I take great pride in knowing that my sister doesn’t have any tools left in the house that is now her private vacation home.

Two years ago after out mom died she wanted to sell the house ASAP with everything in it. Which led to me driving a mini van with a trailer non stop for 22 h to visit the house and clear it out. It took a total of eight days of hard work to make sure our family’s personal items did not end up with a stranger.

Fast forward to late last year I just caved in and let her take the house. According to her philosophy the house should have been standing empty since the day I drove the 22h non stop trip back to my home with a jam packed mini van and an equally jam packed trailer.

Which would men she is just about to discover she for one will need to restock the whole kitchen.

Remember now, she wanted to sell the house with everything in it. I offered me to clear it out. So I did. And now, here we are, with me taking great pride in knowing all the things that are indeed missing in that house.

For a prospect buyer that would not have been a problem, but for this particular owner it will cost a lot to even be able to cook dinner…

I could use some inspiration. Cause I feel I completely lost all off it in regards to just about everything and anything. Mostly I lost inspiration about the garden. It feels so messy out there now when the leaves started to fall, and [thanks to the warm weather] the weed is coming back, big time!

So I fell I don't know where to start. Also making me loose inspiration in the garden is the fact I lost one shrubby tree and one tree of the more normal kind. I don't know why they just decided to die.

But it makes me a bit sad. It will also come with expenses to plant something new in their place. Not only that, one [me] also need to figure out what to plant.

Also thriving in the garden are two plants of Black Eyed Suzanne [Thunbergia alata] and I'm not sure planting them was such a good idea in the first place.

In general these plants are more and more starting to feel very invasive like British Ivy if you'd like so I really, really hope they die out before and or during winter and won't come back for next season. Especially after googling up on them.

Which makes me wonder why garden centres keep selling potentially invasive and damaging plants. Thunbergia Alata shou

If I put some strings on the fence in the back garden plants like these could maybe roam free cause anything that covers up that ugly corner will do. But then again, doing so they will eventually cause a problem. So let's not do that.

Instead I sense I will start up some serious damage control when I get back home from work today and remove these plants from our garden once and for all.

It is dark, it is raining, it is Sunday. Days like these make me feel there is no need to take up any kind of activity, except maybe go out and look for one of the kittens that reemerged during yesterday. It drives me crazy I cannot seem to catch them, and the weather is getting worse and worse by the day.

Also bringing me down is we're still not done with the estate of my late mother. Two weeks ago the lawyer said give me one week, and well that week is gone, and still we're not done yet. And it suck all the energy out of me.

On a funnier note, yesterday I finished setting up my first ever Halloween decor. I never even tried doing any kind of Halloween decor before, but though it could be fun with a smaller display in one of our front windows. I believe it came out quite good.

It was fun to finally use the skeleton I pimped some weeks back, as well as the bust that's been standing in our living room for a while waiting for a makeover.

In this case I ripped out the cables which ran the screaming red eyes, and replaced them with a 5m led strip which runs in different colours. In the photo the strip is set for orange pulsating light which feels very fitting.

Now I just need to find a red light bulb for the lamp behind the skeleton and I'm done.

🎄 Mystical and somewhat weird Christmas decorations. What's not to like? 😻

Anyhow, eight were the amount of days it took for me to give up on Substack, and come back to my homey and cosy platform that is Ghost.

So why move one might wonder? It all came down to money. Cause I am no longer interested in self hosting any kind of site. I used to self host and let me tell you this. Nothing good ever comes out of it except for a lot of stress and head aches.

But when choosing to not self host one also chooses a path that may or may not cost money. And in an aim to save money I thought it was a great idea to move my writing into Substack. Just to realise moving into such a bad, BAD editor is exactly the opposite of getting creative.

Cause a bad writing experience is as equally bad as bad reading experience. If one doesn't feel it it won't happen.

And the whole idea of me having this site is actually to write.

Cause I love to write, always did, always will.

But if it gets too complicated and it gets time consuming just to enter a paragraph, a photo, a gallery or a podcast even. Then all the fun is gone and instead of joy I creates stress. The one thing I am trying to get rid of by writing.

So here I am. Writing into the void, or maybe not. I am not sure. Sometimes it feels that is exactly what I'm doing. But in the end of the day I don't write to go viral. I write to release pain, stress and whatever is bothering me.

If you like it, please leave a comment.

🐶 I feel nothing could go wrong having this French Bull Dog for Christmas 🎄

Being Scandinavian of origin I part love IKEA and part hate it. This love hate relationship has been going on for years. What I love about IKEA is i.e. these Christmas decorations I picked up yesterday. For a Scandinavian they scream Christmas traditions which, as we know by now, I love and adore.

Another great thing with IKEA is their textile department.

It amazes me how much amazing stuff they produced over the years that also relates and connect to good old Scandinavian rustic shaker style if you’d like.

What I hate about IKEA is how the quality has gone down the past 15-20 years. Back in the day IKEA furniture really stood the test of time. These days, a lot of the stuff feels and even worse look cheap. I find that a bit of a bummer.

But still I just LOVE the two goats in the photo. They are part of the IKEA Christmas decor and something I stumbled upon yesterday when visiting to buy cookies 🫣

The reason for even being there is I’ve found a place to repair a precious hand bag of mine. I will get back on that, cause walking into that place felt like walking straight into an episode of the highly popular television show The repair shop. So let’s just say I am very excited to see what he can do with a tired handbag. Stay tuned…

Today I cut of my hair. From way below the shoulders to barely fit behind my ears. Kind of drastic but unlike the time when Britney Spears shaved off her head this really was a planned move.

I hope it will be more manageable cause I really don’t like the idea of always sporting a pony tail or some birds nest mess on top of my head.

Also a mess, of another sort was the shopping centre I went to today for *drumroll* their Christmas show. We can summarise it with, it has potential but has a long way to go before even being finished. I kind of feel sorry for them.

Cause their competitors have already been up and running with theirs for two weeks and that must kind of suck when one still has so much work to be done on ones own show.

One of the things that caught my eye was the very much tacky but ugly cute French Bulldogs they had on display. I sense one of those may need to move into our house.

Speaking on moving into our house, I just saw ‘the Joker’ in the back garden. The Joker being the unofficial name of Batman’s brother or sister. I am not sure I am happy or sad about it.

I am happy he/she is still alive.

I am heart broken they don’t seem to be taken care of, how can one other explain no one stepped forward to claim the little Dude when we caught him?

I am also terrified, cause just behind those white tiny feet galloping into our back garden came another, so far unknown, kitten. At least the weather is nice, and if not there is a card board box house set up in our green house.

Fingers crossed I’ll come up with a genius plan to sort this out.

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🍁 I just love the muted tones of the flowers during this time of year, and how they cling on to life before winter ❄️

Yesterday, as usual on a Monday, I went to work. My work is fairly simple. I work as a service technician and for five days per week I drive my car in between clients.

Some of them drive me crazy. As in not being on time!

Being an anal control freak in regards to any kind of time management I’d say it actually does more to me than “just” to drive me crazy.

Anyhow, lately, some of my clients have hired new staff. Young people, the kind who have parents that probably bend in any and every direction to please their young offspring.

Me, myself, and I

And let me tell you this, these people have zero respect for others. It is like watching a herd of Meghan Markles walking around thinking only about; me, myself, and I.

These are the kind of kids one see in Instagram memes, where they are huffing and puffing cause someone happened to walk in between them and their precious phone or camera being set up for the “perfect moment”.

Quite frankly I’m guessing it may even be close to a miracle kids like these even have a job. Which probably is a very triggering thing to put out there, but let’s put it out there anyways.

Anyhow, yesterday, not one, but two of these weird smart phone generation kids were in my way when trying to do my job.

Like literally in my way!

Little did they know that unlike their presumed weak curling parents this b i t c h really don’t give rats ass about them, or their freakin’ sippy cup, that most people gave up at the age of 5 anyway.

Which is why I released my inner Evelyn Couch, you know Katy Bates’ character in the movie Fried Green Tomatoes, and told them to bugger off.

I bet they cried all the way home, and you know what? I really don’t care.

As I said in earlier posts I started to do family research after my mother passed away last year. I’m thinking I’ve also bitched and moaned about my family not being so super exciting as one would have hope for.

Except for being a distant cousin of the great Greta Garbo and the genius that was Alfred Nobel most of my ancestry consists of farmers, creative minds, military (cavalry) and priests.

Not all shabby but so far also not so super exciting.

Little did I know my husband’s bloodline would be a slam dunk of excitement. First there was nothing [deja vu] and then, BAM. So much information rolled in I could not believe my eyes.

Not only did I match him to be a distant cousin of Neil Armstrong [the moon guy] and Agatha Christie [the author], Baden Powell [founder of the Boy Scouts] but on top of that, I have now matched him to descend from the same bloodlines as not one, but four, of the former presidents of the United States of America.

WTF!?

The presidents in order of presidency:

8th Martin van Buren

26th Theodore Roosevelt - one of the four heads on Mount Rushmore

29th Warren G Harding

31st Herbert Hoover

Being the history nerd that I am this feels like a gold mine to dig into.

I also find it very intriguing to have matched him with both Audrey and Katharine Hepburn. Even though everybody say they were not related, turns out they were.

Need to dig in further into that.

Woaw, things do change fast. Two weeks ago we had nice summery weather, and this weekend it really is fall season. In a few days everything seem to have shifted tones and colours from bright green into hues of orange, red and yellow.

Which make me think about people like my oldest best friend who is now set on a sunny Canary Island, and how she will miss all this. To me having four seasons is a blessing.

Not so much of a blessing at times when the weather sucks and the storm makes the trees fold in weird angles is having a big garden.

I was not done with pulling out weed before the weather turned ugly, and now I am not sure I can be bothered. Which in itself just would make a bigger issue of weeds heading into next year.

Feels like heaven...

... not so much

One problem we're getting rid of before the month of December is that horrible Tree of Heaven tree stump in the back garden.

Tree of heaven is classed as an invasive, non-native species under EU Regulation 1143/2014 on invasive alien species. This means it's banned from sale, and it's an offence to plant or allow tree of heaven to spread into the wild. This invasive plant produces an overly abundant amount of seeds, crowds out native species with its dense thickets and secretes a chemical into the soil that is toxic to surrounding plants.

This tree, as beautiful as it is, is something that [together with what felt like tons of British Ivy] came with our house.

We had no idea what is was but started to cut it down two years ago just to see it raise tall again last summer. So in fall last year we cut it down to the ground, and then we covered it up, big time!

First down in our very much biological pile was a wooden plate, and on top of that we placed a heavy layer of old leaves, compost bacteria, compost and old branches to make sure this stump suffered as much as it possibly could.

It's been working pretty well. Cause over the summer I have only had to pull out a couple of its peanut stinking "seedlings", and the only good thing with this plant is these things let go from the ground pretty easy!

Yesterday I did see a new bunch of tiny "heaven trees" coming up, this time from a hole in the stump cover up. So armed with boots, gloves and cardboard boxes to place over the holes in the previous cover up, I went straight into action.

For now, this will make the rest of the stump suffer in the dark a little bit longer.

When the leaves are down from the other plants, that do manage to grow close by, we will dig out the bushes we want to keep, and call in the stump remover guy and clear this thing out once and for all!

Which will lead us to a new problem as in now when both the caravan and the invasive tree is gone, what shall we then do with the far end of our back garden?

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🌺 I love how our guest bath room has come together. Now we just need to finish of the styling 🥂

On my way home from work today I stopped by at another Christmas show to see what they had come up with. And now I feel it. Cause this store really did good.

Even more amazing is the fact I was almost alone in the store, even though it is both Friday.

Cause apparently it is some kind of national bank holiday in Germany today which normally means the Germans invades their neighbours for shopping, more shopping and even more shopping.

Did I mention shopping?

Accept for a tiny sequence with some show girls [but why] this store and their display really sold in the concept and spirit of Christmas. Love it!

Do I love the fact most things are made in China and will never see the light of day after this year's Christmas is over and out? Heck no!

Us humans could do way better than that.

But, what I do love is the fact this holds on to both Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and a strong tradition of Christmas, Christmas joy and Christmas celebrations. So what's not to like?

My next goal is to manage to find both time and my way to IntraTuin in Duiven, the Netherlands.

Rumour has it, Duiven host one of the, if not the biggest, indoor Christmas displays in Europe.

They attract over 100.000 visitors a year just for the Christmas display. So I am thinking what the heck could ever go wrong with a trip up north!

But for now, please feel the Christmas spirit and check out these photos from today's venture. I believe it was totally worth it and cannot wait till I can kick off with decorating our own house for the Holiday Season.

Saving Memories is a private blog and reader supported publication. You can help me grow this site by subscribing, sharing and liking my articles and posts.

A blog about nothing, and yet, somehow, everything. Saving Memories is where daily life, odd thoughts, and small stories find a home.

I've kind if giving up hope in finding the other kitten back. Cause now they are gone again, both he/she and the mama. Which make me and my cat professional friend wonder if they indeed belong to someone.

Quite frankly I'm not sure what is worse?

If the mother is indeed a stray, or feral even, and the kittens are born feral, there's little hope the little guy will make it to Christmas.

Cause there are too many things that could go wrong for any cat in the wild, never mind one that is just about four months old.

A blog about nothing, and yet, somehow, everything. Saving Memories is where daily life, odd thoughts, and small stories find a home.

On the other hand, if they do belong to someone...

That would mean a small kitten could be hiding in our garden for almost a week without anybody missing him.

It would also mean the same kitten, the one we trapped, could spend a week in our house without anybody missing him.

Last but not least it would mean the tiny kitten could be gone for as much as six weeks in total, without anybody missing him or even bothering to put up a flyer, advertise on internet, or even ask their neighbours.

They also failed to respond to our cries for help on an original quest to find his owner.

So my conclusion is, the kitten we found and managed to trap is so much better off than the little dude that is now old enough to be separated from his/her mama just in time for winter.

What do you think?

I’ve been busy...

This time of year the Christmas shows kick off, at least in my part of the world. The other one bigger, bolder and presumably better than the other.

So, since I wasn't home over the weekend, today was the day I went to see the first two ones, and I was so disappointed!

The biggest of the two just felt tacky, and the bunny "humping a tree" [as seen in the gallery] was really not my cup of tea.

I will give them credit for ambience, as in making it dark and cosy around the display so the lights come out at their best even when the sun is up and about.

But it doesn't take away that feel of everything being cheap and tacky.

Normally this place make a great display. This year they missed the mark by far and it was not only disappointing and tacky. It also felt very messy.

The other show, literally next door, is always smaller. Never mind the ambience was lost when the sun was shining in through the roof.

Even so they gave me such a better feeling.

It was more organised, less tacky, and felt I don't know, more Christmassy. And wouldn't that just be the whole idea of a Christmas show anyway?

Saving Memories is a private blog and reader supported publication. You can help me grow this site by subscribing, sharing and liking my articles and posts.

A blog about nothing, and yet, somehow, everything. Saving Memories is where daily life, odd thoughts, and small stories find a home.

🌺 As pretty as it is, this should not be boosting with flowers in October 😐

Seriously, there are cats growing in our back garden. After a weekend away we came home like 10pm on Sunday evening. Minutes later standing in the kitchen looking out on the dark terrace I spotted movement.

Something black, something that had all tell tales of a cat!

Yesterday morning I saw the mama cat that's been missing in action for the five past weeks outside our kitchen window in the other direction. I snuck out at the front of our house. And there it was, the black and white kitten.

The very first one of this trio of cats I spotted some weeks back which lead to some serious cat hunting since the other kitten had been left behind. Where these two have been hiding out the past five weeks is a mystery to me.

But now they're back.

By now, the little one must be around 14 weeks or so, and for sure he/she is in no way equipped for survival "in the wild" when the cold weather [if ever] kicks in.

So once again I find myself on a rescue mission. Once again I hope our greenhouse will turn out to be the perfect place to catch a stray/feral kitten.

I sense it would be too much to hope for to be able to also catch mama cat, who I suspect is more of a stray [dumped] than a feral, but for sure I'm gonna try. Wish me luck!

Over the weekend we took a trip down to the Mosel Valley, Germany and a day out in the city of Luxemburg, Luxemburg.

I honestly can not remember to have set foot in the city of Luxemburg since I was eight years old or so.

Big mistake!

Talk about hidden gem on the tourist maps of the Benelux, where everybody seem to focus on Amsterdam, Keukenhof, Brussels and maybe Brugge.

Me personally enjoyed the fact I have a new party camera as well as a new action kamera. Since this guys [Canon R50V and DJI Action Pro 5] entered my life I started to remember why I took up photography in the first place.

The joy is back and not only that, the idea of not walking around with a phone in my hand to take photos when out and about makes it even better.

In all we could just say I am a bit over and done with this whole idea of always being connected via the phone.

Don't get me wrong I love my phone but I really am trying hard to not turn into a brain dead zombie who cannot do anything without holding it in my hand.

Anyhow, I enjoyed Luxemburg and here are some of the photos I came home with. Hope you'll enjoy 😃

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🐴 Photo from a fountain in Salzburg, Austria. I don't remember it's name but I thought the horses were cool [and weird] so needed to take some photos of them.

This photo is indeed hard edited to bring out the mystery and drama out of it🐴