Ég er flutt/ I have moved

kæru lesendur ég er flutt

Dear readers I´ve moved to https://truflun.net/nerdarella/

Reading

Recently I have been reading on ebook The invisible library by Geneviewe Cogman (wich is the steampunkiest name ever) Ia quite like this book. I am halfway through in a very short time and it goes down smooth.

The book is about Irene a librarian whose job it is to go into alternative worlds and gather dangerous book on the occult and magic. She gets a new underling name Kai and things get very interesting and dangerous.

It´s book nr. 1 of 8 and defenetly will get the other ones on my e reader.

The aeronuts windlass by Jim Butcher is a book totally up my alley. Airship battles and magic. My favorite character is Folly a eatherialist who is very interesting. Book number 1.5 in this series called Cinder spires is next on my reading list. I´ve read some of the Dresden files books by Jim Butcher but this series is totally diffirent.

A wizards guide to defensive baking (what a great title) by T. Kingfisher.  Like most T. Kingfisher novels I loved this one. It´s about a baker apprentice who finds a body in the bakery and is blamed for the crime. She is a lesser witch who can control dough. I don´t want to spoil anything so I will stop here. I think this might have been my favortie T. Kingfisher book yet.

Miss Fisher murder mysteries by Kerry Greenwood

Books 1-5.

I love the Miss fisher murder mysteries tv series with Essie Davis and Nathan Page and the books are just as good but totally diffirent somehow.

Set in Australia in the 1920s, a sassy flapper lady solves crime. I do love a good murder mysteries but only if they are set to happen about 80 years ago. I don´t really like the modern stuff. Same goes for murder podcasts. If it happened in the victorian era to the 50s I like it.

Maybe if it happened longer ago you can distance yourself from it more.

I look forward to reading more about Miss Fisher (she´s very intriguing) and there are 23 books in the series so I´ll be having a lot of fun

 

These are just few of the books I´ve been reading (both on ebooks and audiobooks.

Quietness

So in the end of january I deleted facebook and instagram. I had wanted to do this for a year or so, I felt that I´ve become to addicted to it and it was controlling my life.

When I heard that meta was going to end their fact checking program and people could just write whatever hateful bullshit they wanted it was the kick in the ass I needed to delete everything from meta.

The first week without meta was very strange, so quiet and a bit lonely. I have got a lot of time back wich I have been spending crafting and reading. I have been reading more ebooks, I usually read mostly audiobooks.

I still use tumblr, you can find me as shadowy nerd witch (I love that moniker :)

I find tumblr totally diffirent than meta. It´s less addicting. The only bad thing is that nobody I know is on there.

Cozy sunday

 Two weeks ago or so I tried making a engish tea loaf for the first time.   You have to soak raisins in strong tea overnight.  I like both tea and raisins so I decided to try it.  The recipe had a little too much liquid so I´ll use less next time I try it.  It was good but way too wet.  I had it with some ceylon tea, watched the sunday youtube videos (always a lot of videos on sundays) and did some steampunk jigsaw puzzles.  A very nice sunday.

Reading, listening and watching

Reading:

Legends and Lattes, Bookstores and bonedust by Travis Baldree. I really liked these two. I do love me some fantasy and these books were quite good. I liked all the characters. Somehow you don´t expect a book about an orc, opening up a cafe. Especially when everybody is writing about faries these days.

A court of silver flames by Sarah J. Maas. Speaking of fairies I finished the court of thorns and roses book series. A court of silver flames is the last book and previously I had given up on it.

I like smut as much as every other lady but that book was just too much smut. The book would have been much better without it, it didn´t add anything, it was just annoying. I did like the first 3 books of the series but I feel the author really shot herself in the foot with the last one.

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear.

So I saw one of the people I fallow on Instagram talking about the book and I got exited.

Maisie Dobbs works as a private eye in London in the 20s. She start looking into a resort for former soldiers from ww1 were everything isn´t as it seems. This book reminded me a little bit of Miss Fisher murder mysteries (wich is a show I love and rewatch often)

It was a little slow getting into but it got very interesting. There is 18 books in the series so I see a lot of Maisie Dobbs in my future.

I have actually read books 1 and 2 of Miss Fisher´s murder mysteries by Kerry Greenwood and I´d like to read them all. I really like the characters.

Listening.

I´ve been listening to a lot of hardcore punk recently especially Dead Kennedys.

Ham. This band is always in rotation. If you are not Icelandic Ham is a rock band with cult status that is still active. I´m actually going to see them tonight. I´m very exited.

Twee

I have some twee playlists on spotify. Twee is cute indie music like Belle and Sebastian, She & him and camera obscura.

Recently I bought a casette player. I´ve wanted to do this for a long time. I´m visually impaired and therefore quite clumsy so I thought casettes would fit me better than vinyl (although I use to have record player when I was a teenager). It also fits my minimalistic lifestyle.

The first cassette I bought was Mitski´s Be the cowboy and I really enjoy it.

I have bought 4 more cassettes and I have been raiding thrift stores but I have not found anything but accordion music and 80s tourist tapes from Grand Canary. I´ll be looking around for some more.

Watching

The apocatary diaries. I watch this anime hoping it would akin to Violet Evergarden (wich I really love) It´s not but still very good.

It´s about Maomao who is kidnapped and sold to the imperial palace. She becomes a healer and a food taster and gets into many adventures. It is set in China in the 7^th century. I look forward to seeing season 2.

A lot and lot of youtube videos. I mainly watch youtube and anime because it´s short. I don´t have the attention span for long shows.

Moving

So in the end of march I moved yet again.

For the last 8 years I have moved 8 times, I was in the last place for 3 years so before that it was approx. 2 moves a year.

Now I have gotten lucky (finally) and I got a place I can stay for the rest of my life. I´m so relieved. The constant stress of appartment hunting sure takes a toll.

Now I can breathe.

New socks

 

I recently (yesterday) finished a pair of socks. The pattern is called monte socks by an Icelandic knitting designer Sveina Björk Jóhannesdóttir. I changed it a little (that´s how I do) I skipped the eyelet patterned and made them reach to my calf.

The pattern has a special heel that I like very much, it´s isn´t very complicated and it looks great.

The socks a very comfortable and warm and I´m very pleased with them. I will definietly will be using the heel again, I hate most other heels especially german short row heels (they always have a lot of holes) I guess the heel flap and gusset are the heel i´ve used most often.

 

 

I really want to make a sock pattern called tea and scandal (a miss marple inspired socks) by this handmade life.

Call me miss Frog

 

I frog a lot. I am currently frogging a granny stitch cocoon sweater I thought I would love but didn´t really work out for me (it was too irregular). It will be a bitch to frog all these little squares and it´s trying my patience.

I have this sweater I frogged 4 times and finally on the 5^th go it finally worked out. I don´t really regret any of the frogging, I think it´s better to frog something 4 times than have something in my closet that doesn’t work for me.

So I guess you can call me miss Frog :)

For those who don´t know what frogging is, it´s a crochet and knitting term for undoing something. It´s called frogging because you “rip it”

Off the hook

Recently I finished to the point shawl by Wilma Westenberg.  Pattern here

 

 

I had made this shawl before out of wool but I am changing from wool to cotton and other plantfibers because I have some sensory issues and I can´t take the itchyness.

So I made it out of Drops loves you nr. 7 (I think) and now I can enjoy this beautiful shawl without constantly scratching myself.

Watch, listen, read

I haven´t been on here for 3 years but I want to start blogging again.

So I´ll start with a easy blog

Watching

Star trek the next generation. This is one of my safety shows, always so enjoyable to watch.

Listening

I´ve been listening to a lot of Joy division lately and some other post punk/goth stuff.

Reading

I am reading my way through Terry Pratchett´s discworld again. I am currently on book nr 7 Pyramids.

I finished last month reading series The other´s by Anne Bishop. The first book is called Written in red and I do recommend the whole series if you like supernatural beings and found families.

I am also reading my way through James Elroy´s La quartet I´m on book 2 the big nowhere at the moment. I´m not sure about these books, I find the language incredibly shocking (racist, sexist and homophobic)

All these books are audiobooks but I´m also reading some ebook

Steampunk trilogy by Paul Di Filippo and The Carnelian crow by Coleen Gleason

Well that´s enough for now.

Happy new year

 I wish a happy new year and I hope it will be better than the last one 

Get back into an old hobby

I used to a lot of drawing and painting but haven´t picked it up in about 10 years.

So I bought some watercolors and I have painted one picture of lemons. I decided to start painting fruits because they are simple then I´ll maybe go into flowers.

I haven´t used watercolors much before, I used to use acrylics but decided to change it up. The watercolors are much softer and warmer then the acrylics (and less messy)

So I´m pretty happy with my picture and I´m glad I took a picture of it with my phone before my bunny bit one of the corners (he´s so bad)

I also want to pick up drawing again, I want to start doing some easy going doodleling.

Listen, watch, read

 Listen: Kæla mikla. An ecxellent coldwave band from Iceland. I have been listening to them on replay this whole fall.

Watch: Black lagoon on Netflix. It´s about a bunch of modern day pirates living on a island that is morally lacking. It´s fast paced and loud. It reminds me somewhat of Quentin Tarantino and John Woo.

Reading: The legend of Sleepy Hollow by Irving Washington. For my bookclub I read the legend of sleepy hollow. I had seen the movie many years ago and the book is nothing like the movie. In the book Ichabod Crane is sort of unfortunate looking and (spoilers) it doesn´t end very well for him. It was a fun and short read and now I want to read something more by Irving Washington.

The silent vloggers

 

So my newest obsession are the silent vloggers on youtube. They who I watch are from Korea, Japan and one from China.

In these videos wich are mostly made by women, they do things like cook, bake, craft, garden and snuggle their pets under calming music, without idle chatter.

It´s very relaxing watching these videos and a nice change from the overly peppy and in your face vloggers that can be quite annoying.

I really think everybody needs something calming in these covid times.

Here are some of my favorite silent vloggers

Ondo

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSn90DAxCF3yRs6mFK0-8TA

Plan d

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPaApoLkmPqxCeZF7gjoc3w

Nyangsoop

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrailkufB1aKrKc6l1osRgw/featured

Li Ziqi

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoC47do520os_4DBMEFGg4A

My new flatmate.

 

So in august I got a pet bunny. I have wanted a pet for a long time but always lived somewhere with a no pet polacy.

His name is Kormákur and he´s two years old.

He´s a bit naughty chewing on things like electric cables so I have to get his some sticks and branches.

He´s very cuddly but he doesn´t want to be held.

He often sits next to me and pokes my hand for me to pet him.

He also poke me in the butt when I´m sleeping, trying to wake me up and feed him I guess. I think that´s hilarious.

I hope we can be together for a long time, I like his personality alot and I live alone so it´s nice to come home to somebody.

I joined a book club

I have been meaning to do it for a long time and I found a book club that fit me right.

It´s called the sleepy hollow book club and we read classics and children´s books.

This october we are reading the legend of sleepy hollow by Washington Irving and I look very forward to start.

Here is a link to the book club if anybody is interested.

Sleepy hollow book club

And here is a youtube channel run by the same people.

It´s a charming life

One more pair of socks.

 

So I crochet one more pair of socks. You can never have too many pairs of handmade socks and I wear them all year around.

I have noticed that my crochet socks don´t get as many holes as the knit ones wich is good because fixing holes is so boring.

The only thing I don´t like about these socks is the ribbing, it´s too loose.

I´m thinking of starting knitting the ribbing for my crochet clothes.

I usually crochet front post/back post ribbing and it can be kind of loose and dosn´t do that thing it´s supposed to, to stretch and retract.

Living without furniture

For about 2 months now I have been living without furniture. 
4 years ago I got rid of my huge bulky bed and started sleeping on a futon matress.  It took about a week to get used to it, first I was quite sore.
In the last 4 years I´ve moved 4 times (only once by choice) so getting rid of furniture has helped me a lot.

Last thing I sold was two matresses I bought 2 months ago that didn´t really work for me, they were two bulky and cumbersome.  I really like sleeping on my yoga mat (let´s be honest here; they were mostly unused)
I lay my yoga mat on my rug, put a folded blanket and sheet next then my pillow and duvet. 
It´s really comfy.
I also am getting rid of a coffie table that is to high for me since I always sit on floor cushions.

This living without furniture has made my life much easier. 
I now rent a 20 square meter (200 square feet) appartment and it doesn´t feel cluttered.
Also cleaning takes very little time.

My mother has asked me what I´m going to let my guests sit on.  My friends who have visited me haven´t complained, I think sitting on pillows on the floor for about hour or two (or longer) isn´t going to kill people.  I mean I don´t find sitting on regular chairs very comfy, I get stiff and my knees hurt but it doesn´t kill me.

I would defenetly recomend sitting on the floor on a pillow, your ass will be sore at first but you´ll get used to it.  Same goes for sleeping on the floor.

Getting back into riding my bike

So I moved sunday and started riding my bike again and I´m really out of shape. I haven´t ridden my bike very much when I lived in the other town so I need to work up some stamina.

I also have to admit to myself that this town is just as windy as the other one if not windier, the only diffirence is that now I don´t have to deal both with wind and crazy hills.

Unrelated to the biking, the move went well. My parents and nephew helped me move and we made it in one trip with two cars and a small trailer, being a minimalist sure does make things simpler.  

I´ve already been to the social activity for the disabled yesterday but I did miss the library knitting group monday (time mixup, my mistake) and I am already liking it here.

Moving

Well so I´m moving to another town in about a week.

I fortunately saw an ad for the appartment and jumped on it and I was lucky, I got it.

It´s a very good thing about minimalism is much simpler to move.

I´m almost packed everything and I want to have to have the last week here easy going so I´m going to try finish cleaning the apt. tomorrow.

I´ve lived before in my new town and I liked it very much. It´s called Akranes and it´s so flat my friend calls it little Denmark.

So it won´t be as hard to ride my bicycle as in the town I live now, called Borgarnes. It extremely hilly.

I will miss the people I got to know in my little town, I knew only one person when I moved here so I started to volunteer at the Red cross both because I always wanted to do so and to get to know more people here. I also started going to the weekly craftnight at my town´s yarn store and got to know some more people. Last fall I started going to a social activity for the disabled and elderly where people can craft or play cards (mostly whist).

I do look forward to the social activity for the disabled, montly craftnights at the local yarnstore (I wish they were weekly) and Red cross volunteering in my new town.