I received two envelopes from Sweden the other day.
The first one I saw came from dear Elisabeth.
She has her own blog postcard with those two knitted bears.
Inside was a delightful threesome of Moomin postcards.
There's Toffle and Miffle in a gondola ...
And some Hemulens ...
And sweet Moomin talking to sad Mymble.
And, I was shocked! A Moomin dishcloth?
WHO WASHES THEIR DISHES WITH A PASTEL PINK SPONGE WITH MOOMINTROLL AND SNORKMAIDEN!?
Elisabeth, I cannot use that to clean the muck generated by my four children! I'll frame it along with the cards ... I may give them to Australia's Youngest Emo, as I am planning to revamp her bedroom.
The second thing, sort-of from Sweden, is the Ikea Family magazine ... it's really just a multi-paged ad for Ikea. But I love it. Look at that lass, half my age, wearing that funky jacket that I'd love to wear to a job interview just to stick-it-to-the-man.
The old quilt. She says this one is 184 squares large. I currently have 108 squares raring to go.
She has a Blythe doll. Blythes are really growing on me, and maybe perfect for Australia's Youngest Emo's next birthday ... these are my favourite Brisbane Blythes.
I won't show this bloke to Child 2 ... I'm worried Child 2 will adopt his sartorial look and strangely hirsute direction ... "Get off the swing, Child 2! And shave properly."
Look Bloggers! One day we could be in a magazine!
There are some boys' shorts made from Ikea fabric. I do that.
As a Swedish-themed diversion, I had my first encounter with Sweden around the time of Mother's Day 1977 when my father took me to Woolworths and he said I could choose Mum's Mother's Day present.
So, I chose Abba's recently released Abba/Arrival LP, strongly suspecting that my mother wouldn't too thrilled to receive it. And you know, she wasn't. So Abba/Arrival was kindly handed back to my sweaty little disco dancing paws!
Look how colourful that jacket is!! Those lawyers wouldn't know what to do if you rocked up to an interview in that. You'd be the most remembered amongst the pinstripes though. xx
ReplyDeleteWhat fab goodies. If I had a dollar for every time I said how much I love ikea I'd be a rich girl. Those stuffy lawyer types would talk about you for years if you wore that jacket. How cool!
ReplyDeleteYour affinity with Sweden is truly multi-faceted. Have you discovered Lykke Li? She's my new obsession -- a wonderful Swedish indie singer. 'Sadness is a blessing', 'Youth knows no pain' -- but wonderful pop songs too that are great for singing along to in the car at the top of your voice.
ReplyDeleteBlythes scare me. No wait, I have mixed emotions. I kind of like them because I have a large head too, so I can relate. But my body is not that skinny, so I hate them. They have a suspicious look in their eyes, like they know something and they won't tell.
ReplyDeleteMOOMIN DISHCLOTH!!!!!! It's a murder!!
Is that jacket made from the curtain fabric? That's very Von Trapp. Did you order the Ikea Family catalogue directly from Sweden? I've been trying to get my grubbies on one. The first album I bought myself, probably the same year, was The Best of Abba! (We have the same phone.)
ReplyDeleteLoving the Ikea magazine. Also the Abba mention. We are big fans of Abba on The Farm.
ReplyDeleteTake care.
x
those rooms are so fab...or dreamy with color, I should say. I'm so sick of snow....ick,yuck now its all brown dirty or yellow...It's slowly melting...have a super bright day!
ReplyDeleteLucky girl! I love that Ikea catalogue. And the Moomins. I'm still pondering the Blythe dolls. Our blogs should all be published in a magazine. Let's all wear one of those jackets and stick it to the man.
ReplyDeleteSneaky Mother's day gift. Go MMMC!
Okay I checked out your Brisbane Blythe cuties and I do like them. The only ones I've seen before are dressed up like Goth gals. They scared me.
ReplyDeleteI dare you to wear that to your interview...no, triple dog dare ya!
ReplyDeletehow bout a nice tailored liberty print blazer?!
I laughed so hard at your previous post with the morose models and their duds.
Whatever you do, please don't ever change! law degree or not. :) Stick it in style!!!!
xo
I keep thinking about your toys that don´t work. You make me laugh :) I´m impressed by your effort :)
ReplyDeleteI´ve realised it´s not easy to fool a two-year old. He has told me once already "you don´t have to do that again, I know it´s you"...
Good luck in your job search! And may you find the perfect outfit.
L.
Dear Carmel,
ReplyDeletewhat a gift from lovely Elisabeth, so nice. You lucky duck!
And I even like IKEA and ABBA very much. In Germany we have another swedish institution: H&M, means Hennes&Mauritz where you can find clothes in modern colours and design...sometimes shirts with flowers on...
x Ariane.
I love anything Swedish, or from Europe really ... love those postcards! And good work scoring abba back!
ReplyDeleteLovely, thoughtful gifts :)
My Dad was a bit of a groover and bought his own Abba record. We all played it till it died of deep groove thrombosis. I never really got it but danced along at parties and weddings. I didn't bother with Mama-mia and associated Abbysteria either. It is ironic that I now find myself subjected to the mental anguish of peeling potatoes to the endlessly repetitive "Money, Money, Money" as executed by an obsessive 10 year old and Book 1: Series 2, Piano to have a tiny breakdown to.
ReplyDeleteBrismod,
ReplyDeleteone day I'll get something like that made!
SarahB,
I really feel for you Tasmanians not having Ikea on your isle. It really is a necessity.
Jane H,
Lykke Li, hey? I'll YouTube her.
Bobbi,
you know you can customise Blythes. You could make one look more like you ... she could own s Blythe clothing shoppe.
Zigsma,
we have a lot of things the same. Spooky. I think I joined the 'Ikea Family' via the website ... or Ikea adopted me at an orphanage. I'm not sure what happened, but I have a plastic card that says 'Ikea Family' and I get privileges like Ikea advertising in the form of a glossy mag.
AFW,
our family anthem is 'Super Trouper'. We don't listen to it often, but when one or more of us in is the need for some pointing towards the ceiling, we'll crank up Abba. All farms need a bit of Eurovision inspired pop.
Heidi,
Spring will come.
Deb,
Blythes can be quite innocent ... Australia's Youngest Emo wants a vampire Blythe which she'll never get.
Milady,
you'd be a shocker at a slumber party ... triple dog dare! Upping the stakes!
L, sounds like Tiny brought you back to earth ... it can be a bit humiliating, can't it?
Ariane,
I think we have some H&M hand-me-downs from various people. I always wondered where they came from ... possibly England or Ireland as well? And the clothing has always been quite groovy.
Emma,
it was a nice gift from a very talented and lovely swedish lady.
Annie,
too funny. Too funny.
Devious ABBA girl.
ReplyDeleteI love it when you hype Sweden like this. I still think you should come here. We have a lot of Moomin stuff in the shops and Moomin dishcloths is a totally natural part of life. There are pastel blue ones too. The sad thing is that they seem to have stopped producing those lovely Moomin biscuits I had planned to send you. You'll have to imagine the sweetness of them.
ReplyDeleteAbba Arrival was one of my first albums :-) I love that jacket too - would go down well in the government department I work in!
ReplyDelete