old school

Check out these dudes, guess who? Hint: it was taken just over 25 years ago

I'm not sure who looks more terrified... ;)

Oceans apart....

We received a letter from Harland's sister Rochelle and her family yesterday. Two drawings from Flynn(5) and Gracie (3). And although we haven't seen them for over a year it would appear we are still a part of their life. And it becomes apparent that where ever we go in the world we will always be without loved ones. And somehow that makes me feel very blessed, always knowing that wherever I am, I could be somewhere else, and still be loved. Sounds odd, I know....

As far as I understand, Flynnie drew this picture when he found out that we are engaged and getting married. I love the attention to detail; the aeroplane with us in it waving, all the lovehearts, the two little happy people holding hands; I wonder who's who?:)

Gracie had a go as well:)

Miss you.

Branches of a tree

When saying farewell to mormor on thursday, there were a lot of tears and there were times, even during the ceremony, that I was in denial over the fact that I will never see her again. I also felt that it was unfair that we will have to go without.

But there, by the grave after the ceremony and memorial, a certain little girl whispered something to her lillamormor whilst playing with the gravel and admiring the flowers. This girl is wiser than most adults, it has to be said. "Good-bye, thanks for everything". And there it was; everything that needed to be said.

Hejda, tack for allt

Because we have so much to thank mormor for. Little things, like all the warm memories that we will always have in our hearts. All the skills that she has taught us and knowledge she has passed on. Little things like providing us with support and words of wisdom, sometimes without us realising we were being helped. Big things like putting us on this planet. Because I stem, partly, from her. Had she done one thing different we might not be here. The choices she made in her life has affected all of us. All of a sudden it doesn't seem so unfair, we have been given so much!

And it makes you think; how relatively small decisions we make in life, such as taking up a certain hobby, moving to another town or even just going out dancing on night and then talking to a stranger in the street on the way home, can influence the rest of one persons life. And generations to follow. Ultimately, we are just branches on a giant tree ....

proud and impressed

Today was the end of my first year at uni and the end of a very hard week or in fact hard few weeks. It was alway going to be just that as I took my last exam for this year today but it was so much more. Three weeks ago we found out that mormor had cancer. On saturday she passed away. On monday I doubted if I was going to be able to take the exam today. Just didn't think I could do it. But I started revising and with the support of my crew I did it. And i think it went well. And I am proud of myself. I would also like to think that mormor would be / is proud too.

I think people's reaction to a friend in mourning differs between individuals. And I think a persons' need for response from close ones during grief varies between individuals. The people around me have responded just in the right way. Not by leaving me alone or by trying to stifle me. Just by saying: "I am here if you need me, anytime, just call". And no, there isn't really anything anybody could do. Nobody can bring my grandmother back. Nobody was going to do my revision for me. But just knowing that they were there. If I need them. When I need them. heroes. Very impressive.

And then after the exam (followed by obligatory post exam drinks) i scooted over to Bloomsbury for a date in the park with my future husband, who has been a rock... no a mountain... in the last few weeks. Later on the way to the tube, in the evening sun in beautiful London, I realised that I had been happy again today for the first time this week.

Impossible doesn't exist.

life will never be the same

Yesterday afternoon my mormor, swedish grandmother, passed away. Although we found out a couple of weeks ago that she had hepatic cancer nothing can really prepare you for the loss of a loved one and the emptiness it leaves. I can't even imagine a world without her in it and I'm finding it hard to get my head around the fact that I will never see her again. I'm trying to believe that she will always be with me, giving me strength to work hard for my loved ones like she did during her lifetime.

Although I know I should be grateful for a lot of things; all the lovely memories, the knowledge that she had a happy life and the fact that I got the chance to say good-bye to her, I still feel such impossible, never ending sadness.

And, as I'm far away from my family, Harland and I lit a candle in the window and I tried to think about the happy times rather than being sad. It was hard.

I thought this candle was appropriate as mormor loves music and it was a big part of her life

niiiiicee

Coffe- check
Crisps- check
Veggie sausage rolls - check
Organic dark chocolate - check
Extra plate, mug and bowl- check
Tidy room- check
Clear some space on the floor- check

Bring on the sister invasion;)

birthday boy

My little sunshine-boy is one today! Amazing little Mio Mattis who surely must be the happiest little kiddo there ever was. A calm, smiling ball of sunshine and joy he is, and quite the opposite in both personality and size to big sister Lo, aka miss monkey whirlwind zoom zoom.

Both me and Harland have, time and time again established that little boy truly is a ...

dude

Highlights from a lovely weekend

Just a few pictures from this weekend, of our first official visitors, my sister Sarah and her partner Anders plus the two young ones Lo and Mattis.

Lo on the swings with my house in the backgound

We spent a lot of time at the playground which Lo obviously approves of;)
Something we could both enjoy was the "swing" below. I enjoyed the challenge in going all the way around, it was a fight against gravity but we managed 13 consecutive spins without stopping. Lo helped by pulling faces and going "oouuuhh"

Our Taco Fiesta on Friday night had to be moved in to the hallway even though our kitchen actually is quite spacious... I absolutely love mexican! I don't bother with veggie mince like quorn instead I do a mushroom-kidneybean-sweetcorn-whatever else is avalable chili with copious amounts of cumin and people always love it. As a bonus I also coked some soy protein strips in taco seasoning.

And pudding: Apple pie made by Sarah's neighbour with grated chocolate and cream. Oh and Strawberries as you can see on the young mademoiselle's faces.

Me Sarah and Mattis had a picnic in the park on Saturday after a pretty pathetic attempt at shopping for clothes in a second hand store.

Mattis below with rocket in his mouth which he just let sit there for ages. It was hilarious and made us laugh so much... ha ha... I guess you had to be there...

There was also a massive half-marathon going on in Gothenburg so getting around was a bit tricky but I must say I wasn't at all envious of the runners. They all looked ruddy knackered! Even the ones that had just started.... hmmm... Think I'll just stick to rugby...

That Sunday Feeling

It's funny isn't it, today has been a typical Sunday. But isn't every day a Sunday when you're unemployed? Had a sleep in this morning. Lingered in bed for ages got up and started making plans for the day, they went out the window and I ended up getting dressed quickly and flew out the door to get the tram at 11.30. Met Michy, a rugby friend and Skåne exile, at Järntorget which is in my favorite part of town. After a quick detour to the flea market where I purchased a much needed cheese slicer, Michy whisked me off to a cosy little café for some delish mint tea and lunch.

My sister and her family came around in the afternoon to pick up their belongings before heading back down south. It's been so nice having them here and I hope they come back very soon!

The afternoon was made complete by a quick session at the gym, interval training 4 minutes at between 11.5-13 km/h and 2 minutes walking rest x4. Was virtually kicked out the door at the end though as they close at 6 on a Sunday. What a joke. I was hoping to be able to start a new routine with sauna on Sundays but no such luck today.

like a whirlwind...

...she blew in and out, my darling little niece like she always does.

We've got an afternoon of peace and quiet, it's funny how quickly you get used to the noise and liveliness of children... I look forward to having them here again tomorrow and hopefully many more times in the future.

Mattis is no longer scared of me and of being left alone so he's been a joy to be around, cheeky little boy!

This is the sort of thing we get up to

For those of you who, for whatever reason don't read my Swedish blog, which i started as a part of my job hunting, I've practically been called to an interview for a company called faceways where I might get a job in sales. I always believed that as long as I can get to an interview I can talk anybody in to hiring me but that might be put to the test....

A family easter

Easter is a big deal here in Sweden, a family holiday with lots of odd traditions like putting feathers in your garden and eating copious amounts of eggs.

Easter sunday was a family affair for us, a large chunk of the family went on an excursion to east Skane, a beautiful part of the world, where dad's friend Mark hosts an art exibition (another easter tradition in this area)

Most of us went in the car.

But some chose another method of transport.

I think they did 100 km that day.

crazy

Mark and his Swedish wife Lena live in an amazing house in the village of Wollsjo with its very own windmill. Unfortunately not for much longer as they have bought a lovely little cottage by the river, it's very nice but I will miss Wells House, especially around easter when local art fills the barn and mill.


We went for a walk around Wollsjo, to have a look at Mark and Lenas new house. It was a lovely day, but still a bit cold in the wind.

Picnic by the old pump house

The bundle

When we got back the rest of the family joined us and there was play in the garden followed by a wicked greek feed enjoyed by all!

There is a real feeling of spring in the air since about a week back and we've been making the most of it, getting out in the garden, building, digging, planting....

What was an overgrown flowerbed was turned in to a cottage garden. Picture it with strawberries fruiting and lots of herbs growing. Lovely!

Must run I'm going in to Malmo for some shopping and coffe with my oldest friend (in the sense that I've known her longest not and age thing.)

falt hunting

sometimes there's only grandad

so far I've applied for a few flats but there is one in particular we have our eye on. it's a one bedroom corner flat, about 15 minute walk to the rugby club and 10 min tram ride to central gothenburg, just where we want to be. We're seeing it on tuesday and there is some competition for it so I suppose it's a bit hopeful to think that the land lady should chose us. hmmm...

time seems a bit floaty since we arrived here. I had a lovely weekend with my family and when Harland arrived on Monday I was thrilled to see him. Now that we've recovered from jetlag and that we do need to get cracking. One minute I feel like I've nothing to do and the next I'm overwhelmed by the thought of everything that needs to be organized...

a certain sister in my jacket + a certain nephew in my hat

a certain princess

you couldn't write this stuff...

I had little adventure yesterday when I went in to Hamilton to pick up the last presents and souvenirs. Driving down the main street I realized I had a flat tyre but couldn't pull over straight away because of the roadworks. I eventually found a loading bay and pulled in, got out and, yes, sure enough it was as flat as a pancake. I couldn't believe it. We've had this car for 5 months and never had a problem and this happens when I'm on my own, which is very unusual. And on top of that I was wearing my lovely white tunic, which I had to take off (I had a cami underneath though...)After an SOS to Harland to find out where everything was I got to work trying to get the jack out, with great difficulty. Then I got help from a lovely girl who was having coffee with two friends in a cafe where I pulled in. And here's the funny bit. The three girls had been sitting there chatting about what they can and can not do with cars. Two of them said they were useless when it came to cars and didn't even know how to change a tyre. The other girl then said: "You really ought to know how to change a tyre, I will have to teach you one day." And that's when I pulled in with my pancake wheel. So they got their lesson on my car and I got some much needed help + a good story to take home with me. As it were quite a few people stopped to see if we needed any help and I felt very well looked after :)

We had dinner with Rochelle and Paul and won't see them again this time. It was sad saying goodbye to the kids, especially Flynn "I love you with all my heart" bless his cotton socks. It's sad not knowing when we'll see them again. Rochelle is such a good sister to Harland and a good "sister" to me, always happy and warm and easy to talk to.

So, today we begin the final leg of our journey. Taking the car back to cousin hero in disguise Colin and then on to Auckland on the bus, spending the night in a hotel near the airport before we fly out tomorrow.

It's been such an amazing holiday

Holiday Mode

The last few days in Whanga have been in complete holiday mode. We've been surfing on the few waves there were and on Thursday we hired a tandem bike for a few hours. Odd feeling sitting on the back relinquishing control completely! Unfortunately we didn't take any photos... Thursday night we went out for a soul burger and on friday morning, before heading back to Morrinsville, we had breakfast in a cafe. Yummy american pancakes and eggs benny. delish.

Gracie has just woken up from her nap and we're sharing a passion fruit from the garden. We're doing well considering we've never done a whole weekend with the rugrats before and they seem happy too. This morning we went for a loong walk in the Karangahake Gorge, a beautiful old gold mining place and wore the kids out with adventures, great because that means quiet afternoon. Honestly, I don't know how people do it... had the worst nights sleep last night, listening out for Gracie and getting up to give her the dummy when she lost it and then being waken up well before I was ready to get up. And then it's go go go all day, feeding them, keeping them happy, warm, dry, feeding them again and getting them to fall a sleep, happy. As much as I love our nieces and nephews and enjoy spending a weekend with them I don't think I could do it full time...

the team at karangahake

cousin colin's b-day, Tirau

it was Colly Wolly's 27th yesterday so we buzzed over to Tirau to celebrate in style. We were welcomed with Chrystal's home made won tons, delish, and then we walked down to the waihou river, an incredibly beautiful, clear spring. (It soon climbed to the top of my favorite places list) Oh and cold. The water was cold. Yes we went swimming, with our goggles on to be able to take in the incredible plant and fish life under the surface, before warming up in the sun again. We were then treated to a wonderful dinner with six dishes including a Thai green curry, sweet sour pork, wild venison and various other scrumptious things. Lots of laughs and lots of fun, it was like a comedy show completed by the greyhound Mo and his squeaky toy! if we look a bit tense, it's because of the brain freeze

papa aroha

Papa means place (I think)

and Aroha means Love

so you can see why I was excited about going there. A lovely place it was too but unfortunately we were extremely lazy and the camera action was next to none. Lazy in a good way too though, four days with Rochelle, Paul and the kids, Flynn and Gracie, plus three other families from "The Ville". Twelve kids between four families plus a bunch of randoms that were floating around, communal dinners as well as parenting where we were the fun uncle and auntie (a role we're very familiar with) made for fun days and some delicious dinners. Paul had his boat in action every day we were there for fishing and giving rides on the biscuit, you know one of those round tyres attached to the boat by a rope flying along at a hell of a speed (Me:28 mph). But more than anything for us it was nice to spend some time with Rochelle and her family. Harland really loved being around the kids and I think that's great, as long as he doesn't turn clucky on me.

Me, Gracie and flynn by the creek
The fisherm... er.. hang on... people. fisherpeople...

with 59 scallops on the bbq

Hej Lo, pa den har bilden haller jag i en sjostjarna, inte labbig eller farg glad men hoppas att det duger for tillfallet, ska leta vidare efter andra spannande djur! nedan ar en salunge som ligger och leker, eller kliar sig eller vad den nu gor, i vattnet. Kram! / moster emma.

A week in B.O.I

As our week in the Bay of Islands is coming to an end and we're packing everything back in the car again, here are a few highlights. Tomorrow we'll be on the road again, heading down to the south island stopping a few places along the way. Looking forward to being on the road again because there is nothing better than me and my darling, free to go where the wind (not harlands wind btw) takes us, doing what we feel like when we feel like it. On the other hand we've had such a good time here and Sarah has made us feel so welcome and at home in their beautiful home (with the dream kitchen btw) and it will be hard leaving certain commodities behind...

Harland and Chris went fishing on saturday which was productive, Harland's big snapper lasted two dinners and Chris' mackerel was yummy too. On Sunday we went out fishing with Harly's mum Jenny and her Hugh and the weather was most amazing, as were the views!

And I found a trampoline by the beach

We went swimming off the boat, first time in the water without a wetsuit
and it was so nice i was reluctant to get out.

Below: a little slice of paradise we found yesterday, Elliot bay, a surf beach but the waves were too harsh for me which was frustrating at first but then i learned to enjoy playing around in the waves, sitting on my board relaxing and sunbathing on the beach

Today: Weather was a bit naff at first but cleared up in the afternoon and we went over to Russel with Sarah, Chris, Ethan and Jenny. Russel is the most amazing little place across from Paihia, 15 min on the ferry (which Ethan did not enjoy at all), with a combination of seaside beauty and historical places and delicious pizza to be enjoyed on the beach!

Below: Russel, Pohutakawa trees, Sarah and Ethan
playing on the beach and Chris having a lie down.

Ethan is actually a rather quiet and shy boy
something that doesn't come across in this photo:)

the wedding

the setting

the giving away

the ceremony

the two

the other two

the blue lady