It seems to be thunderstorms everywhere in Sweden except here. We were supposed to get some here as well around 8 pm but it didn't materialize at all. No thunder, no lightning, and no rain. I guess we were lucky since it really has wreaked havoc all over the place.

It has become a few degrees cooler though and that feels really good. The entire family is rejoicing.

My youngest son and I decided to go for an evening swim yesterday and it was great. This type of weather drives T. mad, but I kind of like it provided I can go for a swim now and then. I love the colours and serenity of the setting sun after a really hot day.

A few more presents from my near and dear ones this morning: a really cool memory stick shaped as a key from LaCie from T. and a box of irresistable chocolate from Lindt given to me by my oldest son. T. has said that I will receive something else from him too when his parents arrive next week, but he refuses to say what it is. Curious!!!

Anyway, it has been a great day so far (we've been out biking exploring nearby churches and the local library among other things) and we plan a nice dinner for this evening as well.

My birthday is not until tomorrow, but I have nonetheless received my first birthday present. My youngest son had decided to buy me some roses, and some roses they were. Aren't they beautiful? He's a complete darling!

Yesterday we took our new car on a slightly longer outing. The boys thoroughly enjoyed exploring the castle ruin, taking a dip in the ocean, and the round of mini golf we managed to squeeze in before heading back home. It was the warmest day so far this year and it was simply amazing. We really like the new car. We enjoyed some really nice food and some ice cream as well. It truly was a wonderful outing for the entire family.

Today was the day. Amazing weather and it was time to pick up our new car. Of course we went out for a trial run and I have to admit that I really enjoy driving this car! (Unfortunately, T. loves it too, which means that we tend to fight over whose turn it is to drive.) Anyway, it's simply great and we are so look forward to going on holiday in it in a few weeks' time.

My oldest son is, by the standards of old times, an adult soon. This summer he will attend the course for confirmands at the local church and the ceremony will take place in mid July, one of the few rites of passage still remaining in our modern context. In the hope that he will not read this, we have discussed presents with our families and decided he will receive a good but fairly small camera which he can bring with him everywhere if he wants to. In addition to this, T. and I will give him a book of hymns and the necklace with the cross from JennDesign.

I can hardly be described as religious myself, but I have nonetheless spent a lot of time in churches, which I do enjoy very much. For me it is more about learning about, and becoming comfortable in, the Christian context. Additionally, for me it is about reflecting on my own values and beliefs, and I hope doing this enables my son to do the same.

There are so many things to celebrate right now. The children are finishing school, work is winding down, Midsummer is approaching as well as a few birthdays. The weather is improving and everything is pretty nice. Let's just enjoy it all for a while...

I had surgery today. Nothing major, though, but I am rather tired. I've had a irritated and extremely active sebaceous gland on my back annoying me for years, and after a major infection two years ago it was removed. When seeing the scar, T.'s father asked if I had been stabbed.

But then it came back. So the doctors decided to give it another go at removing it and the procedure was made today. It was done under local anasthetics and it didn't hurt a bit, but it still left me a bit drained. Funnily enough I've never actually seen the sebaceous gland or the scar myself, since it is placed right between my shoulder blades.

The children needed new passports and my oldest son also needs an ID and a credit card of his own. It's amazing how fast they grow up!

Subsequently we have spent most of the afternoon at first taking photos, then talking to the people at the bank, and, last but not least, taking new photos and measurements etc at the local police office. These things tend to take forever, it seems.

T.'s cousin has become a father to a beautiful baby girl. She weighs 4,5 kilos and is 55 centimetres tall. We so look forward to meeting her. A huge congratulations from all of us!

Images from Ulrikas scrapsida and Photobucket.

It has been a beautiful day here with only occasional clouds, although it has been snowing in other parts of the country. It has been a bit more cloudy in other regards, however. My dad went into hospital with chest pains a few days ago and today a coronarangiography was performed on him in which they found four stenoses in the coronary arteries, of which the doctors have removed two today.

Apparently it was really bad, almost to the point when they had to send him to a larger hospital for specialist care, since it was so difficult to remove them. It's a bit weird too, because my father has had a sore shoulder for a while now and the doctors haven't been able to find the reason for it, but during the procedure today the pain in his shoulder became acute and it seems as if it is indeed the stenoses that have caused the pain. Yet another coronarangiography will be performed on him at some point next week when the doctors intend to remove the last two stenoses, but after that I really hope he will be able to return home in a far better condition.

We finally decided on what car we want and what features we want it to have. The photo above is fairly accurate with only a few alterations. It's a Skoda Superb diesel sedan with 170 HP, cream leather inside and lots of space for the children as well as ourselves. We will have it in about two months' time, around Midsummer, and I think it will suit us perfectly.

Image from linker.

We are discussing buying a new car and this 2010 Skoda Superb is at the top of our list at the moment. The colour is called black magic, but otherwise I don't think there is much voodoo-like things going on in this case. We have test-driven it twice, really liked what we've seen and it just seems to be a really nice, extremely roomy car, which seems to be perfect for our family.

No decisions have been made yet. We'll see.

The entire family is back home again after the Easter break and it feels quite nice.

Easter was amazing, though. Good food, good company and lots of interesting things to talk about. And travelling. Yesterday we were in Germany, yesterday evening and this morning in Denmark, and right now we're in Sweden. Well, well... that's the way it is at times.

Since we're travelling so much, we're also discussing buying a new car, but we haven't made our minds up yet. I'm sure I will blog about it a bit more later on.

Right now we're watching Vasaloppet indoors, but yesterday T. and I enjoyed the sun outdoors together with so many more people. The paragliders high above the icy and snowy bay gathered an entire crowd.

A few more olympic medals reached Sweden by the end of last week but we were too busy cleaning out T.'s apartment to really notice it. This is what the apartment looked like on Thursday but already on Friday evening it was completely empty and looked really nice and clean. It's out for sale on the Internet by now and it seems to have attracted som interest as well. Let's hope there will be tangible result soon.

I have spent most of this week on my couch working, trying to catch up on things I neglected the previous week. It feels good though. The sun is shining and spring is in the air.

The weather was amazing yesterday and we decided to spend some time in the park near a castle in the vicinity. The sun was shining and it was actually pretty warm. It was very icy — and very slippery — on some of the slopes, but at the same time the snow and ice was melting, which also was clearly visible in the bay. The ice seemed to get thinner by the hour, and when we had walked around for a bit we even decided to eat some lunch outdoors for the first time this year.

Today brought some more snow, however, but the snow is wet and it really feels as if spring is not too far away. This feels great!

T. is coming home today. It makes me very happy.

Images found at shsaplit, Scraphuset, Louise P, and Declan McCullagh Photography.

The children received some money over the holidays and, after having thought about it, they decided to use it to buy a Nintendo Wii and a few games. Transformers and Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes have already arrived and Pokémon Battle Revolution is on its way.

Buying a Wii is something they have talked about for more than a year, and this was the right time to do something about it. I actually think it was a good thing. At times they tend to squander any money they get on smaller things, usually LEGO or something similar (which is good in itself, but somewhat repetitive), and then suddenly the money is gone without them realizing. The Wii has definitely kept them busy both yesterday and today and I'm sure they will continue enjoying it. They are sending their warmest thanks to everyone who made it possible.