Comic Con in Stockholm

The last days of December. 2024 is soon to be just a memory and sometimes I feel that the most parts have been just nothing to cherish. But there is some moments that have made my year a better one. Last year I and my youngest daughter won some tickets to the Comic Con and this year we bought our own tickets for the same event. We booked a long weekend at a family house outside the big city. We stayed at them last year too and felt safe and slept well. It is a family father that has made his two floor house to a living place for his family on the upper floor and the first floor he rents out to travelers. This year we had luck to get the master bed room. There is a bath room and a kitchen that is for every one. It worked very well. All the rooms were taken, but it did not feel crowded. 

Stockholm and Comic Con. The Q&A, some cosplayers and artists at work.

We had three days at the Comic Con fair hall. So many people in cosplay, selling stuff and so much food in every corner. We did a lot of walking during these three days. This time we focused on the Questions and Answers with three well known actors. It was nice to relax and listen to the interviews and get to know them a bit better. It was Paul Wesley, well known from The Vampire Diaries. I watched that serie with my kids when it was aired here in Sweden. And then he was in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds for a couple of years ago. Husband and I saw that movie. Sadly the Q&A's focused more on his time in The Vampire Diaries, and some young girls in the audience still dream about him as their future husband. 

Mark Williams, from the Harry Potter movies, visited Comic Con too. He is even a comedian, so it was a up lifting and fun time to listen to him. He told a lot of the pros and cons with filming the Harry Potter movies and shared some anecdotes from behind the scenes. He is even well known from the series Father Brown. 

From my 'younger' days, Tom Welling from Smallville had a Q&A too. I watched the whole serie while nursing two kids, in the beginning. It was nice to hear that he is still active. While listening to him, my daughter had an awakening and showed me a picture of Tom Welling in a serie she had seen recently, asking "Is this him?". Said 'Yes, but much older than in Smallville'. We had a good giggle.

Cosplayers.

He looks so sad. Poor thing. 

Some cosplays were really amazing. We went to a short lecture, last year, on how people build up these cosplays and it can take many years to the finished product. This year we listened to other lecture about acting and how you can build your own Falcon (the ship) from Star Wars in real size - if even just a part of it.

Kasia Nie's amazing work on the the magazine.

We had some lovely days. Bought some stuff, especially a Fantomen-magazine to my husband and talked to the artist who had made the front of the magazine. She was really nice and gave us a poster for free and autographed both the poster and the magazine. 

Cute bags from Loungefly. Almost bought one.

Amazing collectibles from Warhammer. Look at the books!

Handmade cute dolls, Amigurumis. Totoro, Zelda and Link as some of the characters.

Keychains!

Lechonk! A Pokémon, a hog, a hungry one! He came home with me!

Optimus Prime, a cosplay. Saw Transformers as a young kid and have seen all the movies. 

Steampunk! Wanted to buy the black watch, so badly. 

Huge LEGO Stormtrooper from Star Wars. And other figurines and more Steampunk...

We both were rather tired after this long weekend, but we felt happy and we had a blast. And probably we will visit Comic Con next Fall/Winter too!

Happy New Year to you and hope the holidays have been lovely! See you in 2025!

Winter time

Surroundings nearby our cottage.

Hello, hello! Hope that you are doing well and are embracing the season you are in. Over here the clocks have been turned back to Winter time and it gets darker and darker earlier in the afternoon. But according to the weather forecasters it is still summer here where we have our cottage. It has been rather warm lately and this morning I had my coffee in the garden.

I have been having some difficulties with my knee. The doctors suspect knee osteoarthritis, so I have some physiotherapy I do and have been twice at the doctor to get an anesthesia for the knee and then a long term injection with cortisone. I was so much in pain but after these injections I got my life back and could walk well and sleep through the night. Such a relief. 

One very sad and heavy happening was getting some mail from The National Board of Forensic Medicine with the results for the autopsy for my dad. I will not go into anything at the moment, maybe later is a post or if you want to ask about it you can in the comments. I will answer. It is good to know what happened, but at the same time not.

And now over to some more fun stuff. 

The lovely forest and Bentley enjoying life.

My daughter at the castle.
Here she is playing a role as the King's alchemist.

The summer time has been lovely, but different. Our youngest daughter worked the whole summer at the castle in Kalmar. She even moved to the town and just visited us at the cottage when she had free days. My husband worked a lot too, so it was mostly my oldest daughter, our dog and I. Did not study this summer, but tried to make some time to work in the garden and the forest nearby, cleansing up and making it nicer. We had Bentley's friend Dante and his owner over a couple of times and they could play. And now our neighbor has a dog too - for hunting. He is still a puppy, Elton, and very cute. Playful too. He finds his way to Bentley every time and they go so well together.

So happy to have Sindy 60th anniversary doll.

She came in an outfit in silver the glitters. 
And some accessories.

Here she is in some clothes that are made for Barbie.

I have ordered some dolls too. Two to be honest. Have been thinking about this a lot and ended up ordering a Sindy and a Betsy. The Sindy doll is a 60th anniversary doll numbered to a limited edition of 1963. Some weeks ago they had some dolls left, but I do not know how it is now. She is really pretty but does not have the old body as I am used to from my childhood. She has even a smaller body, which makes it easy to use Barbie's clothes. Her head is not the soft one, it is harder - but I am pleased with her. 

Betsy on the way out of her box. 
Looking like she has been at the dentist.

Betsy in the sun.
And the little red heart, so adorable.

Betsy on a sunny day in the middle of October.

Took some photos playing with leaves. 
Down left corner - taken some days after she arrived.

Betsy is a BJD made by Gu M.J at Mydolling. Betsy was a one-off doll. She is a beauty. Love her! She and even Sindy arrived safe and sound to our cottage - and got stuck in the customs. Betsy arrived to the door but not Sindy, even if I ordered her like that. Had a discussion with the post office and they said that it was a small letter/parcel that I had to pick up by myself. Told them that I know what it says on the box - deliver to the door. Well, anyway. Betsy is a Janmang : Betsy. There is even Janmang : Sue and even a Janmang : Classic. She is very delicate and has the cutest nose. Sometimes she needs to cheer up! Had some plans to change her name, but my husband told that she is a Betsy, so I kept her name. 

De De in two handmade outfits. The pink one in the down right
corner is made by an older lady and she sold it for almost nothing.
A simple dress, but it works on De De and Betsy.
The other dress is made by Tess Creations.

De De in the sunset with a lantern.
Cleo De Nile doing some dance moves.

Bought some new clothes to De De, my Robert Tonner doll. Could not resist. Then I took my Monster High doll Cleo De Nile and cleansed the glitter parts from her hair. Took her out one windy and sunny summer day and took some photos. The one above is one of my favorites. The dress she has on is made by Kamelia Dolls. it is a skirt for a Barbie sized doll, but I took a blue ribbon and carefully tied it around Cleo's waist. It became like a dress for her. Worked well for the photos I took. 

Everything was in such a pretty yellow color.

In the beginning of October we had such lovely weather. Took my Rainbow High doll for a photoshoot. Some days later we had 2 degrees below zero and that week the leaves started to drop. Most of the trees are naked at the moment and it is time to travel home. We have packed our stuff and hope for a safe trip soon. In the beginning of November it is time for Comic Con, for a whole weekend. 

Hope you are doing well. Stay safe! Will visit you later this week, when I am back home!

So…

 … life. It is so precious and there is really nothing one can do about that. If you get easily sad, upset or something like that — just look at the photos. That is totally OK. 

A well known view, my childhood place.

Esther with a gnome.

I have been a bit silent, even if it was not my plan. Some of you know why, I have posted on Facebook and Instagram. Thought that I could post here too, now that I am feeling a bit better. Last post about the wonderful Comic Con, was planned to follow by a post about the things I bought and then there would be a post about my two new Fairyland dollies. 

Esther with some of my mum's and mine collected things.

Made these, the birds and flowers, to my dad.

But that have to wait. For a while. The year started well and it felt nice. On one Friday late night, in January, I was sitting in the kitchen writing in my Bullet Journal and taking my medication for my diabetes, when the door bell rang. I heard some steps before and someone touching a bunch of keys and thought that it was the neighbor’s son coming home from a party or something alike. I was surprised when our door bell rang. 

Esmé.

Esther and a pink/white cat, that I bought in my youth, in my childhood room.

Bentley, sound a sleep, was up fast but did not bark or sound as he usually does. The girls came up too and wondered who was on the door at this time at night. The youngest daughter looked out the window and saw a police. I did not understand why and what had happened. We woke up my husband and he opened the door. Yes, I could have opened the door but I was afraid and anxious for many reasons and did not understand what was happening. I could see it on my husbands face that he knew. 

Esmé and one of my mother's made cross stitches.

Esmé sitting at a book shelf, with some of my mother's collectibles and my dad's books.

Esmé and gnomes.

And when the police asked after me, I knew too, deep down, but did not want to accept it. 

My dad had past away. 

The two police officers told us what had happened but I could not hear a thing, I was crying and felt devastated. He was doing well during the holidays, in the beginning of the year and we had contact as usually. He said he was feeling well and that all was good. His home care takers and some friends told us that they were a bit worried about his health, and kept an eye on him. When we went to his place to plan, have a funeral and clean up, I spoke to some of his neighbors. They had seen him down town, shopping for groceries, just days before. He had bought coffee, bread, saffron buns and Finnish foods to enjoy during the last holiday in January. 

Met an investigator, because my dad was found dead at home, who was really lovely and guided me through this difficult time. I thought that I would never say or write this; but an autopsy has been made and results will come in this summer. Long wait.

Last sniff.

Last hug.

The most is done after my dads passing and he is resting in peace. 

Hope you had a lovely Easter!

Comic Con & other stuff

Can you believe that it is already 2024? Where did the last three months of the year 2023 go? We arrived safe and sound from our trip from the cottage to home. During the last week at the cottage, my youngest daughter entered a contest through Instagram and Funko Pop. She could win two tickets to Stockholm and the year 2023 Comic Con. She wrote that she would take along her mother, because she likes Funko Pop and that it would be fun for her to try out her cosplays. 

We hoped that we would win, but there was so many contestants that we thought there would be no chance at all. What a joy when they announced that she had won two tickets and for the whole weekend! We booked a room at a family house, packed our bags and left early Friday and came home late Sunday. It was so much fun and we planned full days, so we could take the best out of the weekend. Workshops, Meet and Greet, panels with celebrities, panels with how to airbrush, make cosplay clothes, how to find a way in the jungle of Star Wars and all those tiny shops selling cute stuff. And food!

Yummy bowls with rice, greens, falafel or chicken and sauce.

Bags!

If you are into Steampunk, you could find great stuff for the cosplay.

A couple of times a day the cosplayers showed their outfits.

Storm troopers from Star Wars.

It was a great weekend, but we were so tired when we got home. Have not even gone through all the photos and films I took during those days. 

Good boys!

Just some days later our friend needed to take a trip to visit his sister and help her with some car issues. He had no room in the car for his dog, because he took some new tires along. It was a long trip, so he could now make it at all. Dante, his dog, stayed with us for two days and one night. It was a blast for them and they really played all day long. And night, if they could, but we had them in separate rooms so they could sleep. 

Then it was time for the holidays! I hope that you had a marvellous Christmas and that the New Year started well. We took it easy at home. Good food, calm walks with Bentley in the snow - finally a white Christmas - and enjoyed our free time. Before Christmas I was busy with my huge essay about another Dante - Alighieri and the Divine Comedy. Made it in time and teacher was happy with my text, got an A.

Meet Martha. The pants is hers, but otherwise she is borrowing stuff.
Such a sneaky one.

Lastly, say hello to Martha. I have not had any time to share a box opening when it comes to her or her story. But here she is - my first Minifee from CP/Fairyland. More about her another day!

Enjoy January and I will visit you soon to see what you have been up to!

Cleo DeNile

Hope that all is fine with you! 

It is already October and in some weeks we will leave the cottage and return to civilisation. We will change the forest, boars, deer, bats, moose and lake to the city, wolfs, snow and work/study.

The well known bridge.

At the live show.

Summer memories are nice to think about and during the summer me and my hubby took a trip to a castle where they had an exhibition about "Monet & Friends". At this moment the exhibition is in Bangkok and in Kalmar, nearby our cottage. It will arrive to Perth soon! It was a marvellous opportunity to experience the impressionism in art, in the same way that we experienced Van Gogh the last time, for a couple of years ago, at the Kalmar Castle. 

Swedish royalty dresses from ages ago.

We walked through the castle too, even if we have been there several times. There is always something new to look at.

Cleo DeNile in the box with her pet Tut.

Did a quick stop at the toy store in Kalmar just to see if there was something new. My youngest daughter had brought to my attention some new Monster High dolls (she loves these dolls ever since she was a kid) from the Generation 3. I fell for Cleo DeNile instantly and started to look for her. Could find her at Amazon and other stores online, but the postage was sometimes more expensive than the doll. 

So soft and beautiful.

All her accessories.

I looked around in the toy store, not hoping for much. Saw that they had some of the Rainbow High dolls from last generation and I was not so interested in those at this time. Lifted up my head, to look at the highest shelf - where the extra dolls are, if something is sold out. Among these dolls were three Monster High dolls from G3. 

And one was Cleo DeNile. As a happy adult I made a happy dance in the aisle and made myself as long as I could. Poked with my fingers so I could get a grip of the package, went by the aisle with balls and picked one for Bentley and then right to the cashier. He was happy to take my money and I had nothing against giving him it. He talked about the doll, as he did last time when I bought Rainbow High Georgia Bloom. 

Tut!

Cleo DeNile is one of the protagonists in Monster High and she is the daughter of the Mummy and the sister of Nefera DeNile. The Generation 3 doll is more chubbier than the first version of the doll. This version is one of the 'school is back in session' and the ghouls are fashionable when they come back to the hallways. 

Being cool.

She has a royal blue dress with long sleeves and a chain belt. The boots are knee-high (love them) and she has a fringe jacket (nah, not my style) and some cute accessories. And of course she has cute pet puppy maned Tut!

I am really happy that I found Cleo DeNile and could add her to my collection. 

Enjoy October!

PS: I am feeling a bit better even if I have pain in the joints and are tired...