Bees And Their Keepers : A Journey Through Seasons And Centuries by Lotte Möller

In the tradition of Lars Mytting’s Norwegian Wood, comes a beautifully illustrated chronicle of a year in the life of a beekeeper by Swedish author Lotte Möller. The study of bees has long been revered, seen as a divine occupation due to the intricate attention to detail and purpose demonstrated by these creatures. Furthermore, the honey they produce seems almost magical. In this captivating cultural history, Lotte Möller, a beekeeper and writer from Sweden, shares her profound knowledge of bees and bee folklore from ancient times to the present, accompanied by her sharp wit.

Möller provides invaluable insight into the inner workings of the hive, delving into the bees’ natural order and habits. She explores the myths of the past, uncovering how and when they were eventually supplanted by verifiable facts. Along her journeys, Möller encounters a plethora of fascinating individuals, each contributing their own unique narratives to the world of beekeeping. From a passionate California beekeeper who battles both killer bees and the complex world of bee politics, to the legendary Brother Adam of Buckfast Abbey, renowned for breeding the Buckfast Queen—a queen now beloved worldwide.

Showcasing an abundance of captivating bee illustrations that seamlessly guide readers from cover to endpaper, Bees and Their Keepers is an exquisite book, equally appealing to both beekeepers and general readers alike.

The Magic of Summer: Raspberry Cookies, Sunset Picnics & Bookstore Paradise

The early days of summer are some of my favorites – dripping ice cream cones, the sun coming up before 6 a.m., spending days climbing trees, reading to my heart’s content, and browsing my favorite bookstores. Strawberries and cream, sunset picnics, and summer wind. Reading on the front porch on a Sunday evening and always having the Mamma Mia soundtrack on repeat. I can never get enough. I’m so happy summer has begun.

The Magic of Summer Reading

I want to show you some of the ways that I’ve been romanticizing this season so far. Just keep in mind, these are my highlights, my memories, me doing things that make me happy. Summer makes me happy, and as Taylor Swift says, I’m a big advocate for not hiding your enthusiasm for things.

I have always imagined paradise to be a kind of library. That is a quote by Jorge Luis Borges, and while I agree, I must also add that for me, paradise can often be found in a bookstore. Summer reading is a magical experience – discovering a new book or picking up a much-anticipated title, reading by the pool or the beach. There are so many ways to romanticize it.

This year, I’ve become a huge sucker for beach reads, but summer thrillers are really fun as well. This day, I visited a bookshop that I’ve never been to before, and my plan was to find a new book, head to a café, grab a croissant, and read out in the warm sunshine. For me, that’s all I need on almost any given summer day. And as Stephen King says, “Books are uniquely portable magic.”

This little bookstore was so small, but it was packed full of everything a bookworm could ever want. Books were stacked up to the ceiling, rooms were dedicated to different genres, with so much variety to choose from. There was even a mystery menu with authors paired to different drinks. It’s little things like this that make me feel so at home in bookstores. Spiciness levels for each book – so cute and such a good way to let people know what they’re getting into. I’m obsessed. I love it.

Okay, so I ended up getting two books. I wanted to get three, but they didn’t have the third one in stock. So I got “Bees and Their Keepers: A Journey through Seasons and Centuries” by Lotte Moeller and “The Murder of Mr. Wickham.” This is a story about Jane Austen’s beloved character Mr. Wickham, and I guess he gets murdered. I don’t know anything about it, but all I know is that it’s Jane Austen, it’s a murder mystery, and the cover is beautiful. So I got that one. And then I didn’t get this one at the bookstore, but I recently picked up “In the Weeds,” and this is one I really want to read this week as well. Not much makes me happier than reading seasonal books that make me feel this season more like to my core. I mean, I guess the Wickham one isn’t so much for this season, but maybe I’ll save that for fall. We’ll see.

Creating a Romanticized Life

I was so excited to receive this package in the mail from Caraway. They are actually very kindly sponsoring this article. My current cookware includes one sauté pan from IKEA and two little pots from Walmart, and that’s it. I’ve been really getting into bread making this spring and summer, so I’ve been researching a bit and looking to finally get a Dutch oven that I can bake bread in. I’m so excited.

Caraway is known for their beautiful ceramic non-stick cookware that is designed with storage in mind. They also include a canvas lid holder that you can hang inside your cabinet door or on the wall. Caraway recommends not to stack your cookware, so they provide magnetic pan racks for keeping your pans beautiful and organized. I chose the cream color, but I love that they have a variety of colors to choose from. I’ve had this cookware for over a month now, and they are by far the easiest pans I’ve ever had to clean, which is honestly probably my favorite thing about them. I hate cleaning up afterward, and Caraway just blew me out of the water with how easy their pans are to clean. Also, just knowing that they’re non-toxic while also being non-stick, so I don’t have to use any oil if I don’t want to and I don’t have to worry about any harmful chemicals leaking into my food.

If you’re interested in getting some Caraway cookware for yourself, you can click the link down in the description box to get 10% off all Caraway products.

This bread was phenomenal, by the way. Chef’s kiss. And it was so easy to make.

Unapologetic Happiness

You know that feeling of an ice cream cone dripping down your hand, and it’s just so good that you don’t even care to clean it up? I love that. To me, that is summer – not having a care and just letting myself do things that make me unapologetically happy. Put on a flowy dress or your favorite pair of jeans, grab a blanket and your favorite snack, and maybe even take some photos. Romanticize your life because really, it’s so much more fun that way.

Recently, I’ve started trying to take one to three photos every day, which encourages me to create moments that I’ll want to remember. Little moments of magic. And then I like to make these little photo wrap-up articles at the end of each month, just for me to keep and look back on. Some months I have hardly any photos, but some months are full of memories because I actively tried to create them each day by romanticizing these little moments.

We are heading up to see the chocolate flowers, and I brought my journal. Gonna do some journaling, and I have my Canon Ivy so that I can take photos and print them and put them directly in my journal.

Sunrise, sunrise. Looks like morning in your eyes when the clocks held 9:15 for hours. Cause the afternoon’s already gone. Myself, to you, surprise, surprise. Couldn’t find it in your eyes. I see we made it through another day.