kitchen

Jan

2020

I’m still here

Winterskies Photo: ©nini.tjader.2020

In case you wondered… I’m still here.

I’ve been busy with all kinds of things so this blog had to have some rest.

Wallpainting

Walls being painted. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

There was no enjoying autumn really as the outside of the walls of the house were being painted and got in the way of being outside.

Winter?

Garden in November. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

Winter comes and goes. No snow except for a few days here and there. Exceptionally warm outdoors.

Garden in December, 2019. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

In the livingroom. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

Thermostats on the radiators

Then my housing-coop changed thermostats on all the radiators in the entire housing-coop. I have five (5) radiators including the one in the bathroom.

That meant a lot of visits by the guys who did the job coming back several time. Every time we had to move all the furniture and plants in front of the radiators so there would be at least one meter of space in front and around them. They still have to come back for one of my radiators in the kitchen which was broken when they were here but fixed now.

Waterleak

Mid-November I had a waterleak from one of my radiators in the kitchen. A severe one with lots of water coming out from it. It destroyed my floor. Have had visit from the firm that measures how wet it is and decides which measures have to be taken to repair it and the next step is that it will get broken open, dried and then rebuilt.

My floor after the waterleak. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

The week befor Xmas the firm that will remove the floor called and wanted to do that the next day… Who wants their kitchen-floor removed one week before Xmas? Not me. So I said, call back about it after the holidays. Managed to get hold of them today and we booked Tuesday the coming week for the removal of the floor and installation of the fan that will dry it.

Gustav

Gustav visits regularly.

Knitting

Socks from left-over yarns. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2020

And I keep on knitting. Sweaters and mittens and socks. All of them can be seen in my Swedish blog.

Projects

Also dug into my project-basket with things I need sewing. Sewing means I need my kitchen-table. And I won’t have a kitchen-table during the time when the kitchen-floor is drying. Finished a couple of things in that project-basket. Only remains a few pillow-cases in that basket now, but they will have to wait until I have a kitchen-table again.

Sew an apron from an oil-cloth cloth.

Sew a new pair of oven-gloves from old jeans and an old kitchen-towel.

Sew a night-gown of the cloth I bought for it two years ago… Just hadn’t got around to making it until now.

Bedspread in the making. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2020

Finished the machine-seams of the bed-spread I started working on a couple of years ago. Now only remains to make the hand-sewn seems for decoration on it. It is made of two old velvet curtains and the backside is a regular white sheet.

This weekend I will empty the kitchen. That is the table, the chairs, the pallets, a bookcase and some plants. And I will also have to move my work-space from just outside the kitchen into the livingroom as I know I will not be able to sit here when the fan is doing its job in the kitchen. It will be too noisy.

So I’ve been busy with other things than writing in this blog. It is not dead yet though…

Oct

2019

Moving indoors, autumn is here

The jungle in the kitchenwindow. Photo:©nini.tjader.2019

It is autumn. Plants have moved indoors from the patio. It is getting colder and we have had some frost nights.

Jungle in the kitchen

The kitchen jungle. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

It is a jungle in the kitchen. The figtrees and the pelargonias är in since mid September when the weather started to turn to colder, especially the nights got colder.

Plants in the bedroom

Plants in the bedroom. Photo:©nini.tjader.2019

In the bedroom I placed the Caliente pelargonia, one Mårbacka pelargonia and the tall Attar of Roses fragrance pelargonia. I hope they will survive the winter there. As always when they get moved indoors lots of leaves are getting yellow and have to be removed. They still bloom though and I will allow them to do so as long as they want. Some people cut down pelargonias when moving them indoors in the autumn. I don’t unless I have to. I rather cut them down in the spring when they need it. The tall Attar of Roses so far is the one not getting yellow leaves. Yet. And it grows and blooms. I will have to cut it down later as it has reached the ceiling.

Jungle in the livingroom

Plants in the window in the livingroom. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

It is a bit crowded with plants in the livingwoom-window.… Pelargonias and the largest figtree.

Tomatoplant in the livingroom

Since I shot the above picture, I’ve also moved the large tomato-plant indoors, just inside the door to the outside place (kind of tomato is Tiny Tim) as it is full of flowers and tiny tomatoes.

Indoor tomatoes. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

I pluck the tomatoes when they get of size and ripe them on a plate in the kitchen.

Tomatoes ripening indoors. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

No special tricks to get them to ripe. They just lay there on a plate in the warmth of the kitchen and slowly ripe by themselves. Som do all kinds of mumbo-jumbo to get them to ripe. No need for that. Just leave them alone and they will ripe by themselves.

Plants in the livingroom. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

On the other side of the door to the outside place there are two Mårbacka pelargonias and one Aloe Vera that previously lived in the bedroom.

The patio and the garden

The patio is now empty. Not just because I moved all the plants indoors. Well, not all the plants moved indoors. Some, less worth to try to spare over the winter went into the dumpster. But there was another reason too why the entire outside place got emptied. The wooden parts of the house were to get painted.

Painting of the walls. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

So furniture was moved out on the grass to make room for the painters and the scaffoldings.

Walls getting painted. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

So life in garden and outdoors was finished earlier than usual.

The painting is almost finished now. They are supposed to be done by the coming Tuesday. Then I can go out and move the furniture back to the patio, and check damage on plants in the garden. I’ve done a quick check and it isn’t as bad as it could have been. But some damage there is.

Most of the scaffolding was already gone yesterday. Last time the walls were painted was only five years ago. It needed to be done now to protect the wooden parts. I hope it lasts longer than 5 years this time…

Aug

2019

On my windowsills

The western kitchenwindow 2019-+8-17. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

In my opinion, windowsills are for plants and flowers. Makes the rooms nice to be in.

At this time of the year, the content on the windowsills is in transition between summer and autumn and there are far less plants there than in the cold season as some of them live outdoors during the warm season.

Kitchenwindows 2019-08-17. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

In the kitchen

My kitchen has two dinws. One to the south, one to the west. In the kitchen I use plants instead of curtains. One of the plants is my huge philodendron that follow the curtainrod over both the windows. It starts in its pot on the floor though. I’ve had that one for many years by now and it started its life in my previous flat.

The southern kitchenwindow, 2019-08-17. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

In the southern kitchenwindow I presently have two hanging plants and smaller ones on the sill. There are one small cactus (that grows really slow), three Saint Paulia grewn from leaves, and one Thai Basil to the right which you cannot see in this picture.

The western kitchenwindow, 2019-08-17. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

In between the two dinwos I presently have a kind of cactus on a high stand, then cuttings from fig trees and Saint Paulia and a regular basil. Two hanging pots with tradescandia (two different kinds). And a potus hainging up there as well.

Hanging plant in the kitchenwindow. 2019-08-17. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

In the corner between the two windows in the kitchen, 2019-08-17. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

In the livingroom

In the livingroom I have one west-facing window beside the door to the patio.

Livingroomwindow, 2019-08-17.Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

I recently re-organized the plants in the livingroom-window and moved one of the hanging plants from the kitchen to here. There was more room in the window here than in the kitchen. I also led the Monkey Face monstera upwards when I gave it a larger pot and new soil as it was becoming very long.

I have a bench in front of the window to be able to have more plants there. The lamp on the bench is from Ikea, but the bulb in it from ICA Maxi (grocery store).

Ficus. 2019-08-17. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

The above ficus is from cuttings from my neighbour. It is fast getting big now so it too got new soil and a new pot.

Monkey Face monstera in the livingroom window, 2019-08-17. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

On the floor in the corner of the livingroomwindow I have a hug tradescantia. Had to get a new plantstand for it from Ikea. It still reaches the floor from the stand…

Tradescantia in the livingroom, 2019-08-17. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

In the bedroom

I have one small window in the bedroom.

Bedroomwindow 2019-08-17. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

The bedroomwindow is pretty empty presently On the sill, behind the curtains, are my cactus plants. The I have a chests of drawers in front of the window that I also use for plants, but mainly wintertime. At the moment there are only two aloe vera here. Wintertime some of my pelargonias live here.

Cactus and haworthia in the bedroomwindow, 2019-08-17. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

In just a month or so I will have to solve the problem of where to put my figtrees and pelargonias that have to come in from the patio. Which to keep and which not and where to place them. Meanwhile they are just fine outdoors.

Feb

2019

The ugly season and pelargonias

The garden, 2019-02-16. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

It is now officially the ugly season. The period between winter and spring. And the time for the pelargonias to wake up.
Snow is gone – hopefully we will not see any more snow this season.
Greenery hasn’t woke up yet. But it will the next couple of days as warmer weather has been promised.
It is still cold outdoors. One day it rains. The next it snows. The next it rains.

icy, — Icy 2019-02-09. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

Or sudden frost and really cold nights that makes it next to impossible to walk outdoors on sidewalks and walkways. The green grass is about to wake up, but not really yet…

Gustav wounded. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

Gustav, the neighbour cat, got wounded catching a fat rat. Gustav is fine now and healing fast. He caught the rat that for some time was stealing bird-food and even climbed the metalrod to get to the feeder. I’ve removed msot fo the bird-food since I saw him/her the first time. Bird with a tail in the feeder? No thanks.

Dead rat, 2019-02-19. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

The rat is dead and went in to the common bin. Good riddance… Gustav killed it and brought into his mom and left it on her office floor… I am grateful that he doesn’t consider me being his mom so he has to bring me such gifts…

Mårbacka pelargonia. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

With the increasing daylight, the few pelargonias that have survived the winter and the dark are waking up. Above is a cutting that came from the large Mårbacka pelargonia as it broke off from it when I moved it indoors in the autumn.

The mother plant of the Mårbacka pelargonia. Photo ©nini.tjader.2019

The motherplant has woken too. I need to cut it down soon and make more cuttings from it. It is growing high. Presently it is 65 cm high from earth up.

Bontrosai pelargonia. Photo: ©ninitjader.2019

The Bontrosai pelargonia – which originally, a year ago, was the top of Ulla’s Bontrosai – is ridiculously high, 75 cm from earth up. It too needs to be cut down, get a new pot, and get siblings. Any day now. I have waited for the daylight to increase.

snowdrop, springflower — Snowdrop, 2019-02-17. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

The first springflower, a snowdrop appeared a week ago. I have seen the leafs of the crocus coming too, but so far no flowers. But soon.

I long for the real spring, warmth, more light, no frost…

Meanwhile when waiting for warmer weather I go 3 times a week to the gym. Above my gym group on February 4th 2019. Till in the middle with Anette our trainer had birthday that day.

Present knitting, a greenish cardigan. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

And I knit (will return to more about that another day). Presently a multi-coloured cardigan from top to bottom. First sleeve almost don, second to follow.

yarn, book, needles — Bought on fair. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

I also visited the Sy- & Hantverksmässan, also called Syfestivalen, on Februari 15th with friend Ulla. I visit this fair whenever it occurs, which is twice a year. The above is what I got this time. The five balls of Opal yarn I won at a contest on the homepage of the fair. The six red skeins will become a simpla sweater when I am done with the cardigan above. This time from a Norwegian pattern that I bought on Ravelry. Looking forward to start it… I try not to knit more than one thing at the time and never start the next project until the one I am working on is done.

yarn, pattern — Yarn and pattern. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

And meanwhile the jungle in the kitchenwindows is still there.

kitchenwindows, kitchen — In the kitchen, 2019-01-27. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2019

May

2018

Timeless design

Timeless design. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

I have some items which I have inherited from my parents which I still use. They all have a very timeless design that is good. These items are still very useful.

These funnels for instance I use very frequently to fill bottles or other things when I need to. they are enameled metal from Kockums. White with a blue rim. I’ve seen them all my life. Nowadays the enameled items from Kockums are collectors items and frequently sold at auctions.

Another funnel/with holes in/ from the same time is the above of stainless steel. Still useful. Never brakes…

A tool for pancakes. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

Then there is timeless tool for turning pancakes around to its other side. It is old and ugly and has been used at least since I was a child. This is the only tool which is reliable to flip a pancake to the other side when done on the first side. For a long time there were none of this tool to be found in shops. I really tried to find a newer and better-looking one to exchange this one but didn’t manage. Now it has reappeared. Still the same form of it though as this is the only one that works. Some use regular turners for this purpose, but they are not as good at turning the pancakes around.

Pancake iron. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

Then there is the old pancake iron. Made of iron. Heavy. But the best to make pancakes in.

Pancake iron for small pancakes “plättlagg” in Swedish. Photos: ©nini.tjader.2018

And then there is the fryingpan for making small pancakes. Called “plättlagg” in Swedish. Both the above I’ve inherited from my mother and have seen all my life. I use both on and off still today.

And the iron pot which was/is used for stews or casseroles. Also heavy iron. Can be used on open fire. When I was little we had a gas stove and it was used there in its oven for the casserole we got once a week as long as my mother was alive (she died at age 55). A really timeless kitchen item with timeless design. Still very useable. I got really fed up with the Sunday casserole though and have never cooked that again in grown-up life. Other casseroles though I like and sometimes use this iron pot for them.

Timeless design for iron pans. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

I’ve also kept the two ironpans. They are way too heavy though to cook comfortably with. But they are good.

There are also some ceramic pots that have a timeless design. Like the one below. When I was a child it was used to store butter in and kept in the cold storage cupboard we had. There were no fridges at the time. It presently serves a as a flowerpot for some small cactuses which are planted in a pot that is smaller than this one and put inside.

Timeless design. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2018

These are only some examples of timeless design that lasts still today. These will be around and used for many years still.

Aug

2017

The Green Curtain

The green curtain. Photo: ©nini,tjader.2017

I’ve written about this before, I know. That is, how I stopped using curtains in the kitchen and opted for a green curtain of plants instead. This green curtain has changed over time though so I thought I’d show some recent pictures of how my windows presently look in the kitchen. They will soon change again when some of the plants that are outside on the patio move indoors when the season changes to autumn. It is still summer-like outside, but we have already had some really cold nights. So, soon enough, plants will be moving indoors.

The green curtain. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

The name of the plant above is rhipsalis, a cactus-relative. More about it here.

The green curtain. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

The good about it is that it sifts the light through it and does’t make the kitchen dark. It hangs on the curtain rod above the south-facing window in the kitchen together with another green plant.

The green curtain. Photo. ©nini.tjader.2017

I don’t think the green one to the right (with white stripes on the leaves) is a tradescantia, even though it is somewhat similar to them. Its “flowers” look more like the ones on pepperomia plants. I have no idea which one it is though. The pepperomia family is large.

The green curtain. Photo. ©nini.tjader.2017

Above the two windows in the kitchen a large, and by now quite old, philodendron hangs on the curtain rods and follows the upper part of the window along the ceiling. I have had that one for years already in my previous flat. I know I cut it down a couple of times in my previous flat when I thought it got too tall (long). It had a period this spring and summer getting yellow leaves which fell off, but we are now past that period. It grows new stems again. And new leaves. I probably ought to fill in some fresh soil into the pot it grows in. Otherwise it doesn’t ask for much maintenance. As long as it gets watered it is happy.

The green curtain, philodendron. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

The green curtains, philodendron. Photo. ©nini.tjader.2017

I have no idea where to lead it when it reaches the end of the second, west-facing, window. It will soon do that……

The green curtain. Photo. ©nini.tjader.2017

In the corner between the two windows I have a plantstand (from IKEA) which presently houses one of my two stephanotis floribunda (doftranka in Swedish). I got them from a neighbour that moved north in June 2015. This one is soon up to the ceiling as well. It has grown a lot since I replanted it in a new, larger pot, with fresh soil this summer. The other one stands in the livingroom.

The green curtain. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

Above it hangs a “wandering jew”, a tradescantia. I have re-started that one several times since I got it as it periodically gets a bit ugly and looses all its leaves at the end that grows in the soil and only keeps the ones on its tops. I then cut the tops off and put them in new soil and -re-start it. Works really well.

The green curtain. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

To the right of the tradescantia hangs two of Ikeas hanging planters, one attached to the other, with in total six (6) spider plants.

The green curtain. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

They presently bloom and have lots of spider plant “babies” hanging down from them.

The green curtain. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

These “babies” are actually ready to plant, but neither I, nor my neighbour, nor other friends, need any more of them.

The green curtain. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

Its flowers are small and white. Rather nice actually. I’ll keep the “babies” and its flower hanging there for a while yet, as long as they look fresh, but in the end, I will probably cut them all off. There will be more of them again.

The green curtain. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

My white orchid is blooming again. On a stem that dried out to half its length and then suddenly shot out a new stem. It is not that long ago since its previous blooming. On the windowsill behind it you can see a cutting from the philodendron. I took that off some time in the spring for someone who wanted a cutting. But it turned out to be too complicated to deliver it, so it still stands there on my window-sill. It took for ever for it to get roots, but now it has and its growing.

What I have on the window-sills presently isn’t all that interesting and it will change soon when I bring in some of the plants from outside. I have my six (6) orchids – which I presently test growing in water only – there and some other smaller plants.

Who needs curtains when you have plants? I have blinds though in case I want to hide from the world outside. I almost never use them.

The green curtain. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

Feb

2017

My kitchen presently

My kitchen. Photo ©nini,tjader.2017

This is my kitchen presently, in Februari 2017. I know I have shown it before, but it changes slightly over time, which is why I sometimes come back to it with new pictures. That wall-paper has still not got exchanged…

My kitchen windows on a sunny morning. Photo ©nini.tjader.2017

My kitchen has the most fantastic light in the mornings if the sun is shining.

My kitchen windows. Photo:©nini.tjader.2017

The kitchen has two windows in an angle. The one to the left faces south, the one to the right faces west. They are perfect for flowers of all kinds.

In my kitchen. The windows. Photo:©nini.tjader.2017

I do not use curtains in the kitchen. Instead I have this now huge philodendron plant which grows along the top of the windows, attached to the curtain-rods. I do not have neighbours or passers by that can look into the kitchen anyway even though I live on the ground floor. I do have blinds in case I need to block out the light for some reason.

My kitchen.Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

The floors are oak parquet (as is the entire flat). The floor is easy to maintain, not as parquet floors used to be when I grew up. Nowadays they are very practical.

My kitchen carpet. Photo: ©nini,tjader.2017

As the falt is on the ground floor the floors are pretty cold (if you ask me), so I have carpets everywhere and in the kitchen too. The present carpet is from IKEA and called Ravnsö. I love its colors. It is flat-woven, which is a must when you have chairs to draw out and in from under the table. I had another Ikea carpet before which drove me nuts in that respect.

My kitchen ceiling lamp. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

The ceiling lamp looks like a designerlamp called SEMI, but it isn’t. This one is an old Ikea-lamp that I love which has followed me through several flats by now. As the electric attachments in this flat were different than in my previous flat (more modern), and the kitchen also has a sloping roof and no electric outlet in the roof, I exchanged the electricity in the lamp when I move in here and gave it a longer cord. It was much needed. Because of the sloping roof it also got an extended arm to hang in (not seen in the pictures).

My kitchen. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

The kitchen is more or less square and has a nice size. It could have been better planned though when it comes to cupboards, fridge and freezer.

My kitchen Photo:©nini.tjader.2017

In the corner in the picture above there used to be a regular bottom cupboard, I exchanged its content a couple of yeras ago to drawers instead of shelves. The shelves were impossible down there in that corner. You couldn’t reach anything without first more or less emptying the cupboard. It is also 60 cms deep which made the shelves down there in the corner really hard to be useful. I love those drawers. They were worth the cost.

My kitchen. Photo ©nini.tjader.2017

I have plenty of cupboards but no real pantry. For a while I used an Ikea Billy bookcase with doors as pantry. When I exahnged the shelves for drawers in the bottom cupboard though the drawers became my pantry for all dry stuff. Those drawers has a lot of space for your dry goods.

My kitchen. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

My kitchen. Photo:©nini.tjader.2017

I’ve got two sinks, both pretty big,

The coffebrewer. Photo. ©nini.tjader.2017

Just beside the sinks is my coffee-brewer. I love its rounded form and that it is bright red.

The benches are oak-imitation. I would love to change it for something else.

My kitchen. Photo:©nini.tjader.2017

The stove is an Electrolux stove with glass ceramic top. I didn’t want an induction top when I exchanged the stove two years ago as that would have meant that I would have had to exchange several of my pots and pans.

My kitchen. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

Just above the stove is the kitchenfan and a spicerack. Only the spices I use the most are kept here, the rest I keep in the cupboard to the left of the fan-cupboard where it is dark.

My kitchen. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

To the right of the stove I keep all those things and tools that are essential when cooking, plus two black bread-boxes and the cutting boards.

The hanging shelf under the cupboard I found a Lidl some years ago. Comes in handy for small stuff.

My kitchen. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

There are more cupboards on the other side of the kitchen.

My kitchen. Photo:©nini.tjader.2017

Here you also look out to my work-corner and the two halls that you pass to come to the kitchen.

My kitchen. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

In the corner there you see the fridge and the freezer. Really small. I would love to have full size fridge and freezer. That would mean though that I would have to remove some cupboards. Heights is also an issue because of the sloping roof.

My kitchen. Photo ©nini.tjader.2017

On my fridge/freezer.

My kitchen. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

The cupboards beside the fridge/freezer. That fake oak-top again.

My kitchen. PHoto: ©nini.tjader.2017

My kitchen. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

Tea, cacao and regular coffee (red tin in the bottom row) are kept on these small shelves from Ikea (not sold any longer).

That wall-paper will be exchanged one day…

My kitchen. Photo ©nini.tjader.2017

Under the tea-shelves is the Ikea-trolley with all kinds of dry stuff that I didn’t find a logical place for elsewhere. To the right of that is a bookcase with cookery-books, recipes and the like. Presently my former iMac also stands there. Have to empty it and try to sell it. It has a sick graphic card that needs to be changed if it will be possible to use properly. It also isnät compatible with the latest OS.

The kitchen bookcase. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2017

That concludes the kitchen roundtrip.

My kitchen. Photo:©nini.tjader.2017

Nov

2016

Kitchenplants in November

My kitchenplants in November 2017. Photo. ©nini.tjader.2016

The kitchenplants in my kitchenwindows look their best in the morning, provided the sun is shining. This time of the year is usually dark and gloomy with very little daylight. So, when there IS som daylight I try to use it to shoot some pictures. In November the Xmas decorations etc are not up and around yet. They will be very soon. Those days when the sun shines – long in between – the light in the kitchen is beautiful in the mornings.

My kitchenplants in November 2016. Photo:©nini.tjader.2016

I cannot get enough of that light.

My kitchenplants in November 2016. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2016

The plants in the kitchenwindows vary over time. This is the situation just now. Some die, new ones are added, some move from these windows to other windows.

My kitchenplants in November 2016. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2016

Plants in my kitchenwindows in November 2016. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2016

I’ve got six (6) orchids. Three of them nowadays are placed in the plant-hangers, two in one of the windows, and one has moved onto the plantstand where I earlier had the muelenbeckia (now removed and in the trash). All six of the orchids will soon bloom. Flowerstems and buds are on their way.

Kitchenlants November 2016. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2016

Before the orchids open their flowers I will have re-planted them, cleaned their roots and placed them in some new pots. (I’ve been collecting/assembling some nice glass vases for this purpose). All my orchids are growing horizontally and have huge bundles of roots, some alive, some not.

My ginkgo biloba above is losing leafs presently and some of those that have not fallen off are getting somewhat yellow. I guess that is normal? I don’t think it is supposed to be green the year around.

Kitchenplants November 2016. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2016

The hanging plants – including three of the orchids – are those plants that look the best presently. Despite the normally grey and dark November-light. It is only this light when the sun is out and it is morning.

Kitchenplants November 2016. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2016

I’ve restarted the above plant. Its stems got all naked and had leaves only at the end of them. So I simply reduced their lengths and put them into new soil. They get roots very fast and now look just fine.

Kitchenplants November 2016. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2016

Its green relative has never looked better. I love it the way it looks just now.

Kitchenplants, November 2016. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2016

Even this small plant is looking good. It even got “flowers”, lots of them.

Kitchenplants, rosemary. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2016

One of my two rosemary plants – which both live outdoors during the warm season – is still having flowers. Both seem to be at good health indoors so far.

Kitchenlants, white pelargonia November 2016. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2016

I only kept one of my pelargonias when it was time to move them indoor. Simply didn’t have space for all of them. The one I kept is the white one. I kept the smallest of them. It keeps on getting new flowers…

Kitchenplants November 2016. Photo:©nini.tjader.2016

And this one… I divided it into two in the spring and they are both thriving and throwing out long arms with flowers and leaves. They’ve become really big.

Kitchenplants in November, 2016. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2016

Oh, almost forgot about this one. A fragranced pelargonia. I’ve been waiting for it to grow roots for weeks. Now they come, at the darkest period of the year. If it survives the rest of the winter I’ll have one more pelargonia for next year.

Kitchenplants in November 2016. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2016

The above picture of one of the kitchenwindows was shot last week when the snow was still there outside. All white and adding light. All the snow is gone by now. It has all melted.

I love that light in the kitchen in the mornings. So do my kitchenplants.

Oct

2016

Terrible Colors

Kitchen. Image from ELLE Decoration.

There are terrible colors and there are colors.

There is this very colorful flat featured at ELLE Decoration presently. It is also featured in their Instagram-account.

I find it awful…
A kitchen with pink cupboards and teal colored floors…
I would personally turn back out from that kitchen immediately. Definitely doesn’t get me in the mood to cook or anything else you usually do in the kitchen. These colors… According to ELLE Decoration those are beautiful colors… I couldn’t disagree more.

Livingroom. Image from ELLE Decoration.

And the livingroom isn’t one bit better. Sofa with different shades of green in the sofa cushions, paired with lilac walls and a red carpet on a dark-blue floor… No thanks. I think the sofa opposite to the green one is pink… It is just too much. Makes me nauseous.

That many colors, in those combinations, only makes me want to immediately turn my back and get out of it. That is, if I was in that house… There is no rest in that house (feng-shui someone?). How can you relax with these colors and color-combinations?

I actually like colors.
But not like this.
And not combined liked this.

How an interior decoration magazine like ELLE Decoration actually can find it beautiful is beyond my comprehension. This hurts my eyes and makes me sea-sick.

The flat is located in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Sep

2016

New kitchen carpet in place

RAVNSÖ carpet in the kitchen. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2016

A new kitchen carpet is now in place.

RAVNSÖ carpet in the kitchen. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2016

I finally decided on the striped wool-carpet RAVNSÖ from IKEA. Size 170 x 240 cms. I would provide a link if it was available on Ikeas site, but it isn’t there. As Ikea explained it when I asked, it isn’t there because you cannot order it via internet. (That might change in the future?)

RAVNSÖ carpet in the kitchen. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2016

I really, really like it. And I like the colorfulness it adds. Had som trouble taking pictures of it as the autumn-light in the afternoon – when I shot the pictures – comes in at a not so good angle. But at least you see how the carpet looks there.

RAVNSÖ carpet in the kitchen. Photo: ©nini.tjader.2016

One thing I had to remove in the kitchen was the very colorful tablecloth I normally have there. Didn’t go well together with the carpet. Have to get a new one in one color only. The carpet goes well with all my chair-cushions though and no matter which I use they match well.

So, what happened to the carpet I had in the kitchen previously?

The previous carpet (LOHALS from Ikea) I moved from the kitchen to the bedroom. Makes the bedroom lighter. The carpet I had there before was blue, making the bedroom all dark blue. I’ve also always liked the feel of the LOHALS carpet under bare feet. My floors need carpets as living on the ground floor makes them rather cold at times. I think it looks good here. The discarded blue carpet I will throw out. It has seen better days.

I do need to move the carpet slightly to the left though as it is a little bit too long for the room and there is about 10 cms left to the cupboards. But, presently it got stuck here like this as it is very heavy to move, with bed and all on it. Gustav, the neighbors cat, was in here when I did this, sitting on the bed during all the lifting and shuffling… He got all excited about it… No wonder the carpet didn’t land exactly right… No pictures though as I was busy lifting the bed and moving the carpet into place.

Another day soon I will move the carpet closer to the window so I get less carpet up the wall in the other end (not in the picture).

Sep

2016

Changed my mind about carpet for the kitchen

I had time to change my mind about which new carpet to get for the kitchen. I will still change the carpet and put the present one into the bedroom, but I will not get the one I previously said I’d buy. I had time to change my mind because the carpet I intended to get, LOBBÄK below, was not in yet at Ikea and still isn’t.

You all the time get stuck with the chairs in the present LOHALS carpet so I just have to get something else that is less annoying.

Ikea LOBBÄK carpet. Photo from Ikea.

I will NOT get the above one… It is too beige-grey-colorless.

Because I want more color in the kitchen. Color that goes with the various cushion-seats on the kitchen-chairs and also with new wallpaper (whenever I get around to that).

I found the above striped carpet at Ikea. Wool. Flat-woven. One of the new ones for the autumn at Ikea.

Simple, colorful but not too colorful, flat-woven, wool. Perfect with whichever chair-cushions used when it comes to color. Also not too wild and not too strong colors and still colorful (if you understand what I mean). 170×240 cms in size.

They had three carpets in store when I last visited. Otherwise it is listed as one of the new items for October… and it isn’t October yet. And it cannot be found on the Ikea-website…

RAVNSÖ carpet from Ikea. Photo: IKEA

OR should I go for the KATTRUP carpet instead?

More folkloristic. Wool. Flat-woven. IKEA has had this one for quite some time. I’ve always liked it. Available in two big sizes. I think 170×240 is large enough even though the present kitchen-carpet is 200×300.

The colors of the Kattrup carpet has changed somewhat over the years. Ikea even has it in grey-scale now. I like the red one though.

My friend Monica (R.I.P.) had it in her kitchen. Below how it looked in her kitchen in Umeå in September 2013.

KATTRUP carpet by Ikea at Monica’s in Umeå September 2013.

So, which one should I get?

Aug

2016

Some of the plants in the kitchen

This is some of the plants in the kitchen. I love having greenery around me. I have two windows in the kitchen. The one to the left is south-facing, the one to the right is west-facing. And then there is the plant-stand in the corner between them.

The plant-stand is fairly new. It comes from ikea and is called SATSUMAS. I like it because it is airy and gives a light impression. Its inclusion in the kitchen though is one of the reasons that the large aloe vera that used to live there had to move elsewhere. It is simply too heavy. Each platform on this plant-stand can only take 5 kilos.

One of the plants on the plant-stand that got moved to the kitchen recently is my corokia cotoneaster, or zig-zag-plant as some call it. After a couple of weeks there it seems to like its new place. It is very hard to take pictures of as the leaves are so small, many and spread. The pot it lives in is very light despite its size.

I got the pot from former neighbors Lars & Camilla when they moved north last summer. They thought it might get destroyed in the move. I also got four stephanotis, pots included, from them. Two I’ve kept, one I gave on to neighbor Gullis and one to friend Ulla in town.

Also on the plant-stand is my ginkgo biloba, which has moved around a lot in the flat since I got it at a garden fair in the spring. It has grown since I bought it and it too seems to like its new place in the kitchen.

The newest plant in the kitchen is the above one, which has only been in my kitchen a short time yet. I hope it will like it here. It is a muehlenbeckia complexa (in Swedish called slideranka or plättar-i-luften) or maidenhair vine or a lot of other names. Very trendy in interiors presently…

Another change for the plants in the kitchen windows is that I’ve moved three of my orchids (I have six) into the hanging plant-containers (from IKEA) in the window. I took the opportunity to do that when the latest flowering had passed. Next time the flowers come the flowers will be allowed to hang out from the container. I will move down the one in the top container and up the one with green-white leaves. There is another one of those in the top one. I divided the original plant some time ago. Now both have flowers.

In one of the kitchenwindows lives one of my stephanotis floribunda, a very common house plant. I have two. The other one hangs in the window in the livingroom. This one also used to be in the livingroom, but moved here when I moved the aloe vera to the livingroom. Funny thing is, it totally changed its form when it got its place in the kitchen windows. It now gets light from two directions which causes its leaves to turn in new directions. I like it.

I keep moving plants around depending on the season. When the cold season comes (October?) some of my outside plants will move inside. That will totally change the situation and fill all available space with plants from out on the patio.

This is the south-facing window. This orchid is the last still blooming. It grows in a crazy way… Will have to do something about that when it stops blooming.

The large plant surrounding the window, a philodendron I’ve had for almost two decades, is now reaching the second window as well. It replaces curtains and is hanging on the curtain rods. The green-and-white-striped hanging plant is one of those tiny plants Ikea sells that has become large and got a larger hanging pot of its own. What it is called? I have no idea.

I hang the hanging pots on the curtain rods as I do not use curtains in the kitchen. Blinds are needed though during summer for protection of the plants from the sun when it shines.

I’ve always had lots of plants in the kitchen. They change over time and with the seasons, but always lots of plants. Who needs curtains in the kitchen when you have plants?

Aug

2016

Carpet in the kitchen – again changing it

Carpet in the kitchen? Yes, I always want a carpet in the kitchen. My floors are rather cold during the cold season, then a carpet under your feet is good to have.

I am again considering a change of carpet in the kitchen. I love the one I bought last year, BUT it is no good in the kitchen. Why? Because it is next to impossible to get the kitchen chairs out when getting up from the table. They get stuck in the carpet. I didn’t know that when I bought that carpet. The present carpet is LOHALS from Ikea, largest size (200×300 cm).

Many do not have a carpet in the kitchen under the kitchen table, but I want one as my floors are rather cold during the colder seasons and I live on the ground-floor. And it should be easy to clean/vacuum and pleasant to walk barefoot on. The one requirement I didn’t take into consideration when I bought this one, was how hard or easy it was to get the chairs out from under the table.

Ikea LOBBÄK carpet. Photo from Ikea.

The carpet I am considering is the Ikea LOBBÄK carpet, size 200×300 cm, price SEK799. It is supposed to be beige. On the PR-picture above it looks more greige (greyish-beige) than on the pictures on the websites. On the picture on the Ikea websites it looks more brown than beige… Need to see it in real life to be certain of the color. I am no fan of either brown or real beige.

Ikea LOBBÄK carpet. Photo from Ikea.

Apart from that it looks flat-woven enough to be able to move your chairs from out under the kitchen table. They didn’t have it in the carpet-department when I visited Ikea on Thursday, though it says now on their site that they do have it (only four of it, but still…). It is supposed to withstand dirt, rain, snow… and can be used outdoors as well as inside. Sounds like a good carpet for the kitchen.

The plan is to move the carpet from the kitchen into the bedroom and exchange the blue carpet there.

I think it will be good in the bedroom. It is larger than the present one, but there is room enough for it (I have measured the space). It will also make my blue bedroom a bit lighter I think. The present blue carpet there needs cleaning and might not survive a cleaning. It is a very cheap carpet I bought many years ago to have on the floor in my then kitchen when its regular carpet was to be cleaned.

First of all, I need to visit Ikea again and see the LOBBÄK carpet in real life. Then we will see.

LOBBÄK carpet. Photo from Ikea.

PS. 2016-08-27 Visited IKEA the other day and they had one (1) left of the LOBBÄK carpet so I could take a look at it in real life. It looks fine. Less brown than in their website images. They aren’t really in store yet, but will be in larger numbers in about three weeks time. Then I will probably buy it.

Jun

2016

Choosing wallpaper for the kitchen

The wallpaper in my kitchen has seen better days. I am therefore looking at getting new wallpaper to exchange it with and am presently in the process of choosing wallpaper for the kitchen.

The present wallpaper was put up in 2003 when the flat was built. Looking close on it you see what I mean when I say it has seen better times. I actually like the pattern on it, but the colors have faded and are gone in places. It also has various damages here and there. And it is dirty.

I only have two walls to wallpaper. The ones with the windows. And the second wall, the one above where the bookcase is, is “short” because the kitchen has a sloping roof at that side. So I do not need all that much wallpaper to renew those two walls. 2 or 3 rolls will be enough I think (haven’t measured the walls yet). The work I’ll do myself. I’ve wallpapered walls before.

So I’ve been looking at various wallpaper for the kitchen. Mainly at Boråstapeter and Sandbergs. There are other places of course, but these have some of the wallpapers I’ve been looking at for some time, of the style I want in the kitchen. In the rest of the flat I have painted walls (painted one color onto the wallpaper). Bedroom is dark blue, livingroom is light grey, my two hallways are dark grey. In the kitchen I want color and patterns. I think that would suit it.

Below are the ones I’ve been looking at. I’ve ordered samples (quite cheap) from both sources and expect to receive the samples by next week.

Flora from Boråstapeter.

This is FLORA from Boråstapeter. One of my favorites.

HERBARIUM from Boråstapeter.

Then there is HERBARIUM from Boråstapeter. I think this will probably be the one… Love it.

AMELIE from Sandbergs.

Then there is AMELIE from Sandbergs.

Growing Garden from Sandbergs.

Growing Garden from Sandbergs is also nice, but maybe a bit too romantic for my taste…

Rabarber from Boråstapeter

RABARBER from Boråstapeter is just released.

Christophe, white from Sandbergs.

The there is CHRISTOPHE, white, from Sandbergs. Maybe a bit too flowery…

FLORA white from Sandbergs.

And the above is FLORA white from Sandbergs. What is the difference between that one and the other Flora from Boråstapeter? Is it the same? No, I don’t think so. But they are VERY similar.

RÄVDUNGE from Boråstapeter

RÄVDUNGE from Boråstapeter is also a nice one… and colorful.

KÖKSVÄXTER from Boråstapeter

And there is KÖKSVÄXTER from Boråstapeter, “kitchenherbs” in English.

As the price for the sample wallpapers was 5 for… I also ordered the below one, HENRY, from Sandbergs. In grey… Not colorful, but I like the pattern.

HENRY from Sandbergs.

Reamins to choose, which one? To be continued…

May

2016

Planty Table Settings

This months Urban Jungle Bloggers task is to present “Planty Table Settings”. This is my contribution to the subject. I always have plants around me in the kitchen, so welcome to my jungle.

The “second breakfast” is just that, the second breakfast on days when I go to the gym and come back home and need to eat something.

Mainly my plants are in the two angled kitchen windows, and sometimes on the end of the table where I keep all that is needed with the eating.

The very small pot on the table contains basil. The pot was handed out at Ikea recently on one of their events. The seed is actually growing… which is a first for me when it comes to seed from Ikea…

For lunch with a friend, another kind of planty table setting, where the rosemary tree and a large pot of fresh basil have moved onto the kitchen table. Forgot to put glasses on the table though…

I often vary the place mats on the table and have several in various materials, sizes and patterns. Above I remembered to put glasses on the table…

For a planty table setting for dinner I used one of my inherited old linen table cloth, hand-embroidered by my father when he was young at the first half of the previous century. One of my orchids was moved from the window to the table together with my new ginkgo biloba plants. A cutting (unintentional cutting) of a narciss from the garden was placed in a thin vase to add to the theme.

There is still plenty of space left on the table to place the food, salad, wine etc there. This is a table setting for two. The two small dogs on the table are old ones I’ve inherited from my parents. They are silver-plated (need polishing) and are used for putting away your knife on instead of putting it directly onto the table cloth. The small glasses with a green foot I’ve inherited from my grandmother.

Welcome to breakfast, lunch and dinner at my kitchen table, in the company of some of my plants. At my place all meals are eaten at the kitchen table, in the kitchen jungle.

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Gustav

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