The last 3 days have been full of good things, almost too much to write about. They’ve also been full of bad things, almost too much to write about.
Thursday I worked really hard on AWC stuff all evening and got a ton done, although I still have a ton left it feels like a lighter ton, somehow. I also talked to my oldest and bestest friend, who is dealing with some of the most awful things a mother can deal with and still stay standing. In addition, I talked to my friends Angie and Kristian, who keep getting punched with bad luck regarding his cancer. The pain my friends are going through is so breathtakingly awful it makes my heart squeeze tight with hurt.
Friday, I picked up my mom and my Aunt Judy after work for a 6-hour speed-visit in the middle of the beginning of their month-long EurRail Scandinavian Grand Tour. They flew into Frankfurt, hopped a plane to Copenhagen and then took the train to Lund to meet me. We drove home and fed them dinner and then tried desperately (and futilely in Judy’s case) to keep them awake until it was time to put them on the night train to Oslo. They were in Oslo today cramming in the sightseeing and are taking the night train to Bergen tonight…then they’re taking a cruise up the coast of Norway to the very top, and from there training it back down through Sweden to end up here again for about 10 days around the 10th of October. They’ll do a bit of Denmark while they’re here, then they’re heading down to southern Germany to spend some time with my brother and Simone. They have one carry-on bag and one backpack each. I wish I could have tagged along! 🙂
And today, I did something that I rarely do: I went shopping for clothes! Lene, a Swedish friend of ours, had told me about a store she found last year in Ystad where they sold nice, and decently-priced clothes in, er, our sizes, and invited me to go this morning. Along with another friend of hers, we got there right as the store opened and basically had the place to ourselves for the first hour. The staff was incredible: helpful but not pushy, and extremely service-minded, which is unusual in Sweden, to say the least. We all left with heavy bags and lighter wallets, feeling very pleased with ourselves. Usually shopping for clothes depresses the hell out of me, but not today. I came away with a silky black/silver outfit for parties, a pale pink girly-girl sweater, 2 swingy-thin-floral tops and an everyday shirt in plum with white trim. Yay! Plus, another Christmas gift done: go, me!
The weather was lovely, and Ystad is a beautiful little town that I can’t believe I’ve missed in all these years in Sweden. Tiny little houses with colorful painted fronts, roses climbing all over, cobblestone streets and the sea 2 blocks away. We wandered around the shopping district and found hidden galleries and stores full of covetalicious stuff, and jewelry that was to die for, and a little cafe for lunch.
While we were shopping, Anders took the kids to his hockey practice and then they met up with Lene’s husband and 2 boys (who are older than our kids) and they took Martin and Karin climbing. Martin decided he wasn’t really interested, but Karin took to it like the little monkey I’ve always suspected she was. Straight up a 10-meter high wall, and then twice more before they were finished. She can’t wait to do it again. 🙂
Tomorrow: pumpkin picking out in the pumpkin patch and a huge open house at Tetra Pak, plus finally getting rid of most of the AWC ton that is still hovering over my head.
Happy Happy Birthday Wishes to sealwhiskers and Happy BELATED ones to enaid!
Cracking Me Up: Tagline