STORM DAMAGES

  What a weekend! We´ve had quite a few storms this winter, and one of them knocked down big spruce trees at our summer cabin. Luckily there was not much damage to the buildings but, oh dear what a mess! My husband and I spent the entire weekend clearing out the "war zone".

This is the sight we woke up to on Saturday morning (if 9.30am still counts as morning). First snow had fallen during the night (or actually it was the second snow. The first one fell six weeks ago, but only lasted a few days). On Friday there was no sign of snow, which is exceptional. Usually permanent snow falls in November. Climate change?

Off to work. Overall there were eleven big ones, like these, lying on the ground and on buildings.

A sorry sight. This spruce was all healthy, but still the storm was stronger. I´m just glad I live in an area where we need not worry about tornados, major floods, earth quakes, or massive fires due to drought. The worst natural catastrophies we have around are these high winds that occur every year. But all they do is knock down trees and rip off roofs. Not nice that either, but everything is relative. Shouldn´t complain.

How lucky were we to have two trunks crash right between these two buildings?! The one on the left is merely a shag at the moment, but we plan to restore it and turn it into a guest house. Chain saw, by the way, is the only tool we have available to help us in our massive task. The shores around the little island our cabin is in, are so full of big rocks that no towboats can get close enough. Makes the restoring and building new more challenging too.

 This is what we tackled.

The good thing about all this is that now we shall get more sunshine through!

Oh dear... But what a great overall workout!!!  And I must admit it was therapeutic, in a way, to work together with my husband.  Working together makes even a boring and exhausting task more fun, enjoyable even. We have been together for over 18 years now, and still enjoy each other´s company, specially when away from the everyday whirlwind. (Now those 18 years don´t make me old, we just started young!  =) I´m no one to give marital advice, but I like to keep in mind positivity and respect for the other. Has worked so far...

Nature showed us it´s beautiful side right before it got dark. Especially here, surrounded by the sea, I can really feel the power and enormous strength nature has. It can be cruel but also gentle. And I have great respect for it.

I´m so glad to have caught this on camera.

We set fire on the brances. The trunks will end up as firewood in our sauna.

Sunday morning begun with sunshine and temperature way below freezing. The motor in our boat had frozen, but my husband worked his magic on it, and we were able to get back to mainland. It wasn´t easy, though. The sea had frozen a good way from our harbour, but since we have an aluminum boat, it didn´t get damaged crushing through the over an inch-thick (3 cm) ice.

All this in just two days. (This is at a natural shore, where the water flows freely and is not frozen nearly as much as at our harbour.)

Funny little ice clumps.

It was so clear and serene. I hated to leave. The real world can not reach our cabin, but it calls us back home. There is school, bills to pay, taking the car to the shop, work, grocery store, dirty dishes, etc. But thank goodness we do have our little getaway place, to hide from reality when we need to!

  The results for the weekend? Well, we did get a lot done, but there is still a lot more to do. Basically we now only were able to clear out the trunks (and tons of branches!) from our neighbor´s yard. You see, not all of our big trees had fallen on our side... And we figured it´s most important to clean up our mess from other people´s property first. =)

FREEDOM FASHION: OFF-WHITE SWEATER

  The holidays are behind us now, and it is time to focus on the usual, everyday life again. Feels good for a change, doesn´t it? To brighten up my everyday life I made something new for my Freedom Collection (which is what I wear most regularly throughout the year). 

  Since having kids I´ve tried to steer clear from white clothing. I´m terrified they might get all dirty and stained, permanently, all the time. But then again, white is such a basic color that my Freedom Collection absolutely needs it. So I made this bat-sleeved sweater, but in off-white just in case. =)

How classic is this (but with a twist in the sleeve section)? White shirt with jeans. It´s like you can´t pretend to be anything you´re not wearing this classic. You are somehow exposed exactly as you are, there are no corners to hide in. The pattern is one of my favorites, and I use it a lot. When kept simple, it suits this collection just as well as any other.

Doesn´t everybody just look great in white?! It brightens up and illuminates the face nicely.

The sleeves are thiiiiiis wide.

Here you can see the fabric more detailed. It is thin and loose, well draping knit. As a material it gives the sweater a very relaxed look, almost rag-like. The makeup in my Freedom Collection is always nearly nude, very natural. Warm soft pink on the cheeks and lips, and a hint of matte ivory on the inner corner of the eyes. On the outer corner I applied matte medium brown, and black mascara on the lashes to give focus to the eyes. Eyebrows are all natural.

   Welcome back, casual everyday life!

P.S. The earrings pictured here are another project of mine, which I will tell more about later. =)

CREAMY CARROT SOUP (RAW)

  Wow, my very first attempt to make a savory smoothie, a.k.a. soup, exceeded all my expectations! This is freaking delicious, I just ate a huge bowl:

Looks like any other puréd soup, and is warm too. If I did not know it was raw, I would not suspect anything.

A good sprinkling of paprika on top, for both looks and taste. Garnishing adds to the overall experience of eating. And we eat not only for our tastebuds, but mainly for our whole system, right? You know, for nutrients. And nutrients this soup delivers!

The recipe (serves 1):

3 carrots
1/2 inch (1cm) piece of fresh ginger (no need to peel)
1/2 avocado
1 small handful of sunflower seeds
1 generous cup (3 dl) vegetable stock, warm/hot
a dash of cayenne pepper
paprika for garnishing

+ Peel and roughly chop the carrots. Throw all ingredients (except paprika) into the blender and process until creamy. Add stock if needed.

  How quick and easy is that! And nutritious and good for you!

HOME ALONE

  Now this is an occasion for me: being home alone for the weekend! Hooray!

  It´s been nearly two years since I had this privilege the last time. I know singles, like my sister, don´t have a clue what I´m so psyched about, but for me this is like a major holiday. I only have to think about and take care of me. How relaxing. Nobody here to interrupt me or demand anything. (Don´t get me wrong, I love my family more than anything, but a small break every now and two years is awesome!)

  With all my free time now, I have been busy running errands I find exhausting with the kids, like going to certain shops or the pharmasist´s. I also staid up late last night (eating chocolate and watching tv  =), and then slept late in the morning. It´s amazing. I can do whatever I want.

Like continue working on my new wardrobe-to-be, which I started way back... umm... last winter.

I baked fresh bread, just for me.

Sat by the fireplace and took my time staring in to the flames.

Very relaxing, and warming. No marshmallows, I´ve decided not to buy candy for a while. There is still a lot to eat from X-mas. Darn... =)

Simply sitting on the couch and having tea, while watching tv, is a pleasure I can not indulge in when my daughter is in the house.

  Now I have, once again, learned that it really is the small things in life that make it sweet and rich. The everyday little things. I just need to recognize them, like I did today. I´m happy.

  Thank you, family, for being a part of my life. But thank you also for visiting Granny this weekend! =)

YULE FASHION: FIREWORKS- OUTFIT

  This outfit is the second post-Christmas one in my Yule garderobe. It replaces the Elf- outfit, which is so Christmasy, that it simply can not be worn after X-mas. =)
   So here is a quick glance:

This is featured properly in my column Nelland Living at PaganPages.  Welcome, take a peek!

FIRST GREEN SMOOTHIE OF THE YEAR

  Now that I have an exceptionally good blender, it would be a crime not to make (green) smoothies regularly. Hence I started this exceptionally good year (I´m sure it will be!) by making one:

"A green smoothie a day keeps the doctor away!" or how was it?

  My search and exploring has taught me that you can put anything in a green smoothie. Any fruit, veg and greens. So I´m taking a relaxed approach to whipping up these babies, by simply exploring my fridge (and garden) to see what mine will consist of. 
  This one is made of three blood grapefruits (peeled but otherwise whole), three handfuls of spinach, about 4 inch (10 cm) piece of cucumber, and some water. It made about a quart (a liter) of smoothie, which I shared with my family too. My one-year-old daughter especially likes these fresh smoothies. Go girl!  =)

FIREWORKS

  Each New Year I´m equally excited about fireworks. Both seeing and photographing them. We always get our own, and shoot them at midnight in our yard. Last night I thoroughly enjoyed them once again.
  Here are my best shots (with my ordinary, non-fancy snapshot camera):

This one is my favorite!