Remedy?

Could this be a remedy for my writer’s block? I remember I tried something like this taking a writing class many years ago but this one I got over at Helylle though.

I just get to answer with one word. Here goes:

1. Where is your mobile phone? Desk
2. Your hair? Long
3.Your mother? Caring
4. Your father? Loving
5. Your favourite food? Chocolate
6. Your dream last night? Nightmare
7. Your favourite drink? Wine
8. Your dream/goal? Mixed media artist
9. What room are you in? Home office
10. Your hobby? Crafting
11. Your fear? Loss
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Country house
13. Where were you last night? Bollerup
14. Something that you aren’t? Patient
15. Muffins? YES
16. Wish item? Canon Mark 1
17. Where did you grow up? Malmö
18. Last thing you did? Kissed
19. What are you wearing? Long johns
20. Your TV? Off
21. Your pet? Cat
22. Friends? Vital
23. Your life? Precious
24. Your mood? Reflective
25. Missing someone? Sven
26. Vehicle? Volvo V 40
27. Something you’re not wearing? Hat
28. Your favorite store? Any chocolate store
29. Your favorite color? Black
30. When was the last time you laughed? 10 seconds ago
31. Last time you cried? 1 hour ago
32. Your best friend? Barbro
33. One place that I go to over and over? Österlen
34. One person who emails me regularly? Jonas
35. Favorite place to eat? Seeside
36. Tattoo? Someday
37. Work disciplin? Effective
38. Why do you blog? Sharing
39. Skill you wish you had? Ice skating
40. Favorite trait in others? Humor

Now here is an even better cure for almost everything.......





Savannah Chocolate Cake with Hot Fudge Sauce
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake:
•2 cups brown sugar
•1/2 cup vegetable shortening
•1 cup buttermilk
•1 teaspoon vanilla
•2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
•3 eggs
•2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
•1 teaspoon baking soda
•1/2 teaspoon salt

Hot Fudge Sauce:
•1 (4-ounce) bar German chocolate
•1/2-ounce unsweetened chocolate
•8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
•3 cups powdered sugar
•1 2/3 cups evaporated milk
•1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

To make the cake, cream the brown sugar with the shortening in an electric mixer. Add the buttermilk and vanilla then the melted chocolate. With the mixer running, add eggs, 1 at a time. Sift the flour with the baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the sugar mixture and beat for 2 minutes.

Grease and flour a 13 by 9 by 2-inch rectangular cake pan. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake until the cake is springy and a toothpick can be inserted and removed cleanly, about 40 minutes. Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes then turn it out onto a rack to finish cooling.

To make the sauce: Melt the 2 chocolates with the butter in a saucepan over very low heat. Stir in the powdered sugar, alternating with evaporated milk and blending well. Stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until the mixture becomes thick and creamy, about 8 minutes. Stir in the vanilla. Serve slices of cake topped with warm fudge sauce.

( Recipe and photo from Food network)

Take care
Jeanette

Writers block

Have you ever felt like you have run out of words or have nothing more to say? That has happened to me these past months. Many are the times that I have sat down thinking “now I really must write a post” and then I just sit there staring at the blank page….Strange! It used to if not pour out of me so at least go with a certain ease. Of course I’ve heard of a writers block but at bloggers block? Eh, don’t think so.

My blog has brought me a lot of joy and many new friends and I want it to stay that way. I want my blog writing to feel fun, comfort me or inspire me but lately it have just made me feel stressed. Stress is something I have enough of in my life already without adding more.

So I have decided to take a blogging break!

I will be back I am very sure of that!

Until then…..

Take care
Jeanette

About catching......and failing

Naturally you have all heard about catch a falling star but how about catch a falling leaf? No? Well thats what I have been trying to do all weekend. On film! Not an easy task I can tell you! This is what I managed and it took me about a 100 pics...

When I came home I also tried catch a falling box.....with not so good a result. It hit my head....luckily it was filled with my old feltings so I am not in a coma. I think. I feel sort of woolly though, ha, ha.

Speaking of leafs this is one of the feltings that fell out,one of my very first inspired by autumn!

Take care

Jeanette

The difficulty of asking for help

I have always been rather hard on myself especially when it comes to what I think I ought to manage on my own. Many a times I have put up a brave face saying I’ll manage, don’t bother about me and then silently cried when on my own or panicked thinking someday they will discover what a great big fraud I am. A natural result of this is that I am not very good at asking for help either and this isn’t just work related but also when it comes to my private life. The difference is that when it comes to work I really think that I ought to manage on my own however impossible the task is but when it comes to married life its more in terms of me thinking my husband ought to know I need help (or a hug, or encouragement, or..) without me having to ask for it……you know, like if he doubled as a mind reader or something.

To not become the south of Sweden’s biggest martyr is something I have to fight everyday. I don’t want to be the kind of woman who turns all silent and cold answering her husband’s question of “what’s wrong ” with a “nothing” in a 20 degrees below zero voice and a rigid body language really saying “everything is wrong” you insensitive so and so. It’s not the kind of roll model I want to be to my daughters either.

Today I read in a book that the help and kindness you receive isn’t worth less because you asked for it yourself. Reading it was one of them mind revealing “Ah, I can see the light” moments, an eye-opener because it really was so true. Of course it isn’t worth less, it’s the act of kindness in it self that is worth something not what brought it about.

I suppose that deep down it all has something to do with self esteem or self confidence, a feeling deep in side that you yourself are worth something. Being worth something makes your doings not as important as your “beings” and asking for help doesn’t signal failure.

I made the wet felt with embrodery on the picture above a few weeks back with something else in mind but the message I wrote goes quite well with todays revelation as well.

Hard lessons learnt
about being
and not doing

Brings hope for the future

Being human
A human being
not a human doing


Take care
Jeanette

Wishes come true

My daughter started taking riding lessons at the age of six and ever since then she has wanted a horse of her own. Yesterday, after eleven years her dream came though. My daughter is a natural when it comes to horses don’t know where she gets it from though. Not me I am sure. It was a joy watching them together slowly getting to know each other. He is a real beauty, sweet tempered but very curious.

Is he cute or what?

Hello, who are you?

Even I dare.....a giant leep....for me

Welcome to the family Kalle!
Jeanette

Crayfish party

Do you remember I once wrote a post about crayfish parties? Should think it was about this time last year it being a august tradition thing in Sweden. Well the crayfish party is basically yet another opportunity for the Swedes to drink aquavit and sing obscure songs. We decorate our houses with paper lanterns, eat enormous amounts of crayfish and wear silly hats. And drink aquavit! My family usually celebrate our crayfish parties at my parents house in the country which is nice and isolated for the singing part. This year wasn`t any different but the difference was that I drew a blank and was the one having to do the driving back to town, meaning I had to stick with the singing and loose the aquavit. I had a wonderful time all the same and woke up feeling like a spring flower with my husband looking more like a desert plant and his mood prickly as a cactus!

I usually bring my mother flowers but this year I thought I should try something else so I made a chandelier out of rowanberries and dill. I haven`t done any chandeliers in a while and it was great fun so now I feel inspired to do some more.




Take care
Jeanette

Hazardous part two

Give me some rock music with a good beat and I am one happy driver. So I like to play loud music in my car, you have a problem with that? It’s a free world etcetera, etcetera… Oh, by the way do you remember my Volvo issues ? I saw a great bumper sticker the other day that would be perfect for pimping my Volvo, saying: Insured by Mafia Inc. You hit us and we hit you!

Hilarious!

Anyway, there I was happily driving my car with the youngest riding shot gun and the oldest in the back seat, car stereo on full blast and all of us doing some serious head banging to Nirvanas Rape me when suddenly I see all the cars in front of me changing lane heading for the shoulder. Strange I thought searching for some road block or other further on.
When suddenly……

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONK!

Holy crap!

Looking in my rearview mirror I saw a fire engine so close I swear I could see the firemen laughing at me. Jeez Louise I nearly wet my pants. Did I head for the shoulder? You bet ya! Did I learn something? Not much I am sorry to say. I still think music is best loud on the car stereo. I do look a bit more often in the rearview mirror though and might invest in dipers…..if the accident should occur.

So what do you think? Loud music or not?

Take care
Jeanette