Going with the flow

We were out for dinner last night.

Italian.

I ordered mushroom soup as an entre cause I never prepare anything with mushrooms in it at home (Hasi doesn't like mushrooms at all), so I often take the chance to eat something with mushrooms when we go out...

So when the soup arrived (after more then half'n hour) I was excited.

It was served in a huge bowl made out of bread. It really looked like a soup bowl and even had a lid.

It looked so nice.

Unfortunately I didn't have much time to enjoy that (I couldn't even take a picture with my camera) cause the bread bowl started to leak!

At first it was just one corner... "Hasi looked at me and said " EAT! FAST! "

But then it started leaking all around and I could do nothing about it!

My mouth was all watery and there went my soup!

Within ten seconds it was gone and the plate under the bowl was floated. The dark green paper napkin got all soaked and in my opinion helped prevent the worst.

I went up, went strait into the restaurants kitchen...

"Ursäkta! My soup bowl is leaking!"

The waitress started to run back to the table and started to apologize and then she tried to remove that plate from the table. But the problem was, that it was filled up to the edge and everybody could have guessed what would happen if the plate would be lifted up...

She did it anyways! She tried to take it back to the kitchen like that!

I couldn't believe what I just had witnessed...

After messing up my side of the table and floor with the dripping mushroom soup, she realized that it might be a good idea to get a tray.

Well, you can probably guess the rest of the story.

I did eventually get my soup, in a regular, real bowl. It tasted good and I was happy!

Also with the rest of the evening.

We got home in time to watch the dutch version of Idols and stayed up till around midnight...

But thinking of that soup event last night still puts a smile on my face!

It's been a busy week.

We did a lot at school, that language (swedish) starts to make sense to me, which is nice.

We had to work on our CV, write about our past, educations, work experience and future plans or goals and wishes...

AND I went to a meeting with a company who is searching for female bus drivers!

Yes, they say that they have lots of men working for them but they think that women can do that job so much better for many reasons.

So I have a very good chance to be able to get the bus drivers education, beginning in January, for free.

AND a very good chance to get a job right after that.

Bus driving sounds like fun and I'll definitely give it a try.

I've been thinking about following that career for quite a while now.

I love to drive trucks and I enjoyed working on my last job in Austria, but dealing with all those heavy pallets I had to move around and transport, was hard on my body.

Another big plus with this whole bus drivers thing is, that I will be able to work on different places in Sweden, in case we keep moving around like this. :)) *lol*

They wouldn't mind and promised they would have a job for me in every city in Sweden and even in France, if I would decide to move there... *lol*

Why on earth would I want to go to France??!!

I like it here and so does my small family.

Anyways, I'll have a personal meeting this next week and then I'll know more...

*excited*

We'll make no plans though for the future, no big ones anyways.

We'll just go with the flow and see what opens up for us.

It's kinda fun to do that, although it's a bit scary at times.

We tend to think we must plan everything, we must have perspectives, plans, goals and that security feeling.

And yes, to a degree we do, because we are human.

But do we need all of that?

We have been given this (more or less) intelligent brain, that remembers so much and tries to dictate our lives every single moment.

It gets a life of it's own sometimes and makes up all kind of scenarios, doesn't it.

I have to admit that I had times in my life where that brain of mine got very close to driving me crazy.

Things have changed and so have I, thank goodness!

I keep wondering how life would be like, if we would sell pretty much all of our possessions and live a more simple life somewhere or on the road even. Maybe just for a couple of months, or a couple of years...

I don't know, sometimes that idea is very appealing to me, sometimes it's not.

But I'll definitely try to get more comfortable in going with that flow that is called life, or destiny.

Some call it life plan. Some think it is the plan they make for themselves. Some think it is made for us long before we are born.

But frankly, I don't care if there is a plan or not, I'll keep working on my independence of that brain of mine, of this doubt and fear factory in my head.

I'll keep working on being present with a smile on my face.

I know I'll get many smiles back for it!

:))

Have a fantastic NOW-MOMENT everyone!

Busy Week

We have a busy week, so not much time for writing...

I'll be posting a photo here and there though...

Today it's

SWEET CLEO

I edited this in Photoshop.

Here's the original SOOC (straight out of camera)

:)

Cool! Another Award! :)

THANK YOU

JENNIFER from

JENNIFER PHOTOGRAPHY

for this nice award!!!

I am really honored by receiving this award AND I am extra glad that it comes with just one instruction... that is to pass it on to 15 Bloggers.

Unfortunately I really don't have the time to choose 15 Bloggers, put links here and so on and on....

I'm really sorry BUT I will offer this Award to anyone who visits mine instead!

How does that sound?

So, feel free to take this award if you like...!

;-)

Gotta go....

Thanks again Jennifer!

:)

Chickadee Feeding - Please visit a friends blog!

Today's Recommendation:

For ALL BIRD LOVERS...!

I have just visited a friends Blog - Visit them too to see photos of

gorgeous Chickadees who are best friends with their human neighbors...

VISIT

Every Day Life In The Northern Yukon Wilderness

:))

Sunday tales

It was raining this morning when I got up.

I went into the kitchen to take Mika's breakfast out of the fridge and turn on the coffee machine.

I looked out of the window and saw a bird sitting on one of the huge birches in our yard.

It was a falcon and looked pretty miserable and wet. He was probably hoping to see and hunt for a mouse, they are living under the leaves along the fence line.

But after a little while he left for the Naturreservat across the street...

He was a cute little fella and it was nice to wake up to such a beautiful sight.

I gave Mika his breakfast (he's always having access to dry cat food, but he also gets special treats every morning and evening...) and made coffee.

Missy came into the kitchen to say Good Morning and to let me know that she was ready to go outside and so I let her out the back door.

I made some sandwiches and started up my laptop.

There were some messages from friends and I was glad to have some time to catch up on the news and blogs.

It was very quiet in the house, I could only hear the water running down the gutter.

Time flies and it was almost noon when Cleo decided to take us out for a walk! It had stopped raining and the walk was quite nice.

A lot of birds were out looking for food and some of them were just singing for us, it seemed.

They gave their best to entertain us on our walk and let us forget the noisiness that comes from the highway nearby.

I took following photo on a walk two days ago when the sun was out and breaking through the branches in the woods.

Yesterday I decided to widen the layout of my photo blog justamomentpixels to be able to post larger images so I can show them to their best advantage.

I did the same adjustment to this blog now, hope you like it.

Here are a couple of new photographs from several walks we took this past week...

Some leaves are still green, but on the ground

Islandic horses taking a nap in the sun.

Fresh green between lots of grey.

The small ferry to Ivö Island a bit north of here.

Fly agaric

Chippy in the tree.

Metal on stump.

It's almost 3pm now and we lit some candles.

Ice speed skating is on this weekend and Hasi is watching. Always. :)

It's time to play with our little man, he's full of energy and needs some attention. I really hope we'll get some sun again next week so he can go out and play in the yard too.

:))

Psssst! I'm not here!

On yesterday's walk Cleo got to chase a couple of squirrels up their trees.

Well, Cleo had to give up of course, right there at the base of the trees.

One of the chippies decided to play invisible (without wearing Harry Potters invisibility cape) just a few meters above the ground where Cleo was sitting barking her heart out!

It didn't move, not a bit, hoping that would be the best way to "escape" this scary situation... (or reality??) *lol*

It's tail was all fluffed up, eyes and ears all alert.

We called Cleo back on track and moved on.

I turned around and the squirrel was way up in safety...

Time for bed now, nighty nighty!

:))

Eyes

First I want to post a shot of the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen...

Mika is growing, not just in size, also in personality.

He's a good teacher and helps reveal new details about myself ever day.

It's interesting how we are able to build up relationships with animals, how rewarding it is to have them in your life.

But do we always realize that, do we take the time to just sit there and BE with them...

Do we even realize what it is they "do to us"?

What happens when we are JUST SITTING there watching them, or touching them?

Are we able to just BE THERE, without thinking of something else, about the chores we have to take care of, the erin s we have to run, the bills we have to pay or all the other things we worry about every day...

It's a gift of life when souls get to touch each other, we are all connected and just need to allow ourselves to open up to the flow.

Time for a walk in the sun!

:))

Stormy evening

The wind is smashing against the house and trees around, driving the raindrops almost horizontal trough the air, smashing them against the windows.

It's loud outside.

Storm.

Herbst

Fall

Höst

It's so loud outside!

We just read online that the bridge between Malmö (Sweden) and Kopenhagen (Denmark) is closed for traffic. The wind apparently blew over a huge truck...

Thay say it will be over again soon. Then we might get some nicer weather for a couple of days.

Some more sunshine would be nice.

The candles on the chimney are still, they don't feel the wind.

The ears of Mika are alert, even though he seems to be asleep.

I am not afraid, I know I am safe here but it is impressive to hear natures almightiness.

:)

Comment on a friends Blog

Yesterday I visited a good friends Blog.

She brought up a question that stayed in my mind all evening and this morning I took the time to share my thoughts with her and her readers.

You can read MJ's complete post and other comments HERE

and I will post my comment here on my blog as well.

MJ's question was...

"How much do you leave up to fate in regards to what your future holds for you?"

Here's what I think...

Good question MJ!

I was always impressed by people who had big goals and who were driven enough to pursue them. But I wonder how many of them live such a happy and exciting life I get to live.
I never had big goals, I never had "drive", I always had dreams though.
Still have. Some of them became true (like visiting the US and making great friends for example!) and some I keep working on.
I guess it has to do with the way I grew up (or maybe it's in my genes).
Growing up under these circumstances (you (MJ) know some of what I mean) made me live a "numb" life for a long time.
My parents didn't have goals, no one around me had I guess.
I would remember if they did. I know they had dreams, that's for sure.

I left a lot in my life to fate. I didn't know anything else.
Later, in my mid, late 20s I started to awake into a new dimension of my life, I started to discover who I was (still am every single day) and what I wanted for me to happen.
I did have short time goals which some of them I was able to achieve.
I had goals for my future.
With those also came fears for the future... not so nice. "What if I cannot get there" + "What if I fail?"...

It's been a long journey with lots of ups and downs.
Now, I will be turning 40 in little more then a year, I realize more and more that certain goals are a good thing, but they can also be an obstacle.
An obstacle into the NOW.
(I really like Val's thoughts on this subject!! )
I realize every single day, that if we don't live NOW, in this every moment, we don't live.
Of course I keep thinking of what I can do to keep the family and myself fed and warm, but only because I have to. It's a natural, we all have to do that.

I also think that the definition of a "goal" changes with aging.

(BTW: I wonder if the therm "goal" is something that attracts our EGO and if the therm "dream" is connected to our real ME's...)

When we are young, all we focus on is education, making money and finding our dream job.
Too often we get misled by thinking "success and money leads us to a happy life"...
As some of us get older we change and with it our way of thinking.
We get wiser and most of us have learned what it means to have success, to fail, to gain and to have lost.
For me I seem to have just one REAL goal left in life, and that is to grow spiritually.
I want to be able to stay present in all those situations I haven't been in the past.
I want to be able to be present, so I will not fall back into old patterns that didn't get me anywhere before and certainly will not get me anywhere now.
I KNOW that that's the only path that is paved with true happiness. I think of FATE to be my friend.
And every opportunity that will open up for me in the future I see as a gift.
I don't want to live in the future by setting goals, because my future does not exist yet.
So a goal is just something in my imagination.
Another question is, will I be happy when I reach my goal? Happier then I am now?
Well, one thing is for sure... when I meet one of those great opportunities ("the bull") that benefit me in some way, I will "take the bull by the horn" and make the best out of it.

As gtyyup said, "sometimes we wonder if the choices we make are right..........but then we love it here and don't want to be anywhere else."

♥ Micky

New friends - Missy and Mika

There they are...

Missy and Mika

I wouldn't call them buddies yet, but there is definitely growing a nice friendship.

Exploring the garden together - 4 ears see more then 2 - 4 ears hear more then 2 too!

Mika loves to see himself in the "mirror"!

Missy is always on guard!

♥

Walk to the beach south of Åhus

We went grocery shopping to Åhus today, about 15 min south of here.

We could have done our shopping here in the village, just a mile down the road, but then Cleo wouldn't have had the chance to go to the beach.

She loves the beach.

Not for the same reasons we do i suppose.

She loves the beach because of the soft sand under her paws AND cause of all the exciting sniffs she can get there.

:)

It was not so cold walking through the woods towards the beach, we could hear the surf, the wind must be strong today we figured.

Not so in the tree-covered dunes.

It was a nice walk.

Someone seems to have dumped his old gym machine right there in the woods...

Ingrid spotted her first. She just said... Look! There!

I aimed my lens at her and "klick, klick klick"

The deer stayed there long enough for me to take 3 pictures.

One was even sharp enough to do a good crop.

That's why we didn't stay long at the beach. Visibility wasn't too good and it was cold.

I really miss the sun, not only because of the warmth she puts on our skin, also because there are no "sunny spots" and no "shadows", and the colors are kinda dull.

I have to admit, it's much easier to find good photo opportunities when the sun is out and the light is right.

But I also love the challenge, your eye has to be alerter and you have to work so much harder to get a nice shot.

Cycle of life... decay and new live in form of green and white moss.

Almost fools you into thinking it's snow.

The dunes and trees.

Found some color after all... :))

♥

Paths we have not wondered before

Good morning!

Well, thanks to all of you who have commented on previous posts!

It's always nice to get your opinions and "hellos"! :)

We'll move again in spring, and we'll stay in Sweden. That is for sure cause we like it here.

There are several reasons why we move again (sooner then planned), but I won't dive into that now.

We are looking for a new home and friends are helping us with that.

Since we decided to "drop" the whole "horse business", new opportunities are opening up for us.

That's how it is when you close one door.

There's always another door that opens up for you.

And it's true, we are "standing in front of many doors", some are closed, some are open a little bit and we can almost see what's on the other side, but just almost.

We can get a taste of what's on the other side, but we still have to take the door knob and really open it.

Well, I'm sure you get the idea *lol*

I am still not giving up on the idea of working with horses, or have some kind of life with horses.

It's just that for NOW the focus is on PATHS we HAVE NOT wondered before.

I am checking out possibilities to get into the bus drivers training.

Right now my focus lays on learning the swedish language well enough to be able to do that training and get my license.

Maybe it will happen, maybe not.

I was never one of those people who just set a goal and went for it.

I just know that too much things can happen and something else, interesting, could show up on the way.

So, stay tuned for updates on our new (old) journey!

The interview yesterday was cool.

I am a little proud of myself because I understood most of what the lady said and asked.

I was also able to communicate/answer quite some in swedish, for the rest we had the help of a interpreter.

Our teacher is sick again, second time this week.

He might have caught the swine flu...

I got my invitation to get vaccinated yesterday.

In sweden everyone has the right to get the vaccine, everyone can choose for him or herself to do it or not.

I think I won't take it since my immune system seems to be up and strong.

I keep hearing that there are so many side affects...

I'll just try to be careful, avoid big crowds and wash my hands often and .

We did have SOME sun yesterday and took the chance to go out with little Mika.

He loves to "catch" leaves and sneak up on Cleo.

He's becoming so handsome, his face is changing really fast.

I love his eyes when the sun hits them.

They light up in the most beautiful green and blue.

It's time to get dressed and get out to do some grocery shopping.

We'll have friends visiting for lunch today and I have little more then 3 hours left..

I better get going!

Have a fantastic friday everyone!!!

:))

Patience - what is that?

I'ts early and I should be getting ready for school.

I'll be interviewed today by the swedish "Skolinspektion".

Many students throughout the country will be within the next few weeks.

They want to know (from the students) how they can improve the SFI school system, (svensk för invandrare) so that people like me learn swedish faster and better while it costs less money for the government.

I have been thinking about our next move a lot these days.

Too much.

I just don't seem to be able to find patience in that.

I have to.

Otherwise I will not be able to enjoy the journey.

I guess it will help to get back to some of Eckhart Tolles teachings...

It's the journey that matters.

I cannot know and predict how future will BE.

I want to be open for new adventures.

But I also want to be open for what is right in front of me. NOW.

I guess it's a good time to meditate some more again!

I gotta pack my bag now...

Wish you all a wonderful day out there!

:))

Growing up

Our little Mika is growing and growing.

He's a big boy now!

*proud* !!

He likes to spend time at the PC desk, right next to the printer, UNDER THE LAMP!

I am sure he's not doing it to get a tan... he likes the warmth. :)

Our other cat, Missy, seems to have overcome her "little cat" phobia and is participating on family life again.

She did spend the last months mostly upstairs, inhabiting the three bedrooms and upper hall.

It all started after she got attacked by other cats on one of her trips through the garden. She was really traumatized and on top of it all we decided to adopt a very young kitten...

Missy lost her brother last year, not too long before we moved to Sweden. He had a heart condition and had to be put to sleep.

We feel that "loosing" her friend Barry a couple of months ago didn't "help" either.

She really seemed to miss him...

Well, we are very happy that she seems to be over all of this and that she is building up a friendship with little Mika.

She was really shy in the beginning, but Mika is winning her heart with his juvenile charm and playful persistence.

:))

Hope to get a decent shot of them toghether soon...

It's time for Mika's evening treat... let's see if he likes shrimp!

Yammie!

Good night world! :))

Glass Moose

Tuesday morning.

I got to sleep a bit longer.

I don't have to go to school today. :)

Its raining and we haven't seen much sunshine lately.

But life is good anyways and we are brainstorming about the future.

We'll move again in a couple of months and that is exciting.

I won't say this when we have to pack all our stuff AGAIN, but for the rest it is exciting. :)

Can't wait to get going - my patience will be tested once more...

;-)

I took this picture a couple of days ago, this glass moose is sitting on our chimney piece and when we light the candles right next to it, it looks really nice.

When uploading images to blogger, the colors change sometimes and I don't know why.

In reality the light is much more golden and crisp.

This looks a bit pale now... sorry about that.

Have a great day everyone!

:))

Introduction to my new "Photo ONLY" blog

I have not been very creative with my camera lately.

I really need a new motivator to go out and do more!

Thats why I set up a new blog... click on the link or, if that doesn't take you to my new blog, copy and paste the address in your browser... ;-)

http://justamomentpixels.blogspot.com

It would make me happy if you all would come and visit me there too!

:))

Have a great week everyone!!!

xxxMichaela

Sunday walk II

Monday morning it is.

Still dark outside.

Quiet.

Me...like! :)

Here's part two of our Sunday walk. Enjoy!

:))

Krukmakeri / Töpferei / Pottery

On our Sunday walk yesterday, we passed some very old, but well taken care of buildings.

They turned out to belong to a "Krukmakeri". A Pottery.

During Summer is it possible to take a look inside and see how pottery was done in "the older days".

Now, during wintertime, the museum is closed. So we took a peek through the windows to get a glimpse of what's inside.

We saw tools, a "baking" oven, very simple furniture, raw-fired pots, tiles for masonry heaters/tiled ovens and a very simple, natural stone floor.

It's amazing how "far" we have come.

I mean, when you see how people used to live in those days, what they were able to achieve.

They produced such amazing things with simple methods and mostly with their bare hands.

How long did it take those people to groove those HUGE millstones... all by hand!

I think we found at least 5 of those millstones with a diameter of 1,5 meters.

HUGE

The baking oven is sticking out of the house...

The second building doesn't have big windows, it was too dark inside so we weren't able to find out what purpose it used to have...

It's been a good Sunday.

A new week is ahead of us.

Looking forward to new adventures!

:))

*

Sunday walk

Even though the weather is not very inviting for walks right now, with positive attitude and the camera around your neck it can be very rewarding.

BÄH! :))

:))

Helping MAC Lover

Mika loves to sit on the Mac and play with the Keybord...

Glad I found the keyboard shortcut to turn it off... ;-)

He would probably try to post here himself....

:))

*

Already!

I already miss green and yellow!

It's getting greyish outside.

Winter is just around the corner.....

It's time to get into "winter modus"...

That's how my Hasi calls it.

Slowing down a bit, taking more "real" time for family and friends.

AND for yourself.

Time to sit down and breath.

Time to meditate.

Time to go deeper.

Time to leave summers fast lane and merge to the slow lane.

Time to let others pass if they really think they need to...

Time to get comfortable with those greyish colors.

Time to get the snow shovel out and ready!

Time to get the snow tires on your car. Really!

Time to get the bird feeders out and filled up!

.

.

.

.

So many things to do and to think of...

... but not now.

Now I will get really comfortable on the sofa, cover myself with a very soft blanket and don't think of anything!!!

I will close my eyes and think of green and yellow...

I will think of that wonderful little sunflower in that image....

♥

PS:

H A P P Y

B I R T H D A Y

MAMA

!!!!! ♥

♥