I finished the deck, finally, Friday morning. Drilling all those screws (672 of them) took a lot longer than I thought. Complicating the task was that it's been so damned hot this week. I know it's perverse to complain about sunny days while on vacation, but it has been borderline uncomfortable out on the deck, working the drill all day.
The whole country has been around 30°C (85°F) this week, and frankly, Swedes aren't built for that. Houses are built to catch the sun, not be shaded from it. Air conditioning isn't prevalent. I've heard about runs on cooling fans at local stores, and an increase in admissions to hospitals. Out here in Aspö, though, we're just sticking to the shade and dipping into the Baltic to cool off if necessary. Gin and tonics also help, too.
Friday was also the launch of our neighbour Claes' new book on the history of Aspö. He held a little party at his house, and we saw lots of residents, some we hadn't met before. So that was a treat.
Today, we went with Olle and Annika to the Nämdö Day, which is a little yearly festival held on that island. There was a big tent of items for sale, a beer garden (me and Ole's favourite!) and various other island activities. I got to meet Nilla, my contact on the broadband project. She was amazed to meet her email buddy all the way from Texas. It looks like we'll have the fast internet on Aspö next summer, if you're optimistic, and the summer of 2016 if you're realistic.
We had lunch and then went back home to do a bit of swimming and kayaking in the surprisingly warm sea. Many photos are on the flickr page.
Tomorrow evening is a concert at the church on Nämdö, and we'll join Olle and Annika for that as well. It's great to have such generous and well-connected neighbours!
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