Coping with Changes

  

Ill: Tove Jansson

In coping with various changes in life, I often find my thoughts wandering off to the Moomin Valley and the characters living there. The Moomins were created by Tove Jansson, a Swedish-speaking Finnish author, novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author. She wrote several books about them, and later also comic strips. Drawing the comic strip adventures was later continued by her brother Lars Jansson. Back in my childhood/youth, these comic strips were published in the daily newspaper my parents subscribed to. Later on, I bought some of the comic strips adventures collected in albums. From early childhood I also remember some of Tove's illustrated children's books; and a bit later on in life, I collected her novels about the same characters. 

Anyway. One of the comic strip adventures (by Lars Jansson) that tend to turn up in my head in times of change is one where some strangers turn up in the Moomin Valley, and persuade Moominpappa that it would be a good idea to turn their valley into a "nature park". It also turns out that there are certain requirements to make this happen, though. One of those is that a nature park ought to include "hot springs". So Moominpappa sets out to arrange that - "borrowing some hot water from Gaffsie" (while covering up his intent with lies).

It works, and the hot water comes up at a hot spring outside; but at the same time, Gaffsie's shower stops working, while she's using it. However, when she goes out to investigate, she sees the"hot spring", and decides that this will work just as well for her needs - and just puts up a shower curtain in front of it, outdoors. Her comment: "I have always believed in Providence - although not this much..."

Various other troubles turn up with the idea of creating a Nature Park as well, though; and in the end, it is not approved, and Moominpappa decides to restore things to their natural order - including getting rid of the "hot spring".

 

Of course this happens just as Gaffsie is using the "hot spring" for her shower. Her reaction: "Oops, now the hot water ran out here too! ... But perhaps the shower is working again? ... Providence must really like me!"

I'm sure there are more examples of similar attitudes to life to be found in the Moomin books and comics, but this is a favourite of mine that for some reason I keep coming back to - like when something I've been used to changes, and I need to find new routines... 

Keep Warm, Keep Cool...

 

I added to my collection of Moomin mugs today. I blame my tea-loving Swedish friend Lena (also a water colour artist) for the temptation, because she has been posting a different tea mug every day this month on Facebook. I too have more mugs/cups than I need - but unlike her, not enough different ones to be able to show a unique one for every day of the month... (And I also really have no ambition to increase my collection to be able to do that.)

But... When in town today (for other errands), I passed through a mall where there is a home decor shop selling (among other things) the Moomin mugs. And on display near the entrance was this tall yellow one, which aroused my curiosity. It turned out not to be an ordinary porcelain mug, but a thermos mug - which gave me a good excuse to allow myself to buy it (as I don't have one of those before). 

 

With a metallic inside and a tight-fitting lid, it can be used to keep drinks either hot or cold; and I decided it might come in handy in summer, if I want to bring a drink outside... Or even just to keep a cool drink of water (or a warm cup of tea) at hand indoors by the TV... 

 

Below is a Moomin postcard with the image that obviously inspired the one on my thermos cup. They're not exactly alike, though - do you spot the difference?

 

 

 

 

 

My Moomin Mugs

In comments to my previous post I was asked to post photos of all my Moomin mugs. As my collection is no larger than nine, I did not find the request too overwhelming...

 I took some photos this morning while there was good daylight in the kitchen. 

The texts I got from Arabia's website (i.e. the manufacturer); see link at the bottom.

Muddler & Little My

"Muddler is a restless and absent-minded collector who lives in a coffee tin. He keeps all the buttons that he finds, but is hopelessly careless with his collection. He forgets things and loses stuff almost all the time."

"Little My is one of Mymble's children. She is the smallest and most energetic. Little My always decides herself what she will and won't do. She isn't bothered by a mess, and she is so small that she fits into a pitcher or kitchen drawer between the whisks and spoons."

 

Snufkin & Moominmama

 
"Snufkin is a gentle vagabond who plays his mouth organ and loves to fish. Moomintroll is his best friend and Little My is his stepsister. Snufkin wears a green hat and wanders the countryside wherever his fancy takes him."

"Moominmamma is a gentle mother who cares for others. She never reveals the secrets that she has been told. She makes sure that the Moominhouse is safe and feels loving to both her family and to visitors."

 

The Ancestor

 
"The fascinating, mystical Ancestor is small and hairy. He moves only at night time, and doesn't speak at all. He lives in the Moominhouse salon, behind the oven. He keeps on decorating the house by turning paintings upside down."

 

"Adventure Move" (The Comet) + "Spring Winter"

Adventure Move (Snorkmaiden, Little My, Mymble (My's sister), Moomin and others )
"The Moomins run away from a comet and bring only the absolute essentials along with them. The comet floats in the air and gets bigger every day, and looks like it will hit the ground very soon."

Spring winter (Snufkin, Moomin, Little My)
(My comment: Moomin trolls usually hibernate in winter - while Snufkin prefers to go south for the winter, and comes back in spring. One winter, Moomin wakes up early, while there is still snow on the ground. Little My is awake too; and a squirrel plays a role in the story.) 

 

Moomin Valley

 Moominvalley
(Summer. Moominpappa in the black hat + several other characters.)

Moominhouse

Moominhouse

"Moominpappa is very proud of the Moominhouse, which he built himself.
Guests are always welcome and the doors are always open, even at
night-time. Moominpappa, Moominmamma and Moomintroll live in the house
and are its permanent residents. Others come and go as they please."

 

You can find all Moomin mugs here:
https://arabia.fi/eng/products/moomin-mug-listing

"Arabia’s Moomins are turned from stories to ceramic illustrations by designer Tove Slotte. She has been drawing Moomins onto Arabia items since the beginning of the 1990s. The designer draws inspiration from Tove Jansson’s original illustrations."

My own "collection" started with the Muddler mug, which was a present from my friend G (who recently passed away) - either for Christmas or some birthday. Not sure what year. I thought the Muddler looked a bit lonely in my cupboard, so I got him Little My as companion, and I think I also bought the Moomin House around the same time. Then other friends gave me the Snufkin and Moominmamma mugs, I think for my 60th birthday. And the other four I've bought myself on different occasions after that.

The Moomin House has become my Water Mug, which means it's always on my kitchen countertop or draining board, never in the cupboard. The others I use for tea and I tend to vary which mugs I use the most from season to season. :) (I drink tea 3-4 times/day)

Aliens

 

I knew that Moomin was in town (with a temporary Moomin Pop Up Shop, only for a month or so); but I was totally unprepared to also see Star Wars aliens in the market square. I wonder if they were here to sell face masks as well?! (I did not hang around to find out - just zoomed them in with my camera from corona-safe distance...)

PS. We still don't have any general recommendations in Sweden to use face masks - except in health care, and now I think it is also required on airplanes and at airport terminals. (I bought the Moomin face mask mostly as "souvenir" of this strange summer.)

Last Minute Celebrations (2015)

As usual, I spent New Year’s Eve at home with a few friends. Three of us used to be neighbours in the same building from the mid 1980s and some years into the 21st century; and since the New Year 2000/01 we have been celebrating every New Year’s Eve together. Most of those times, the sister of one of those friends has been with us too; and for the last few years, also the other friend’s mum. And again this year all five of us were able to meet up for an enjoyable evening with food, talk, a film, some fireworks (seen from the windows), and a sparkling cider toast to the new year.

My friends also seized the last-few-hours-of-2015 opportunity to celebrate my 60th birthday (back in August) by presenting me with two more Moomin mugs: Moominmamma and Snufkin.

I showed you my previous three in one of my December posts.
(I got one from other friends visiting on my birthday, and then I bought two more myself later in the autumn.)

The film we ended up watching was Paddington from 2014 (with among others Hugh Bonneville, who played the Earl of Grantham in Downton Abbey – and in this film, Mr Brown).

One my friends in particular can be rather sensitive to anything involving too much suspense or sadness… So safest for these get-togethers is to watch family-friendly feel-good films that I’ve already seen myself (so that I know how they end!)  Usually I try to have two or three different suggestions (of films I’ve seen over the past year or so) and then check with my guests which they prefer. We all enjoyed this one (including me, although it was the 3rd time I watched it).

December 2 - TEA

One of my most frequently opened cupboards is this one – where a whole shelf is set aside for TEA… I always buy loose leaf tea, and mostly in mixed blends with fancy names. Just imagine, on a grey and cold November day, stepping into your favourite cosy little teashop in town, asking for half a pound of Euphoria… (Puts one in a good mood just to say it!)

And in the blue bag, there is a Castle Blend, that I bought back in the summer at a visit to Läckö Castle. Which reminds me that I still have holiday photos from July left unblogged. I will get back to those some day, but until I do – here is one:

Just  now, however, it’s tea time; and here is my favourite small teapot, and a recent addition to my collection of tea mugs. I got one in this series (Moomin by Arabia) for my birthday; and when more recently I happened to see that a shop in town had more in that series on sale, I could not resist the temptation of buying two more… 

Little My, the Moomin House (with several of the characters appearing in the windows and outside), and The Muddler.

I have loved the Moomins ever since childhood. First got to know them as picture books and comic strips, later also read the novels. And they’re the kind I still like to return to every now and then.

If you like the Moomins, and enjoy playful personality tests, you might want to try this one: Which Moomin character are you?

I got Moominmamma, and I guess that’s not too far off the mark. For one thing, I do tend to always carry a handbag full of “just in case” stuff…

See? Opening a cupboard door can lead you anywhere. No wonder that some days I seem to get nothing done!

Saturday Surprise (‘Allowed To Peek’–2)

In my last Booking-Through-Thursday post, Allowed To Peek, I quoted from Moominland Winter by Tove Jansson. It came to mind for me again today, for a different reason.

In that book, Moomin wakes up in the middle of the winter and can’t go back to sleep (Moomins are usually in hibernation from November to April). With the rest of the family still snoozing away, Moomin feels very lonely. He goes out into the empty kitchen. There he suddenly becomes aware of a pair of eyes staring at him from under the sink…

   

This morning, sitting at the breakfast table,
I suddenly became aware of a glint of blue under the fridge…

I thought it must be a clip for plastic bags that I’d dropped.
So I found some kitchen tool with a long handle
and bent down to poke “it” out…

Imagine my surprise when I found a pair of eyes staring at me!

 

Especially since it was a pair of eyes I had never seen before!

On second thought he reminds me of someone…

He must have been hiding under the fridge ever since I moved in (2 years 8 months ago). Probably longer! (A young family lived here before me.)

What on earth made him suddenly come out now? Have I not been leaving enough cookie crumbs on the floor for him???

Spooky… until I remembered that I made a half-hearted attempt last week to stick the vacuum cleaner under there. Even my extra thin tube didn’t get in properly though, so I gave it up. The suction must have been enough to draw him half way out anyway.

Now I wondered what else might be under there! So I had to figure out how to remove the grid, without actually lying down on the floor. (Not too sure I’d be able to get up again without injuring myself if I did that!) I managed to solve it sitting on a low footstool. Phew. No more “monsters”... ;) Just a bit of dust.

Now the cookie monster is sitting on the freezer.
There might be some cake left in there… or not… 

… … …

PS. Scroll down for today’s weather report.

BTT: Allowed To Peek

 Do you cheat and peek at the ends of books?
(Come on, be honest.)

Not as a rule. Does it ever happen? Of course it does. With novels, it would be if I find myself stuck half way through and doubting whether I’ll find it worth while to struggle on. Then I might have a peek at the end – or some place nearer to the end – to see if that helps to encourage me to read on.

The question makes me think of Moominland Winter by Swedish-speaking Finnish novelist and artist Tove Jansson. Moomins are usually in hibernation from November to April (I always kind of envied them!) but one winter, the young Moomin troll wakes up and just can’t go back to sleep. While his whole family continues to snooze, he sets out to explore the winter. In one place in this book, peeking forward is actually encouraged…

On page 44 (out of 131), something sad occurs. A squirrel dies. Too-ticki (friend of Moomin’s) tries to explain. Since I only have the book in Swedish, the following quotes are my own translation:

‘If you are dead, you are dead,’ said Too-ticki in a kind voice. ‘This squirrel will eventually turn to earth. And later, from that earth, trees will grow, in which new squirrels will be jumping around. Now, is that so sad?’ *

The asterisk leads to a footnote at the bottom of the page:
* If the reader starts crying, take a quick look at page 120. (Author’s note.)

On page 120, in early spring… Moomin again sees a squirrel:

‘Are you called the squirrel with the beautiful tail?’ Moomin asked slowly.
’Of course,’ said the squirrel.
’Is it you!’ exclaimed Moomin. ‘Is it really you? Who met the Ice Woman?’
’I don’t remember,’ said the squirrel. ‘You know, I forget easily…’

… … …

PS. This is my second blog post today.
Scroll down or click the link if you
also want to take a peek and find out who is
“Getting Younger And Younger”.