A fabulous weekend!

We went back to Aspö this past weekend, bringing along Sooz's childhood friend, Lauris, on her first visit to the island.

The weather was spectacular. In fact, we're starting to worry that it's been too sunny and nice. But we all enjoyed the fine weather nevertheless. Flowers were in bloom everywhere, and the girls got to work on their tans.

Annik sand Olle took us out for a ride on their boat, and we visited Guns Livs on Nämdö to see what the new owners were up to. We had a nice chat with the new manager, who filled us in with their plans for the future. This summer will be pretty much the same with the grocery and cafe, but there will be a lot of work to upgrade the facilities over this winter to prepare for a new start in 2019.

I have a small photo page up of our visit. We will be back for the first two weeks of July, and we can't wait!

A bank holiday visit

Ollie's dog sitter was able to keep him for the bank holiday weekend, so we decided to do a quick trip to the stuga. Our biggest job was to get the boat into the water. I also wanted to trim the posts for the deck railing. I'm pleased to report we were successful on both tasks! (The posts I managed to do myself, but the boat needed Olle and Annika's help).

We had a bit of trouble getting the engine started but it was all fine in the end. I was particularly happy with the way my wood posts worked out. I plan to install them on our next visit. I'll be bringing along a length of polyester hemp rope I found from Amazon. It looks just like old-fashioned rope but is resistant to rot and weathering. We will see how well it holds up.

I have a Flickr album of the weekend posted; it's also on the photo list along the right side too.

I have one special photo to show, though. Long-time readers with keen memories will remember Johan, my Cinderella provider. I needed a new back-up battery for Cindy (as we call her these days). Marcia gave me a lift to his store in Bromma on my way to the harbour.

I have to give Johan credit; he recognised me immediately, after almost a decade! We had a nice time catching up. So here's a "then and now" photo for old times' sake.

We have arrived!

Sorry for the delay in posting, but we're here and everything is fine. I always find it amazing that our house seems so untouched after 6 months away.

We tried something different this time out, I found a taxi service that could take us from Rutger & Marcia's all the way to Stavsnäs. We had too much stuff to carry for the bus, and borrowing Marcia's car wasn't an option this time. 

The taxi worked well, it cost us just over 1000 kronor (about $120). Not cheap, but a good option when I have to carry a lot out to the harbour. The only snag was that I left our groceries unattended at the dock, and the seagulls found my bag of potato chips! Fortunately I was able to save a few for myself. Lesson learned.

The next day, we had a big surprise when we came home from a walk. Waiting for us was Marcia and Rutger! They decided to make a last-minute visit for the May Day holiday. Rutger brought meat for grilling, and Marcia shared a great bottle of her birthday champagne. What a nice day.

Yesterday was the clean-up day around our area. Olle had cleared some brush recently, and Tony masterminded a huge fire to burn it all, along with a whole bunch of fresh cuttings we made to clear the path area. Photos are on the new page for this trip.

Today it's a little drizzly. Marcia and Rutger have to leave on the noon boat, so we'll all just chill this morning, I think. Life is good.

Just received a great photo...

Taken by Ronnie earlier today, and alerted to me by Margaret, here's the godfather of our little house, Janne himself!

Although it's sunny and warm here in Texas right now, both Sooz and I had the same reaction: we wish we were there with him.

UPDATE: Annika and Olle often send us photos, too. I've updated my page of their photos.

Where to place a luftpump?

I posted a while back in September about adding a Värmepump to our house for heating (and cooling). Both Olle and Peter read my post and wanted to talk to me about it when I was over in October.

They both have a lot of experience with these units; in fact, Olle used to work for a company that sold them. They told me the placement of a heat pump was very important. I had intended to put it on the kitchen wall, as my little sketch shows:

The problem with installing it here is that airflow (as indicated by my red arrows) can only reach the central area. I can't direct air into the bathroom or either bedroom, so only part of the house benefits directly.

Peter said the idea setup would be to put it in the center of the house:

Although it would be most efficient for air circulation, it's not possible, as that wall of the house is all glass, so there's no place to mount the fan unit.

The third option would be to mount it on the opposite wall:

That gets air most everywhere, except, perhaps, the guest bedroom. However, one big drawback of doing this is what happens outside. That wall is the front of the house. I'd have to attach a decent- sized pipe along the front of the house down through the deck to the fan unit below. That would be unsightly, at best. Also, having the fan unit beneath the house at the front makes it visible from our new deck.


I'd have none of these problems with my original installation idea. The back of the house is not visible or trafficked. The fan unit could be installed safely and quietly out of the way. We would lose some of the whole-house efficiency of a front-wall installation, but it would look a lot cleaner.

The advice from Olle and Peter is excellent, but I wonder if I really need to worry about heating the whole house. We can heat our bedroom pretty easily with a small radiator, a nice comforter, and perhaps a bit of cuddling.

I will give this a bit more thought on these winter days. It is very good to have valuable input from my neighbors!

Thanksgiving

Time for my now-traditional Thanksgiving message.

Looking at my previous posts, I don't have much different to report. We're in Ohio this year, visiting Sooz's family. Grant flew in from Boston, but sadly, Ollie didn't join us, instead enjoying his turkey treats at his favorite Texas kennel.

Our Corgi is still doing well, older of course, at 11½, with six years now on his repaired back. But he remains the happy and handsome dog he's always been.

I'm thankful for not just Ollie's, but everyone's, continued good health and happiness! We wish the same for all of you, too.

Willie's visit

I didn't write much at the time about Willie's visit earlier this month. I had been having trouble with water leaks around a few of my windows. The most worrying one was along the tall window on the deck. It appeared a lot of water made it into the house along that window.

Willie came out to see us with some rubber sealant and a few other tools. We pulled the boards off and re-sealed as best we could. He found a couple of problems, some of which we fixed. But we'll have to do a bit more next year.

The trim boards outside were flush against the deck, and were wicking water up from the deck into the window joint. Willie had a special little saw and we trimmed a centimeter off the bottom of the boards to provide an air gap.

We also found the trim boards had become warped and shrunk a great deal. Since they hadn't been painted until this year, they dried out quite a bit. Willie pointed out they were originally 95mm wide, but were now shrunk to under 90. The boards are also "cupped" along their width, too, with only the center of the board really flush along the house. The edges curl out and away from the house and window. Not good for water sealing!

Willie recommended we get new trim boards for next year and do a few things differently. First, we score the back of the board with a few shallow cuts along its length. This allows us to slightly bend the board so it lays fully flat along the house.

Second is to work harder to smooth the exterior of the house right along the window joint, so the board has a better chance of laying flat. Since the house is made up of strips of glue-laminated wood, there is variability along the exterior; some strips stick out more or less than their neighbors. A bit of sanding or planing would make the surface far more even.

Lastly, of course, is to paint the boards right away so they are better protected from shrinking and warping over time. So we will do that next year for sure.

Eddie and Sooz on Taco Night

It was great to catch up with Willie. He is a good guy and has become a friend over the years. We talked about his son Eddie, whom I've mentioned before on this blog. Eddie has become established in goal for the Vancouver Canucks. To be a professional NHL player is quite the achievement, and it's easy to see why Willie is so proud of his son.

Sooz and I had the pleasure of dinner with Eddie when he was on a recent road trip. We had a bunch of Tex-Mex tacos, and enjoyed catching up and swapping stories about his dad. Besides the great achievement of playing in the NHL, he's a charming and special young man, and we're glad to count him as a friend.

We have been watching the Canucks results closely. It's much more interesting to follow the team when you know the goalie!

The social whirl

It was a whirlwind trip this time across the pond. We were gone for less than two weeks, and “on the go” every day.

First, we flew to London and spent a few days there to celebrate Sooz’s birthday. I asked her what she wanted as a gift for her big day, and she said “dinner in London with my friends.” Her wish was my command! Grant was able to fly over as well. We had a great time.

Then onward to Stockholm on a late night flight. We spent Tuesday recovering, until yet another birthday celebration at Pharmarium in Gamla Stan. There we met up with our Swedish friends, with the super bonus of joint-birthday girl Margaret and Janne, who were back visiting.

We took the Wednesday afternoon boat to Aspö, which gave us an unusually leisurely amount of time to shop in Gustavsberg. On Thursday, we had a visit from Willie who helped me seal up some window leaks. It was great to see him! We also made plans to do a bit more work on the windows next year.

Friday was the actual birthday itself. I had arranged a little champagne toast that evening with Annika, Olle, Peter and Jeanette. We were also surprised by Rutger, Marcia, Camille and Archie on the evening boat as well! So we had a full house on Friday night.

The fun wasn’t over, as Saturday night was Oktoberfest at Johan and Sofia’s barn! Lots of singing (and drinking) late into the night. Let’s just say that Sunday was mostly used for recovery. At least I was able to get photos posted.

We closed up the house and headed back to Rutger and Marcia’s on Monday to a birthday dinner for Camille, whose birthday was the next day (and is the same day as Olle’s). A long flight home Tuesday arrived just in time to pick up Ollie that night (in 95° heat!!)

So you can see why we’ve been quiet. The past few days have been all about recovery.

We won’t be back at the house until next Spring, I don’t think. However, there are lots of things to post about, so stay tuned, dear readers.

We're in Sweden...

... safely at Marcia & Rutger's on a beautiful afternoon after a whirlwind weekend in London. We had a great birthday celebration for Sooz at our favourite restaurant, along with special guest Grant (all the way from Boston), and lots of our good friends.

We have another celebration tonight in Stockholm, and then off to Aspö tomorrow. We'll also be seeing Willie on Thursday, and there's yet another party on Saturday night.

What a fun life we lead!

A couple of milestones

First, I can't say that the deck is done, but it is nearly, nearly done. I have 42 boards to secure with 16 screws each. I thought I could get it all done today, but I underestimated the time it took to get set up. It took me about 6 hours to secure 25 boards with 8 screws each, and man, was I beat at the end of the day! (Here's today's timelapse video.)

I'll do the remaining 17 tomorrow, and then I assume the remainder of screws on each board will go faster once I have them all fixed in place. We wanted the deck to be able to catch the sun, and wow, does it! I was scorched out there.

The other milestone is this blog crossed 100,000 unique views today! Since my first post nearly 7 years ago, an average of 40 different people looked at this blog each day. I find that amazing.

In social news, we went to Nämdö yesterday with our neighbors Peter and Jeanette and their son Nicholas for dinner and a bit of shopping. Peter lent me his drill for my deck supports. It turns out that Jeanette and Sooz had parallel experiences of living in Italy in the 70's, which was fun to talk about. Nicholas is a principal at Pharmarium in Gamla Stan, the oldest part of Stockholm. He told us about their amazing cocktails, and we will make sure we visit his place as soon as we can.

Today, we had cocktails with Britt and Ronnie, and their daughters Jenny and Jessica (along with Jessica's husband Henrik and their kids). Britt and Ronnie's house is gorgeous, and we enjoyed drinks and nibbles on the water. At the end of the evening, the ladies enjoyed the horticulture, but I was far more impressed with Ronnie's robot lawn mower!

Glad Midsommar!

We had a typically cool and cloudy, but nevertheless fun, midsummer celebration yesterday. We walked with Marcia and Rutger and their neighbours Peter and Cissie to the local midsummer stång at Skälby.

A few drinks and snacks, and then it was back to their house for a fantastic evening of great food and drink. Peter is an enthusiastic home brewer, and we sampled many of his delicious experimental brews through the evening.

Of course, despite the clouds all day, the sky was clear at midnight! Today, we awake with slightly fuzzy heads, and gorgeous sunshine.

Camille's Graduation

We arrived safely yesterday, with an amazingly problem-free journey. Everything worked perfectly this time.

Today is Camille's graduation day, and we were able to join the festivities. Wearing a sailor's cap (along with silly necklaces) is one of the many traditions celebrated today. The Local has a good recap of the graduation season.

Tonight is another party, and we will head out to Aspö on Saturday. It's great to be back in Sweden!

The Graduate

On a personal note, Grant graduated from Elon University this weekend. The good news is that he's starting a new job straightaway. The bad news is that he won't be able to join us in Sweden.

I'm disappointed, but I remember that he can't visit us because he has a job, so that's very good news.

Congratulations, Grant!

Kalle Anka önskar dig en God Jul

It's time for all good Swedes to sit down and enjoy the traditional Donald Duck cartoon in celebration of Christmas.

I've blogged about this phenomenon many times in the past. Slate magazine has a good article about Kalle Anka. Strangely enough, Sweden's official website makes no mention of the Disney tradition.

We're not in Sweden this Christmas, sadly, but we are there in spirit. I know Rutger and many millions of his countrymen are safely in front of the television, watching SVT at this moment.

God Jul till alla!

Hockey Night in Texas

We went to the hockey game last night and had a great time. I had seats down by the visitor's goal in the hopes of seeing Eddie play. He didn't start, but came in early in the 3rd period after the Canucks were down 4-1. He played well, making a few good saves. I took these two pictures from our seats.

Eddie is clearly becoming a big part of the team. This article from Vancouver sums him up pretty well.

We weren't able to meet up, but we did exchange texts and we'll try again when the Canucks return in March. Wille was watching on TV, and we were messaging each other furiously during the match. Hockey was my sport growing up in Minnesota. It was nice to be close to the ice again!

"Goalies are weird"

The Vancouver Canucks (of the NHL) have a number of videos on their YouTube channel. This one's entitled "Goalies Are Weird", about the backup goaltender Eddie Läck.

Around the 3:40 mark of the video, Eddie talks about his father back in Sweden. Sharp-eyed readers might recognize Eddie's dad as none other than our own Wille, who led the team who assembled our house.

As you can imagine, Wille is quite proud of his boy, who has gone on to become a professional goaltender in the USA. I have been following his progress over the years, and I'm a tiny bit proud myself!

The Canucks are coming into town in a few weeks, and I bought tickets down by the visitor's goal. I hope he gets to play that day; we'd love to see him in action! Wille is going to see if we could somehow meet Eddie before/after the game.

For those interested, Eddie's performances are on his NHL webpage.

UPDATE December 10: Eddie started and had his first shutout last night!

Thanksgiving

Time for the yearly Thanksgiving post. We're back in Minneapolis with my mom and extended family. Everyone, that is, except Ollie, who's back in Texas at his favorite kennel. He's still doing fine, 5 years after his surgery, and I'm very thankful for that.

We have an extra special guest in Marcia & Rutger's son, Tim, who is in school in the US. He was able to join us for his first American Thanksgiving, and my mother and sister filled him to the brim with turkey and all the trimmings.

In fact, everyone is doing well, and it's been a great family day.

"What Sweden Can Teach America"

An interesting article and short video on the CNN website pokes holes in the thinking that Sweden is a big-government, socialist paradise. To quote:

"It turns out that socialist Sweden is not as socialist or crazy as the American right would have you believe. Instead, the changes of the last two decades reveal a Swedish government and people who are pragmatic and adaptable."

The idea is that Swedish government is not really 'big', but rather 'smart'. Of course nothing is perfect, and I know Rutger and Janne can point out many flaws about life in Sweden. But it is interesting to see that significant social and political changes can happen. That's perhaps the most important lesson to be learned in the US.

On our way home :(

Writing this from lovely Heathrow. We had a jam-packed last few days in Aspö, a fika with Tony and Ann-Catrin, a small kitchen remodel, a visit with Eva-Lis, a botched photo shoot, and a good-bye dinner with Margaret and Janne. Plus a surprise visit from a couple of teenagers! More detail soon, have to run for now, but lots of new photos are up.

Classic American Cars in Sweden

My mother recently forwarded me an article from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. It chronicled the fascination Swedes have with classic American cars. I thought I had written about this before, but it appears I haven't. The best I could find was a May 2009 post in which I mentioned the hot rods on Rutger's street.

The love for old American cars (by some estimates there are more from the 50's in Sweden than the US) is intertwined with the love for the culture of the times. That post-war sense of freedom and coolness exemplified by Elvis, rockabilly, and "American Graffiti" took root in central Sweden and has flourished to this day.

It's not just the cars, it's the Levis, the hair pomade, the whole James Dean style, that's been adopted by (mostly) the men and boys in central Sweden. The sub-culture has been dubbed raggare, which has as its root raggar, which essentially means "to pick up girls".

There's a huge car show, the Power Big Meet, in Vasterås every summer. I really should go as it looks like a heck of a time: American cars, slightly adulterated American culture, and lots of cans of strong Swedish beer. Perfect.

Eva and Raymond, our neighbors on Aspö, gifted us a wonderful photo montage of American cars. I'm bringing a shipping tube with us this trip (filled with stuff of course) so I can bring the poster back and hang it in the garage with my own classic car!