Oh, sweet nostalgia of the bubble gum ..

 

 (Click picture to enlarge)

..cards of the filmstars of yesteryear! When filmstars were real stars when television was new and we rarely had a chance to see a movie and there were no glossy film magazines to speak of, we collected filmstar cards like crazy! They were enclosed into the slim packages of a certain chewing gum originating from the UK and soon spread eastwards to Sweden.  I remember the big hit was when you discovered a Doris Day card in your chewing gum! 

A "Doris Day" could easily be traded for five/six "less status" film star cards like those of: Marlon, Liz, Tommy, Kim, Rock, Paul or Louis..

Doris was the chewing gum Jack Pot! Second in popularity after Day was Esther Williams - the pretty swimstar!

 

Check these out: Many of them still remain in memory and film history - some are still on - and others have quietly slipped away through the back stage´s rear exit ..

Tony and Douglas Coakley,were two of the original founders of A&BC Chewing Gum, one of the greatest producers of trade cards formed back in 1949. In its 25-year history it produced some of the best bubble gum and collectors cards ever seen. 

The company folded in 1974. Collectors still cling to their beloved cards with their torn edges..

(Click picture to enlarge)

Oh sweet nostalgia!

 

 

Today´s stars: Forever blowing bubbles.

No cards in the packages anymore..

Sunday supper..

..was "home fished turbot" and brought out of the deep freezer for a Sunday treat!

..served with traditional horse radish and melted butter..

 ..and mashed Gotland potatoes..

 ..and home made herbal sauce with a creme fraiche/mayo base..

Oh, I forgot! Starter was a soup made from home picked ramsons! (Allium ursinus - ramslök)

that grows abundanty in Gotland. Picked in June and stored in the deep freezer..

..to bring out a taste of spring in January.

 

Puff pastry sticks with sesame and  parmesan cheese to go with the soup..

And for dessert? Creme Brulée or Flan as they call it in the Latin Hemsiphere!

A chilled South African Chardonnay went quite well all though this snowy Sunday supper - to a large part originating from the surrounding farm grounds, my garden and the neighbouring Baltic!

A sunny February Friday..

 

 ..the unbelievable Amaryllis I bought for Xmas suddenly came to life and opened into this magnificent polka flower yesterday. I brought it outside for a brief moment to get a picture with the contrasting snowy landscape as a backdrop. It did not mind.

  

 Amazed by its beauty I studied its pretty sun drenched veins for a long time.

And realized just how starved we are for growing life, flowers and trees this time of year!

  

 The snow is now so deep in the garden you walk up to your hips in the white glittering powder. I am happy to have a neighbour with a huge tractor to clear some necessary paths of snow for me.

  

 The Friday sunset with a feeling of pink whipped cream on a child´s birthday cake..

 

Yes. I could not resist bringing myself to the brink of  bankrupcy in buying some marvellous orchids the other day at Lind´s plantshop in Visby.. Here is a pretty yellow and purple Phalenopsis siding up with Ms Polka Amaryllis (.The generic name means "Phalaen[a]-like" and is probably a reference to the genus Phalaena, the name given by Carolus Linnaeus to a group of large moths; the flowers of some species supposedly resemble moths in flight.)

Regarding certain shortcomings by a local police..

 

in Dalarna, Sweden, it is a pleasure today to present this relevant

police paperdoll found in Maggans Nostalgiska Klippdockor 

without any further comments..

  

Needless to say..

..I just  love my car - a Subaru Impreza 4WD- that is really needed here as can be seen above! Mats - my brother-in-law loves it too decided to put this little marvel to the ultimate test and drive it -no, race it - off-pist.(having quite high regards for the Sub!)

However, I was happy that he was the owner of a huge tractor and brought it out of the heavy, 0.6 m deep white mess today in sunny Gotland!
Yes, that is me in red. And I am now mobile again. And still on speaking terms with my brother-in-law!

Morning in a golden frame..

7.30 from my bedroom window. It´s been snowing all night. Sic!
The moon was fading out to be replaced by the sun within hours!

In the kitchen last night, two large eyes were staring requestingly at me through the window. 

A big beautiful black stray cat was sitting on the fire escape looking at me. Earlier in the day, I had found a dead rat in the cellar - I grabbed it by the tail and threw out into the garden. It was gone within minutes. Ecological recycling, no doubt.
Today is a day for cross country skiing through the heartbreakingly beautiful landscape!

Homecoming..

Oh the contrasts! 
(to a few days ago in Egypt!)
 Unbelievable amounts of snow have fallen upon our island in the Baltic! 
This picture was taken just when I returned home. Since then, at least three decimeters have fallen in combination with strong winds and the situation in all if southern Sweden has been labelled  "almost a minor disaster" Tuesday night! News casts report of a "high alert" situation with numbers of traffic accidents and of hundreds of cars deserted along the road side in southern Sweden. Trains and air traffic are chancelled .Warnings are issued for possible power failures. Roofs have been collapsing under the pressure of heavy snow. This has been the worst winter in Sweden since 1987.

My snow shoveler broke down yesterday after a full day of back breaking work to get access to the house! The police advices people to stay home if possible.Yes - it is possible:
Thanks god, I have a deep freezer with at least some food. Maybe this is the perfect chance to prepare for summer and its demanding bikinis..

Wishful thinking...
One has to take a positive approach. "Life on the Bright Side according to Brian"
..with a combination of diet/showelling/cross country skiing exercises..

 

This clip is from Swedish TV last night:

The Red sea gig..

 

..and the colors of Egypt. Hurgada, January 2010.