Gawd, even though I've wanted to update her for ever, but either I haven't had the energy or I haven't known how to start.

Anyway, if you want a current update on what is going on in my life, you can always check my Instagram at anytime! :-) I'm really active there. It has ended up my favorite social media.

OK, so as updates go. Let's start with Midsummer. If you've read my thoughts for a while, you'll know I always end up with some serious Midsummer-blues. Since my dear Mr P / peting77 always go to his so called friend a bit further north in Sweden. Anyway, since he got divorced since last year, he stopped calling Mr P totally (he's called less and less over the years), and so Mr P was with us this year! AMAZING! And helped somewhat with my Midsummer blues. :-)

So we ended up going to moms all of us, which was nice since mom had promised to with her gentleman caller this year. So we had moms house to ourselves. Felt weird, but was OK. :-) We went to a traditional midsummer celebration with all the trimmings, then we went to a neighbouring city I used to go to during Midsummer. But things do change in 30 or so years. So everything was closed. X-D Back to mom's house for some traditional midsummer food. *LOL*

We spent a couple of more days at moms just being lazy and enjoying my moms company when she came back from her gentleman caller. Was really nice, and I hope we can do it again next year!

So that was Midsummer, for once a good experience! Very happy about that!

The weekend after Midsummer the Fallout LARP I go to each summer. Usually it's arranged mid to end of July but this year it ended up being arranged end of June! Which surprised me. But I still got the go ahead from Mr P that it was OK, so off I went.

Counting on my fingers I figured out it was the 9th year this year! 9 YEARS!!! Insane! And I've played the same character each year!!!

Preavious years a lot has happened to her story wise, but not this year. Which was FINE! You can wish for an active or inactive plot when you sign up, and previous years I've always wished for an active one, which means a lot of actions and stuff, but this year I asked for an inactive plot since I just wanted to enjoy myself.

And I succeded in my goal!

My character Katya Hollander still has the trading post in the village / settlement of Bockaby, making her one of the wealthiest once. Although this year I kept the prices pretty low and I was open for haggling, just for fun. :-)

Worked great! I needed a lot of temporary guards for the trading post, since for whatever reason I always get a tiny bladder on that LARP. X-D Which is good, since that means I get caps (in game money) going in the LARP economy.

Other than that I mostly sat and talked to the mom in the family that always brings her kids there. She's done that every year, which I wouldn't do with Alexandra. Alexandra doesn't like big bangs or doesn't quite get this with pretending to be someone else. Not yet at least. If she wants to when she's older, she can come. :-)

These kids though have always acted very oddly, and even though the older son is way past diaper age, still wears diapers. None of them talk but makes... noises.

This year I had some of Alexandras old baby toys with me, and those kids LOVED them, so they hung out a lot at the trading post.

And I found out those two kids have an extremly rare genetic condition that effects the brain. And said condition will eventually kill them, quite early. Three kids, the two oldest have this condition. Since the parents have a latent gene that combined will give this. Talk about unluck! So their youngest they did an IVF with donated sperm, and that little girl is perfectly normal.

Sad, right? But they still try to give the best to said kids, hence they take them with them everywhere, and they behaved really well, despite not being able to talk.

I gave all off Alexandras baby toys to them kids when I packed up after the LARP. I think them kids desvere it, and it made them happy. :-)

Hopefully all three of them will come next year to. Fingers crossed.

Right, this is long enough. I'll make another post about my birthday and our little vacation-trip to Kolmården. :-)

This entry is cross posted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

Oh hum… Things have been… busy. To say the least. Because we’re nearing the end of the school term. And that means my work-load goes a bit insane. Phew.

Unlike other years though, I’m actually pretty on top of things. I’ve gotten better at planning. Planning is EVERYTHING!!! Seriously, it’s given me peace of mind on a whole other level unlike previous few years I’ve been working here. I hope I continue being better and better at planning.

And won’t break my leg next year when winter returns… again… *crosses fingers*

Finally though the spring has arrived! I mean, it’s almost summer already. It was SO WARM today! So yeah, I’ll try not to worry about breaking legs in a while again…

This spring though Sweden lost two HUGE icons in the swedish music industry. No, seriously. Musicians of all ages agree that the influence on swedish music from these two is impossible to say. There’s a reason they’re called icons.

I for one have just taken their music and presence for granted, so I was a bit shocked when I heard they’d died. I’ve listened to their music so much lately, and I will admit to miss them dearly. I really did love their music, and it’s very typical swedish. Music I’ve grown up with. Their music have been a constant background to my life.

First Jerry Williams died 25th of March. He made rockabilly music that made me smile. And he had one hell of a presence of stage. It didn’t matter what age you were, everyone loved watching him on stage. It's impossible to sit still when playing his music. A fan of Elvis, he did get to meet him once when Jerry was young (according to his autobiography that I’ve read). Even though old, Jerry could not get enough of being on stage. Even if he did slow down after he’d turned 70. Instead he focused on health and exercise, giving out a book about exercising as an elderly. He was in great shape! However, cancer in his back (I think the spine) got him in the end, despite him being in great shape. RIP Jerry Williams…

Here’s some of his greatest hits, and my favorites to.

I can Jive (2012 when Jerry was 70 years of age)


Did I telly you (2016 when Jerry was 73 years old)


You can never tell (2014, Jerry was 71 years old) at the Polar prize Ceremony...


And then on the 3rd of April… Lill-Babs died. If she wasn’t an icon, no one is. An icon and one of the most hardworking artists I’ve heard off. She worked. Constantly. From the age of 15 years old until she died at the age of 80. She was planning yet another tour then!!! And was still working with various musicians! Lill-Babs played A LOT around the swedish folkparks = the people's parks. Recreation areas where there was a stage for artists to perform. (Not many of them left these days.) She’s said herself in interviews that she could sometimes perform in 3 or 4 of these places a day, helping to pack and travel in between each performance. She was very hard working. While also having three daughters. They claim she was a very loving and warm mother, even though she was away a lot. And also a bit crazy, since she could just NOT relax. She ADORED her fans though. And always took time to talk to each and everyone. Not to mention she was a very close friend to Quincy Jones. To the point of even contemplating marriage, but they didn't want to ruin the deep friendship they had, so they stayed close close friends. He wrote music for her at times. Interesting note, she was infamous for always wearing insanely high heels, which she did until her death. She had a thing for shoes… She died from a combination of cancer and heart failure... RIP Barbro Lill-Babs Svensson…

Here’s two really awesome vids with some of my favorite music with her. She was AMAZING!!!

Lill-Babs (in all black) performing a medley with her friends Siw Malmkvist and Ann-Louise Hansson Summer 2017 (Lill-Babs is 80 years old!)


Her greatest hit, Leva livet (= Live your life!) TV-show 2009 (Lill-Babs is 71 years old!)



You were both so so so loved and respected by colleagues, fans, the swedish people, the international music industry... You are both so so so missed. Rest in peace Jerry and Barbro...

This entry is cross posted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

So I went to Gothenburg for some quality time with my best friend this weekend. And to see Phantom of the Opera with Fred Johanson playing the title role of the Phantom.

I saw Fred Johanson in the movie version of Jesus Christ Superstar years and years ago, and I feel head over heels over his deep dark voice and his incredible presence in every scene he was in. My best friend, who is a serious musical buff, has since kept track of him both for me and since she likes him to. In a word, we’ve turned into a bit of fangirls over him.

Had I not been a fresh new mom, we would have gone to Stockholm to see him in Jesus Christ Superstar there, but alas… :-) Now we got our chance though, and we jumped at it! Plus it played during February and we both HATE February, so there’s that to. :-) We all need something to put a smile on our face, right?

Anyhow, to make sure we wouldn’t have to stress after we’d been to the Gothenburg Opera House were the musical played, we decided to share a room at a hotel. We both have busy lives with work and such, so we needed a lazy little weekend with our best friend. :-)

We left for Gothenburg moderately early, it just takes 1 hour to go to Gothenburg by bus or train, so we were there around… 10:30am.

Went to the hotel we were luckily our room was already available, so we dumped our sleepover bags and then we just strolled around town taking our time. We both needed a stress free day, and we took our time with everything. Went to our favorite shops and stores. I ‘happened to’ buy the three latest Elfquest graphic novels. Oops? And we had a late lunch/dinner in a lovely british themed pub before we went back to the hotel to dress up for the night.

( Travel and shopping and views of Gothenburg and it's stores with my best friend... )

The Gothenburg Opera House is quite impressive. A modern building mostly made by glass and steel, but it still works quite well and is oddly beautiful. Right by the harbor to. Easy to get to.

( Entrance of the Opera House... )

We were there in plenty time, so there was no stress getting rid of coats, do a panicked bathroom break and finding our seats. Great seats, by the way! Close but not too close to the stage. Could see everything and hear everything perfectly. Whenever I need tickets to a musical, I trust Ylletyg to get tickets, she seriously rocks at it. :-D

( Interiour decoration and well... me... )

And so… On to the musical itself. :-) Apart from the knee jerk reaction “OMG! IT WAS AMAZING! I HAD GOOSEBUMPS!” Well, I did have goosebumps for most of it, but…

Unlike Ylletyg I have not seen that many musicals (she’s a proper musical-nerd), but I HAVE read the original book by Gaston Leroux. And it’s a very goth, very harsh gritty story. From what I knew of the musical going in, it’s not… quite as harsh and gritty as the original story. The original story is really dark, really goth. I do recommend it if you have the patience for the old fashioned language used. It’s really good.

So to actually see and hear it, and with Fred Johanson to boot, it was a true experience.

( Me and best friend and the stage before the musical started... )

Let’s see… How to do this…

The good

Well, the music, obviously. *LOL* This production was made together with the Finnish National Opera Company, so there were a couple of opera singers in it. And the orchestra was quite massive as well. Not sure how big an orchestra is at a musical, but since this was played at the Gothenburg Opera House, they used the full orchestra usually used there. And you could tell. The music just consumed you. Not even joking. The combination of the skilled musicians and the singers, all the different singers, was spellbinding.

Another downright amazing thing, that impressed both me and Ylletyg, is something the Gothenburg Opera House is known for… The ease and speed in wish the stage was changed and the scenography. I mean, the set up of the stage was changed SO FAST and SO SEAMLESSLY!!! Apparently the Gothenburg Opera House is built to be able to do that, so there was many scenes with different looks and a lot of props that quickly and seamlessly was changed around. The most impressive scene to me was when The Phantom lures Christine with him to his lair the first time (during the song Phantom of the Opera, the most famous of the songs) and all these stairwells and grey brick walls moved around on the stage as if they were part of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter movies… WITH the actors standing on them! THAT was impressive!

Another really good thing about this musical, which both me and Ylletyg both commented on at the same time, was that it was quite harsh and gritty, goth and dark. Well, the story IS dark and goth in and off itself, but the movie isn’t that harsh and gritty. And according to Ylletyg, previous productions hasn’t been this harsh and gritty either… If that makes sense? It sure worked really really well though, and I got the feeling that the actors/singers enjoyed that to. The costumes were INCREDIBLE and while I wanted to steal most of the male costumes, Ylletyg wanted to steal all the female ones. *LOL* She said the costumes had a bit of steampunk feel to it, and I have to agree! They even redesigned The Phantom’s mask, and I have to say I really liked it! The whole scenography and costumes was really good and added to the harsh, gritty, goth, dark feel of the whole production. A great great job!

Characters / Actors

When it comes to characters and their singers/actors, I have to say a character I found dull and boring in the book and in the movie (yes, I have seen the movie to), is Raoul. Christine's love interest. He is the posterboy for the time the novel was written, but would not be popular today, if get what I mean. But the actor/singer that did him the night we watched, did something more with the character within the frames he was given. A boyish charming guy, that very clearly showed his love for Christine. Not just competing with The Phantom, you know? He somehow managed to show that he cared. More than the Raoul in the novel, to be honest. So he sure impressed me!

Raoul works together with the two new owners of the Opera, Monsieur Firmin and Monsieur André. And these two were freaking HILARIOUS! Perfect comic relief without going to far with it. Have some of the best songs, to be honest. And the two actors clearly had fun with these actors. It was very obvious. The Phantom is my favorite, but these comes close to it, for sure. I think they did great!

Carlotta and Pangini were two other characters that were definitely comic reliefs. Carlotta and Pangini are the two stars of the opera in the story. And Carlotta? Is a proper diva! *LOL* The actress/singer is a trained opera-singer. And you can tell. I don’t think she had a microphone. She didn’t need one. Holy hell, what a voice! Combining that with an over the top diva character, and it was a joy to see! Also, she had the most awesome clothes off ALL the characters! High heeled victorian boots in leopard print? GIVE ME! Pangini was a bit more flat of a character, but he was funny to. Especially with Carlotta who kept bulling him around, while he just came back for more. Both of them played up an italian accent, which was very fitting both for the setting and the story.

Madame Giry and Meg are two pretty cool characters in the story to, that I really really like. We’re getting close to my favorite now. ;-) Madame Giry pretty much takes another characters role in the novel. The character that KNOWS… Knows about where the Phantom/Erik comes from. And that was a pleasant surprise. You actually found out quite a bit! That he’d built a room of mirrors for a Shah… that he’d been born with a disfigurement… that he’d been with a freakshow lead by gypsies… That he’d built trapdoors and sneaky passages all over the Opera House… So Madame Giry is quite the important character! And the actress/singer who played her did SUCH a good job! Just the right amount of creepy and know-it-all without making it annoying.

So is Meg! She’s best friend with Christine, and is a constant suporter to Christine. She’s the one that tells Monsieur Firmin and Monsieur André that Chrstine can be a standin for Carlotta, and in so makes sure they can discover Chrstines amazing voice. She to knows the stories about the Phantom quite well and also gives us clues to him, just like her mother. Her actress doesn’t have that much to work with, but I think she did a great job, I really did.

Christine… Ah, Christine. The token love intressent. She’s just as interesting as in the novel, that is not that interesting at all. But I have to give it to the actress/singer. She really milked the role for all it was worth! Not only a gorgeous young woman with a miraculous voice that is manipulated by a creepy voice in the walls… But a woman with dreams and wants her own, that wants to be independent and be the new star but is to shy to take the chance in the beginning (thank you Meg!). And also how confused and desperate she is the longer the story unfolds. I think it was very well played! And that woman's voice… WOW! She to has apparently trained to be a opera singer, and you can tell! Some of them notes… Just wow...

The Phantom / Erik… Ah, what to say, really? Played by the INCREDIBLE Fred Johanson, the sole reason we even went to see this production of The Phantom. It, of course, helps that I really like the story about Erik, the man who has grown up harshly and then isolated because of his face that is disfigured and horrible to see. Not even his mother managed to look at him kindly. One of my favorite books is Phantom by Susan Kay about Erik’s life from birth to death. I can not recommend it enough if you enjoy this character. It’s absolutely incredible. How did Fred Johanson do in the role then? Incredible, as was expected. He is a very tall man, somewhere between 6,4 and 6,5 feet tall (said himself in an interview), if somewhat leaner than he used to be. Still, having an incredible knee length coat on (that I wanted to steal…), he makes for an imposing figure. He definitely did the character justice, and not only when he needed to be scary, but also in more emotional moments. And then Fred’s voice… Holy fuck, that deep dark voice… It gives me freaking goosebumps, not even joking. Fred also has an incredible presence on stage! I’ve seen him three times live now, and then there’s the Jesus Christ Superstar movie, and Fred has this ability to just OWN the stage as soon as he sets foot on it. I don’t know how he does it, but it’s incredible to see. As the Phantom at times you just hear his voice, you don’t see him, and he still just OWNS the stage! An amazing talent in all ways! He really should get more attention for his talent.

Just to prove Fred’s talent, here he sings The Music Of The Night:

( Fred Johanson singing The Music of The Night! )

The bad

So the bad… Was there anything bad? Well, yeah. And it’s mostly nitpicking, but still.

One thing that kind disappointed me was… The infamous chandelier. The one that at one point during the musical “falls down”. The Phantom is pissed off, and makes a chandelier in the auditorium fall down and kill some of the audience, and to show this during the musical, they have a chandelier go on a cable over the audience from the ceiling. The whole musical starts with it going up the ceiling. You’d expect it to be an impressive piece then, right? Since it plays such a vital role? Right? Well. The auditorium at the Gothenburg Opera House is MASSIVE. And the chandelier kinda… disappeared. It looked REALLY TINY somehow. And the design wasn’t that impressive either, so that was a bit of a let down. :-P It was still cool though when it “fell down”.

At one point in the middle the story slowed down a bit, and I didn’t really know what was going on. It was a good thing I knew the story well, just saying, or I could have been a bit lost. Also, in the beginning especially, there was just way to many people on stage and you had to really focus to keep track of where the main characters was.

Nitpicky? Yes, a little maybe. :-) I’m allowed to. ;-)



Right, so…

After the musical was over, me and Ylletyg went to get our coats. We’d decided to try to go to the stage door to see if we could see Fred Johanson there and hopefully get an autograph. So we stood there calmly waiting in line… And suddenly, right behind us one of the many doors in the Opera House opened. And Fred Johanson in full Phantom makeup literary leaned his head out the door raising an eyebrow.

I nearly peed myself. One of those things you just can’t believe is happening.

Fred seemed to know some people, one in a wheelchair, and talked happily to them. No one bothered him, or took photos. Everyone was REALLY respectful and kept their distance, so he just stood there, talking happily with a couple of people. Opening and closing the door now and then since the alarm kept going off, and making a funny joke about it every time. Me and Ylletyg had a hard time containing our excitement, I won’t lie. We debated back and forth in hushed voices if we really would dare to go over to him or not and what we’d say etc…

Then a young women came over to me giving me a hug. It took me a second, but then I saw she was one of the many teens that had graduated from ‘my school’ two years ago. She was studying music now and was just as excited as we were about the musical experience, and very happy to see me (yay!). She’d spent hours in the library with me, so she knew what a nerd and fangirl I am. When I told her I didn’t know if I should go over to Fred or not or if I dared to ask for a photo, she sternly told me I HAD to when she understood what a fan I was. The student becomes the teacher? X-D

Said and done, when there were fewer people talking to him we walked over to him, hearts beating, and told him what an incredible singer he is. I think I even told him I got goosebumps from his voice. X-D

And we also made sure to say we were amazed by the presence he has on stage, and that we’d seen him in three different musicals live now, and that at least I kept rewatching the Jesus Christ Superstar he is in. He seemed really flattered that we’d followed his career and read up on him more than just about this role and was very happy to hear we’d enjoyed his performance that much. I remember he said he’d never reflected on about having a presence or stage or not, but we assured him he seriously has.

We respectfully asked him if we could take a photo, and he said sure! Fred then asked if we wanted a joint selfie with him. At that point my poor friend who is just 4.9 feet tall (short?) piped up “But I’m so short…” Well, I’m 5.9, almost 6 feet, and Fred is between 6.4 and 6.5 feet, so I totally understand her! X-D We ended up taking a photo each with him. When it was Ylletygs turn, he even bent his knees so he’d be level with her. IT WAS SO CUTE!!!! We again thanked him so very much for the incredible evening. He just smiled and bid his farewell before disappearing behind that door again.

( Picture evidence! I DID GET A SELFIE WITH THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA! I GOT TO MEET FRED JOHANSON!!! )

As we were leaving after that, we were downright floating! X-D We could not stop grinning and felt as if we were drunk, even if we hadn’t had any alcohol that day! (Well, just a little with lunch/dinner...)

Ylletyg commented that things like this only happens when it’s us two to doing stuff together, and I think she’s right! The magic of being two long time best friends? *LOL* It might be what triggers these incredible things!

So before we went back to the hotel, we felt like we needed a sturdy drink! So we found a pub that wasn’t to crowded, had a drink and a snack, discussing our evening and our incredible meeting with Fred. Then we went back to the hotel.

Once in a bed each though, we couldn’t sleep! X-D Se we ended up laying in the darkness giggling and talking for quite the long time, just like little girls, before we feel asleep!

You’d never guess we’re both 40 years old… X-D

The next day Ylletyg had to get up early since she was going on a course in Gothenburg to learn how to make hats, so I joined her for the LOVELY hotel breakfast and then she left and I just lazed around a bit in the hotel room before leaving to. A bit of shopping later and I went home.

So thus endeth my AMAZING time in Gothenburg with my best friend!

This entry is cross posted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

So… Let’s see if I can summarize what has happened this week at work. It’s not going to be easy. :-P At all.

Tuesday I had to go to dentist since I had a bad toothache, so Peting drove both me and Alexandra to daycare and then to work. Which meant that I had to go pick up Alexandra that day and in doing so, I have to leave early.

At 2pm I found out I had to go to a meeting at 2:30pm. I HAD to go, I was told. Not good, since I would have to leave at this time. I could be there for 30 mins though.

Which was just what I needed apparently. Because one of the headmasters (we have two) told the whole school that there was this proposal among that local politicians that would force this school to save 4.6 million crowns.

4.6 MILLION crowns??!??! That would be around 523 000 US dollars!

Geezes fuck. And according to the school-staff, this was most certainly going to be decided on. And soon to. They were literary tears in their eyes as they told us, the staff, about this.

Now, the headmasters are not my bosses, I have a library boss. So when the headmasters told us they wanted us to write down all consequences we could think off that could happen if this proposal was decided on and then hand it in to them… I, of course, called her. She’s a mentor as well as a boss to me.

She didn’t know anything about this, told me not to write down anything, and she’d look into it. Right on. I do trust her. She’s like a war-general with a heart of gold.

So I relaxed about it, but felt really bad for the school. This is not good. This school is in one of the most troubled areas in Sweden. There’s a lot of refugees, a lot of poverty, a lot of crime, a lot of violence… In the school to. We have young criminals as young as 12-13 years old. :-/

This proposal where the school have to save this much would destroy the school. Not even joking.

What would effect me the most is that those that are hired to keep the peace in the corridors (and who also work at the community youth centers in the area), would have to go. And these guys DO SO MUCH for the teens, and they do SO MUCH to just make everyone feel safe and calm during a normal day.

These troubled teens, these hooligans, they don’t listen to anyone. But they do listen a bit at least to them adults.

So if they are gone? Things will be SERIOUSLY chaotic at work.

In other words, it would be impossible for me to work there. :-/ Which breaks my heart into little pieces. But I can’t work there if these more or less criminal hooligans get free reign of the corridors at the school. They’d just recruit more for the gangs in the area and there’d be even more crime in the school and… and…

Not to mention that my position would end up being just 20 hours a week in the school-library instead of 40 hours a week, as it is now. And I can barely manage on 40 hours??!?!?!? So, yeah...

Well, you see my point, I hope you know. So, I am keeping an open mind when new positions show up. In a month or two will know what will happen.

Of course it effects the teachers and the rest of the staff a lot to, but I’m not into the details there. The fact those peacekeeping people disappears though if so? That effects EVERYONE!!!

It’s just really fucking horrible.

According to my library boss the Department responsible for Education in the city and the Department responsible for Culture…. They don’t talk to each other. The information between the departments does not get where it needs to. So my boss and the libraries had no idea about all this, until I called her.

The local newspaper and the public service TV channel have found out about it to, so now they local politicians have media breathing down their neck.

They deserve it. This school and the school in the other equally as problematic area are the ones that are supposed to save the most money according to this proposal.

HOW THE FUCK DID THEY THINK THERE?!??!?!?! Just last year they told us and the city they were going to give MORE money to these schools, and now instead we get less.

*shakes head*

I’m sure I’ve missed stuff for this post, but this is the gist of it.

I guess I’ll get back to this again when I know more.

These kids/teens and this area does not deserve this, to be honest. *heavy sigh*

This entry is cross posted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

So, Peting had his birthday party. It was actually a lot of fun!

Mom wasn't here, but she'll come over tomorrow. I can't wait. My little brother was here and I gave him a great big hug, because I've missed him. I've missed both my brother and mother lately, because life and especially work has been just a little bit crazy. And still is, to be fair, even if it does feel like I'm more in control now then I was before.

Anyway back to the birthday party!

Peting's relatives and mom came over, obviously, which was a lot of fun! I love my MIL, I really do. I do know she reads here at times though, and I found out later that she was worried I was mad at her about all the carb-talk, but I'm not MAD. I was IRRITATED about it, but you know. Big difference. And that comes and goes to. There was not much carb-talk today though, maybe a mention. And I did give her a grand big hug telling her I do really love and she is a great MIL. WHICH IS TRUE! And not just something I say. I've written that more than once during all the years I've written here. It's funny really how much like my mom she is, even though my mom is loud and boisterous and my MIL is more subdued. They're still very much alike in a very good way.

There was a lot of gifts for my dear Peting. He got a Yoda bobble head that Alexandra had picked out. Well, to be fair, she'd said that 'dad needs a Star Wars doll'. Said and done, we went to find one. We did, in a game-store. But she wanted to buy the big Yoda softie, which was... a bit big and also a bit more expensive... *LOL* So we went with he smaller bobble head one. :-) He got a gift card to buy something there to, and a thermometer that tells you the temperature both inside and outside at the same time. So he was very happy. Especially when he got a even bigger gift card from his aunt, so he'll be buying A LOT of games in the future, I'm sure. *LOL*

What with how stressed I'd been lately, I didn't bake that much. I made a classic swedish birthday cake with a marzipan cover and swedish farm cookies (on Peting's request), and my dear best friend made salmiak macrons as a surprise! Oh, and I'd bought chocolate chip cookies from a teen at the school I work, since his class collected money to go on a trip together. :-) So there was plenty to eat for FIKA!

Before FIKA we had lasagna that Peting had made. He's REALLY good at that, and it tasted DIVINE!

To say everyone was stuffed after that would be an understatement. *LOL* So the little birthday party was a HUGE success!

My best friend lingered though, and we had a loooong talk before she left. It felt really good. We've both felt a bit exhausted and down lately, so just to sit and talk for hours was JUST what we both needed, I think. We've known each other for so long now 25 or 26 years, I think. So we know each other inside and out by now. And we know that sometimes we have to push a little to get each other to talk. This time I needed a little pushing. And she knows just how to. She didn't leave until a bit after 8pm, way after Alexandras bedtime. But she got to stay up a little longer today since it was a special day and all.

Thank anything holy for my best friend. Seriously. I don't know what I'd do without her. She's so good at getting my head straight when I mess myself up. She claims I do the same to her, even though I don't know how. Maybe I don't have to? Safe to say we help each other out when we need to. :-)

Now it's defiantly bedtime, and I'll get to hang out with mom tomorrow. Awesomeness!

This entry is cross posted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

Let's continue from where we left off, shall we?

After I'd dropped snowstormskies off at the airport, I went straight home. We had dinner, and... we packed.

Because the day after that, we went on a little trip with my brother. To Astrid Lindgrens World. It's a park built around the worlds and characters from the books written by Astrid Lindgren.

We were going together with my brother and his two kids, which had Alexandra totally excited! We'd rented a cabin and my brother brought his caravan. :-D We didn't get access to our spots in the camping ground until after we'd been at the park, but it didn't matter. It was the park we were aiming for, after all. :-D

First day we walked around the most. We aimed to see a few shows/plays they have around the park. It's split up in various areas, each for a book and their characters.

That first day we saw most of the park and the various themed areas. And of course caught a few shows as well.

Thing is, each area has seatings around the main building of the area. And there's shows and an actor playing the character is there during certain times. So we caught a couple of those shows/plays. About 20 mins long each.

We caught Brothers Lionheart, Pippi Longstocking and Karlsson-on-the-roof that first day. It was lovely! The actors were great, and clearly cared about their characters! Even the kid-actors!

But the best part about this park is, I have to say, how damn well made the place is! There was no plastic, no cheating, nothing like that. The whole place is built with pure craftsmanship, and a skilled one at that! If it was a wooden house, it WAS a wooden house built from the ground up, even the miniature once! A stone wall, WAS a damn stone wall even if it might not be a big one, but it was built as if it could have been! There was no cheating going on.

Even in the restaurants and FIKA places, you had real plates, real glasses, real mugs. No paper or plastic. The food, sweets and FIKA-snacks? All produced, baked etc locally. Everything tasted damn homemade, and was DELICIOUS!!!

Price? Not to bad. The entrance fee was the highest, but once you were in there everything but food and souvenirs was for free. And not even the souvenirs were hugely expensive! But those for later. :-)

Anyway, we enjoyed ourselfs. The kids ran around and played and explored everywhere. At Ronia the Robbers area, Matt's Fort, Alexandra fell and scratched the palm of her hand and was very upset. It was just a small scratch, but she did walk around begging for bandaids all day. She get it, and then after a while she pulled it off and wanted a new one... Thank heavens the staff at Astrid Lindgren's World was both kind and patient! :-D

Less than an hour before the park closed, we left and went to get my brothers caravan set up and get to our cabin. Which we did. And the cabin was GREAT! Very beautiful and comfy. And my brother could set his cabel up, so he got electricty in his caravan. :-D All good! And he also invited us over for a mini-barbecue, since he had his mini-grill with him. So we had hotdogs as a late dinner before we all collapsed in our respective beds. :-)

Photos from Day One at Astrid Lindgren's World (multiple on each!): One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six

The next day it was RAINING!!! Pouring down when we all woke up. But at the point where we'd emptied our cabin and all kids had eaten, been to the bathroom and you know... all that. It had stopped raining, but the sky was still grey, so we made sure to have the proper equipment with umbrellas for us adults and for the big kids, and Alexandra had rubberboots and half her rainsuit, just the rainpants since she wanted her normal jacket and an umbrella like everyone else. Deal!

Said and done and we went to the park with the goal to see as many shows/plays as we could possibly figure out! The park had an app and, of course, a brochure where all the shows during the day is listed.

We aimed for Matt's Fort, area with Ronia the Robbers Daughter, and to let the kids have fun on the way. But, on the way we stumbled upon Madicken's area as well! So we stopped to check their show before we moved on... And suddenly someone started talking and singing close to us again when we continued! We'd stumbled upon Rasmus and the Tramp as well! *LOL* Amazing! So we watched them as well. :-D

Then, finally, we arrived at Matt's Fort to watch Ronia, her robber father and all his robbers! IT WAS SO GOOD! For those not knowing, Ronia the Robbers daughter is my favorite book! I ADORE IT!!! So to see it on a tiny stage, part of the story, that was AMAZING! So good! Also, they sang the songs from the movie, which I loved, and it was just all around great! The kids loved it to, since the robbers sang good and were some funny characters to. :-D ALL GOOD!

After that we focused on the kids favorites... First off Emil of Lönneberga! So we continued on to that area to watch a show play there. It was great! So funny! And the songs written for that story and movie are so so so good! Probably some of the best written for Astrid Lindgren's stories, to be honest. So that was great! And the kids loved it!

We'd forgotten to eat, so we took a break for food, then we went to watch Pippi Longstocking again, because she's Alexandra's favorite and she's the youngest. ;-) The other two kids loves her to, so that was an easy decision! So went there, the kids played around with a ton of other kids in Pippi's house and then we watched Pippi. Just as good and funny as the day before. Best part was to see how Alexandra got all into it as we watched Pippi. *grin*

Then we had some FIKA, because dads need coffee... *lol* Then we went back to Emil of Lönneberga and watched another play there... Again, very funny and the songs are WONDERFUL!!! Emil is not my favorite of Astrid Lindgren's character, but the songs are some of my favorites. :-D

And then... it was time to leave. In between the shows, the kids walked around and explored. Checked out things. Tried things. And we bought homemade candy. And they just enjoyed being together as cousins. My brotehrs kids, Tilda and Theo are 10 and 8 years old. And Alexandra is just 5 years old. But Tilda and Theo are WONDERFUL with Alexandra, really loves her! Makes sure she's OK, they don't run away from her, they help her climb around in all the fun houses, explore things, explain things to her... It's just... They are just SO GOOD with her! I LOVE seeing it!

Anyway, we finished our day with Alexandra getting a toy there. Since she's learned to use the toilette properly instead of the potty. *lol* Positive reinforsment. ;-) And I figured she'd pick a Pippi doll or an Emil doll, since those are her favorites. But no. OF COURSE she picked a softie toy... a softie horse. Pippi's horse. *SIGH!* We have so many softie-horses at this point... Not surprised though.

And then we packed up, and started our journey home. After about an hour we split up, my brotehr and his kids going one way and we the other for another hour and a half. Then we were home, and all of us collapsed in the bed after getting our bags up to the apartment.

It was a great, great, great trip though! I had SUCH a good time! And us adults decided that we have to do something together next year to, because we all had such a great time. :-D

Photos from Day Two at Astrid Lindgren's World (multiple on nearly each!): One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven

And that concludes my vacation adventures! We were supposed to go to the coast to, but the weather there was supposed to suck during the time we were there. And who wants to be at the coast and not be able to swim, eh? So no. We'll do that at another time.

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

If you remember I didn't do that good before Midsummer. And in the end, that might have been a blessing in disguise. Which sounds weird as fuck, but hear me out here.

I was still down and a bit out of it during packing in the morning, to the point I almost pissed Peting off, because he figured I could try to see something good with the trip. And I did!! I did! Meeting my huge insane extended family is GOLD! It was what kept me going, to meet them all at my aunts as she holds her annual Midsummer party the day before Midsummer Eve.

So, once we packed (which actually went surprisingly well... very surprising!), we were on our way to meet up with my aunt and her family. One of my cousins are still globetrotting, which she's done for years, but her two siblings would be there. Those three cousins are the closest to me of all my relatives. We grew up as siblings almost, since our mothers are so close.

We hung out with my aunts husband (totally awesome!) and one of my cousins until my aunt got off work. Then we just hung out, talked and helped her. Alexandra charmed everyone that saw her, as par usual, even if she was very shy at first. Also normal. Peting left early, since he had an 8 hour drive to do from my aunts to his friend further north in the country.

Which is part of what stressed me out and left me feel totally out if it. Because now we're basically dumped at my aunts. I didn't know when my mom was going to show, and I knew she just wanted us to drive her to the next party with her gentleman caller and then we'd be abandoned at her home for Midsummer Eve. Just me and Alexandra. By ourselves. During a holiday usually celebrated with family. (Unless you are a teen or of drinking age, then you just get drunk.)

Either way, it felt really depressing and stressful. My aunt hugged me lots and kept saying her sister was insane that she didn't want to hang out with me and Alexandra on Midsummer Eve when we so rarely get to go to visit her.

A bit past 8pm Alexandra was starting to whine that she was tired and wanted to leave and go to bed. She was being very good and had stayed up more than an hour past her normal bedtime, so totally understandable. I had a ton of packing, so I asked my aunt, cousin and some more relatives to help me carry my stuff to mom's car, since she'd arrived an hour or so earlier.

And then it started. How I was supposed to drive her and her gentleman caller here and there BEFORE I could go home to moms and put me and Alexandra to bed and the things there was in the fridge for us to eat, classical Midsummer food, and this and that and I just...

I lost it a bit. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I did. So mom and aunt and one of my second cousins (that I adore) saw and heard.

Everyone hugged me and helped me and all was good. I drove off, just me and Alexandra. She was sooo tired, but was doing good and even though I said she could sleep in the car, she didn't. The phone went off twice during the drive, but I couldn't answer and drive at the same time during the evening, so I figured I'd see who it was once Alexandra was in bed.

She did great, went to bed at mom's feel asleep and all, after almost an hour (!), but that was expected when not being in her own bed.

Checking my phone while unpacking the car (headphones is the shit), it was mom that had called and texted me. She was upset I was upset and all... and when I called her she said she'd cancelled her plans with her gentleman caller so she could be with me and Alexandra.

I felt bad about that, guilty that she cancelled her plans. I had her car, but some relatives drove her home. We hugged and talked and it was all good.

We ended up having a GREAT Midsummer Eve! Probably the best one I've had in a couple of years. Ever since Peting started to go visiting his friend by himself, I'd say. I kept feeling guilty about ruining mom's plans, but it faded eventually.

My aunt and her husband came over to, and we had SUCH a good time! We really really did! Mom told me she had such a great time to, and I believe her! I could tell she wasn't just saying that.

We ended up staying with mom for a whole week! :-D Midsummer Eve and Midsummer Day just me and Alexandra. Peting joined us late late Midsummer Day. The day after that my brother dropped off his kids, and they stayed there as well for the rest of the week. FULL HOUSE! *LOL* It was great. :-D It really was. Alexandra had a blast the whole time. There was much giggling to be heard every night when them three kids was going to sleep. *LOL*

And I managed to relax to! Me, who am always stressing over one thing or another managed to STOP doing that and just... relax and hanging out with the kids. It was GREAT!

We took it easy at mom's, went to the public pool, cooked and baked together... It was WONDERFUL! I could see mom had a blast to being surrounded by all three of her grandkids at the same time, which is pretty rare.

So that whole trip ended up amazing, even if it had a very rocky start. :-)

On Sunday snowstormskies is coming here for her, by this point, annual visit! I think it's the fourth time she visits, unless I've lost count. *lol* We don't have any huge plans. Just to hang out, visit mom and go to Karlsborg's fortress. Going to be nice, I think! :-D

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

53: have you ever watched the rocky horror picture show? heathers? beetlejuice? pulp fiction? what do you think of them? I love the RHPS! I've seen it many times, but not the new version. I do want to, but I think the original will always be best. Beetlejuice is also an old favorite, as is Pulp Fiction! But I've not heard of Heathers before, so that one is new. If it's anything like the others, maybe I should check it out. :-)

54: who's the last person you saw with a true look of sadness on their face?
What kind of quesiton is that? Hmm... At my age relatives start do die off. So it's probably been at a funural or other. Clear memories are of my brother and mother when dad died. And my best friend when her grandmother died.

55: what's the most dramatic thing you've ever done to prove a point? Can't think of anything to be honest. I usually go loud and does a lot of weird things with my hands when I'm in a discussion and wants to prove my point.

56: what are some things you find endearing in people?
When people dare to be honest with me. When they trust me enough to be that. And when they dare to be close for hugs. Hugging is something I love to do. Both with family, friends... Kids and teens in school... You dare do that, you'll get one hell of a hug in return! Got like 8 hugs at work on day, that was probably the best day at work ever!

57: go listen to bohemian rhapsody. how did it make you feel? did you dramatically reenact the lyrics?
Not one of those that feel a need to reenact said song, but damn... It's one HELL of a piece of music! I LOVE Queen! Would love to see Queen and Adam Lambert one day!

58: who's the wine mom and who's the vodka aunt in your group of friends? why?
I have no idea what this means, and I don't feel like looking it up, so I'll just ignore it. *continues*

59: what's your favorite myth?
Oh gawd... I have many, to be honest. I LOVE Norse Mythology. As in the Aesir with Odin, Thor, Frey, Freya, Loke... Etc, etc... And no, I do NOT mean the Marvel version!!!! I mean the proper mythology that has survived from the vikings to our days. THAT is my favorite mythology!!! All the stories about them gods. From the creation of the world, to Ragnarök where the world dies... I'm not going to get into it, I can be longwinded. :-P

60: do you like poetry? what are some of your faves?
According to common belief apparently librarians are supposed to enjoy poetry.... Poetry and red wine. I enjoy neither. *shrug* I guess I'm the weird librarian.

61: what's the stupidest gift you've ever given? the stupidest one you've ever received?
I think I bought some sextoy or another to a friend once... together with penis-shaped pasta. X-D Yes, apparently those USED to be a thing once. Can't think of any stupid thing I've gotten, but probably clothes that are to small. I hate that. :-/

62: do you drink juice in the morning? which kind?
No, I don't. I drink a vitamin-drink every day instead. :-)

63: are you fussy about your books and music? do you keep them meticulously organized or kinda leave them be?
I'd like to keep them organized, it's a thing from work I suppose... But since we have so many books in such different sizes, it's impossible. I've gone through my books many times and throw away a lot. Let's just say... Peting don't believe in doing that... *cough*

64: what color is the sky where you are right now?
Black, since it's in the middle of the night/early morning.

65: is there anyone you haven't seen in a long time who you'd love to hang out with?
I sometimes wonder what happened to the friends I had in the village / community where I grew up. I'd just like to say hey and ask what they've been up to. I think we're to different now to be friends, but still it would be nice.

66: what would your ideal flower crown look like?
Lots and lots of wildflowers native from Sweden. :-)

67: how do gloomy days where the sky is dark and the world is misty make you feel? Depends on when during the year... If it happens during winter or summer, it doesn't bother me much. I just snuggle down with tea and something good to read or watch. February though.... That's my bad month. If it happens then, and it does. That whole month is gloomy as fuck. Then I lose energy, get snappy, and is generally not nice person with very little patience. And I usually have A LOT of patience.

68: what's winter like where you live?
Dark. X-D That about sums it up. Very dark, since we have precious little daylight hours. And cold and wet, since it either snows or rains. And it's usually quite windy to. Sounds lovely, doesn't it? X-D

69: what are your favorite board games?
If we're talking boardgames and not roleplaying games, it has to be Cluedo / Clue. I LOVE THAT GAME!!!!

70: have you ever used a ouija board?
Nope. You shouldn't play around with things like that. You just never know...


71: what's your favorite kind of tea?
I like black tea, preferably flavored with some fruit or berry. I love the tea from the swedish company Kränku that is based on Gotland. They flavor their tea themselves, and it's a DELIGHT to drink!


( All the questions! )

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

This is the best mudcake recipie I've tried, and I've tried quite a few. Since the most common thing to do when studying at University was to panic over exams with red wine and mudcake... No joke. *lol*

Anyway, this recipie is from the book Kärleksmums - 101 söta favoriter. Page 58 even, and it's called Monkes Spröda Kladdkaka, if you ever decide to go check. Just gonna call it Chocolate Mudcake here. :-)

Chocolate Mudcake

2 eggs
3 deciliter sugar (1.26 cups)
2 teaspoons vanillasugar
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 ½ deciliter wheat flour (0.63 cup)
50 grams of flaked almonds (can skip these if you want) (1.76 ounces)
1 dl or 100 grams of melted butter (0.42 cups or 3.52 ounce)
some semolina

Heat in the oven: 180 degrees Celsius (356 degrees Fahrenheit)

How to:

Mix the eggs and sugar nice and slow with a wooden spoon or ladle. Then you add the rest one at a time. Save the butter for last.

Butter up a cake pan, preferably one where you can remove the bottom. Pour some semolina in it and make sure it covers all the butter, before removing the excess.

Pour the tasty cake mixture in the cake pan. Put it in the oven, preferably a bit low, and let it be for 20 minutes, not longer.

And while you wait, lick the bowl before the kids come hunting you...

Eat the cake with whipped cream!

This entry is crossposted between LJ and DW. Comment where you are comfortable.

But apart from that, things goes quite well... It's just so damn cold and the winds really bite into you. Not my idea of fun, I can't say.

Yeah, I'm all outside nearly every day now. I make up reasons to get out and fix things, because I'm not a person who enjoys going out for a walk... I think that's boring and blah... So, errands everyday.

I've also sold a bunch of stuff on Tradera (swedish Ebay) for over 200 dollars. o.O It was my old medieval clothes that I sold, all in real wool and real linnen. And sewn by me. So I put it for auction, for less than the material was worth I think. And then I still pulled in that much! Totally impressed!

So currently my little walks is to send that stuff off. And since not everyone pays at the same time, it creates a walk for me everyday. :-)

When I'm at home, I sit mostly on the computer. I've ended up totally obsessed with YouTube. There's a few YouTuber that I follow, and man... I really love watching their stuff! There's some really fun people out there, and some are really talented to! :-D

I also spend a TON of time on Twitter, Plurk and Instagram.

Oh, and to keep warm me and my best friend have joined in all other fans of the company Kränku. For serious, they make the best tea you can get your hands on in Sweden! o.O And the company has now turned 40 years! So every month they have a monthly tea this whole year! :-D So I'm gonna drown in tea, but I don't even care. :-D

It's hard to understand that I've been on sick leave this long... My poor replacement is not having an easy time btw. He is a really sweet and kind guy. REALLY! He really really is. Problem though. You gotta have some balls and be a bit tough on that school, or the kids will run right over you. They're a bit like animals that way. They see one itty bitty weakness... They attack and will exploit that weakness like hell! Not physically, obviously, but mentally. So yeah... And since he to is an previously bullied kid, he has a bit of troubles with pushing back against that. I've gotten a bit further in process than he, so I can just give as good as I get when the kids go mean like that. Me and my boss has been there a few times to support him, but I mean... I jump at crutches. I can tell the kids off, which I'm good at, but that's pretty much all I can do. :-P

When I go back to work I won't work full time right away, so it'll be the both of us then for a while. I think that's good. Makes it a good transition, so to speak.

Anyway, some fun stuff! :-D

I've discovered that the graphics community, that makes these shiny icons for me and also all the blinkies I have at the bottom of each post... It was a dying community, but for some reason... It has a revival right now! :-D There's users coming back to LJ, at least in that community! TOTALLY COOL!

And I had a comment with sireesanwar that it's easy to not dare to make new friends on LJ, but really... Branch out! There's so many awesome users still here, so why not? :-) I know I have a quite a few new friends that I really appreciate here on LJ. :-) Not to mention I know there are those reading my LJ that are not LJ-users as well. :-D Totally appreciate those to!

Then I have to say, I had a bit of squee over an old fandom the other day. I nearly woke up the kid when I saw it! X-D But the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie is fast approching. Oh no, you say... Not another shitty one... And I was thinking the same. Until I saw the trailer the other night. And dude. It looks like they are going back to the dark / wacky / adventure that made the first three so good. Also... Cursed Captain Will Turner is there! :-D I can't even tell you how excited I am about that! *giddy* So check it out!



Johnny Cash music in a pirate movie? Well... I'd say it WORKS! :-D Brilliant! Looks really good! I thought I was way over that fandom.

I was wrong. X-D

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