Lux Winter

It is just after eight and I’m travelling to Stockholm with a very excited eight year old, who is about to see her long distance bestie again.

I’m begging my ADHD meds to kick in; I love this child with all my heart but I don’t think she has taken a singular breath between words since we left.

A young girl with long blonde hair, her face covered by a pink heart emoji, is carving a pumpkin at a kitchen table. She holds up a string of pumpkin pulp while an orange cat on the table edge gazes up at it intently. Several pumpkins, metal bowls, and kitchen tools are scattered around, suggesting a lively pumpkin-carving session.

Halloween things are afoot.

Me all day tbh. Can you imagine the Halloween and Christmas decorations that this place lends it to?

“Why is the council opposite sending me cat photos?!”

No clue what @bearlawyer.bsky.social is complaining about, being a lawyer in Sweden sounds like great fun.

We just signed the contract, so it’s written in stone. Excuse me while I positively lose my mind.

A plump white and orange cat sits upright on a wooden floor beside a doorway, gazing directly at the camera with a flat, mildly judgmental expression that radiates the quiet confidence of someone who’s never paid rent.

Starting off this morning with @bearlawyer.bsky.social giving the small orange son a stern talking to for attempting to eat the jelly Halloween window stickers.

I maintain it isn’t his fault that he’s perpetually unlucky when it comes to thinking. Also, those stickers look delicious. Jelly!

Screenshot of a job posting section with text that reads: “*Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted/interviewed. *Kindly attach your updated CV in English. If you are passionate about languages and intrigued by the world of technology, we would love to hear from you!”

I’ll be honest, preemptively announcing that you will be ghosting candidates unless you’re interested is a new low in HR.

“Please invest two to three hours of work for the chance to be considered for a rejection!”

Side note: I have a mental image of old wooden cottages esp. in Central East Europe having flower garlands painted on them on the beams or right beneath the roof. I’ve frantically tried to google this but can’t come up with anything. Anyone know what they’re called? Or am I hallucinating?

Write it in ink because we got the house!!!! (Please actually do!!)

A charming countryside cottage with white plaster walls and green wooden trim, featuring a corrugated metal roof. The front entrance has a small wooden porch with chairs, potted plants, and a hanging wicker lamp. A gravel path leads through a lush garden filled with colorful flowers and greenery.

Green. Timber.
I’m going to be insufferable and I’m so sorry in advance.

Y’all. The crossed fingers worked. We got it half a million SEK under asking. I hope you’re prepared for lots of annoying “renovating my ancient house with my equally ancient cat” content.

Did I mention it’s from the 1700s? And has exposed green timber? And a barn? And a fireplace?

If this actually does work out you’ll just have to come by 👀👀

You know what? I walked right into that. Face first.

Kinda want this house solely to be able to say that my house is older than the US. 😇😇

Maybe it helps knowing that there is a chicken coop and old apple trees and no neighbours and a barn with space for horse stables and a pottery kiln. Maybe.

It is a 1700s timber frame with a claw foot tub and a dark green kitchen and that’s all you need to know.

Okay, I’m going to need all your fingers crossed. We found ✨the✨ house. Nothing in my life has been smooth sailing as of recently, and if there is one thing I need to go smooth it’s this. I don’t mind the rest of the chaos, but that house? That’s what I need to work out.

In true “we are a trustworthy family that you should totally sell your house to” fashion, we all collectively overslept and will show up to the viewing of this idyllic lake view villa one child short and presumably at least two shirts inside out. They’re lucky at least one of us brushed their hair.

Oben die Zeile "Wir hatten Bodenfrost" Norddeutsche: Darunter das Bild eines Vollbärtigen Schiffers mit Pfeife und leuchtenden Laseraugen, der "Grünkohl" sagt.

Related: Some guy at my old job once told me not to order her expensive medical cat food in bulk, because “it’s only a matter of time anyways” (he was generally quite vocal about thinking that adopting an old cat is a waste of money).

I often think about the fact that she has outlived him by now.

On second thought, given that I’m the one that’s awake at 2:22 because having to find a new job and a new place to live at once is pretty anxiety-inducing, maybe I should chug a few of the cat’s pills. We could be chill together.

Who am I kidding, I’ve never been chill for even a second of my life.

I can’t sleep for the life of me, but at least I went on a research deep dive and found the human supplement that contains the same active ingredient as the cat’s anxiety meds at about a tenth of the cost. You win some, you lose some. This creature will be so fucking chill.

She will, however, die on the hill that the Romanovs had it coming.

The cat is attending more pressing matters now, given that she finds the repetitive idyll of the southern Swedish countryside quite offensively boring. Not enough brutalist architecture, or secret basements to execute the bourgeoisie in (she will not elaborate further without her lawyer present).

A tabby cat is nestled among patterned white and gray bedding, peeking out toward an open laptop nearby. The laptop’s keyboard is in focus, while the cat looks cozy and curious, surrounded by the folds of the blanket in a warm, softly lit setting.

The cat is assisting me in choosing which of the pre-selected houses to book for viewings. After all, she used to have coffee with Frank Lloyd Wright every Thursday (until he got too busy with that Fallingwater nonsense, way too wet in her opinion) and has an exquisite taste in architecture.

Ursa Major has announced that she will simply become a very rich and accomplished writer and then @bearlawyer.bsky.social and I can become trophy parents instead of having to be trophy spouses to each other. Nobody tell her, because I could get used to that thought.

Lol the Germans truly can’t stop writing this one weird book 😂

Illustration by kattstad.studio showing two anthropomorphic orange cats in a café. One cat stands at the counter wearing black Converse sneakers, looking tired and slightly manic, while the other cat, behind the counter in a green apron and beige cap, looks utterly done with life. The speech bubble from the customer cat reads in Swedish: “Jamen hejsan jag tar en trippel espresso, en lobotomer­ing och en kanelbulle tack,” which translates to “Well hello, I’ll have a triple espresso, a lobotomy, and a cinnamon bun, please.” The style is hand-drawn, colourful, and humorously deadpan, with muted red and green tones giving the café a slightly surreal vibe.

I’m just gonna turn into this cat I think

Kinda feels like the only option at this point :))))

I guess at least our HRIS’ whistleblower function gets a good workout? I’m sparing a few thoughts for the PX team right now…

I need a psych ward or some popcorn. Either will do.