paula kandimaa
Not much to write about today. I have been working most of the day while my boys went to a local shopping centre to buy metal cutters (lots of random barbed wire around), new life jackets and some additional clothes.
Activities of the day included dry land fishing (practice for the real deal), tinkering with ancient moped (Mr. K) and lumbering around in slippers – Me!
Living a glamorous life in the country. A trait of mine that gets mentioned quite often in feedback is my propensity to go “all in”, that is to say that when I do something I don’t do half assed. Whether it’s work, friends, parenting, cake making, or indeed shopping – I take things seriously and become seriously invested. For better but also definitely for worse…
Now a new chapter has started in our lives with the purchase of our little cottage outside of Hunnebostrand. I don’t think we realised quite how different the country life here would be compared to the village life I’ve had every summer of my life. Apart from the fact that our standard of living is (for the moment) very, very much simpler than before, it’s really a whole other world just 2km away. Our new neighbours work the land, know everything about everyone and go on vacation somewhere else when the summer mob descends.
At our new digs there are snakes and high grass and no need for anything but rubber boots and flip-flops really. Smart move Paula!!!!
Our stupid dog ran away last night. I use the adjective stupid lightly; Peter is very much my four legged child and after we lost his brother Sigge two years ago, a very central and necessary part of our family. My sisters family had been over for dinner and when they left on bikes he just took off after them.
We set off on bikes, car and foot to try and coax him back. Fanning out in the woods around our house we searched till it was too dark to see and reluctantly we went to bed. Setting off again at 6.30 in the morning we continued to comb the area screaming at the top of our lungs. All the while visions of a hurt Shnauzer cowering under a tree all night filled my brain.
Finally got the call, the djungle drum had been going hot in town and it turns out a friendly family picked him up about an hour after he ran off and given him a meal, a bed to sleep on and a very comfortable half-way house. The boy had simply followed the path back to his old home.
Needless to say it’s been an emotional day with more tears shed after we were reunited than while he was missing. And now I have a grey furball shaped shadow who won’t leave our side. And that’s quite ok with me!
Semester! That is Swedish vacation with lunch on the pier, a big of manual labour (shamelessly using the kids) and then a lovely dinner all from the barbecue.
Sunset drinks to the sound of nature rounds it off nicely! Mine are the Swedish Hasbeens clogs…
The promise of vacation; of lazy days by the beach/pool/boat/lawn with piles of books and magazines and endless cups of coffee. The reality of course is hours spent at the bank/builders/DIY store.
I have to say though, there’s something very special about walking in to the bank and being greeted with a hug. Not having to produce ID, and having the assurance that they will email and let you know when the paperwork is finished. Or possibly stop by your house to let you know on the way home. That’s what you get for having grown up in a bank family and for keeping all our accounts at the very small and very local SEB branch in Hunnebostrand.
Shoes of the day are flats from Burberry. Bought in the flagship store in Knightsbridge in London. Our weekends in London were often spent in one of the parks on a lawn chair with a newspaper and some coffee (or Pimms on a really good day). And then a stroll trough Knightsbridge and Chelsea on the way home. With or without a shopping bag in hand…
There are few absolute truths in life. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, and no matter how many shoes you pack to go to the Swedish countryside you always end up wearing the same flip-flops/sneakers/rubber boots all summer. But not this year.
Dinner with family in “town” the country bumpkins scrub up for the occasion and this bumpkin done a pair of properly inappropriate wedges with a 13 cm heel.
My split personality is coming out as we head west to the cottage in Hunnebostrand. On the one hand I have packed enough shoes to keep a small village going, on the other hand I am looking forward to three weeks of no make up, no hair dryer and a very primitive housing situation.
I’m hoping my duality adds depth to my character and makes me more interesting. But maybe it’s just proof of another level of crazy….
Three quarters of the way there!
Packing the family for summer. We will be gone either 4-6 weeks including four weeks at our cottage on the west coast, a week in Girona with Mr K’s family, and potentially a business trip to Madrid mid-vacation. The weather might range from 15 degrees and rain, to 45 degrees and blistering sun. We need gear for swimming, hiking, city life, beach life, ocean and forest. In other words we pretty much have to pack everything we own!
I’m wearing very special rubber boots as I pack (hey, it did rain a few drops earlier so perfectly normal!). My sister gave me these for my birthday when we were living in London. They are a little tight around my chubby calves so I rarely wear them but there’s no way I’m giving these up!
Wrapping up for summer vacation; Report written and sent to client, invoices sent and time reports approved.
There’s something very surreal about leaving the office for six weeks. Today we not only said good bye for the summer but also for good to a close work buddy who is going on to greatness elsewhere. A tear or two may have been shed on my part as this particular buddy has been a great giver of energy when energy has been in short supply.
Shoes of the day part 1 and part two: Heels from Zara that are actually a pretty good rip-off of my favourite Manolos and silver Revas from Tory Burch making a second when the heels got the better of me.
I was wrong yesterday. I was also a little drunk as I had had a glass or two of cava on an empty stomach. THESE are the last of the bargain basement bargains. Candy striper open toe dancing shoes from a sample collection of Marc Jacobs. If you look closely you can see stains on the fabric, one or two scuffs on the leather heels and a couple of tears along the seams. These babies have seen their fair share of partying!
Thank you Century 21 for allowing me to fill my closet with designer shoes at a fraction of the cost. In other words 5 for the price of 1!