Licorice

This morning the temperature had dropped in the ocean down to 15.1C (59.1F). Brrrr. But this didn’t stop us from our morning tradition. It went up to 16.1 in the afternoon (60.98F) which was slightly better. 

This afternoon I tried my first licorice ice cream with a licorice cover and a licorice cone. This was not something I will ever go for again. Definitely not my cup of tea. Lol. Good to know. 

Tonight my sister made her delicious roulades filled with blue cheese and a cream sauce. So delicious. My uncle joined us for dinner tonight which was nice. Now my kind mother brought me my clean laundry (thank you) and my husband is building some more on the deck. 

Lars

One more names day this summer – today it was my father and brother-in-law’s turn to be celebrated. This time with nice buns from the local bakery. Yum! 

My husband and brother-in-law had to go back to work today but fortunately they can work from here so we can stay for one more week. 

Tonight we have enjoyed bbq chicken with oven baked potatoes. The day ended with lovely weather but this morning it was kind of grayish and windy. It had been raining when we got up but no more rain during the day. Another lovely day in paradise. 

Roland

Today it was time to celebrate my husband who’s called Roland after his father. Congratulations to both of you! We celebrated with strawberries, whipped cream and ice cream after dinner. 

Before dinner we opened a bottle of bubbly to celebrate the first part of the wooden deck being completed. Excellent work so far! Next week both our husbands are going back to work so the building project will continue in the evenings. Hopefully they will be finished within the next couple of days. 

It’s been another very hot day – some algae’s in the ocean this morning but in the afternoon it was almost all gone. It wasn’t so bad so we could still take our morning swim. Almost 20C in the ocean. Wow. Lovely. 

I did good today and took a long walk by myself – almost an hour. Completed my weekly mission. Yeah. 

Local wine

Another very warm and sunny day with above 30C. A perfect morning with no wind and lovely 19.1C in the ocean. 

Me and my hubby went another couple of rounds to the waste disposal site before it was time to return the trailer. Feels great to get rid of all that stuff. 

The wooden deck project is progressing slowly – a few breaks due to the warm weather but also to figure out how to make the best use of the wooden boards we have bought. With a bit of luck they might finish tomorrow. Fingers crossed. 

Tonight we bbq again – beef this time. Served with fries, asparagus, mushrooms and a watermelon / feta cheese sallad. We found a locally produced red wine from Wannborga winery which we enjoyed with our dinner. It was fun to try it and it was ok but not as good as I had hoped. 

Right now I’m sitting outside in my hanging chair. The sun has set, it is getting dark and the crickets are serenading in the bushes. So peaceful and calm. No wind. One more week in our paradise before we have to return to reality. The only good thing about leaving is that we get to see our youngest again. I miss him. 

Bbq fish

Friday already. Time flies. A lovely morning with 19.1C in the ocean. 

We went to rent a trailer today to transport some of the waste in our garden from the building project as well as some trees and branches we have cut down. Among other things. We managed to go one round to the waste disposal site and will go another couple of rounds tomorrow before we will return the trailer. 

Tonight we tried to bbq three kinds of fish – hake, brook trout and mackerel (kummel, röding och makrill) and it turned out great. We also cooked common mussels for the first time and they were delicious! Pork filet for the non-fish-eating family members. A real Friday treat. 

Isterband

The warmest day so far this summer with degrees above 30C and 20C in the ocean. Puh. Still, we made good progress on our deck. 

My mother made her delicious stewed potatoes with dill served with bbq smoked pork sausage (a specialty from Småland). Yum!

Managed to fit in two walks today and did my physio. Good for me! 

Yesterday I created a new Instagram-account – cmathsson_photo – where I will post photos in a public manner. My other account is private where I can control who is following me and therefor who can see what I post. But sometimes it is fun to share great photos and be able to hashtag them to get feedback from others. So if you are interested in seeing my public photos feel free to add me to your Instagram. 

Family almost complete

Midweek and 3 weeks already in our paradise. Can’t believe how quickly time flies.

Today we have been busy bees all day – the framework is completed and tomorrow they will start putting the floor together. Fun! I’ve been cleaning, doing laundry and preparing food. We all pitch in where we can.

My parents arrived safely this afternoon and now we are only missing my youngest who decided not to come along for our last week. He has some appointments at home and he seems to be enjoying his time to himself which is great.

Work work

Early this morning our guest took the bus back to the city, so now we are one less person to feed.

A busy day in the sun. Me and my sister went into Borgholm this morning to run some errands and get some new groceries. It is like going to the gym – a completely exhausting experience. Our husbands have been busy all day working on the wooden deck making progress. 

Tonight we will enjoy my sisters cooking and afterwards some treats while watching “Allsång på Skansen”and the murder mystery afterwards. A typical Tuesday. 

Dewberries

New week again – time flies when you are having fun (even though I miss my youngest son terribly). A very sunny day and difficult with the hard work since it got quite warm. But, the building project is advancing one step at a time.

Tonight we bbq filet of pork and sat outside again. Lovely. The girls went to pick dewberries – a blackberry-related berry which is common here on the island. It’s called “blåhallon” (blue raspberry) or “salmbär”. They made a crumble pie of what they picked and it was delicious. Served with ice cream or vanilla custard.

The temperature in the ocean got up to 20C today (18C this morning) and a hint of algae’s showed up. Not enough to keep us from going in and hopefully it will be gone by tomorrow. A lot of jellyfishes came with the warm water too. The ones we get here are harmless.

Karin

Today it was my sister and nieces turn to be celebrated – Karin names day and flag up!

We have been busy with all sorts of things today – working in the garden, working on our building project, grocery shopping etc. It’s been a sunny day but interrupted with some rain. The four youngest went to play miniature golf this afternoon but managed to avoid the rain. My sisters laundry didn’t though..

My sister made spagetti bolognese tonight – yum!

No visit to the ice cream-place this year – instead we celebrated Karin with strawberries, whipped cream, chocolate sauce and two kinds of ice cream at home. That was really nice too!