Asphalt

It is very rare here to see a concrete driveway like those you see everywhere in the US. When we bought our house, we had a gravel drive. We had been talking about getting asphalt since last summer, and, with the dollar strengthening considerably since we moved here, this spring was a good time to have it done.

The whole process was quite exciting for the kids. To be able to see the excavator right outside our kitchen window, scooping away the gravel was thrilling, especially for AJ.

Taking away the gravel.

AJ watching the excavator load the dump truck.

The dump truck that took our gravel away.

Laying the asphalt.

Rolling it out

Refilling the asphalt spreader.

Since they finished the asphalt, the kids have had a ton of fun with sidewalk chalk, riding their bikes up and down the long driveway, and splashing in the small puddles after the rain. As for me, I enjoy that the entryway is a little cleaner without random pieces of gravel mysteriously finding their way inside.

Sunday Afternoons

The past couple of Sundays, we have been invited by different friends to join them at their church services, with fellowship afterwards.

A couple of weeks ago, we visited our dear friends, Åke and Lise, who live about an hour north of us. After church and lunch, we went back to their house for an afternoon of fika, fellowship, and fun. Åke recently moved one of his beehives into his back yard, and the kids enjoyed looking at the bees hard at work. Åke shared his vast knowledge of bees with Timo while I sat and chatted with Lise. The kids played around their house, and Kristen met some neighbor kids and made some new Swedish friends.

AJ watching the bees hard at work.

Last Sunday, we attended a short service with one of Timo's co-workers, Hans. This was followed by a kind of hay-ride. I chose to ride in a car, but Timo, AJ, and K all rode behind the tractor. AJ was very disappointed that he did not get to actually drive the tractor. The destination was a farm, where we enjoyed fika, then went on an interesting walk.

What made the walk interesting is that they had questions posted going out and coming back for both adults and kids to answer. Whoever got the most questions right won a prize. While I had not participated in such an event before, this type of thing is very common in Sweden. Timo and I didn't win anything, but Kristen tied for 3rd place and won some candy. AJ wandered around the tractors, admiring them from every angle. Afterwards, they took the kids back to the church in the trailer again, and we headed to Hans' house for some lunch.

After lunch, I hit a wall and needed to lie down for a while. Meanwhile, the kids went swimming in their pool while the adults talked. By the time I got up, K and AJ were done swimming, and everyone was ready for some fika. Afterwards, we headed back home as it was late, and AJ still hadn't taken a nap. Apparently, we took a little too long getting out of there as Kristen fell asleep on the grass behind the car while waiting for us. Both kids slept the whole way home, and, after a late dinner, we struggled to get them to go to bed at the usual time.

It has been nice to get out of the house a little more. The winter can be kind of depressing as people keep to themselves more here, and, when you do make plans (as we have), kids have a tendency to take that opportunity to get sick.

Mariefred

We arrived in Mariefred Tuesday night around 6pm. I was waiting for my mother-in-law to check in while Kristen slept in the car when I realized that I did not bring by camera along. I called Timothy as soon as I realized this (he left our house much later than we did), but he was too far away to turn back. I kicked myself many, many times during the trip for not bringing the camera.

The hotel itself was picture-worthy. At 400 years old, it is the oldest inn in Sweden, and it has more character than any places you can find in the US. Our room was the Vasa Suite, and it included a full bathroom and a half-bath as well as two rooms. It was nice to be able to be in a separate room from the kids. Since I didn't have my camera, here is the website so you can see some pictures of the place. http://www.gripsholms-vardshus.se/lang.asp?lang=eng

In the corner of our room was an old heating stove. When we visited the nearby castle, I saw many similar furnaces in the old royal chambers, but I am not sure which century they are from. All the other furniture was also antique, and the walls were hand-painted with various decorative styles. Antique rugs lay across the hardwood floors, and the ceilings were low enough to touch. In the room where the kids slept, there was also an old fireplace in the corner, which I am sure they used to heat the room in the early days of the inn.

We ate dinner in the dining room, an event that took hours (much too long with two young children). The menu was a four-course meal that consisted of glass-baked salmon in a salad (about 2-3 bites of food), wild boar with potatoes, a cheese board, and rhubarb ice cream served with what they called vanilla pudding (the texture, however was much different than pudding you find in the US).

After a decent night’s sleep and a delicious breakfast (I had a Swedish waffle, which is much different than American), we headed over to Gripsholm’s Castle, which is located right across the water from our hotel. We wound through the various rooms, and I kicked myself over and over for not bringing that camera! The castle is beautiful, and it contains many portraits of Swedish royalty throughout history. After we left the castle, we had a simple lunch, and I headed back to the hotel for a nap (hey, I was 35 weeks pregnant!). Then, I woke up and met Timo and the kids at the local playground, and we headed to the local train yard, where they run a narrow gauge train on the weekends during the warmer months of the year. We walked around for a little bit, and the children climbed onto the passenger cars, tried to manually throw the switches (unsuccessfully), and looked longingly at the engines.

Kristen was tired, so we once again headed back to the hotel for some rest, where AJ told us that Timothy’s name was “Timo Daddy Isaac.”

Dinner was at a restaurant along the water, and the service was much quicker than the night before. The kids played hide and go seek with Timothy’s dad while we waited for the food, and the whole meal went a lot smoother than the previous night.

Thursday, we headed out to Stockholm. We took the train into the city, and we walked from there toward Gamla Stan (the older part of Stockholm). We roamed the streets, and then we took a boat tour around the main waterways. Walking back toward the train station, we did some touristy shopping. Timothy and I bought the kids Sweden shirts and the traditional Swedish horses. After the train ride back, we ate a dinner of elk bratwurst wrapped with some sort of sauerkraut sauce in a tortilla. It was different, but very delicious. Kristen asked for wild boar again, but she ended up eating Swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes.

The next morning, we decided to walk around Mariefred a little more since I had not had a chance to explore the streets. The downtown area was rather small, and it did not take us long to walk along the streets that were of any interest to us. We decided to go ahead and walk along the boardwalk so the kids could enjoy the different boats. When we were heading back to the hotel, we stopped to feed some ducks, and there was a random swan with them. I had never seen a swan so close. He was almost eating out of my hand.

Kristen said the best part of her trip was feeding the ducks – not exactly something exclusive to Sweden. J After lunch and naps, we went outside to the playground close by, and then the kids chased the ducks around the park. For some reason, the ducks weren’t flying off, and it was so funny to see them waddling as quickly as they could to get away from the crazy kids.
Saturday morning, we checked out and proceeded home. It was nice to be home, where we assumed our mundane responsibilities. Doing laundry and cleaning the house isn’t quite so bad when you have been away for a while. Kristen spent the afternoon playing outside while Timo mowed the lawn, cleaned out the car, and cleaned the gutters. While it was nice to be on vacation, I think we all slept so much better in our own beds. I know that I did.

A Canvas of Tile

I opened my email, and to my surprise,


A picture of horror was before my eyes.


My husband had left AJ for a short while,


And AJ decided to color the tile.


The floor of the bathroom was covered with red,


As visions of artistry danced in his head.


"No, no!" I am sure that my husband told him.


"You cannot just color the floor on a whim!"


I hope it is not too hard to scrub all away


For we'd like to go back to visit some day.