Our city has it's own pet, an owl

Some of you know that I love owls. The symbolize wisdom, mysticism, but also darkness. In old times the sound of a howling owl ment a bad omen. 100 years ago you recieved bounty for shooting them. Today this typical owl, the eagle owl has been rescued from being endangered but is still very sensitive.

Our city and the mine has a couple of eagle owls as official pets, they also represents our town in bigger sport events. The couple have their nest on a cliff at the mine and they also have their own website with a webcam.  (site also in english)

I haven't bothered about these owls, until now. Many have seen and heard it around the market place and one of the owls has found a perfect perch on top of the church. 

Every evening around 6 o'clock it sits on the cross and howls.

One of your tasks on saturday was to find the owl, because I've never heard it before. The citys facebook group is a good place to check for their current location. So at 17, it sat on the cross, we went there to find it empty. We went to the mine because someone posted shortly after that the owl and his fiance was there, we heard nothing. A man we met, had walked around the mine and didn't see or hear one, so we went to the supermarket to buy groceries. When we came back to the car after shopping, the owl was back on the cross. We went back and there it was. Ho hoo!

It looks tiny. But someone with a better camera took this photo.

Source: Photo by Hansa

I think it's great that we have been able to have this couple in the middle of our city and that people really care about them. We stopped using fire crackers, they have their own fund and every year if they have chicks it's good news.

Lots of nail tips in this post!!

It has become a weekly routine to change nailvarnish. Sundays or saturdays are the days for this activity. You know already that I sit a lot, studying or working by the computor and thats a time I can combine with nail painting.

One design I've always wanted to achieve is the triangled "half moon". I tried with scotch tape, sticky notes etc. You can see my sticky note result at my pointing finger, really bad.

Then Johan came up with the brilliant idea that I should try his electrical tape because its very flexible. It worked great! Another tip is to cut the tape in a small triangle and not a square, that makes it even more flexible, but smaller piece to handle. My ring and pinkie finger nails are masked with the last tape.

I might have written this before but I would like to add some tips to my:

How to grow long nails

List

• File your nails in a pointy shape. Specially if your nails tends to brake from the sides.
• I know eat sleep and live well have influence on how your nails will look and you already know that.
• I have noticed that my nails are breaking easier and are weaker, like my hair, as I become older and coming closer to the menopause (not there yet). So stay young noting the line above.
• Use a nail polish remover that doesn't weaken your nails. I tried one acetone free that actually dilluted the plastic of my keyboard, it contained propylene carbonate. I use one now that contains ethyl acetate and it works fine.
• After the polish remover, wash your hands and moisturize and re-grease them with a oil rich hand cream.
• Use a protecting base coat, like the one in the photo below. Two layers.
• Do your nail art and let the varnish dry completely befor another layer is applied.
• Finish with a hard top coat that protects your design.
• Don't hurry. I did and broke several nails while digging in my handbag for keys.

Winter came...and the cold

We finally got what I call a proper winter, with snow. Guess who's been doing the happy dance?

But...It's the temperature stays lower than -20 degrees, down to -28 at night (-4-(-18) Fahrenheit)

So, all our plans with cross country skiing, skating, downhill skiing are put on hold. It's too damn cold outside.

The air is very dry-frozen right now and skin and throat are very dry (indoors as well). 

This day is magical. If I look up in the sky the air is full of glittering frost particles. If you enlarge the photo below you can see some white dots

 I feel sorry for the animals outdoors but they manage to survive somehow. 

Bat fit update:

Me and a couple of friends have joined a 30 days squats and plank challenge. On the 30th day I will achieve to do the plank for 5 minutes and 250 squats. My goal is to continue with a burpee challenge and then set up a daily scedule for excersize. One goal I had on hold for too long now is to start running again. I really have to set that goal soon, before it's too late.

Nail art

I read a lot of books and work in front of the computor, that can become very boring, so in an attempt to cope with sitting still; I paint my nails. You know, nail varnish needs time to dry, right?

Inspired by Cutenails tutorials I tried nailart myself, an easy one. Well not very easy, my hands are a bit shaky and I will not show you the other hand that I painted with my right hand (I'm lefthanded)

I used a golden varnish as a base and black and ocra acrylic paint to make swirls and dots. The tools comes froma nail art box I bought at the local supermarket, nothing fancy. I used a dotting tool and a fine brush. 

Heres a video of some inspiration. This video is quite old but it's a good starter and she has developed her style tremendously since then.

Like this one

Time for digging down in my books again, while the varnish is drying.

Throwing out old garbage and looking forward to a fresh start

For me Bat Fit has been a lot about mind cleansing recent years. Until las autumn, I was surrounded by toxic people at a toxic job and it left me feeling completely useless. A couple of years ago, I was deeply depressed, suicidal, but during my journey back to life, a couple 

of descisions were taken:

1. Get healthy enough to get another job. If you feel useless and depressed, I can assure you that it is impossible to get hired elsewere.

2. If you don't find a proper job. Think of doing something completely different. So I started school agin at the same time I had my pissy full time job, but it worked great. Eventhough I should be more stressed, I was actually happier and felt that Im not that stupid useless crap my bosses made me think.

3. Get another profession. My goal was to become a highschool teacher in chemistry and I sended out my CV's to a couple of local schools and heard nothing fo 8 months. Last year a principal called and wanted to book an interview. I got a new job.

4. Finish my exam and do a excellent job. This is were I am right now and can admit that I haven't been a good student but a great teacher working too much. I have a couple of essays to write this week before next semester.

5. Loose weight by excersise. My dream is that I will be able to run again. But a broken knee and overweight prevents that now.

6. Eat healthier. I know what works for me and that is low carb with lots of vegetables.

These two last things are difficult as I work most of my time awake. I have to make room for exercise and to make healthy lunch boxes and stop eating in front of the tv. 

All the working, studying and bad eating have given me a stress belly. I have always been an hourglass, but now Im an barrel shaped figure. That is very dangerous because heart failures runs in my family.

During my holiday off work, I've been taken daily walks and a bit of weight lifting.

My face has become really puffy lately.

Thank godness for beautiful surroundings!

My breakfast this morning was a green smoothie. A habit I must start again, slowly. If you don't start slowly you will end up with bad headache.

If you haven't heard about Bat Fit yet, hop over to Frannys blog to read more, and join the amazing facebook group.

I usually hate shopping in town. But as I got money to spend for Christmas I made an exception. A big wool sweater, a pair of earrings, an expensive but very good deodorant and a book. 

For you Swedish speaking readers, I can really recommend Mörkersdottir förlag. The owner writes horror and supernatural fiction and herself and releasing books of other writers, like the one above. 

Sekten på Dimön (The sect on Fog Island) is based on the writers experiences of the Scientiology church were she were living and working for the inner circle. I'll post a review of it once its read.

Time to breathe

A Christmas without decorations is not a great one, I think. So even if I have lack of time I decorated the home. My zink cones got some green moss and shiny red globes

The theme of this years tree was "ordinary" silver and red colours, some antique, some new and lots of homemade ornaments.

It's not very homogenic but it's local and we also supporting a friend by buying it.

I hope your Christmas, or whatever you call it, was nice. We celebrated Christmas eve with my parents in my birthtown. Later in the evening my nephew and girlfriend joined us to the church for midnight ceremony and to listen to our cousin singing. I also met uncles and other cousins. It was a great get together.
On Christmas day, mother in law and kids arrived to eat and change gifts. Calm and pleasant.
The rest of the time has been spent cooking in the kitchen, painting in the garage and walking in the forest. I will start to take things serious again tomorrow, picking up my neglected studies and maybe correcting some mathtests.

Not dead....yet

Im sitting on my front porch, drinking coffe with only a top and trousers. Not freezing at all. Wtf. Its the same temperature like we had at summer soltice. I want snow now... :-( .

Im off from work for winter holidays so I will finally have the time to see what you've been up to. This autumn. See you..