Monday, January 23, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Soft kitty, warm kitty...
I can't get Sheldon's (from Big Bang Theory) Soft kitty, warm kitty song out of my head when I look at this picture of Etta from Wednesday night.
Soft kitty,
warm kitty,
little ball of fur.
Happy kitty,
sleepy kitty,
purr, purr, purr.
Yesterday was a momentous day: in addition to being a back cat,
she also became a lap cat!
And today was a momentous day in other ways: Etta finally ate! Not a huge amount but enough to make us both really, really happy. Of course, it wasn't the good quality stuff that came in her care package, oh no, it was the over-the-counter crack from the convenience store - Fancy Feast medley! At this point, I'm just happy she ate something. I'll take it one day at a time since it's the first food she hasn't tried to bury.
Ps. You will never get the Soft kitty, warm kitty song out of your head now.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Welcome, Etta J!
Please welcome Etta J!
As of yesterday, my little family doubled in size when she came to live with me. Etta was born in September 2010 to Norman and Zoey, at Shorlyne's Tonkinese. She's a platinum solid Tonkinese. Although I knew in October I was ready for another fur-friend, I didn't want to bring her home until I came back from Sweden.
Etta was very vocal during the car ride home from Kingston, and she was pretty nervous and scared. She hid for a few hours behind a bookcase as soon as we got home, but she is a super friendly cat, and would tentatively come out for a visit when we would take a peek at her. She was very busy all night, finally coming out of the bedroom and investigating the rest of the house.
She's still very nervous and jumpy, but very friendly and not hiding. When we went out for brunch this morning, she took advantage of our being gone to have a cozy nap under the duvet. She was pretty tired as she hadn't slept yet. By this afternoon she was a bit rested and played a bit, and did a little stalking!
She is a big climber, and very active. She really wants to get to the top of the front closet and sandwiched herself between the folding doors, so that's maybe an Etta-free zone until I can figure out if she can do that safely. Hopefully she'll lose interest in the skylights!
She has had some water, and used her litter box, but she hasn't eaten much other than a small handful of treats, so I hope she'll find her appetite soon.
Etta is a really lovely and sweet cat, she's absolutely stunning and very affectionate already. I'm so glad she's come to be a family with me
More pics of Etta are on Flickr!
As of yesterday, my little family doubled in size when she came to live with me. Etta was born in September 2010 to Norman and Zoey, at Shorlyne's Tonkinese. She's a platinum solid Tonkinese. Although I knew in October I was ready for another fur-friend, I didn't want to bring her home until I came back from Sweden.
Etta was very vocal during the car ride home from Kingston, and she was pretty nervous and scared. She hid for a few hours behind a bookcase as soon as we got home, but she is a super friendly cat, and would tentatively come out for a visit when we would take a peek at her. She was very busy all night, finally coming out of the bedroom and investigating the rest of the house.
She's still very nervous and jumpy, but very friendly and not hiding. When we went out for brunch this morning, she took advantage of our being gone to have a cozy nap under the duvet. She was pretty tired as she hadn't slept yet. By this afternoon she was a bit rested and played a bit, and did a little stalking!
She is a big climber, and very active. She really wants to get to the top of the front closet and sandwiched herself between the folding doors, so that's maybe an Etta-free zone until I can figure out if she can do that safely. Hopefully she'll lose interest in the skylights!
She has had some water, and used her litter box, but she hasn't eaten much other than a small handful of treats, so I hope she'll find her appetite soon.
Etta is a really lovely and sweet cat, she's absolutely stunning and very affectionate already. I'm so glad she's come to be a family with me
More pics of Etta are on Flickr!
Monday, January 09, 2012
...And back again
We arrived back in Canada safe and sound on Friday night after a train ride to Copenhagen and 9-hour flight back. We did a little damage at the duty free shop in Copenhagen...can you tell what our individual vices are?
After a little issue in customs (completely unrelated to the above shopping at the duty free!), we were in the limo and on our way home. After seeing the sun so little this trip, I was delighted to experience this beautiful sunset on the way home!
It was a nice welcome home, although I will miss Sweden and the lovely people I met!
After a little issue in customs (completely unrelated to the above shopping at the duty free!), we were in the limo and on our way home. After seeing the sun so little this trip, I was delighted to experience this beautiful sunset on the way home!
It was a nice welcome home, although I will miss Sweden and the lovely people I met!
Sunday, January 08, 2012
Ice Hotel, Jukkasjärvi - Part Two
It's been almost a week since I visited the Ice Hotel, but part two is finally here. I almost don't know what to say. It was an incredible experience to visit the Ice Hotel and to see and experience this in-person. The pictures are beautiful but they just doesn't capture how it feels to stand in the hotel and witness the beauty of the ice, snow and lights.
I have always loved snow culture, and been infatuated with "northern" things like snow, icebergs, etc. I remember wanting to visit the Arctic Circle when I was a kid, loving the Lawren Harris paintings of the north, wanting to take a trip to Alaska to see the icebergs or go to Greenland, Iceland or Norway to see the fjords. At some point my interest in/fascination with Norway morphed to Sweden, possibly because I was attracted to the art of Carl Larsson, started reading a lot of Swedish fiction (Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, Henning Mankell, Helene Tursten, Camilla Läckberg, Åsa Larsson and Stieg Larsson) and my interest tvåändsstickning (two-ended or twined) knitting. My interest in Sweden grew, so to come to Sweden was a dream come true. I knew that if I didn't visit the Ice Hotel while I was in Sweden, I would kick my own arse, so I made decided to visit for one day.
The Ice Hotel has a large reception area, a bar and lounge area, a chapel, and cold accommodation - all built of snow and ice. There is also more traditional hotel environments, including warm accommodation in chalets. The cold accommodation is more expensive than warm accommodation, and is an experience. There are different types of rooms - art rooms designed by different artists, featuring a unique bed and other furniture and decor; ice rooms featuring a large bed, two arm chairs and a small table and sculpture; and snow rooms featuring a large bed that could sleep probably four people. The rooms are accessed behind the reception area, and there are about six corridors that lead off from the great hall. The rooms are along the corridors, and each room has only a reindeer skin curtain as a door. Guests in the cold accommodation leave all their valuables and whatnot in a warm dressing room, and sleep in a thermal sleeping bag on a reindeer skin. The rooms are kept at -5 degrees Celsius. The rooms are available to be viewed by the public between 10 am and 6 pm daily, so you don't get to hang out for a long time in the rooms...but I am not sure you would want to! The rooms are cold and the beds look hard! I also found that smell of the reindeer skins pretty overpowering, even at -5.
I had a lovely room in a warm chalet, a blissful 23 degrees with all the amenities. I'm glad the cold accommodation wasn't available for the time period I booked, because I probably would have stayed in an ice room if I could but I probably had a better experience staying in a warm room! I am the person who sleeps with 4 blankets, including one heating blanket cranked to the maximum...let's be honest -- I would have been miserable in an ice room!
The ice hotel itself is stunning, and it is an incredible experience. I only stayed a day but if I had stayed longer, I could have signed up for some of the many activities that they organize, like dog sledding, snowmobile rides or ice sculpting. I had hoped to be able to take the Northern Lights tour but it was too hazy to see the norther lights the day I was there.
The other thing about going to the Ice Hotel is that you are about 145 km north of the Arctic Circle, which means in the winter there is a month when the sun never rises. When I was there, the "sun" "rose" from about 11:30 to 12:30 each day. I say "sun" and "rose" because you never actually see the sun rise, the day is just lighter than pitch black. It's quite disconcerting to be doing day things in the pitch black. It was totally fine for one day, but I'm not sure how I'd feel about much longer!
The Ice Hotel is located in the small town of Jukkasjärvi, which is about 17 km away from Kiruna, the airport that you fly into. I took an Ice Hotel bus transfer to get to the hotel (although you can book a private taxi, snowmobile or dog sled!). While I was at the Ice Hotel, I also walked around Jukkasjärvi village a bit, checking out the pretty houses, the Nutti Sámi Siida museum and reindeer camp, and the local church.
It was an awesome experience to visit Jukkasjärvi and the Ice Hotel! I'm not sure I would do it again, but I am so glad I did it this trip! I got to see a different side of Sweden than I saw in Skåne, the southern part of Sweden, where I spent most of my trip.
I have always loved snow culture, and been infatuated with "northern" things like snow, icebergs, etc. I remember wanting to visit the Arctic Circle when I was a kid, loving the Lawren Harris paintings of the north, wanting to take a trip to Alaska to see the icebergs or go to Greenland, Iceland or Norway to see the fjords. At some point my interest in/fascination with Norway morphed to Sweden, possibly because I was attracted to the art of Carl Larsson, started reading a lot of Swedish fiction (Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, Henning Mankell, Helene Tursten, Camilla Läckberg, Åsa Larsson and Stieg Larsson) and my interest tvåändsstickning (two-ended or twined) knitting. My interest in Sweden grew, so to come to Sweden was a dream come true. I knew that if I didn't visit the Ice Hotel while I was in Sweden, I would kick my own arse, so I made decided to visit for one day.
The Ice Hotel has a large reception area, a bar and lounge area, a chapel, and cold accommodation - all built of snow and ice. There is also more traditional hotel environments, including warm accommodation in chalets. The cold accommodation is more expensive than warm accommodation, and is an experience. There are different types of rooms - art rooms designed by different artists, featuring a unique bed and other furniture and decor; ice rooms featuring a large bed, two arm chairs and a small table and sculpture; and snow rooms featuring a large bed that could sleep probably four people. The rooms are accessed behind the reception area, and there are about six corridors that lead off from the great hall. The rooms are along the corridors, and each room has only a reindeer skin curtain as a door. Guests in the cold accommodation leave all their valuables and whatnot in a warm dressing room, and sleep in a thermal sleeping bag on a reindeer skin. The rooms are kept at -5 degrees Celsius. The rooms are available to be viewed by the public between 10 am and 6 pm daily, so you don't get to hang out for a long time in the rooms...but I am not sure you would want to! The rooms are cold and the beds look hard! I also found that smell of the reindeer skins pretty overpowering, even at -5.
I had a lovely room in a warm chalet, a blissful 23 degrees with all the amenities. I'm glad the cold accommodation wasn't available for the time period I booked, because I probably would have stayed in an ice room if I could but I probably had a better experience staying in a warm room! I am the person who sleeps with 4 blankets, including one heating blanket cranked to the maximum...let's be honest -- I would have been miserable in an ice room!
The ice hotel itself is stunning, and it is an incredible experience. I only stayed a day but if I had stayed longer, I could have signed up for some of the many activities that they organize, like dog sledding, snowmobile rides or ice sculpting. I had hoped to be able to take the Northern Lights tour but it was too hazy to see the norther lights the day I was there.
The other thing about going to the Ice Hotel is that you are about 145 km north of the Arctic Circle, which means in the winter there is a month when the sun never rises. When I was there, the "sun" "rose" from about 11:30 to 12:30 each day. I say "sun" and "rose" because you never actually see the sun rise, the day is just lighter than pitch black. It's quite disconcerting to be doing day things in the pitch black. It was totally fine for one day, but I'm not sure how I'd feel about much longer!
The Ice Hotel is located in the small town of Jukkasjärvi, which is about 17 km away from Kiruna, the airport that you fly into. I took an Ice Hotel bus transfer to get to the hotel (although you can book a private taxi, snowmobile or dog sled!). While I was at the Ice Hotel, I also walked around Jukkasjärvi village a bit, checking out the pretty houses, the Nutti Sámi Siida museum and reindeer camp, and the local church.
It was an awesome experience to visit Jukkasjärvi and the Ice Hotel! I'm not sure I would do it again, but I am so glad I did it this trip! I got to see a different side of Sweden than I saw in Skåne, the southern part of Sweden, where I spent most of my trip.
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
Ice Hotel, Jukkasjärvi - Part One
I've been doing a lot of travel the past two days to go to the Ice Hotel: from Malmö-Stockholm-Kiruna-Jukkasjärvi yesterday and back again today. I'm finally back "home" at Malmö base camp!
But it was totally worth it - it was an amazing experience.
The Ice Hotel looks great but it also tastes great!
And after such a lovely introduction to the Ice Hotel, I snuggled up in a nice warm bed - the cold accommodation was not available for the time frame I went up, but to be honest I prefer to be warm and not fall asleep shivering in minus five degree weather to the smell of reindeer skins.
Speaking of reindeer, yep, I ate reindeer along with bunny, fish eggs, and arctic char. The reindeer was tasty...as someone said on my Facebook page, ew, but at least I didn't eat Santa! But I totally would have if he'd been on the Ice Hotel menu; guaranteed they would have done something nice with him! I did feel a little guilty about eating the reindeer since I'd just come back from the Sami Museum and Reindeer Camp just up the road where I met and fed two lovely male reindeer...more about that in another post.
In the meantime, you can see a few Ice Hotel photos here. I'll post more photos to this set when I have a bit more time.
But it was totally worth it - it was an amazing experience.
The Ice Hotel looks great but it also tastes great!
And after such a lovely introduction to the Ice Hotel, I snuggled up in a nice warm bed - the cold accommodation was not available for the time frame I went up, but to be honest I prefer to be warm and not fall asleep shivering in minus five degree weather to the smell of reindeer skins.
Speaking of reindeer, yep, I ate reindeer along with bunny, fish eggs, and arctic char. The reindeer was tasty...as someone said on my Facebook page, ew, but at least I didn't eat Santa! But I totally would have if he'd been on the Ice Hotel menu; guaranteed they would have done something nice with him! I did feel a little guilty about eating the reindeer since I'd just come back from the Sami Museum and Reindeer Camp just up the road where I met and fed two lovely male reindeer...more about that in another post.
In the meantime, you can see a few Ice Hotel photos here. I'll post more photos to this set when I have a bit more time.
Monday, January 02, 2012
Helsingborg: Pearl of the Sound
I figured since I went to Helsinør, I might as well go to the city across the water: Helsingborg. It was lovely. I spent the morning there and then headed back to Lund where I met up with my new Swedish friends who I met on Ravelry!
Flinka Fingrar ladies, thank you for making my time in Sweden extra special!
I'm off to the Ice Hotel in Kiruna for the next two days. I'll post when I get back to Malmö as I'm not sure I have Internet access while I am there.
Flinka Fingrar ladies, thank you for making my time in Sweden extra special!
I'm off to the Ice Hotel in Kiruna for the next two days. I'll post when I get back to Malmö as I'm not sure I have Internet access while I am there.
Sunday, January 01, 2012
New Year's Day in Bjärsjölagård
I spent à lovely, quiet day in Bjärsjölagård with my new friends (and fur-friends)!
We went for a walk to see the Bjärsjölagård Slot.
As fancy as the Bjärsjölagård Slot is, I remain more impressed with my friend's knitting cottage! Really! How cool is that?
We went for a walk to see the Bjärsjölagård Slot.
As fancy as the Bjärsjölagård Slot is, I remain more impressed with my friend's knitting cottage! Really! How cool is that?
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