Month: August 2017

Woke up early this morning because a delivery van from DHL arrived with our new SPA. So exciting! He was here at 06.45 already. About 45 minutes later the next service arrived with a big crane to lift the SPA over the roof of our house and place it behind the house with great precision. And then the electrician arrived to install all the electric parts. Everything went according to plan and after filling the SPA with water, checking the quality of the water and now heating the water up – maybe maybe we will be able to try it before we go to bed. Otherwise we have that to look forward to tomorrow.

Our dishwasher broke down during the summer – my husband has repaired it a numerous of times and now we decided – no more. Said and done – we went over to the kitchen appliance store across the street and picked up a new one. They lended us a cart to bring it home and also let us return the broken one, no charge. Perfect. So a very very busy day later it is time to enjoy some track&field and then crash (if the SPA isn’t the right temperature, of course.. 😉 ).

Our last morning dip in the ocean this vacation. Always a bit emotional to face the last day in our paradise – even though I know we will return. We packed och cleaned up the last things and said our goodbyes to my aunt and uncle and to my parents and then we started the long drive back home. 6,5 hrs later we arrived safely to our home in the city. Hopefully one or both of my boys will get their drivers license by next summer so I don’t have to drive the 470km by myself. They did great though with helping me pack the car and entertain me during the trip.

Take-away-thai for dinner after a latte in the garden. Now catching up on some series we haven’t watched this summer – GoT to start with. Lovely. And I need to cheer on our ladies in high-jump attempting for the final. Back to the real world again!

Last day in our paradise – time to clean the house and pack our belongings that we want to bring with us back to the city. One big advantage with having our own place that we also keep heated all year around is that we don’t have to bring bedlinen, towels etc back and forward any longer.

Me and my father also went to the waste disposal site with another pile of stuff that we wanted to throw away. I think we have cleaned up the garden and storage pretty good. We also went to the timber yard and picked up some bits and pieces that we needed to complete a few things – such as oil for my sisters porch and some wood.

Around dinner time the sun came out and I was able to sit outside for a bit doing nothing but enjoying the view, the last couple of hours in our paradise and waiting for dinner to get ready. This has been a good summer and I feel blessed in many ways. A bit warmer would have been nice though – but it’s been nice that we have been able to spend so much time together. Tomorrow I have a long drive in front of me but hopefully it will go smoothly and without any problems.

What a great day. They sun has been shining and I have been able to relax and reading my book for a while. Morning swim before breakfast to start the day – as every day (with I think only one exception) so far this summer. That is something I truly miss every year when we get back to the city after the summer vacation. Our morning routine here in our paradise – which we stick to regardless (more or less) of the weather.

In the afternoon we went into town to run some errands and have dinner. We found this little fellow which we all fell in love with so we decided to let her come with us home. We have named her “Elsa” and hopefully she and Nelson will become friends. We had dinner at a place called “Sörens” by the park and the food was excellent!

Driving back we decided to take the newly renovated road along the coast to enjoy the spectacular views from Äleklinta up to our paradise. A rout well worth taking – so pretty!

This summer has treated us several amazing sunsets and they are truly breathtaking. So hard to resist not to run outside and take a photo. Last night was no different – I just had to take a photo (or two.. ) and it turned out quite spectacular.

Today the wind has calmed down a bit and it has been between 4-6m/sec – big difference from previous days. It has been a bit chilly in the air though but when you find a calm place and the sun shines through in-between the clouds it was really nice. We took a 4k walk during the afternoon – we have not done that in quite a while. Nice. Chicken w/ rise for dinner and now some quiet time in my corner. Might watch some track&field from the WC in London. And maybe maybe nature will treat us another sunset.. 😉

Still very windy (10m/s) and big waves to enjoy in the morning dip in the ocean. We have filled the day with treats – first freshly baked french rolls for breakfast. Then these goodies for lunch. Donuts for afternoon coffee. Fish casserole for dinner and – if we have any room left – strawberries in the evening.

But, we have deserved the treats – another couple of machines of laundry done, finished painting the doors to the shed, put oil on the wooden floor in the outdoor shower and also half of the wooden floor outside my sisters house (we need to buy more). Winter packed the rabbit cage and the grill and put them away. Also changed the linen in the boys beds. Puh.

Time for another one to leave our paradise – this time it was my husband’s turn. A few days ago we were ten, then six and now we are five left. I will stay here with my boys for another five days or so. Then it is our turn to head back to the city and prepare ourselves for the fall.

Today I have been a busy bee painting – both doors in the garage and the new framework around one of them as well as oiling the cage for the rabbit. It looked brand new afterwards – even thought it was a bit of a struggle to reach all the parts. Lol. My son took this photo of me.. My husband managed to mend the part of the roof of the outdoor shower that the storm had damaged. And we have washed several machines of laundry today too. And my youngest has cut the grass. Yeah.

Now it’s time for us to start heading back to the city. My sister and her family was the first to leave this year. Usually they don’t but this year their youngest is going on a team-gym camp in Italy starting tomorrow so they had to. You can really tell when four people is missing all of a sudden. Not a good feeling. The sense of sadness and distress. When you realize summer is coming to and end.

We noticed we had lost one of the nuts holding one of the tires of the car so we went to the local car repair shop and could replace it with a new one. I wonder when that happened. Good thing we noticed it and that the shop had one – especially since I will be driving the long way up to Stockholm without my husband.

Tonight we were hit by the worst storm so far. 20 meter/sec (40 miles / hour) our velometer could measure (probably more in the sudden gusts), heavy rain and thunder & lightning. Impossible to be outside. Furniture were moved by the wind, things fell over. It was a mess. But it stopped as quickly as it started. Funny how nature all of a sudden decides to show it’s power.

 

Thursday already. Can’t believe how quickly this week went by. The ocean was like a mirror this morning again and it was 19.5C. Lovely. After breakfast my family and my mother went down to Kalmar to visit my husbands great aunt. She treated us a fantastic lunch with delicious pies, fresh berries and icecream and finally coffee and cake. It was a very nice visit. After a while it started to rain so we had move inside instead.

Now we are back in our paradise again to share one last evening together with my sister and her family before it is time for them to return to the city tomorrow morning. This summer we were able to share three lovely weeks together – I am so happy we all enjoy spending time here at the same time. It makes our paradise what it is.