Habitants of Blogerland has moved to instagram and some to tiktok and snapchat. I have also moved partly and post short snippets of my life at instagram. I run two accounts. One in english, where I post more personal photos and tell things I do. The other account is about private economy and how to run a family and a house with one income, that is written in Swedish. I will put the links in the sidebar. 

2021 was a year in a limbo sort of way. The distance to everyone took out its poll on us. It was a few years ago since I felt this tired. I would love to prolonge the summer and never go back to work...yeah, sounds not like me at all as I love my job and my students. We are all tired. 

I got my third jab  a week ago and now I frankly give a damn about distance. I wash my hands and I use alcogel. But a mask is completely useless if you spend time in a small room toghether with 30 students. If I haven't been sick, I will become sick sooner or later...Whatever. I will throw a hell of a party later. 

My love for my dear S grows deeper and deeper. He is such an amazing man. I do beleive my mother (who can be suspicious) has taken him to her heart as well. She even slipped out an "Aw, he's so sweet, following us around" when he drove us to different flea markets and they had friendly conversations in the front seat. He really treat people with equal respect and is very caring about people around him. Never fake-friendly and never to receive benefits for his own. 

During the coldest days of November and December me and my boys changed roof on the house. I'm so impressed of my oldest. He worked so fast yet thoroughly. I have a shiny roof now with no risk of leakage. I will continue this work this year by repainting the house and rebuild the balcony. The balcony looks so stupid, like a wooden box. 

Toodle , from me in a bright red wig. I wish my hair could look like this

Just some snaps from a busy vacation

First two weeks of my vacation has been icy cold. Yes, icy, we almost had frost and a friend who lives a 20 km from me had her crops ruined by the cold. They had -4 degrees the night before midsummers eve. 

Our family gathering went well and lots of uncles and cousins were there. The old ones danced around the may pole and the kids watched and giggled at the foolish traditions.

It hasn't been much of a vacation because we are rewiring all the electrical cables in our house. This is how it looked when the old 40's central were removed. A beehive of cables in different colours and materials. Some cables in the walls were broken, one nightmare less is removed, thinking of the fire hazard this has been.

With no electricity in the house, the house is overall a mess and a bad weather, we have been trying to take pauses to do other things. Like a "fika" (coffe) in town and a library visit.

We also visited a flea market. As they are about to closing it down the prices were halfed. Moa want's her room renovated and found this table and the two white chairs for a nice price. The almost similar dark ones are for me. 

With no electricity we have to reinvent the caveman style cooking....well a modern version. You can make the pommes on the grill.

Restless legs takes late night walks. Moa, Alfons and I took a very late walk (it was around 12 at midnight). Yes it is this light at summer nights in Sweden. 

 Even the most humble meadow flowers has something interesting when you look closely.

 Now I jump in the car to visit my dearest friend since my first day in school. Tomorrow is friday and we will go to a water fun park and on Saturday Steam-con. I haven't got a costume sadly, were to busy to sit down and sew.

Oskars birthday

 I have been so busy lately. Lots of work and some preparations for all the december birthdays in our family and christmas. I realized the other day that I'm very late and that the stress is affecting me badly :p. My eldest had his 13th birthday the other week. As a present for him I renovated his bedroom. He started with it this summer but he needed help to finish it. Hadn't got the energy until now.
New curtains, plants and a lantern gave it a modern and cozy look. 

I followed his instructions almost exactly when I renovated the room. At first I was very sceptical but along the way I worked ,I saw it would be a nice room for a boy :). This is how he wanted it: One white wall, two green in a colour he had chosen and the print M90 from the Swedish army uniform on the fourth wall.

I bought the original fabric from garderoben.se and put it up on the wall, easier and cheaper than a wallpaper or paint. I sew a cusion as well and that was trickier, didn't like to sew with the fabric at all.

The bedside table is a fake military gear box and was found at a local store.

The package on the bed contains a camouflage net, an US airforce tshirt and a Swedish Army gasmask from the 50's. The gas mask is a joke from my side. He watched the episode of Dr Who, season 1 that is called "Are you my mommy" and freaked out :D (like I did).

I also bought a military map, framed it and put it up on the white wall. I will look for more maps like these because they are very decorative. This corner will have a cosy armchair in the future.

 Heres a view of the writing desk. It would be nicer with a heavy old desk but I havent got the money to fix that now. I used the fabric on the chair and on a pinboard as well. There is a little piece left for other projects. As you can see the skirting boards are missing, like any other project it's always something that's missing to make a renovating project completed.

The pictures below shows how it looked this summer when Oskar worked hard with painting the ceiling. Yeah, he wanted grey and white stripes! Here is he removing the plastic carpet and pulling out needles from the wooden floors. Moa is very supportive.

As you can see in the corner, the walls were very greasy and ugly. It's nothing more than fair that the eldest with the ugliest room will have it renovated first. 

The last christmas presents will be purchased this evening and wrapped. Tonight I will pickup my newly become teenager and a bunch of friends at a disco for a safe transport home. I guess there will be lots of late nights like this in the future.

Report from a tired carpenter

Table is done at last. Since I don't use the most expensive wood and the reason that it's not a homogenic material to work with it was trickier than i thought it would be.

~

Äntligen är bordet klart. Eftersom jag inte har använt särskilt exklusivt trä och att det är ett ohomogent material så var det betydligt mer tålamodskrävande än vad jag hade tänkt mig. Det var inte bara att svänga ihop så att säga.

Here's a closeup on the table. It will be possible to dismount it and store it somewhere else if necessary. I will paint it white with linseed oil paint. I have been busy with this in almost a week (not full time) just to finish it before M's birthday party. And I can say it was needed. It was 13 kids around the table yesterday.

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Så här ser det ut vid lite närmare titt. Det är helt nedmonterbart och lätt att förvara på annan plats om det skulle behövas. Det ska målas i vit linoljefärg när jag har lust. Det har tagit mig nästan en hel vecka att göra klart det (inte på heltid då) i tid för M's kalas. Jag kan säga att det behövdes, det var 13 ungar runt bordet igår.

My estethic sense was bucking when M choose the style of the cupcakes I'm obeyed to bake every year, but it's her party and her descision. Looks delicious , right?

~

Mitt estetiska sinne sparkade bakut när M skulle välja hur toppingen på cupcakesen skulle se ut, de som jag är beordrad att baka varje år. Men det är ju trots allt hennes kalas och hon bestämmer. Visst ser de goda ut?

Oskar has been very restless and bored. A few days ago he started to renovate his room. Well what can I say, he doing it his way and I'll post picture later on the process. Oskar is taking a break in his renovating project.

~

Oskar har varit så uttråkad och rastlös här hemma. För några dagar sedan så började han renovera sitt sovrum. Ja vad ska man säga....han gör det på sitt sätt. Jag ska visa bilder senare på arbetet. Här tar han en liten fikapaus.

A bouquet for the porch./ En bukett för verandan.

I figured it out what the heck is happening every year. We have about 4 weeks of vacation and during that time I always fall in a vacation coma. It has arrived now (calculated 2nd or 3rd week). Simple home duties can be so exhausting and all I really want to do is to sleep. 

~

Nu har jag räknat ut vad fasen som händer med mig varje år. Vi har ca 4 veckors semester och under den tiden så hamnar jag alltid i semesterkoma. Nu har den inträtt (beräknat till 2:a el 3:e veckan). Enkla hushållsysslor kan vara extremt jobbiga och det enda jag egentligen skulle vilja göra är att sova.

Warning! Ugly carpet!

Ja här är ett exempel som vi har hållit på med ett litet tag. Dra bort den äckliga heltäckningsmattan i trappan och på övervåningen. Under så ligger ett fint trägolv som vi funderar på att måla.

So, this is one of the things we have been busy with. Ripping off the disquisting carpet in our stair and on the top floor. Underneath is a rough wooden floor that we consider to paint.

Mattan är verkligen äcklig och vi har klagat över den ända sedan vi flyttade in, men andra projekt har varit prioriterade. När mattan är borta så är det mer som ska göras om. De fula fallskydden till höger och ledstången ska bytas ut till något mer klassiskt.

The carpet is so tacky. We have been moaning about it since we moved in but other projects have taken our time. After this we will do a complete makeover. I will change the protection boards to the right and the handrail to the left to something more classical.

Jag har påbörjat min ommålning här i huset. Jag ska ta rum för rum och måla över furun i tak och i fönster.


I have started my painting round in the house. I will take room by room and paint the pine ceilings and windowframing. 

Working weekend at the cottage

Jag och Johan tillbringade några dagar vid stugan för att arbeta lite och ta hand om stället. Det finns ganska mycket att göra. Vallen är slagen och krattad.

Me and Johan spent a weekend without the kids at the cottage to work and take care of the place. There is a lot to do. The meadow is mowed and raked.

Baksidan av stugan städades upp från murken ved och så lyfte vi den några cm. Ett litet dräneringsdike grävdes också.

The back side of the cottage is lifted a few inches and a small dich is digged for drain.

Vi arbetade i två dagar och vilade i två.

We worked for two days and rested two.

I stugan bredvid vår bodde släktingar till Johan. Vi hade ett par mysiga kvällar med vin och prat på verandan under ljuset från fotogenlampan.

Relatives to Johan lived in the cottage beside ours and we had nice evenings on the porch with wine and chatting under the light of the paraffin lamp.

En fotogenlampa blir helt klart något på inköpslistan till verandan därhemma.
A paraffin lamp is definitely something that is written on the to do list for the porch at home.

The goofy side

Nu börjar det lugna ner sig lite i trädgården igen. Nu finns det tid att lägga på huset istället. Därför beslöt jag mig för att måla lite fönster i lördags. Jag tänkte att jag skulle överraska Johan också med ett nymålat fönster. Men det går ju inte som man har tänkt sig ibland, vissa förberedelser kan ta lite längre tid. Fönsterbåge och karm rengjordes med målartvätt och slipades, en liten väggfnutt i köket slipades också (sånt där som alltid blir kvar vid renoveringar). Så långt gick allt bra.

Things are slower in the garden now. It time left to take care of the house instead. I decided to paint our bedroomwindow at the saturday when Johan left the house. It was supposed to be a suprise, but things doesn't always go the way you wan't. Some preparations might take a little more time than supposed. I washed the windowsill and grinded it. A wall piece in the kitchen was also grinded (a piece left from last years renovation). So long everythings fine.

Shellack duttades på kvisthålen och sen var det dags för häftgrunden. Den hade jag en gång hällt över i en plasthink för att locket på plåtburken inte gick att sätta tillbaka, sedan jag öppnat den lite väl hårdhänt. När jag radade upp mina grejer på köksbänken insåg jag att jag inte hade någon pinne att röra om med men jag tänkte att jag kan skaka till hinken lite så blir det bra. Jag höll tag om både lock och hink men det hjälpte inte. Locket flög upp och färgen rann ut över köksbänk och allt som var i diskhon. Det blev ju inte så bra. Häftgrund går inte att spola ner i avloppet insåg jag efter ett litet försök. Efter lite hjälplöst ropande fick jag äntligen en plastpåse som jag kunde ösa ner färgen i med händerna. Min degbunke var fylld med färg. Sen provade jag att göra rent med diskmedel men det fungerade inte så bra det heller.

 Then it was time for the colour base. I once poured in a plastic bucket since the tin can was opened in a violent manner and couldnt put the lid back. When I put the bucket on the washing bench I realized I didn't have a stick to stir around in the paint so I thought if I grab the bucket and the lid and shake it a little it will all be blended nicely. The lid flew off and paint was poured all over the kitchen bench. I learned that base paint will not be flushed down in the sink. After some helplessly crying for help one of the children handed me a plastic bag wich I was shuffeling the paint down in by hand. My best bowl for dough was filled with paint. I tried to clean it all with detergent but unable to get it clean.

Så jag gick med mumiehänder ut i garaget och hämtade lacknaftan och diskade diskbänken, det som var på diskbänken och det som var i diskbänken och mina händer. När jag äntligen fått bort färgen från golv bänk och gick ut för att slänga påsen med färg kom Johan hem. Det var inte förrän han undrade varför det var så mycket färg på vattenkranen som jag erkände. Jag är inte bara händig.
So I walked like a mumie to the garage and got some white spirit and cleaned the washing bench, sink and all things in it with the spirit. When I was finished at last and was walking against the thrashbin with the paint filled plastic bag, Johan came home. I could'nt admit how clumsy I was until he asked me why there were so much paint on the tap. I'm not just a handy person all the time.

På besök i mitt kök / A visit in my kitchen

 Jag tänkte ta med er på en lite titt i mitt kök. Det börjar se ut lite mer som jag vill ha det nu. I somras så gjorde vi en budgetrenovering som ändå förändrade trivseln avsevärt. Tak målades, golv lades och väggar gjordes om. Allt annat är som förut. Eventuellt ska vi måla om skåpen och kanske byta knoppar, bänkskivorna skulle också behöva bytas ut i övrigt är jag så nöjd med det.

 I would like to invite you for a visit in my kitchen. It looks a bit more like I wan't it now. We did a cheap makeover last summer that although changed the look a lot to the better. Roof were painted, a new wood tile floor were laid and the walls were renewed. The rest is like before. Eventually we could paint the cupboards change the door knobs and change the cabinet boards, but I'm quite satisfied.

 I glasskåpen med finporslinet har jag satt spets på hyllkanterna för att dölja nån slags grå plastkant.

I lined the shelves with lace in the cupboard.

 Kryddhyllan har fått lite pynt och praktiska burkar. 

The shelf for spices has only decorations and practical tins on it, spice jars are hidden in a cupboard.

 Väggarna fick bli helt vita eftersom köket vetter åt norr. Det var inte meningen från början för jag hade tänkt mig en mönstrad beige tapet som skulle matcha pinnstolarna men denna vita tapet var så himla fin.

We choosed plain white on the walls because the kitchen is to the north. It wasn't ment from the beginning, I thought of beige patterned walls matching our chairs but this white wall paper was too lovely to resist.

Möjligen kan ni se mönstret på tapeten om ni klickar på bilden nedan. Ja såhär ser ett av mina nya loppisfynd ut. En lite tallrikshylla som var aningens för liten för att hysa normalstora tallrikar, men den passar in bra (tills jag hittar en större).

Maybe you can see the pattern on the wallpaper if you click on the picture below. This is my new thrift find. A plate shelf a little bit too small for normal sized plates, but it fits nice here (until I find a larger one).

 Ja så här såg den ut omålad.

This is how it looked unpainted.

Nu känner jag mig faktiskt redo för lite nya renoveringsprojekt. Ha det!

Now I feel ready for some new house projects. See Ya!!