Sick days

Someone once told me that you'll get a cold if you make snow angels, and whilst watching Oomoo do snow angels in the snow (see previous post), I had that very thought, but at the same time thought "What sort of a mother stops her child from making snow angels?!". Well, it was probably just a coincidence, but here we are, almost a week into Oomoo having a nasty cold, cooped up at home, hoping that the household will be cold-free by Christmas. I'm topping myself up with Manuka honey and immune boosting vitamins, trying my hardest not to catch it. In the mean time we wait, for Oomoo to get better, and for Christmas to roll round.

Snow Day

A couple of weeks ago Oomoo wished for some snow, as he was only about three the last time there was a large snow dump in London, and he couldn't quite remember it. Little did we know that just a few days later his wish would come true. We live by a big park with some good hilly parts, so out we rushed with an old sledge to make the most of it. However, the sledge turned out to be a piece of junk, so we ended up using a wax table cloth instead. I remember flying down the hill on one when I was a kid in Stockholm, but then I was about 40 kgs lighter! Never mind :)

Down on the floor

A weekend away

Not long after getting back from the snow we headed to Norfolk to stay with friends again, and got to hang out on the beach and enjoy spring in full swing. Very strange! I know I say this every time we venture outside of London, but man we need to do it more. Life's too short.

Let's Dance

Vemdalen rocks

Sadly I couldn't bring my big camera on the mountain, so when I remembered to I'd whip out my phone to grab some snaps - I didn't get that many, as I was having too much fun. As Easter was late this year there wasn't loads of snow left, but luckily there was enough on the slopes. The first picture is from Jaktstugan, a cabin at the top of a cross country ski run that only sold waffles with cloudberry jam and whipped cream. Just outside the kids could borrow toboggans which was really good fun; I tell you, everything was so relaxed and chilled in Vemdalen. There was free hot chocolate at the foot of some runs, communal barbecue pits where you could cook your own lunch, swings for kids that had had enough of skiing, and in one resort (Björnrike) there was a even little music studio with a drum set and a piano that anyone could have a go on. Genius! The fifth picture is of a cabin from the 1700's that stands on my friends' plot, but I was so dumbstruck by it that I didn't take any pictures from the inside. And lastly, Oomoo and A on day 1, before Oomoo got the hang of skiing on his own. We better hurry back before he forgets how to.

Cabin fever

In another life we might have a cabin of our own, but if we get to go here again I'll be well pleased. What is it about cabins that just feels so good? I'm not sure, but it must be some kind of magic; as soon as we stepped into my friend A's cabin we all instantly relaxed. Is it all that wood? The fireplace? Being surrounded by nature? Or just shutting the door on most of the entrapments of modern life? I dunno. One thing for sure is that I finally got the point of a sauna (I've never enjoyed them in the past - way too hot!) - it was the perfect balm for our aching muscles. So here's hoping our next Easter holiday is sorted then :)

Stockholm randoms 2017

Hej! Didn't mean to have such a long break, but life happens. We went to Sweden over Easter and had the best time (we went skiing - yay - which Oomoo picked up in three days - yay!), and then we got back and Oomoo got ill, and I didn't get to sit down at the computer until now. As usual there's no rhyme or reason to my picture taking, so here are three randoms from Stockholm. More to come!

Kitchen buddy

Whether I'm making dinner or breakfast, Buddy will be there, keeping an eye on everything, making sure I'm doing it right :)

Gallerista

Went to the Photographers Gallery last week to see the Roger Mayne exhibition (which was a bit meh), and ended up going to have a look at the Deutsche Börse Prize nominees  as well and fell in love with Awoiska van der Molens work. Just wonderful! Huge hand printed black and white shots of nature that somehow manage to evoke the sense of being there, hearing the silence. If you're in London, I recommend going to the Photographers Gallery just to have a look at her entry. This shot is from the the Taiyo Onorato/Nico Krebs exhibit, which was a bit disorientating to look at to say the least - haha!

Three statues

Sunday snippets

Nice bit of monochrome in one of the stairwells at the Science Museum yesterday.

We went to see the Robots exhibition which made us all realise how amazing we humans are, rather than the other way round.

This was a huge sculpture in the main museum that I had no time to do more than take a picture of.

Oomoo caught running after our lunch - tut tut.

Strangers on the stairs.

3D "projection kit" from the gift shop. Kind of worked.

On the way to Nana's for Sunday dinner. I was too hungry to take any more pictures. The End.

Down at the Gallery

A couple of weeks ago I watched a great documentary about the National Gallery on DVD, as I was too tired to go out on an art expedition myself. The film is three hours long, with no narrative, no talking heads and no voice over. It felt just as rewarding to watch it as it would have been walking around the gallery in person. I've been there plenty of times, but it was really interesting seeing what happens behind the scenes, especially in the restoration department. Last week I went down to the National Gallery to have a look round again, finding the art that had been featured in the film as well as snapping pics of my fellow visitors. Most large museums and art galleries here have free admission, which is lucky, as it's great to be able to re-visit gems like these over and over again. So maybe I should stop moaning about how crap London is now, eh?