To all my friends around the world.
HAPPY NEW YEAR

This evening we´re spending together with our friends nice company and nice food. We´re bringing the dessert small pavlovas with cream blackberries and ice-cream for the children.
Se Ya next year that I hope brings a lot of exciting trips to foreign contries far far away from home....

We are on our way to my mother in law for Christmas day dinner and more presents.
Enjoy Wham's Last Christmas the best Christmas song ever...

Merry Christmas

A month has almost passed bye since my last contribution and tomorrow it's Christmas. Time passes bye very fast. Our work on the house is a very slow process at the moment. Now we're going to celebrate X-mas and I'm off from work until Monday Jipppi.
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM US TO YOU

After a weekend with late nights and lots of dancing. It's time to get back to reality. On Saturday our washing machine broke down. So now we got to buy a new one. So typical that it breaks down just before X-mas when you want to buy plenty of other things and not a washing machine. Well I guess this is what a house owner got to keep up with. Welcome to your REAL LIFE...Have a nice Sunday.

FRIDAY

So here we go again. Tomorrow I'm going to IKEA to get some inspiration and some new great ideas for our house. Things are moving very slowly. Yes I know Rome wasn't built in bla bla bla bla. Well you know this isn't f...... Rome is my dusty house. Hope the rest of you are enjoying a lovely dust free Friday. Now I'm going to get myself some coffee. Have a nice weekend.

Walk in computer closet

First it looks like this


In the beginning Once upon a time...


There were two cats in a closet


A peep inside







When I'm done I just close the doors with the chair inside.
At the beginning the cats where everywhere but after a while...

They lived happily every after...


Murre close up.

We work all day we work all night.

This is how it looks like right now.

Rome wasn't built in a day (hate this saying)
Upstairs has been a mess it looked like this when we started



Underneath was this treasure. Lovely boardflooring isn't beautiful

J said what is this should I walk on boardflooring it was better before. I tried to explain how fantastic it is with this wooden floor but he is skeptical. Well in a month or so we're painting it yes of course it's going to be white.

FRIDAY

YES its Friday again...My back hurts from all the painting now H is painting instead. So I get some time in front of the computer. Today at work I think I sad My back hurts at least 20 times. Then I realize that they get tired of me. So I E-mailed some friends called my dad and H.
By the way we had a nice time in Stockholm and had some really nice food and desserts as well as some shopping. I bought Iittala glas in sand colour I really like them thats going to be my everyday glas. The Bond movie was not that good but I really like Daniel Craig.

Tonight I think I watch this movie

or maybe this one


Have a nice Friday

Congratulations America

I just feel that I have to write something about the new president. History has been writen this week. Only time can tell wether or not the wind of change has blewn in over the States. Hopefully it's time to change the constitution that it's not everyones right to carrie a gun and that everyone has the right to get good healthcare.
Now a new familly is moving in to the White house. Actually I have been inside the White house and is really huge. It was during my time as an au-pair when it still was possible to walk and feel safe all over the States.

Today I've been to the public swim-club with J and his friend. I didn't swim. Instead I watch them having fun. For me it was like sitting in a sauna for three hours. I don't really like to go swimming that's why I watched them instead. Cause when I'm in the water then I get cold and then my feets cramp...Talk about getting old.On Saturday I'm going to see the new Bond movie Quantum Of Solace. It starts at 9.30 pm and my first reaction was that late...I'm really getting old. H thought it was late as well so I'm not alone. By the way both J and H is getting glasses so now the whole family will have glasses hmm but we're not getting the same jackets...

Rome wasn't built in a day

Everyday I hear these few words. Yes I know but I really want a very nice house now. Tomorrow we're going to by wallpaper, colour and linseed oil. One small step at a time. No relaxing weekend but next weekend I'm going to Stockholm jippi. No dust no work just nice hotelrooms and food served in nice restaurants. By the way J is coming next week so we're going to celebrate Murres 1 year Birthday. We're going to bake cupcakes and sing for him. Well the cat wont get anything since he's getting chubby but we'll eat for him instead.
Good night

It's starting to get better. But it's dust all over the place like a thin air inside covering almost everything.





The cats doens't like all the noice from the machines we have to use to clean the stairs from old glue and wax. I don't think we ever do this again in my next life I'll paint the stairs instead.

First photo

First photo from our house. This is what the hallway looked like before we started renovating. I show you tomorrow what it looks like right now.

If you think this is bad you should see it now...It's even worse...

I'm a little tired of all the renovating but I just realized. When life seems gray, just think again, no flower ever bloom without the rain.

After all the work with the house I booked a hotel weekend in Stockholm. I'm really in the mood for some travelling...only 2 more weeks...
Good night exhausted as always...I promise to show you some "nice" photos of the house. (looks like a nightmare at the moment)

Deadly tired. We've been working almost the whole day. Except when we went to town and had a coffee and a Ben and Jerry's ice-cream. My favourite since my year in the States. I had Cookie dough so yummi. Good night Sweden and good morning hmm good morning Sweden. I guess since I'm not going anywhere in the near future... only house renovating coming up.

Time has passed by so very fast. But now I'm back again. Still going strong. Our house is a very very fine house. With two cats in the yard...We have finally moved to our house. At the moment we're renovating the floors underneath the carpet was board flooring. So now we got to clean and polish hopefully it turns out nice. I'm going to show you the photos later on.
Good night

Our House

Tomorrow I'll become a house owner. At 3pm I'll have the keys in my hand...

TIPPEN +

MURRE =

BEST FRIENDS

FOREVER

23 th of July Barcelona and Hollywood stars

The last day. Tomorrow we're going home. One month has come to an end this is it.
Start the day with coffee, doughnuts and a sandwich. After that we take a look
at the El Corte inglés We also find this café in the El Barrio distict.

A piece of heaven again wow....in Barcelona...

The Gothic Barrio district, beautiful...










Then it's time for the Boqueria Market (a large public market, first mention of the Boqueria market dates to 1217 when tables were installed near the old door of the city to sell meat). At the market we get some fruit salad and my tummy gets full. We're doing a lot of walking and eating today. Later on we go back to the market and gets some nice juice. I have strawberry and orange juice my brother gets papaya juice. We also stop by at guess what YES it's right Starbucks our last one for a while. When we're going back to the hotel we pass a movie theatre and wow it's premiere for The dark Knight. We stand there waiting for I don't know it must be some stars. Yes it's Christian Bale and Aaron Eckhart from the movie, and I forget to take a photo...Kind of cool to see some Hollywood stars. Goodnight Spain and good morning Sweden. Tomorrow evening I'm home again. Here I come Murre and Tippen...

22 of July Barcelona

Today we visit Parc the Monjuic and the Olympic stadium. The top of the hill (a height of 173 metres) was the site of several fortifications, the latest of which the Castell de Montjuïc remains today. On our way back through the park we have a great view of the city and the Mediterranean. We're spending the whole day in the park and on our way back to the hotel we get lost as usual. I get so tired why is't so hard to find the hotel. But eventually we find it again.
We end the evening with a stop at STARBUCKS.

View from Parc the Monjuic


The Olympic Stadium (1992)


At the Olympic stadium we eat a breakfast of coffee and chocolate croissants. My brother is happy he get an freshley squeezed orange juice. He's happy until I tell him the price....



The fortification

21 th of July Barcelona

"Dormir es la mejor meditacion"
"Sleep is the best meditaion"
Dalai Lama

On the pillows is small calling cards for the hotel we're you can read the saying above.
Today we're going to see the masterpiece of Antoni Gaudí, La Sagrada Familia. Parts of the unfinished church and Gaudí's models and workshop were destroyed during the war. The present design is based on reconstructed versions of the lost plans. It's interesting the unfinished and still constructed church it's still a working place as it was during Gaudí's time, what a tourist attraction.



Not an alien it's the ceiling of La Sagrada Familia


The exterior




After the visit to La Sagrada Familia we walk to Parc Guell designed by Gaudí. The park was originally part of a commercially unsuccessful housing site. But only two houses were built neither of them designed by Gaudí.

The Park


Reminds me of Dr Seuss The Cat in the Hat




Somehow we manage to loose our map so we need to get another one at the tourist information. And then we end the day at Starbucks.
P.S Everytime we're going back to the hotel we get lost and we end up walking around for hours, before we find our way. All the streets look the same, and when it's dark it's even harder.

20 th of July Montpellier- Barcelona

After a night with almost no sleep at all. I wake up exhausted and ready for Spain. Another boring train ride. At the train station in Barcelona we're trapped we can't find our way out of the station. All the tourist looks confused after a while we find the exit. you have to show your ticket before exit. We walk from the train staion with the map from LP (our guide book). After a lot of walking we finally find a hotel. It's a four star hotel thick walls and aircondition jippiyeah. We're staying for 4 nights so we get a good deal. Las Rambla here we come. Before Las Rambla we make a stop at the tourist information and gets a map of the city. Las Rambla the famous street not that beautiful and very crowded. But at the end of Las Rambla you reach Port Vell and it's really nice.






Before we go to bed we stop by at my favorite coffeechain and drinks frappes. I LIKE it.

19 th of July Montpellier

What a night we're staying at a horrible hotel. No air condition in the rooms and paper walls, not that much sleep at all. We're walking to the train station trying to get tickets to Nimes. But since it's a weekend not that many trains are leaving today so we decide that it's not worth it. Instead we head to the shoppingmall and buys a new memorycard to my camera. After lunch and a new memorycard we're up for a walk in the old quarters. It's such a beautiful town and in every corner you see something interesting. Later in the evening we're having Indian food on silverplates. We sit outside in the narrow streets. Once in a while I have to stand up and move out of the way because cars are passing by. Good night France and good morning Spain.

18 th of July Nice-Nimes

In a rush we're up at the train staion boarding for Nimes. Huge misstake. We forgot all about Tour the Fu..... France. We're changing trains in Marseille what a lovely train station but outside it looks pretty rough. When we reach Nimes we can't find any hotels at all because Tour the France is passing through today. Such a beginners misstake I can't belive it. We head for the next town close by Montpellier. It's late when we arrive, but we walk around for a while and my cameras memory card blinks. No photos today

17 th of July Nice-Cannes and birthdays

Today is my brother's birthday and he get to pick what to do. He pick an excursion to Cannes. Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera. It is a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival.
Fine with me I have never been to Cannes before. Wow we see a lot of huge yatches...as well as nice cars. For lunch he gets McDonald's food a burger. After a very hot day in Cannes we walk back to the train station where we buy some chocolate chip cookies and soda. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you Happy birthday dear M Happy birthday to you. Later in the evening he gets an ice-cream and dinner at KFC his choice. Tomorrow we're going to Nimes.