Last Christmas

Just a few days after Christmas I went into a Starbucks and ordered a grande pumpkin spice latte (yes they stil had a few left) - when I started to walk home I had a closer look at the cup .... What?! The Christmas themed paper cup was different than the venti sized beverage I had in November

 

When I came home, I removed the sleeve to have closer look - I am a sucker for those Nordic style colored holiday cups from Starbucks. But that means double joy, right??! First the nice hot beverage and then the feast for my eyes :o)

 

 

I thought popped into my mind - if I returned to the coffee shop a few days later to order a tall beverage to go, it should be possible to. I did go into the coffee house a few days later and ordered - a grande sized ginger bread latte. Why? It was really really cold outside and could hardly feel my fingers (despite layers of clothes) so I needed to stay warm.

Was it my cold body playing a trick on me, or was that sleeve covering yet another design of Christmas coffee cup? Yes. The sleeve covered a nice reindeer.... suddenly not so sad about my choice for a medium sized drink.

Due to stomach issues I have not returned to the coffee shop to order a tall size hot beverage - and it is most likely too late to get it now. It makes me fell like I have been a treasure hunt where the treasure are these nice coffee cups - at the same time I have hade some me time while enjoying the hot beverages.

Tourist

OK I assigned the label "me-time" - not the truth and yet.....

 

Went to the Viking Museum at Roskilde today as part of an event at work - was shooting some photos for work while visiting... and it gave me the possibility to take photos that I find interesting and not for work purposes. Realized how much I missed taking photos, blogging and visiting new places.

 

Well the museum is not new - I just had not been there before....

Book Challenge: 26 Books to Read in 2015 - Part 2

Source: Pinterest

Back in April I chose to pursue a challenge: 26 books to read in 2015.

From the beginning I knew, that it would be impossible to do nr. 19 on the list: "A book you were supposed to read in school but didn’t" - I loved books, so I always read the books we were told to read and we did not have a list of suggested reading (most schools here do not make such a list - even though I like the idea) - but I have completed the remaining 26 requirements :o)

1.    A book you own but haven’t read: From a Buick 8 – Stephen King

2.    A book that was made into a movie: The Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemmingway

3.    A book you pick solely because of the cover: Murder of a Needled Knitter – Denise Swanson

4.    A book your friend loves: The Rose Labyrinth – Titania Hardie

5.    A book published this year: A Vintage Wedding – Katie Fforde

6.    A book by an author you’ve never read before: Becoming Dickens - Robert Douglas-Fairhurst

7.    A book by an author you love: Peter Pan Must Die – John Verdon

8.    A book at the bottom at your “to be read” pile: The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared - Jonas Jonasson

9.    A book with a color in the title: Hvidsten Gruppen - Axel Holm – hvid is white in Danish

10.  A book set somewhere you’ve always wanted to visit: The Perfect Match – Katie Fforde - Cotswold, UK

11.  A book you started but never finished: Always Looking Up – Michael J Fox - started February 2013

12.  A book a lion, a witch or a wardrobe: Brobyggerne – Jan Guillou - lion

13.  A book with a female heroine: The Fire – Katherine Neville 

14.  A book set in the summer: Purl Up and Die - Maggie Sefton

15.  A book of poems: Stik - Stine Dige & Marie Ladefoged

16.  A book you learned about because of this challenge: The Boston Girl - Anita Diamant

17.  A book that will make you smarter: Vælg Fra - Birgitte Sally

18.  A book with a blue cover: Always Looking Up – Michael J Fox

19.  A book you were supposed to read in school but didn’t: **DOES NOT EXIST**

20.  A book “everyone” but you have read: All the Light we Cannot See - Anthony Doerr

21.  A book with a great first line: Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen - "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife"

22.  A book with pictures :11 meter frihed – Christian Liebergreen

23.  A book from the library: Library of Souls - Random Riggs

24.  A book you loved…read it again: Le Petit Price – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

25.  A book that is more than 10 years old: Hallo'ween - Agatha Christie

26.  A book based on a true story: Team Tvilling – Peder & Steen Mondrup

I could have mentioned several books next to some of the 25 requirements completed, but having read 102 books throughout the entire year I have chosen only to list one book

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon - 1st Update

For those of you who visit from the readathon's homepage - I am Anne, participating from little old Denmark joined the Dewey 24 Hour Readathon for the first time - but not my first time reading in a readathon.

5 hours 45 minutes: First book read .... more to follow ....

"After You" by Jojo Moyes - 352 pages

Entertainment Weekly recently wrote the following about the book - and I agree:

After You may not be the sequel you expect, but it is the sequel You needed. B+

Countdown to...... Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon

In little more than 3 hours (2 PM CET) the Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon starts, and I have declared those 24 hours as ME TIME and putting my mobile phone in silent mode. 24 hours (give or take as I will probably fall a sleep at one point) with boos - wonderful :o) It has been a while since I participated in a readathon, last time it was a 48 hour one.

Got a stack of 4 books, that I want to read - not sure how many pages I expect to read, but then I have a good choice. Should the unexpected happen - that I finish all 4 of them, I do have extra books as backup - somehow I do not think they will be needed in this readathon.

The 4 books are:

The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry (559 pages)

After You by Jojo Moyes (352 pages)

The Life of Max Mallowan (Archaeology and Agatha Christie) by Henrietta Mccall (199 pages)

Innocence by Dean Koontz (338 pages)

I will post updates about the progress during those 24 hours.

To others participating in the readathon: Happy Reading and Enjoy!!

Bob Buttons

Could not resist buying these badges/buttons when I was in a local book shop last week.....

Immediately my mind circled around the name Bud Bottons. :o)

The name is the lost cat's name according to Mr. Heckels in the episode "The One With the Blackout" from the tv-series FRIENDS, when Phoebe and Rachel finds a lost cat in the building. Have the entire series on DVD so I watched that episode today.

Actually there were plans marked in my calendar today, but was not ready for those as the MS attack treatment earlier this week still weakens my strength so decided on some me-time with books and DVDs.

Hope you have a wonderful Sunday

When Things Changes

Stop is a universal language when it comes to signs - you may not be able to pronounce written words, but the shape of the sign speaks it's own language. Wish that chronic illness like MS were like this - you noticed a sign, and you understood the general meaning.

Before my sailing trip this summer I experienced a nervous stomach - like my mind all excited abot the upcoming trip, worries - can I really make it? Will it be the adventure/experience that I hoped for? Etc. - Normal right?

When I got home I realized that the stomach problems continued so I addressed it to the local MS clinic who did not see it as a link to the MS and therefore sent me to some other doctors for evaluation as they could see, that something was not right. Imagine my surprise when a doctor after 3 months of doctor visits, examinations, scans etc. told me, that my bowel problems is cause by my bladder?? HUH??!!! It turned out that I have a "party bladder", but unable to empty it fully without help - hence pressure on the bowel and other parts.

That really hit me, as I now have permanent symptoms of my MS that for the rest of my life need to be medicated and need full things - again one can not see it, but it is inside me. Until new medication works I am worried about my stomach, forcing me to say no to a lot of activities and even part time at my work (They are really supportive at the moment) - When will it be at a level, where I am not worried any more but can rely on the medication to work?

It drains me from energy to know, that if I had just had similar symptoms to others with MS, I might have caught it months ago and been able to have the medication work by now - the "party bladder" is very unusual compared to a leaking bladder .. and the attack I had a few months ago was not solely cause by the hard sailing trip this summer but also due to the bladder/bowel problems. I accept that I now have new permanent conditions - but is totally frustrated about the time it takes for the body to adjust to the medicine and then allow me to do some of the normal activities again because now I just want to be very close to a toilet at all time.

When I talked to a professional yesterday about my worries, she said that my thoughts were healthy for me - and that the sailing trip this summer have actually thought me a lot about MS in general - It also makes me accept that things will follow in the wake of an MS diagnosis - I am just SOO impatient when it comes to the body adjusting to medication, which actually makes me smile a little.

Everything is postponed or delayed - in the past few days I went from having no clue about this year's Christmas cards to have 3 ideas, and I can not decide which one to pick. Next obstacle will be getting the supplies needed and muster up time to do it without getting to tired.

My Own Toothbrush

Naturally, I have my own toothbrush - but it would be so cool to have my OWN toothbrush :o) 

Confused? Well Jordan has a competition locally (Denmark), where the first prize is a trip to New York and 100 uniqe toothbrushes with the winner's design... and I could not resist making my version of a cool toothbrush:

My contribution: Bricks

Pattern of the handle, is the photo of bricks that I shot during in England my sailing trip this summer.

Well the MS has me ship wrecked when it comes to creative things at the moment, so a moment of creative "me-time" when doing this.......

Getting De-Stressed

 

My favourite way: photo walks, where I can enjoy the local scenery and nice weather :o)

No Words Needed

Photo Walk

It has been a long while since I have taken a walk with the purpose of taking some photos - perfect weather today and took the train out of the city to explore :o)

Knit in Comfort

Is the grass really greener on the other side? How many of us have not have thoughts like that when doubting if one is on the right track? But what exactly is the right track?

Well I am still pondering if I should not switch to a creative profession compared to the one I have now - Would it make me more ME? Will it make me happier? On the other side, I know that my crooked path until now has me me who I am - what has been handed (like the MS) to me may have forced me to make detours - but without these detours, would I ever have seen the Chinese Wall, the Pyramids of Giza, the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, San Francisco's Golden Gate, the Panama Canal?

 

Yes it can be daunting to check out the grass on the other side, but if you do not venture out there once in a while, will you end up regretting later on that you did not try? Other times one's own grass should be carefully maintained. Not all my decisions may have been wise, but at least I tried and some decisions ended giving me much more than I have hoped for.

 

 

 

Knit in Comfort by Isabel Sharpe - more chick-lit than the recent knit-lit I have read, but it deals with some of the things I pondered about in the beginning of this post.

 

Elizabeth Detlaff, the stranger from New York who arrives in the city Comfort, North Carolina because of a dream with her grandmother (babcia) and a radioprogramme mentioning the city's name. She is in need of some me time to figure out where her relation with her boyfriend Dominique is going, so Comfort seems to be the place that can guide her. She gets lodging at Megan Morgan's garage appartment and suddenly getting an unexpected view "behind the scenes" of this little town.

 

Megan, on the other hand, suddenly feels that Elizabeth has invaded her life - though she could use the money she gets from her new tennant - as Elizabeth is suddenly also invited to the Purls Before Wine Knitting Club as well as being eager to learn about knitted lace, a tradition, that Megan has inherited from her Shetland ancestors. But just maybe Elizabeth turns out to be just perfect to rattle Megan's life into a new direction?

 

Reading a book like this made me feel good - that I am not the only one who might be pondering about green grass elsewhere and that life sometimes just throws you curves that you can either pass or grab. Sometimes you just need a reminder about it.

A French Affair

How would you react, if a family member left you her antique stall?

This is exactly what happens to Gina and Sally Makepiece in Katie Fforde’s latest novel, A French Affair. When their aunt Rainey leaves them her stall at the French House. The owner of French House, Matthew Ballinger, was a friend of Rainey, so one of her wishes is that they work together with him to continue her calling in the antiques world.

Learning how to spot junk from the real thing. How to make a deal with a customer? Can fellow antiques dealers be trusted when offering you help? Can some of the junk be transformed into beautiful pieces sold other places than at an antique market?

Again a good read from Katie Fforde, and just after finishing it, it realised that I was looking at things at a local fleamarket / antiques market, not buying anything but feeling almost as if I was inside the book.
---

Feeling a bit like Rory Gilmore from Gillmore Girls, since I almost never leave my appartment without a book - any waiting or travel time is used reading those pages. Maybe you have seen me in a long waiting line at the immigration in foreign countries' airports? I will be easy to spot, as I most of the time start reading while the queue ahead of me is slowly getting shorter. Amazing how time can fly by when you are in good company of a a book :o)

Hello - Mushi-mushi - Pronto

During this roller coaster week of events and news, I received a book in the mail from one of my friends. She shares my passion for good books and she therefore sent me one that had made her laugh really loud. Today I finally had some me-time where I could make her a thank-you card.

A while ago I bookmarked a page showing how to make the above pictured style: scales chip cart as this went on my must-try list, so I found some paper scraps, that was saved for purposes like this; where you just need small pieces. Wanted to use it as a background as I stumbled across this cool retro phone freebie earlier this month..

Ended up with this card after the colored retro phone was mounted along with some HELLOs that sometimes comes out of my mouth when picking up the phone at work - the calling number is usually displayed in the office phone when the world is calling, and it makes a huge difference if you can say "Hello" in the caller's local language. Actually I do speak some Spanish and Japanese....

Now I just hope that my friend will smile when she receives her retro card.

Entering it into Birdie Brown's June Freebie Challenge

A Holiday Yarn

Vacation time means reading time :o) Since I need some Christmas mojo to get started on this years Christmas cards and posting that massive amount of weaved hearts taking up table space, I opted for Sally Goldenbaum's "A Holiday Yarn"... Got a lot of strange looks on the train yesterday, when people realised the title of the book, but was MY way of spending more than 2½ hours on trains yesterday (family visit).

A visit back to Sea Harbour where we once again meet the Seaside Knitters. It's Christmas time and during the festivities a murder occur, so our friends are starting to figure out who-did-it while engaging in Christmas preperation and activities. Sally describes the festivities so vivid, that the book becomes multi dimentional: the Christmassy smells, the music, the Christmas decorations just crawls out of that book. Well the murder mystery becomes more intense, and Izzy Chambers encounters personal problems when it comes to the man in her life.... so while the needles are working fast to get presents done, there is mysteries to be unravelled..

A Treat For Me After Treatment

After the monthly MS treatment at the hospital (past month went by soo fast) I usually treat myself with a little something, that I usually does not indulge in the days between treatment. No more liquirice cupcakes from Agnes Cupcakes, since I do not like the flavour caused by the new way of frosting the cupcake - and Ben&Jerry's Cookie Dough icecream was sold out in the local store ?!?!?! Found a treat that is going to last for a couple of days: Marabou cookies - good!! Marabou happens to be my favourite kind of chocolate, and some of you know that I do not eat chocolate often. YUM!

Sometimes I Need a Reminder

Been working way to much lately, and even though this weekend was 3 days long it seems like I just returned to another week with long workdays *sigh* Just looking back at some pictures I captured Monday when I walked around in my city just relaxing and without any other purpose than walking......

Catching Up and Drinkin' Tea - Teahouses TeaSwap part 1

Whoops!! Do not think that working 84 hours within 6 days is doing any good for my health, so decided that today was only about doing relaxing things... and we have local holiday on Monday too, so plenty of time to catch up. Working that much results in catching up on 100+ emails, blogposts, weaved hearts etc. What kept me going during those 6 days was, that it involved seing people, that are usually a name in an email or a voice on the phone.

Josie called the 2nd swap at PaperCraftPlanet's Crafter's Tea Party with the theme: tea houses, and she my swap partner in this round. She send me this creation with 4 different kinds of teas - talk about eerie timing, since I had declared today as resting day, and with that comes the need for enjoying a (or more) good cup of tea.

The tag has a saying about memories, which is quite fitting as this swap has made me think of my own encounters with teahouses while travelling. Thanks for the swap Josie :o)