Summer 2011

Finally it's time for a general update on the summer of 2011, so I can get started on this autumn later on.

Like I said in my previous entry, I have to say that overall this summer has been a really good one! There are a number of reasons for that, I think, but as they are very personal both to me and to people close to me, I won't say anymore. After all, the important thing is that the summer has been pretty good.

The most difficult part has of course been coping with the first summer without Zorro! As I wrote here earlier, the first time I got to the summerhouse without him I basically collapsed, and it has been a lot of more difficult to handle than I had expected.

Even though it was quite an ordeal for Zorro to travel to the summerhouse, I think he really liked it there, and he came to really fit in there. It was wonderful seeing him being able to be outside (as I only have a small balcony where I live) and even though I had him on a leash, it was really long so he could move around a lot!

I also at times feel very much alone when I am visiting my Dad's family. After all, they are a family and while they are all for including me, fact is: I'm not a part of their family, not in that "intimate" way anyway. And I really don't want to be either, to be honest ... I want to be able to visit them and spend time with them and enjoy their company, but I am a grown woman and at the moment, I am my own family. Earlier, Zorro was my family. It was him and me, and when things got really intense we always had each other, at nights and early in the mornings, we could really spend quality time together - and now I have had to deal with the intensity all on my own ...

It has been great spending time with my sisters again - they grow a lot and I have to say that it feels good to see them play well together. That does take a bit of the pressure off their big sister (LOL!) and it's great that they have such a good relationship. Sure, they argue at times and then it can get pretty bad, but mostly, they get on great together - and they grow SO fast!!

Finishing off with a few photos from the summer.

First some nature photos:



And some of my gorgeous sisters:




One day we went to a rather large zoo, which was a lot of fun and we got to see some beautiful animals.





The girls got to go pony riding and that was a BIG HIT, let me tell you! Don't they look great?

Big Girls!

Not having seen my little sisters since early February it was quite a surprise to see how grown up they are ... time sure flies by fast!!

M is almost 7 years old now, it's hard to realize! I still remember getting to hold her in the hospital when she was 27 hours old!! Incredible!
She's gone to "school" for a year now (I think it's something in between the "real" school and pre-school that Swedish 6-year-olds can attend, and I think that has made her grow up a lot. The way she moves and talks is quite different and she is really intelligent! She reads children's books fluently now, and it's not uncommon that she crawls up in a bed or a couch and reads to her little sister - so adorable! :)

I is 4½ years old now, and that's also hard to take in. She's been the "baby" for so long, I am constantly amazed by the fact that she is a very bright and beautiful little girl now! She looks up to her little sister a lot and she's starting to read as well now! Now very long words and still only upper case letters, but I still think that's pretty impressive for a 4½-year-old!! Also, if you give her a word, say up to six or seven letters long, she can spell it out for you!

They really play well together now, which is lovely to see. Of course, they don't always get a long and sometimes they argue quite a lot, but for the most time they are best friends and stick together - and with them playing so well together it takes some of the pressure off me! :) They still very much want me to be with them, but they accept that I sometimes have to do other things as they can always play with each other!

Some photos of the "Big Girls"! :)

Back Home Again!

After about two weeks in the summerhouse, I'm back home for a few weeks now - then I'm going back again! :-)

It's been intense times, so I'm fairly tired now, today has been a very slack day indeed, but I'm feeling a bit better now, so I'm hoping to get stuck into a lot of things tomorrow.

I spent about a week in the summerhouse by myself first, and it was actually a very difficult time for me. It was the first time I was there since Zorro passed away and I was instantly moved back to November again. I don't think I've ever been in the summerhouse without him since around 2002, and it was more difficult than I could have imagined. We had deliberately planned it so I would be out there by myself first, and I think that was a good decision, I could never have coped to be there with my Dad and his whole family straight away.

I tried to keep busy by working outside, but the weather wasn't exactly co-operating with me as it rained heavily almost the entire time ... I did get a bit of work done but I was also left thinking a lot inside ... not that I think that's a bad thing, I think I really needed it - but I won't deny I felt pretty awful.

My Dad and his family came out to the summerhouse the day before Midsummer and it was great seeing them all again, of course. The girls have grown SO much (but then again, I hadn't seen them since February!), and they are wonderful to be around, even though I sometimes find it a bit difficult to adapt to the intensity it brings being around an entire family like that.

On Midsummer's Day I took a train to visit my Mum, and it was wonderful to see her again. We had a lot of catching up to do as she's had some problems with her phone lately, so we haven't been able to talk to each other much for a while. I went back to the summerhouse on Sunday evening, and spent the coming three days there with Dad and the rest of the "gang".

We went to "town" (where they live) on Wednesday afternoon and early yesterday morning, I went home. It was quite a long trip, I think mostly because I was completely exhausted. It felt really wonderful when I arrived home, but I was SO tired!

Unfortunately I didn't sleep very well tonight, so I've been very tired today as well, and I haven't really gotten a lot of things done, mostly little things. Still, I think it's understandable after the intense times that have been.
I am trying to accomplish a lot of changes in my life at the moment, and I know I can't work at that 100% when I'm not in my usual environment but now I'm getting a few weeks here so starting tomorrow I will try to get stuck into that!

Sharing some photos from the summerhouse - and I have a few more blog entries to go through, not sure if I'll have the energy tonight but otherwise they'll be here tomorrow!

The Social Arena

I don't know how many of the readers notice the labels of this blog, but I do have a label called "The Social Arena". Now, I started this blog back in 2006, and that label was then to indicate when I'd actually interacted socially. That was not so common back then, especially in situations outside the University, so I really felt I had to make a point of that when it happened.

Things have come a long way since then, and I now find that it's some times difficult to know when to use that label - as I now tend to interact socially quite a lot! :-)
Still I felt the title appropriate for this blog entry, as I have had two pretty intense days, socially speaking, this weekend.

On Sunday there was a family reunion on my Dad's side, to celebrate that my grandmother would have turned 100 years old. My Dad's sister had taken the initiative to that, she'd gathered almost her entire family in their summerhouse (which is not far from ours, and not far from where my grandmother lived), with children and grandchildren, and she'd also invited her siblings and their families.
It's a 6 hour trip, one way, for me, but I cared deeply for my grandmother, and my aunt and her family were very close to ours when I was a child (they have five children, my cousins, and they were almost like my older siblings when I grew up!), so I quickly decided I would go. My Dad would come as well, but not the rest of his family - and we knew nothing of the rest of my Dad's siblings (he has another sister and a brother as well, with children and grandchildren).

The trip north was okay, even though it was a bit hot to be stuck on a bus/train all day, and I met my Dad when I arrived. When we got to my aunt's, it turned out we were the only ones who would come, which actually made me quite disappointed ...
Still I had a really great time, even though we couldn't stay for very long. A lot of my cousins I hadn't seen for basically 10 years or more (!!) but I think we did create some sort of bond when we were kids, because I was more relaxed than I usually am in situations like that and I REALLY REALLY enjoyed seeing them all again!

My train back was leaving at 5 p.m. but was delayed, and I had a pretty tight connection in Gothenburg, so I was a bit worried about missing it ... Luckily the train managed to speed up a bit and we were "only" about 10 minutes late, so after a bit of running, I did make it to my bus! :) I wasn't home until 11 p.m. but despite being tired I was really happy I had gone through with the day, and that it had worked out so well.
I hope there will be more opportunities to meet up with them during the summer!

On Monday, which is a Swedish holiday, it was time for the annual "start-of-summer-at-Sofiero"-tradition! :-) I met Sara, Martin, Johanna, Per, Johanna and Mikael at Sofiero and it's really a gorgeous place to be at in the beginning of summer. We all had a lot to carry so we didn't walk around much, but went straight to our usual spot! This tradition is really fabulous, and this is actually the fourth year we're doing it - I, Sara and Johanna have been there every time but we've had different companions each year, I think! :-)

Yesterday I didn't feel well at all, I was in bed most of the day with a nasty headache (no hangover though, as I left Sofiero at 7 p.m. and didn't have much to drink at all, I blame the headache on the weather!), but now I'm going to try to make a final rush on my thesis before "summer"! :-)

Happy Birthday Grandmother!

I would like to dedicate this blog entry to my Grandmother (Dad's side), who would have turned 100 years old today!

She was indeed a fantastic lady, who made the most out of a difficult life! She passed away after many many years of illness and injuries in 1995, but she gathered a lovely family around her and she lived to see four children, ten grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
I think what I remember most about her is her genuine and complete kindness in everything. She always put everyone else before herself and always wanted to do what was best for everyone, I don't think she ever had a selfish thought in her.
When I was really little, she used to come out to us in the summerhouse (she didn't live very far from there) with her little car completely stacked with bread and she filled up our freezer! When I was about 5 or 6 I guess, we had gotten a little guest house and I had a blast when my grandmother used to come and she and I stayed in the guest house over night, while my Mum and Dad slept in the big house! :-) She used to bring candy, and we'd stay up really late ... eating candy AFTER having brushed our teeth! (A five-year-old's rebellious dream, right? LOL).

When I got older, like ten or something, I would take the bus from our home-town to my grandmother, who lived about one hour away - that was a big adventure for me! :-) My parents put me on the bus, and she'd come and get me, and I felt SO grown-up, having gone there all by myself!

I still miss her so much, even though it's been ... oh my God, it's been 16 years since she passed away!! I wish she knows how deeply appreciated and loved she was by everyone. I know we have a tendency to not express that clearly, and I know I didn't (I guess I could say I was "too young", even though I don't think that's really an excuse) - and I just wish she knows.

You are very loved and missed Grandmother!

One Week ... Really?

I can't believe all that's happened in just one week ... it feels like it would have been a month, at least. Still, most of it (almost all of it!) has been absolutely fantastic and totally outstanding, so I really feel I would like to go through the entire week here! :)
I'll give credit to those of you who are able to read through all of it, because I have a feeling this will be the longest blog entry I've ever made! LOL! :)

Sunday, May 15

This was a really difficult day for me! It was 6 months to the day since Zorro past away, and I still have difficulties dealing with that, especially during those days, when I tend to think of him more often and more intensely. I had a lot of things to deal with from the previous week as well, so I guess I didn't get anything productive done at all during Sunday, although I need times for thinking, reflecting and personal writing ...
Most things in my life are turning out fantastic now, but I can't help feeling I would have liked to share that with Zorro - because I know he could tell whether I was feeling good or bad. Lots of thoughts regarding Zorro, but I won't get into that now, I might save it for another entry later on.
Here are some old photos of Zorro I found when I was looking through my computer:




Monday

Monday was study day full stop!! I had to hand in a report to the OT professor "during Monday night" on my progress on the master's essay. Needless to say I stressed like an idiot the entire day and felt unprepared to the max.

In my defence, I did have a bit of materials to use, but naturally I hadn't started putting the report together ... and I started with that around lunch time! *oops* I realized I had to get some print-outs, and my printer at home is not really working, so I made the quite possible shortest visit to Uni ever! :) I arrived at the library at 12.50, grabbed a computer and got my print-outs, and was out of there again at 1.03! LOL!

I didn't do anything except wrote, wrote and wrote the entire day, and by about 10 p.m. I had almost 8 pages ... Let's just say I don't think I did a great job proof-reading the thing, but at least I sent it in!

Tuesday

Tuesday was an extremely intense day for me ...
We had lectures at 10 with the OT group, and they were having a seminary discussion on a book by W. Brueggemann (Unsettling God). I had really hoped to be able to read through it really quick before the seminar, but there was (obviously!) no chance of that!
I still got a bit out of the seminary discussion and it was quite interesting. I'm happy to see a course such as this, where there is a clear focus on the language, it's possible to do these kinds of things as well.
After the lecture I ended up in the library assisting some of the students with different things regarding the interpretation they were writing.

Once I got to sit down on my own, the anxiety about the SI-ceremony that afternoon hit me like a ton of bricks. I haven't experienced that heavy anxiety in probably several years, and I was really feeling awful. Still, I knew there was no way out of this, and I had no choice but try to do the best I could with it. I was unsure of basically everything: I didn't know how the ceremony would be, I didn't know what would be expected of me (even though I had been assured I would not have to give a 'thank you speech' - which I was more than grateful for!!), and I wasn't even 100% sure of where the ceremony would take place (it was on another University Department, where I've only been a few times, a couple of years ago) ...
I ended up talking a little to my SI supervisor, as I was sitting just outside her room, and eventually we agreed we would walk to the ceremony together, and that helped my anxiety a lot! Just know I would go with someone I knew, wouldn't have to worry about finding the right place etc. helped me a great deal!

We met at 3 o'clock and walked together to the ceremony, and when we entered the auditorium my supervisor exchanged a few words with the man in charge of the whole thing, and she also introduced me. We took our seats and the ceremony started with a few introductory speeches, among those who came was Sven Strömqvist, who is Lund University's Assistant Vice-Chancellor!! After that we heard speeches relating SI (Supplemental Instruction) to not only Universities but also senior high school/college and also how you can use it when you go out to work in the world outside University - and we also heard a speech from two students who have worked within SI and had the opportunity to go to America to attend an SI conference.

After the speeches, it was time for the handing out of Diplomas, and first up were the Honorary Diplomas, which apparently was given to me and three other students. I had no idea how they wanted to do this, and when they said it would be done alphabetically I basically panicked - but I was so lucky, as there was one girl who came before me!! (Not often that happens.)
So anyway ...
We were called down in front of everyone, and got to listen to the nomination text that our supervisors had written when nominating us, and then we got our Diploma and a little present.
And I have to admit, I am proud of the fact that I went through with it, because this was a really big deal for me! The auditorium was in no way crowded, but there were enough people for me to feel really really anxious! But I did it! :)
It was a great relief to be able to get back to my seat and realize that most of it was over for my part, that's for sure.
After the Honorary Diplomas and been handed out, all the mentors who were quitting were given diplomas as well - but a lot of people who had said they'd come didn't show up, so things became a little bit awkward ...

There were snacks and drinks prepared afterwards, but first they wanted everyone who had gotten a diploma to gather near the entrance and we were photographed - and after that we were able to get snacks and talk to the others. Since I was completely shaky after the almost extreme tenseness I found it difficult to talk and be friendly, and I didn't stay long.
But it still felt amazing to have gone through with that day, that's for sure! :)

Wednesday

On Wednesday I had a meeting with the OT professor to discuss the report ... and since I emailed it so late on Monday night and my mind was somewhere else entirely on Tuesday I felt I needed to prepare for the meeting quite a lot. I went to Uni fairly early and printed my report and went over it, quite a number of times. I also met a lot of the OT students working on their interpretations and I also talked a little with my SI supervisor before heading up the professor on the third floor.

The talk we had went really well actually. We started talking "generally" when he suddenly interrupted our conversation, and realized he'd forgotten to congratulate me to the Honorary Diploma!! I didn't even know he knew, and SI feels a little bit like it's own "department" within the University, so I was quite surprised. He ended up giving me SO many lovely comments and compliments I was completely and utterly embarrassed!! I think the peak was when he told me how he had met Sven Strömqvist (the Assistant Vice-Chancellor who attended the SI-ceremony) at a conference earlier during Tuesday morning, and how proud he (the OT professor) had been to tell the Vice-Chancellor that one of his students was one of the recipients of the Honorary Diploma! *yikes!!*
I was (and am!!) SO flattered, but I really don't know what to do with myself when things like that come up, I have no idea what to say and I mostly feel really embarrassed!

We moved on to actually discussing my thesis as well, of course, and I think it was quite a rewarding chat. Most of the energy was done trying to decide what way I'm going to take right now, and that wasn't as easy as it sounds, actually. We had a good discussion, I felt I was able to step up a bit more than I have before, when I have mostly felt I've 'had to' just accept what he says as he knows so much more than me. This time I felt I could question what he said, and really get to the bottom of what was discussed, and that felt really good.
The outcome basically was to go into a few more scholars and their view on the objective I've set for my thesis - and also to get down to the Hebrew text and really start working on the relevant (some of them!) passages there ...

The meeting felt really good, from all kinds of angles, so I was in a really good mood when I was done - and I also met the teacher on the first part of the OT course, so we had a little chat, which was really nice! :)

Thursday

Thursday was actually sort of slow, as I didn't even have to get to Uni!! I did find out that my Mum would come for a short visit over the weekend, which was such a happy surprise!!! We have been talking about her coming here for a while, but it hasn't really been anything decided and she's been really busy and tired, and I've been really busy and tired. Now she found out that a co-worker and her husband was going to Helsingborg for the weekend, and my Mum could go with them, arriving on Friday night and leaving again Sunday afternoon!

I was really happy to hear that, and tried to get the apartment decent looking during Thursday (things like cleaning and such had been neglected earlier in the week, for obvious reasons!), but I was SO tired, I didn't get as much done as I had planned!

Friday

Friday was extremely intense!!!!
I was up at about 5 a.m. and started cleaning ... started doing laundry at 6 and was finished with everything in the apartment around 11. Took a shower and headed for Lund at 12, and had the final 'lecture' at 1. This was basically a summary discussion of the course, at first there was a general discussion and after that Elisabet and I had some SI evaluations to hand out, and the teacher would hand out the general evaluations as well.
We had a really good and constructive discussion regarding the course, the literature etc. when suddenly there was a knock on the door, and our SI-supervisor was there, asking if she could see me for a minute.
It felt a bit silly to just walk out (especially since the tables were arranged in a way that made me walk around the entire room to get out!), but when I got out it turned out that the evaluations we had been given to hand out to the students were 'out-of-date', new ones had just come, so I got them instead.
When I came back into the room, it was completely silent, which felt really strange. And suddenly, when I'm in front of the entire class, the teacher says: "Well, Jessica, now you have to tell us all about what it was like on the ceremony on Tuesday!"
And I more or less wished I could have fell through the floor ... I am genuinely and extremely grateful to have been given this, but I DO NOT like to stand in the centre of attention like that. I think I mostly stuttered something, I knew that some of the students knew I had been given it but not all of them ... and once I'd said something, probably completely incoherent, I got an applause from the entire class! *embarrassed again*

We handed out the evaluations and at 6 p.m. the teacher had a little party at her place for all the students, and the students on another OT course, as well as some other OT-people (both OT post-graduate students - one of them is the one teaching the first half of the OT course - and the OT professor) - and she asked me and Elisabet to help her out fixing food and such!
She had to pick up her children from school first, so Elisabet and I ended up in the library for a while, before meeting the OT teacher and her kids! :)

It was really nice to be able to help her out a little, she's a great lady and such a role model for I think most of the students she comes in contact with - and she's always been fantastic to deal with when it comes to SI, she's really interested and tries to help out as much as she can - and I think it's great to be able to do something outside the Department as well.

We ended up chopping and mixing and such for a few hours before the others showed up - and we had a great time. I really totally and completely feel like I have found my place here, and every time something like this happens, I feel it even more!
With the background I have, it's just beyond description to feel like I fit in so perfectly here ... I feel safe and secure and comfortable, even in situations that before would be extremely anxious, and I feel like people around me like me! Getting that kind of continual acknowledgement, constantly verifying that I do fit in and that people do like me - it's just such an AMAZING feeling!!

I was going to pick up my Mum in Helsingborg, so I had checked and had to leave the party about 20 to 8, in order to get to the train station in Lund and from there to Helsingborg. And that's another thing that is so fantastic about being where I am. Yes, I admit, I would have liked to stay longer, we had a great time, there were funny and interesting conversations, and while I'm not a social butterfly, I am NOT completely quite and tries to be invisible! But I feel SO comfortable in this situation, and so sure of myself and the fact that I will experience this again, that it is okay to leave a little early.
I am a little upset, because when I was getting myself ready a lot of others were starting to prepare to leave as well, and I felt the good-bye to the hostess became very quite and short ... but I'll be seeing her again next week, so I hope I can say a proper thank you then.
Just as I was leaving it turned out two other students had to get to trains/buses at the railway station, and one of the postgraduate students where going that way in her car, so I got a lift as well! :) Really kind!

When I got to the station my Mum called, she had already arrived in Helsingborg, but had to wait for me there ... but I don't think I've ever been so impatient during the train ride before! :) I just wanted to get there QUICK - and meeting my Mum was just FANTASTIC! It was quite a while since we saw each other, especially here! I was visiting my families when the bathroom renovation was going on, but didn't get that much time with my Mum - and during Christmas holidays she was sick a lot ... before that, yeah, she came down here for a quick visit just after Zorro had passed away, but that wasn't exactly a joyride ...

We took the bus home and spent some time talking - I didn't go to sleep until about 1.30 a.m. - so I'd been up and about and active and constantly doing things for about 21 hours! *yikes*

The Weekend

If you've managed to get this far in this extremely long blog entry, I admire you, and I will try to not be too detailed now. My Mum and I have enjoyed ourselves during the weekend, talked a lot, done a few outings and watched a few movies and mostly just enjoyed each other's company! :)
I went with her to Helsingborg this afternoon where she met her co-worker and her husband, and I just now heard she'd gotten home safe and sound!

Pheeeew!
Some week,huh?
But SO much of it has been SO fantastic, and I can hardly believe it myself ...
I have a busy week ahead again, but I hope to have some kind of energy when I get home every afternoon to keep the blog up to date, so I don't have to make another really long entry next weekend! :)
And credit to those of you who have made it to the end of this entry! LOL!

Trying ...

I had a pretty horrible night after a difficult day yesterday - so it took me a while to get going today.
I have still been feeling very sad about Zorro today but I am constantly trying to get things to work anyway. The problem is that every time I even think about him, I completely fall apart ... and I don't want to go on without thinking about him!! And I still can't allow myself to continuously fall apart either ... quite a dilemma ...

I have been doing some cleaning and some laundry today, and I've also spent time reading the book by Levenson that the OT students are having a seminar on on Monday. It's really quite interesting and I have a feeling I'll grasp a bit more of the ongoing discussions if I have actually read the book ...

Apart from that, not much has been happening ... I talked to my sisters (and my Dad) earlier tonight, and it's good to hear from them every once in a while. Apparently they had started taking out Easter decorations and my youngest sister had a great long monologue about two chickens .... I didn't understand half of it really, but it's great just hearing from them!

I'm hoping to finish cleaning tomorrow, and also finish Levenson's book, so I can get some work done on my master's thesis as well - I'm having a meeting with my professor next week so I need to get a bit of work done for that meeting as well.

Renovation Part I: Practical

I thought I'd start off by giving you an insight into the practical aspects of this whole renovation mess ... to give a background on what has been going on and maybe that will be at least part of an explanation to why I haven't been feeling very well lately.

Basically it was a bathroom renovation, so they were going to tear down the whole bathroom including the walls and floors. You could make a choice to also have your entire kitchen renovated as well, as they were changing all the water pipes at the same time - this would, however, be too expensive for my taste. They did recommend that we'd do the hallway as well, as in all likelihood there would be damage made to the hallway in the renovation process - also they were going to widen the bathroom door, which meant tearing down part of the concrete hallway wall.

It was also decided that since this whole mess was going to go on, they would also change all the electrical stuff in every apartment ... the fuse box as well as all the wall and roof electrical outlets - this was going to be done the week before the renovation project started, and this was scheduled to take three weeks.

Before the renovation itself begun, they changed all the locks ... I'm sure they had some secure way of doing this, even though I never understood the finer details, but basically they removed our door locks and replaced them with temporary "construction locks", allowing all the construction workers to pretty much come and go as they liked.
After that it was time for the electrical work. Which included moving A LOT of furniture!! As I mentioned here before, I managed to miss one outlet, but cleared away a couple of bookshelves and was told they would fix it during the bathroom renovations (there are at least two, maybe more, companies involved - the electricians and the carpenters, and I assume there are plumbers as well, though I don't think I've come across any of them).

On Friday 21st (January), the covered the hallway floor, and on Monday 24th, I moved out.
Luckily I had a friend in Lund, Christian, who was willing to give up his apartment for me, and temporarily move in with his girlfriend Maria - who I had as a mentor when I was taking Greek! :) I very much appreciate that, as I basically had nowhere to go! We were allowed to live at home, as we were supposed to have electricity most of the time - but with no running water, a toilet in the basement, and shower in barrack in the yard, I really did NOT want to live here.

I stayed in Christians apartment Monday through Saturday morning that week - and I did discover during that time how much I really like my Home! Christians apartment was really nice, and it was a lot closer to Uni than mine *lol*, but I still felt a bit homesick!
Saturday morning, I went up north to visit my families, and I stayed for about 10 days. There were a lot of reasons why I didn't feel great, but I'll see if I can tell you something about that in another entry.
Anyway, I stayed with my Dad and his family between Jan. 28 and Feb. 7, and I also visited my Mum. It was nice seeing them again, but it felt strange to be there for such a long time during mid-semester.
On Feb. 7 I went back south, again to Christian's apartment - where I stayed until Friday. It was said I could move back home on Friday and I spent quite some time that week to make sure that was okay.

I went home on three occasions that week, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning, and tried to find people to talk to - but I kept getting quite vague answers, to be honest.
I was quite nervous when I went home "for good" on Friday afternoon, but when I got here I quickly realized that I did have electricity and I did have running water, which at the time was good enough for me.
That weekend flew by, I was completely exhausted and basically didn't do much of anything.
Unfortunately I had discovered there were A LOT of things left to do, and maybe the most annoying one: the electrical outlet in the living room. As I had decided to rearrange the furniture while I still had to move them things were an extreme mess!!

I spent a lot of time during the beginning of the week trying to find people and get things done, but it took until Wednesday before the electrician showed up. Only to tell me that since the outlet went straight through one of my inner walls, I had to clear the outlet that was on the other side of the wall as well (in the bedroom).
I basically had a complete melt down, as I had already cleared away at least two bookshelves there before, they had changed the outlet and I had moved everything back again (along with all the stuff from the bathroom and some other things!)...

So I moved it all over again, but then it seemed impossible to find the electricians anywhere. I had a carpenter in on Friday morning to do some stuff, and by then I was really upset, there were a lot of things that I had to have electricians to fix (for instance, they removed my internet/telephone outlet when they wallpapered the hallway, which was done at the beginning of the week, and hadn't put it back!) ....
The electricians were nowhere to be found, and I really wanted to take a trip to Lund that afternoon - so I left here at noon and put a huge note on my door with biiiig red letters, stated I needed help from the electricians!

Around 5.15 p.m. when I was at Uni, the Head of the entire renovation project called me!! He is Danish and for the life of me, I cannot understand that language ... so I hardly understood what he said! Very embarrassing! I figured out that either they had fixed most of the stuff and were going to do a check on it on Monday (as in, today), or they were going to fix it ... on Monday.

I kind of dreaded going home, but when I got here I at least had telephone/internet and the outlet in the living room was fixed! Yay!
I spent the weekend trying to get everything back together - and this morning the carpenters came and did a few minor things- but there are still stuff left ...
The "bosses" came around 11 a.m. today to do a survey of the work being done, I had hoped everything would be done but naturally there were a number of things they are going to get adjust during this week.

But at least I can get my place back together now, I still don't want to put furniture in the hallway, as they are not quite done there yet, but I have gotten most of the stuff back where it's supposed to be, so I'm hoping to be able to have this apartment in tip-top shape come this weekend!

This has been quite a difficult time for me, for a number of reasons - I am truly glad that almost everything is finished, but I'm quite down and I think it will take a while for me to make a come-back from this.
I hope to make another entry fairly soon on how I've been feeling (even though I won't go into that much detail!) this past month ....

As Time Goes By!

This entry will be about my sisters, M and I - they grow sooo quickly, it's almost scary! I can still remember visiting the hospital and getting to hold M when she was about 27 hours old (!) - now she's 6½ years old (on Jan. 11) - it's really hard to take in.





M has grown a lot just since this summer, and I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that she started school this fall! Big girl, indeed! From what I hear she's doing really well, she could read on a basic level before she started and now she's amazing. You can pick up a newspaper and basically point to any word and she can read it ... which I think is really cool for a 6½-year old!! She's also a really good speller, even though she sometimes fails when it's supposed to be double consonants or other specific sound-combinations - but overall, she's amazing!
Both of the girls has been trying out some winter sports now (they have quite a lot of snow where they live) and M is doing pretty well on both skies and ice skates - at least a whoooole lot better than I ever did. I think it's obvious she's developed her intellect more than her motorical skills - so did I when I was a kid, but it's good to see she's attempting sports as well!

I is turning 4 years old soon (Jan. 11) and she's such a darling, I bet she could charm anyone!! Both of the girls were with my Dad meeting me when I arrived before Christmas. I's first words when I got in the car: "Jessica? I don't like you ... [I starting to think maybe she's into a "grandmother-phase", or has taken a liking to one of her preschool teachers or something like that] ... I looooove you!!!!" Said with the most adorable intonation! Is she a cutie or what?!? :)
She has grown a lot too during the past 5 months or so, I think she's really inspired by the fact that M has started school - because she's basically reading and writing too!!!!! *gasp* Granted, not long words or anything like that - but shorter words, like four-five letters long, she goes through them without any problems at all .... she did a drawing for me and on the back it said (not extremely clear and some letter were backwards, but still clear enough to read): "From I to Jessica, a nice drawing" (free translation!) [For Swedish readers: "Från I till Jessica En fin teckning]. Not bad for someone not quite 4 years old yet!!
She too has tried out winter sports... She can "walk" on her skies, and has just started skating, so for now, her mother holds her - but you can tell she's trying to keep her balance which is the first step.

Here are various photos from the holidays (including one of all three of us watching the traditional Swedish Donald Duck Christmas show!):





Finishing of with a selection of photos from a session the girls' mother did, trying to get a Christmas card photo! They do look amazing, don't they?! :)