I signed up for the swim team. Well, sort of. I made an account on their website and signed up for the Master's group, although according to their website, there is a queue. I also emailed, inquiring about the cost and training times, and if there actually is a queue... which would suck.
I'm proud I took this step. I am quite nervous about joining, for several reasons really. The largest one is that my ears are very sensitive and get easily infected, so I've been swimming with ear plugs for the last 5 years now. Which is great, except I can't really hear anything with them in, and I've never tried to be in a group training while wearing them. This would be scary enough, except add onto that, that the instruction will be in Swedish, and I'm wondering how that will work. Especially since I don't know any swimming terms anyways in Sweden. The ear plugs are pretty easy to pull slightly in and out, so that I can hear a bit. I was also considering that I can wear a plug in one ear, and switch for each swim practice, giving one ear a rest each time. Still, I'm worried for infection and pain.
Of course another reason is because I'm not that fit and I'm large. I should just get over it and feel awesome that I'm taking steps to get in shape, but that is easier said than done. I won't let this particular reason stop me either.
The last big reason I can think of is that it is a large time commitment... they train 4 evenings a week, which is a lot. And the times aren't always exactly convenient, meaning that I'll have to eat dinner at my office and work late some evenings, etc.
BUT, today I conquered my fears, and signed up anyways. Because if I don't even sign up, I never gave it a chance. There are so many benefits if I do start swimming!! Meeting a bunch of cool people, getting in shape, feeling good about myself, and getting to compete again. Huge reasons why I should do this.
We'll see what answer I get back from them!
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Monday, January 28, 2013
Skirt: check! (maybe??)
I "finished" the skirt. When I say finished, I really mean that I ran out of yarn, and decided that this skirt has a chance of fitting me one day, so I wouldn't need to buy another skein (which possibly wouldn't match). When I say one day, I mean one day when I have a 31 inch waist... maybe I should buy another skein? I don't know, I can't make up my mind. And I also realized I need to rip out about 6 rows if I truely am done, because I skipped the instructions at the end for the button band. Kind of important. Anyways, I marked this thing as done on ravelry and I'm going to let it sit while I contemplate what to do.
The skirt probably looks very small but it is extremely stretchy because of the type of stitch and yarn.
Meanwhile, I have decided to work on the baby blanket I had started. I have a lot of yarn sitting around for it, and it's actually a fun project. At the time I started doing it, I really wanted to learn to continental knit, and the patterns made that difficult. Now seems like a good time, at the beginning of the year, to finish up projects I have laying around.
On the sewing side of things, I've committed to finishing this box bag I started. It's not a simple pattern as it also includes special material for strengthening the bag sides (can't think of the name right now!). But I have already cut the fabric for the bag, so I might as well get on with it..
The skirt probably looks very small but it is extremely stretchy because of the type of stitch and yarn.
Meanwhile, I have decided to work on the baby blanket I had started. I have a lot of yarn sitting around for it, and it's actually a fun project. At the time I started doing it, I really wanted to learn to continental knit, and the patterns made that difficult. Now seems like a good time, at the beginning of the year, to finish up projects I have laying around.
On the sewing side of things, I've committed to finishing this box bag I started. It's not a simple pattern as it also includes special material for strengthening the bag sides (can't think of the name right now!). But I have already cut the fabric for the bag, so I might as well get on with it..
.. so that I can start my other sewing project...
(This fabric is for the kitchen)
(and this is for the living room)
Curtains for the kitchen and living room!It should be simple, except that it is a lot of fabric and might be tricky getting straight lines through the sewing machine. Luckily curtains will be forgiving. I mean, I assume they will? Whatever, it'll work it. We bought cute fabric that will let some light shine through.
In other news, we watched a really fantastic film yesterday, "Kyss mig" ("With every heartbeat" is the American title). http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1859522/ The scenery and music complemented the story beautifully, and the acting was phenominal in my opinion. I highly recommend it. It was released in the U.S. in October last year, subtitled I believe. Check it out!
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
New House
We finally moved to Linköping, where I currently work. Our new house is wonderful; built in 2008 and shiny. Very shiny.
I also have my very own knitting/sewing room now!
On the knitting front... well I completed many, many projects since my last blog post and I don't really feel like detailing all of it. But what I am currently working on is a very fun, quick project.. the Carnaby Skirt from Knitty Deep Fall 2010.
This thing is gorgeous! I'm using Rowan Pure Wool Aran in the Ember (679) colorway. I'm a little over 1/2 of the way done. It's difficult to find time to knit with the move, but I'm hoping to complete this thing within a week or two. Andreas is in Holland right now so I have some time on my hands while he is away.
Besides the house and I'm knitting, I'm trying to move more in general, be it cooking, walking the dog, or cleaning. I developed some bad habits when I started working in September, and I want to get fit again! I really enjoyed this article I stumbled upon recently. The message is change who you are, not how you look or appear to others. I like that, it resonates with me. I hope I can change myself for the better this coming year.
Wishing you a merry 2013 from Sweden!
I also have my very own knitting/sewing room now!
On the knitting front... well I completed many, many projects since my last blog post and I don't really feel like detailing all of it. But what I am currently working on is a very fun, quick project.. the Carnaby Skirt from Knitty Deep Fall 2010.
This thing is gorgeous! I'm using Rowan Pure Wool Aran in the Ember (679) colorway. I'm a little over 1/2 of the way done. It's difficult to find time to knit with the move, but I'm hoping to complete this thing within a week or two. Andreas is in Holland right now so I have some time on my hands while he is away.
Besides the house and I'm knitting, I'm trying to move more in general, be it cooking, walking the dog, or cleaning. I developed some bad habits when I started working in September, and I want to get fit again! I really enjoyed this article I stumbled upon recently. The message is change who you are, not how you look or appear to others. I like that, it resonates with me. I hope I can change myself for the better this coming year.
Wishing you a merry 2013 from Sweden!
Food! Week 3 of 2013
I really like cooking, and I love food. We often plan out a week menu, which rarely has the same dish on it except for some tried and true favorites. So I thought maybe I'd start putting that here on the blog in any case, as it forms a fairly large part of my life and day. I usually start the week from Saturday because that is when we go shopping.
Week 3 food:
We are going fancy on Saturday, lobster bruschetta with roe mayonnaise as a starter, followed by grilled beef tenderloin crusted in bacon and pistachios, with sweet potato crisps. Recipe source: Allt om Mat, Nyårs, Nr 1 2013. For dessert, a red currant pie, from "Alltid hungrig", Renee Voltaire. It has virtually zero sugar added which is great since I banned myself from sugar for the rest of January.
Rest of the week:
Chickpea soup, Alltid Hungrig, Renee Voltaire
Polenta cake with spinach and red onion, Alltid Hungrig, Renee Voltaire
Bell pepper pasta with prosciutto, Allt om Mat Nyår Nr 1 2013
Mexican Stuffed Shells, The Girl Who Ate Everything
Burritos with spanish rice, Fatfreevegan
I'll post some pictures of this week's food with next week's post. This is just a start. :)
Week 3 food:
We are going fancy on Saturday, lobster bruschetta with roe mayonnaise as a starter, followed by grilled beef tenderloin crusted in bacon and pistachios, with sweet potato crisps. Recipe source: Allt om Mat, Nyårs, Nr 1 2013. For dessert, a red currant pie, from "Alltid hungrig", Renee Voltaire. It has virtually zero sugar added which is great since I banned myself from sugar for the rest of January.
Rest of the week:
Chickpea soup, Alltid Hungrig, Renee Voltaire
Polenta cake with spinach and red onion, Alltid Hungrig, Renee Voltaire
Bell pepper pasta with prosciutto, Allt om Mat Nyår Nr 1 2013
Mexican Stuffed Shells, The Girl Who Ate Everything
Burritos with spanish rice, Fatfreevegan
I'll post some pictures of this week's food with next week's post. This is just a start. :)
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Zombie Monster Pants
I know.. I suck at keeping this blog updated. I guess I'm just not a true blogger at heart. Or maybe it's that I don't have enough time for the 1,001 things that Andreas and I do on a weekly basis. Either way, I figure it's still fun to post from time to time.
Lately we've been very busy with the garden. Everything is growing nicely, even though it's been a rainy colder summer. Nothing like Holland of course, but not exactly perfect growing weather either. Andreas is building a greenhouse from scratch, which will hopefully be ready in another month or so. We won't get much use out of it this year, but next year will be nice.
When we aren't in the garden, we've been taking long bicycle rides and hunting for mushrooms in the woods. So far we've only found a few large edibles, but the famed golden yellow chanterelles are poking their squishy hats up already. In another week or so I expect we'll have our first batch of these beauties, and then we'll be simmering them into some delightful dish or another.
The rest of my time I spend learning Swedish, programming, running (I'm training for a 10k race a month from now), reading Swedish books, cooking, cleaning, more Swedish, applying for jobs, feeling sorry for myself and lack of money, scheming on ways to make money, and bothering Andreas ;)
On the knitting front, I've accomplished two projects. The first is a soft, washable baby blanket for my friend Prathiba, who is about to deliver a beautiful baby girl any day now.
The blanket:
The pattern was really simple, using single, double, and triple yarns overs which were later dropped to achieve the cool effect you see. It got a little repetitive at the end but I was so excited about finishing and giving the gift that I made it through it. The pattern is from Pickles, a Norwegian yarn company who has some patterns for free. You can find it here: http://www.pickles.no/breezy-winter-baby-blanket/
Funnily enough I used similar colors to their example but that is a coincidence. I asked Prathiba to pick out some colors she liked from Cascade 220 Superwash (the yarn I used) and then I came up with these three colors). The orange-ish one you see is actually pink but I'm a horrible picture taker. In any case, the baby shower is Saturday so that will be fun.
Besides that, I finally finished the monster pants (now called 'Zombie Monster Pants'.. you'll see why shortly). I took the plunge and figured out how to duplicate stitch. A friend of mine from my knitting group suggested I use a thicker yarn so I first started by trying to use some white worsted weight yarn that I had on hand. That was a disaster though, so I reverted back to the white yarn in the same brand and size (Drop Baby Merino) that I used for the pants themselves. Some of the green and pink shows through a little bit but for a first time, I'm satisfied.
Here they are!
These are going in a tightly sealed box for a while yet, but I look forward to the day when we have a little cute butt and legs in these things, walking and crawling around. :)
What's next? I'm learning how to crochet, so that is fun. Nothing serious yet, just learning the basic stitches. An added twist is I'm learning it both in Swedish and English, since you know, just learning something in one language isn't challenging enough! ;) I also want to start again on the Dane shawl, that tricky tricky piece of work. I know I can do it though! And there is the baby blanket I was making for myself, which I really should just finish already so it's out of the way. And I really want to knit a pair of socks. There's also that skein of yarn I bought to make Andreas a matching winter hat to go with his scarf....
Lately we've been very busy with the garden. Everything is growing nicely, even though it's been a rainy colder summer. Nothing like Holland of course, but not exactly perfect growing weather either. Andreas is building a greenhouse from scratch, which will hopefully be ready in another month or so. We won't get much use out of it this year, but next year will be nice.
When we aren't in the garden, we've been taking long bicycle rides and hunting for mushrooms in the woods. So far we've only found a few large edibles, but the famed golden yellow chanterelles are poking their squishy hats up already. In another week or so I expect we'll have our first batch of these beauties, and then we'll be simmering them into some delightful dish or another.
The rest of my time I spend learning Swedish, programming, running (I'm training for a 10k race a month from now), reading Swedish books, cooking, cleaning, more Swedish, applying for jobs, feeling sorry for myself and lack of money, scheming on ways to make money, and bothering Andreas ;)
On the knitting front, I've accomplished two projects. The first is a soft, washable baby blanket for my friend Prathiba, who is about to deliver a beautiful baby girl any day now.
The blanket:
Funnily enough I used similar colors to their example but that is a coincidence. I asked Prathiba to pick out some colors she liked from Cascade 220 Superwash (the yarn I used) and then I came up with these three colors). The orange-ish one you see is actually pink but I'm a horrible picture taker. In any case, the baby shower is Saturday so that will be fun.
Besides that, I finally finished the monster pants (now called 'Zombie Monster Pants'.. you'll see why shortly). I took the plunge and figured out how to duplicate stitch. A friend of mine from my knitting group suggested I use a thicker yarn so I first started by trying to use some white worsted weight yarn that I had on hand. That was a disaster though, so I reverted back to the white yarn in the same brand and size (Drop Baby Merino) that I used for the pants themselves. Some of the green and pink shows through a little bit but for a first time, I'm satisfied.
Here they are!
These are going in a tightly sealed box for a while yet, but I look forward to the day when we have a little cute butt and legs in these things, walking and crawling around. :)
What's next? I'm learning how to crochet, so that is fun. Nothing serious yet, just learning the basic stitches. An added twist is I'm learning it both in Swedish and English, since you know, just learning something in one language isn't challenging enough! ;) I also want to start again on the Dane shawl, that tricky tricky piece of work. I know I can do it though! And there is the baby blanket I was making for myself, which I really should just finish already so it's out of the way. And I really want to knit a pair of socks. There's also that skein of yarn I bought to make Andreas a matching winter hat to go with his scarf....
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Guest Post #1: Hiking the Sörmlandstrail (episode 1)
Go here for the photo album without narration
The snow was mostly melted, the frosty air had given way to a chilly breeze (warmth is relative!), and the ground was much too solid for the gardener's trowel. Hiking plans were forged, maps were printed, soup was cooked and poured into a thermos, the GPS unit was charged, and we were ready to face the first of many sections of Sörmlandsleden: the Trail of the South Man Land.
Placenames sound pretty cool when translated literally.
We (Jessica, our dog Björn, and myself) took a train to Flen and followed signs from the train station towards the trailhead. The landscape in and around town was fairly hilly, with many exposed granite buttes and boulders, so we were excited to get started. It was nearly noon when we reached the trailhead.
Being overconfident as we always were, we calculated 20 km (12.5 miles) to our destination, and about 6 hours of good daylight (7 hours before the train that would bring us home left). That equates to "easy", in our book, so we started off at a relaxed pace and enjoyed the surroundings.
The recent thaw left the boulders embedded in the trail oddly sunken, probably the results from expanding water ice which subsequently melted away. Interesting effects, whatever the cause!
We soon encountered an enormous pile of boulders, left there by a long-gone glacier from the last ice age. It had delightful cracks and crevasses, ideal for wild animals to use for shelter or to hide from predators. I'm glad we did not encounter a wolverine (järv) there, because a human with our feeble fingernails and teeth would stand no chance against the fearsome claws and bone-crunching jaws of these creatures. Very glad, indeed.
Having exhausted the entertainment options offered by the boulders, we carried on with the hike, realizing our average pace was significantly lower than anticipated. That's fine, we still had plenty of time! As long as we pick up the pace a little, that is.
Picking up the pace is difficult when there are so many enticing distractions. For example, in one instance we turned right when we should have turned left. We quickly realized our mistake and turned back, and were surprised by a giant Ubo ubo, the Eurasian Eagle Owl, probably the largest bird found in Sweden. It made a slight noise when it dropped from its perch about 5 meters ahead of us and 5 meters above our heads, which is what caught our attention. Its camouflage was so good that we had passed right under it without noticing. Its nearly 2-meter wingspan scarcely made a noise as it swooped over our heads and turned into the forest. Stunning. To my great dismay, I was unable to take a photo of the animal.
Look at these frozen lakes, sprinkled amidst the now-verdant forest. The melting ice painted convoluted patterns in psychedelic monochrome. Look closer, and you realize there's a galaxy of tiny worlds hiding within - secret constellations of suspended bubbles were responsible for the varying shades and textures of the lake.
At this point, we started to realize that 20km was not a realistic approximation of our hiking distance. It would be closer to 25, and our average pace would put us at our destination long after dark. Stupid, stupid hikers, we were! Rest stops were ruled out, food and drink could wait. We had to move.
But wait! These frozen marshes offered such a cheerful alternative to the inky black waters to which they would return in only a few short weeks. Treacherous pools were a pristine white, and solid through and through. They brightened up the forest like beacons. Remarkable!
Still we pressed on. My GPS-enabled phone reported our pace, and we pushed and we pushed until it told us we were doing alright. I checked our progress by comparing our position with landmarks I had copied down previously, on a morning that now seemed very distant. How far is 0.02 degrees, again? Can we make that in an hour? Mental arithmetic kept me sane, while wife and dog plodded on breathlessly behind me.
Finally, we reached our destination - a village with gunpowder mines and a trainstation. It took an additional 2 kilometers to reach this trainstation, because the village roads were apparently designed by the village idiot. No matter, we had reached the platform with our tickets in hand, and finally unscrewed that thermos of soup.
It was heavenly.
The snow was mostly melted, the frosty air had given way to a chilly breeze (warmth is relative!), and the ground was much too solid for the gardener's trowel. Hiking plans were forged, maps were printed, soup was cooked and poured into a thermos, the GPS unit was charged, and we were ready to face the first of many sections of Sörmlandsleden: the Trail of the South Man Land.
Placenames sound pretty cool when translated literally.
Being overconfident as we always were, we calculated 20 km (12.5 miles) to our destination, and about 6 hours of good daylight (7 hours before the train that would bring us home left). That equates to "easy", in our book, so we started off at a relaxed pace and enjoyed the surroundings.
Having exhausted the entertainment options offered by the boulders, we carried on with the hike, realizing our average pace was significantly lower than anticipated. That's fine, we still had plenty of time! As long as we pick up the pace a little, that is.
Picking up the pace is difficult when there are so many enticing distractions. For example, in one instance we turned right when we should have turned left. We quickly realized our mistake and turned back, and were surprised by a giant Ubo ubo, the Eurasian Eagle Owl, probably the largest bird found in Sweden. It made a slight noise when it dropped from its perch about 5 meters ahead of us and 5 meters above our heads, which is what caught our attention. Its camouflage was so good that we had passed right under it without noticing. Its nearly 2-meter wingspan scarcely made a noise as it swooped over our heads and turned into the forest. Stunning. To my great dismay, I was unable to take a photo of the animal.
Look at these frozen lakes, sprinkled amidst the now-verdant forest. The melting ice painted convoluted patterns in psychedelic monochrome. Look closer, and you realize there's a galaxy of tiny worlds hiding within - secret constellations of suspended bubbles were responsible for the varying shades and textures of the lake.
At this point, we started to realize that 20km was not a realistic approximation of our hiking distance. It would be closer to 25, and our average pace would put us at our destination long after dark. Stupid, stupid hikers, we were! Rest stops were ruled out, food and drink could wait. We had to move.
Still we pressed on. My GPS-enabled phone reported our pace, and we pushed and we pushed until it told us we were doing alright. I checked our progress by comparing our position with landmarks I had copied down previously, on a morning that now seemed very distant. How far is 0.02 degrees, again? Can we make that in an hour? Mental arithmetic kept me sane, while wife and dog plodded on breathlessly behind me.
It was heavenly.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Spring.. a time of intense knittyness
Hi hi! It's been a while... I didn't come back as I had promised in the fall. That's because life has been busy - learning a new language, working full time, and well... knitting. Yes, lots of knitting. But I feel inspired this evening to write a blog post, so here it is: projects I've completed in the last 6 months.
Josiah's cross stitch:
It took me an entire year to complete this, but I finally did it. It was worth it in the end and considering I was a novice cross-stitcher when I started, I'm pleased with the result.
Mug cozies:
I made two different mug cozies: one to go around the mug, and one that holds the mug. Unfortunately I don't have a picture handy of the finished product for the holding one. The pattern for the first one is the "We're just that Awesome mug cozy" which can be found on ravelry. I thought the diagonal stitch was finicky and didn't look that nice after all. The second one I sort of made up, but it was loosely based on this pattern. It was my first time not strictly following a pattern so that was pretty fun, and for a porcelain mug it is much more practical.
Irish Hiking Scarf:
Next up I worked on a cabled scarf for Andreas, for Christmas. This was a fun knit and it was my first time making cables.. ridiculously simple to do and I was fearful for no reason it turns out. Even though it was simple, it still took ages to finish as it's fairly thick and it had to be long enough for my husband to wear it the way he likes. Project page with more pictures and pattern here.
CanCans
These were so much fun that I was sad when I finished them. I frogged them the first time I started on DPNs; things went much better with circulars. I really like the fake cable motif and they fit perfectly. Project info and pictures here. Link to pattern here.
Monster pants (Monster byxor/bukse):
As you can see, they are still in progress. The pink bit there is going to be the monster mouth. These are knit top down and I'm doing them in size 1 year old. The pattern is from duBedåre on Ravelry, pattern here. Check out her super cute monster pants!
I actually am farther than in the photo above; I just did the increases for the legs. I can't find my 40 cm knitpro cable though, and since I only owned one set of 3mm needles for the knitpro circs, I went ahead and ordered two 40cm cables and another set of 3mm needles. I think I'll set these aside for a week while I wait for those to arrive. I'd rather wait and knit on the circulars than going ahead with DPNs.. I'm just not that comfortable on them. I end up with laddering and tend to have a too-tight gauge.
Other projects I'm working on but aren't far enough yet to give you a picture are:
- "Textured Blocks Baby Blanket" on ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/textured-blocks-baby-blanket
- Hermione's Everyday Socks also on ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hermiones-everyday-socks
Bonus pictures for this post:
My mother-in-law's cat, very silly. She likes me for some reason..
Three things I love: programming, knitting, and Andreas ;) On the right, a picture of me having just bound off my first CanCan on the train home.
Homemade pickles from our garden in the Netherlands, and a glimpse of the nature surrounding us here in Katrineholm.
In February we went skiing in Austria, Zell am See. A picture of us at the airport in Innsbruck, and a picture of us on the slopes in Zell am See. It was my first time skiing.
Random cuddling with Björn, whom I missed very much all autumn. I was happy to see him in January.
Our garden plot, where we will be planting this year, and the beginning of the garden - a bunch of newly planted seeds in our windowsill.
Other news:
I'm getting a sewing machine! I've been wanting one for over a year but we couldn't really afford it. I've been saving my pennies and I finally ordered a Bernette 15 (a review of the features here). It will arrive Friday and I'm so excited to try it out. I signed up for a apron swap on Rhonda's Down to Earth blog, which sort of prompted this entire purchase. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I signed up, but I guess I needed a little extra push to finally go out and buy the machine.
I will try to update soon. I promise.
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