Perhaps I shouldn't categorise this as "watching," since I admittedly haven't watched any of it, but it was the most suitable category and although I myself haven't, there are millions and millions of people who have. My reason for addressing the Eurovision Song Contest right now are perhaps not valid given my marginal position, but here it goes nevertheless.

As a child, I watched the Swedish version of it as well as the large European finale faithfully every year. It was a big family event as we gathered around the television set. In the 1990s and early 2000s I had realised that the music usually performed wasn't really my cup of tea and my interest faded. As the Swedish "Melodifestivalen" reinvented itself in 2002 adding a whole series of semi-finals, I stopped watching altogether. It simply became too much, but the media haussed it every year (much in the same fashion as the, in my view, horrible talent shows) and, whether I liked it or not, it was difficult not to become aware of who won and who lost as I tried to read the news. I still sometimes watched the Eurovision Song Contest, however, as I enjoyed the multicultural aspects of them, but as it, too, was extended with "before" shows and semi-finals, this competition also lost its appeal for me. As a result, I haven't watched any of it in the last six or seven years.

Reading the papers in ten different European countries (plus the US) I do feel happy for Loreen, who won the ESC last night. She seems to know what she's doing and I find her firm stance in favour of dissidents and against government control very encouraging. I'm also happy to see the media in entire Europe come together around one common, non-violent and non-economic topic. This happens far too seldom and it great to see at least one of these pieces of news every year, but at the same time there must be other pieces of positive news that are equally or perhaps even more newsworthy. My feelings are mixed, to say the least, on the topic of the Eurovision Song Contest.

In spite of all this, I would sincerely like to congratulate Loreen. I'm sure I will listen to the winning song at some point. Photo borrowed from Expressen.

When we moved here our neighbour told us that their sheep would arrive soon and now they're here. They are so cute! It's actually amazing to wake up and hear them baa as they walk around grazing leisurely. This is one of the definite advantages of moving here.

I really like dresses that can be used as tunics as well as, well, dresses. It makes them far more versatile in my mind, and in this way they can be dressed up for parties as well as dressed down for everyday use. At the moment I do like them with a pair of capri pants and semi-high heels. The light colours tend to catch my eyes and are perfect as early summer exclamation marks.

From the left: a cute turquoise dress from Odd Molly, a silk crèpe flowered print from Soft Grey, a simple white dress from H&M, and, last but not least, a light turquoise silk and cotton mix from Active Wear.

As one of the first iPod Nanos, my iPod was manufactured in September 2005. A white beauty with a screen — a small one by today's standards, but the fact that it existed was amazing — and I really enjoyed using it. I had most of my music library on it and it was used frequently as I went out on walks etc.

Alas, a while ago came an e-mail from Apple cautioning the users of 1st generation iPod Nanos about the battery and its tendency to explode and I was instructed to send in my old one in order for them to exchange it with a new one. Today I received yet another e-mail telling me that my new iPod Nano — this time from generation six — was on its way to me. It has a far bigger screen and even more storage. I certainly look forward to receiving it.

At this wonderfully beautiful time of year when everything is in bloom we have received some very good news. For the last week and a half our oldest son has been evaluated by the children's rehab unit at one of the largest hospitals in Sweden to discern whether he has any brain damage as a result of the car accident in September last year.

Today we received their evaluation and the sum of it all was that he does not have any brain damages at all, which is amazing considering the massive injuries he suffered back then. They have checked his ability concentrate, to speak, to form sentences, to do maths, and to perform household tasks. They have tested his vocabulary, his fine and gross motor skills, his social abilities, his physique, his mood for instance when winning or losing, and a number of other things. In summary, they have assessed his strengths and his weaknesses, and it has all turned out to be good.

Spending time at the unit has been interesting from other viewpoints as well, since the stories of the other children there have been both moving and educational. The everyday lives of children with acquired brain injuries are very diverse and they are all heroes in my eyes.

Since the burglary we have tried to get things organised again. Our new, large — and heavy — safe has been painted black and lined with purple felt and we're now thinking about what to keep there and what might be possible to keep safe in other ways. My old jewellery box has moved in with what I have left of my two grandmothers' jewellery and some of the necklaces, bracelets, and rings I have received myself over the years.

Doing so I realised the need for a new jewellery box and while googling I found this beautiful stackable one from Stackers. I think I'll put it on my wishlist as some point in the future. One of the advantages is that the parts can actually be bought separately as the need for more storage arises. Clever.

The weather was wonderful yesterday and it felt like summer. There was a light, warm breeze, and we did some outdoor work. There are flowers everywhere and the air is filled with their scent. One of them I have a love-hate relationship with — the bird cherry. I'm actually allergic to them, but they nevertheless signify the start of the period in late spring when nature seems to burst and I love this time of year so much. I took this photo of the bird cherry yesterday and the white blossoms can be seen everywhere although the weather is a bit cooler today. The sun is shining from a clear blue sky, however, and it feels like a wonderful Saturday. Have a good weekend!

We've managed to get hold of a safe! Admittedly, it's not the one in the picture above, but a slightly bigger one, which we hope will be able to keep our valuables safe. It's very heavy too, which should be an advantage. Now we just have to get it inside, too...

Lately, we've been on the lookout for a used additional large traditional wardrobe, a "karlekammerskab" (Danish) or "drängaskåp" (Swedish), at the right price and a few days ago we did indeed find one. T.'s sister and her husband were nice enough to pick it up today and they report that it looks really good. We're planning to use it as a storage space for tablecloths and towels and we're very much looking forward to getting it home.

Yesterday we also managed to get hold of two baskets, the long one at the bottom in the middle of the photo, which was used as a sowing basket and we will be using as a storage space for logs for our fireplace, and the large laundry basket bottom left, which we will use to store bedspreads and cushions. I think it's really nice to be able to reuse old objects and, since we need a bit more storage, I believe this is the perfect way to achieve this.