Everything seems to be put on hold. We are having a viewing of our apartment on Friday and cant really do anything until we got a buyer for this place. So we cant really do anything in terms of starting packing and cleaning and just making the whole moving business a bit more easy and less stressful until we know if it is sold.

And I should know about stressful moving. When I moved away from home for the very first time I moved 4 times within 6 months. It wasn't my fault, promise! I was supposed to move into a 1 room and kitchen that had been converted from a 3 room and kitchen. But when it was time to move in they noticed at the final survey that they had budged up when doing the new kitchen and managed to drill through a water pipe so it all had to be redone, meanwhile I got a temporary apartment next door. Then I moved into my 1 room apartment and had a great few months there in spring. I had a lovely party at Valborg with lots of people from work and friends as well. But then in summer I started to notice this smell. After a few calls to the housing estate they came to see what could be wrong and they found a leaking old pipe in the hallway next to the bathroom. So I had to be evacuated to a 2 room apartment across the yard while they fixed the pipe and dried the apartment out. While in the 2 room apartment I found I had cockroaches in the kitchen and that was just the last straw! I had to find somewhere else because I wasn't at all comfortable to stay in that area anymore. By chance, Al (best friend from old really called Ann-Louise but Al for short) phoned early one morning saying she's seen this add for a 1 room in town and I should really phone straight away. So I did as I was told and was lucky to be the first to phone. Went and had a look at it the same day after work and it was lovely, only 5 minutes walk from the city centre and just big enough, cheap as well as the electricity was included in the rent. That is where I moved for the fourth time and that is where I stayed until James and me moved here 2 years ago.
And talking about moving here, don't move the same year you get married, it is nerve racking, I should know because I did...

I've been busy all day and still got some things left on the To Do list. Right now the second load of washing is going round down at the laundrette, got to go down there in a minute to get it drying. The kitchen is literally SPARKLING since I've been scrubbing away at it since early this morning. The oven has a gleam to it not surpassed by a brand new one! And you better agree with me or I'll come with some brillo pads ready to scrub your mouth out with the lies you tell!

I've also had a chat to the estate lady and we agreed on the description of the apartment and she said she would lay it out on the internet today, it would probably not show up until tomorrow though. Hopefully there are people interested and willing to pay the upted price. I had a chat to our chairman in the förening and he thought we would easy get 250 000 kr so after a bit of thought and consideration we've changed it to that. Left to do today is the bathroom. It need a good scrub of the walls and everything else if I'm going to have a easy clean before the viewings start. Then you would only need to touch up on the essentials and stage it rather then scrub it all.

We now own one tenth of the house. Contracts were written yesterday and as is customary here in Sweden we also paid 10% of the house price in a downpayment. So now we can relax a bit until 25 May when we are signing the final contract, köpebrev, getting the mortgage in order, pay the sellers in full and getting the keys. Now we only need to stress over the moving part and the selling of our apartment. But I did realize that I wouldn't cope with selling it myself, James does help out but it is me keeping tabs on people and calling back so it was a bit too much taking care of everything else so we got an estate agent from Svensk Fastighet in to help us sell it. She came round yesterday and took pictures and wrote a bit about the apartment and was going to send us some more papers to sign and other questions of info she might need as well. So that ball is also in motion and hopefully the apartment will sell quickly and to our asking price of 225 000 kr. We are hoping for several people to be interested so there would be a bit of bidding, but we'll be happy with the asking price as well.

Contracts to be written on Wednesday but feeling pushed over by the estate agents and sellers. They wanted to use our survey we paid for as part of an insurance they will buy to protect them from hidden faults we could process against them in the future. Bit miffed they had the nerve to ask and expected us to comply without hesitating! It's not like we are paying them peanuts for the house anyway but to be asked to pay THEIR survey, which it would become, and then they will use it in an insurance against us was a bit strong. I've asked around for advice and it seems that if they are buying this insurance the survey needed comes with it in the packet price. But I'm a bit concerned that one of the sellers also is an estate agents so she knows all the tricks and turns and that they might not sell to us if we don't agree on this, it is all hanging loose now before the contract is written. But I told estate chap on the phone that we could share our survey if they agreed to pay half of it or else they could have an own survey done. He sounded thoroughly surprised we didn't agree with them.... Are we to be worried?

The survey man has been and done his bit and the conclusion was that part from a few minor things there wasnt anything wrong with the house! So we are moving slowly along and going to set a date for when the contrac is to be signed and set a date for when we are going to move in. Sometime around 25 may sounded possible. Got to ask for vacation as well so we can move in peace and quiet without hustling and stressing about. Not that there will be moments of stress and whatnots, including the selling of this place. Am thinking possibly we should have an agent doing it for us, but we really need to sell it quickly so we dont want it stuck at some agents for god knows how long.

We got the house!
It is ours if we sign the contract, I cant believe it!
A house... oh let me get started on a To-Do-List, no the mother of all To-Do-Lists! I'm sure I'll scare James with the amount of things I'd like to be done to the house. Even though it is much finished I would like to change the colour scheme from the nice and neutral magnolia heaven it is now to something a bit more vibrant. But it is an old house and it has an old house charm to it so mustn't spoil that with shrill orange or green. I did notice though that one of the old doors had a coat of pale green to it underneath the magnolia. There is so much to think about now, moving to another town and all. But lets get through the survey on Wednesday first before jumping all over the place.

It is looking down on the house bidding front. We are up to 1 million Swedish kronas - £75 757 (our last bid today) and its still 5 parties bidding for it. The bloody house is too popular! We went to the bank and they said ok to 1 million, which is a huge sum for us two. We just have to see what the estate agent says tomorrow. I'm sure it will have gone past our limit bye then, we've said we'd go for somewhere around 1,050,000 kronor and if it has we'll just have to keep on looking for other houses, cheaper, more run down ones again, bleeh. It's been an experience anyway so far, much quicker then I've ever thought it would go from viewing a house to the bid on it.

We are bidding for a house today...
Can you feel the nervous tension spreading..?

Snitched from Marie.

Just now I got a phone call from a estate agent wondering if we still was interested in having a look at this house in Källviken. I thought it had been sold or at least under offer since we never got a return call when we enquired about it before we went to England. We agreed on viewing it on Thursday at 4.30 so that will leave us with 45 minutes to check the Järlinden house out before going to have a look at the other one in Källviken.

I've had a closer look again at the pictures of this new house and it seems quite poor and much more to do in it compared to the Järlinden house. The Källviken one is in a posher place so I'm sure that is why the price is so much higher, plus you get a view of the lake. Mind you, its only a view and not a lakeside property so if you have really bad luck they might develop the land between this house and the lake and then you wont even have a view. But considering how much more land you get in Källviken and the fact that houses there tend to keep their value and even increase more then in other places in Falun might be a thing to keep in mind. Oh well, we'll have to see what the other half says as well. James likes the idea of no close by neighbours and a big yard but considering that it would need more work to it then Järlinden house I think speaks against it.

Gran is coming home today. Nothing was broken she just had a bad fall where she landed on her hip. Haven't heard anything from mum so she might have her second operation today to fix the annoying bit that didn't work and which has kept her at the hospital since Thursday. It will be such a relief to have at least one of them home, possibly mum can go home today as well, we'll have to see.

I am home, feeling quite tired and exhausted even though I haven't done much. Maybe it is a mental tiredness of being worried. I phoned my boss yesterday saying I wasn't coming in today either, don't think I would have been of any use anyway as distracted as I feel right now. I want that phone to ring so I know what's happening! Relax, calm down...BREATH! So much for the cool and collected Maria. ;)

The weekend has been quite the rollercoster.
Well it all started last week Thursday when my mum went in for a seemingly simple and straightforward operation. She is still in hospital as the outcome wasn't what they wanted. So while keeping mum happy and preoccupied so she doesn't feel too home sick I've also gone to my gran as well since she is still recovering from her cold. On Friday she was in bed and said she was tired, come Saturday she said she was still tired but fine, leave me alone type of mood, but yesterday all of a sudden she said she couldn't walk. So I panic a bit thinking what now but she insists its nothing wrong, knowing how stubborn she is I didn't know what to do. I go home feeling quite guilty not forcing her to go to hospital and to try to get someone to come see her on a Sunday seems almost impossible but in the end after a lot of fretting and phoning I got to know that the home care was going to go by and have a look. That settled me down a bit and then this morning grans caretaker phoned to say gran couldn't get out of bed to open the door so could I surrender my key to them which I did. I just have had a phone call saying gran cant use her left leg and is going to be taken into hospital. I've just called work saying I'm not coming in and in a minute going to phone and see where gran is at the hospital. My guess? She has had a fall on Thursday evening/night and didn't want to worry anybody, just like she did the last time when she broke her wrist. Sigh

On a completely different note, we got 2 houses to view, one in Borlänge next Monday and the robot one in Falun on Thursday. Still haven't heard anything about the one in Enviken. Possibly they've already sold it.

There's a house...
To see more pictures click on the tab Fler Bilder. It looks like a robot from the outside front, but inside it looks just like something we would like. It is at the top end of our budget though and I'm sure there will be quite some bidding over it, but it is an exciting house. I have just fired away an email that we would like to go on the viewing next Thursday. But got to talk to our bank as well and see what they think of our chances moneywise to get this one. We had a woman here from Sparbanken (the other bank) to have a look at our apartment and value it for us so we know what we could expect to get when selling it. She thought around 250 000 Swedish kronor which is converted £18,900 - $35,450 - €27,540.

Go on, have a look and see what you think.

We went to have a look at this house on Saturday. It was a charming house, but, there is always a but isn't there. It just wasn't what we wanted. It was quirky and had loads of charm but in the end there was too much to do on it and I'm sure the price would have whopped up since there was a load of people interested. We saw some of them at the viewing, it was mighty crowded I'll tell you.

I've phoned about this house today. And yes I know it is a fair bit outside of Falun, but it looks just right for us in terms of things specified by James and me on the extra buildings and amount of land to it. There had been some viewings this weekend but she, the estate agent, would get back to me if there would be a second viewing. This house had also attracted loads of interest so we'll see how it goes.

It is so disappointing really to go and have a look at a house when the pictures doesnt match the reality. And it doesnt help that we are very vague on what we like either, is it James!? ;oP
No really, the house market in Falun is a bit over priced I think. If you compare Falun to Borlänge it is like Borlänge would be in the north of Sweden and Falun somewhere around Stockholm in the price range. Same type of house does sell for at least 4-600 000 kr more in Falun then it does in Borlänge and that does limit us quite a lot in choices. I'd rather live in Falun, but considering what sort of a house we can get in Borlänge for lesser money it makes us look more into the housemarket in Borlänge. It is a bit slow at the moment but it should be getting better now when the sun has returned and spring is in everybodys mind, at least in mine when the sun is shining outside with a mild +3 and windy. I think I'm going to bike to work today!

Currently playing Nobody's home - Avril Lavigne

Very suitable as well since I am sitting here all by my lonesome tonight. James is working his late shift this week. I am finally beginning to feel like my old self. Talking about old self, what irony, I went to the hairdressers to get my hair cut and to get some color back into it. And what did I spot in the mirror when Lena and me were discussing what color to try this time, a grey hair! No not just one either, several were gleaming and poking out very ominously in the harsh light in the saloon.. sigh. I've just not thought about getting grey hair just yet you know!Oh well, I wont be seeing them anyway since I do color my hair on a regular basis. My original hair color is a very mousy bland blond. You know, neither blonde or dark, just in the vague in between. But ever since I did my first coloring I've been hooked and am now considered as a redhead by people who don't know me from old. Weird that. But I've always heard that I have a temper as a red head, now what ever that does imply... ;)

Since I did my music questionnaire I've been looking through all my CD's and have started to listen to music again. In the olden (cough) days I wouldn't do anything without the stereo on blasting some sort of music out way too loud for any neighbor to like me for long. Well I did learn how to turn the volume down a notch or two but then all of a sudden I turned the stereo off completely, maybe I just got music overload. I'm quite out of synch with what or who is in and what's totally out so bare with me and my weird music taste.

It is back to work for me tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to it but what the heck, if it will give us a house why not.. ;)
No seriously, it is work. And I have to start thinking like that and not get caught up in all the hysteric gossip and name calling and what not's in there if I'm going to stay at some kind of normal level of sanity. It's been too much bad mouthing lately, it gets tiresome, really it does. The really irritating thing is though, it will never change. Isn't that interesting?

Cause Eleanor thought I should..
1. What is the total size of mp3?s on your computer?
Ehm, wait a sec.. we got 780 of them.

2. What was the last CD that you bought?
That was a while back, I think it was Mauro Scocco - La Dolce Vita, he is a Swedish singer, very good I think.

3. What was the last song (literally!) you heard before you read this?
Yesterday on the radio, Bryan Adams - I can fly? I think its called.

4. Write down 4 songs you listen to a lot or songs that mean a lot to you.
Now that is hard, got to think for a moment.
Hmmm, number one must be Van Morrison - Into the mystic, just love that one and I never get tired of listening to it.
Number two Madonna - Nothing really matters, well to be honest, all of the CD Ray of light, because it reminds me of a wonderful time in my life.
Number three, it is getting harder now, but I think I'll stick to the one that got me listening to opera it is from La Boheme - Che gelida manina, which still is one of my favorite operas just ahead of Madame Butterfly.
Number four. Ronan Keating - When you say nothing at all, because it is 'our' song...

5. Who do you want to pass this one on to?
Well I think I would like to know from
Mary
James
and Lynn, if she can find time in her busy life at the moment

No pressure, but it would be fun :o)

So, what is it with nature and it taking revenge on me because I enjoyed my holiday hmmm? We went to England for a week to stay with James' parents and I was totally relaxed and unwound from work when I got back home and it only took 3 days and I had a humdinger of a cold! And I'd thought I just cleared the one that had been lingering from new years when we arrived in England... baaah humbug to vacation!

So here I am sitting with a red nose like anyone's reindeer and a cough that would scare wolves if they heard me bark. And I cant sleep either, nose is too stuffed and nose drops aren't helping, help?! At least I had the sense of calling in sick this morning and when my boss phoned me up to check on me he asked if I wanted tomorrow off as well, which I gladly agreed to. At least it might give me a few more days to clear the worst of it off. This winter has been dreadful, it started out alright, I thought for a while I was immune to the colds running amok at work but just before Christmas I got whacked and really haven't been myself since. What can you do? Vitamins, honey, garlic, Vick's vapo rub, anything or everything mentioned combined into a wicked stew and smear it all over so you smell so ghastly that no one would like to come near you, never mind close enough to pass on yet another cold.

I'll think of something...

Happy New Year everybody.

Its been a bit on the cold side over here but now it has turned into loony weather. It poured down with rain yesterday night so this morning everything was glazed with ice. And I mean everything, even the grit on the pavement was glazed and no use at all in preventing people (ie me) from slipping and sliding. Thankfully I hitched a ride with my mum this morning and James came to my rescue when I finished work this afternoon. Or else I would have been like Bambi on ice, especially on the slopes I would have to battle to get home. I can very vividly imagine myself trying to get up the last slope and just sliding right back down again on my arse..

It is very mild weather for being winter and soon mid January. I prefer it screeching cold with sun halos like the one we had just after Christmas. It did plummet, and yes in the right meaning of the word plummet, to a chilly -20 with mist. So everything was covered in a thin layer of white frost plus you got to see the phenomena of a sun halo. I even took a picture of it with my new digital camera.

Santa was very VERY VERY kind this year, I'm still not over the chock of it.
It reminds me, got to go give Santa a kissy, just because..

Extend your Christmas gifts this year and support the help efforts being made now in Asia by donating what you can to the organizations helping thousands of people to get through this hard time. I have.

'Nice and sunny for christmas day'... baah humbug! It has been -15 and now it is snowstorming out there. We went for a little walk though but just down to the local garage for some extra milk. When we got back we were all covered in snow and looked like a pair of walking snowmen. But it was great fun!

Sorry for the lack of posts but its been hectic, both at work and here at home. My sister and her bf arrived tonight after the long drive from Gothenburg and they are sleeping here. And as the computer is in their bedroom im sure i will be showed the door soon because they are very tired. So is James who already has gone to bed, poor soul was up early since they started at 5 this morning but at least he now have 2 days off before heading back to work. And we havent got anything planned what so ever part from Christmas dinner at mums tomorrow. Just relaxing, eating lovely christmas dinners and maybe a walk for Christmas Day since they have promised nice and sunny, but cold.

Happy Holidays everybody and see you after the weekend!

I think I'm all set for Christmas. Presents bought and wrapped, decorations are up and glittering, the tree will be appearing tomorrow if we can find a decent one and now some soothing Christmas carols are playing on the stereo. The Christmas cards haven been dropping in as well, thank you everyone. Only thing missing is SNOW! All of the previous snow has melted away in the tropical +6 we've had all week. And its rained and rained and rained. It is so grim and black outside at night, haven't seen any sunshine since... I cant even remember!

We are having a little Christmas (lill Jul in Swedish) tomorrow with our friends Rosie and Pär, they are coming over for dinner and pressie swapping. I'm looking forward to that. Some time for relaxing and just having a good laugh is in order I think considering how hectic work has started to become. It really got into full swing yesterday and the queues where getting longer and longer at the shop. I prefer it busy and lots to do then slow and boring so it suits me just fine and it helps to know that I'm not working this Christmas so can really relax over the holiday!

Today will be mayhem at work as we are having a free taster of the Swedish Christmas food at work. Lotta just phoned and said the parking lot had been full since 9 when we open the shop, she now has a grand view of the supermarket from her new flat. So I presume lots of shoppers enjoying some free food and not buying so much, but that is what you usually get. It's actually quite fun watching them when they struggle to get as much free food as possible, not just ones but 3 times and we always know which ones will be coming for their seconds and thirds and so on... But that is the joy of having freebies isn't it?

Back again. It was a very annoyingly stubborn stomache flu and i really didnt feel better untill last thursday when i went back to work for one day before having a long weekend off in Gothenburg with James and my mum visiting my sister. We had a great time in Gothenburg even though the city seemed mad with Christmas shoppers everywhere. Not to mention the big Christmas market they have at Liseberg (big amusement park that opens again 4 weeks before christmas) At one point im sure we were packed as sardines in a can and could only move if the others moved as well!

It is my day off but i got a To-Do list as long as my arm so i'd better get cracking and getting on with things on it! But... I'' be back!

Will be posting soon again, got hit by stomache flu yesterday night so cant hang around really. You all might get it!

We've been to look at this house this morning. It was very welcoming and had a warm feeling about it, my gut feeling was good if you know what I mean. Its slightly bigger then our apartment but it has a complete downstairs with a big room and two smaller ones plus you got your laundry room in there as well.The basement had a fresh smell to it, not a moldy kind of smell some houses have, but the windows are so small. Theirs only one bathroom though and it would need redoing with putting in a new bathroom suite and re-tiling. The kitchen was old but not in a bad state, just maybe a new coat of paint on the cupboard doors. A great plus was that all the appliances were new-ish, a couple of years old only. There is a cold conservatory attached to it, you access it from the kitchen. Possibly you could remake it into a warm one and voila you'd have an extra room or you could extend the house that way and gain some more space for the kitchen/lounge area. It would create a very nice sheltered outside veranda between the extension and the garage. Some painting of the wood details outside are needed but other then that we couldn't spot much on our first visit. The more I think about it the more I like it and that's a first with a house!

The garden was excellent, the main bulk of it was facing south and was at the back. There were at least 3 apple trees, a long line of raspberry bushes along the back fence and 4 currant bushes. Some medium size trees and a roseborder along the conservatory. Plenty of room for some vegetable patches and there is a little birds pond apparently even though it was covered with snow now I think it is seen in the pictures.

We have to have a serious think about this one. Only thing is there is a 'do it upper' house for sale as well in the same area, just across the street really, for a lot lesser money. We are going to have a look at that one as well. The real estate woman said there is a couple who are interested in the 'Rose cottage' (the nice one is located at Rose Street) and was going to talk to their bank about a loan but the couple were also going to look at this other house 'The Thistle' (since the road is called Thistle Road). Going to discuss this with Jamie when we are on our way to IKEA tomorrow. That is if we're not going to get another half snow blizzard! Then we're not going anywhere, because if it snows here in Falun it is much worse up over the mountains on the road to Gävle. Keep your fingers crossed there is no snow, I want to go to IKEA!

Note to self; when going to the gym, don't walk there AND back home again. I am completely exhausted but feeling quite alright otherwise. But we will see tomorrow morning if I'll be able to get out bed, even with the stretching I think I might be quite sore. This time was a test run to see if I wanted to do some more and I do so I signed up for a year. My boss will pay half of the cost which is very generous of him but also a way for him to make sure we use the card as intended and not just go a few times and let it slide.

Its been snowing here a bit more and they are predicting more for the weekend. So it might be true that winter has come at last. Usually when it has snowed and everything is nice and frosty white I get into the Christmas spirit and go about making everything all warm and fuzzy and indulge in some gift shopping and getting everything sorted well before the last week so I don't need to rush around like a chicken without a head along other late shoppers. But this year it almost feels like I could say Bahh Humbug to it all. My mum is pulling her hair out because she don't know what I would like for Christmas and she is seriously concerned that I don't KNOW. But I don't WANT anything and why do you always need to want something for Christmas, there are loads of people much worse off then me that could need some cheering up for Christmas. I am quite happy as I am, I got a lovely husband who will no doubt surprise me no end with his unusual and different gifts for Christmas, we got ourselves a nice place to live, even though we are looking for a house. I have all the gadgets that I need and don't need and the bookshelves are bursting with books from the last book sale still to be read. I think Eleanor got the right idea about having a different Christmas, not getting caught in the consumer web of shop 'till you drop mentality, but, its nice to receive gifts and I don't think my family is ready for a totally different way of celebrating Christmas. Perhaps in the future, but not now. I'm sure I'll make a list, but it will be short and I think mainly consist of music and movie wants. You just cant have enough of books me thinks!

I'm about to do something very unusual for me. I'm going to a gym! Voluntarily! No one dragging me kicking and screaming. I must be sick.

We've had a busy weekend with my sister and her bf staying at our place. We had some fun and it all went too quickly but it seems they might be able to come up for Christmas this year as well and have already asked if it is alright for them to stay here then as well. Which it is of course. Somehow it makes things a bit smoother that they stay here then at either mums place or Hasses parents place. Not that there weren't hurt feelings from my mum when my sister asked if they could stay here but even if you try your bestest someone will always feel neglected. Anyway, that seems to be sorted for this time around. Makes you look forward for the Christmas visit doesn't it? Sigh

It seems they are predicting heavy snow for tomorrow. It certainly has taken a turn to the colder up here with fierce cold winds yesterday and a distinct smell of snow in the air, so it is a coming that's for sure! I'll post some pictures of the snow if and when it comes. I like blizzards.. :)

Our house hunting is at a stand still right now. There are lots of nice-ish places but only trouble is they are so far away. The more convenient and closer ones are so high priced at the starting price we stand no chance if there would be bidding for it, which there always is now a days apparently. There is this little farm house with potential but it is in Säter, which would be alright for Jamie since he would commute the same distance as he does today but for me it would be too far. I suppose we will just have to keep on looking.

Yay blessed be the Gods!
James my elusive husband is blogging again, well sorts of and he is at this location right now. Go and read and give him a pat on the head for finally making an appearance

It's a grey day. But it is my day off! And now when there's been a change of plans I really don't know what to do with myself.

I've tidied away all the washing, fed the birds outside, fed the fishes inside and did the dishes and its still only 10.30. I am leaning towards going for a walk into town and do a bit of Christmas shopping, or at least have a look around to see if I find anything to buy! At least we have to buy another 'Need for Speed Underground' game because the one we bought intending to give to Hasse James has totally taken over. He was supposed to 'testdrive' it but since Saturday he has been playing it every evening. Tut tut.. Well I admit, I've tested it as well and it is fun!

Any ideas what you could buy for someone who has everything (ie my mum)? And to my sister who has a birthday coming up in December. BTW they are coming here next week for a short stop over the weekend. They will be sleeping here so that is something I'm looking forward to. Hopefully they can come up for Christmas but its not looking great.

I'm so bored I think I'm going to write some Christmas cards already! Yes I know, I'm nuts...

I think I feel a bit older, yes definitely older and grayer since I had my birthday last Wednesday. That is why I went to the hairdressers yesterday and got everything done. And I mean everything, got me some nice curls then toned them in a nice dark brown/red color, a touch up of the hairstyle and I did my eyelashes darker as well. Saves you from putting on mascara every day and not needing to worry about it running in this awful autumn weather we've been having. Rain and rain and some more rain for the weekend. Where did the nice, cold, crisp frosty mornings go? They used to turn into lovely golden sunny days just begging you for long walks. I wouldn't walk more then absolutely necessary outside right now, anybody for some driving rain, just borderlining sleet?

I had a very nice birthday and didn't open all my pressies straight away since I had loads to do on that day. The phone kept on ringing all afternoon with people sending me Happy Birthday wishes and I had lots of nice pressies, thank you all! My mum came over for dinner and I had a cake with one, yes ONE candle in it. No need to point out that I'm 32 now is there..oops!
Oh well, I'm not any different from when I was 31, or so at least I'm trying to convince myself!

"To live with someone from a different country" requested by Belle.

Somehow it doesn't feel odd, it feels familiar and comforting to live with an Englishman. My mum, who is from Finland, did stay with her aunt in England for a while when she was in her twenties and worked there for a couple of years before meeting my dad who also was from Finland. She moved to Sweden shortly before they got married. We've always talked a kind of mixed Swenglish in the family with my mum but talked Swedish to our dad. But we never learnt Finnish so that is what my parents talked when they didn't want us to know what they were saying.

Mum used to cook all sorts of English dishes and we got used to having brown gravy to almost everything and that the vegetables were supposed to be all mushy and overcooked(yuck) but also that yorkies are very nice with gravy and roast. But she also did these fantastic pastries and cakes and every time we went over to visit her aunt she brought back loads of English necessities like Oxo cubes, malt loaf, water biscuits, short bread, self raising flower and dried mint that she used for the lamb roast plus a heck of a lot more that would fit in our car, we'd go by ferry on the north sea and all I got to say about that is, thank the gods for planes and short crossings of 2 hours! So all of this is familiar and not unusual to me. Maybe that's why I fell in love with a handsome Englishman with a Suffolk accent... ?

But as Belle has found out there is a difference in tolerance to cold weather. When James first came over to stay he was fascinated with snow and could just sit and stare at it while it was falling outside. He still loves the crunch sound you get when walking on it when it is very cold but now when the novelty has worn off he thinks winter goes on forever and spring can never come too quickly when it is around March. And he still has difficulty in judging when it is a proper time to put some gloves and hat on. He still some times thinks it is alright to go out in -10 without a hat on! BTW when the English news says there will be severe cold they are talking about -1 or maybe even -3. It took a bit of time before I realized they weren't joking about it when I was over in England to visit James' family in winter.

He has never understood the Swedish term "fika", which generally means a cup of coffee or tea WITH cake or sandwiches. And he don't really get that we like to fika so often. It is almost like a religion to some, and it has to be at a certain time and there has to be cake and cookies with the coffee or else it isn't a proper fika! If a friend calls and wonders if you can get together and have a talk it usually means can you come over and fika or could we go out to fika at a nice and cozy cafe. I kinda like it, it is very relaxed and you get something to munch on while talking about deep meaningful stuff, like the latest gossip...

Even though I'm sure there are loads more that you can go on and on about there really isn't anything that irritates me. He is very easy to cook for, he always amuses me with his quirky sense of humour and I enjoy being in his company and misses him awfully whenever he is working a different shift then I am. Life would be oh so boring without him, I do love him to bits, love you Jamie...

"Your first trip to Ireland and your first meeting with Jamie" requested by Mary who was responsible from the start that me and James ever met.

It was in the days of IRCmania. It was the 'in' thing to do, to go to an IRC channel and chat to total strangers and have cyber marriages, cybersex, cyber theater plays with various people playing different characters or just a one man show where he/she changed his nickname to make a point not to mention cyber wars and hostile takeovers of various chatrooms. It was when the geek could earn a name as a genius hacker if he could spoof, flood and kill.

Mary was one of the first people I got to know really well over the internet. She was one of the gang in a channel called #cheeky_fookahs. We were a crazy bunch of people sitting up all hours of the night and day to chat to each other. Sometimes you just wanted to fool around a bit and joke and other times you needed a friendly ear who would listen to your troubles and worries and tell you that everything was going to be alright. And Mary, she is a very warm and understanding woman, will sit and listen to all your worries and tell you that everything will be alright, and in the end it is alright, because she said it is. But sometimes she finds you someone who she thinks would be perfect for you and introduces him with an innocent excuse that she has to do something and would I please keep him company for a while. So I did. And I don't know when it clicked, but it clicked, big time.

After a few months we'd got to know each other so well that we started to talk about seeing each other in real. I think it was Mary who suggested a party at her place, in Ireland, and that we should get together with the others in the chat room as well. In the end only Brian (twant) and Richie (SaWnOff) part from James and me would make it over to Dublin. And indeed it was a nervous affair. I can still remember that Friday when Mary and me were waiting at the airport for Richie and James' flights to land. It was busy at the airport and flights were being delayed so in the end it was Richies flight that came in first and when James flight had landed there must have been loads of planes coming in because all you could see was this wall of people moving slowly from the arrivals hall to the exits. But no James, after a while we heard a msg that would please Mrs Mary and Mirjam! go to the information desk, James is waiting. And there he was a nervous, pale, shaggy dog looking James. But he saw us coming and I can swear to this day that if I would have poked him he would have fallen over but instead I gave him a long warm hug and asked if he was alright and his answer was "I am alright now"

We've been to have a look at the house... and its got a lot of potential, it could be a lovely house, no a great house! Of course there are some but's in there as well. Like could we stand the bathrooms while saving up to re do them, it got its own sewage and water well. We would have to check the quality of the water and make sure the well is deep enough. If the waters no good what would it cost to get tapped into the mains.

Some pro's and con's that we talked about.

The master bedroom is huge, 21 square meters! It has its own French balcony and 2 sets of big windows, one to the east and one to the south. There is a working fireplace but you would have to check that and the other fireplaces before buying. No evening sun which is good. The walls are a good 30 cm deep in the old part and the new extension looked nice as well with wood beams in the ceiling.

They used electricity for heating plus the fireplaces, could turn out expensive both ways considering how the price of electricity has been rising and rising and that we don't know anyone that could sell us cheap firewood.

All of the rooms are of a good size and the layout of them is fine. Mainly wallpapering to do there and possibly sand the floor in the dining room.

There's this ugly stain in the bathtub, maybe due to the water, and over all the bathrooms looked dingy and a bit out of place. Mish mashed if you know what I mean. The sauna wasn't installed but it was all prepared for one, don't think I'd like one though. You could instead move the shower and the toilet to the sauna room and have a big washing room/drying/ironing room. You would get a new washing machine and tumble dryer.

The kitchen would look absolutely smashing if you tore down a wall and made a kitchen island with the oven and work surfaces but is it a bearing wall? The oven and fridge/freezer are completely new, the fitted cupboards are ugly and worn/old not to mention the tiling(screaming 70s!) but they have a working wood fired baking oven.....

Garden looked a bit tired and could need some doing up but you got a very elegant greenhouse and some apple trees and redcurrent, gooseberry bushes. But all that would be quite easily taken care of.

But mainly, could we afford it, is it worth it? There have been 10 or so to have a look at it and a couple of them seem to be interested. I seriously don't think it is worth more then the asking price in its current state, maybe even lesser considering the state of the bathrooms and that the outside needs repainting. I don't think the bank would give us a big loan so it is already in the upper limit we have set ourselves and considering that we would like to do quite a lot in it that costs money it is a question of can we wait and save up for it to be fixed and live in what it looks like now and knowing myself I don't think I could. Maybe if I had to but it would be agonizing... hmmm, got to think that one over.

What a wonderful autumn sunday, crisp air, clear blue sky and completly still. And of course i have to work the best part of it! But i dont mind because we are going to have a look at a house later on this evening. Yes we are still looking for that dream house. But we are in no real rush so taking the time to have a look at possibilities are fun at the moment.

No other real news to tell. Am working today with the dreaded Boris. But so far so good. But it is tiresome to work with someone that completly ignores what you'r saying and complains when we dont do as he says, in other words when we dont do his work for him! But we have stopped covering for him, if its not done it's his problem not ours. And if he hits the high grade of pesky we are going to the Big Boss this time saying we dont want to work with Boris anymore and could he please be removed or else we want to change weekends! I dont think it would have such an impact if it was only me that said it but we are several now that feel this is the last straw and if nothing happens soon that is what we will do.

Better get ready for work... *sigh*

I've been reading Bellus Animus and got inspired to do something similare. So, what would you like to know about me? Is there anything at all? I'll blog about the three first questions i get in the comments. So fire away....

(please help me gods...what have i done!)

We've bought a new car! At least we have made a down payment for it and now own the tires... Buying the whole car we will do on Monday or Tuesday depending on when the money gets transferred from England. We test drove it yesterday and it felt very nice, handled like a dream and what me and James could make out nothing seriously wrong with it. It's had all its check ups and its only 5 years old. Plus it is a Volvo. They usually are good standard cars, bit boxy in the past but quite nice now a days. I think we'll call it Rosalind. :o)

Guests have come and gone and everything is back to normal. Plus an autumn cold I might add. It was fun having my inlaws over for a long weekend. We managed to do lots and see a bit more of the area around Falun as well on Saturday. Best part I think was the bowling on Friday evening. I think I'll ask James to go bowling with me on Saturday if he isn't too tired from working extra. He has his mind set on buying a house now so every time he gets a little extra he says we got a new thing to the house, like a porch, a window, I think he has managed to squeeze in a roof as well in there...

I was in a baking mood yesterday, thought I'd try out Mr Jamie Oliver's stuffed breakfast breads. PfffT! As you might have guessed it didn't go so well. And I thought it tasted like sweaty socks even though the stuffing sounded nice and looked nice(parma ham, mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, sun dried tomatoes, basil and hard boiled eggs)! That might just have been my cold BUT the breads did NOT look anything like his, firstly they were humongus in size even though I tried to make them smaller but then the filling wouldn't have fitted at all and they didn't stay nice and puffed instead they just swelled all over the baking tray like a sloppy jello gone bad. So I had to put them in separate trays or else it would have been one gigantic mutant bread that would have I'm sure taken over the world like the big amoeba in the film Evolution tried in the end sequence!

So today I'm trying something more sublte and easy, potato and leek soup. I've done it a gazillion times before but remembering yesterday I'm keeping my mouth shut until I've tasted it. Later I'm going to do a batch of Swedish meat balls for the freezer so James only have to take a ready made meal out if we are out of ideas for dinner or his next day lunch box. Wish me luck though!

We are getting guests on thursday!
It is James' parents and his sister. It was supposed to be a surprise that his sister was coming too but we fumbled a bit in the start and James guessed it quite soon after he got to know that his mum wanted to talk to me alone one day. Its no good having a too clever husband! Makes it damn difficult to get surprises organized without him poking his nose in it!

Sweet but... Bizarre

We went to a viewing of the house I mentioned in my previous post. I'm disappointed. From the pictures it looks alright and actually very sweet, just our size and price range as well. Once you're in the house it feels a bit like a small dolls house with slanty roofs and floors, there wasn't a right angle anywhere to be seen and we discovered when we had a look outside that the whole house was sinking in one corner. I don't think I have a problem with that, you can always correct the foundation (expensive but manageable) but the main bedroom felt very.. off. Don't know why but I felt I would never be able to relax in that room. The kitchen was a big old style Swedish one, it felt like the heart of the house, which was good but the bathroom was dreadful and might hide some water damage since the wallpaper was ancient and peeling in the corners.

The guesthouse was really just a shell, you would have to redo it completely since it has been very neglected and the owner had used it as a workshop! My heart just cried when I saw this lovely old Swedish kitchen turned into a workbench and filled with oily and rusty junk! They still had the old wood fire oven even though it was old and tattered you would be able to save it. It would have made a lovely guesthouse all made up with a new sleeping loft and renovated kitchen.

I guess we just have to keep on looking. I think though we are pretty sure about what we want with a house and aren't afraid of doing stuff ourselves. But the house itself has to feel a bit more like 'home' then this one did. I don't mind tattered and neglected as long as the house isn't sinking and the roofs sagging inside like this one's was. Location was perfect, not overlooked at all and a pretty good sized yard out in the sticks. It was a 5 minute walk to the lake as well so we would have been able to have a boat.

Sweet isnt it?

Its gone from very very warm to ridiculous rain and thunder and wind, in a week the weathers been transformed totally. And the trees are turning yellow already! Yesterday we had the mother of all thunderstorms and I had to bike home in a quiet part of it, thankfully there was a quiet part, if not I would have had to stay and ask for a lift with someone else. I just got back home when it decided to start rumble again and huge flashes shot across the sky. I hid on the sofa with a newspaper to distract me from it all, its cool to watch a storm when you have somebody else there, not so cool when you are alone! At the end of the first batch the setting sun reflected on the misty clouds and it went all yellow outside, literally. Very spooky and a bit uneasy I watched the light turn from dusk to a brighter shade of yellow and it got lighter then it was at 6 o'clock! It was amazing though, against that big eerie yellow cloud these big fat thunderheads of dark blue grey clouds just stood out the more and you could really see the clouds tumble around from the winds in them. I should have taken pictures of them but never got around doing that, the flashes didn't make me any braver to go outside, I'll tell you!

Wait a while, i have to fan myself with some paper.*swish swish swish*
I am down in gothenburg with my mum to visit my sister and it is almost 29 degrees and it is 8 in the evening!! And my sister dont have a ceiling fan like we do back in Falun. So major question is if i will sleep with the window wide open, inviting all the bees and wasps or if i sleep with a closed window but butt naked...

I do hope that James is behaving himself at home, but me thinks he is too busy with all the things on his To Do list to make any trouble. He opted to get home one our earlier today because he felt so overwhelmed by the To Do list, or so he said when i phoned to let him know we got here alright. Bet you he is sitting in front of the computer looking at this running sites and noticeboards and not at all doing the watering and what nots. I hope he remembers to cook some food for himself for tomorrow(no flaming hamburgers though i hope). But if not there is always the cantine at work.

Tomorrows plan is to go into gothenburg and do a bit of shopping. I have no idea if that is such a good idea in this heat but i rather do that then sit in here with not a slight breeze through all the windows that are wide open in hope of some relieve.

Shit shit shit!

I just worte a mega blog and i had an error msg when publishing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am NOT rewriting it!

*sob*

The allotment is yielding quite a lot right now that needs to be taken care of. Mum and me went up to pick some peas for the second time(got 2 pints after shelling them) and I picked all the parsley and gave some away since we had way to much for ourselves, mum took some of the beet roots that were getting too big and has now pickled them for us. They are sitting nicely in our coldroom storage ready to be used. I took most of the broccoli side shoots and I think that they are coming to an end now. The runnerbeans are really running away whit loads of flowers and beans coming along very nicely. They are next for the picking. Also the tomatoes are turning red now, faster then we can eat them, well I'm not surprised since the weather has turned very warm and humid, who needs a greenhouse!?

The sweet corn is coming into bloom and onions are getting to be huge. Only thing not growing so good is our rhubarb plant and the salads are pathetic this year even though we've been watering when its been dry. Oh well you cant have everything now can you, at least we seems to be having very little pests this year. I've been planning a bit on how to restructure the little plot of land we got. Right now the raspberries are falling into and over the little pebble path we've made and its not really very convenient to have it there. So, either I move the path or I take away the raspberries on the left hand side. I'm leaning to moving the raspberries and the black currant bush to the other side and have a long border with either only flowers or you put your salads and herbs there. Hmm, a herb border would be nice.. plus some marigolds and other flowers of course!

Lynn was talking about getting rid of old stuff and reaping the rewards of earlier projects. Well I'm reaping what I've sown earlier but I'm not so good at the getting rid of old stuff. Due to that we will be getting new windows installed in September I have to make sure they can get into the storage to change 2 small windows there. Talking about getting rid of old stuff, so far I think I've managed to chuck 2 small, pitiful looking boxes away to charity and one (!) little bag of garbage. I just cant do it, well not good at least. Ever since I was a kid I have been told by my mum that it could be useful later, that applied for anything at all, no matter how small or weird, you'd save it for later, put it in a box and voila when you needed it you didn't remember you had it anyway so you bought a new one that also went into a box and so on... Help me??

Peas, peas, everywhere I look peas!

Mum was kind and picked the peas that was ready yesterday and today I have been shelling them. When you think about it its not very much you end up with when you have discarded all the shells. But never mind that, they taste delicious and are together with the broccoli James took home yesterday going to be part of our dinner. How does pork file roast in honey marinade and fresh vegetables sound to you? Yummie if you ask me! We might get our first tomatoes soon as well if this warm and nice weather holds for a couple of days more. We have 2 right now that are slightly orange looking. It seems to be a crap year for flowers though, the marigolds are barely scraping to flower a few heads and the sweet peas are tiny still. And of all the flowers I sowed this spring only a handfuls of poppies and marigolds have come up. Thankfully the hollyhocks did come as well and will be lovely next year (crosses fingers AND toes for not too hard frost)

I went for a little walk around the lake across the road after lunch and I found this cute little landing stage. I took some other pictures as well but this one turned out the best

The auction on Sunday was interesting and I came away with a postcard album with 140+ cards in it for 520 kronor. I thought it was quite good since it makes out as roughly 4 kronas a card, besides I have already sold off 2 of them for 60 kr. Wheeler dealer eyh?
I also spotted a nice glass jar with a silverplated top but it was put into a bargain box that went a bit too high plus I didn't want all the other crap that went in there. But I went over and asked the lady who bought them if she would sell me the jar since that was all I was interested in. She said she was going to think about it since she hadn't had time to have a look yet what was in the box! I decided to wait a while before asking again and in the mean time I saw how she very carefully looked at the jar wondering is she had made a bargain and why I wanted to buy it off her. So just before we left in the afternoon I went over and asked if she had thought about it, which she had. She wanted to keep it but then I made her an offer of 80 kronas for it and she hesitated and caved. So I got it!
isn't it cute?

We also have been up at the allotment and it is growing much better now when it finally started to be a bit warmer. We have a truck load of peas to pick, onions are really growing well, tomatoes are slowly turning bright red, sweet corn is struggling but growing taller, potatoes flowering and we already have picked some of the broccoli heads, they made a lovely chicken pie with some cauliflower and leak. Also the runner beans are flowering like mad but I'm not so sure we will be able to have those in peace. We have deer! Pesky little deer nibbling at our pea flowers last week and they also found their way to the beanstalks cutting the buds off! Shoot the buggers!

We went around looking at cars yesterday. Both me and James have agreed on that our tank drinks too much petrol and it would be cheaper in insurance as well with a smaller new car. Not to mention easier to drive, James still takes wide corners like he's driving a lorry. Makes for interesting comments from me when I'm thinking he missed the turning! Cars seem to be very expensive though if you buy them from a car dealer, naturally off course but still you cant get any decent cars for under 60 000 kronor! I've also had a look online for people selling privately and you can get them cheaper but anyone want to help us out in buying? Haven't got a clue what to look for more then the obvious, rust and tires. Plus any tips on what make of car is a good buy is gratefully accepted.

VACATION!!!

Can you see I'm excited about it??

Sorry for the lack of posts but its been hectic and I've not really been in the blogging mood. But I thought I try to write something now when I don't have work to do, well unless you count all the housework, gardening and stuff like that. Housework cant wait either really, hmmm why is there only 24 hours a day? Never mind I have a set list of priorities, auctions first and then whatever needs tending to. Yes, you guessed right we are off to an auction today. Poor James is working but I'm going with Lotta and my mum to an auction in Nyhammar. It is a bit to go so we are going to set of soon. Lotta is picking me up in 10 minutes and I'm all set for whatever weather there will be. They promised scattered showers so umbrella is in the handbag but also I have sunblock just in case the sun does come out. I don't want to end up red as a lobster as I did once last year. I also have applied amply of mosquito repellent since we are going to be outdoors in the sticks. It sounded as a good auction so book is with me and I'm going to have really good look around. Better go now or I will be late!

So we went to have a look at the house yesterday. It was as i thought, lovely garden, wild grown of course but lots of surviving plants in the weeds but the house needs too much doing to it. The layout wasnt the best i thought. You'd step in from the nice front porch bit and was greeted by the wall of the hall since it spread like a T, livingroom to your right. A strange semi room with an open fire to your left, from there you had the small bedroom to your left facing towards the front next to it the bathroom with a huge ugly boiler on view. To your right in the semiroom you'd go into the kitchen which had a view to the back, overlooking a huge mound which contains an oldfashion larder down under ground, from the kitchen you also would access the bigger bedroom (bigger ha! would hardly get your double bed in there) and from the bedroom you have a door out onto the patio.

 
If we would have bought it we would have redone the layout completly and the  kitchen totaly ripped out plus the foundation needs a ventilation put in since it was getting damp. But we knew this. We quite quickly agreed the house wasnt for us, but we both loved the garden and extra sheds.

Yes, yes i know. Another silly test but i like these!
Found via Belle


You are a true nature girl!


Which Ultimate Beautiful Woman are You?
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The estate agent phoned today and wondered if thursday suited us since he was showing the house to a family as well. I said yes thank you it suits us fine. He informed me a bit about the house, what needs doing and how big the acres are. There is aparently a plot or two of land going wih it but its not next to the house and yard itself which was disappointing. Mind you, we are NOT seriously thinking about this house, just looking. Im curious to how it looks like inside because from the pictures on their site it looks just about the right size and such for us as a first house. Mum made sure of that we werent going to look and buy it on a whim, as if we would. But thats my mum for you :o)

Weekend rushed by as usual. We went to IKEA on saturday with mum, Lotta and ?sa. It was a bit of a disappointment though. Not at all up to its usual standard it felt like a let down. The sales werent no good in the shopping center next door either. At least we had a day out. We didnt do anything in particular on the evening, i made a bit of bread and lounged in the sofa and James went for a run. On sunday there were lots of auctions going on but James was to tired and i couldnt bother to go to the local one seeing as the weather was a bit unsteady mind you it never rained. We had a look online at houses for sale instead. I do believe that James has now got the housebug as well. We biked out to have a look at one in Falun, it was dark and dank and definatly not worth the asking price of 990 000 kronor and we decided to take a trip to Borlänge to have a look at another house for 550 000 kronor. It needs doing up a bit inside and the garden bit is quite grown wild. I made a note and posted off a mail saying we wanted to have a peek inside it to the house agency. Will see when they phone back.

Some good news and some bad (well, yes)

So I've had my first treatment of acupuncture this last Wednesday. It was, interesting, to put it mildly for someone who hates needles! Anyway good news is that whatever he does with them it seems to be working, elbow seems to be on the mend even though I never would have thought so after the first session. Talk about sore and groggy! I knew that you would get whoozy headed and tired but nothing had prepared me for that. I don't know if I did the sane thing but instead of going home and getting in bed I went shopping! Well it worked for me, after half an hour of slowly walking around town I felt much better and called James to see if he wanted to meet me in town after work. But he had left his mobile at home so he didn't get the msg before then. But lovely as he is he came into town anyway to go and have a look at some baskets I had seen and was wondering if I should get for our mini recycle station under the kitchen sofa. I thought they were nice but a bit hefty on the price so we decided to wait until we've been to IKEA they usually have nice wicker baskets and other sorts.
The bad news being I have to go back for another treatment next Wednesday. But hopefully it will get better for each time, will just have to see how many treatments I will need before it being acceptable again. He is not cheap either, every session costs my boss 350 kronor ca ?27 instead of me going to the company healthcare center for ?6... But I've totally lost confidence in them so they can go jump in the lake and my boss can pay up for my treatment at this chiropractor/acupuncture center.

Between working, looking after the allotment, bbq-ing, cleaning, restoring a kitchen table, shopping, picnicking, biking, getting a poorly elbow and sleeping there has not been much time to do any blogging at all. Still my to-do list is huge and haven't gone down at all. Because every time you knock one of the things off it 2 more are added so it just goes round and round and never ever ends! I want vacation!!! No, wrong, I NEED vacation, NOW!

Working in a supermarket as I do you do tend to get your aches and pains from time to time. So it has come to my elbows attention that it had had enough and is right now throwing a major ache tantrum. It was giving me some serious trouble before midsummer last week so I stayed at home on Thursday thinking a day or two with rest would help. Of course it helps, for that space of time. But as soon as you get back into doing stuff with it it just laughs you straight in the face and hurts even worse. This being the case I went to the company doctor on Wednesday this week to see what it could be and if I could get any help for it. The doctor (being a total git) sat there explaining what I had and what he didn't believe in would help, nothing about what WOULD help more then maybe some acupuncture but he didn't issue any orders for such. So I left quite disappointed with a sicknote for when I had been home but with instruction to go back to work and see' how it works out' and a vague order about getting some acupunture done by someone.. Well said and done that is what I did yesterday and now it has worked out so that I cant stretch my arm fully because of the pain in the elbow area. Thing is I got work over the weekend, do I go to work today and the weekend and strain it even more and just 'see how things work out' or do I tell my boss today that its no use for a while and stay home until I get to Monday when I can call the doctor and say 'it didn't work out at all give me a new elbow now that you've ruined the one I had'? Well one thing it has taught me, never go to a doctor that looks like a toad peering underneath too big a glasses. He'll just send you home to 'see how things work out'!

More pictures from the allotment, it is growing well after 2 days of rain. The fleece over the spinach is about to break since they are striving so hard upward! My mum is going to pick them tomorrow so we can sow something else. I thought about either early carrots or some more lettuce/dill. And the broccoli have exploded in size. And we have a few flowers coming on the strawberries, got to remember to put some netting up so the magpies dont eat them all for us!

I have been busy as usual on my day off. James and I went to put the cars winter wheels in storage at my mum's. Later after James had left for work I didn't really know what to do but mum came to my rescue when she popped by and wanted a chat, she was waiting for the washing machine to be done washing her mops (she cleans for the building society) Of course I had the brilliant idea that we might as well go to a flower nursery while waiting because I wanted some plant soil since I was going to change the flower boxes over from pansies to summer flowers. Instead of pansys I potted cuttings of my big red geranium earlier this spring and also sowed some light blue with darker nerve petunias which now are all ready in their boxes. Also I wanted to see if I could find something nice for the allotment at the nursery. Mum wasn't that hard to persuade to come with me, or rather give me a lift there in her car.. We found some nice plants and some soil. In the end I picked out 2 pink Marguerites, one giant poppy in dark orange, dark red rudbeckia(?) and a yellow something like rudbeckia I don't know in English, but it gets really tall and looks like daisys but different colour.

At the allotment I weeded some and prepared the border where the new flowers wére going and I also checked the tomato plants and beans. Our sweet corn is dying off one at a time, wonder if we have some pest of sorts? Everything else is coming along nicely. Mum's spinach is ready for picking and I took the night fleece off the beans so I hope there wont be any more frosts or nearly frost at night, it is very late this year! But weather has been colder then usual and we didn't have any frost nights at all in late may as we usually do.

I snapped these few pictures earlier last week but it looks much the same part from the broccoli really getting big now and the peas are taller. Notice the darker green small tomato plants? They were the ones I potted, the bigger ones are mum's that she had in milk cartoons. They already have fruit ripening! The pea's we got from James dad is really doing well as is the dwarf runner beans. We just need some warm weather now. It's been lingering around +10 for too long now. Ok, we do have warmer days with sun and around +20 but they are too few!

Shamelessly stolen from scenic route.

This is a list of the top 100 grossing films and i've only missed 17 of them! Is that good or bad? I've higlighted the ones i've seen and added my score of good - bad at the end.

1. Titanic (1997) $600,779,824
2. Star Wars (1977) $460,935,665
3. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) $434,949,459 ***
4. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) $431,065,444 ****
5. Spider-Man (2002) $403,706,375 **
6. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The (2003)$377,019,252 ****
7. Passion of the Christ, The (2004) $370,025,697
8. Jurassic Park (1993) $356,784,000 ***
9. Shrek 2 (2004) $356,211,000
10. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The (2002) $340,478,898 *****
11. Finding Nemo (2003) $339,714,367 ***
12. Forrest Gump (1994) $329,691,196 ****
13. Lion King, The (1994) $328,423,001 ****
14. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) $317,557,891 ***
15. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The (2001) $313,837,577 *****
16. Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) $310,675,583 ****
17. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) $309,125,409 ****
18. Independence Day (1996) $306,124,059 **
19. Pirates of the Caribbean (2003) $305,411,224 ****
20. Sixth Sense, The (1999) $293,501,675 ***
21. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) $290,158,751 ****
22. Home Alone (1990) $285,761,243 ***
23. Matrix Reloaded, The (2003) $281,492,479 **
24. Shrek (2001) $267,652,016 ****
25. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)$261,970,615 **
26. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) $260,031,035
27. Jaws (1975) $260,000,000 ****
28. Monsters, Inc. (2001) $255,870,172 *****
29. Batman (1989) $251,188,924 ***
30. Men in Black (1997) $250,147,615 ****
31. Toy Story 2 (1999) $245,823,397
32. Bruce Almighty (2003) $242,589,580 ***
33. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) $242,374,454 ***
34. Twister (1996) $241,700,000 ****
35. My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) $241,437,427 ****
36. Ghost Busters (1984) $238,600,000 ***
37. Beverly Hills Cop (1984) $234,760,500 ****
38. Cast Away (2000) $233,630,478 ***
39. Lost World: Jurassic Park, The (1997) $229,074,524 **
40. Signs (2002) $227,965,690 ***
41. Rush Hour 2 (2001) $226,138,454 ***
42. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) $219,200,000 ***
43. Ghost (1990) $217,631,306 ***
44. Aladdin (1992) $217,350,219 ***
45. Saving Private Ryan (1998) $216,119,491
46. Mission: Impossible II (2000) $215,397,30 **
47. X2 (2003) $214,948,780 ****
48. Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) $213,079,163 **
49. Back to the Future (1985) $210,609,762 ****
50. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) $205,399,422 **
51. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) $204,843,350 ****
52. Exorcist, The (1973) $204,565,000
53. Mummy Returns, The (2001) $202,007,640 ***
54. Armageddon (1998) $201,573,391 ***
55. Gone with the Wind (1939) $198,655,278 ****
56. Pearl Harbor (2001) $198,539,855 ***
57. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) $197,171,806 ***
58. Toy Story (1995) $191,800,000 ****
59. Men in Black II (2002) $190,418,803 *
60. Gladiator (2000) $187,670,866 **
61. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) $184,925,485 ***
62. Dances with Wolves (1990) $184,208,848 *****
63. Batman Forever (1995) $184,031,112 ***
64. Fugitive, The (1993) $183,875,760 ****
65. Ocean's Eleven (2001) $183,405,771 ***
66. What Women Want (2000) $182,805,123 **
67. Perfect Storm, The (2000) $182,618,434 ***
68. Liar Liar (1997) $181,395,380 ****
69. Grease (1978) $181,360,000 *****
70. Jurassic Park III (2001) $181,166,115 *
71. Mission: Impossible (1996) $180,965,237
72. Planet of the Apes (2001) $180,011,740
73. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) $179,870,271 ***
74. Pretty Woman (1990) $178,406,268 ****
75. Tootsie (1982) $177,200,000 *****
76. Top Gun (1986) $176,781,728 ***
77. There's Something About Mary (1998) $176,483,808 ****
78. Ice Age (2002) $176,387,405
79. Crocodile Dundee (1986) $174,635,000 ****
80. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) $173,585,516 **
81. Elf (2003) $173,381,405
82. Air Force One (1997) $172,888,056 ***
83. Rain Man (1988) $172,825,435 ****
84. Apollo 13 (1995) $172,071,312 ****
85. Matrix, The (1999) $171,383,253 *****
86. Beauty and the Beast (1991) $171,301,428 ***
87. Tarzan (1999) $171,085,177
88. Beautiful Mind, A (2001) $170,708,996 *****
89. Chicago (2002) $170,684,505
90. Three Men and a Baby (1987) $167,780,960 ***
91. Meet the Parents (2000) $166,225,040 ***
92. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) $165,500,000 **
93. Hannibal (2001) $165,091,464
94. Catch Me If You Can (2002) $164,435,221
95. Big Daddy (1999) $163,479,795
96. Sound of Music, The (1965) $163,214,286 ****
97. Batman Returns (1992) $162,831,698 **
98. Bug's Life, A (1998) $162,792,677 ***
99. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) $161,963,000
100. Waterboy, The (1998) $161,487,252 *

Sorry for the lack of posts. But its been a wee bit hectic since we got back from James running the marathon way back. Work has picked up as it always does in the summer months. Plus that I've been busy sewing a cat costume for Rosie. She is going to play in a children's theater on Sunday and asked if I liked to help out. Also I whizzed down to Gothenburg to get our car on Tuesday. My sisters new one had finally come so I went on the train on Tuesday and slept there for the night and drove ol' Betsy back home Wednesday. It's like a good old rocking chair that Mercedes. Bit slow on the take up but once your up and running its quite alright. But its huge, just like driving a tank! And its rusty, more rusty then I did remember. But driving it on salted roads wintertime eventually does that to a car. I also got a ride in sisters new car, a coupe Mercedes, don't ask what number, cant remember but it is a big piece of serious muscle car! I'm impressed.

To top of the hectic week or so I've had there was a mad rush at work today. Loads of people and lots to do and no extra staff either. How yummie is that on a scale? Pfffft....

Me, I' tired, me going to bed now. Oh yeah I even cleaned the apartment from top to bottom this morning. What an interesting life I lead hmmm?

Currently playing Weeping willows - Falling
So the nutter(oh sorry, my dear husband) has finally run his marathon and it went very well I thought considering how little training he had after starting his new job. I am very proud over him for doing it in 4h 42 min. And I am very proud over myself for not getting totally lost in Stockholm trying to follow him around the course. But please, why do they have to have several events going on at the same time?! There was a sailing race on and an outdoor foodfair going on as well. It was thick with people everywhere you went and the subways were overcrowded on the stations that were linked to the race course. I suppose it wasn't just me who had the brilliant idea of following the runners via the subway.
It was a brilliant day out even though I had fretted muchly the night before about getting there in time and finding our way from where we parked our car. And driving in Stockholm is never nice, too many cars and too damn pushy drivers! But it all went very well.

Part from the marathon nothing much is happening, still awaiting to get to know when we can have my sisters car, it is more likely now in 2 weeks time then to the weekend which we were hoping for. But that is alright since James don't have any more late shifts that there aren't any buses to get home with. At least we know that we can borrow mum's car. But it is so much hassle since I have to get up bright and early the next morning to collect my mum and drive her to work.

The allotment is going very well. We had some much needed rain last night and quite a lot of it as well. Am going up there later today to have a look if there is weeding to be done now that everything is springing up like there's no tomorrow. The seeds that James' dad got us is doing very well, even the pea's that where from the previous season are coming up in mass. It will be interesting to see how high the dwarf beans will grow and also if the wigwam we got for the runner beans will be tall enough. Broccoli that actually is broccoli is doing well as is the tomato bushes. Don't know how the sweet corn are doing though, never grown those so haven't got a clue how they should look like if they are doing well. The only disappointment is that the flower seeds, part from the marigolds, are not showing. Not even the sweetpeas I soaked in water before sowing are showing and it is at least 2 weeks since! The lily's I bought last year and planted aren't coming up either.. Don't know what's wrong, I even carefully checked that they were still there so no one had nicked them! Hopefully they will come up, I bought them as crimson red in to varieties one with freckles and one pure red. Thought they would look gorgeous with the dark lilac iris that are budding soon but no luck there. I will just have to wait and see what happens with them. But now i got to get on with my house cleaning, need to race around with the vacuum a bit and get clothes and other bits off to where they belong.

I've been married for a year today. I cant believe how quickly it has gone by and life as a married woman is wonderful especially with someone like James. His wicked sense of humour always makes me laugh and he is so thoughtful and really a true romantic at heart. In the last couple of weeks I have been getting roses from James, just because when I asked, and on Friday I had a bunch of 20 long stemmed red roses that are now sitting on our chest of drawers in the bedroom. Also this morning I had a present waiting for me. James went and got it as soon as I woke up enough to open my eyes. It was a Harmony Kingdom piece called 'Ed's Safari IV' and an extra potbelly figurine of Gorbachev, don't ask me why but James said it came along with the other one. But when I opened the lid of the safari piece to see how it looked like inside, they almost always have a scenario inside as well (there was a snake that obviously eaten someone, probably Ed), something else fell out. It was a ring! I never got a wedding ring last year since we couldn't afford it then. Well we could have squeezed it into the wedding budget but maybe not been able to get the one that I really really wanted, so we decided that I would get it on our first anniversary instead. So a couple of months ago I went to have a look for a ring and I presented some options for James and said that these were wonderful but he would have to make the choice. And this is what he chose for me....

The ring with the diamond shape pattern is my engagement ring. The other one is just....so beautiful. Life would be oh so boring without James. And definitely less sparkling!

Hey ho hey ho, back to work we go...! yippi......

It actually feels quite awful going back there. I'm relaxed now and i know that by friday already i will be all wound up again! Definatly need some change of plan.
At least it will be short and sweet coming back. I work 2 days and then i'm off 3 for Pingst, then i work 1 and am off 1, work 2 more days and then James is running the marathon so i have to shift the weekend im supposed to be working. Not too bad, will notice in my paycheck i suppose but i cant be bothered about that right now. And it feels better knowing James has a work as well. Otherwise i would have worked like a little nutter to get at least one weekend back.

What can a girl do on her vacation? Hmm, some shopping perhaps?? Yes that's the answer to boredom! Shopping it is then. See ya's!!

I'm on vacation and besides digging at the allotment and just relaxing I've been swearing quite heavily over this.

Yes I'm trying to get into this weaving stuff again. And I curse myself for taking this particular one, but it was just lying around all ready to be used so I figured, why not.. It is in a single fine linen tread and I'm not sure if it is because its too old or what but it is very brittle and already there's been 5 treads snapped that you have to fix in a most annoyingly time consuming way to get it to look right. I am considering to take the whole thing down again and put a different weave up with double treads, same pattern but a different material. The pattern is called munkabälte in Swedish, translated I suppose it would be 'the monks belt'? Anyway, back to swearing a bit more!

I feel bonewrecked!
Arms hurt, my back hurts, all my ears are bitten by mosquitoes! What I've been doing? Planting and sowing at the allotment this evening with James. We decided, well James decided that he wanted to finish off the last bit of land to turn over and I tagged along to rake it and make sure it was nice for sowing. So I took some seeds with me in case of we had the time to do that as well. We planted the potatoes and onions, sowed all the seeds except for lettuce, we put up the tall tripods for the runner beans as well. We went there quite late, at around 7.30 and didn't finish before 9.30. It was getting dark then and a few raindrops kept on falling. But now the major part of it is done. Just have to wait for the runner beans and sweet corn to sprout here at home and get a bit bigger before I dare put them out, and also the broccoli plants are soon ready to put out. I was just thinking how the heck we are going to be able to fit everything in since mum has some tomato plants growing on her balcony that also are going in there. Hmm some serious considerations about the use of space left to be done. I might have to dig a few of the raspberry bushes up that we relocated last summer. They didn't do that well when we moved them anyway. That leaves a nice little border to put stuff in as well then.

It is fun, gardening. Just a bit back breaking in the beginning since we took over a lott that had been badly neglected for a long time. Last years job was mainly getting all the weeds out and cutting back the raspberries and growing some quick vegetables since we started pretty late. Plus digging in some peat to try and improve the soil, which is heavy clay soil to begin with. This year has been a bit of weeding so far but mostly turning the soil over adding some more good plant soil. I'm going to have a peak at our compost as well to see if that has started going. Lots of things to be done, I'm glad I got a weeks holiday coming up. Glad I'm off from work, but it would have been fun going to England as well. Oh well, maybe later on this year. Here's a picture we took earlier before we went today though, I'll try and take a new one tomorrow so you can all see what we've been doing.

What Color is Your Brain?
brought to you by Quizilla
At work or in school: I like to be with people, sharing with them, inspiring them, and helping them. I work and learn best when I can take into consideration people and the human element. I flourish in an atmosphere of cooperation.
With friends: I always look for perfect love. I am very romantic, and I enjoy doing thoughtful things for others. I am affectionate, supportive and a good listener.
With family: I like to be happy and loving. I am very sensitive to rejection from my family and to family conflicts. I really like to be well thought of and need frequent reassurance. I love intimate talks and warm feelings.


So, what color are you?

I've been busy with our allotment this week. Yesterday me and mum went to put up some new iron string to hold the raspberries in check, we also put in some much needed fertilizer and a bit of new soil into the bushes. I turned over the land where we had been standing since it is clay soil and packs very easily into very dense hard soil. I also turned it over by our new wicker fence so it would be ready to plant some sweet peas in later. I've put out some flower seeds but think it was good not to plant anything else since there was a frost last night. I did remember to rescue our potted plants and seedlings from the balcony before I went to bed. About time I got around making a early start with the others vegetables we're going to have as well. I read somewhere that it helps them along if you grow them indoors before you put them out especially here in Sweden since the season is quite short some years. I'm going to try that with the runner beans and sweet corn.

I have a feeling I will be up there next week when I have a weeks vacation. It was meaning we were going to go to England for James' uncles wedding but since James started his new job already we didn't want to risk it by asking for some time off so soon. He has a 6 month probation before it turns into a steady full time job, and you really need to put in an effort so you make a good impression on your boss. It seems to be going well for him learning to do the orders in time and he likes it, you can tell, because he really didn't like the book printing factory and was depressed from time to time about it and the fact that it was more of a 'we-call-you' kinda job didn't help either. Here he has had his summer schedule already and knows exactly how he will be working up until 29th of august. By that time they will have completed the new ICA Maxi in Borlänge and also the warehouse will have been completed in there extension building and up and running.

Currently listening to Gypsy Kings - Bamboleo

Seems my itchy fingers got the best of me. But I think it looks better then my old template. Was getting tired of that one. I think Lynn knows what I mean...

To something totally different. We might be getting the car the last week of May. It depends on if my sister gets her new car before that weekend, it is a holiday here in Sweden, or if we will have to wait for it a bit longer. It would be perfect to get it before Pingst, that is what the holiday is called, some Christian thing, don't really know why we celebrate it either. All I know is that a lot of people want to get married around that time.. Think, it will be James and my first anniversary this year. It's gone way to quick! It has been a lovely year. But it is only now I'm really getting used to being the Mrs Last. But saying that, Lotta was convinced I wasn't married when we talked about being taxed together since you were married the other day. She said it wouldn't comply with me since I wasn't married... And still she was at our wedding! Don't know if I should get insulted or just worried about her state of mind.. ;)

Eh...
They've changed everything around in blogger!!!!!
Panic Panic!!
Me dont like change, me likes the good old days, me old!

Well it seems to be working fine though, just bare with me, i think i will be looking at new template designs a couple of times though. I mean, 60(!) new templates to choose from. Anyone would go a bit nuts... ;o)

While trying to get my head around the situation at work it doesn't make it easier that a friend has a tough time with a personal crisis. But helping her out seems to have taken the aim off my own problems which is good. There's no use in getting worked up about the situation at work and I don't think it is so easy for J either being back and all. But I'm not going to be a pushover this time.

The fact that I've again set up my weaving loom helps my mind untangle from the worst what-if's and it is springtime so got the allotment to tend to as well. It is getting to be that busy time of year again when everything has to be prepared and planted and looked after. But that is one part of life I enjoy. Remind me of this post when I've complained for the hundredth time about weeds popping up like there's no tomorrow! To give you an idea of what's in store, this is what we are going to try grow this year. Potatoes, broccoli, runnerbeans of 2 variations, peas, tomatoes, dill, basil, sage, parsley, lettuce, onion, sweet corn and beet root plus a whole bundle of flowers to the side. I am thinking about taking one row of raspberries away, maybe exchange the other one as well for a newer kind with bigger berries in, so we can have a bit more room for flowers along the allotment border. This year I'm going to plant a new kind of frilly daisy, Siberian poppy's, ringkrage(don't know the English name) and marigolds Touch of Red see below.

We'll be well busy the next few weeks when planting and making sure the frost doesn't take them away the same night. I might wait until end of may actually just to be safe. But still, there's a wicker fence to be set up at the back of the allotment to keep the neighbour's raspberry bush from falling into our side. I'm going to sow some sweet peas along it when it is finished. I have to have a look if all is well with the garlic I planted in autumn and if they have survived or if that was a miss. I've also bought a new rubarb plant to put in where the one from last year was supposed to be, it strangely disappeard during the winter! I would be up there now if it wasn't pissing down with RAIN! But it is good that it rains maybe it washes some of that pollen away, haven't felt any of my pollen allergy yet this year part from a few sneezes in the weekend. It is amazing! Maybe I jinxed it now, oh dear..!

Cant sleep tonight it seems. Guess im thinking too much about what happend earlier today or yesterday as it seems to be now.
Am also wondering if she reads this blog..cant remember if she used to. Oh well never mind that eyh?

I had a small surprise at work today..
Ex-friend is going to start working there again. I was given the invisible treatment as well today by her, wonder how this will end... Great start to the week don't you think?

DROOL!
I could almost sell my soul for this one, almost.... !

Fast forward a week!

Yikes time does fly. But still nothing really important or worthwhile mentioning has happened. Well not to me but its another story with James.

Guess who got up at 4 and went to work the wrong Monday? *giggle*
At least he had an excuse for going, he was making sure he took the right taxform they requested off him.. I felt sorry for him though for going there after a few restless hours of sleep only to be sent home and have yet 7 days until he gets to know more about the work. He was more like a zombie then anything the rest of the day. Why he got up so early? Well he has to catch the bus to Borlänge at 5.40 if he is to be on time at 7 since we don't have a car, yet I might add. My sister has bought a new car and wondered if we were interested in having their old Mercedes, which we are even though it is a rust bucket it runs well and passed its MOT just months ago. So as soon as they get their new one we will be taking a trip down to Gothenburg to collect it. Reminds me, I have to get in touch with the chairman of our housing association and get a parking spot You know what my sister calls their car? Gamla Bettan - Ol' Betsy...

Back to work... Things seem to have settled down at least for this time around. Still I didn't like one bit to be there today.

Yesterdays antiques fair was very good. I found 13 postcards which I bought. And today there was 2 more in the post from the online auctions I'm bidding on as well. For what I've seen the online auctions produce much nicer postcard with better quality and fewer scars but generally they are more expensive as I noticed on buying one at the fair. It was of better quality actually, but for half the asking price of the online card. I guess you just have to be lucky when coming across the nice ones in fairs rather then online. And the fact that they had a lot of people going to fair already on Sunday didn't help either. It was very picked out but still I managed to buy some nice ones. There were lots of other things I would have liked to buy but I resisted and just went for my postcards this time. And besides the summer auctions will be starting soon! Maybe I will be in one of these fairs come autumn ;o)

Hold on to your wallets people! We are going to an antiques fair today! I took the day off since I was kindly given a free entrance ticket to the fair by a customer from the supermarket. I'm surprised too. So soon Lotta, me, James and my mum will be cruising the tables looking out for bargain. Not the same as Bargain hunt but never the less it will be fun!

I'm really getting into this auction stuff online. I am at the moment bidding on a Harmony Kingdom piece on ebay. I have also started to auction off postcards we dont want at brabud.nu with a bit of help from James doing the scanning of postcards

You are a MASTER of the English language!


While your English is not exactly perfect,
you are still more grammatically correct than
just about every American. Still, there is
always room for improvement...


How grammatically sound are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

I've had a really crap day at work today. I've completely gone off working there in that selfish, backstabbing, intriguing, worthless piece of shit place!! Right now I'm so angry I might start to cry! And that's even worse! Why do women get weepy when they really really are crazy angry?? I hate that. Mainly because people don't take you seriously if you start blubbering all over the place when having a quite heated discussion. Bah!

Its not worth retelling what happened. The short story is that a person I thought was nice and helpful gave me a load of crap because I didn't run to the till when they called. Why I didn't was because I was on the phone in the middle of ordering vegetables and fruit for tomorrow! And no he couldn't go for a half a minute just so I could end the order. And afterwards I got a lecture about that when they call for you, you have to go to the till. Like I had been working there for a week and not for *bleep* 10 years. Definitely time to move on to a place where people watch out for one another a bit better then they do at our place. It is everyone for themselves and grab some extra while your at it and blame someone else for it. I hate it!