Long time no seen

Had a lovely Saturday morning. The whole family gathered around the kitchen table, the only table we've got actually, and with Nostalgie radio channel tuned in. French songs from way back, but also some English, like this one:



Memories. Summer of 1986. Eastbourne. Disco at the pier. Yep, it was fun. Really fun.

And we had fun at 7 a.m this morning, dancing away between the fridge and the table, Monsieur, Miss Sunshine, the Crazy Dog and me.

Look closely now!

Miss Sunshine explains for Chica, my mum's black labrador, how to do things...

Okey, this is your plastic toy thingy,
and this is how you play with it...

And this, my dear Chica, is something the grown ups use
when they put on the things they have on their feet...

And this is where Out is,
but I haven't really figured out yet how to get there...

This is my belly. Now, show me yours.


Okey, time to relax. It was a tough class, wasn't it?

Summer is on its way...

...so they say, but who the h*** believes them?! They are always wrong. But like we say in Sweden: "There is no bad weather, only bad clothes." I.e. if you're cold when you're outside, it is because you don't wear enough clothes or clothes with bad quality.

Well, anyway, just wanted to update our blog a little bit. We have had friends from England over. L and K came for a weekend. It was great! Barbecue, lots of wine, lot of laughter, not too much rain, good food. Monsieur took K for a bike ride with Miss Sunshine:


We were supposed to go to Copenhagen, the five of us, but since the bbq we had the night before ended very late and after a few bottles of wine, we were not really up to it... L and K had to go by themselves two days later instead.

Monsieur is studying Swedish and will soon be fluent in my beautiful language. He just doesn't know it yet, and sometimes he looks like he wants to give up... He is, however, doing great - Swedish isn't an easy language to learn, that's for sure.

We will be back soon again with more news and more photos. Take care all of you!

By the way...

...we are still here. Monsieur arrived two days ago, I am busy, busy, busy with work, Miss Sunshine is busy, busy, busy just being Miss Sunshine and being with dad. And mom. The whole family is united. Almost. Xena la blonde isn't here. She's outside Paris. We thought about giving her all the necessary vaccine way too late, otherwise she would have been here with us since May. Hey, you can't win them all.

Summer in Sweden... Hat is a must. And scarf.*

Sister-in-law left Saturday. She was here for 4 weeks and it was great. She got to see a lot of southern Sweden - Malmö, Stockholm, Fåsjöhyttan (yes, that's were my uncle lives, in Bergslagen, and it's beauuuutiful) and Falkenberg. Important places that should be seen, especially, or only, in the summer. She was lucky, she had two weeks of brilliant weather. 30 degrees Celsius, no wind, only blue skies. And then autumn came back... Well, as a Swede, born and raised, you're kind of used to it. It sucks, but you're not surprised. Not at all. It's Swedish "summer". But as a non-Swede, non-Scandi, non-Brit, it must be pretty tough to live here all year long. First you have winter, then spring arrives for a moment, actually quite a long moment, then summer blinks and winks to you, and then autumn arrives. Here in the south autumn is loooong, winter very short, spring long, and summer as described above.

Summe in Sweden at its best - 30 degrees and sun.*

And now I have spoken too much about nothing and really have to go back to my movie. Just wanted to say hi! if there is someone actually reading this blog. Otherwise I say hi! to my invisible friends and guardian angels.

*The two photos are taken in the same one or two week period... From summer to autumn and back again...

News

Hey! We're still here! And we haven't forgotten about our blog, but time has been short and we've been away and Monsieur isn't here and...and...and... ;-) Well, here are some nice photos from our trip to Stockholm. My lovely sister-in-law is here, helping me out with Miss Sunshine, and summer is here as well. 25 degrees every day. Not bad, not bad at all. But we are missing Monsieur a lot. :-(

On our way to Stockholm we stopped for a *- - -* and had a banana next to a home for old people and next to a small river. Nice. My dear friend O took the picture. It was a long trip and I was 40 minutes late for my meeting in central Stockholm, but we arrived safe and sound. Or almost - the car was damaged: a stone flew up from the road and hit the windscreen, which had to be changed.

Saturday we went to Lycé Francais in Stockholm. My best friend Mulle's daughter attend that school and they had a happening. There was, of course, a huge playground that Miss Sunshine had to try out.

And talking about playgrounds, next to the library in Stockholm there is a really nice playground with tricycles you can borrow.

The very last day in Stockholm we found a sightseeing boat with reasonable prices. One hour 120 SEK for all three of us.

We had a great stay in Stockholm, but hey, it is good to be home again. :-)

Helper

Miss Sunshine has started to help us with different things:

Do the dishes... It's...wet. Surprise, surprise! But it's fun. :-)

Gardening.... Even more fun, especially when you mix water and dirt...

Casque

Miss Sunshine a un nouveau casque. Et un nouveau porte bébé. Et elle aime le deux roux. La vitesse, les cheveux dans le vent. C'est magnifique, formidable, super et encore super!

Malmö

Here we are again, this time in Malmö, my lovely home town. It greeted us with great weather, 26 degrees Celsius and no wind. Summer! That changed yesterday. The sun is still here but the wind is back, the chilly wind we have here in the south. Summer was short this year... Just kidding, this was only the beginning, the real summer arrives later. Around July, hopefully... Until then we are prepared for everything - rain, hail, storm, snow...

That is, however, nothing compared to the weather in other parts of the world. Last week's news were filled with reports from Burma after the tornado. Tonight I saw the horrible and sad pictures from the area hit by the earthquake yesterday in China. I realize how lucky I have been growing up in a part of the world where the catastrophes are few. But who knows, with the climate changing it might happen here as well in a near future.

Well, back again to Malmö and our way back to tranquility. The trip back went well. 13,5 hours drive, not included breaks, Paris - Malmö via Belgium, Holland, Germany, and Denmark. Miss Sunshine had fever the whole way, and since it was her third day with fever we went straight to the doctor on arriving to Malmö. Of course she got better as soon as we entered the doors to the doctor...

The worse thing on the road are the lorries
which persist to overtake other lorries.
They block the whole traffic!!!
And for what?
Arriving one minute earlier than if they hadn't?!

Saturday night we went to V:s birthday's party. Lots of good wine, straight from France, and good food, and great company. Laughing, singing, dancing... Sunday was picnic day with really old friends. Real pros - they had chairs, tables, and parasols with them. We had blankets and sat in the shadow... We've got a lot to learn... ;-)

We tried archery Sunday.
That was fun. But difficult. Not my future sport.

Monsieur is leaving us on Thursday for 1,5 months. We have decided not to think about it. This will not make it easier on Thursday, but it makes it easier for the moment. Miss Sunshine is close to her dad's heels all the time. I think she knows that he's soon leaving. Children are not stupid, they sense things straight away. Well, well, 1,5 months pass quickly. And we always have Skype. It makes it a lot easier. But not easy.

Fishy

Had a barbecue last night. It was lovely. We had fish. Dorades in French, don't know the name in English. Should look it up but I am lazy. I think it is something similar. Here they are anyway:

Miss Sunshine was ill, but could help her father barbecue. You know, barbecuing is a serious business. Don't disturb the ones who are in charge - they might give you the evil eye...

Miss Sunshine, far away from her normal "sunshiny" self.
Well, high fever can break anyone down.

Finally the fish were ready. Four huge ones for five persons. Perfect! A nice white wine to that and an extremely tasty Terrine de chocolat truffée à la fraise for dessert. Can it be better???

We are now preparing for leaving France and heading north to Malmö and Sweden. The weather is outstanding, both here in France and in Malmö. Summer already in May? Hmm, there's something fishy going on. Climate change big time. But, hey, after a long, dreadful autumn and winter, the Swedes are worth it. We, howevere, have been in Spain and have had nice weather most of the time, so we can't complain. Anyway, we are leaving tonight if not Miss Sunshine's fever rises. If so, we have to wait til tomorrow. But on Saturday we have to be in Sweden, because we have the wine for the party we are invited to....

Raclette meltdown

For the first time ever I had raclette outside in the garden in the sun. It was great! Different, but great. I mean, I love raclette so how could it ever be wrong, eventhough it is mostly connected to winter and snow in the Alps? Monsieur's cousins K and M with families came over for lunch and raclette was what we were having. Meanwhile, Monsieur and his father started their journey from Spain...which abruptly ended on the French side of the border when Monsieur's Super Cinq broke down. They are now in a hotel and will be knocking on the port of the garage first thing in the morning. I am sooo glad that I am not with them.

La famille rigolo n'est plus en Espagne... ;-)

Just a quick Hi!!! from us. Miss Sunshine has now left Spain with her mum while her dad is putting the apartment in El Saler in boxes for further transportation down the stairs, in to the two cars and up to France and Sweden. Meanwhile we are hiding out in La Fayel, about 40 minutes outside Paris, at monsieur's mum's place. It's okey, but I am longing for continue the trip up to Sweden and my apartment.

Leaving Spain was harder than I thought. I was actually a little bit sad. But hey, Spain isn't going anywhere, so if we want to we can always go back. And packing up my bag, and Miss Sunshine's, wasn't easy. Suddenly the dog started to bark hysterically and she didn't stop. I wondered what it was, and see, it was a man hanging outside our kitchen window! See picture to the left. Well, wasn't that a surprise?! They are installing gas in the building. I am quite happy that we will not be there while they are doing it. I mean, we already had electricity in the shower, so I can only imaging the big bang the gas installation will be...

Well, Miss Sunshine helped me packing, which didn't really help me. But then again I cannot be helped. No one can help me, I am a catastrophy when it comes to packing a bag. It's impossible for me to do it. I have to, and I do it, but I hate every single second of it. And this time I manage to forget som essential things, like my camera. Buhu! But I borrowed a camera to be able to show this picture of miss Sunshine with her new t-shirt that her grandmother gave her when we arrived:

Perfect, don't you agree? :-) Well, we will be back soon again. Take care, all of you!

Roundabout

For those interested, this is how the roundabout in El Saler looks like now when it's finished. Not bad, not bad at all. It's a pity that we're leaving and will not be able to look at it for months or maybe years... ;-)

Love - Amour

Miss Sunshine loves many things. She loves us, her mum and dad. Or at least we think so. On second place comes Doudou. That's the blue thingy she sleeps with. It has been there since day one. It smells and will be washed as soon as we are somewhere were there is a tumble-drier. Miss Sunshine can't sleep without her Doudou... I know, it's bad, but what can you do. We will deal with that problem later. Not know. She is only 15 months for goodness' sake! On third place come Lollo la leonesse and Vovven (The Dog).


She also loves food. That's good. We like kids who love food. Two favourites are parmesan cheese and strawberries. And mango and pineapple. And youghurt. And fish. And... And... She loves everything except red pepper and cinnamon. Then she loves to be outside and explore. That's also a very good thing. She is not too keen to be too long at the beach though. 20 minutes, then she leaves. Like parents, like daughter...

And then, and there is The Green Vest, her green down vest. She refuses to leave home without it if she spots it on her way out. It has been like that since the day they met, the green vest and Miss Sunshine. Instant love, at least for Miss Sunshine. I haven't really thought about it...until now. The last two days it has been 25 degrees Celcius outside!!! Not really a day when one needs a down vest. But here's the proof:

I know that there is water here in this thing...

A log! Great! I sit here and chill out for two seconds
before I continue exploring the terrain.

Ratatouille et la pétite

Aubergine, or egg-plant, is a vegetable to which I have a hate and love relationship. It is difficult to find a way to cook it so that you actually enjoy eating it. But it is perfect for ratatouille, and today I did my first ratatouille ever. One could think that I had made it before since I am living with a French guy, but no. Today, however, I had to. Monsieur had bought an aubergine like ages ago, and before it ran on its own to the dustbin I had to save it. So I made a ratatouille. By the way, the movie Ratatouille is one hell of a good movie. See it, if you haven't already. Ratatouille, the dish, is ridiculously easy to make. Chop aubergine, onion, red pepper (which I excluded today since I didn't have any), courgette and garlic. Let it all fry in a big pot with olive oil. A lot of olive oil! Add salt, pepper and herbes de Provence. Add two cans of crushed tomatoes and let it boil for about 10-15 minutes. Voilà! Your ratatouille is ready to serve. We had pasta with it today. It was yummy.

La pétite, miss Sunshine, est une vraie soleil. La vitesse avec quelle elle grandisse est impressionente. Elle court maintenant et elle parle des qu'elle se reveille jusq'a qu'elle se couche le soir. Elle est trop rigolotte! Aujourd'hui on a était sur la plage. Elle a joué avec l'eau et la sable, mais soudain elle en avait marre. Elle essayait de nous dire - elle essayait de prendre la poussette - mais on avait rien compris. Donc elle est partie. Toute seule. Sans la poussette, bien sur, mais elle est partie. On était bien obligés de la suivre. Elle sait de ce qu'elle veut, elle. C'est super. :-)

Parking problems?

No, not in Spain... You know when you had to reverse around a corner when you were at the driving school? Well, this is how to park on/in/at a corner:


And then, if you arrive to a street and all parking places are taken, don't hesitate to double-park your car. But don't forget: never apply the handbrake. If you do, the person in front of which car you have parked cannot move it to take its own car...

We definitely don't need more cars!!!

From snow to rain

Back again from one week in Val d'Isère. I should have known, I should have learned by now that one week isn't enough. One should always go two weeks, especially when you want to ski, see friends you haven't seen for a looong time, go out, and just take it easy. One week can be stressful. But, I didn't let it be that stressful this time. I only saw those I really wanted to see, not the other ones that I feel like I should see though I don't really know why I should see them...

A view to kill for... The glacier Grande Motte, Tignes.

We were so lucky with the quality of snow - it was like in January. We had four days with sun and two with snow and fog. We lived in a cute little chalet in the Manchet Valley. Miss Sunshine loved hanging out with her aunt, but sledging was nothing for her this time. Funny how kids change their mind. During X-mas in Bormio, Italy, she just loved it, now she hated it. We'll see what happens next time. Oh, next time she will try skiing. :-) Tonton Yannick did it and loved it. I am happy and proud to have been the one who showed him how to do it. It isn't easy to teach skiing if you're not a ski teacher... But with an excellent student like Y it went quite smooth. Well, then he had a real ski teacher the third day who helped him a little bit more, but his first steps in the nursery slopes were supervised by yours truly.

No, mum! I don't wanna do this!!!

Now we are back, and Valencia greeted us with sun, then grey skies and cold, then sun, and now rain. During our morning walk we were totally surprised by the rain and had to hide out for a few minutes under the protecting arms of a tree. Since I'm never really organized, I didn't have the rainprotection for the push chair with me. The world try to tell me to bring it - grey skies, wet pavement, no blue sky as far as anyone could see - but I ignored all warnings signs and left with a big smile on my face. You know, it smells lovely when it has rained and it is like summer warm. It's like an explosion of different scents. Mmmm. And that continues even when it's raining cats and dogs. Curious expression, actually. Have to try to find out where it comes from. But maybe not - curiosity killed the cat... ;-)

Mum, what on earth are we doing here???

Well, better go back to that Danish movie I'm translating right now. Miss Sunshine sleeps so it is nice and quiet.

Summer will soon be winter

Above photo shows miss Sunshine this morning on the beach. Calm, 25 degrees centigrade, barefoot... This will, however, soon change. Tomorrow, miss Sunshine, me and "uncle" Y goes to France, to the Alps, for a week holiday in the snow and our surroundings will look something like this:

Miss Sunshine doesn't know it yet. She knows we are going with an aeroplane tomorrow, and she knows that they are in the sky. She points and utters something incomprehensible. Aeroplane, bird - they all look the same. Nose, wings, tail, up in the sky. But does she really know that it is the same craft we enter and in which people sit in rows, tightly packed? I don't think so, but I know that she will be fine, she is used to it. Her first trip with an aeroplane was when she was six weeks old and since then we haven't really calmed down with our trips through Europe.

Well, the beach toys have to wait a week - now it is time for us to go skiing and "pulking". Don't think you can actually say "pulking". But you know what I mean. Miss Sunshine will take the pulka/sleigh down the slopes, with her aunt. Yes, her aunt, my other half's sister, doesn't ski, so she comes with us to take care of her niece while her mother goes skiing. Isn't that just the best??!! I am so spoiled. The only bad thing is that Monsieur is not coming. He has to work. Well, that's life. We will, however, enjoy our week to the max!

Traces ineffaçables

Ce chien n'a pas pu attendre...
Et non, ce n'est pas du sable, c'est du béton.

Roundabout

We have our temporary home in a tiny village 10 km south of Valencia called El Saler. It is quite nice there. Better than in the city. Much better than in the city. Less cars, less people, and a lot of space. Except on Sundays, when everyone from the city goes for a long picnic day in the nature reserve Albufera in which El Saler is situated. The other days of the week we more or less have the place for ourselves.

Anyway, around the world a roundabout frenzy has been going on for the last few years. Every single town in Sweden and France are filled with roundabouts. Security reasons. I totally buy that. But that El Saler should get a roundabout was far-fetched. I mean, it already has two roundabouts, one at each side of the village. Now they are actually constructing a third one in the centre of the village. I have followed the work which soon has come to an end, and the result is quite nice. The best thing is that they've got rid of the high kerbs, so now one can easily cross the street with push-chair or wheel-chair. This morning it was time for the decoration in the centre of the roundabout. And it turned out to be... a boat! Gee what a surprise...

There it is, the roundabout with its decoration - a boat.
I wonder what the six (!) people standing around it are discussing.

In the beginning...

...there was a Swedish translator and a French boat builder who didn't know the other one existed. That changed in August 2005 in Malmö when monsieur Boat builder sailed right in to the arms of fröken Translator. Nothing was never to be the same again, only better. Monsieur wasn't, however, alone: he had a Dog, a barking mad, blonde bitch who gave this blog its name. Fröken and the dog didn't like each other that much in the beginning, but they got used to each other and now love each other to bits. One and a half year after monsieur and fröken met, a little miss Sunshine, a mix between them both, saw the light of day.

This little family of four shares its time, at the moment, between Malmö (Sweden), Les Sables d'Olonne (France, see photo to the right), and Valencia (Spain). Yes, they live in suitcases, and yes it's not optimal, but it's quite fun. We meet a lot of peculiar and fun people, we see a lot, we learn new languages, and we try to make the best of every single day.

So, welcome to our blog. We will not write every day, and mistakes concerning the English language may, and will, occur. It's natural - none of us has English as our native language. It may also occur posts written in French. No translation will be done - learn French instead! So, to old friends and new: Carpe diem!