Vaguely, tantalizingly spring-like weather is here, with above-zero temperatures on most days.

Indoors it’s not a lot warmer than before. The heating is still set to the same target temperature of 19°C, but on sunny days the system is more likely to overshoot slightly than to fall short.

The bedroom is warmer at night, though. I’ve switched from sleeping in long-sleeved thermal shirt, to short-sleeved cotton t-shirt (under the winter-weight duvet, still, and the flannel sheets, still).


The mental shock of going from an active outdoors vacation to the humdrum realities of everyday life always hits me quite hard. It’s like coming down after an adrenaline high. Which I guess it is, just with different chemicals.

I don’t want to do anything. I especially don’t want to unpack. But I trick myself into getting it done, by picking up and putting away just one thing from the pile every time I get up for any reason.


It was more or less light outside still when I got home after a full day in the office. We’ve finally gotten to the point where each day feels just a little bit lighter and brighter and easier than the one before.


It was time to shovel snow again. Wet, heavy snow, that either will melt away in the next couple of days, or compact and freeze into a sheet of ice. I don’t want to take that risk, so away it goes.

It’s 17 degrees indoors and around zero outside, and yet I can almost go out in the same clothes that I wear inside. Adding mittens and a hat and proper footwear, and maybe a super thin waterproof layer to keep me dry. The (fairly light) physical activity suffices to get my body temperature up enough to compensate for the twenty-degree difference.

Tried and mostly failed to get a photo of myself and my newly finished cardigan, without too many of the bathroom fixtures or other crap in view. The more I tried, the worse the results got. After a while I was overthinking it so much that I sometimes didn’t even manage to get into position before the timer triggered. I think it just isn’t doable.

The cardigan fits super well, though!





Embroidery club. Didn’t remember to take a photo of what we were doing, but here’s a detail from a piece of embroidered artwork that was hanging on the wall at the venue.

This is the best part of the embroidery club – seeing other people’s work up close, and being inspired by work that is so different from anything I myself have done. Of course it’s also nice to get a nudge every other week to do some stitching, and to have company while doing so.

I’ve been to a local “knitting café” a couple of times, but never got hooked. I figured out why, after some time: I don’t enjoy hanging out with people I don’t know and won’t have a chance to get to know either. At the knit café it’s a crowd of new, random people every time. Some might come back, but overall it’s mostly strangers. The embroidery club on the other hand is folks I know.


And it’s done!

The pattern is a simplified version of Sweatrrr (check it out on Ravelry) and it’s one I used earlier. I liked the fit and the construction of it, even though I am still rather annoyed with its frustrating curling hem. This time I knew better, so I gave it a simple checkerboard hem (which you can see in yesterday’s photo). This worked out a lot better.

The yarn I bought Apmezga, a Lithuanian seller, at the Stockholm Sewing Fair this autumn. It’s a merino wool and nylon blend, and it’s as soft as a cloud. The sweater feels like a second skin. Except warmer.


Mirror selfie.

The back of the neck on this cardigan is too tight, like I suspected. Rip up and redo.

Yes, Eric offered to take a photo if it for me, but this was more fun.


I bought a pair of “barefoot” shoes before the summer, and now they are my favourites.

A few months ago a colleague, who was curious about barefoot shoes, asked me if I had noticed any downsides to them at all. The only thing I could think of was the looks. Nobody would describe these as stylish. They’re not exactly ugly, and in comparison to some current shoe fashion, they’re pretty OK. At least they don’t look like a lumpy, swollen blob of rubber and plastic like too many sneakers do these days.

Otherwise they are perfect. Insanely comfortable – lightweight, flexible, soft. It’s like I’m wearing socks, but with some protection for the sole. I can walk in them all day and by the end of the day still not wish that I could just take my shoes off. I forget about them; they don’t even register.

Now that winter is coming, I’ve found their only downside: they’ve spoiled me for standard-shaped shoes. Since May I have barely worn any other footwear other than these or my sandals. Hiking boots, when needed, and rubber boots, but no other shoes. And now there will be snow and ice, which these shoes are not made for, so I need to start putting on winter boots, but I DON’T WANT TO.

Do I squeeze my feet into narrow boots for the hour or so that my commute takes, every day? Do I throw out my still-perfectly-good sheepskin-lined winter boots (that took me ages to find) and invest time in hunting for new ones?


Ingrid took a picture of me while I was out walking the cat.

Our recent walks just go around half the house – out on one side and in on the other – but even that can easily take ten to twenty minutes. There is a lot of stopping, either for Nysse to dig a hole to pee in, or just to watch things. Warm socks (for me) are essential, because I can’t stand around for long without getting cold feet.