Honestly, who needs enemies, when you can have friends who are able to leave the Swedish chill and instead go and sun themselves in Australia for six weeks. And then rub salt into the wound by sending you postcards about having a wonderful time as well as emails with pictures of themselves having a sunset barbeque on the deck of a beachside mansion in the swanky Perth suburb of Cottesloe.




Exactly! Where's that Christmas list and my whiteout fluid?

Nah, just kidding. But it was quite a contrast to the frost and ice we are having here. Björn and Marianne have a US based Australian client who has homes in Gothenburg, Conneticut and in his hometown of Perth. He flies them to both the US and Australia once a year and they live in his homes and do maintenance work on the cars, boats and houses - painting, gardening, spring cleaning etc to get it ready for when he will be staying there himself. It must be so hard luxuriating in the beautiful sunshine, soaking up the summer sensations of the velvet delicacy of rose petals, the feel of hot paving underfoot, the aroma of sunwarmed strawberries in the air, the sweetness of the first homegrown tomato and the tang of fresh homemade lemonade. Not to mention swanning around Perth in a Jaguar convertible. Jealous? Me?




Björn does his best to try and convince us that he actually does some real work, but he looks quite a happy little Vegemite atop of his ladder. If he was here, he'd still be up a ladder as well, sanding and painting boats. The difference is that it's gorgeous and warm in Australia and the paint at least dries in the summer breeze. And he can wear shorts and a tshirt.




For the peasants staying in Sweden, though, yesterday was a sunny but bitterly cold day. Not having a mansion and a fleet of jaguar convertibles lying around, I made do with our trusty little car to pop into Motala and pick up some new plants to replace those I left with Beth. The living room looked so bare without them, so I braved the Saturday crush to select some replacements of a more modest size. I seem to have a green thumb and plants thrive in my care, so I guess in a couple of years I'll be looking for a new home for these ones, too. Lambi waited intently in the car, hoping no doubt that my bag contained something edible.




We returned home via the small town of Borensberg. There had been a small smattering of snow overnight. The contrast with the traditional falun red of the Göta Hotel, the sapphire blue skies and the perfect white snow glistening in the rising sun was beautiful, so we stopped here for coffee and admired both the stillness and the view. The water in front of the hotel is the Göta canal and it was interesting to see it from shore as well as in the off season. It is a real miracle that snow and sun co-exist so happily here.




Back in Vadstena, we walked along the sea wall and saw that several section of the water reeds are frozen solid. The sun was glistening off them and they shone like diamonds in the afternoon light.




Quite a contrast to sunny Australia. And when one of my other friends in Adelaide started sending me pictures of the flowering jacarandas, it was all I could do to stop myself ringing QANTAS and booking a flight back. Actually, it was more the size of my bank balance that stopped me. I think I may not even have enough in it for the bus fare to town.

Oh well, back to sanding and painting the boat in my winter thermals and gloves, I guess. Just as well I can still dream.