I'm ashamed to say, I was complaining about the miserable weather, the crowds at the supermarket, my painful period and all the usual here yesterday. But at least my town wasn't covered in pig manure. I think I could put up with alomst anything else than that. Those poor, poor people.

Today, I should be madly cooking and cleaning as we have friends coming over for dinner, but instead I'm here enjoying a break in the morning sunshine and blogging. I'm not as slack as I sound, as I did most of the preparation yesterday. When I have friends over, I like to spend time with them, not tied to the kitchen stove, so I tend to make food that will only need a small amount of last minute work. I was going along swimmingly with the final touches to the salad and preparing the main course for the oven when I suddenly ran out of alfoil. Double damn! I'll have to go and get some later on, but for now it's time for a sun bath. Even Sheila is out of her cage and taking advantage of the warming rays of the sun. Smart girl.




Bruce on the other hand is restless and prefers exploring on the desk, also bathed in sunshine. This time he isn't nibbling the bills, looking out of the window or eating the rattan from my chair. Instead, he's trying to see what I have hidden in the desk drawer. There are no secrets in this house, I can tell you. I'm wondering how long it will be before he is inside of the drawer, eating up all the guarantee papers and user manuals for the various bits of electronic equipment we have. I think I'll look for a new hiding place for our passports.





The other day I had to collect a prescription from the chemist. Unfortunately I had kept it in this pile and the woman serving me at the chemist was puzzled by the nibbled edge of the paper. I was so tempted to say that it was rats, but decided against it and said nothing, just smiled. One of these days he's going to eat something important and then he'll be in strife.

Okay, back from the shop now with alfoil and everything is now ready. It is beautiful outside today, with the sun shining, the snow glistening and melting and it's so light that it makes you feel happy. The view from centrum across the spire of the church and out across to the islands is breathtaking.





It is hard to believe that this is taken from the middle of town. You'd swear that you were out in the middle of nowhere, far away from the madding crowds and enjoying solitude and peace. I love that contrast in Nynäshamn. You are surrounded by forest, lakes and the sea as well as having the conveniences of living in a town (access to public transport, shops, library, other people). It really is the best of both worlds.

Many people like to be out and about on the weekends, no matter the conditions and everyone, no matter how young, joins in.




I laughed heartily when I spotted that guy out on the ice with a pram! Lars-Göran thought it looked quite ordinary and I guess it is, but it's something that I would never have seen in Australia, so I still react like a tourist when it happens. Not only do you take the baby out on the ice, you also take time to stop and sit down for a coffee and snack. No, I'm serious!




Yep, you build a fire out in the woods (no worries about a bushfire over here) and settle down with your friends to "enjoy" a cuppa. I still think they are nuts. Lars-Göran suggested that we have an afternoon coffee outside today when Bosse and Ann arrive. "You know", he said, "go down to the boat harbour and sit out on the deck of the guard house and enjoy nature for a while." I looked at the temperature - it's 4C. That's not weather to enjoy anything! I suspect this is some kind of cunning plan by the boys to have an excuse to go down to the boat, just because we are so close.

And speaking of boats, I was sent this little film by a friend who does translation work in the Netherlands. She thought I'd like it, both because of the nautical reference but also because it is amusing for anyone who has struggled to learn a foreign language. Though maybe not so funny for those who've had to use the coastguard! Enjoy Mayday! Mayday!