That means "Her name is Greta". Who? What am I rabbiting on about now? Well, the newest addition to our family - Greta. Isn't she cute?

Yes, after constant battles with the desktop, including changing O/S, the problems with crashes and freezes have continued so we decided get another laptop and get rid of the bulky, noisy and temperamental desk top. Only room for one bulky, noisy, temperamental creature in this house! So Greta arrived earlier this week and we have spent some days transfering stuff between the three computers. And yes, this time we were smart enough to remember and use the import/export method Kate told me about, so this time I didn't lose anything.

It's been somewhat of a sad week as I learned again of a couple of expats here heading for home after relationship failures. It's always a scary thought as it forces you to consider your own situation if you faced a similar crisis. And there are also those selfish reasons, too. Even though we don't see each other all that often, it is always so nice when we get together for a few hours and I have so few friends here that it always hurts when one of them moves away. I guess it's the expats curse.

I've purchased tulips and daffodils this week and it gives a lovely spring feel to the apartment. With the sun streaming in the windows they open in a day or two and last really well. I don't usually treat myself to flowers, but I do love to have them in the house when I can. Spring flowers in particular always make me happy. I wonder if you can get California Poppies here?



Meanwhile, I have seen the first harbinger of spring: we have a housefly. No idea where he came from, but he's buzzing about our place. As harbingers of spring go, it's no robin or crocus, but I'll take what I can get.

October. November. December. January. February. And now March.

What do those months have in common? Those have been the months that is has snowed here. After a few weeks of melting, and even a day or two of above-freezing temperatures, I heard rumours of snow falling elsewhere in Sweden last night. I feared that Nynäshamn would be next, and it was: there's a dusting of the white stuff that I used to love and now hate on the ground this morning.

Will this winter ever end?



I have been compulsively reading Salam Pax's The Bagdad Blog. I stumbled onto his actual blog Where is Raed? just over a year ago and have been reading it ever since. It is a rivetting account of life inside Iraq from the point of view of this intelligent, witty, young guy living in Bagdad. I remember posting a link to it in the forum here during the war and it caused quite a slanging match between those who thought it was genuine and those who thought it was fake. Well, it's real. And a wonderful, bittersweet read.

Another in my popular on-line quizzes follows. The amazing thing is that I didn't cheat (though the questions were a bit loaded...) and I got the best possible outcome!

Click on the link to "Country Quiz" at the end and see if you are a legend like me!

You're Australia!

You're easy-going, relaxed, and yet somewhat tough and hardy all at the same time.  You can appreciate culture, scuba diving, and even safaris.  This makes you pretty interesting and intriguing to others, though also really unpredictable and even wild.  Your knowledge of nature is unthinkable to most of those around you, even though your respect for it is sometimes less than perfect.  People really like your accent.
Take
the Country Quiz at the href="http://bluepyramid.org">Blue Pyramid