Just bits

Firstly, I just finished the knitting part of the little hat to go with the jacket.  As the jacket turned out a bit bigger than anticipated, I made the hat is a smaller size.  And, I learned how to use stitch markers properly -- thanks Jennie!  Here it is just off the needles.

Thank goodness for a diagram which showed which piece was sewn to which, because from the written description, I certainly did not have a clear plan.  Anyhow, it came together nicely and with a little help from Jenn, I figured out how to do the suggested ties -- very cute.  Here is the finished product.

Baby Rowan has gone to bed, so the modelling will have to wait.

"Doing lunch" is delightful here.  Salad bars are popular and so there are many places that will have one or two hot dishes or sandwiches and then your choice of a number of salads and breads.  Today we had one of these lunches at Silvanium -- out under the trees with TvE sleeping in the stroller a few meters away.  Baby Rowan does very nicely in the carrier which leaves hands, conveniently, free.

More Swedish-ness

This past weekend at the cottage, I participated in two very Swedish activities.

The first was the lingon experience.  The lingon plant grows very low to the ground, under the cover of birch and evergreen trees.  Depending on the exposure to sunlight, the berries ripen to a deep red in late August or September.  Here in Sweden, there is evidently a 'proper' weekend to begin picking -- I guess so that everyone gets an equal opportunity to forage the forests for these tart little gems.  The berry pickers that we used for blueberries come in very handy when there are good quantities of fruit available.  We sorted our find and then Jennie cooked them a very short time with some sugar.  They retain their tartness and make an excellent accompaniment to savoury dishes like the traditional palt (potato ball with meat filling), but are also great with waffles (the Swedish ones are thinner and crispier than what I make at home) and on cooked oatmeal.

Then last night, we lit candles all along the deck and the dock and placed our chairs at the end of the dock to watch the boat parade.  Led by the little local tourboat- Emma - there were 95 motorboats altogether that went by in the dark with at least 2 or 3 lights each.  It was a delightful show.

Part of the family

Make no mistake, I love being treated as a guest.  I go to all inclusive resorts so that someone else prepares my meals, my room, my fancy drinks, my entertainment, my garden experience, my tours, etc.  Nowhere else do I get spoiled like at one of those resorts and I am fortunate to have had that kind of experience in many places and plan to continue as long as I am able to travel.

But here, I do not wish to be a guest.  I want to be cleaning the dishes, wiping a dirty bum, pulling weeds, carrying groceries, hanging up laundry, grating vegetables, cleaning rhubarb, picking apples as well as reading stories, playing lego, drawing airplanes, being a statue, giving under-doggies on the swing, walking with the baby bjorn, brushing someone else's teeth, pushing a stroller and watching Shaun the Sheep.  And at the end of the day, I want a hug and a blown kiss.  That's being a part of the family and part of the wee ones' lives.  I wouldn't trade it for any 7 star resort.

(My phone is saying there isn't enough memory to sync and upload the photos, so no pictures today.)

Out and about town

Since I have been to Gavle a number of times, I feel very 'at home' here.  Also, I guess, I assume that it will always be as I left it.

The construction on the town homes behind Rich and Jenn's house has begun. It has been in the works since they moved into the house 3 years ago.  So far the pipes for the underground community heating system have been installed.  The diggers used for this process are fascinating to TvE and she loves tractors too.  I love the incredibly articulated arms on these machines -- they seem much more manoeuvrable and versatile than the ones I have watched so many times with K.  There is also sidewalk construction right in this area and some infrastructure replacement.  Some roads are definitely to be avoided.

The other incredible construction job is in the river.  Yes, I said "in".  There is a tracked excavator in the river and they are piling rocks along the main river bed in an effort, it seems, to redirect the water through the old lock system.  Perhaps there is work on bridges that needs to be done.  In any case, we watched today as a front-end loader handed off rocks to the excavator which then dumped them in the river.  I think every child loves big machines at some point!

Epi is gone!  That wonderful sourdough bakery where I got my starter last March, has moved to Stockholm.  The rye bread from the Central Bakery is just not the same.

We made applesauce last evening.  The gentleman living in the other half of this duplex has a machine which takes cooked apples -- cores, stems, skins and all, and turns it into the most wonderful applesauce.  The machine also makes sausages.  I have never seen one like it.

The cooked mush goes into the top, the applesauce comes out through a screen (under the white hood) in the middle, and the waste goes into the far bowl.  One even puts the waste through a second time to make sure one gets all the good stuff out.  There was an incredibly small amount of waste.

Today we took on the rhubarb.  Some of the stems rivalled my arm!  Some went into crisp, but most (6 kg) is sitting in a sugar water in the basement to extract flavour.  Rhubarb Saft is very popular.

Baby Rowan's cold is getting much better and so her breathing is far less laboured.  And, she sleeps so much better.  What a sweetie!

Stugan (The cottage)

Google says that more than 50% of Sweden have access to a summer house through family or friends.  When you fly into Arlanda (Stockholm's airport), you are surprised that there is enough land for people to live on as there are lakes everywhere separated by mere ribbons of land.  In a country which still values outdoor life and activities, it has been and remains an ingrained Swedish tradition.  So, it is no surprise that Richard and Jennie have gone native in this facet also, and bought a stugan on an island.  The positively wonderful part of it is that, unlike Southern Ontario which spends hours and hours on highway 400 going north on Friday nights and back south on Sunday night, their cottage is just south of Sandviken, which is 21 km from their house.  The total trip to the marina takes 25 minutes and then it is a short boat ride to the cottage.

You are greeted by a large permanent deck (sunk 11 m into the bedrock and thus does not need to be lifted in winter) and the main cottage with its decks right above the edge of the water.  There are two bunkies and a tool/equipment shed with an outhouse behind it.  Various levels on the property are joined by paths and/or stairs and there is enough flat space for TvE to play her version of football -- with a racquet.

The main building has two decks separated by a sunroom with a large table and wicker chairs.  The sink for the kitchen is in the sunroom which, thanks to a heater will be usable for 3 seasons.  The inside part of the cottage has the pantry, frig and stove area, a living space with sofas and a TV and the main bedroom with an adjoining full bathroom.  It came fully furnished and well maintained so it will need only a bit of minor work before winter.

It is a delightful spot.  Congratulations Jennie and Richard! Hurray for Swedish tradition!

Baby Rowan

When Tova Elise's teacher asked what she called her sister, she said 'Baby Rowan' and that name certainly suits her.

Baby Rowan started independent life a touch bigger than TvE -- 3.346 kg and same length, but her face is quite different from her big sister's.  She loves being bumped along any path or through any store, in the Baby Bjorn snuggly.  With her cold, that position makes breathing much easier than being flat.  We all hope that she gets over the cold soon and with the nasal mist that Jenn started today, it is already much better.

I had finished Baby Rowan's sweater by the time I got here, except for sewing on the hand made wooden buttons from Opa.  I was fairly sure that Jenn would like it, in fact, she liked it so much that she had already made one for TvE a year ago in the same pattern.  So Baby Rowan can now grow through the 3-6 month size and into the 18 month version of the same sweater.  I have an extra skein of yarn and hope to make the matching hat, if the suitcase with the yarn and the pattern arrives.

The online tracking says the suitcase has arrived from Munich and we hope that it gets delivered by the time we want to go to the cottage tomorrow afternoon.

AAAAAH!

After the respite in Munich from the 'excitement' of Toronto, my bag did not arrive in Stockholm.  So, partner that with a loooong taxi in the plane to the gate and the filling out of the necessary paperwork, I had to run through the airport (thankfully I know where to go by now) to get to the train.  Arrived at the kiosk for the 11:46 train at 11:45 and a half.  Dashed down the two flights of stairs to the train level -- it was still there but the doors were already closed and just before the controller blew the whistle to leave, he saw me waving my hands and running (with the 8 kg. backpack) -- he opened the doors and I hopped on, changed trains nicely in Uppsala and made it to Gavle as scheduled.

Little Rowan Leonie Jens is a dear little sweetie who, at the moment, is getting over a cold (daycare everywhere is a germ incubator).  Although she has already gained a kilo in her three short weeks, she still seems so tiny. But she is already a lovely snuggler.

We picked up Tova Elise at daycare.  What a thrill to have her excited to see me and rush over for a hug!  Oma's heart can certainly grow for as many grandchildren as come along!  We played in the park; she rode her bike; we dug in the sandbox.  In the back yard she played in her little pool -- doing an under-doggie in the pool involves her dumping water on her head.  She digs for worms, watches bees and butterflies, helps harvest potatoes and arugala.  I was really amazed by her speech which has developed so much since I saw her in June.  I understand about 50% of what she says, which is remarkable since there is a healthy sprinkling of Swedish words in her chatter.

Thank you, ICA Maxi for groceries as well as clothing basics to get me over the next day or two when, I hope, the suitcase will arrive.  The tracking system says that it is flying from Munich to Stockholm this afternoon, so I hope it will arrive before we want to go to the cottage tomorrow.

Hemlingby  is a lovely outdoor area within the city limits that features a ski hill, lots of trails for biking and walking, an animal observation area with sheep, bunnies, bees in a hive and a horse); and a lodge-type restaurant.  Today it was filled with kids from the Jr. English school (Richard teaches at the Sr. school) doing team-building activities.  TvE was fascinated by the big kids on the obstacle course, flying balloons, and around the parachute.  But she also walked along the discovery path where models of swedish animals and plants teach the kids what to stay away from (poisonous snake, poisonous mushroom) and what animals they might encounter in the woods.  We enjoyed the delicious soup buffet --fish never tasted so good, and also indulged in the sweets at the end of the table.  Yes, TvE loves chocolate too.

It is a glorious day with sunshine and about 24 degrees.  Lovely spot and wonderful company.

Definitely an adventure

This was supposed to be a 'make use of the time at the airport' blog about closing of chapters in one's life, etc.  Instead, I find myself sitting here in the airport waiting for a phone call from my dear friend Irene who is, I hope, looking through my husband's dresser to find my passport because I have arrived at the airport with his passport.  NEVER EVEN BOTHERED TO CHECK that it was my passport in the folder, after my booking of tickets to the Azores for February.  And I obviously mixed them up.  Ian just dropped me off here, after we noted what good time we had made getting here but that extra time at the airport was no problem.  Waiting 3:02 pm.  Last time for check-in is 4:45 as the flight is scheduled for 5:45.

3:12 just talked to Irene who has found the passport and is willing to make the journey, though she sometimes gets lost going to the airport.  I have given her the best directions I can think of and we both have phones.  Pinching thumbs, crossing fingers -- whatever!

3:49 am sitting here still and deleting emails -- started with almost 2000 and am down to about 900.  Actually this is what I was planning to do here -- but on the other side of the check-in.

So I went outside at about an hour after Irene called and she called back to say that she had given the passport to a taxi who promised it in a few minutes.  Indeed, cab 437 arrived about 4:35 and after the exchange (passport for $30), I ran to the counter which was just in the process of closing, but I did get in.  I hate this drama stuff.

So I made the flight.  Ian had said that this could not be called an adventure as I was now doing it so many times -- rather just a commute.  WELL, this was an adventure, but not the kind I hope to ever repeat.

Now sitting in Munich airport at the gate for my next flight to Arlanda.  As the connection time was short, I did not get the cinnamon roll which I had hoped to have with a lovely coffee for breakfast -- just happy to be here.

To my friend Irene, so many thanks and I shall make it up to you.