Kitty’s Place

It was a laid back weekend. We went to my fellow’s parents for dinner on Saturday and Sunday we brought up all the christmas stuff from storage. I am still feeling unwell with a headache and upset stomach but it will pass eventually. *laugh*

Yesterday I had a meeting at Sigtuna folkhögskolan. It started at 1300 and there were three of us interviewing for the open spots in the school in January. There was a woman from Iran, a man from Iraq and me. First we were given an overview of the school and the curriculum. Then we were asked about our previous education since that determines how long you will study there and what you can study. The other woman had no high school or english, so she was told that she would likely have to study 3 years and that she will need to get grade school level english. I didn’t know this but there are evening courses in english offered by komvux that she can take while studying at the folkhögskolan during the day, so this was the route suggested to her. The man had high school but no english so he was told 2 1/2 to 3 years and that he would need to do the grade school english at night school as well. His wife is already a student at the folkhögskolan and he will be writing the SFI national exam in two weeks, so he can go to school with her. I was told that I do not need to take english, they will test me for where to place me in math since I have 5 years of high school math from Canada and that I will likely finish in 1 1/2 to 2 years. So in as little as 18 months, I could be a high school graduate .. again. *laugh* We were told we would hear from the school sometime in the next week as to whether we could start this coming term or would have to reapply in the fall. Imagine my surprise when I received my letter this morning in the mail, saying I am welcome to start in January. Since I left there at 1430 there was hardly time for the secretary to write it out and mail it in time for it to get here already. *laugh* So it looks as if I will be studying again come January. *smile*

Today my fellow headed down to Göteborg for a couple of days, so we were up at 0430. I took the kidlet in to Sigtuna to his bus then came back to Märsta and grocery shopped. After school we went and had a hot chocolate in Sigtuna and met an elderly couple who heard LL speaking english. They started talking to him and we learned that he is swedish but lived in California for a number of years and she is american, from Michigan. She gave us her name, address and phone number and invited us to visit since she doesn’t get to speak english with a lot of people. I wrote up a little note to her when we got home, saying it was a pleasure meeting them and we would love to visit when it is convenient for her. That way she has the chance to reconsider inviting strangers to pop in for coffee. *laugh*

I am missing my fellow already. Aren’t you supposed to get tired of each other and enjoy time apart after 7 1/2 years together? *laugh*

Friday Nov 19

We followed the winning formula on this day as well. Early breakfast and a few hours at the pool. We took the kidlet up to the room for a nap and this time he did sleep. *laugh*

We headed back to Naama Bay for dinner and it was all about shopping. We had dinner at Pizza Hut and then shopped our little hearts out. Ibo bought me a lovely porcelain tea set. It is yellow with Queen Nefertiti on it. I have a set I bought in Greece many years ago as well as teapots from my paternal grandmother and my mom, so this is really special to me. He bought himself a real crystal pig that is too cute. The kidlet got a Winnie the Pooh beach towel, a Spiderman action figure, an airplane and car that are battery operated and spin around all over the room when turned on. He went into the toystore to get the car and came out with both, no spoiling at all by his father. *laugh* We looked in many many store windows, but I never found the watch I saw on the first night. We did buy a couple more gifts as well. Ibo and his dad each bought a carry on suitcase and while we were waiting for them to decide and barter for the ones they wanted, LL mentioned something he wanted to buy. I said he had already gotten a lot of things and his grandmother said “guess how many things I got today, none” and she looked sad. He said to her that she didn’t need to be sad, she was more lucky than him since she had her own room to sleep in and he had to sleep in the same his parents … who snored! Well of course we all laughed and he very seriously looked at us and said “it isn’t funny to hear that snoring” which made us laugh again. It was about 2330 when we got back to the hotel and I had a cappuccino in our room before settling in for the night.

Saturday Nov 20

Our last full day. We did breakfast, sunned by the pool for a few hours and swam lots. We took the kidlet up to the room about 1300 and had lunch there. Then while he and his dad slept, I packed. We went off to Naama Bay for the evening and ate again at the french restaurant. I got the surprised sauce fellet and we laughed when it appeared with two peas in it, that looked like eyes. *laugh* We shopped some more and got my fellow some t-shirts. I got a bracelet with a ceramic scarab. We bought a large papyrus painting for our bedroom and it ended up being our most expensive purchase. It is lovely though and well worth it. We also got a couple of cd’s of egyptian music, since the kidlet quite liked it. (mom did too). We met up with the family they had been to Hard Rock with and it was decided that we would have coffee together. We walked about and window shopped a while longer, had coffee and went back to the hotel around midnight. I only saw one watch that was even close to the one I had seen the first night and Ibo went and priced it, even though I said not to. It was real gold and carried a price tag of about $1000 US. So it did not come with us. *laugh*

Sunday Nov 21

We were up early and did breakfast. Then it was back to the room to pack the last few little odds and ends. We checked out of our room a bit before 1100 and I made a final shopping stop in the hotel gift shop. I got a couple post cards and a little papyrus writing pad I had not seen anywhere else. The shopkeeper asked after LL so I took him in to say goodbye and the shopkeeper gave him a beaded choker as a gift. One thing I haven’t mentioned here is how much english LL spoke on our trip. We had explained to him that people would not understand swedish and he valiantly used english to order food, say thank you and ask for things. I was really proud of him. *smile*

The bus picked us up at 1130 and we headed back to the airport. We checked in and then had our visas cancelled. We shopped at the duty free and got some cappuccino liquer and some Bailey’s. LL got a 14 oz bar of Toblerone chocolate and we got some candy for him as well. We came home with almost half the cash we took with and lots of lovely treasures. So I think we did well. *laugh* We left Egypt at 1415 and it was in the mid 20’s. The flight back was uneventful, LL watched Garfield and laughed lots. We landed in Stockholm at 1900 and the temperature was -11C and there was about 15 cm of snow on the ground that was not there when we left. It was then we fully appreciated Ibo’s foresight to park inside a heated garage. *laugh* We got back home a bit after 2000 and discovered that our parking spot was snowed in. So my fellow went off to his parents and borrowed a shovel and 45 minutes later had shoveled out enough to pull in the car. I made something to eat and boiled the kettle for tea while they did that and we had a little snack and got the kidlet into bed at 2200. As much I enjoyed our vacation and spending uninterrupted time with my fellows, it was very nice to get home. Susan was here since Ibo’s uncle had dropped her off earlier in the day and she was so happy to see us. *smile*

miscellaneous ramblings

We talked about going on some of the tours but we didn’t. Ibo’s parents offered to keep LL in their room so we could go with Ibo’s sister but we declined. It was a family vacation and we three are a family, so it would have been a very hurtful thing to leave him behind and go on an adventure without, especially if we took his aunt, who he adores and always wants to do whatever she does.

Ibo’s parents bought an apartment while we were there and I am sure we will go back and stay again. I think next time we will go to Cairo first and then LL can see the pyramids with us before we go to the resort area.

We went into a shop that sold delicate glass perfume flasks. LL pointed out one he wanted in purple but he was outvoted by his dad and grandfather. (who thought they were just for girls) I was more than pleased when the shopkeeper gave LL a tiny purple bottle as a gift after we had made our purchases. *laugh*

We got the kidlet a statue of Anubis at the old market. He had been pointing out the man with the dog nose for days, so now he has one of his own. It made me crazy trying to remember the name of the god though and I was happy to get internet access and look it up when we got home. *laugh*

We also got the kidlet a stuffed camel which he took back to the hotel and introduced to his little Winnie and the camel he won last year. When we got home and unpacked his stuffed animals, he took the new camel all around the apartment and showed it the layout, then he introduced it to the dog. Kids are a hoot. *laugh*

Another of the kidlet’s aquisitions was a silver “aladdin” lamp. Ibo pointed it out to me while he was buying a gift for someone and we thought it would be a great christmas gift, since LL loves Aladdin (or albabin as he has dubbed him). We didn’t impart the christmas gift info to Ibo’s parents though and farmor mentioned it to the kidlet. He was ecstatic at the idea and when we got back to the hotel he had to see it. Imagine his disappointment when he rubbed it and nothing happened. He was very upset we did not buy him a real one. Every day this week he has opened the top of the lamp and called inside it “is anyone home in there!” and then sadly pointed out yet again that it is not “real”. Poor little guy, he must have some really important thing to wish for if he can just find that genie. *laugh*

Sunday Nov 14

We were up at 3 am, got dressed, ate and Ibo carried the luggage out to the car. Aunt Maud phoned at 0330 to wish us a safe trip. My fellow’s parents met us here and then we all headed to the airport at 0400. We parked the cars in long term parking at the airport and wise man that he is, my fellow had ours parked inside instead of out. It was a smooth process to check in and our flight left at 0715. It was a Brittania Boeing 737-800, comfy, not too crowded. We had breakfast on route to Egypt, the kidlet had pancakes which thrilled him to pieces. One thing that I had never seen before was that we had to pay for drinks, earphones etc. I have never done a charter flight so I guess that is why. We bought LL earphones and the movie on the way to was Finding Nemo. He loved that. *laugh* It really was nice to be flying with both my fellows. Ibo and I have never flown together before and he is great to travel with. It was also nice not to have to deal with every kid thing on my own. *laugh*

We arrived at Sharm el Sheikh airport about 1300, took a bus from the plane to the airport and then waited in line for visas. It was a rather drawn out process because my fellow, his family and LL all got 6 months visas based on the fact that Ibo’s dad is Egyptian. I got a 2 week visa because I have a different last name. *laugh* Once that was over and we showed our passports for the 1000 time we got on a bus to our hotel. We checked into the Solymar Royal Sharming Inn around 1430. Our room (311) was not quite ready yet, so we waited a bit in the lobby, checked out the gift shop and such. The room was really nice, two single beds and a nice sized cot for LL. Everything was clean and looked nice. We dropped off our suitcases and headed to room 416, to see Ibo’s parents. They had a room with a kitchenette and a , a living room with a double bed in it and a separate bedroom. Their room was not as nice as ours, since it really had no decorations and just felt like it was poorly laid out. There also was nothing to cook in or eat off of in the kitchen. *laugh*

We left the hotel at 1730 and went to Naama Bay. It took about 15 minutes by car and we went with the hotel “limo” service, two small cars with nice drivers who drove like maniacs. *laugh* This is apparently the way you are supposed to drive in Egypt, really fast, weaving in and out of traffic, honking horn in lieu of signalling and yelling out the window to other drivers. There also were no seat belts in the car, so I rode in the classic mom fashion, with my arm in front of LL who sat between us. *laugh* We ate dinner at a chinese restaurant and while I enjoyed my pork hot pot, the rest were not really impressed with their food. Of course the bug scuttling about around our table that closely resembled a large cockroach, might have been what put the rest off. I just lifted my purse off the floor and ignored it, a learned response from living in downtown Toronto as a student. *laugh* We looked in a million shops and I saw a pretty watch in one of the windows. The only thing we bought was a snorkeling mask for LL and postcards and stamps for me. We stopped at a corner store and got some water, juice and some snacky foods for our room. We had been advised that prices were much lower at the old Market than at the touristy Naama Bay shops, so we mostly window shopped. One thing that I got all excited about was seeing KFC there. I didn’t much care about Pizza Hut, McDonalds or Hard Rock Cafe, since they have those in Sweden. But it was cool to see the Colonel. *laugh*

We went back to the hotel at 2100 and while the kidlet got ready for bed, I unpacked. We had a snack of muffins I had taken with us and were asleep by 2300.

Monday Nov 15

We were up at 0730, everyone showered and we headed downstairs to breakfast. The hotel had a lovely breakfast buffet which was included in our package. There was a table of cereals, hot and cold, fresh fruits, cheeses, jams. Hot foods, mini beef burgers, sausage slices, grilled vegetables, french toast, hard boiled eggs and scalloped potatoes. All kinds of rolls and breads, a huge variety of pastries and two cooks making pancakes and omeletes to order. There was orange juice and hyacinth juice to drink and of course coffee and tea. I thought of Nikki every morning when I passed the table with fuul on it. *laugh*

After breakfast we changed into bathing suits and went to the pool. Ibo’s dad had been down to the pool early and gotten our towels (each room had towel cards, one for each guest) and organized 6 deck chairs for us. We spent the rest of the day at the pool and it was wonderful. The kidlet had water wings and alternated between the kiddie pool on his own and the big pool with us. There was a lending library beside the pool. Over the course of the week I read 4 books I had taken with me and I left them all in the library. I saw one man who obviously was not into swimming so he was standing waist deep in water at the side of the pool, reading a book. *laugh* There were a lot of english speaking guests, although nowhere near as many as there were german speaking guests.

We had dinner at the hotel, nothing spectacular but there were a couple of giggles. The soup choices were cream of cauliflower that tasted like broccoli and consomme stainless steel. *laugh* One of the veggie choices was “pumbkin”. After dinner we had cappucino in the lobby. Ibo and his dad wandered off and since he had the room key we were kind of stuck with staying up even though it was after 2100. We could hear music and went in search of the men and the music, where we stumbled on the evening theatre presentation. It was a comedy troupe and they were really funny. LL loved the show and recounted to Ibo everything he had missed when we finally found the men. *laugh* So it was a rather late night for the kidlet when we finally got to bed.

Tuesday Nov 16

We had breakfast early. Ibo’s mom suggested to the kidlet that his mom could take the two pastries he didn’t eat, back to the room for later, so I ended up doing something I vowed never to do, I wrapped up food in a napkin and took it “home”. I had a flashback to New Years Eve dinner dances with my family, where my mom put food into plastic baggies and then into her purse to take home because “they will just throw it out anyway!”. *laugh*

It was another day at the pool, very relaxing and fun. We ended up having lunch there, pan pizza and fries.

That evening we walked to Fantasia Alf Leila Wa Leila. It was a magnificent place. We did a bit of shopping, LL got a Dori fish fridge magnet and I got postcards, had dinner there (egyptian food) and LL got his picture taken. I had wanted to get him to dress up as a little pharoah but before I could show him, farmor pointed out the Superman costume and so we have a picture of him dressed up as superman. *laugh* He was exhausted at that point and it is really obvious in the picture. We then walked back to the hotel and while I thought he should go to bed, his grandmother and aunt were going to see the hotel show and of course he wanted to go along, so by the time I got back from a bathroom break he was gone with. It was a cool show and the kidlet loved it. He had to wait and tell the performer after the show that he liked it. *laugh*

Wednesday Nov 17

I am beginning to feel like this is a “how I spent my summer vacation” essay. *laugh* Wednesday was more of the same, breakfast, pool. We did have to take the kidlet to the room for a nap after a minor meltdown in the pool. The late nights were catching up with my little 6 year old who wanted to be able to do everything his 17 year old aunt did. He never did sleep, but mom and dad did. *laugh* We headed off to Naama Bay and had dinner at a nice french restaurant. Again there were a few smiles reading the menu. A lot of the english is translated phonetically so it looks strange. Ibo and I had fellets for dinner and it really was nice steak although a bit well done for my taste. I was a bit leary about ordering my usual medium rare though. My steak came with rice but Ibo had bomme frites. That would have thrown me if I had not learned early that pomme frites are french fries. *laugh* One of the fillets was listed as “fellet with surprised sauce” and I had this vision of sauce with big eyes looking up from the meat. *laugh* Ibo’s family were meeting up with another family from Sweden, his sister’s friend and her family at Hard Rock Cafe. We however felt it was better to take our little guy back to the hotel, so it was an earlier night for him. I had a glass of white wine and Ibo had a beer in our room after the kidlet was settled and that was much nicer than sitting in a loud smokey club as far as I was concerned. *laugh*

Thursday Nov 18

We had decided that this would be the day we would go to the Old Market. It really worked out well because it was an overcast day and a bit cool (how relative is that, it was likely 22C instead of 25C *laugh*). Prices at the old market/bazaar were much lower than at Naama Bay. For example I looked at small papyrus pictures at Naama Bay that were priced at 10 LE (egyptian pounds). The same ones were 1 LE at the old market. Of course everything was haggled over price wise and Ibo’s dad was in his element. I thought it was wonderful to hear him chatting away in arabic with everyone from wait staff to shop owners. It made me think about how much I love when I go home to Canada and I can talk to anyone without having to think out everything I say and translate it in my head as I do here in Sweden when I speak swedish. It is just such a lovely feeling to be home and speaking articulately in your own language. So all purchases were made with him on hand to barter in arabic. Except for the sturdy canvas tote I found while he was in with his daughter buying her a necklace. That one Ibo bartered for and while the initial asking price was 170 LE, we got it for 60 LE. *laugh* I said the shop owner saw us and read sucker written across our foreheads. To put a bit of perspective on this, the hotel staff earn a monthly wage of 180 LE and their food and room costs are taken out of that wage. So 170 LE for a tote bag was a bit overboard. *laugh* We did a lot of shopping at the old market. Ibo got a water pipe, I bought postcards, a silk scarf, the tote bag, a Snoopy hat for LL, we got papyrus paintings and bookmarks, LL got a little fishing rod with a nemo fish among the magnet bearing fish in with the pole, we bought a lot of souvenir gifts there. I managed to fill up my tote bag. *laugh* LL took a photo here of the “no honking” sign, an obvious necessity in the land of constant horn honking. *grin*

We went back to the hotel, had a bit of lunch and a little rest, then we took LL out to play area where he spent an hour playing in the sand box. We ate dinner at the hotel (we as in we 3 and Ibo’s sister) and it was nice. LL wanted the fresh pasta and I lifted him up to see the sauce choices. His dad was standing behind with his half full plate and we managed to collide, dropping food onto the kidlet and the floor. I was very upset because I didn’t feel this was my fault but it was dubbed so. *laugh* Ibo took him back to the room and changed him while I made up a new plate for him. When they got back I went to change (since I was also wearing the kidlet’s dinner) and had a little cry. I think I was just overtired and all things were fine again in short order. The interesting part of dinner that night was the “do cheese” potatoes. I was stumped until I lifted the lid and saw duchess potatoes. *laugh* We had a cappuccino in the lobby after dinner and had an early night.

I think I must stop here and finish journaling this a bit later. *laugh* I am getting hungry thinking about all the food we had.

Today is the kommunfullmäktige (municipal council) planning meeting for the upcoming year, it started at 9 am and is still going on. I have had the live internet feed in the background on the computer since we got home and finally at about 1830, LL got to see his dad speaking. *laugh* After the disappointment last month when his dad didn’t speak, he was thrilled. *laugh*

Happy Thanksgiving to all our American friends. Hope you all have a wonderful holiday filled with love, family and friends!

I am here, have been feeling really terrible though. The headache that started on the plane trip home reached migraine proportions. *laugh*

Even though I have been battling the usual nausea and photosensitivity that goes with, I have been busy. Not that you would know it to look at our home. *laugh* We made a trip to Danderyd yesterday and saw a new speech therapist who has given us a new type of exercise for the kidlet and is going to arrange for the speech teacher to work with him as well. She was really impressed with his verbal skills and thinks it is just a matter of training his tongue to move to the back of his mouth to make the K and G sounds automatically.

It has been a great mail week. There was a very thoughful letter from Marie with information about the Nynäshamn julmarknad (christmas market). Thank you Marie, we are still debating which day to come but it is definitely on our agenda. Will let you know when we pick the day. *smile* Today I picked up an amazing parcel full of crafting goodies that can only have been sent by Liz. Thank you Liz, you are much too generous!

Tomorrow LL has no school so I plan to sleep in and take it easy. We are going to grocery shop in the afternoon so that once Ibo is done work tomorrow we have the entire weekend to do nothing. *laugh* Perhaps I will finally manage to document our vacation. *smile*

The meeting at arbetsförmedling was a bore. I want to know where they find these people who work in government agencies like the unemployment office. The woman I saw was thick. She wanted to know why I was not collecting a-kassa (unemployment benefits) since I had been working in Sweden. It took four tries to make her understand that my job was only 3 hours a week and I was not eligible to even pay into the fund. It is done though and she was a nice lady who complimented me on my spoken swedish. *laugh*

The kidlet went out to play in the snow. I left him out there when I went off to my meeting with instructions to go in to his dad when he was done playing. I came home to a son with one less tooth and scratch on his face. *laugh* Apparently the kid he was playing with threw a snowball and hit him in the face, scratching it and (thank you deity!) knocking out the front tooth that has been loose for a month but would not fall out because LL babied it so. I said that he should stop playing with the bully and he said he told the kid that he was not going to play with him anymore and the boy told LL that if he didn’t play with him, he would tell all the other kids not to play with LL. I pointed out that none of the other kids like to play with the bully either, so it was a rather empty threat. Playground politics. *laugh*

I have a massive migraine. It started as a headache on the flight home and has built all day. After Tylenol, Gravol and ibuprofen in liberal doses, it is beginning to fade finally. Good thing because ER is on soon and I missed the season opener so I don’t want to miss this episode. *laugh*

One thing I did accomplish (and believe me I have done nothing else as the mess in my kitchen would show you) was to upload my pictures to webshots. You can see them here.

We are home! What a treat to get on the plane in Egypt where it was around 24 C and get off 5 hours later in Stockholm where it was -11 C. *laugh*

It was a lovely relaxing vacation. We are all tanned and rejuvenated. It was a bit of a shock to the bodies to go out into the snow covered reality of home though. Our parking spot had not been plowed so Ibo and LL spent 45 minutes shovelling it out when we got home. I didn’t think about that eventuality when we were sunning poolside last week and got the news that there was 10 cm of snow on the ground in Stockholm. I just thought how glad I was that we were there, not here. *laugh*

LL didn’t go to school today. We had some late nights in Egypt and it was close to 10 pm when he got to bed last night. His last sleepy words were “we don’t have to get up for breakfast tomorrow, so can I sleep as long as I want?”. So he did. *smile* He woke a bit after 9 am and is happily watching cartoons at the moment.

I did make notes every day so I can journal our vacation. There was KFC in Egypt! We didn’t eat there but we did go to Pizza Hut one night. We have no KFC in Sweden although we do have Pizza Hut. The kidlet wanted to eat there but I said we would wait until our next trip to Canada and have chicken with Grandma and Grandpa. I reminisced about Tooney Tuesdays as we walked along the streets of Naama Bay. *laugh* We basically got up every day, had breakfast at the hotel, went out to the pool for a few hours, ate lunch, had a nap/rest in the afternoon and then ate dinner and shopped in the evenings. One day there was no pool time, one day we went to see a show instead of shopping. But on the whole it was sun and shop. *laugh* As bad as that sounds, we did not buy so much. We came home with almost half of the money we took with us and got some nice things for ourselves and some gifts. It was nice to travel with my fellows. It has always been just me flying with LL, so it was a treat to have Ibo with us.

Today I need to finish unpacking and I have a meeting with arbetsförmedling this afternoon. It is nice to be home. *smile*

This has been a busy week, organizing for our vacation. I packed and unpacked and repacked. *laugh* I have this terrible habit of overpacking, so I started early this week and then had time to rethink.

Wednesday LL learned Humpty Dumpty in english class. I have read him all these rhymes and he has heard them on tapes but until now he has never wanted to say them in english. It is great hearing him recite them now. *laugh*

Thursday he came home without his winter coat. It was the ultimate of leaving things at school. He has been really good lately, the only thing he forgot was his outer pants (it isn’t quite snow pants weather but he still needs something a bit warmer than his jeans). Apparently on Thursday he was in a hurry and grabbed his rain jacket instead of his winter coat. By the time I met him at the bus, his little arms were mottled from the cold. I think he learned to be more careful in the future. Of course I was not impressed that he played outside and got on to the bus without a teacher noticing he didn’t have proper clothes on. That will be addressed when we get back. *smile* We had a package from my brother on Thursday, addressed to Llywellyn. It was candies and koolaid and the kidlet was thrilled with it.

Friday we drove to Sköldinge and left Susan with Ibo’s uncle. It was a two hour drive south of Stockholm and it rained the whole trip. We had a little visit with Jonas and then headed back home. We stopped in Flen at Statoil to get LL a hotdog. Little did we know that they would have a kids meal, hotdog, drink, dessert and a toy all packed into a cardboard Flinstones car. He kept saying “this is my lucky day!”. We got home about 7 pm and I fried up some hamburgers. We were all sitting in the living room eating when the neighbour downstairs rang the bell to see if we had water running because she had water running down underneath the wallpaper in her living room. I am sure she thought we were savages eating in here, since she came in to look at our wall. The water wasn’t from us and I really wanted to say “we usually eat at the table like normal people, really”. *laugh* Friday was also a parcel day for the kidlet. A package from the lovely Angela with a book, sticker and candy. Thank you Angela! Llywellyn is calling it “english candy” and has eaten more than his usual quota of chocolate. *smile*

Today was all about last minute trip stuff. I did laundry, ironed some clothes to pack, vacuumed, did dishes, emptied the fridge and finished packing. So our suitcases are at the door and in a few hours we are off to Egypt. We have to be on our way to Arlanda by 0415, so I really mean a few hours. *laugh* I don’t anticipate getting online when we are away but I have packed a notebook and will keep a paper journal to transcribe here when we get back.

We had a nice quiet weekend. Friday I puttered about here, LL went out and played in the playground for an hour or so and enjoyed it. I was in a snit at dinner time and my fellow made me coffee to un-snit me. *laugh* As an added treat I had some Bailey’s in it, a rare thing.

Saturday was a sleep in day and then after lunch we went grocery shopping. On the way home we picked up pizza for dinner. It was a nice treat.

Sunday was another quiet day. We had a leisurely breakfast, everyone showered (but not all together, it would way to tight of a squeeze for that *laugh*) and my fellow went to a meeting in the afternoon. I really do enjoy lazy weekends.

I was awake at 0430 and had a cry because I hadn’t heard from the folkhögskolan and decided I had better apply to komvux, even though I didn’t want to. My fellow was very sweet and stayed awake with me until I got over my cry. This afternoon when I was coming home with LL from school, I got a call from the folkhögskolan and they wanted me to come for an interview on the 16th. I explained we were going on vacation to Egypt that week, so I now have an interview with the woman who runs the program on the 29th at 1300. I also have an appointment with arbetsförmedling when we get home, it is on the 22nd at 1300. As I understand it, I need to be registered with them if I want to apply for student loans. So things are looking up in the swedish studies department. *smile* My fellow did tease me about my middle of the night cry when he heard my news today. *laugh*

Well the kidlet has no fever today. Yay!

We didn’t do so much yesterday, I did a bit more sorting in the spare room, did laundry (I even did our big old bedspread *laugh*), played with the kidlet and straightened up here. A month or so ago I decided that I was going to make our home a place where my fellow felt it was a pleasure to come home at night. He never complains about the clutter but I figured it would be better without and we would all be more comfortable. So I have been working away at it slowly, a bit every day and it is making a difference. Of course I don’t think my fellow has even noticed. *laugh*

Today I have done all the usual things and have packed up some summer stuff for storage and sorted out 3 more boxes. The kidlet has had a long shower and we are going to go out today. Pappa gave him some money this morning and he has decided we should go to McDonalds for lunch and then I am to go to ICA Maxi and grocery shop, so he can play in the kid playhouse. His original plan included eating outside by the big slide at McD’s, but I had him go and look out the window at the rain and he decided we would pass on that plan. He is a funny little guy. *laugh*