NordenBladet – On August 25th dad turned 80! Dad didn’t want a big party so we celebrated with the nearest and dearest at my older sister’s place in Tartu. I guess I am like my dad in this aspect, because I also don’t tolerate big events at a long table and merely the word “jubilee” brings to the mind’s eye old age, dianthus flowers and a bunch of people that I wouldn’t stand on a voluntary basis. Normal text, heh? Hahaa ?
I gave dad as a present the painting from 2019 “Sweden’s National Day” that has also been at an exhibition in the Estonian National Museum. This was my lifetime’s second flower painting, the first flower painting “Syringa vulgaris” I gave to my mom as a present. Besides, I made a raspberry cake and we also gave as a present a wooden bird feeder. Dad is a great fan of birds and every winter he puts up fat balls and seed houses and then watches the birds from his office window, how they scrabble. Cool!
We (me, Allan, Estella and Ivanka) went back to Tallinn in the evening, as Estella had to move to MUBA school the next morning (luckily she also got a room in the dormitory for this year). This means for her several saved hours from the travel to school that she can now use for practising the violin. This year she was accommodated in the same room with two Japanese ballet dancers.
Parents themselves stayed overnight in Tartu at my older sister Marie’s place, since mom and dad made themselves a present, a house.. hahaaa ? and mom wanted to start settling in the next day already. My parents are no believers in the stock market, so they invest all spare money into real estate and land.
NordenBladet – Summer has quickly passed, it’s raining and raining and the rain is already getting annoying. Time has passed extraordinarily quickly. Oftentimes I have started blogging and then given it up, I just don’t want to bother or there are other duties to be done. I won’t be doing the wedding blog today, I thought that since I had a birthday yesterday, then I’ll do the birthdays overview before proceeding with the wedding blog, and there have been lots of birthdays during the summer!
August (more precisely August 20th) was my birthday. Like most of the times I didn’t make it a thing this year. I don’t like to celebrate my birthday, on this day I am rather withdrawn and prefer to sob in my pillow. Aging, that ain’t no joy. I made a cake and that’s all. In the morning we went for a walk in Saku bog with Allan and in the evening we went together to a nice 90-minute Thai double massage after which Allan bought me a mega large and super beautiful rose bouquet from Viru street flower kiosk. I’ll also remember the birthday thanks to my daughters’ birthday card that said: You are not old, you are retro. Well then. Hahaaa ?????
On August 4th we celebrated Allan’s mom’s birthday. We drove to Viljandi, went to a restaurant and for the evening we drove to nature near Lake Võrtsjärv. Next day we visited the play “Big Boy and Small Boy” and after that drove back to Tallinn.
August is also the birthday month of my dad!! That birthday we will celebrate next weekend in Tartu among the family.
July was Allan’s birthday. There was also a lot of fun with the greeting card. Namely Estella thought that Allan turned 33 and thus made such a card. Actually he turned 38 🙂 This year we didn’t also celebrate Allan’s birthday but despite that not a single anniversary passes in our family without an amazing self made cake!
In May we organized a triple birthday party in our garden. The birthday children were Estella Elisheva (turned 17), Ivanka Shoshana (turned 15) and Allan’s older brother Ardo. The keywords of this birthday are: amazing home made dishes (Ardo is a master chef!), hot tub, and a wonderful evening among the nearest and dearest. Amazing!
Below are the photos from the birthdays (get yourselves ready for lengthy scrolling since there are lots of pictures!!!).
My birthday:
Allan’s mother’s birthday in Viljandi on August 4th and 5th:
Allan’s birthday July 27th:
Allan’s older brother’s birthday and the children’s joint birthday:
NordenBladet – In December 2022 we decided with Allan that we will get married on 22.04.2023 – on our day, when we first met, on our day that has become (for us) the international Day of Love. I love Allan so much that I literally felt that we SIMPLY HAVE TO be married. He felt the same.
I really don’t know what it is, but it’s just like we love each other more every day. ❤❤❤ Already over three years we have been together – but every day, every evening, every night – every time it seems like the first! We just feel abnormally good when we are together! We vibe in the same way, we breathe in the same rhythm, we think similar thoughts, we feel the same pain and the same joy. Should you happen to read any great poets’ love poems – these are all (all except the desperately sad ones) exactly about us! 🙂 There is so much hope in our relationship, so much childishness, so much power, faith!
For some reason I have a feeling (a bad feeling) that the fancier the wedding, the sooner the divorce comes. This is sick, I don’t know why I have this strong feeling, but thanks to this feeling I wished not to have a big wedding. Here for the first time we disagreed with Allan. He would have liked to invite all his 200+ friends, but it seemed to me that even two friends (I don’t really have many more) would have been too many. I wanted an intimate and quiet wedding (only the first circle of family, i.e. mom-dad and siblings). While in other matters Allan’s wish usually prevails, then this time I won. I got my magnificent and simple home wedding!!! I am so so happy!!!
BESIDES, I would lie if I omitted saying it.. BUT I DON’T LIKE to spend money on irrelevant things (like an exorbitantly expensive wedding dress that one will wear just once in a lifetime). It seems to me utterly pointless and impractical. I don’t know how rich one ought to be to afford such nonsense. Thus I decided that I will sew my own wedding dress… a dress that I will be able to wear on beautiful summer evenings even at other times. I am definitely not rich, but the richer I am the less I feel like WASTING MONEY.
I believe that a big love deserves a wedding! But the wedding should not equal a 20-year debt for the young couple or just an insane waste of money. All this said.. let’s get to our wedding and the expenses:
We bought the wedding rings from Kullasepa street in Tallinn old town from a jewellery shop between Town Hall Square and Harju Street (Kullasepa 3). For us it was important that the ring looked like a traditional wedding ring – so we didn’t look for any decorations etc. We wanted that while wearing the ring it would be clear from a distance that it is a WEDDING RING.
We trusted our kids with the wedding invitations. Ivanka Shoshana and Estella Elisheva prepared wonderful and original self made invitation cards for everybody that were invited to the wedding:
The wedding dress / the bride’s dress:
I cannot claim that I made it myself, but I designed it myself! I ordered from AliExpress a simple-inexpensive summer dress to which I added laces and embroidery that had also been ordered from AliExpress. The result was very chill-retro-comfy and suited me well. A wedding dress made by oneself is said to enhance femininity, grace and wedding luck! 🙂
That’s all for this time! I love y’all so much! Hugs! Love is the most beautiful thing in life, love is the greatest power!
NordenBladet – Good morning! When at the same time you have five months worth of events unwritten then you don’t even know where to start. In March I undertook the renovation of our bathroom and hallway, but last week also the summer room (veranda) that is in use from April to October.
Today I will write about the bathroom. Within one day I renovated the little hallway leading to the bathroom and the toilet – I repainted the wallpaper and then started with the renovation of the bathroom. By now I have already painted many wallpapers but never before had I painted ceramic wall tiles. For the tiles (glazed tiles) you must use a bit different paint – water proof. I bought Tikkurila Luja ceramic tiles with matte colour. I selected two colours for the bathroom – greenish (S440 Silkkitie 177.) and grey (N499 Basaltti 21.). With the greenish one I painted the walls and with the grey one the walls around the shower set, the shower floor and the sink cabinet.
I painted the walls three times, at some places even four times and then we let it dry for three weeks. After the first layer it seemed for a second that, oh no, it won’t work, but with each layer the result got better. The final result was very beautiful! A bit here and there is still to be done – slats, wooden window sills, new blinds or shutters for the windows.
Allan changed the white electrical plugs and the silvery shower set for black ones. Super cool was also Allan’s self made wooden bench in front of the shower set. Firstly he polished the old beam that he found from the attic and then he imbued it with boat paint or more precisely boat polish.
It is super cool to pimp-renovate-repair your home on your own! I used to think that repair works are only men’s work or something that you buy in as a service with crazy prices. Actually you just need your two hands and some enthusiasm. YouTube is full of videos where you can learn the tricks of repair works and also HGTV is very good, it is full of home design and renovation ideas! Read more about my renovation blogs for example from HERE and HERE.
The little hallway before (light blue wallpaper) and after (white wall paint):
The bathroom:
We took down the old bathroom furniture (cabinets) and took it to one of our for sale apartments, I ordered a new one from Hulgimuuk.ee site (HERE) and repainted. We bought a new black shower set and black sink faucet from DEPO (Veskiposti 1, Tallinn).
With that the pimping of the bathroom did not yet end. I decided to do some art too, and took an old tabouret which I first painted the same colour as the bathroom walls and then decorated it with an ornament. I got the idea for the ornament from Riley Blake Designs website “Prairie Meadow Sew Along by Lori Holt of Bee in my Bonnet” collection of patchwork ideas (HERE). I really like recycling and giving new life to old things!
The pearls of my home are, to my mind, the rag rugs handmade with knitting looms, they bring coziness to every room of the home, they bring a positive and genuine country life aura and uniqueness. Most of the rag rugs in my home have been ordered through the Facebook group “Annyliisi käsitöö” (HERE).
NordenBladet – … Alright, today is already June, but as you can see the post from March is still in progress. I wrote most of the post already in March, so now I will add a bit and conclude the post. There has been so much going on in the meantime…
I married the man of my dreams, we had a wonderful wedding party with the closest people, we went for a long honeymoon in Spain, I have created a lot of beautiful handicrafts, I have built an IT-platform, etc… but about all this after the current post of March.
Like always in life, there have been good as well as sad events. March was very, very sad for me and I could not function properly for a long time.
Wednesday, 8th of March (Women’s Day) will from now on always remind me of Pandu’s passing away. On March 8th 2023 we buried him at the age of eight in the ground of our home garden, our much beloved cat Pandu the Cat. I remember it was snowy and chilly and I was heartbroken. Estella Elisheva and Allan dug the grave in the snowfall, while I was holding Pandu who had been wrapped in towels, and Ivanka was staring at us while holding the white roses in her lap. I cried for three weeks every day, I am also crying now as I write this. I loved Pandu a lot.
Pandu’s death is my fault.
That hurts the most. Guilt is a very bad feeling.
On Thursday Pandu came inside and while eating (or rather while sniffing the food) pooped a few stiff droppings, not controlling his body. I got mad, what does that mean, the cat poops inside the house, and I sent him outside. For Friday Allan had made a vet’s appointment but I said: Ahh, you must be kidding me, leave it, cats are tough, cats have all kinds of problems all the time, let us wait a few days. He also threw up once but again I had a prompt reply: the cat is used to eating better food, and cannot digest mice anymore… The cat brought both of us, me and Allan, a mouse as a present at night about a week before passing away. He finally ate Allan’s mouse, after we had omitted praising him after he meowed for a while, but he threw up the mouse right there next to the bed. The next day we praised him for the mouse that he had brought me at night… for some reason I knew that he would once again return with a mouse. It remains a mystery how he managed to find a mouse for two consecutive nights from inside the HOUSE?
Pandu was a wonderfully friendly and good cat! Very very sweet cat! I feel like a traitor not taking him to the vet. It would make me feel better to suffer some kind of punishment for that, but all this guilt and other talk and regrets do not unfortunately change anything. Cats are predators and very good pretenders, they don’t show their weakness and illness, they fool you. Today I can only genuinely regret not regularly taking my cat to the vet.
Darling Pandu, please forgive me! I don’t wish to teach anybody, but from my sad experience I recommend with all my heart, take your pet to the vet every now and then even if everything seems to be ok – better safe than sorry, better check the health and notice the problems at the right time!
NordenBladet – I’ll continue where the last blog ended, that was 15th of February. Were it a vlog, then it would be great to start it with a musical piece – an Estonian folk tune: „Time goes by but the happiness doesn’t go away” (“Aeg läheb aga õnn ei kao”) .. hahaa 😀
On 15th of February 2023 me and Allan went to see Paolo Genovese’s spectacle „Strangers”.
For the first time I visited Drama Theatre’s 5th floor theatre hall where the stage is in the middle and the audience is seated on the sides. The play was brilliant and the actors were top notch (Mait Malmsten, Britta Soll, Jüri Tiidus, Marta Laan, Markus Luik, Harriet Toompere, Tiit Sukk, Amanda Hermiine Künnapas). It was an amazing evening! By the way, I also liked that the play was in one act. I really like plays that lack a break since I somehow feel sorry for the half an hour time lost during the breaks that many plays have.
22nd of February – as always, a celebration at our home. I like such self-made „our things” and „our traditions”, since it enhances bonding and increases happiness! Yesterday I just watched film director Peter Chelsom’s movie „Hector and the Search for Happiness” that is based on Francois Lelord’s bestseller and where the main character, the eccentric London psychiatrist is played by Simon Pegg. The motto of this movie is that it is an obligation to be happy! It is worth repeating to yourself – IT IS AN OBLIGATION TO BE HAPPY!!! 🙂
Allan brought me roses and tulips and I made wraps with Bruschetta along with whipped cream cake. The Bruschetta from the store appeared to be so good that I took pictures of the ingredients so that I’d be able to make it at home following the recipe:
Bruschetta recipe:
Tomatoes 63%, Taggiasca olives 12%, olive oil 12%, sun-dried tomatoes 7%, capers 3%, basil, garlic, red chili pepper, salt, seasoning
On the 23rd of February we had guests, Inge Pitsner and Einar Ellermaa, coming over. Jesus, how great it was to see them after such a long time! Since they are journalists, authors and publishers, we did not run dry of topics to talk about. I got the book they authored, „Baruto“, as a present, it talks about the journey of Kaido Höövelson becoming the top sumo wrestler in Japan. The very next day I read the book in one sitting – it was very exciting and fully inspiring. Many times there was a tear in my eye and I started to love Kaido after reading this book. I recommend it!
The book ended with an especially beautiful idea:
„I will live the rest of my life so that in this life I will become yokozuna!
What else could I point out from the second part of February? There has been lots of reading, browsing the internet (I am searching real estate for us in Spain), and watching movies. I started building a new design for the NordenBladet.com site and planned the renovation of our bathroom. I have also done a lot of sewing and the 24th of February marked one year of active trading and keeping an eye on the stock market.
Sewing – I got the threads, ribbons, fabrics and applications, etc that I ordered from Aliexpress… These are now enough for several lifetimes! Let’s say I got carried away. But the more materials there are the more creative one can be when doing handicraft and it is super fun!
For example I like to add details to the things I have.. I added white flounces to this blouse…
Then I pimped a simple monotonous home dress that previously resembled a long shirt. I added patched flounces, laces, and the result was a very beautiful dress! I now wear it almost every day, I like it that much! In the pictures the model is Ivanka but since she is so thin then the character of the dress is not fully revealed.. the dress needs more mature female volume 😀 hahaaa…
About investment and the stock market.
Okay so, where to begin … icccccc…
The past year on the stock market has been complicated but very exciting. I have taken proper losses…
In my mind I have been buying from the bottom but in reality buying expensive and selling cheaply (using double margin) – this is not the way to become rich. You get rid of the existing cash that you didn’t invest in the “bottoms”, you get losses from reducing and/or eliminating positions, you get pointless interests, in conclusion …you get properly screwed. I also turned over my entire crypto position with 50% loss.
It reminds me of an interview that Kristjan Liivamägi gave to Äripäev Radio, where he talked about the early years of his investing career. This was exactly like a page from my investment diary. Hahaaa, all the same mistakes have been made, even repeatedly, because I didn’t learn the first time I made the mistakes.
What were my main mistakes?
1. I didn’t use the stop. For example I entertained in my hands for half a year the COIN shares that were bought around 180 EUR until I finally sold them around 50 EUR. Sweet Jesus!
2. I was partly also inadequately informed. For example I didn’t know that an LHV share is stripped of the guarantee once the value sinks below 3 EUR. In my case the Uniper example: I bought the share last year for 5 EUR, again entertained them in my hands and then the price sank to 2.85 at some point.
So what did I learn?
1. While the „study costs” got properly covered then the current year on the stock market made me a bit more conservative and calm.
2. Extra to the daily trading I also glance at the long term dividend shares.
3. I got assured that the stock market is interesting and keeps me excited. Taking into account all that has previously been said, I can admit that I am satisfied with the case I currently have. Trading on the bear market is complicated, I still lack the skills to do that (yet) but daily trading is what I like. Never have I ever done selling short yet, I cannot do it, but in the current market situation this should be the priority skill.. Hahaa.. I have not dealt with options since I do not fully understand them. Nevertheless, trading comes out just right, but I often violate the STOP ORDER. Helena-Reet, use the stop order! 😀
NordenBladet – Ivanka’s winter school holiday was spent mostly in Mõigu at granny’s and grandpa’s place, during that time I generated new ideas and Allan wrote code. Time goes by quickly and Christmas has turned into Valentine’s Day… yet life is still the same …school for some, work for some, a bit of rest once in a while, a little joy, a lot of tragedy.
To summarize it:
December 31st New Year’s Eve 2022: We spent New Year’s Eve at Allan’s friend’s Kairo’s place, there was also another friend Andres with his wife. The night was pleasant but since they needed to still move forward at night then everything was a bit hurried. I baked two kinds of salty pies and a big cake. One more cake I made for us at home and then also yet another one that was sent with Estella and Ivanka to Mõigu for grandma and grandpa. As usual, we watched New Year’s Eve’s TV-program, dined and raised champagne glasses all night long. We also had a little fun, especially while going to sleep. Allan decided to sleep with his suit shirt on, saying, “Man must look good even when sleeping“. Hahaaa ? ?
End of December and beginning of January were very beautiful in the garden. It was nice to look at the Nordic winter. Super beautiful! But that also had a down side – there was a lot of snow, it even broke big branches on big trees and there was a lot of plowing of the snow (we definitely need to buy a snow plowing bucket that we can attach to the garden tractor). Allan even joked that the Christmas songs a la “Snow is falling, snow is falling, hurray” are compiled by authors and composed by composers who live in the city in an apartment… hahaaa ? ? ?
Regarding Murimäe street’s snow plowing, there is already my painting from March 2021 named “His Highness Mouse the First,” number 15 from the mice-series (more about the painting on my art blog Elisheva&Shoshana HERE).
January 14th was Allan’s sister-in-law Tiina’s birthday that we celebrated one week earlier in Seaplane Harbour, where in the frame of the birthday program we also visited several exhibitions (“Hell on the Arctic Ocean” about Juminda disaster, Icebreaker Suur Tõll, etc). Everything was fine except for the fact that the birthday girl herself was missing since Otto had fallen ill :/
On January 15th my mother was taken to hospital in an ambulance and it turned out she has pulmonary embolism ???,
On January 22nd me and Allan celebrated our Love Day (already 2 years and 9 months together!) in Muuga Löwenruh. The food there is good, except for khachapuri. I was cold and so I sat all that time in Allan’s cardigan. Ivanka was also with us. We ate so well that back at home we ate the cheesecake and berry cake meant for the evening only the next day.
On January 27th we said good-bye to uncle Peeter at Pärnamäe crematorium.
Peeter Ennet, Image provided by: MTÜ Eesti Geoinformaatika Selts (ESTGIS)
There have also been all kinds of daily events… With Ivanka we have gone to clay class, also to Laulasmaa SPA, with Allan we have gone to Mustamäe 21+ SPA, Estella travelled on February 6th for two weeks to violin camp to Madeira. I have been sewing, reading and renovating the house, gone to massage, to the dental hygienist and to the beauty salon. In January we went to Õnnepalee (Tallinn Vital Statistics Department) to hand in the applications for marriage, we are planning our wedding trip, etc..
February 14th, Valentine’s Day
So yesterday was Valentine’s Day..
I prepared such a dinner table:
Santa Maria egg noodles, fresh salad (cabbage, tomato, sweet pepper, Fringilla mungoa-raddish sprouts, 3frutti baby spinach, Hansa Herbs basil, strawberries), for sauce Farmi sour cream and Santa Maria Crispy Chicken seasoning mix). Along with it also fresh green onion (Minu Maitse) and cottage cheese (Alma). For drinks Kadarbiku fresh carrot juice.
For Ivanka and Allan I got red tulips as a gift, as well as Super Summ lottery tickets.
Now I must stop, Ivanka and Allan will be home any minute. I’ll take a look at what is happening on the stock exchange market, will prepare supper and then me and Allan will head to Drama theatre to see the play “Strangers”.
(in my next blog I will talk more about the renovations, the sewing, and perhaps conclude something about last year’s events on the stock exchange market ?)
NordenBladet – The children were in Saaremaa for four days and me and Allan have had more time for each other. For one day we just relaxed and watched all sorts of films and series.
I have once again a new favourite which is “My Mortgage Free Home” where the host Amanda Lamb introduced to people four real estates that they could afford to buy instead of their current real estate without a bank loan. Besides me finding it right to promote a loan free lifestyle, the series also has picturesque views of England – so beautiful that there’s a strong desire in me to go on a long road trip though England’s various villages.
What else did we do with the (child)free time? Of course we worked ? Allan was busy programming and I finally completed the OHMYGOSSIP Estonia‘s new web design.
Then there was also some cleaning, I changed the curtains, we bought and I wrapped the Christmas presents, there was a lot of baking and I also started sorting the things. We are selling some of the things that we don’t use anymore. Currently there is on Osta.ee website for sale until January 1st a two-colour 3D printer Zonestar Z8 and Thrustmaster T300 RS steering wheel with the frame and Pro pedals. If anybody is interested, make a bid for the auction and you’ll get professional products at a better price than is available on the market.
From the new things, besides the Brother sewing machine I have a Trust design tablet. I still don’t know how to use it but with another laptop and just for fun I designed several patterns and mandala shapes (below on the pictures there are patterns designed by me). Designing the patterns is very calming and at the same time exciting!! Take a look for example at the page spoonflower.com. Thousands of patterns from various designers and amateurs, the patterns can be printed on several fabrics, wallpapers, etc. Super cool!
The sewing itself is still just a few steps down the road, I am still waiting for the fabrics, the laces and ribbons, yet I am still doing this and that. Besides the kitchen cloths, and besides mending a lot of things, I sewed a small bag with two pockets, suitable for use as a case for glasses or as a case for the cell phone. I made it a present for Ivanka to be used as a case for the cell phone.
We spent our Christmas as we did last year (see the blog HERE) at Allan’s mother’s place in Kadriorg, except this time the children were in Saaremaa. I made two cakes, one for my parents and one to take with us. Allan’s brother prepared the main course that once again was so abundant and tasty. And then there was the beer brewed at home. Me, who I love beer, am telling you honestly that this was the best beer I have ever tasted! Top notch!
Below are the pictures of my Christmas outfit and our this year’s Christmas table, which then included: oven cabbage, oven potatoes, handmade pate and hummus, roast pork, fresh salad, homemade pumpkin salad, homemade pickled chanterelles, homemade wild raspberry jam and cloudberry jam and for dessert I made creme brule-whipped cream-cookie cake with pistachio nuts, almonds, cashew, bananas and strawberries.
More of December’s meal pictures…
A little survey of what I have been cooking and what we have been dining on:
Dujardin beans, Santa Maria rice noodles, sea kale salad, meat, sandwiches, pizza, salty oven cake, various salads, fish fingers, pancakes, gingerbread, ice cream, etc. As new products in the menu there were Marta’s “Homelike lentil cutlets” and several sorts of coffee. For years I have been using Löfbergs, but I have to admit that Paulig’s coffee sorts were delicious for a change. I especially liked Paulig’s “Cafe Reykjavik”. Selver added as a present Andri-Peedo farm’s goat cheese, which was so good that I also ordered it later.
NordenBladet – Winter has arrived and there is so much snow that plowing the snow doesn’t seem that nice all of a sudden. An hour of plowing the snow outside is suitable, but three hours every day exceeds the limit and has an effect on the joints. Years ago I injured my elbow and every winter when the cold weather arrives, my joints start aching and I need to swallow Melox 15 mg (prescription pain killer) (hahaaa… like an eldelry person’s topic)
I also have a nice and simple trick.. Take a big soft terry cotton sock and cut off the toe part – as a result you get a nice hand warmer ?The heel part perfectly suits the elbow and the tight edge will appear nice under the sleeve.
I have a new sewing machine! More precisely my very first personal sewing machine. Earlier I had tried my grandma’s Singer which until this day is a super machine despite its long lifespan (grandma left the sewing machine to my younger sister).
My choice was Brotheri Strong & Tough HF37 electrical sewing machine. Why?
1. I liked it that you can sew thin silk as well as thick and strong fabrics with it (also leather)
2. The machine has overlock seams for the fabric lining (usually one must buy an extra overlock machine for that), stretching seams for sewing the knitwear and decorative stitches.
3. THE PRICE!!! Only 299.99 EUR (we bought from Euronics) – seems like a suitable price for a near entry level seamstress.
My first project was kitchen cloths that came out super cute (I think)! One day I made one, the other day another. Currently the assortment of materials, laces, ribbons and thread is limited but I made an order from AliExpress and so in a few weeks the first supply should be arriving. ?
I also went through my closets and lay on the bed a pile of clothes that I plan to mix and modify. I am so excited right now and I feel like a super woman ??? There’s also a plan to start with patchwork technique to give life to old things/materials.
New month, new birthdays. My older sister Marie invited me last minute to her birthday and since it was on a Friday in the middle of the day, we couldn’t drive to Tartu… but help came from Interflora from where I ordered flowers and a card with courier.
We also went to Allan’s brother’s son’s Oscar’s birthday. I will also add a picture to show how cool cakes are made with special orders!!! Super!
Some food pics, too. I have taken pictures of some of the meals over the past two weeks. On the menu there was oat porridge with blueberries, homemade tomato-sweet pepper oven dish, several fresh salads, strong homemade garlic cheese, potatoes and minced meat sauce, chicken cutlets, chicken fillet bits, black pudding, egg noodles, wraps, fried eggs, etc.
Also for dessert there was a wide selection. Allan’s mother attended a cooking course where they baked several cakes (chocolate eclairs and similar nice things that I cannot name). I myself made gingerbread again, from the fair they brought as presents some fun snowman macrons, Ivanka added to the shopping cart Lotte Rõõmsud (fruit flavoured cereal rings) and I have been a fan of Kalev’s candy and chocolate assortments’ new mega-hygge Scandinavian design. Simply super design I guess! Kalev’s candy buttons I bought already because the package looks so good! ?
Even the nails have a new design! Haha … Since I am on such an art wave right now, then for December I had my nails done in a fairy tale mode and Christmassy style gel polish manicure (30.- EUR). Pedicure was limited to monochrome red nails (40.- EUR).
NordenBladet – Today I opened up the health drink “Havupuu-uutejuoma” bought from Finland from Rouhonjuuri health products store. It is an ecologically produced 100% herbal elixir / coniferous tree extract. The beverage is made from the bark and sap of the young pine tree along with spring water and it is a potent antioxidant. We are taking this with our family every morning before breakfast until it lasts.
I revised the winter menu and realized we could eat more fresh stuff. In winter you need the same vitamins and so I brought to the table more fruit, vegetables and herbs – tomato, sweet pepper, sprouts, lettuce leaves, dill, basil, tangerines, bananas and pineapple. All colours were represented and the breakfast table looked amazing. It tasted luxurious and thanks to the handmade ceramics I guess it also looked royal!
I really like to serve meals on handmade unique and original tableware! Me and Ivanka Shoshana have created several clay kitchenware. Also today we went to the clay class with Ivanka and once again many beautiful products are in progress. My current favourite is a freshly made multicolored vase and a small bowl that suits it. I don’t know how well the picture brings out their nature but they are exactly such warm simple cottage style kitchenware.
Today I stumbled upon Dick Carlson’s book “The Able Person” that began with the sentence, “The world gives way to the man who knows where he is going.” This sparked interest and I kept browsing the book and found a nice table describing the traits and habits of a pleasant and attractive person. I felt happy because it is exactly these traits that I have been consciously trying to cultivate in me (not for the reason of being, so to say, attractive, but in order to become a better person). The better a person I become the more happiness in me grows and it is a good feeling.
I will summarise Carlson’s study results for you as well. In attractive personalities the following traits were brought out:
1. joyfulness
2. friendliness
3. tidiness, cleanliness
4. coziness (hmmm… what does this exactly mean? :D)
5. helpfulness
6. unselfishness
7. sense of humor
8. thoughtfulness
9. eagerness
10. stability
I would personally add three points:
1. Avoiding judgement. I don’t like to judge people, we are all here to grow and make mistakes, and then, hopefully, to learn from them.
2. Cultivating a positive attitude in you (a la “It’s worth thinking that people are rather good than bad”)
3. LOVE – a person who is in love and loving is everything that D. Carlson brought out. Fall in love, and love and then you will be the best version of yourself!!! ❤❤❤
For dinner I made my “famous” sea cabbage salad. I posted today in NordenBladet’s GOURMET section the recipe, too (HERE). Once before I have shared this recipe in my blog, but then I chose strawberry and primrose blossoms instead of dill-basil and buckthorn for garnering (see the blog HERE).
Garnering and serving the meal is the best part of cooking – in spring and summer I always like to add fresh edible flowers and plants to the food! In wintertime I also use lots of frozen or dried plants and berries to garner the food.
Yesterday after a while we went real life shopping (lately I mostly order the food over the internet because the store is quite far away and it saves a lot of time ordering online), and we could easily have stayed in the store forever, so many cute things!!! Just the napkin selection might take an hour. We shopped for about an hour and a half and returned with a good supply. Besides all kinds of foodstuff I bought a super cute warm-bag with bunnies and a wonderfully soft bed for the cat.
There was a joke as well. In the self checkout section there was a family beside us and the husband said at the last moment: wait, I forgot something, and headed towards the alcohol shelves. It was so funny.. I thought to myself that we had forgotten the same thing but then again thought: ahhh…
So we drove home but what didn’t give me peace was… the alcohol shelves. ??
We unpacked everything, then I petted the cat, but still what doesn’t give me peace… those alcohol shelves ?? hahaaaa
Very normal… we went back to the store and revisited those shelves. I like it when there’s a good supply of everything at home. PS!!! And drinks NEEDN’T ALWAYS BE with alcohol. I like it when there is everything at home, but in our house the non-alcoholic beer is surprisingly popular, also the non-alcoholic champagne, etc. It’s kept me wondering for a long time why they don’t sell six-packs of non-alcoholic beer??? Anyway, we went to the store, we are now well equipped, the mood is good about not letting it be…. So me! ????
Help! Now it’s enough of chatting. Allan will be home any minute, I’ll continue with the chores. Now there will also be a short pause with the blog, since I need to work for a while, too ? If it goes well then next week I will open a rejuvenated OHMYGOSSIP Estonian site!
