Hot... well almost

This was actually taken a couple of weeks ago,

when we still had some snow left,

but the temperature and weather were about the same as today,
beautiful blue skies and around 20C.

This bronze is about 8o miles away from where I just spent the weekend. If you look in the same direction as the head you can just see it on the horizon. The trip was quite successful, I didn't lose any students this time, but four of them were not exactly whole when I returned them to their parents. Never the less we all enjoyed the excitement, and the cleaning lady very kindly took care of all the blood stains.

Catching up slowly...

The pile of washing has now been reduced, but with only three weeks of term left I still have piles of marking and grading to keep up with, plus a school trip over the weekend. Lets hope I don't lose any this time.
This was taken last weekend when the temperature shot up to over 20 C. Since then it has snowed and hailed, nearly every day, but it was a beautiful weekend.

Snows almost gone!

Sorry, not much time for posting: mountains of marking and washing to do.
These were taken last weekend when I managed to escape from the mountains for a few minutes. Will be round to see you all, just as soon as the grades are set and the final class trip has been endured, in a couple of weeks time.

Happy Valborg

We have four days off, so I am taking my marking and my washing out to the woods for a short break. There's an old wasboard somewhere in the barn that the girls might find fun. The saga of the washing machines (we have been through three washing machines in three weeks and I have a mountain of dirty laundry) can wait until we return, maybe by then the company involved will have returned my calls and e mails. The fireworks and the bonfire are always held on the last day of April here to welcome back the Spring. Hurray Spring is here!

The sun is out...

It's getting much warmer and the children are growing fast,
but I still haven't got a washing machine. We've been through three machines in three weeks.

Milk Mustache

Still got some snow!

These were all taken last week here in town. We've got even more snow out at the cottage, but this week has been much warmer and there isn't so much snow left. Snowdrops and crocus are pushing their way through, and an Englishman who lives here has changed into his shorts for the summer. We don't usually have a very long Spring, we seem to go straight from Winter into Summer.

Fancy dress

Not so wild

This is me on my way home after a night out with my baby sister and her girlfriends in London. It might have been even wilder if the pub hadn't closed at 11.30, the Vodka Bar had already closed by the time we got there at around midnight and my sister and her friends were all tucked in by 4. Having nobody left to play with I tottered off too. I woke at 8 almost fit for fight, just needed a few cups of tea and a small bit of toast and then it was back to Heathrow where everything was delayed because of the snow.

I did feel a bit wobbley on the way, the lights were rather bright and it felt like there was a plane just above my head, but it was worth it. I managed to squeeze a lot in to one weekend: fish and chips, shopping, steak and ale pie, a win on the National (Comply or Die), had my hair done and met up with all my sisters. On a global scale it perhaps wasn't so good, but it did me a world of good. Thank you baby sister, I hope your boss and your best friend are still talking to you, and thank you middle sister for taking such good care of me, and thank you big sister for keeping me in order.

time-less

Why is it that children choose to throw up in bed at the same time as the washing machine
decides to break down?

Will be back for more soon, new washing machine expected tomorrow.

Back from my wild weekend,

but I've got some catching up to do, so more later.

Sending love

Miss T. and I held up the skiing traffic on this bridge up in the mountains trying to make a heart shape between us. She's already almost as tall as I am and we can wear the same shoes.

I am having a weekend away this weekend. It's the first time I've left them, and they can't wait for me to go, which makes it easier for me.

I'll be back late Sunday evening.

Crashed computer

Last weekend my computer crashed for the last time, so I have had to take a break from blogging, but have now borrowed one to try and catch up. These picture was taken last Saturday. As an Easter treat we went downhill skiing in the mountains. It takes us an hour to drive up into these mountains, just under if we use the ice roads across the lake.

We stopped here, on an island, to buy a sack of potatoes, on the way home. The mountains we skied down can be seen in the background across the lake we have just driven across.

Turning a 180 degree angle this was the view to the east.

Happy Easter

from
the Easter Bunny
and her creator
the Swedish Easter Witch!

Birthday Chick!

During the Biathlon World Cup we saw a few people walking about with chickens on their heads. Strawberry really wanted one, so I told her to go and ask a young man, with a blue one on his head, where he had bought it. I thought she'd chicken out (sorry) and that would be the end of the matter, but she bravely walked up to him and asked in Swedish first and then in English where he had got his fantastic hat. To the Swedish she got a response she didn't understand, gobble-de-gooch (?), and to her English question she got the reply:
"I speak French!"
So we presumed that the hats were purchased in France and we made do with a fuzzy wig in the German colours.
On her birthday I had to buy some more material for the Art Room and in the Art shop, where they also sell fancy dress clothes, sitting on a shelf was a chicken hat. I couldn't leave it behind. Since then she has had to put up with a lot of staring and giggling and a few new names, but she still loves the hat. She uses one of the feet as a pretend microphone, holds it close to her mouth and says:
" I repeat there is a chicken sitting on my head."

On an entirely different subject, she would like to know if there are a lot of "skywalkers" in America?

For a Faster M.

Are highest mountain, on the horizon at the centre of the heart.
(Are is not a spelling mistake, not this time.)

M's bro' admiring the view from the top of our water tower.

M's adoring fans grovel at her feet,
or it's all that cream getting to them.
We have just celebrated,
a little early,
the Strawberry's birthday
at the restaurant on top
with prawns, chocolate and cream.

The Barn

Town and country

Empty roads...

...fresh air and pure water...

Sportlov

Sportlov = Swedish winter sport holiday, all this week for us, so we are going to head off to the forest for a few days. Here in town the buildings don't have the same cheerful red colour as in the countryside. These buildings on the left are going to be demolished sometime during this coming year, it will be interesting so see what goes up in their place.