questioning other people's right to look at me, or my right to remain a subject without unobjectifying myself. Is this why I need self-portraits? (subject/object on my own terms?)

But it was worth it, cause then we came to this adorable plaza.

New tastes: this pretty little red is pitanga, then there was another tasty fruit (anona?)

Love next to the sea

There were lace paper thingies (for cakes?) glued to a wall.

The cutest house of them all?

This 50 year old (not so German) lady brought us all out on an adventure yesterday.

This is a levada, sort of like an aqueduct I guess, there's water running everywhere on Madeira, and walking beside levadas is said to be nice.

The view was excellent.

Shortly after this shot I dropped Lilla Lila on a stone. She fell hard, the crash was heartbreaking. Maybe her photos were already blurry before her fall? (she's still going strong). But I'm feeling so guilty :( Am I using my cameras like Rigoletto uses women? Three cameras has broken down in my hands this past month...

crocheted camera case

I've crocheted a camera case for Lilla Lila (she was too small for all the cases in the store).

I used DMC mercerised crochet thread (or whatever it's called).

A button to fasten the flap is still missing, but I'll see to that when back home. I'm on vacations you know: no sewing in buttons for me :)

some of the things I've seen so far

The voyage here was horrible: late plane, missed connection, long wait on the airport (I so felt like exploring Lissabon instead), tired and cranky sisters... We arrived long after midnight. Finally lying down on a bed felt good, discovering that my sisters still snore wasn't... Still I think I'm glad to be here, at least for this week.

Waking up and stepping out on the balcony to see this...

Ponta do Sol is pretty small, there isn't very much to see (apart from the sea, the mountains and the flowers - which isn't that bad) and nothing to do.

There are lots of beautiful mosaics on Madeira. I can't wait to see more of them!

Farmácia..? Portuguese really is a lovely language, it sounds like a mix of the most beautiful languages I know (Russian and something latin, probably Italian). I'm amusing myself with the phrases in the guide. Oh, if German (the ugliest language I know, haha) wasn't already on top of my languages-to-learn-list...

Pretty flowers...

Love this pier, unfortunately there's a sign saying you're not allowed to walk on it.

Oh, and I learnt to knit on the way here. With all that time on my hands it wasn't that tricky :)

Madeira

I'm off to Madeira in 10 minutes. Mamma will be 50 on Thursday (Women's Day). Congratulations!

We're staying on a fancy hotel (oh how lovely, I usually sleep in a hostel or on a couch when abroad) so there will be internet and maybe some blogging and photos on Flickr. We'll see...

Most of all I'm looking forward to seeing the sun and not thinking too much about everything...