DIVERSE / Potpourri 2011

Tomorrow is The New Years Eve.

What a perfect time, to go through my pictures from the year 2011.

Here are some, not yet shown on my blog. Pictures from this year.

Happy pictures, sad pictures.

For the first picture ( 1. ), I chose a picture from the road leading to Helsinki. It is symbolic.

Life goes on.

Picture ( 2. ) shows Mrs. Golden, on a bright winter day in the paddock. Only no longer with us.

Picture ( 3. ), Boris. This picture is from late summer, only a few weeks before he too left us.

A happy picture ( 4. ), Dr. M and her friend " I " coming over for their first visit together to Hagalund. Look at the amount of snow!

( 5. ) My husband, " T ", having a rare break in the late afternoon. Rare, because he seldom rests without a book in his hand.

I am wishing a Happy New Year 2012!

I also wish to thank Everyone for sharing my blog with me. Without You, all this posting would not have been possible.

Hugs, Mette

DIVERSE / Procrastination

Forget about decluttering.

The b i g word right now is procrastination!

In psychology, procrastination refers to the act of replacing high-priority actions with tasks of low-priority, and thus putting off important tasks to a later time.

The strongest connection to procrastination however is impulsiveness ( so true in my case ).

I quoted Wikipedia for the definition.

I have ALL my stuff organized. I have my Christmas stuff back in the Gustavian drawer ( 2. ). I have emptied and cleaned my fridge and done my laundry. I have my New Year´s stuff ready in the right corner of the drawer ( 1. ). The Easter stuff is there ready too. And the Christmas decorations for 2012 are all ready as well!

How could I be considered as a procrastinator?

I am even writing this post in good time. Blogging is important for me.

Now I will have to pause for a minute..

Okay. I admit. I am writing about my doings, but not about what I really have to accomplish today.

There is a bunch of papers. Papers I have to go through.

As my hb is a private enterpriser, it means, that I have to participate somewhat in his work too.

So, today, about 20 business calls for me to make; to keep the money coming, to get some food in the empty fridge!

But I am delaying it, as far as possible. I have to finish this post first!!!

Therefore, I have to admit, that I am a procrastinator.

Some psychologists have proposed three criteria for a behavior to be classified as procrastination: it must be counterproductive, needless and delaying.

I won´t sign all the three criteria though. Blogging is not always needless. For me, it is definitely therapeutical and much of a healing process.

What about all my other small doings here and there? Have I lost my sense of what is really important?

Maybe decluttering too is procrastination?

Waiting eagerly for your comments and thoughts about procrastination!!!

P.S. Thecurateswife, my 70th follower : Welcome!

THOUGHTS 74 / After the storm

Two days after the storm. Peace and quiet. The sun is shining. No snow : )!

No trees, although many of them terribly old, crashed on our yard.

We have yet to go check our forest, hopefully no bad damages over there either.

Lots of houses are still without electricity, households near and far.

I am off to Hki today. No shopping however in my program. Just our Wednesday club meeting.

All stores and shops have sales, but I don´t need anything. I checked the online- shops, only to find out, that there was nothing desirable over there either.

I have removed all our Christmas decorations, the few we had.

I am ready to start a new year, a new chapter in my life.

Although it felt bad to throw away food from the fridge, I feel relieved.

Our refrigerator is totally empty. What a good time to give the fridge a thorough wash/clean- up, and from now on, try to fill it only with food we really wish to have in it!

I will also go through all the rest of the dry food, and throw away battered cans, old flour, etc.

As a matter of fact, I´ll get out of bed this moment to perform the tasks I wrote about!

Are you planning to do a clean-up soon?

How long do you intend to keep your Christmas decorations in sight?

DIVERSE / Tuesday shots

Good morning Everyone!

No posting yesterday, as we and about three hundred thousand households were without electricity all yesterday, 15 hours.

A real bad storm hit southern Finland. No rain, no snow. Just the storm.

Today, some more storm is promised, but not as bad as yesterday.

However, I decided to post early - just in case.

The first ( 1. ) picture shows one way to use the red belts, the ones I bought before Christmas - with a black simple top and a silk/ cotton black tulip skirt.

( 2. ) My Christmas gift - black Tod´s pumps.

( 3. ) The shoes on my feet. Classic, medium high heel, comfortable.

( I sold my Chanel pumps to fund these ones ).

In addition, I received two interior design books from Dr.M + a pillow for my lap top : ).

Our Christmas was a simple one. Only I ate too much chocolate.

On Christmas Day, we visited the MIL. She was on a good mood and quite ok, considered her age ( 90 ).

The Second Day of Christmas was spent indoors, as the wind blew so hard.

Today, we are back to normal living. The next " big thing " is New Year´s Eve.

No plans for parties.

Today, the sales are starting all over. I have no plans to buy anything.

However, I plan to visit Dr.M´s, as her bathroom reno is finished. I´m all excited to see the results!!

So, what did You get for Christmas? Please share!!!

P.S. I just noticed you M! A warm welcome as a follower of my blog !!!

SPECIAL INFORMATION:

Two years ago, 25.12.2009 I wrote my very first post.

The very first comment, I ever received, came on this date, 27.12.2009 from Deja Pseu!

So, thank you Susan, for helping me in the very beginning. I am SO grateful for you!!!

THOUGHTS 71 / About Christmas

The 23rd of December; one day till Christmas Eve.

By now, everything is about ready for Christmas in my part of the world, the Eve being " the Day " for us.

Tomorrow stores will close by noon, to be opened on the Second Day of Christmas once again.

The roads away from Helsinki are crowded, as lots of people are going to spend their Christmas time with their families scattered all over upper Finland.

It may not come as a surprise, that I have never liked this particular season of the year.

Obligations, obligations and more obligations.

Christmas raises great anxiety in me. It always has. Anxiety and depression. I guess I know by now, why.

The knowledge helps, but my psyche has not changed overnight.

Christmas is the time of the year, when I really wish I could enter hibernation like bears.

However, there still are things, that make me happy.

Having my small family around me is the greatest thing!

I have no grandchildren ( yet ) ( ; , but I have a few furry " babies ".

Morty, Hampel and Jerome.

I am happy that I was able to bathe Morty yesterday. This evening will be Hampel´s turn.

Doing small things like these, give me great satisfaction.

This year I have skipped performing " the grand cleaning of the house ". A few years earlier, something like this, would not have been possible.

This year, when I actually have a place for everything ( no clutter around ), everything looks fine and in order. No panic.

Neither am I fussing about the food. What we don´t have, we can live without. And why oh why, is so much food even needed?

These are my thoughts today.

I deliberately chose a blurry picture of Morty for the post of today. Perhaps the picture describes my feelings best : )..

I wish each and everyone of You a Happy Christmas !!! /m

P.S. I wish to welcome Coco as a follower of my blog. What a nice gift for me : ).

FASHION / Accessories/ belts

My second post on accessories, but now only one picture. Two leather belts.

These are Finnish. I " accidentally " found them last Saturday, tried one on, and came out from the shop with two.

I must admit, that I was a bit amazed how cute, and how affordable they are.

Turning and twisting them around, I found no fault in them.

Red. Not my color, but I thought, that these belts could be worn with practically all my clothes.

Each belt comes in a different shade of red, which makes wearing two belts together actually visually interesting!

FASHION / Accessories S/S 2012

Welcome to see my picks of the spring and summer 2012 accessories!

As before, I browsed through the L´Officiel 1000 models Accessories magazine. This magazine is one of the very few fashion magazines I buy.

Bags are a major must-haves of the season, whether XXL or teeny-tiny, says the magazine.

Another big thing is color. Unusual, eye-catching fabrics and other materials, innovative and astonishing - and you are ready for the next season!

The magazine has 168 pages of bags and shoes, but I only found three bags I like, and one pair of shoes; booties.

In my opinion, the shoes looked odd in general, just as odd as they have been the past seasons. Lots of platform pumps and wedges, which are not to my liking.

Nor were there any bags, I could not live without.

( 1. ) The cover of the magazine, L´Officiel.

( 2. ) Bottega Veneta crocodile handbag. Wow. Now, this looks so much better, than the coveted Hermes Birkin. This bag is my absolute favorite! I would not mind having one ; ).

( 3. ) A surprise from Prada! A large clutch or a small tote - naturally crocodile. The color is delicious.

( 4. ) YSL, Muse 2, looks like this now. YSL is my favorite brand, so I chose the best one they had ( IMO ). This is an easy, soft bag. Unfortunately, the picture of it is bad ( ; To be carried 24/7.

( 5. ) Finally, the only pair of shoes I like. Sturdy, snake skin booties by Michael Kors. I believe, that these would feel comfortable to wear.

Please remember, that I commented only on the ones I liked.

Perhaps you might like to view the magazine yourself. Perhaps you might find something interesting. Perhaps you might even skip your Christmas present this year, wait, and buy something from the new collection : )!!

P.S. Welcome Mrs Exeter for joining as a follower of my blog : ) I´ll visit your blog ASAP!!

THOUGHTS 70 / Labels; plaques; signs

So what´s this all about?

Labels, plaques and signs I have. Signs marking the obvious. LOL ( again, if only I could ).

When our house was renovated, I bought a WC sign ( 1. ) for the doors of the two bathrooms.

In 1994, I " found " a vintage breadbox ( 2. ), which has it´s place in the stable kitchen. We keep the dry bread for the horses in it.

Now, why on earth did I buy a " Housekeeper´s Box "? This is a new product ( 3. ).

What I dislike about these examples is, that they have a text marking the obvious.

We all know, which door leads to our bathroom ( the house was renovated soon 15 years ago ). Ok, a guest needs guidance, and we will show him/her to the right room.

We all know, where the dry bread is kept in the stable, even Hampel does ; ).

I sure know, where I keep my cleaning stuff, as I am the only one using it.

And, why are these names printed in English? I am a Finn.

Luckily we don´t have doggy bowls, with the word: :" Dog ". Nor do we have coffee cups, with: " " Coffee " written on them, no bowls with " Popcorn " written on them.

Hey, we are not that stupid. I know what a coffee cup looks like, and Morty does not want to eat from a bowl, with the word " Dog " on it; ).

Sorry for this burst of mine. I am just tired of this kind of marketing. I am tired of fooling people to buy everyday stuff at a more expensive price, with these foolish labels.

With everything marked, the " surprise moment ", at least for me, is spoiled.

So, what to do?

I have already removed the WC signs. I have turned the breadbox so, that the text is not in sight.

I plan to remove the text from " my workbox ", or put it away, sell it ( actually it is not practical at all ).

Please share your thoughts about the topic! Maybe I´m all nuts, maybe it would be cool to have everything labeled and marked.

In my opinion, decluttering makes all this " labeling " useless : ).

However, our name plaque on the door stays : )!!!

P.S. What a nice surprise: Mira_I ! Thank you for joining as a follower of my blog. Please don´t hesitate to leave comments : )!

P.S.S. Yet another nice surprise: my free choice ! has also joined as a follower of my blog. I feel double happy now, thank you!!

INTERIOR DESIGN / Details, doorstops

Last year, about this time of the year, I posted on doorstops.

I have a new one again.

It´s place is in the master bedroom. French made, with scented herbs inside.

The color, by mere chance, is the same as the fur throw on the divan, deep purple, aubergine.

The shape is that of a pyramid, and it is made of velvet fabric, with ribbons purple and gray.

I got a call from the French woman, who has a shop in Hki. She has a large selection of French this and that, tableware, fabrics, etc. in her shop. Last year, when I bought a similar one from her shop, she promised to get me another one. The delivery took one year; )!

Nevertheless, I´m glad she called. The door stop is charming, and functional, as it helps the door to stay open as much as wished for, and prevents it from banging against the wall.

I recommend!!!

Once again, I´m wishing you a happy weekend! It´s the fourth Advent Sunday. I will light the fourth candle.

P.S. Louise, a warm welcome! I´m so glad you signed in as a follower of my blog : )!

FASHION / Jacket

Yesterday, I fetched my jacket from the seamstress.

Yes, a jacket. I have never actually liked jackets, but this tweed fabric Armani jacket somehow had potential in it.

A black skirt suit is what I am looking for, but this is the closest I got. This will do.

The jacket was sold separately, but there is a matching dress to it, only I don´t want to have a dress.

I am hoping, that the dress will end up reduced. That´s the time for my next move.

I hope to get the dress. Get it styled into a skirt, and - then I will have a skirt suit!

The jacket has now been tailored. It was too large for me, but now the fit is perfect.

In the meanwhile, or even without a skirt of the matching fabric, I can wear the jacket with e.g. the off white pants, or a black skirt ( had I one ).

I guess it is the rich, softish texture of the fabric, that attracts me, the small collar and the shape, which is quite feminine.

I found the jacket accidentally. Just as I always find my things.

What about you? What´s your way shopping?

INTERIOR DESIGN / Lightning

I include lightning closely as a part of interior design, interior decoration. Designers believe that light does, indeed, give our world its definition.

In this short post, I concentrate on one of my very favorite designers, Ingo Maurer.

Ingo Maurer, born in Germany 1932, is a German industrial designer, who specialized in the design of lamps and lamp installations. He founded Design M in 1960, a company designing and manufacturing lamps after his own designs.

One of his first designs " Bulb " ( 1. ) on the cover of the book ( Ingo Maurer received the book as a surprise 75 year birthday gift ), has been in the collections of MoMa since 1966.

( 2. ) This low-voltage wire system " YaYaHo " halogen lamp was introduced in 1984.Oh, how I coveted having it at the time! The good news is, that it is still in production - unchanged!

( 3. ) " Lucellino ", ( 1989 ) the light bulb with wings, became Ingo Maurer´s trade mark. I fell in love with it immediately and have both the table and wall model.

Btw, the lamp has had a rough time, when we had a cat, who would tap its wings on/off all the time ; )

( 4. ) " Zettel´z " ( 1998 ), which comes in two sizes, is one of my favorites, of Maurer´s paper lamps. I use it as a guest book!

( 5. ) " Pierre ou Paul " is the name of this lamp ( 1999 ), three handcrafted aluminium segments are welded into a dome. The traces of its construction are visible on the outside, and are almost ornamental.

( 6. ) " Zufall " ( 2008 ), is color, function and silicon with LED lights blended into an unique desk lamp.

Since 1980´s Ingo Maurer has worked with a team of younger designers and developers.

He visited Helsinki in September, this year ( 2011 ).

Unfortunately, I missed his visit, but managed to get the book: Ingo Maurer, designing with light.

P.S. It was difficult to choose only a few lamps for display, since there are so many fascinating lamps to choose from.

I recommend!

THOUGHTS 69 / Associations

Today it is all about associations; positive and negative associations.

Kathy brought up this subject in the beginning of this month.

She wrote: " I associate certain items with certain events, or things that happen. If it is something that turned out negatively, then I want to get rid of all the tangible " things " associated with it.

The clothing, jewelry or whatever for me, takes on the negative quality. "

I agree, I feel exactly the same. Whatever the " thing ", I have to get rid of it.

What about positive associations?

Now, I have to reveal the " odd " side of myself.

I can´t, I am not prepared to accept compliments, I don´t feel that I ( my things ) are worth compliments; therefore positive associations are few for me.

I do know the background to this all, but making a change in behavior is difficult.

For me, writing this blog, is one way to change my behavior. I am well prepared in receiving negative comments, but the positive comments I receive, frighten me.

I could add to the quote Kathy wrote, something like : " If it is something, that turned out positively, then I want to get rid of all the tangible " things "associated with it. "

Associations. Such a difficult subject. In good and bad.

Please share your thoughts on this interesting subject! Do you have similar experiences?

How do you deal with your feelings? Do you know the base of your behavior? Would you even wish to know it?

P.S. The tea lights in the picture are sold.

I bought them for my mother´s after funeral memorial gathering. I also sold my black skirt suit, the black shoes. I gave away the clutch. I threw away the black tights. I wore no jewelry.

All this, for reasons already mentioned above.

THOUGHTS 68 / Friendship

Good evening!

It is seldom I post this late, but I just had to show you this wonderful card, a token of friendship, I received today.

Anything is possible. And it is true.

I started writing my blog soon two years ago. I knew nothing about blogging. I knew nothing about all you great people out there - in the blogosphere.

I had no idea, that I could get acquainted with real people through blogging. But I did.

I got the email address of one of you, and then She emailed me, and the rest is history.

I got a friend. A new friend. Meeting and becoming new friends at a " bit " older age is different, sometimes difficult, sometimes even impossible.

Two people, with a totally different background, two people from a different world, how is it even possible?

We do, however, have something in common. Horses.

Maybe it is our love for the most beautiful creature of the animal kingdom, the horse, that finally sealed our friendship?

Will we ever meet? I don´t know. Right now, I know, that I have her friendship, she has mine, and I may write to her about anything - happy and sad things, and I know that she will understand.

I hope and believe, that she feels the same: )!

Anything is possible.

Please share your thoughts about friendship!

I wish you all a wonderful Third Advent Sunday!/m

FASHION / Accessories for Christmas

I received a brochure personally mailed to me from Louis Vuitton.

It was addressed to: Miss!

As someone might remember, I have bought two articles from LV this year, so I am a " potential " customer; ).

A lux brochure featuring accessories, LV is offering to " me " just at this time of the year!

Perfect timing this time, as I am lying on my sick bed and ouching, feeling frustrated and even cynical ; )

Well, I browsed through the brochure, as I normally do with fashion or interior design magazines these days.

My first notions were positive. I really like the covers; the pattern on it is cheerful, with a circus feel, repeated again in the inner pages.

The photography is excellent. I also like the lack of people; there are only some animal figures on the brochure.

I like the non-glossy paper used throughout the brochure.

Along comes an extra black/white price list for the accessories pictured.

Last - the best part - there is nothing I covet from this brochure : )!

Now, if I´d be forced to pick something for myself..

Ok. I would choose a wallet ( 2. ), the third from the left, Zippy, Monogram Idylle, 530€.

It is in " my colors ", and I´d carry it during the summer months.

But, I don´t need a wallet. I don´t need anything from this brochure. Right now, I´m perfectly happy with the three bags and one wallet I have.

And besides, I think that I am more of an YSL girl.

Nevertheless, I´m glad I received post from LV.

I don´t need to enter the shop now, especially not now, when walking is difficult.

I´m delighted to have time for surfing in the net-shops, performing " imaginary purchases " or like in this case, just browsing through the pages/sites.

How do you feel about receiving lux brochures? Do you get all excited? Do you think that women in general, buy things ( not even needed ), when approached in e.g. methods like the one I described above?

Or, WHAT, makes you/makes you not buy things, you can live without?

DIVERSE / Independence Day and some horsepower

Today, December 6., Finland is celebrating it´s 94th Independence Day.

The first picture was taken at 9 am, when the flag of Finland was raised on the flagpole.

What a surprise, to wake up in the morning, and see the snow, in the form of sleet, on the ground.

The snow always comes as a surprise. Hopefully this snow will yet melt away.

It is also a tradition over here, to light two candles in front of each window at 6pm for a period of two hours.

Our president is throwing a ball at the president´s palace this evening.

Millions of Finns will gather in front of their TV set this evening, and watch the evening gala.

This year, around 1900 guests have been invited to attend the ball. Politicians, ex-presidents, diplomats, achieved people in the fields of science, literature, arts, sports, and people, whom the president has met during the past year, have been invited to attend the party.

The Independence Day Reception, as it is officially called, is the most festive official happening of the year.

There will be coffee, cake, small sandwiches, drinks and dancing.

We have not been invited ; ).

The day is a national holiday, and unfortunately - a sick day for me.

Last Friday evening, I had a small accident at the stable, as a consequence of my own stupidity.

Now, for ages, I have medicated our horses successfully, either by giving injections i.m., or placing the medicine straight in the mouth, or mixing it in the food.

Hampel has had a sore mouth since his last dentistry, so the vet prescribed painkillers for him.

He has never liked his head or mouth touched, which I know perfectly well.

Therefore, I asked my hb to assist me.

So, there we three were, in Hampel´s box, trying to make him take the medicine.

Only this time, he got really wild, and with the force of 650 kilos squeezed me against the doorway.

I heard the sound of a crack, and immediately knew, that " something " happened to me.

Yes, now I have some broken bones on my rib/ ribcage. Sigh.

It did not actually feel this bad until yesterday, after I finished my work at the stable.

I am per now unable to do anything. It was nearly impossible to find a position to lay myself down to bed last night.

But, with the help of painkillers, I will survive. This phase is going to last a few weeks ( I broke some ribs a year ago too ).

But I am terribly frustrated. There are lots of things, I now have to leave undone.

Miss M. is going to do the stable work during the next few weeks! So the horses don´t miss my absence, and the stable will be taken well care of. In fact, the stable is tidier after her.

But what shall I do? Probably I will have to do some more office work. Yippee ; ), LOL ( if only I could laugh )!

Anyways, I am wishing you all a nice Tuesday. I will probably listen to the radio in the evening, listen to the gala.

When only listening, I get to use my imagination, and " paint the scene of the party " my way.

During the past years, I have found out, that watching TV is boring. I prefer listening to the radio.

What about you? Do you watch TV, or have you returned back to the radio, like me?

P.S. I wish a warm welcome to my new follower, Unikorna :)

DIVERSE /Calendars, notebooks, diaries

This is the time of the year, when many of us buy new calendars, notebooks or diaries.

I make no exception.

I bought a new wall calendar ( 1. ), naturally a one featuring flat-coated retrievers. A new picture for each month.

I also purchased a new Moleskine notebook ( 2. ), this time a weekly diary from Moleskine´s Cover Art collection.

My cellphone ( 3. ) also has space for small notes.

Last, but by no means least - my own blog - metscan - serves as a very personal, yet very open diary, where I share my thoughts about different topics - chosen by myself- several times a week.

I have had my blog for soon two years, and writing down my thoughts, receiving comments, replying on the comments, fills my writing needs. I don´t want to keep a " hidden " diary.

Probably, I lost the interest of keeping a diary, after my mother revealed to me that she had read them all.

The wall calendar is used for writing down the daily weather degrees. We also mark the birthdays of the furry ones on it, the vet appointments, the farrier´s next date.. It´s place is in the mudroom, so we are bound to check it every day, several times ; ).

I use my own notebook for writing down my own appointments, and just to be extra sure, I add the " furry details " on it too. For a change, next year´s diary has an address section in it!

My cellphone is not used as a notebook, I only have phone numbers on it.

So, tell me about your calendars, notebooks, and diaries. Maybe you even have some other ways of keeping track of appointments, and special dates? What kind of things do you write down?

I´d be interested to read your comments. Please share : )

JEWELRY / The apple

Most of us know the story of Adam and Eve.

Here is the apple. Red rubies and white diamonds, emeralds on the stem.

I managed to exchange my black boot pendant for an apple. I really liked the boot, but somehow, at this certain age, when the earth´s gravity is pulling us downwards, I wished to have something " lifting ".

My jeweler experimented on an idea of his, and above you see the result.

Yes, wheeling and dealing again, but in the end, the deal was a win/win.

Wishing you all a great weekend. Next Sunday we will officially light two candles!/m

FASHION / GTO

Yes. GOT, girls outrageously!

My very first red pants. Really. I´ve never had a pair of red pants.

When I saw these, I said - yes, gotta have them. These were 50% off, and I did not even try them on.

By Lexington, model chino, slim leg, normal waist height.

When I tried them on at home, they fit perfectly!

Naturally I cuffed them immediately, as I like my pants absolutely cuffed ( long legs ).

These are of thick cotton, ok for winter wear, and if I cuff them a bit more, the red does not show from under my long coat.

The pants have a bluish hue, so they are not Santa Clause red, and match my color chart.

These are meant for home wear, but since I dress casually, these can be worn going down town too ( with the long coat ).

My dark gray , long sleeved T´s go well with the red and naturally I´ll wear my black/dark gray tights and black shoes/boots.

I´m actually surprised by my sudden choice. It was love at first sight.

And I don´t care, if someone thinks that these are not age appropriate for me. Wow.

What do you think, would you buy colorful jeans/pants and - would you wear them?

Please share. I have already thrown the tags away. I´m keeping these ; )