Finally finished :)

Today I got around to finishing our gingerbread house :) Took me about a week all in all, but I enjoyed it. It is certainly not the best looking gingerbread house I ever built but it's thefirst one I made from scratch! I'm proud of that slightly crooked, soft walled but immensely sweet little cottage.

When I decided to make my own I felt like it would be appropriate to make a traditional british stone cottage - it is my first Christmas living here after all! So I googled stone cottage and found this picture:

Lucia

On the 13th of December every year we celebrate Lucia in Sweden (and all of the Scandinavian countries plus Sicily where she was born). We do this to commemorate Saint Lucia, one of the few saints to stick around and be well known even though we are Lutheran Christians.

The name Lucia comes from the Latin word Lux meaning 'light'. She was born on Sicily around A.D. 283. As a child or a young woman she prayed alongside her mother to the Saint Agatha to cure her mother's dysentery. In a dream the Saint came to her and told her she would herself become a Saint one day.

Christmas tree, oh, Christmas tree!

As I have said before I've been feeling a bit down as we had no Christmas decorations. Coupled with the fact that Britain doesn't get a proper winter that meant no Christmas spirit for me. Rob knew I was unhappy about it so yesterday he bought me a Christmas tree <3 He called me from work and told me to go get some tinsel for it ^^ It's only a small one, in plastic with fiber optic lights, but it meant so much to me that he got it for me so I would be happy.

I told him I will love him forever for that tree and if he ever stops loving me I'm going to ignore that and keep taking care of him until he gets Stockholm syndrome and starts loving me again. Of course he still has his freedom to leave - but only in theory ;)

Also, I made some Christmas fudge yesterday (I called it toffie, but Rob took one look at it and went "That's fudge"). I made 2/3 of the batter "normal" chocolate fudge and the last third I decided to try and make with Christmas spices. So I added a pinch of ground cloves, ground cinnamon and ground cardamom. I though it turned out great, but Rob thought it was a bit too rich for him. He loved the regular chocolate fudge though, so i sent the bag with him to work. Hope his collegues will enjoy it as well! I'm writing down the recipe for the fudge below ^^

All 10 fingers intact

These last couple of days I have gone without my bandage as it was strangling the blood circulation in my hand and making the area around the cut go numb. I kept the surgical tape on though as, when I looked at the cut, it looked like it wasn't healing properly. I thought it was coming apart again. Paranoia is one of my more endearing traits (that's what I keep telling myself), so yesterday before we went to the hospital again for a follow up there was a little part of me asking "What if it doesn't heal and they have to amputate my finger?". I realise that is completely ridiculous... But never the less it's the way my brain works. I compulsively think about the very worst scenario, even if it's one in a billion.

As you may have figured out though it was fine. I sat down with a nurse for about 2 mins and she had a look at it, made sure I still have full range of motion in my hand and gave me some advice. She said I should be fine to have my hand in water for short periods of time (no more bag on my had when I shower! WOHO!!) but it might go "gooey" if I keep it in there for too long. So washing up with gloves on for a couple of weeks. It'll probably take a good 2 weeks for the wound to close completely and then a few months for the scar to fade. So now I just have to work on my bar fight story to go along with it and things will be fine :D

I just got my National Insurance Number in the post as well! So now I am fully prepared to get a job. Aaaany day now...

Today I'm making toffie to send with Rob to work (and possibly save a few pieces for myself ;) ) and some time this week I am making my gingerbread dough. Maybe today, maybe later. I haven't decided. We seriously need some sort of Christmasy decorations though, so will try and get a gingerbread house up.

Anyway, I'm off down town in a few minutes.
Huggles <3
Saga xx

Itching = healing

I know that if a wound is itching it means it's healing, but does the hand need to heal so damn well during the days? It's driving me insane! I think the bandage might be causing some of the problems as well. Yesterday I had to take it of for a while to get proper circulation back in my hand. I think I put it on a bit tight... Just around the cut my hand started going numb or "falling asleep" and it was the weirdest feeling. Took a picture of it before I redressed it on Wednesday. It looks like it's healing quite nicely, there's not been a lot of bleeding. None at all to be honest. It's a tricky area with a lot of movement, so when I have the bandage on it goes up a bit on two fingers to stabilize my hand so I can't make a fist. Just to make sure it doesn't come apart again. The cut is completely straight though, so it should heal well. I look like I've been in a bar fight :D

I don't know if I'll be going back there on Sunday to have the tape removed and have it looked at or if I could just do that at home? We'll have to see. I had a letter from the NHS yesterday about tests I should go in for (just routine tests, I'm not actually ill :) ). Every time I walk out of the surgery without having to pay anything I feel like a thief though! Healthcare in Sweden is not entirelly free and you always pay a small amount to see a doctor (normally about £15-30) unless it's an emergency. We  also pay for medicines up to £100 per year and after that it's subsidised. So not paying anything when I  leave the surgery feels strange. I feel very guilty. Combine that with the fact that I've probably been to the surgery here more times in three months I've lived here, than I have in the past 3 years in Karlstad, and you get me, very reluctant to go back there again and mooch of the government's money.

Anyway... Time to get me some breakfast!
Adios :3
Saga xx

Week 1 finished

So today marks the first week of my experiment! Now I feel a little bit more confident to talk about it. For the last seven days I have been eating a low carb diet. Most of you are probably familiar with the name Atkins. It's not Atkins though, but it's the same idea. This is called LCHF - Low carbs High Fat. Basically it means that I do not eat bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and other things that have a lot of carbohydrates. This first week I lost almost 3kgs (just over 6lbs).

I got a book from my father for my birthday which I have been reading. It's called 'The food rEvolution' (Matrevolutionen) by Doctor Eenfeldt, I don't know if it's been translated to English though. In it he explains how carbs work in the body and what we have been eating during the course of evolution.

What happens is (simplified, as I'm not a doctor :P), when you eat carbs they are broken down into sugar by your body: i.e. dextrose, fructose, lactose and so on. When this sugar is absorbed by the body it leaks into the blood stream giving us a rise in bloodsugar. To cope with this increase in bloodsugar the body then produces insulin. Insulin helps lower the bloodsugar again. But. Insulin also regulates the body's fat cells, telling them to grow. It is well known that sugar makes you fat and that is how. What people do not realise is that all carbs are basically a form of sugar. That's why we tend to think that potatoes and bread and food like that is healthy. I admit I didn't realise this before. We have always been taught that fat is what makes you fat and is unhealthy for us.

If we look at what humans have been eating for the first thousands of years of our evolution it doesn't make sense that (natural, animalistic) fat would be dangerous for us. Our ancestors were hunter/gatherers, so their staple diet would have consisted largely of meat and fat. Of course there were veggies, berries and fruit as well - but only in season. Meat and fat can be stored pretty well for long periods of time (through curing, drying a.s.o.) and would be available pretty much all year round. The real increase in our carb intake did not occur until after agriculture started spreading and after the industrial revolution which made sugar cheap and widely available. In the short time since that shift in diet our bodies have not evolved to properly handle the sheer amount of sugar we eat.

In the 80's governments took bad advice from scientists. People were gaining more and more weight and something needed doing to try and dodge an epidemic. Many scientists were certain that fatty food was to blame. They did not however have conclusive proof for this. They did not need it though. Politicians hooked on to the theory and an almost world wide campaign of fear of fat was launched. From the mid80's the weight epidemic got out of hand.

Anyway, I'm rambling!! xD This is just my first week and I can't say anything conclusively yet. But I know that I have lost weight this week by cutting out potatoes and stuff like that, having a bit extra meat, eggs and cooking with double cream (48%). I don't feel stuffed after a meal but I still stay full for longer periods of time. A breakfast of scrambled eggs, a few strips of bacon and some cheese can keep me going till dinner.

I'm definitelly keeping this up :)
Huggles!
Saga xx

Careful what you wish for!

Earlier while I wrote my first post I was wishing this day wouldn't just be the same as all the others. Usually I get up every morning and have dishes to do, cleaning up and laundry. Since Rob goes to work and provides for us at the time being it's not more than fair. It's frustrating work though, doing all of these chores over and over again. So this morning I was wishing for some change.

Well, be careful what you wish for... As I was doing the dishes one of our old glasses cracked and cut my hand :/ So I'm fresh back form the A&E (accidents and emergencies). It was only just a small cut, about 1-2 cm long and not too deep, butRob wanted me to have it looked at in case it needed sewing. That just scared the hell out of me though. I wasn't too keen on having to face my phobia for needles twice in the same week. When we got to the A&E I got to see a really nice nurse who had a look at the cut, cleaned it and she said it was just about small enough and in the right place for her not to have to sew, since that's what I wanted. She could see how pale I got just talking about it... :P Instead she taped me up and put on plenty of padding and a bandage. I'm coming back in there on Wednesday to have it changed and I should be out of bandage in about seven days. Till then - no getting the hand wet, so no dishes for me this week... I feel guilty for Rob having to do it, but I will do whatever I can around the house to make up for it.

Two things are sure:

I'll be more careful what I wish for in the future and there will be no gingerbreads made this week...

Huggles

Saga xx

First advent

Christmas is coming. I'm almost done with my Christmas gifts, only a few left to get. Dad is always the hardest to find something for... And he's also always the one who doesn't aanswer when you ask if there's anything he wishes for. I'll just have to come up with something.

You couldn't tell Christmas is coming though. Except for the Christmas lights in town it's nothing like home. We are a long way from snow, we might possibly not have any at all. To my big surprise I actually miss the snow. We don't have any decorations either, so I don't feel the Christmas spirit at all :/ It's making me a bit sad as I love Christmas! It's one of the best holidays of the year, but I have a feeling it won't really be Christmas for me until we are in Sweden. I'm making a gingerbread cookie dough today though, so I/we can make gingerbread cookies tomorrow night, and a gingerbread house. I hope that will help me feel a bit better.

I'm just stuck in a routine I guess. When I get a job it will get better. I won't be stuck in this flat alone and I might get to know some people. Having my friends so far away is quite difficult and it's starting to take its toll on me.

Hope it'll get better soon :/
Huggles
Saga xx

Let's just call this A Post

Today means two things to me:

First of all I have an appointment at the doctor's. It's just a routine thing, nothing to worry about, but I know there will be at least one needle so I'm pretty scared right about now. Linda is trying to calm me down, and to be honest it's not too bad at the moment, but it will be in the waiting room. Before I get into that treatment room I will be shaking in my boots. It'll be fine though... I've come through it alive before...

Second of all I'm starting something new today. Let's call it an experiment ;) I'll tell you more about that later, I need to get started first, properly. Now I'm going to go make breakfast!

Oh, and before I go;

Dear dad,

I'm reading the book you gave me and I do find it very interesting, more so than I thught it would. So far it makes a lot of sense. I will reserve any final statement until I have finished reading it, so we can talk about it at Christmas :)

Huggles all!
Saga xx

Birmingham German Christmas Market

Yesterday Rob told me we'd go down to the German Market in Birmingham. I'd never heard of it but he told me it was a crafts market. So after he watched some football this morning we took the train into Birmingham New Street. Apparently Birmingham and Frankfurt are twin cities, so that's why it's a German market. Bratwursts, Frankfurters, pretzels and Berliners a plenty!

Just outside the Bullring Shopping centre the market started, with little wooden chalet style stands with food and drink, garden gnomes, Christmas baubles, jewelry and clothes. You get the idea! It's on every day from the 15th of november to the 22nd of December. It was really nice with the Christmas ligths and decorations up in the streets and loads of people around. Here are some pictures! Rob is in one of them, only got the back of his head though xD

On the serious side

Last night before I fell asleep I got to thinking about something I haven't thought of in a very long time. It's memories I wish I didn't have, but in the long run I think they have helped make me who I am. Sexual harassment starts so early, and it happens to both girls and boys. It's something I am very touchy about and I will not suffer jokes on that expense, because I have been there and it is frightening and infuriating and most of the time I have felt my only defence is to get away. There hasn't been words I could say and I have always had to face it alone.

The size is a lie

Shortly after I moved here I noticed I needed somewhat bigger clothes. That was all fine because I new I had put on weight during the spring/summer. To my horror though I needed clothes that were 2 or 3 sizes bigger than what I anticipated as my "normal" size wouldn't even get past my thighs. How could I balloon 3 sizes in one summer!? This has been eating away at my mind for the last couple of months and came to a pinnacle just a few moments ago.

I'm browsing through the Oasis website looking at dresses and I notice it says in the description "Model wears size 10" to which my first reaction is "Snowballs chance in hell she does, that's like size 40 european! She's a stick!". I can't quite let it go though, I have to prove myself right, so I find a size converter. Turns out UK size 10 equals EU size 36... However US size 10 = EU 40. I was right, just in the wrong country. So that explains my "ballooning" this summer (which didn't really happen). I have been looking at numbers in clothes here and thinking US sizes, not UK.

It's a relief, since apparently I'm not the quivering mountain of fat I thought I was, and at the same time I feel like a right doughnut. It took me 3 months to figure out I had the wrong charts in mind!

Where's my head at?
Huggles
Saga xx

Homesick :/

Today I have felt truly homesick for the first time. I got a package in the post from my sister and my father containing a letter, a card from Nan, some presents, liquorice and lottery tickets. They had also sent me a recipe for pork neck, which I found funny. I don't really know why they put it in there, but I don't mind as I really like pork, and so does Rob. Will definitely try it when I get an opportunity!

Reading the letter from Dad and the card from Nan really gave me a harsh reminder how much I miss my family, though... I love it here in England but this is the first time in my life that my family are more than a bus or trainride away. If I miss them I can't just get on a bus and go home for the weekend to see them, so that made me shed a tear. Just means I will be that much happier to see them in December though. Only four weeks now till Rob and I come home for Christmas.

I really am looking forward to that. I need some hugs.
Love you all <3
Saga xx

Closer to 30 than ever!

So, yesterday was my 26th birthday and a good one at that! Besides being my birthday my sister Hanna got her driver's license! I'm so proud of her :D Just hope she drives safe (I know she does though, she's not stupid). It all made the day that much better :) I'm not too bothered about getting older either I might be more than a quarter century old but I still, prbably, have 50 more years to go. If my family history is anything to go by, I might have closer to 75 more years!

In the morning before he went into work Rob gave me my present so I would have something to look forward to during the day: He gave me tickets to go see the Spanish Riding School of Vienna when they perform in Birmingham tonight! :D It's always been a dream of mine to go see them ride.

Me 'n' my peeps

So, Rob's off at a stag do tonight in Birmingham and going to stay the night there which means I'm home alone. What better then, to do, than snuggling up on the sofa with my two best pals, catching up on some TV series and just having a good time? (Rob's at a stand-up club, I'm not jeallous AT ALL.) Joining me are Mr Ben and Mr Jerry, two good friends of mine (sorry about the unhealthy choice of snack Dad, but in all honesty - You taught me to love ice cream :D).

Something I find very funny is the guy at the garage where I buy B&J's. The two times I've bought ice cream there his eyes have sparkled and he's gone "Those are my favourites". He is obviously a passionate fan of B&J's - but still he looks in a very good shape. I love B&J's as well but am in no way in good shape. I do wonder why that is? ;)

No, I do know why. I'm lazy.

But there's a gym down town with some sort of offer on at the moment. I'm thinking of joining that till I can afford to join the health club. That's for tomorrow though.

Now it's time to indulge in the world of TV dramas. Pretty little liars - Lie to me!

Huggles
Saga xx

Almost got my foot in the door...

So I called Jobcentre Plus yesterday to apply for a National Insurance number. I have made the initial application and have an interview booked for the end of November. The meaning of this whole interview thing is that I need to provide proof that I am who I claim to be and for some reason I get this bad feeling they won't believe me. Even if I can bring both my passport and my drivers license. It's just a routine thing, I know, but I still get nervous. Do you ever get nervous when you're out driving or walking and you see a police car or an officer? That feeling that you've done something wrong and you just don't know about it? Maybe it's just me and my paranoia... It's the same feeling with the interview. I know it's ridiculous really :) I spoke to Thomas last night and I told him about it. He can relate to it as he got to go to the same kind of interview when he first moved here. He said it will probably only take a few minutes and then I'll get my number and be done. I'm a citizen of another country of the EEA, so there shouldn't be any problems. I know my rights! ;D

Took me some time to find the number to Jobcentre Plus though. Or rather to find out that was who I needed to call. Sneaky bastards at HM Revenue & Customs made me run in circles there for a while. But I prevailed :)

Aaaanyway... Today I'm printing a CV and taking it down to one of the stores. Heard yesterday that someone there was quitting, so it's worth a shot.

On my Christmas wishlist: A job.

Huggles
Saga xx

Just some thoughts on the election

Today it's election day in the United States. I am not fully informed on the two main candidates, far from it, but I have read a lot about one particular subject. If you have me added on Facebook you probably already know what I'm talking about. Abortion. I am pro-choice and have always been. I think abortions should be kept at a minimum but I maintain that it's a woman's right to decide over her own body.

The discussion has, at times, reached low points I never could have dreamt of. Republican politicians have been quoted saying everything from "abortion should only be legal to save the life of the mother" to abortion should only be legal in cases of "forcible" rape. Views as these, views that are seemingly motivated by and based on the Bible, are dangerous as they overlook and disrespect the human right of women to have autonomy.

The World Health Organzation states, as one of its human rights, "Reproductive rights" and defines it as quoted:


"Reproductive rights rest on the recognition of the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so, and the right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health. They also include the right of all to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence."


A woman has the right to decide freely the spacing and timing of her children. She has the right not to carry to term a pregnancy she does not want or can not support financially.

If Romney is elected President of the United States he intends to overturn the ruling of the case Roe vs. Wade from 1973 where a woman's right to abortion was decided. Overturning this ruling would give the individual states right to make their own legislation on abortion, in turn this means that in several of the states abortion would become completely illegal. The pro-life lobby is (largely, I can not say all of them definitelly are) simultaneously against contraception as it is percieved to be an abortifacient. Women with unwanted pregnancies would be forced to carry them to term or to face illegal, possibly dangerous, medical treatment.

All because religion is entering politics. Some people still try to impose their religious or personal beliefs on others, regardless of the consequences.

If Romney is elected he is prepared to impose restrictions on human rights, with ramifications on a deeply personal and private plane, founded on his own personal beliefs. He is prepared to go ahead and let his religious beliefs set legislation above all individuals, no matter if they adhere to this same religion, a different religion or no religion at all. The question is, are the American people prepared to support and defend this imposition?

I can only hope Obama is reelected tonight, for the sake of women's (and LGBT) human rights in the United States.

Saga xx

Guy Fawkes night :3

Last night me and Rob went to see a firework display at Lichfield Golf and country club. I love fireworks, so I'd been looking forward to it for a few days :) I wasn't aware that it was Guy Fawkes night though. First and only time I'd heard of Guy Fawkes was at University when Simon gave a presentation about it in English class. For those of you who (like me) haven't really heard  of him before he, together with a bunch of other people, conspired to assassinate King James in 1605 by blowing up the house of Parliament. It failed though, and so they celebrate every year in November with bonfires and fireworks. Despite the cold it was a really nice night. Loads of people came to see it.

Halloween!

So, yesterday was the 31st of October and the rain poured down. I spent the day sending out job applications, hopefully this month will be a better one for me... Anyway, me and Rob were planning on spending our Halloween watching horror films and cuddling on the sofa but apparently showing horror films on TV during Halloween isn't much of a thing here. We watched the Addams Family and Sixth Sense, but there was nothing truly scary on. On tuesday night I'd carved a pumpkin so that got to sit in the drive way (picture at the bottom of this post), looking spooky and hopefully, if there were any Trick or treaters (which I doubt due to the weather) they enjoyed seeing it :) When we went out to place our little pumpkin in the drive way I could hear something and asked Rob if it was thunder but he said it was fireworks. Couldn't see them though as it was far too cloudy. I had even bought some sweets in case they would come kocking on our door but it's quite hidden from the road, so I'm not sure they would have even seen it :P I also bought a selection of Halloween beers for Rob. Really liked them xD One of them (Spooks Ale) had a little spell on the neck that read

Some people eat the strangest things

So, we didn't quite go to China town today but we did go to a Chinese/Asian supermarket called Wing Yip. There's four of them in the UK and one of those four is situated in Birmingham. So in the middle of an industrial estate there's a grocery store and a restaurant built in chinese type architecture with a huge gate over the entrance tothe car park. It looks nice :) At the moment they're rebuilding the store though, so it looked very much like a warehouse on the inside. They had loads of stuff though.

Getting back on the waggon!

So I've started weighing my food and controlling my intake of calories again and it's going well so far, no major cravings to be honest (just itsy bitsy small ones). I alway need something to snack on during the day though, to keep my energy up, so when I was down at Morrisons yesterday and saw they had Müller light greek style Yoghurt on offer I though I'd try it. I looked at the contents and the info about nutrition and I didn't think it looked that much worse than the yoghurt I'd normally have for breakfast in Sweden (and a good yoghurt is hard to find here without it being some sort of desserty type product, according to me). They had the Müller one in the flavours Coconut and Lushious lemon, so I took one of both.

Sick - again.

Aaaand I'm ill again. Some sort of stomach bug most likely, I will however spare you the details. I'm on the mend though, I think it was just a short episode. Have not yet had breakfast though, so I am slooooowly starving to death (as if). Hope I'll be ok by the weekend though as we're going into Birmingham on Saturday to have a poke around Chinatown and see if we can find more of that elusive spice that we like so much but can't find. Fingers crossed!

Huggles
Saga xx

Welcome back, sweet anxiety!

The last couple of weeks I have slowly cultivated and nurtured my anxiety again and after a particularly bad weekend I am now motivated to get rid of the weight I need to get rid of. Again. I lost a lot of weight last year and it came back with a vengeance this summer (well, not all of it). So yesterday I put my running shoes on and I went for an embarrassingly short walk/jog. I really need to work on my stamina again, so I will try and run a few times per week, even though I'm not a fan of running outdoors. I prefer running on a treadmill as that gives me full overview of how far I've ran, at what speed and how many calories I've burned. I like numbers. I love statistics.

I was thinking I should find a 5k next spring to run. I've already decided me and Hanna are doing Blodomloppet again just like we did this year, but  I'd like to run something here in England as well. I'll see if there are any  charity races around here. Maybe by next fall I will be doing 10k?

The reason all this kicked into full gear again this weekend was partly due to [square] pizza and some sort of mousse/slimy type dessert called Angel delight. It was.... Weird... And very sweet. So now it's about time I shape up again - literally and figuratively! Feels good to be a bit sore today from the jog. Now I just need to keep it up.

Who's with me!?

Huggles
Saga xx

Caramelized pecans

So, a while back the wonderful Ms Poppy said I should do a cooking show-esque blog about how to make cinnamon rolls. Well, I don't quite have the things I need for cinnamon rolls, but I did make caramelized pecans for Rob yesterday, so I thought I might share that with you for now :) It's really simple.

Caramelized pecans

This is not so much a recipe as an estimation and all numbers are approximate!

Ca 200-225g of Pecan nuts
3-5 tbsp Monin Caramel Syrup
1-2 tbsp Vahiné Caramel Saveur Vanille (optional)
1-2dl caster sugar

How much you use of each ingredient depends on how much caramel you want, from light coating to thick coating. If you find there's too much caramel for your taste when you're done you can just pour some off, as it's liquid when it's hot. Make sure the pecans don't come out with it! Do not - NOT - just pour it down the sink though as it might mess up your pipes when it hardens... It's better to pour it onto some aluminium foil and letting it set first and then just putting it in the trash.

Smells like scam

Just had a phone call to the landline. When I pick up there's a guy saying he's calling from Windows Support and my computer has been downloading malware according to him. Besides that he has NO means of authorisation or identification. I told him I haven't had any problems with my computer but he persists and says I need to turn on my computer. I go along and tell him it's switched on and so he puts me through to some other guy. This guy in turn asks me to open a search page and look for team viewer. Team viewer is a software that allows a computer to be remotely controlled and to have files deleted and/or installed by another computer.

As soon as I realised he was spelling Team viewer I told him I have no intention whatsoever to let him into my computer. He answers that there are threats to my computer and it will be infected by today, I keep saying I think the biggest threat is letting an unknown person into it and he says people are trying to hack into it and it will be destroyed in one hour! I say I think I'll leave it to my Anti-Virus and the loving care of my own personal computer support - Rob <3

Smells like scam to me. I'm not stupid, mate, I'm not going to hand my laptop to you on a plate just because you say so.

So he gets annoyed and ends the call by saying Merry Christmas!? Dude.. It's October for f#cks sake!

Bastards....
Saga xx

I'm silly xD

Went to Morrisons to pick up a couple of things for dinner and when I was in the queue and as a guy behind me started putting his groceries on the belt something caught my eye. It was an Almondy Daim tart! What made me react first though was the little Swedish flag they put in the corner xD It made me so happy! It's silly really. It said "Almondy Daim - Authentic Swedish almond tårta!" on the package and it just made me go squeee inside :3 Quietly of course. I think it's enough that I mutter to myself in a language no one understands when I shop, I don't need to randomly go squee in queues as well. So while I waited for the lady in front of me to be done I was singing the Swedish National Anthem (only the first verse - I'm not weird) in my head. Yeah. That's how excited/nostalgic a little flag on a piece of cardboard made me :D

The English lyrics are not perfect, but they will have to do...

Sweden <3

Huggles
Saga xx

Weekend

I thought I was going to spend the weekend recuperating from my cold, but the future had something different in store for me. Matt wrote to me on Facebook asking if me and Rob were coming out with him and Dave for the saturday night and even though I suspected I had a fever I wasn't too bad off, so I took a couple of tablets (not the super tablets Rob bought me before that knocked me out for a couple of hours and  completely erased my fever and cold, I can't rememer the name of them) and they made me feel a bit better. So we went up to Hednesford again, to The Plough and Harrow. Was a really nice pub (even if the guy behind the bar wasn't too happy about how merry and perhaps loud the men were, according to Matt). We were going to go to an eighties night on the other side of town, but we couldn't be arsed so we had a walk down to Woody's, Hanna will know the place :D

I'm sick :(

Rob had a cold last week so, ofcourse, I catch it... I had plans for this week, but right now I don't feel like doing much. We're going to do some cleaning today though and I have some laundry to get through. When I'm well again I'm taking a trip to Birmingham so I can get started on Christmas gifts. Want to get them done as soon as possible so I can relax.

Also, I really miss Amadeus today... <3

Could use a cuddle from my furry little friend.

Non-contagious huggles
Saga xx

Who do you think you are?

I've been following the Swedish version of 'Who do you think you are?', where famous people get to go find their roots through genealogy, for the last two series. I love it! I've been interested in genealogy for several years now and have found family members of my own in the church books as far back as the early 1700's, so far. About 8 generations from me. What I have is very shallow knowledge however. I have a big family tree (and it's not quite done yet as I am nowhere near finished on neither my mother's nor my father's side), but I don't know any details aboutmost the people in it. I'm not yet skilled enough to find my way through court documents or military listings. I haven't really had access to them either... At the moment my account at Ancestry is inactive, but when I find a jobI will reopen it again. Until then all I can do is poke through the family tree and long for whenI can get started again.

On a different note I got my NHS number in the post yesterday! I am now a full member of the NHS system, so healthcare - check! I need to go over some other stuff I might need though. That's the difficult part of moving - you're never really sure what you need to do or not. So I need to just take a step back and make sure I have covered my bases.

Anyway, Rob asked me to do some stuff today, so will go do that and then I'm going to do some writing! That story sadly won't write itself!

Huggles!
Saga xx

Weekend abroad (yes, really)

We have been back home again after our short weekend abroad, in Scotland, for several days now. I intended to update the blog at the beginning of the week, but I just never came around to it, so, as Hanna would make me say: I'm sorry, I'm bad.

Anyway, the reason I say 'abroad' is because even if Scotland is a part of the Union, they are still a separate country (Whales is it's own country as well) - just try calling a Scot an Englishman and see what he thinks about the English... Believe me, I've done that.

Don't worry, I'm alive!

Haven't posted in a couple of days as I was preparing for mine and Rob's weekend in Scotland. Git my hair done and had things to wash and pack, so blogging never really came to mind. I have a feeling people appreciated the peace and quiet! Anyway, I thought I'd do an update and tell you whereabouts I am. We're staying at a hotel just outside Glasgow so this afternoon we had a nosy around town ans then we went to the hotel to find dinner. Have to say the food was really nice but our waitress was so confused... She forgot to bring us drinks and knives and then she got Rob's order wrong, then she forgot an order again and she dropped a drink... Don't get me wrong, she's really sweet - I just think she'd just be better off in another profession.

Anyway, tomorrow we're off to see Edinburgh castle! I'm looking forward to that :) Now, off to sleep!

Nighty night <3
Saga

But, Google maps said there is a road here..?

Much to my own surprise I actually did get out for a walk today. I'm usually not one for walking in the rain, but I took my umbrella and headed on out. Thought I'd take the opportunity to see a little bit of the English country side. I had no idea how much of it I'd get to see..

Trip to IKEA

Yesterday Rob made it home early from work since he'd started early in the morning in Newcastle and driven all the way back again. So when he got home I made him some of Mum's pork and mango chutney stew. I've never made him that before, so it was his first time trying it and I think he wouldn't say no to me making it again ;) It is good, I have to admit... After dinner though Rob suggested we go to IKEA, since he knew there were some things I wanted from there. Just little things like a bathroom scale, measuring cups for the kitchen, rubber spatula... Stuff like that. I couldn't get my hands on a rolling pin though, so no cinnamon rolls till I can get one. Visits to IKEA always end up more expensive than you originally panned for though, so we had a few other extras with us home.

They really like ABBA here

Omg I just remembered the BEST thing to ever happen to me while on a bus! I'm going to write this down so I can remember it for years and years to come and so I can share this with you guys :) It was when me and Hanna were coming back to Rugeley from Lichfield. When we got on the bus there were only two seats free and they were next to a very drunk man in his sixties. We were trying not to catch his attention as he had the beer breath of doom and a pretty heavy accent, i.e. not very easy to understand, when drunk, for us poor foreigners... At the front of the bus there were six seats, three each side, facing sideways, and that's where we were sitting. As we got on the drunken gentleman was in some sort of conversation with a young man further down the isle, but a few minutes after we sat down the older man turned to us as he had apparently decided we needed something to smile about. He said something about smiling being good for you.

And so he told us this joke (I hope I can remember it correctly):

"Somebody stole my gate last night. I asked the neighbours if they had seen anything and they said yes they had, but they didn't interrupt the burglars as they didn't want them to take a fence (offence)."

First night alone :/

An hour and a half ago Rob had a call from his boss, Thomas. Apparently there's been a fire at a depot last night so Rob needed to go there and salvage what he can of their servers and data. So he left for Newcastle 40 mins ago. Not Newcastle-under-Lyme, 30 mins away, but Newcastle upon Tyne in southern Scotland, 4 hours away, one way trip... I'm guessing he won't be back tonight and so did he. But he's needed to save what he can of the depot. He's the Superman of IT.

He did ask me if I wanted to come with him. I asked what I would be doing and we got to the conclusion I would probably just sit there and watch him work for hours on end, so I stayed behind. It will be my first night all alone in this flat... And he's probably going back to Scotland for the end of this week as well. I might come with him then. Get a taste of Scotland! Looking forward to that.

Anyway...
What makes a good dinner for one?

Saga xx

I survived the NHS :D

This morning I had an appointment at the surgery for a health check-up, and when I made the appointment on tuesday Rob said something along the lines of "they will take a blood test" and that was the start of my anxiety building up. Most of those who know me know I have a terrible phobia for needles. So that kicked right in and I really got myself woorked up about this blood test I was about to have. I got so worked up I was about to pass out in the waiting room before they even called me in to see the doctor.So imagine my relief when they called me in and the doctor said she was only going to take height, weight, blood pressure and medical history. We even had a laugh about how silly I was and what a bastard my boyfriend is for scaring me senseless! ;)

Yesterday I mentioned I had a little something planned for that evening, and when he got home from work Rob asked me about it. I told him it was a surprise and he wasn't allowed to open the fridge. So we sat down and had a really nice chicken Tikka Masala with pilau rice and garlic & coriander naan bread (om nom nom) and then we relocated  to the sofa and I brought Rob the dessert I had made for us; Trifle! I know Rob has said he loves trifle and I've never made it, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. Trifle can be made in soooo many different ways (just google it and see for yourself), it's basically like cake, but in a bowl and without all the fancy decorations. The way I understand it, it always contains some sort of cake (I used half a batch of regular sponge cake), fruit or berries (I used fresh strawberries, fresh raspberries, and raspberry preserve (jam)) and some sort of cream, like whipped cream or custard (which I opted for). You can still get fresh strawberries, grown in the UK, here and they're only ca £0.40 per 100grams! Im seriously impressed. Some people like to sprinkle some sherry or whatever kind of liqeur they may have handy, over the cake to make it moist and give it some more flavour.

When you have all the ingredients you want/need you simply layer them up in a glass bowl so you can see the layers through the glass :) Mine doesn't look so tidy... But still nice though. I also made some caramelized pecan nuts (no recipe here, I just went with what I had - i.e. caster sugar and some Monin caramel syrup for drinks, worked out so well) to top it off with. Rob was very impressed :) It did taste good, I have to admit that. Still some left in the fridge and I have had a taste of it today as well, but will save the rest of it for Rob to have for pudding tonight.

Now, I'm off to the store in a bit to stock up on some more of those curry sauces - they were really good!
Oh, and btw! Remember you can Skype me :) I'm at home most of the time on weekdays, so if I'm not online just ask me on Facebook to log in or text me if you have my UK number and maybe we can talk for a bit?


Talk to you later!
Huggles
Saga xx

The tenth commandment

Today I have broken one of the ten commandments; Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house. But ooh have I coveted... I have coveted the living daylights out of my neighbours' houses. Right now I'm having a poke through ads online and have found a gorgeous little two bedroom grade 2 listed detached cottage. It's not even insanely expensive! Still more than we can afford though, at the moment. But one day... One day...

Now, I need to go get started on a  little something I have planned for tonight ;)

Huggles!
Saga xx

Becoming an NHS patient

Yesterday when I went downtown I took the opportunity to pick up some forms I needed from the local surgery (which sounds a lot more serious than it is as it's just a general practitioners office (vårdcentral på ren svenska)). In the UK you have to register personally with a doctor, unlike in Sweden where they just register you wherever you're living according to the census. Anyway, I filled in the forms last night and handed them in today and got an appointment for a health check up I need to have before my registration is complete. They're going to need blood work and I'm genuinely scared to death about that bit. Needles and me don't agree. I will more than likely pass out, so I intend to make sure the doctors/nurses are well aware of that so I can t least lay down when they stab me...

Saturday = Rugby

So last Saturday me and Rob went to Newcastle-under-Lyme since Rob's rugby team (The Spartans) were playing the Newcastle local team. Now, normally I'm not much of a sports fan unless there's horses involved, and I never watch sports on TV, but it's a completely different story when it's live. that just makess it so much more enjoyable, and I really did enjoy the game. First half wasn't great and by half time the Spartans were losing by a point or two, but  in the second half they really turned it around and made a great comeback. They ended up winning, *hrumfm* to *ahemfm*. I don't know. I really don't know the score. I asked Rob just after the game and he couldn't really answer. No one could answer straight away, they just knew they won. The ref said they did, and he should know!

The game was nice, as I said, but Rugby is really not for the faint hearted (like me). The tackles they use and the way they toss each other around now and then... It just looks painful. At one point one of the Spartans were laying down and a guy from the other team used him to stand on - in his spiked shoes! Can you imagine the bruises after that!? I know Rob can - he's got a really nice one on his back... So it's quite a brutal sport (but still a gentleman's sport as well, oddly enough, as all brawls are kept on the pitch and there's only rarely any real animosity between teams or players), but when it's going well for your team you really get sucked into it. I really need to learn the rules though and I have a feeling that will take some time. But hey, I got every Saturday for an unknown amount of time to do that!

Anyway; here's a few pictures!

Over and out!
Saga xx

Practical linguistics (an addition to my list)

There was one thing I forgot when I wrote my list of things I miss - I present to you number 6!

6. Mhmm
In Sweden we use this really quite often in conversation. We sort of have a thing for short answers. In some parts of Sweden a short, quick intake of air can pass for "yes", "I agree" and so on and so forth. To the best of my knowledge this is not used anywhere else in the world. The usage of "mhmm", as I mention here, is similar, in a way. It is commonly used when someone else is talking to you and you want to assert that you are listening and understanding or when you want to confirm something you have been asked about (usually as "mmm"). Not so much in England, it seems. Here it seems to be interpreted as "What?" as they do not use it themselves (I'm not talking about the "mmm" meaning "yummy"). Therefore a hypothetical conversation that (in my mind) should go something like

"Could you bring me a cuppa while you're in the kitchen?"
"Mmm."

becomes

"Could you bring me a cuppa while you're in the kitchen?"
"Mmm."
"I said, could you bring me a cuppa while you're in the kitchen?"

This is part amusing, since it keeps happening over and over again, and part really annoying since it keeps happening over and over again. A girl can only take directions so many times! I am aware of it now though, so maybe I'll learn not to use "mhmm/mmm" as much. It's difficult though as it's an automatic responce...

Do you have any interesting or funny finds in behaviour or linguistics from somewhere you've travelled? Please share in the comments! I would love to know who I'm talking to (or rather at) out there... :3

Anyway, enough of my ramblings. I need to go buy trousers :P
Lurvs <3
Saga xx

Little things that make me happy :)

Today is the 11th day here in the UK for me, and even if there's still a few things in boxes here (nowhere to put them!) it's more and more starting to look like home. Yesterday we bought a few cushions for the bedroom and the sofa and they turned out pretty nice :) What's even better though is the welcome I've recieved from friends here in the UK though.

These cards were sent to us from Michelle with family and from Poppy! They really made my day, those cards, so a big thank you to you guys. Love you <3

Also, the Sunday we went to Birmingham with Hanna happened to be the weekend Birmingham hosts an event  called Artsfest. There were performances in dance, music, and sports and markets with art, crafts.. You name it! Was quite fun having a nose through it while we were on our way to the Sea Life museeum. While we were there Rob comissioned a painting for us (sounds grand, doesn't it?). There was a chinese man who painted pictures in a chinese style with your name and mythical animals. So we had one made for us and it's now hanging on the wall in our lounge :)

                    

Only something small, but it makes me smile :) Anyway... House work beacons, so I'm off again.

Huggles for today!

Saga xx

Cadbury and Lichfield

Cadbury employee?

Thought I'd try and catch up a liiiittle bit on what me and Hanna did the last few days she was here. On Monday we went to Cadbury World. For those of you who are not familiar with Cadbury it's a chocolate company, similar to Marabou, who are especially appreciated for their brand Cadbury Dairy Milk (and oh my, is it good...). Cadbury World is part museum over the history of chocolate, part museum over the history of the company and part best commercial ever for their products. Sadly though, the battery in my camera decided to die half way through... So I only have a couple of pictures. We had a good time though :) Think any of you who come to visit should go there if you like chocolate half as much as me and Hanna do ;) It's only in Birmingham anyway, so it's easy enough to get to by train.

Few photos from Cadbury world!

Last day of Hanna's visit here, Tuesday, we went to a nearby town called Lichfield. It's the size of Karlstad roughly, with somewhere around 80'000 inhabitants, but it feels so much smaller and cozier. We took the bus from Rugeley and got off at Beacon Street, Lichfield. The reason we got off there is that Beacon street is situated just about 100 metres from the Cathedral, and that was one of our stops :) There was also Beacon park where they have a war memorial and a memorial to the captain of the Titanic who was born in a village nearby. It was supposed to rain, but weather was still quite nice when we got there. Had a walk around the park to begin with and then we went to have lunch at Aprés which Rob tells me is one of the nicer places in town. Have to say eating out can be so cheap around here though as me and Hanna got a 2 for one offer on lunch, so she had a Hickory bacon burger and I had Sweet chili thai noodles with chicken and we only paid £10 for it. Sound like a good deal to me ;) Only down side is you eat out so much more often here though, just because it's quite cheap, and in the end it still costs money... Not quite skint yet though!

Lichfield also has a collection of nice shops, so we explored some of them as well :) There's one I really like that sells gifts and stuff like that called "Smart ideas" or something like that. Can never quite remember what it's called! I love it however. Hanna picked up a thing or two there, and I got a little something for Martin, her boyfriend, as his birthday is coming up.


I was ging to make this post so much longer, but I think this will be enough for now, and maybe I'll post another short one later today... Don't want to get tedious :)
Laters!
Saga xx

Let's make a list...

I have been thinking about what I will miss even since before I actually moved across. Now that I'm finally here a list of things has started to chrystalize in my mind, Some of the things I already knew, but a few of them were a bit of a surprise...

Let's get started!

1. Liquorice
I knew about this one. Salty liquorice is to the English what growing rice is to the Swedish - you just don't see it very often. This will definitely be on my wishlist for Christmas! I might ask for a small delivery of Djungelvrål or Salty skulls later this autumn. And Mumrikar... Oh god...

2. Yoghurt
The English may have yoghurt, but it's not proper yoghurt... It's either pouring yoghurt which is a bit looser in consistency than the one we get back home, or it's a thicker desserty kind of yoghurt. They're both good, don't get me wrong, but they're not the same as Valio's. I'll get used to it though :)

3. Electricity
Yes, that's right. I miss electricity. We litterally have a little box on the wall in the wardrobe where we have to refill our electricity supply with little cards, just like pay-as-you-go (kontantkort)! When Rob told me and Hanna about this a few days ago I laughed at him because I thought he was kidding. He wasn't. It makes me question which century I have moved to. To someone who's never had to worry about electricity actually running out it's a strange concept. Just means I need to be more careful with what I leave on and when. Can tell you my computer operates on battery a lot more often now than it would have in Sweden. I guess it has an advantage though - it makes me a lot more aware of how much electricity we use. Still strange though.

4. Ramlösa
I have somewhat of an addiction for mineral water, and I have yet to find anything similar here. Most of the mineral water here has some sort of sweetener in it, and that doesn't fly with me! Will try and bring some back with me after Christmas... Raspberry and Blackberry.... Nooom...

5. Stuff I forgot in Sweden
For example, I lost a little bag of thing I need for sewing in the move. It had all my pins and my measuring tape and fabric scissors and everything like that. It's not like I didn't try to bring it with me to the UK, I just couldn't bloody find it! Annoying...

I'm going to keep it short for this time though. I'm sure I'll come up with more stuff as I go along. Next time I'll make a post of what I like though! I don't want any of you thinking I don't like it here :) Today I have handed in my CV at a local grocery store, hopefully I'll hear from them and get an interview. Woud be nice to have a job, even if I'd only get part time. They're looking for 3 or 4 people though, so... Fingers crossed?

Now, I'm going to watch some Black Adder with Rob :)
Huggles and g'night ^^,
Saga xx

Sea Life collage

A little collage before me and Hanna go to Cadbury World ;) (Chocolate.... Nooom...) The pictures are from our visit to the Sea Life centre in Birmingham yesterday!

Back again later!

Huggles!
Saga xx

Survival of those who look the right way

After spending just a couple of days here in England me and Hanna have made a vital discovery. Survival in this country is completely based upon your skill of remembering which bloody way to look when crossing the road. It is nigh on impossible! More than once we have crossed the road at high speed and screeming because we have at last minute seen a car coming at us. We're getting better though, I hope. And I think that's all for the best or we won't survive the week.

Just a little something for now ;)

Today: Shopping :D

I've been quite bad at updating the blog these last two days - pictures are coming, I promise! I just transferred them to the laptop yesterday. Will do that tonight thugh as Hanna needs my computer for studies (for some reason her's refuses to connect to our broadband) and in a few hours we're going to go to Birmingham! There's a place there called the Bullring which is a big mall. I've never been there before (I've not really walked arund in B-ham at all) so me and Hanna are going to explore. Just like we did with Rugeley yesterday. This town is adorable! Those of you who come visit will really like it, I'm sure :)

Anyway, time to have breakfast and let Hanna get on with her essay :)
Huggles!
Saga xx

Copenhagen is awesome :D

At 6:33 this morning our journey started (or really at 5:10 when we got up) towards Copenhagen, Denmark. It was so strange looking around the room this morning and thinking I'm ot going to see it again for about 4 months. Even more strange hugging Nan goodbye, and believe me, there was crying. She started to cry and that made me cry and I told her I'd miss her. She's afraid it'll be the last time we saw eachother, but I'm a bit more optimistic. We'll be back again for Christmas. And I do intend to write her when I've settled in. She can't really follow my blog... Lack of computer...

Last night

Can nerves kill you? Because in that case I think I might be at risk. I'm getting really nervous now. Just going to check my luggage now and then go to bed and at 6.33 the train leaves that will carry me away from Dalarna and, in the end, this country.

This will be a night full of restless sleep I think. And probably strange dreams.

Sleep well, tomorrow I'm reporting from Copenhagen.
Saga xx

One last day at work...

Had a call from mum yesterday asking if I wanted to come in and work the morning shift today. Earn some money before I go (very little money). I, foolish as I am, thought "yeah, I could do that" and said yes. I had never anticipated just how difficult it would be to get up in the morning... It was a punishment and a half, I tell you that... Was so much more difficult to get up at 6 o'clock when it was just the one random morning and not during my temp job. I need to start setting my alarm again.

And now then, when I go to brush my teeth Hanna sits down outside the bathroom (she originally meant to stand behind a corner and scare the shit out of me when I came out, but didn't do that as I might fall down the stairs), waiting for me to be done. So ofcourse, when I did come out from the bathroom, she didn't jump out at me or say anything. She didn't have to. I had this bad feeling when I couldn't see her in her room, so I jokingly asked her if she'd turned into a zombie. No answer, so I started getting reallynervous and then she giggles, just out of nowhere ad it freaks the hell out of me... God, she really knows how to scare me - and without even trying as well... Bastard.

Now, sleep well and don't let the Zombies bite (remember The Walking Dead is returning with it's 3rd series in October!).

Huggles!
Saga xx

Chanterelles!

When Linda and Palle were here to visit a couple of weeks back we all went to pick chanterelles. We didn't find a whole lot though, just a measly few. I did say though that I was going to pick some for Rob before I move across, so today I went to Säter to pick some mushrooms with mum and Hanna. We headed out some time around 13-13.30 and ended up spending about two and a half hour in the woods.

First thing I do when we get to the woods? Slip on a bloody stump.. I was busy laughing at Hanna because Amadeus had pulled her off her feet in the drive way before we left home. Karma, ladies and gentlemen, is a bitch. Of course we brought Amadeus and he thoroughly enjoyed the walk :) First hour he was shooting around like a cannon ball, when he wasn't begging Hanna for carrots (he loves carrots so we brought some for treats for him).

Only 4 days left, really

I just realised it's less than a week till I get on that plane and go to England. That in turn means that it's about 4 days till I leave Sweden! Will probably go to Copenhagen on mon or tues. Me and Hanna really need to sort out our train tickets.... Should have done that a loooong time ago.

I'm nervous.

Love y'all though <3
Saga xx



P.s. I can see people in my statistics, as in what country my blog is read from, but not who reads it - go ahead and leave a comment if you like :) And leave some sort of name on it or I won't know who you are ;) Huggles! D.s.

There should be some real life experience points for this shit!

This weekend has been spent in the sign of the pallet. It hasn't all been work and no play though, not to worry. I needed to finish packing my pallet as it's shipping out today (they just called me at nine o'clock this morning to confirm that I will be around for the pick up) and going to Gothenburg and from there on to England by means of boat. I did finish on time! Even with time to spare, which is a nice feeling. Me and dad wrapped the pallet last night, and what a finely wrapped pallet it is! We both stepped back and thought "Masterpiece".

It started on Wednesday night though, before we went to pick up my furniture in Karlstad. I was talking to dad and saying it was so difficult to find cling wrap (it's basically plastic foil, for those of you who know your way around a kitchen, but the rolls are a lot longer). Dad, ever full of ideas, said why don't you use the wrap off the pallets of pellets we have in the garage? So I did!

Reaping my reward

Yesterday, after a long and emotional day of cleaning out my room and handing in the keys to the next girl (literally - she was standing right next to me in the landlord's office), I deserved some relaxation. So I took a bath. Usually as soon as we start running water in the bathroom the dog makes himself scarce, not so last night though as I decided to bring a small bowl of cheese doodles. From experience he knows cheese doodles are not served when HE is the one taking a bath, so he felt more than comfortable inviting himself into the bathroom... Thankfully he stayed out of the water (but I did worry there for a second as he was looking at the bathtub funny). We ended up sharing the cheese doodles and when he was satisfied he'd gotten the last of them he went to sleep instead. The bath worked wonders for my poor tired body. I have to say I LOVE that mum and Hanna installed a tub and having one of my own is now definitely on the wishlist for future flats and/or possible houses.

Amadeus hoping for cheese doodles :) Bless him <3

My empty room.... </3 Good bye campus...

Have to add I feel quite ok with the move from campus now. I think the turn came after we moved out the furniture. It wasn't "my room" any more, it was just "a room", or at least more so. When I was driving down yesterday I thought about how many negative feelings I've felt and how many of them I've voiced and I realised I have completely forgotten about how this is a dream coming true for me! I've always wanted to move abroad and now it's finally happening. This is the start of something big and sacrifices have to be made. Keeping that in mind really made all this easier for me.

I've got so much stuff!!

You never realise just how much stuff you hang onto until you move... Today we moved the furniture. Not all of it made it back to Dalarna. We handed in my sofa to second hand, and I'm completely sentimental about the sofa now!! But it'll find a new life with someone to love it (yes, I'm talking about it like it's a living thing, no I have not had therapy for that - yet). At least it's better than throwing it away or letting it waste away in storage somewhere.

Tomorrow I'm getting up early to drive to Karlstad again, but this will be the very last time. I'm going back there to clean up for the next girl movig in and hand in the keys after inspection. It'll be a bitter sweet moment. Wonder if I can go to the University afterwards, perhaps, and buy a Karlstad University hoody? I've gots to represent my hood among all them weird, foreign type of people!

For now though I need my sleep as I have an early morning to look forward to.
Yay..........

Saga xx

High points

When Milan first decided to move away from Campus (after an impressive, and only slightly worrying, 10-12 years (he never did tell us exactly how long he lived here for)) this spring, he told me that he had walked past the University library and thought "... all the good times I've had in there..." just to realise that, no, there were no good times in the library. He decribed seeing the University and Campus through rose tinted goggles. I sort of understood what he meant but didn't fully grasp the concept until this summer.

It did get me thinking however. When we look back at (usually) the most recent chapter of our lives we tend to say "Wow, that was the best part of my life." Looking at my own experience though, it's an exaggeration (and often a gross one at that), because nothing is as good as what you can not have back - you don't know what you have until it's gone. Such is the case of mine and Milan's romantic memories of Campus.
It was exactly the same when I finished secondary school/high school, I thought "nothing can top this" (but believe me, everything tops secondary school/high school) and then I started upper secondary school and had the time of my life. On graduation day I cried, because surely, nothing would ever be the same and nothing would ever be better? Enter the University years. I've had adventures here I never thought I would have and met wonderful people and learned so many things... I can honestly say; This has been the best years of my life. However, I can now confidently make the addition so far. Because looking at what has happened with my life that has lead me to this point, why shouldn't I expect the coming years to top this?

Right now I feel like I'm really going to miss Campus, because the time here was "the best part of my life", but when I really get to thinking about it... Initiation weeks will be starting in about 7 days. I hated those. It's all loud parties and screaming and vandalisation, and you need earplugs to get any sleep for the first two weeks here. And don't even get me started on their fascination for torching the furniture...

Anyway, what I'm trying to convey here, more or less successfully,  is that I'm leaving the Best part of my life, only to head into the Best part of my life. Maybe it's not too bad, after all.

Love
Saga xx

Forgot this!

Last night I forgot to add this:

That is the notification of migration that I posted to the Swedish Tax Agency on Friday! Now it's official that I'm moving. It's very official. It's "the-government-has-deleted-me-from-the-census" kind of serious. Maybe not deleted... I am allowed to come back. But certainly removed me. This is an important paper though as it makes it possible for me to vote in Swedish elections ad stuff like that, even from the UK.

Speaking of voting! Rob told me I am now registered to vote in UK elections as well! That's insane! I had no idea I could do that without being an actual citizen. As I said to Rob: I can now vote in 100% more countries than I could before. Not sure I will be utilizing that vote though as I can barely keep track of politics in Sweden - I have no clue about British politics!

As a last thing before I go get my breakfast I'll just show you a couple of pictures from my trip to the forest to find the "Gold of the Woods" with Linda and Palle :)

Linda and Palle from afar. In the back, by the trees there's a sawmill that my grandfather built. Now my father owns the land up here. 

Magical surroundings <3 This is one of the reasons I love Dalarna. 

Squirrel! Or as grandpa used to call it: ickur'n (ekorren). 

This one got turned sideways, and I don't know why... Anyway it's tracks after moose, compared to my hand. Found LOADS of these, big and small. 

And finally, this is what we came for. Chanterelles! Only found a few, but never the less enough for Linda, Palle and Nan to have some sautéed in butter at our BBQ. Will try and pick some for Rob before I come across as I know he likes Chanterelles.

That's all I wanted to add for now :) I really need some breakfast - my tummy is grumbling.

Huggles

Saga xx

Home stretch

I'm back in Karlstad - again - and it's almost the last time I'm here. I say almost because I'll have to come back two more times this week. On thursday to drive furniture up to Dalarna and on Friday to clean it properly and bring the last stuff. My mind is in CHAOS right now as it feels little bit like no matter if I pack stuff down there's just as much left to go... Does it ever end!? Arjan called me a hoarder, and I think he's got a point... I'll just be relieved when it's over and done with. All this coming back here is messing with my head. I feel like the chapter of my life I started here isn't necessarily closed yet, but I also feel like there are other chapters that are more important. Some things need a start more than others need a finish. I'm sure I'm not done with Karlstad yet, not completely. I will be back to pick up my glass apple, for example ;) Whenever that happens.... But that's not the point right now!! Moving on :P

Boxes, piled to the sky!

In more englishy type news I found out yesterday that one of the guys from the corridor, Simon, has applied for a job in Stoke-on-Trent! That's just around the corner from me and Rob! (Provided it takes about 30mins by car to get around said corner.) I hope he gets the job so he can come visit us for a night at the pub and so I can talk some bullshit and be nostalgic :3 Being nostalgic is one of my specialities. And sentimental as well. There are new people moving into the corridor now and I look at them when I meet them in the hallway and I think "I will never get to know you" and it makes me a little bit sad. But the only reason it does make me sad is because they are here now and I can see them and say hi to them, but I can't see and say hi to the people I will know instead. So in reality, I will get to know new and exciting people, I just haven't met them yet. I'm moving abroad - I'll have an entire country to explore! I'm being silly :)

Oooh, and this passed Friday me and some of my close friends got some big, big, BIG news! I can't say what it is though, because I promised not to (but really, who of the involved people, who doesn't already know, reads my blog? ;P). I will however talk about it at a later date, because we were all quite excited :) I'd better go shopping for gifts. Well, for Christmas maybe?
And that same Friday was also the day of my "goodbye"-dinner with some of my closest friends. We met for a meal and talked and had a good time, went for a walk and saw a film together, nothing fancy. But it still makes all that much of a difference being surrounded by people you love and have known for such a long time. I'm a little bit sad Maja and Sofie couldn't make it, but it's not like I'm dropping off the face of the earth. There will be plenty of time to meet them another time. God, I will miss them though <3

Sohrab, ever so smartly dressed!

 Me and Nirvana's sister (is her name Nina? I never really caught her name... :S) on the Red Pepper! A Borlänge classic.

Me and Nirvana <3 

Me, Nirvana, Hanna and Sohrab :) 

Silly faces - can't live without them. 

As Sohrab wisely said;
"Borlänge is one of the best cities in the world.... if you start counting from the bottom."

Here the Cinema and a fountain!

Anyway, that's all you get for tonight. Now I'm calling Rob so we can spend another night talking about what tattoos he should get next ;)

Sweet dreams

Saga xx