A walk in the clouds.
Cuckoo!
After a Friday of heavy raining it suddenly stopped and I immediately took the opportunity to take my daughter and dog out for a walk in our little forest.
The clouds were still hanging low but it gave it almost a magical feeling and I would not have been surprised if small trolls or fairies peeked out from behind the trees:)
My white dog is never white for a very long time in the forest ( especially not after a rain) but he is entertained, tired and very happy.
Definitely worth a trip to the forest.
And when it's combined with a daughters company and a magical backdrop I think this Friday in last minute just skidded in as a very good start of the weekend:)
Tjingeling
The inauguration of our pool...
Cuckoo!
So finally we have inaugurated our pool!
If we calculate the money we put into this luxurious addition to the house with the amount of days we have left here in this country every dip into that big bathtub costs 300 dollars!!!
It will take a lot of swims and many friends to get value for money.
On the other hand it has and will continue to put a silver line on our living here to these upcoming last month.
Its amazing how having your own puddle creates so much happiness in the kids and suddenly they are so positive to be home...
And I just bend and bow and appreciate the warmth that is spreading in my heart seeing everyone so happy in these times being.
300 dollars swim...
Seems cheap for what it provides 😜
Tjingeling
Our beautiful weekend...
Cuckoo!
Home and back to reality!
What a beautiful weekend we had in Nantucket.
Like visiting another world...
But it certainly added a relaxed and satisfied feeling to my tired brain.
Long walks in beautiful places.
Long talks with beautiful friends.
Long beaches, sunshine and spring flowers.
A weekend that will be kept in a safe place in my heart.
I am sure though that our friends embracing way of hosting us added that extra dimension to our experience but even the weather forecast that promised rain changed in our favor and delivered sunshine almost all through this magical weekend.
Someone or something thought we deserved it.
I just thank, bend and bow:)
Tjingeling
Nantucket
Cuckoo!
In the middle of everything that's going on in our lives we got invited by beautiful friends to Nantucket for the weekend.
It's been on our bucket list so we took the opportunity to go.
And oh my...
Everything I've heard about it is true.
So pretty, so picturesque and so picture perfect.
Beautiful houses, charming alleys and kind of a common architecture give this place a very harmonic impression.
I can't wait to see what else this island can offer.
Im so fortunate and so grateful I get all these chances to explore our beautiful world.
My heart, my mind and my computer 😝 is full of wonderful memories...
And tomorrow is another day to fill...
Tjingeling
Moving...
Cuckoo!
I am exhausted!
Mostly mentally but it feels like my body is tired too in sympathy.
Only the decision to move back to Sweden took a lot of strength because of the kids.
Although it is because of the kids we are moving back.
To keep our family together.
I only wish they would appreciate that thought too...
We brought the kids to Sweden to involve and engage them in our house hunting and to visit their school.
Just to try to make them feel positive about it.
It did not work.
We looked at one house after another and at least narrowed it down to two interesting objects.
Together with the kids.
So they don't accuse us of deciding everything on our own.
Please keep your fingers crossed that we will get one of them.
For the sake of the kids.
Meanwhile we hug, cry, talk and us parents are trying to encourage, pep and explain the reasons.
Being an optimist I do belivie it's going to be ok in the end.
And if it's not ok then it's not the end. 😳
Tjingeling
Sprinkled with cherry blossoms...
Cuckoo!
Stockholm has been cold but the sun has been shining on us which has helped a little to give the kids a positive experience.
It's been difficult to function normally due to the jet lag but we have been doing our best.
Family, love and togetherness has been our paroll and it's even been sprinkled with cherry blossom. Just because...
One more day on Swedish ground and then we are heading back again.
Better make tomorrow another good day:)
Tjingeling
Stockholm again!
Cuckoo!
In Stockholm again!
This time also with most of the kids.
A long weekend filled with suggestions, possibilities and choices.
The view from our hotel room is presenting our capital city from a beautiful side.
I can't wait to see if it this time also has an ace up its sleeve...
Im expecting everything but still prepared for nothing 😉
A long weekend with family, fun and Swedish chocolate:)
Tjingeling
Beautiful cleaning.
Cuckoo!
As the housewife I am 😉 I have developed a passion for good cleaners, handsoaps and handcremes.
Right now I'm obsessed with Murchison-Hume products.
I got the tips from a beautiful friend I will owe her forever for that:)
Love love love the fragrance that is lingering around long time after I stopped cleaning.
And it does not help that the products are people, pet and planet friendly.
I like the idea of not only changing the food our family are eating towards a more healthy direction but also be able to use healthy alternatives to traditional cleaning products.
I normally don't really enjoy cleaning but suddenly it is fun.
And beautiful.
And smells amazing.
Tjingeling
Spring time...
Cuckoo!
At this side of the pond, spring has just escalated into a summer appetizer.
Its warm, blooming and flip flop weather:)
Even in Sweden where my summer house is, signs of spring can be detected...
My parents sent me the pictures and even though we are so much more in to the spring than them it still created a wave of longings for what is soon to come...
I so love that we have seasons.
I really like the changes and I think I appreciate ( actually sometimes dislike) even more the differences when there is something to compare with.
It makes the year more colorful and lively:)
So off to a new season in many levels…
Tjingeling
A new backyard is born...
Cuckoo!
Here things are finally happening in our yard!
Since the pool got installed it has been surrounded by a mud paradise for my dog but this week the workers seemed to have crawled out from their burrows after apparently being hibernating during the winter. 😝
Can you detect a hint of annoyance?
Anyway suddenly all kinds of tools were displayed in the yard and today piles of sod stood at attention at different spots in our garden.
I can't tell you how long we have been waiting for this.
One long pregnancy and a pool with surroundings were born:)
Lets hope the water will be cleaned soon also so we can really take advantage of the beautiful days and our new backyard.
Elvis is the only one being not so happy with the new grass covering that wonderful mud and is grabbing the edge of the sod and pulling them up again…
It really is difficult to please everyone:)
Tjingeling
New books for the kids...
Cuckoo!
Ok, time to educate the kids about Sweden.
Books in English and some Swedish candy will do some of the job we hope:)
Another visit is soon coming up so it would have been good to get the kids some feeling and knowledge of what their home country is in terms of geography, culture and anthropology.
Maybe we need to blend in a spell too for the older kids because for some reason the candy finished quickly but the books are just sitting there unopened...
Bella on the other hand are both reading, want us to read, asking questions and bringing the books to school sharing her new information with her friends.
I so wish the appetite for knowing more about specific parts of our world would be as big as the appetite for candy though...
Tjingeling
A few twigs and some eggs...
Cuckoo!
The sun is shining but it is still dark in my heart since Stockholm was abused.
So grateful for all the warmth, love, help and support from all the people that declared love instead of war.
There is really hope for this world...
I decided to not really decorate for Easter but a few eggs found there way to my twigs in my kitchen though:)
The minty green with the gold felt both energy giving and kind of soft cool.
I know there will be some egg decorating time later in the week but till then this is definitely good enough:)
Yes, a couple of twigs, a few eggs and we have a good enough start off the Easter week.
Tjingeling
Stockholm in my heart...
Today was a dark day being a swede.
Today was a day where my heart got wounded.
Today was a day when a crack appeared in the perfect.
But Today was also a day when people "opened up " in Stockholm.
And Today was also a day when color, religion and ethnicity all came together in peace
Today was a day when most of Sweden decided to choose love instead of fear
Today was a day that despite the fog of feeling sad, abused, offended and terrified I still could detect light, love and hope in the people even from this side of the pond.
Stockholm, forever in my heart! ❤
Happy feet coming up...
Cuckoo!
Ive had a basket full of uneven socks for very long but it's not until now, when it grew so high it almost tipped over I decided to do something about it.
It has really been bothering me and silently accusing me everytime I passed by but for some reason I have pretended not to see it.
Till tonight:)
This Tuesday night I decided to change the bad energy that basket passed on to a more positive and new fresh energy by simply trying to find the matching socks to be able to pair them again.
It took the whole freakin evening!
And still only a few matching socks!
Who eats them?
Where do they actually go?
Well I showed no mercy anymore and threw all the singles away and at the same time my bad conscious went the same way.
So relieving, so liberating and it really left me with a happy and satisfied feeling.
I'm going to dream about happy feet being reunited with longtime missing friends:)
What a wonderful tuesday night!
Tjingeling
Before and after...
Cuckoo!
I thought it could be a fun thing to look at pictures from when we bought this house.
And what it have become.
Like before and after photos...
A few changes,mostly style wise...
A hit or a miss?
Will show you the rest of the house another time.
So happy that I kept the photos from before.
I love to see how things changes due to taste, need, purpose, or whatever causes something to develop.
Im not saying it's always a good thing but for sure there is always a reason...
Tjingeling
Butterfly fun!
Cuckoo!
Today Sunday has been such a beautiful spring day my heart is singing.
It brought me back to our holiday a few weeks ago where Bella and I were visiting a butterfly farm.
We took a guided tour in this little greenhouse and we learnt a lot about these beauties.
Bella was in honor's of the day dressed in a flowery dress to attract the butterflies:)
If you look closely on this last picture above you can see how they dance around her ( difficult to capture with my iPhone but still...)
We learnt they they love the alcohol in rotten fruit, they are actually drunk when they fly around (!).
Butterflies are also very important in our ecosystem and we can all help them to survive by simply google what attracts the most common butterflies in our garden whether its parsley or a flower and then start growing that specific plant.
I mean who does not want butterflies in the gardens?!
Sunshine, flowers and butterflies.
Definitely a day to remember:)
Tjingeling
Blue blue sky and water...
Cuckoo!
Rain, rain and rain.
Its not until this evening the grey disappeared and was replaced by a soft blue sky that gave a little hint of better weather tomorrow.
A week ago the sky was more blue than ever.
And not only the sky...
If you don't mind me being in all the pictures ( my daughter was having fun with the camera) just look at all the different blues that appeared during that "photo session".
So calming and uplifting at the same time.
So subtle and yet so dramatic in its change.
The shades, the light and the movements, everything contributes to the magic of all that blue.
This is the blue colors you carry in your heart and when you are bothered about the grey or being stressed you just dive into this blue in your heart and let it calm, relax and heale you.
Beautiful world!!!
Tjingeling
Our "enlightened" house...
Cuckoo!
I thought I could show you some pictures of our house with all the lights on.
It kind of gives it a welcoming and much softer look, does it not?!
Ok, not so environmental friendly but it is only to show you what I mean...
That yellow warm light is very inviting to me and lights up the darkness and make the whole impression more gentle.
No wonder the Swedes are decorating their windows with those Christmas and advent lights to brighten up the dark winter.
Soon the spring and summer will be here and that glowing sunset will be the only light we need but till then...
Tjingeling
The magic of nature.
Cuckoo!
Today I've been able to listen to the melting snow, the dripping sound of vanishing white...
To further help out spring's arrival I put twigs of apricot flowers and some other flowering twigs I can't remember the name of, in a vase in the kitchen.
I'm sure that if I was able to hear the buds pop it would have been like music to my ears too...
They seem so fragile but for sure they own a lot of strength.
Strength disguised in beauty.
So everytime I walk into the kitchen now i can almost see the buds upen up in front of my eyes, confirming the promising signs of spring.
I so love the magic of nature!
Tjingeling
A little slice of our week...
Cuckoo!
So are we back to winter wonderland.
A beautiful, relaxing and recharging week is over.
A lot of sun, a lot of warmth, lots of food and wonderful company.
I did not take many pictures ( and the ones I took I could not download) but instead I kept all the beautiful moments and filled every little cell in my brain with those precious memories.
A little slice of our week...
We had a beautiful house. Made for being together but still allowed privacy.
Stunning view and some "pearls" here and there in the garden and in the house.
St Martin itself offered a colorful carrebean mix of wealth and poverty, sunshine and rain and croissants and plantains.
Loved loved loved the week together with our friends and really feel I'm so spoiled being surrounded with high quality friendship, experience fantastic destinations and being exposed to kindness, love and support.
Life is good!!!
Tjingeling
