Christmas Aftermath

It is always wonderful and uplifting to visit Sweden, to see relatives and friends, in particular my two grandchildren. They give so much joy, but also unpleasant reminders. I seem to catch one cold or other every time I see them. They are used to, and possibly immune to, a wide range of germs, bugs and bacteria, but I am not. Their nurseries are like crucibles of everything contagious. The children act like little middle men, like bridges, like carrier pigeons of colds and other curses. It took me over two weeks to get rid of this last nasty cold. And this came at a time when I work more hours than I normally do.

Outside it does not look like Christmas anymore. The snow has gone and we had 12 degrees today. It is dark, wet and windy. The extra light reflected off the snow has been replaced by some dark matter, which does not lift your soul exactly.

On the other hand I have just received a belated birthday and Christmas present from my wife. I ordered it from Amazon in the UK, but since it has to go through the military sorting office in London, it normally takes another five days to get here. It is a third lens for my Nikon camera, a Sigma 300 mm lens, which is both heavy and looong. I will be needing my tripod for it when it is fully extended in order to get sharp images. This is particularly important since there is no built-in vibration reduction (anti-shake) mechanism.

I am hoping to be able to take better close-ups of for instance birds, and also to experiment with macro photography. It is possible to achieve pictures with great detail. So hopefully I can show  some examples of that once I have practised a little. I just need to hold my breath and steady my hands.

Signing off with two pictures of days now long gone.

 

I Have Nothing to Write About

Well, that's how it feels at least. I just can't get started. I find it difficult to focus on material for this blog. Self doubt has started to creep in.

I could write about the goings-on in the garden, the in-fighting greenfinches, the cheeky squirrels, the blackbird splashing in the bath, the new bird feeder stand in black metal and preying cats, but I don't.

I could write about the progress of the book I am trying to write (in Swedish), currently at around 100 A4 pages after a lot of editing (deleting mostly), how I struggle sometimes to write anything for long periods of time, the joy of actually achieving something, but I don't.

I could write about my part-time work at a boarding house where I sleep in an uncomfortable bed, supervise spotty teenagers and drink lots of tea, but I don't (partly because of confidentiality).

I could write about how I invigilate GCSE and A-level exams, but that would be plain boring, so I don't.

I could write about life as a civilian dependent in a NATO community in Germany, the imminent relocation of half of this community to the UK, the many second-hand cars in the main car park people are trying to sell before they leave, the anxiety of many colleagues because of an uncertain future, knowing the whole garrison will close in a few years' time, but I don't.

I could write about our own situation, where to move next, where to settle and eventually retire, Sweden (where only I have lived), France (where we only have a holiday home) or the UK (where both of us have lived), but I don't.

I could write about my health and the complication of doctors trying to establish which type of diabetes I have got, type 2 or 1.5 (LADA), but I don't.

I could write about the joy of still having my mother (87), my son and two grandchildren, other family and friends, but I don't.

Why don't I?

My Grandchildren - The Duracell Bunnies

Get up and go!

My son, Boy H (17 mths) and Girl A (4 3/4 yrs) have been and gone back to Sweden. In just one magic moment our house was turned into a playground, an obstacle course and a food outlet.

The newly bought bucket of LEGO (4 yrs+) was very popular, the two carpeted flights of stairs proved to be perfect training for Boy H and both ate with a good and healthy appetite. My machine-baked bread disappeared at a good rate.

I wonder where they get their energy from? Some preferred to use up some more of it while others were charging up with power naps. After a picnic snack it was back to base and more fun.

A household with children never stands still, as all parents know. It's one thing after another. You just manage to empty the dishwasher in time to put in the next lot. And before you know it, it is time to eat again. Exhausting!

But just to see two smiling faces coming down the stairs in the morning to see if "the old people" on the sofa bed are awake, makes it all worth while, kick-starting you and getting you into gear. A new day awaits, full of fun and exciting stuff.

A Most Apologetic Post ...

... for having absconded yet again from the blogosphere. I blame my grandchildren personally. Do I really have to visit them to keep up with their development and to be part of their lives? Yes, I do!

I spent a rather long and also busy weekend with my son's family in Stockholm. It was wonderful.

On the second day I picked up my grandchildren from nursery on my own, first the older one, and then we went to pick up the toddler brother from his group. It was a proud moment for a granddad who doesn't see them that often.

Then it was time for some physical work for me, pushing the pram with the attached roller board for the older child to stand on after a tiring day "at work". But we got back in good order, now all three of us tired!

The weekend was somewhat more relaxed and I had the privilege to attend the 4 1/2-year-old's "swim nursery", where they get used to the water through little games, rhymes and a lot of splashing.

Then I and my granddaughter had a day to ourselves. We had planned to have a fun and exciting day out in central Stockholm. We travelled by underground, ferry and bus, just for the fun of it.

With the help of mum and dad I had prepared some interesting visits; to Junibacken, a museum dedicated to Astrid Lindgren characters like Pippi Longstocking and many others, to Aquaria with sharks and all sorts, and lastly a big toy shop.

But it was Monday! The Astrid place was closed, the aquarium was closed and so were all nearby restaurants. Granddad went into overdrive, but kept cool and checked if it was possible to eat at the Vasa Museum and the Nordiska Museum, but in both places one would have to pay an entrance fee to access the food facilities! The situation was getting slightly desperate.

It was cold and windy, which did not do much for the little girl's growing hunger or bladder.

After an emergency hot dog she informed me that she desperately needed the toilet. Granddad, after having spotted a restaurant down a side street some distance away, told her she had to squeeze and hold tight, in the most calming and reassuring voice.

Hurry, hurry across a couple of streets, park the buggy, rush through the entrance, past a man who was allocating tables to lunch guests, straight into the gents', find a cubicle, and YES, she had managed, to granddad's great relief.

After having thanked the understanding man by the door, we got on a bus, where we did not have to pay thanks to the buggy. Then we enjoyed the day-old Christmas window display at NK, the famous department store, marvelled at all the lovely toys in a big toy shop, and finished it off with some Italian ice-cream before counting all the underground stations on the way home.

Wow, what a day out!

BTW I have now finished setting up my photo web site , and I have already planned some adjustments to make navigation even easier, especially for when the number of images will grow in the future.

So I have taken down the flashing neon sign saying "Under Construction". From now on it will only be maintenance and expansion.

(In my next post I will tell you why I dislike (I hate the word hate) Ryanair so much that I struggle to find words to describe it.)

Genes Work!

I was sitting here at my desk going through photos, old and new ones, and I was looking for new photos in particular that were suitable for turning into black/white. I was looking for pictures that were not reliant on colour but rather shapes and light, which meant I found quite a few abstract pictures but also portraits.

I have come to realise that it is not always easy to "see them" in black/white when you are new to that game. A photographer friend of mine claims that he can see what an object or a view would look like in black/white through his long-life experience. That sounded interesting, so I went trawling through my many gigabytes of images.

That is when I saw the likeness. I have always had this strange feeling when I observe my grandchildren, both in real life and in photographs. It is like looking at myself in a spooky kind of way. I think you might be able to see that these two little boys share some genes, or is it just me imagining the whole thing?

Oh, What a Party!

We went to Sweden (Malmö) to celebrate my brother’s 50^th birthday. Before the party itself, one of the highlights of the trip took place, when my mother met little Hampus, her great grandchild, for the first time.

But I kept hold of him most of the time, what else did you expect?

The party had been moved to 6^th June, which just happens to be the Swedish National Day, hence the abundance of flags.

Then the party got underway with interesting drinks, delicious food, good company, loud music and dancing, some funny and emotional speeches, a musical tribute and a lot of good humour.

By the time I went to bed at nearly three in the morning (!) this was the view from my mother's balcony.

The sun seems to be hiding only just below the horizon. Some party people might have been hiding in bed the day after, and some might even have been in need of these to get back into shape.

(Only joking; it's my mum's weekly medication, but you knew that.)

Throats were a little sore from talking over loud music and the body knew it had been dancing for far too long. But it was all worth it; we all had a great time, everybody from my mother (86) down to Hampus and Måns (2 1/2 wks), who went for the quiet option.

Who said it is not fun getting older? I certainly had a lot of fun when my brother got much, much older than before.

Feeling Lucky!

 I read some terrible news in the Guardian today about a tragedy in California. A father of five, who had lost his job, had killed all five children, his wife and eventually himself. How can somebody get that desperate? It seems unfathomable. At the time I was sitting facing the mantelpiece where I had only yesterday put up a newly made frame with two photographs of my son's family. My eyes moved back and forth between the newspaper and the mantelpiece, and my heart was filled with both sadness and joy, and then my eyes started filling up. I think my tears were of joy, and here are the pictures that make me feel very lucky.

 

Hello Grandson!

Last weekend I met my grandson for the first time. When we arrived, big sister was proud to show us "her baby" and pointed to where he was sleeping in his pram after having been for a walk earlier. He was just starting to wake up, so we simply followed the sound. It felt very special to be able to pick him up and comfort him the very first time I saw him. Him seemed happy to see me, because he stopped crying. That was one of those magic moments to remember.

It took some digging and rooting around in the pram to pick him up, since he was well wrapped up deep down there, as you can see in this picture out in the garden. He usually slept outside in the fresh air during the day, very healthy!

Indoors he sometimes sat in his baby sitter, i.e. if he was not being fed by mother or carried around over somebody's shoulder, which he liked the best. Big sister was very sisterly, and you could see that there was this natural bond between them. He was fascinated by her and there seemed to be some silent communication between them, the kind of which you often find between children without words, or indeed foreign words.

When Amanda was not busy with her little brother, she played with LEGO or her Pippi Longstocking jig-saw puzzle.

We were often outdoors; the adults could stretch their legs and tire out the children so we all slept well. Amanda was on her little pink (!) bike (see previous post) and I happily did my duty, pushing the pram everywhere we went, you know, the sort of thing a granddad does.

As you can see from the pictures, autumn is in an advanced state and winter is approaching fast, which means that the winter tyres have to come on, one of those dreaded annual tasks. In Sweden most people use the kind of winter tyres that have metal studs in them to get a good grip on ice. My son was very deft at it, did it methodically and even had white plastic bags to keep the stored tyres in. How's that for clean and tidy? He is my son after all!

My best memory is when little Hampus was fed, dry and comfortable, and he looked at me with a smile and made some guttural sounds that I am sure was his way of taking part in the conversation. Bliss!

On a Mission

Granddad to the rescue! Next week I'll be going to Sweden to help my son and family with moving chores, like decorating, laying floors and suchlike. Little Amanda will soon have a sibling so they are moving into a house with room for an expanding family. It will be lovely to see them again, although I suspect it will be hard work as well.

After that we will go to France to see to our own house there and have some proper holiday. But in August it is time to head north yet again to Stockholm to welcome the new family member. So there will be a lot of to-ing and fro-ing this summer and consequently my blogging will suffer. But don't despair, I will travel with my trusted camera and might just have some decent pictures and stories to share on my return. Until then, Auf Wiedersehen!

Google Image Meme

I spotted this at Carol’s place some time ago and it has been brewing ever since.

Instructions: For each of the following, search Google Images and post your favourite pic.

Where I grew up:

It is not easy to give you one place where I grew up since we moved quite a lot, every three years approximately. So I decided on the town where I started school, followed by a three-year gap, and then returning to spend my teens and most of my adult life until the age of 39 in Malmö.

Malmö is situated in the very south of Sweden, opposite Copenhagen in Denmark. When I grew up you had to cross the water by ferry, hovercraft, hydrofoil or whatever was available at the time. These days there is a magnificent link across to Denmark, consisting of a bridge, a man-made island and a tunnel. In the picture you can see it quite clearly with Denmark at the other end of the link. It is a truly beautiful bridge, and driving across it, you are treated to some gorgeous views.

Where I live now:

Another tricky one! I almost stared myself blind at pictures before I settled for this, rather simple one. I mostly found photos relating to the football team Borussia Mönchengladbach and other very uninteresting objects, so I took this radical view, a street sign!

My favourite place:

Thinking hard and long I went for a place with great emotional value, where I and my son spent our summers for his first thirteen years. The place is called Gullholmen and is situated in the archipelago on the west coast of Sweden. We both have wonderful memories from our holidays there. The tiny island and the village share the name, and the village spreads out onto another larger island. The small island is today a cluster of wooden houses for the wealthy; there is hardly any open space and prices, I believe, can compete with any major city centre. Gullholmen, the island, is on the right in the picture.

My name:

The most famous person to share my name is Anders Celsius, yes, the guy with the thermometer. Click on the links, one name link and one picture link, to read more about him.

My grandmother’s name:

Like most people I have two grannies, one called Victoria and the other one called Elma. When I googled Victoria, my screen filled up with pictures of Queen Victoria and Victoria Beckham, and to a certain extent Victoria Silvstedt, a Swedish “glamour model”. Instead I went for the slightly unusual name Elma. That was not easy; but in the end I found a painting by a 13-year-old girl from Sarajevo, Elma Softic. She says: “Today people talk a lot about environmental protection, but they should talk about how to protect the environment from their own destructive desire to ruin everything that surrounds them”. I thought it was rather touching.

My favourite food:

It has to be the French cuisine.

My favourite drink:

Elderberry! I just love that flavour. The picture shows exactly how I used to do it myself, both at home and with school children in London at the Swedish School. You get a delicious cordial which you can add gin to for the adults, the perfect summer’s drink.

My favourite smell:

Fresh air! The picture I found has an added poignancy to it, non-smoking. Just fill your lungs!

To round off I have to wish my readers a Happy Easter. Oh yes, we’re off to France again, two weeks or so. Cheerio!

Smile Box - Puts a Smile On My Face

I just thought I needed cheering up a little, so I had to try something I found on Carol's blog. It's called Smilebox, where you can have all sorts of fun with pictures and music. I just did the easy thing and used some photos from last Christmas, using the most basic of slide shows. I will have to investigate more thoroughly another time.

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

Life Goes On

I have been away from my blogging desk for a little while because I had to make a trip to Sweden. The reason was yet another sad occasion, a dear old friend’s funeral; so the hours on the German motorway felt extra long, especially since I travelled on my own. The positive side of it was that I would see other people that I hold dear. The weather was not very pleasant on the day of the funeral, but my thoughts were elsewhere anyway, among all the lovely memories of the deceased.

The downside of living abroad is obviously not being able to see loved ones more frequently, but on the other hand, when you do, it is the more intense and wonderful. It is like a concentrate of feelings that you have to hold on to and treasure until the next opportunity. Christmas is really just around the corner, so it won’t be that long, which makes it time to get into some serious shopping!

The icing on the cake is, as always, seeing my granddaughter, to follow her development, experiencing everything new that she is capable of. It all happens so fast in a little person’s life. She represents life, promise, the future, and does a very good job of compensating for the loss of an old life. What a sweet smile she’s got.