New trend? Slow traveling!

Slow traveling: Less is more

Slow food, mindfulness, digital detox. Less travels but more intens. More sustainable for yourself and the world. Allow yourself to take time and fill upp with new experiences and meeting people. Slow down sometimes. Every travel may be the purpose again. It will be the new trend again. Less is more.

We travel easy as far as possible... it is easy to book and easy to go where ever you want to go. Nowadays we have been nearly every where... But it is also like the Japanese people used to do Europe, in 3 days... but what have they really seen? Did they really take a look?
Did they feel the weather in the country, taste the food and participate in the way of living?

No, I think it is even worse. It is not only traveling in a hurry. I meet a lot a people working very hard, hurrying trough their lives. Check their (much to long) bucket list. To less time for everything. When they have free off, they celebrate holiday in a hurry. Getting somewhere as soon as possible. No time for enjoying traveling att all. Because they haven't enough time or they are not used to slow down any more. They get bored soon or they are just afraid to meet their selves. The experience can be the goal. It's more easy to reach, always and everyday, when you allow yourself and it is worth a lot. No need to wait for the holiday time.

Easy to say for me, we slowed down some years ago. We had a very serious wake up call. My partner got a severe chronicle illness. And no, even in this modern world there are no options to make it better. We just have to live with it. No jealous faces when your are suffering. So we moved to Sweden, to have good times and enjoy live together now. And of course, you need to have possibilities to do like that... no children growing up and some spare money... but you need to make though decisions too... Because you can do with less, every one can do it... No need to have everything. To have quality time together now is worth a lot. Because may be there is no later....
Now we see even more clearly what is happening around us. And we meet a lot of jealous faces... But there is no need to be jealous, every one can make his own choice and take the consequences, or what?

Because of a severe illness it is not possible to sit for a lang time, driving in a car (even half an hour) is very painful. So we travel by train as much as possible within Sweden. It is very well organised. You will always have a seat, except when it is sold out (In The Netherlands you can always pay for the train but you never know, it can be fully packed so you have to stand some times....). While traveling you can walk around a little, read a book or just look outside of the window. Wondering what houses you see, have a look a the way other people treat their property. Take a look of everything and everyone you meet. Be more mindful. Try to see the charm of small things. Or just try to find some moose beside of the railway road. It makes me feel very happy, always.

Next years it will be more and more important to travel sustainable. Travel less but more intens. Just go for a walk, take your bicycle or take the train. There are also a lot of destinations close around you or nearby you didn't even see anymore, because you were hurried so much. But you can try it again, with some patience and new eyes...it will be better for you and a better world. Both more sustainable for the future.

Why not? Traveling in an old clipper and meet nature!

Sharing is caring

a lot of small cuttings form my old garden

Sharing is caring
Recycling, saving, sharing and exchange things is very trendy. Hypermodern and timeless at the same time. In gardening is recycling already normal for generations. Every one knows about returning green waste back to the ground and make compost. I'm very proud I found a such ace in my garden from former days, which I can use to fertilize the plants without buying a lot of expensive bags (when you have a big garden you need a lot of them). I like to share plants and care for my garden, my family and neighborhood and mother Earth.

Happy with my compost heap

new vines (vildvin) and ivies (murgröna) for next year

May be you still remember your (grand)dad or uncle exchanged cuttings or new grown seeds with neighbors and friends? I saw it last years in the Netherlands in the local gardening clubs on the country side, new initiatives in cities starting urban growing and we saw it also on the Nordic mess this year in Stockholm... Cuttings and new grown seeds are hot and trendy. Beside of that the reproduction of plants is Eco smart, you don't need long transports, it is easy, free of charge and funny to do. When you share with others make it even more funny and cozy. It gives new possibilities to find new varieties and favorites. Just give it a try...

Seasons in Småland Sweden

One of the strange things (for Dutch people living) in Sweden is spring (and autumn) time. In The Netherlands we know four seasons. You will have a real springtime, it takes from February/March to May or June, before the real summertime starts. After that you will have sometimes a little after Summer but mostly a real autumn. With a lot of rain, dark skys and slowly getting colder and colder. In Sweden you have more just Winter and Summertime. It is very cold or warm. Not that much in between. When you are lucky you have 2 or 3 weeks Spring or Autumn. So you can slowly get used to coldness or warmth. Like last year, we had still snow in the beginning of April. After that, in only 2 weeks, really hot summer weather (around 30 degrees) from May till August.

Flowering  Birch trees (Björk)

Forsythia in Springtime Småland Sweden

Fritellaria Meleagris

Cherry flowers

After a very long and warm summer last autumn was like an Indian Summer (called Brittsommar in Sweden) I'm very curious what we will have this year.... 

DIY Easter in Småland Sweden

This time I created some Eastern decorations you can you outside of house, mostly based on organic materials and birchtranches and totally handmade. Like a lovely Eastern hare, some very big (around 45 cm) sustainable contemporary wreaths, a trendy witch broom and a Easter witch herself... Take a look? You like them?

a lovely Eastern hare

a big sustainanble contemporary wreath

Green is new energy

It is already proved, green makes you happy, more balanced, less stressed and quicker to recover. It is refreshing for every one. It is like a battery re-loader for human beings. There have been trails in hospital, they recover more quick in a green room. In this digital world we need it more and more.
Why waiting? Do it now!

• So put plants in your office, they will clean the air.
• Try some plants in your living room (they will supply some extra O2 for you).
• Take care of them once a week, take it as a mindful moment.
• Have not only flowers but also some green plants in your garden (you can find easy ones as well).
• Think about having more green and less stones in your garden (against over floating after heavy rain when at least 60% is not covered with stone).
• Take a bath with a green essence to calm down.
• Have a walk in the forest and just listen to your breath.
• Look at green pictures.

For recharging your batteries, connect to nature's vital forces and color your world green. Just give it a try for a moment, you will feel better immediately, you will never regret....

Mariedals Lanthandel Onsala

This weekend i visited Mariedals Lanthandel in Onsala (near Göteborg). It is out in the countryside. It is very nice to just have a look around. They have a lot of old days cleaning stuff, like linoljesåp (linseedoil soap), marmelades and old days sweets.Very good to clean and maintain your woorden floors, even eco friendly. You can see and buy repainted old furniture. So it can have a new trendy live. Of course they also sell Annie Sloans paint.  I liked it very much. It was worth visiting, I will be back 😄

Blue Zone in Småland Sweden?

Been away to the Netherlands for family circumstances... but now I'm back in Sweden. Starting up my own life again...

Recently I read an article in a Dutch magasin, it made me very happy. I'm a lucky one: I'm very living in a blue zone in the south east of Sweden in Småland 😃.

What is a blue zone? They say it is a area where people on the average get older as in the rest of the world. Most important reasons for this are:

1. Eating a lot of healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables and not that much meat
2. There is a good social control, as it was in the old days
3. Every one is daily active (even older people)
4. Because the location (a little isolated) the habits doesn't change that quick

Some newspapers in Sweden and de Swedish broadcast on TV and radio already some made articles and programs about it some time ago. It is because in this area are relatively living more people above 100 years as in the rest of Sweden, it can even compete with some areas in the world (as you can read above).

Maybe Sweden can be a popular area to travel to for a digital detox. They have lots of nature where you can meet yourself again without any disturbances. You can find detoxing travel experiences on internet to Northern Lapland. Recently they made a film in the Netherlands. "Go to Sweden and have a digital detox....."

Impressions Christmas Market Älmhult

Good times on the Christmas Market in Älmhult this year. Nice handmade products, good music, very good organisation. About 50 stands and 3500 visitors on Sunday and 1750 on Sunday.

We made a lot of Christmas decorations for in and outside. A big assortiment of wreaths and other designs in a colorfull or in a natural way!

Julmarknad Älmhult 8 och 9 december 2018

Välkommen på en riktig Smålandsk julmarknad. Vi ska bli med...Saskia BloemArt and Antz Creations. Kommer du också?

Welcome on a real Smålands Christmas Market. And we will be there...Saskia BloemArt and Arntz Creations. Do you come and visit us?

Sneak preview Christmas decorations for Julmarknad Älmhult 2018

Looking for inspiration? For Christmas Decorations?

Last weeks we have been preparing for the Christmas Market in Älmhult on 8 and 9 december 2018. At first we looked for inspiration, later for good ideas and materials and at last the making off starts.... I'm very satisfied with the results, we made big modern things, and some small. On the market you can find some classic with a twist too. But after all it's all very natural. Like me. I hope you like it too :)

Maybe this is the first step to my dream, to create and sell creative handmade naturel products...

Vi ses på Julmarknad i Älmhult 2018!

vecklat krans or Wreath

Modern krans / Contemporarely wreath

Väggdekoration / walldecoration