Easter weekend in Småland 18-23/4

Just two weeks after my last visit, I'm back at my parents place. This time for a few more days and to celebrate Easter as well!

Now the sheep's had really started to deliver! At the most I think we got 18 lambs during one day!!! We had a lot to do, just to keep track of who's whose and to help out with the births.

Here are some pictures and videos of the quite little ones:


Two siblings taking a power nap in the straw. Doesn't it look nice?!
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The whole big family is taking a nap in the shadow.
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But this one is having trouble finding a perfect spot for resting on a slippery belly... after some failed attempts, his mother got tired ot the "massage" and walked away. The lambs are often grouping together, climbing and jumping up and down on the sheeps laying down. Not making them selfs very popular ;)
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And while the mothers are feeding, the lambs get together exploring the environment. They are all gathered by the water supply. Obviously there is something very interesting over there today...

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Video of the lambs playing.
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Besides all the work with these newly born lambs, I also took the time to plow the fields and fixing the fences so they can let the animals out asap.

But the first thing I had to do on my arrival was to fulfill my commitment to Frida. And that was to follow through with an old Swedish tradition, usually performed by kids on Moundy Thursday.

This is how you do this: You dress yourself up as a colorful hag with a broom and a coffee pot. Write greeting cards and then you walk around the neighbourhood and knock on the doors, handing out your home made greeting cards wishing them a Happy Easter. In return you usually get candy, money or some other kind of gifts.

As I said, this is usually done by kids. So the neighbours back home looked a little surprised (but amused) when I, +25 showed up, dressed like this! lol =)

And in pictures, this is how we did it:



First, the participants arrived...
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The making of the cards...
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And this is the whole troup gathered, prior to take off!
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Success! More candy in the coffee pot for the happy Easter girl!
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Ooops, I lot my focus. Some really nice spring flowers caught my attention!
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And I just have to add this sweet picture of the fastest biker in Småland! This lovely little girl is my friends daughter Winnie!

Hope you all had a lovely Easter!

Weekend in Småland 8-10/4

I went to visit my parents this weekend and since they have a lot of animals on the farm, there's always a lot of things to do! =)

First Frida and I went up to the barn to check out the newly born triplets.

 

Then we went back to the house, where my grandfather and father was cutting a lamb from last year, into little pieces... life and death on the same day
(note! It's not the same lamb as above ;) )

 

Then Frida and I helped my brother Bosse with the wood for his house. Already now preparing for the winter.

 

But since it was such a lovely weather, we took a walk with the dogs. Here I am, with my moms herding dog's Mette, Fanny and Myran (apparently they prefer profile pictures)

 

Close-up on Mette

 

and on here daughter Myran


All four dog's in the same picture, although Kinna is way back there...

 

My fathers dog Kinna is, believe it or not, a hunting dog. But she is also the only one I know who really knows how to relax... not taking any notice of the curious calves next to here...

 

A true bon vivant (who knows how to enjoy life!)



We saw a lot of sign of spring! Lovely! Finally!

 

 

 

 

And some sentimental pictures, on my old EPA that I went to school in when I was 17. I think you can judge by the pictures here, if I'm longing back to those old times or not... ;)

Ski trip to Bad Gastein - Austria

The 18-22/3 I went to Bad Gastein in Austria for a conference trip with my company Xdin.

We flew to Munich from Gothenburg, then a 3 hour bus trip to Bad Gastein and our hotell Bellevue, were we stayed in their 4 bedded apartments. Really nice hotel!

This was more or less the second time in my life that I've tried skiing down hill! =)
I can assure you that I was a little nervous when I grabbed my equipment and headed up the hill the first day, not knowing what to expect or how to ski...

It was very foggy, but for me that was just an advantage, because if I had seen how steep it really was, my legs would have been shaking even more ;)

But since I was part of a group of 20 persons (who stopped and waited for me and other beginners), there was no time for re-thinking or being scared. Just do it! And after lunch the first day (and with a cup of Glüwhine in the blood), I started to feel a bit more safe and comfortable on the skis and I had a really great time the following days, really enjoying the steep, red marked hills!

This is a map over the systems in Bad Gastein area. I've marked the one I've been skiing in (white dots = first day, purple rings = day 2-3 and blue rings = day 4)



The peak of this trip was the skiing on Sportgastein on Monday morning! First on top, clear blue sky, sunny and a layer of new, sparkeling snow! It's an awesome, indescribable feeling going downhill in these conditions! Most definitely something you really should experience in life!


Here are some pictures from the trip:

Beautiful winter landscape 22/1

We've now had snow since November and this weekend the sun was shining upon us as well. So I took the opportunity to go for a walk in Ruddalen, a small, calm and nice area just next to my building were you can go running, play football, bandy, skate, ski just relax and spend some time in the "forest".

I was walking for about 2 hours and took some pics along the way. Enjoy the beautiful winter days!

Italy 29/12 2010 - 4/1 2011

I took a trip to Turin, Italy to celebrate New Years and visit my friends (Davide, Marco M, Marco D and Marco G)from the Windpower technology course in Falkenberg during June 2009


I stayed at Marco's place in Turin most of the time, but for New Years we took a trip to the mountain village Travelsella, north of Turin. We were 33 persons and I was the only one not speaking italian (and I still don't) :S Here are some pictures from those two days (31/12-1/1):




Pictures from my visit in Turin:


And pictures from village Biella and Mountain Oropa:


It was a supernice trip and I was able to visit a lot of places and persons! Supersweet! I've also eaten A LOT of pizza! :P

Thank you Italy (and especially Marco, my private chauffeur and host!) for a lovely time in Italy (although it was a bit cold).


Ciao ciao Italia!

Christmas in Småland (my parents place)

I celebrated Christmas with my family in Småland this year. It was so nice and calm and it felt so nice to be back and able to be with them this year (as you probobly knw, I was in Nicaragua last christmas). I really like that small little village (15 houses) with all the animals, especialy the dogs!


Here are some pictures from my visit in Fallhult:


Going downhill on a "kick":


Late on Christmas eve I called my Nica-family and talked to them for almost 1 hour (they have cell phones and I use Skype to call them). It was sooo nice, and a bit sad, to talk to them. I relly miss them and I feel fragmented. I wanted to be with them and my family at the same time. But it was nice to hear that they're okey.

Oslo city 11-15/7

After visiting the zoo I headed on to the capital Oslo in Norway, to visit my friend Emma (who now lives and work there).

I arrived late at sunday evening, to tired to acctually do something. So we just headed for her apartment and hang out. She's been living in Kairo, Egypt while I have been in Nicaragua, so we had a lot to talk about! =)

While she was at work during the days, I spent a lovely time walking around Oslo. Here are some pictures from my visit: