På allas läppar och i alla medier just nu Coronaviruset. Jag tänkte att jag skulle skriva några rader om hur läget och situationen ser ut här i Düsseldorf idag 15 mars 2020. Men först skruvar vi vi tillbaka tiden lite. Första bilden här nedan är från 1 feburari 2020 när jag och en kompis var på teater och efter gick till en Mexikansk resturang och åt fajitas och drack Corona och på skoj tog denna bild. Jag tänkte att jag skulle lägga ut den på Instagram med en rolig text om att vi minsann är ute och dricker Corona, men sen tänkte jag av respekt till drabbade i Kina och det kanske var förtidigt för Corona skämt så jag avstod att lägga ut bilden. Men aldrig hade jag trott att situationen skulle se ut som den gör idag, att vi i våra liv skulle behöva anpassa oss efter ett virus som härjar och som sprider sig som en löpeld runt planeten. Att allt numera handlar om Corona och vilka åtgärder som måste tas och att tillvaron helt plötsligt känns väldigt osäker. Denna bild är alltså bara lite ...

End of February in Sweden means book sale. It is a big yearly book sale and all book shops online and real stores reduces a big selection of new and older books in all genres. It is a fun event if you like books and you can do some really good deals. You can also get carried away and do purchases which you will never read but it was a good deal ( not that I have ever done that but you could... I am just saying...) Because I am not in Sweden I have preordered some books on the sale - not the same feeling but still fun to go through the catalogue. This year I have mainly bought books for kids 6-9 year olds. Mystery stories I can read for Mila but also easy read books so she can read by herself. For Filip a couple of books about police and for me just a couple of pocket books by authors which I like. And talking about books I here is my latest reads - it has been going slow on the reading lately and for some reason also the books I have picked has been kind of slow apart from Alex Sch...

A couple of weekends ago we decided to take the kids to Eigenlob keramik so they could paint their own pottery. I thought they might think it would be fun but you never know until you've tried. At the pottery place they have a wide assortment of different things to paint from cups and plates to small ornaments. Filip decided that he wanted to paint a two in one tee pot/cup ( not that he drinks tee but he was determined) and Mila wanted to paint a horse. I picked a bigger bowl. Kids did great and really concentrated on what to paint and they spend probably 40 minutes focusing on that. But as my bowl took longer time to paint the kids when the finished they asked if they could pick something more to paint and because I wanted peace and quiet I said yes. And so it ended up being a pretty expensive activity, but hey something we all enjoyed and we will definitely come back and make some more magic. Last picture is how it all ended up after burning and glaced. 

I got a very nice Christmas present of a friend a theater ticket to an English play here in Düsseldorf. "Breadcrumbs" by Jennifer Haley at the Theatermuseum der Landshauptstadt Düsseldorf. The play is about a writer who gets diagnosed with dementia and must depend on a troubled young caretaker to complete her autobiography. Between the two it is a battle between wills but also trip back in the past to the dark woods. It was a small stage with only a few rows of seats and we were nearly sitting in the play. I thought it would feel too close in case I got sleepy after a couple of glasses of wine or if it would be boring so I would nod off but the play and the performance was so good so it was never an issue. It was the premier show of the play and the performance was great and the story was interesting. I love theater and I will definitely come back to English Theater Düsseldorf. After the theater we walked down town and had a drink outside - Outside in February! And t...

One of my New year resolutions for 2020 is to reduce the amount of clothing I buy for me. Not that I have been exaggerating buying cloths but still there is room for reduction, I anyways only buy shirts with stripes or dots on and however much garnments I have in my wardrobe I have nothing to wear anyways. But something I am not ready to stop buying even tough I don't really need more are pens, papers, drawing pads and note pads. For me it is pure happiness finding cute note pads in great quality or new inc pens preferable made in Japan but German is ok also to try out. I carry them home like hunting trophies and line them up on my desk or the kitchen table just so I can watch them and let the whole family also see ( but not to touch)  my great new purchases ( normally they are not quite as impressed as myself..) My favourite art supply store is still in Prague called Zlata Lodart Supplies on Pasáz Platyz from Narodini and I write lists well in advance of what aquarel...

This is how I left Lundsätter a couple of days after new year when we flew back to Düsseldorf. I like to leave it as tidy as I can and I put the chairs on top of the tables because my dad is very nice and letting his robot vacuum to work in our part a few times before we come back. This time I also removed curtains upstairs because one big project this year is to change our big beautiful windows to other more modern windows which will be easier to open and also energy classed. The one we have now is very old, the frame is falling apart and last summer it is a small crack in the glass. What I realized when removing the curtains is that I the room feels so different naked and gives a great open feeling. With the new windows I can leave it like this because I have ordered built in blinds. Blinds or curtains are necessary because it gets very warm in the summer when the sun is strong but also with Swedish light summer nights it is hard to sleep without. Hopefully we will have the new wind...

Before leaving Christmas behind and focusing on this year I have to write this post about all the Christmas markets in and around Düsseldorf that I visited this year. Apart from that the weather more felt like March in December the Christmas spirit came early thanks to all the traditional German Christmas markets. The Christmas markets were set up well in time for first of Advent and was opened everyday up until Christmas. Festive lights, decorations, cosy wooden stalls with all sorts of things were sold. Handmade German ornaments and decorations ( a lot of made in China ornaments too) local specialities such as traditionally decorated gingerbread cookies. The classic hot beverage Glühwein was served in many stals and often served in a special designed mug. Bratwurst, crepes and other on the go food sold everywhere. In most markets you can also find a stage where Christmas songs were performed and where St Nicholas came to greet the children etc. In Düsseldorf they also had an ice-ska...

A new year is here. The year 2020 is here. A new exciting year that I am hoping will be filled with fun and happiness. This will be my 10th year I am writing my blog on and off and it is a great place to keep memories, stories and experiences. It is fun now to have 10 years worth of memories in texts, illustrations and photos in one place. This year I have the ambition to write more frequent because my writing process flows better and it is much more fun if I do it more often and also because it is such blessing to experience living in an other country and country and I want to keep my thoughts and experiences and share them. Lets aim to do an update once per week and see how that goes.  What hopes and expectations I have for 2020  - That my family and friends are blessed to stay healthy and happy - To explore more places in the area around Düsseldorf - we have many cool places both in Germany but also in France, Holland and Belgium to check out which is only a few hours awa...

I got a new drawing pad from my uncle for my birthday in August with high quality papers and I got inspired to really work with colors in more layers and fill the whole page with details.  Also I came up with an idea to make illustrations based on seasons and traditions. Traditions which we are celebrating for long but also new traditions which we have picked up from our different destinations where we have lived and from here in Germany.  So far I have made October - Halloween a tradition which is pretty new to us - I remember reading about Halloween with trick or treat as an American tradition in one of my first textbooks in English when I was ten years old. Here in Kaiserswerth, Düsseldorf it is celebrated big time in the international neighborhood and so we have started to dress up and join the fun. November we are celebrating St Martin here in Germany ( will write a separate post about whom that was, how we celebrate and show the illustration) December - I have so ...

Thank you September you were good and welcome October! October I think you are my favorite month of the year apart from December, April, June, August and September.. Here in Düsseldorf the schools has two weeks off for Autumn break so we have that to look forward to and also I am going a weekend to Stockholm to see my family and see a musical. And the changes in the nature is just so pretty - transforming from green to yellow and orange.   I was doing some paperwork this morning but also had time to start a Happy Halloween illustration which I am thinking to turn in to a card somehow. I don't know how I picked this format - hard even to take a photo of it... I will find a way to show a better picture of it!! Also looking in my memory box and found some other October drawings