This is fantastic!

Jag är i Sverje!

And I'm exhausted! It's been non stop since we landed on the 20th. We'll be spending time with Vic's brother and family: Justin, Veronica, Calvin and Julia. They are so fun to be around and it's great to see them again at their house. We spent our first day at Justin's photography studio to help out with Christmas orders. On Monday we went to Luleä for some historical sites in Gammelstad but they were all closed. The snow was pretty thick so everything looked all wintery. I took some good photos that you'll have to wait until I get home to see.
Then today we went up to the ski hill behind their house to go sledding. The hill isn't open for skiing yet so we had the whole thing to our selves. CRAZY!! It was seriously insane and I'm still sore from crashing on all of my attempts. We went out when the sun was up and it was gorgeous! Of course the sun was only up for about an hour or so. It gets light at about 7am, then the sun comes up over the horizon just a bit and then goes back down. By 2pm it's dusk and by 3 it's dark. It's insane. But the days are getting longer so that's good. Maybe tonight I'll bust out the X-country skis and head over to the ski track behind the house. This is like a winter wonder land.

I know we always said...

that even if it's raining we'll get out on the weekends but today is NUTS! We booked tickets to go ice skating at Winchester Cathedral and it's just pouring outside. So here we go anyway. I'm not sure if I'll even get to take photos:)

Ahhhhhh, the adventure of it all.

Finally!

Today I finally found a pair of jeans that fit my body!! YAY!! I think there are others out there who agree with me: it's hard to find a good pair of pants these days.

Oh, and P.S.- "pants" in England means underwear. So imagine the looks I get when I enter a store and someone asks what I'm looking for and I say "I really need a new pair of pants!" It's one of those words I still can't stop saying.

Photos from the weekend

Here are a few photos for all the places we went. It was a long weekend for only traveling on Saturday and Sunday.

Torre Abbey- TorquayBrass Rubbings at Torre AbbeyMaiden Castle-not actually a castle but a REALLY HUGE hill that was a fort a LONG time agoDorchester- Old Almshouse now a pub and wine barLyme ReisLyme Regis View from Dartmouth CastleDartmouth Castle looking up riverAfter a long day Victor was going a little crazySt. Savior's church in Dartmouth

Last Minute Travels

Well, for some reason this weekend was all about where to go at the last minute. So we got in the car and headed to the English Riviera. Yes, this place actually exists. But I'll upload some photos soon because it was an amazing weekend!

I'm such a slob!

Well, I slept pretty good last night but it might be because I was EXHAUSTED after two nights of no sleep. But Victor comes back today and I'll get to sleep earlier.

I have learned that when Vic goes out of town I tend to get a little sloppy. I came downstairs this morning and realized that the kitchen was a disaster area! And the TV room is the knitting and spinning capital of England. However, the thing is that when Vic is home I usually pick up after myself, clean my dishes right away and try to keep things tidy. Also, I tend to make Vic feel guilty for not doing these things. What a hypocrite I am. So now I'm spending the day cleaning up after the tornado that is me for the past four days.

The sun is out and that gives me the energy to get things done:) I better start working because the sun's gong down in about five hours.

Why I can't sleep at night

I've lived alone before, right? So why am I having so much trouble sleeping when Victor is out of town? At first I thought it was all in my head...the creaks and bumps in the night. Finally last night I decided to get up to bed before midnight! My theory in the past was the later I go to sleep the quicker the morning will come. Bad theory for a person who needs at least seven good hours.

Before drifting off to sleep I play a few word games to make me tired and finally my eyelids become heavy enough to close. Then, about an hour into the REM cycle I awake to a knocking as if someone is at my front door. I thought maybe it was in a dream so I just stayed in bed and didn't worry about it. Then I heard a noise like someone was opening my mail slot on my front door...NOT COOL!! Ok, it could have been the wind, no big deal. But the final bit that put me over the edge was when I heard the entry gate to the front door bang closed (note the photo to the right: when I'm home alone I keep the gate closed because you can hear when it opens and closes from our bedroom). That's when I sort of freaked out. Our bedroom faces the front so I jumped up to see if I could see that anyone was walking away from our house. Of course not. So I turned the light on and looked down stairs to see if someone had dropped something in the mail slot. Nope.

At that moment it was 12:45am and I didn't get myself back to sleep until 2am. It was aweful. I plan on taking a huge nap today.

Bournemouth Solo

Well I went off to Bournemouth yesterday while Victor is at work...sucker. And when I left the house it was fairly sunny and by the time I got half way it was pouring rain! Once I got off the train at my destination it was only a light drizzle. Rather than be discouraged I found my way to the ocean and had a great time. Bournemouth is really a lovely place and I will be thrilled to return there when the sun comes out with my Frisbee! Here are a few photos of the trip.




I tried to take this photo of myself and I really had no idea what it was going to look like. But it's not so bad:)

















The grave of Mary Shelley--I seriously considered the fact that she might pop out of that grave with bolts in her neck. I wonder what she would have thought of Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein? "My, what big knockers!"









The coast reminded me of Northern California! It was so beautiful but the waves were really small. Apparently people do surf here so the waves must get bigger at some point.

Home Alone

Maybe I shouldn't post that I'm home alone this week but it ties in to what I was going to blog about.

What to do when you're alone on a sunny day? I feel like I want to get out, take the train somewhere new and explore. But Victor is working and I feel a little guilty for going somewhere he hasn't been yet. Of course, while typing I just realized that whilst on a business trip, Victor went to Wales and visited a really cool castle without me.

Ok, guilt gone.