Anders is cooking dinner with the groceries I bought after I dropped Martin off at the bus station in Södra Sandby: salmon, new potatoes, spinach and a creamy herb sauce to go with it. I bought three big artichokes, too, but figure we can have those tomorrow.
It’s another long weekend and yesterday was simply lovely; it was what I needed in every way. The sun was shining, it was warm but not too warm and I left the house at 1:30 (after practice-driving with Karin to her soccer match and finishing a very good book which made me late but the friends I was going to meet are both readers and totally understood). I drove to Lund, picked up Camilla and then we drove to Nova Lund where we met Debbie and proceeded (in one car) to drive up the coast to Helsingborg to Sofiero Castle for the afternoon.
We talked and talked and talked the whole way, and I was able to tell them about all the things that are upsetting me right now and get some good advice and hugs and understanding that I needed. Sofiero castle is a little summer place that the royal family built in 1865 and donated to Helsingborg’s city in 1973. It has extensive gardens containing over 5000 varieties of rhododendrons and many other gorgeous flowering shrubs, including azaleas and many, many other species. During the month of June when the rhododendrons are flowering, the park gets thousands of tourists.
We came kind of late, since we didn’t arrive until nearly 3 p.m. The park is open until 6 though, so we went straight to the café and ordered sandwiches and fika and sat on the terrace in the sun enjoying the view over the Öresund (you can see directly across to Hamlet’s castle of Kronborg in Helsingør, Denmark) and, of course, talking. Then we walked all over the park, and took a bajillion photos of flowers. I literally filled up my phone with flower photos.
Then we drove back to Lund, picked up dinner and spent several hours at Camilla’s…talking some more. I have the best friends.
Today it’s been overcast and raining that kind of misty drizzle that is super-annoying. My hair is freaking out but I didn’t bother to try to tame it today. My list of things to do today and tomorrow includes defrosting the freezer (done) and cleaning out the fridge (tomorrow) and starting an email campaign to reach former AWC members for renewal, and Anders and I are probably home alone tonight, as per usual. Karin has been working all day and Martin has already left to spend the evening with a friend.
Neither kid is going to Germany with us, for different reasons. Karin has just gotten a new job. She charmed the heck out of the manager at the café at the plant nursery here in the village and her start date is the same weekend we are planning to leave. She will only be able to work for 2 weeks before leaving for a month so she’s chosen to stay home and work as much as possible instead. They called and told John, who was understandably disappointed but I am more concerned with how his kids will feel about it, considering they haven’t seen their cousins for a year. 🙁 My mom will be there though, and I am looking forward to it, regardless, even if I am super-disappointed that we won’t all be going together.
I am still having so many issues with my arms and neck that sitting down at the computer to do anything is something I almost dread. But I can’t blog from the iPad because it’s such a pain to type on the keyboard there, so here I am! Although dinner is ready now, so here I go!