Christmas came and passed so fast this year. I never really got Christmas feeling although I did enjoy it very much. But not so very crisp Christmasy when it is 8 degres outside and kind of spring in the air. I started drawing Christmas cards in October but never managed to get anything done or send any... However I did manage to create one Christmas present this year. This is a family portrait of my dear friend and her family. 

I am truly crap in writing lately. Not that I am not creating things or pre-thinking what I am planning to write or lacking funny stories to write.. But I just simply doesn't manage to put pen on paper. I know not end of the day but kind of feel bad if I let go of my blog it is my way of getting me writing and being creative in words together with my illustrations. Ok enough about that... Here is not a vey new post but I never got a round to post it so here it goes.. This is a memory from 2016 Halloween. Last year we were in Ivakino Moscow and the kids were ringing on our door bell every two minutes asking trick or treat. AND I had forgotten to by sweets. It was going on for hours and at first I found sweets that we had got from the company for Christmas the year before but after given away last bits of chocolate, nuts and fruit it felt like a never ending nightmare. This year back in Sweden no trick or treat as we live million miles out in the forrest and no kids can get here....

It is not that long time ago when both my kids fitted in the small portable bathtub without any problems. A few weeks ago I realized that it really is a hassle trying to fit both in it these days. I had to instruct them where to put arms and legs to even mange to get in together. Poor kids but as I had said they could take a bath it was no way I could pull the whole idea off without trying to squeeze them both in. My god they are grown up so fast. It was like yesterday Filip could hardly sit by himself and now he is running around and understands everything. 

Here is some of my hats that has been created lately. I have now used up the last pieces of my elephant fabric which I love. And the new fabric with feathers I find very nice and a great unisex fabric. Also the Dala horse fabric I got from my friend Christine who asked me to use it and so I made her 1,5 year old daughter one hat and her one matching hat.

You never know and I never know what inspires me to an illustration in my sketchbook journal. Sometimes the inspiration and creativity is gone with the wind and feels like it will never return ( I am sure all you creative souls can relate to that feeling...) and sometimes something normal as an apple can inspire. 2016 has been a real apple year. Not that I have one single apple tree in my garden ( although the cottage next door that we are renting out has one very small apple tree but our tenant has cut it like he was very upset with that tree and it will most probably never carry any apples after that treatment... So it doesn't count as an apple tree anymore...) but at Mila and Filip's kindergarten they have heaps of red very taste Ingrid Marie apples. And people in the stable has brought bags after bags with beautiful and tasty apples of all different sorts. Here is my illustration on the topic in different stages. 

Do you remember your first love? Or love maybe more your first boyfriend ? Ok yes maybe same thing I don't remember if it was love but I do remember my first boyfriend. I was 4 years old ( i think) he was in the same group at my kindergarten. My kindergarten was called Myrstacken (Anthill) and it was the best kindergarten in the whole universe. My teacher Irma was the best kindergarten teacher one can have. My boyfriend was called Gustav. He always used to make jokes about my surname, Book. Every time we were gonna read he was laughing and asking "are we gonna read Cecilia Book?!" Very funny!! NOT! I got sick and tired of these jokes and one day I told my kindergarten teachers that I had changed name to my mothers surname, Folkesson. The teachers changed all my name tags and my mother was very confused when she saw my new name tags but somehow agreed and I change to Folkesson even in all the official registers... Gustav could not understand how I could pick fish and p...

Today it is exactly two months before Christmas. I used to be like "The Gringe" not a great fan of Christmas. But now I like the run up for Christmas and all the traditions so much that I am even looking forward already in October. Here is some small Christmas illustration I made last year. 

In my sketchbook I started an illustration on the theme Mila loves horses. I know I am really bad in drawing horses in general and in drawing horses legs in particular. And so Mila gave me a helping hand and finished my drawing. Great cooperation,  right :) 

What happened already October!! Autumn is here, Yes I love this season but it kind of hit me the darkness.. "It is still night!!" Mila says when I wake her up the days we need to go to work and daycare. although we don't get up crazy early. It is split feeling this going towards darker and colder times. I love it and hate it at the same time. Last weekend I felt very tired and as I was getting a new cold before recovering from the last one. It doesn't happen very often but I had a Sunday when everything felt horrid everything I normally like feels stupid and boring . I hate these kind of days, but I guess we all have them and need them and that I am lucky who gets one only here and there. I went to bed early and woke up like myself positive and fresh again. Pictures from my weekend I have strict sofa rules.. No eating and absolutley NO animals in the sofa !!!! But somedays my rules are override BIG time!! Sunday breakfast with candles welcoming the darker times  ...

Kids started kindergarten 18 August.... My dad spend first THREE weeks being with them as an introduction. They refused to leave his side and if the teacher hadn't told us that we have to try to leave them there by themselves a little I think he would still spend his days at kids daycare with them ( very carrying granddad indeed)  First weeks (!) I had to pull myself free from screaming and crying kids to get to work. It broke my heart over and over. But worst to come... After this phase came the silent big crocodile tears. Horrible and even more heart breaking. These tears was accompanied with Mila begging me not to leave her and saying "but I love you and I want to be with you" " I miss you sooooo much" "Why do you have to leave me?" "Who will take care of me?" "I also want to be a grown-up so I can come with you to your job" These begging and her being very nervous for being left at kindergarten was more then heart breaking i...

So much fun this horse of ours.. First couple of weeks tense like a ticking bomb and of course with our collected experience from the professional and international circuit we are being careful and taking things steady. Add that we are older, wiser and with two kids each. We are not only careful but maybe even chicken at the moment before we know our lady. AND that is totally ok. I am impressed this week I feel more secure on her and she gives such great great feeling. She moves great and are very balanced although green, weak and will take  a lot of training to build up muscles and endurance. Only in a couple of weeks she has learned a lot a really gives a good feeling. Yesterday I made a few jumps with her and she really jumps. Yes I am already in love with this mare

We headed to Spain last week. Family collected in a warm sunny place what could be better? Flight down went well even though we had to get up at 3 and be at the airport by 4. Nice warm weather met us and we were all very excited to have time off together and to enjoy the sun and mormor's pool. Such luxury to be able to borrow my mother's and Göran's very nice house in Puerto Banus costa del sol. Going away but still feeling a little home or at least familiar and have every day things to do such as laundry, cleaning and feeding the cat ( I know sounds crazy that I like washing and cleaning on vacation but I do) Loren also loves supermarkets and cooking so great combination of vacation but business as usually kind of. Don't get me wrong we also enjoy being lazy drinking beer by the pool or eating avocado and prawns in the harbor. Even though it is only our second time here we already feel like we know what we are doing and know our ways around. One day we did a long ...

Yes it is sort of life changing this with me starting working again. It feels good that I started on a nice level with 3 days a week even though these days are very intense. New carrier path as a teacher is no walking in the park, but I like challenges and to learn new things so I guess this is just what I needed. I am trying to stick to my mantra to do things good enough. That doesn't mean that I don't care or that I am doing things bad it just simply means to do things good enough and not to stress over things or striving to be perfect. Already now I have problems not to over work or over think things but hey it is hard to teach an old dog to sit. Kids and their granddad has been at daycare introduction for 3 weeks but I will write more about that in other post. Last week not only did we buy a new car we ( read me) bought a horse. Yes it is true I BOUGHT A HORSE. I am sharing it with a friend with great knowledge about horses and who also have worked professional with h...

So my new carrier and job path has started. I am back at school and still very excited after my first week. Great introduction days. Tired and little stressed to get all planning done before the students starts. 

This is a couple of illustrations from my sketchbook journal I made while we were in Moscow from our local park Tolstoy Park in Khimki. The park is great and has all sorts of fun entertainment for kids and adults. Playground, mini zoo, carousels, dance stage, restaurants, cafés, selling corn on the cob in every corner and a sandy beach. Team Nikolovski headed there on a very warm July day. It was very warm and sticky. Me and Mila went for a walk while we left Loren and Filip in the playground. Our plan was to check the beach out. Both me and Mila got super excited that people were in the water so we run back to tell the rest of the team to hurry up and lets go in the water a bit. I was like "we are going to beach hurry up and bring the swim-wear" and Loren replied "Are you insane!!! Who would consider going in the water in a river in MOSCOW??" and I was like "yeah but there is lots of people in the water..." and Loren started to wave hands and speak ver...

While I was going throw my Moscow studio and arranging for moving everything end of the summer I found this map of Prague which I started but never finished when we moved from there. It was indeed a very emotional move leaving a place that we all loved and with great friends around us to the unknown life of Moscow. This map illustration I was planning to have on the wall as a memory of Prague and our cool group of friends. But because of all the emotions I think I never managed to get it done back then. It is on A3 so pretty big and I will try to get it finished and framed when it will get here in Sweden.

Not that I am extra keen on super hot summer weather or that I am complaining because we have had nice warm days. BUT come on it is only first few days into August and it autumn kind of fresh crisp air ( read I don't want to admit it but I have put on heating in the house during the nights...) This illustration from my sketchbook is inspired of what summer is for me and also from one of Mila's favorite book and film character Stella. I colored the sketch while I was in Moscow with my Russian made aquarell set and the colors are very intense and strong base colors and it will take some getting use to but gives a good deep layer. 

"Mamma you and me we are horse girls"  Mila is playing with plastic horses, soft toy horses, barbie horses, riding on her stick horses or running around being a horse most of the time. While we are here in Khimki, Moscow we have a stable 10 min walk from us. The stable is cute and the lady who runs it nice but not really the same standard as I am use. It is fun to have chance to let Mila ride the little pony Marta and to hang in a well known environment but still so different. For example look at the tiniest stable aisle how the manage to get big horses in and out is for me a mystery.  

We drove down town Moscow today ( no traffic so it only took us 20 min... Amazing) Parked in our old neighborhood at Shabolovka and walk to Gorky Park. Gorky Park is my favorite place in Moscow. A park full of life and always somethig cool going on. A modern and artistic park with great food places, Garage Contemporary art museum, play ground and view over Moscow River. Today it was boiling hot sunny weather and we had a great time. It was fun to see Garage museum new building impressive and funky. The Urs Fischer clay YES project outside was super cool. 200 ton clay used for the project. 

We are back in Moscow and will be here for a few weeks. Great to be full team all together and to hang in our second home for the last time before we move from here. It feels like home vacation, home but at the same time far away. Crazy how much stuff we have with having furniture's and equipment for two homes and now we will soon have to store everything from here in Lundsätter.  The flight over went well but it is certainly no walk in the park travelling by myself with 1 year old and 3,5 year even it only takes 2 hours ( thank God!) I have a lot of experience travelling with and without children and here is my best advice: Plan your hand luggage well with snacks, toys and more snacks Trunki bag is the best invention ever (expensive hard plastic bag for kids with wheels that the kids can ride on) I don't know what I would do without Trunki with a tired 3,5 year old and hundred kilometers to passport control. With Trunki she can just hop on and ride and me easily pull and h...

Garden status 2016 In my new garden beds three different types of sallad is growing and we are eating from it every day. Peas are coming along and radish also. The potatoes are close to blooming so when we get back from our Moscow trip we will try it out. Tomatoes of course. Doing good progess so far. I Think I found great sunny spot for them so lets hope we will get some nice once. Strawberries yes. My dad and Filip loves these colorful wind turning things and great seems to keep birds away. BUT still strawberries are going missing. Not stolen by birds but Three very cute strawberry loving dogs... I even have picture evidence.. We are heading to Moscow tomorrow and staying for a couple of weeks. Very excited to be full team together and to enjoy Moscow summer we have only seen all the cold,wet, snowy winter months two year now so we are very much ready to see the prettier side of this big city.