Bathroom renovation continues....

After nine years of collecting ideas , saving money and searching for someone to do the job...we are over half way through the bathroom renovation project! YEAH! Bo working on the shower area....
Jörgen the tile guy put in the new flooring base...he angles the floor slightly so that all water will make it's way to the main drain under the bathtub. (It's different than in the USA I won't bother explaining all of it.)

Maya wants to help me paint the ceiling...only she's just a bit too short! The pink stuff is a water proof membrane coating that is under the tile layer.
Here's that same shower area from the first photo! The little Mexican tiles look GREAT! Not too overwhelming, we think. This is before the grout was put in....that happened today but I haven't taken photos yet as we can't go into the room. We are really pleased with the way it all looks! Over the weekend Bo and I will put in the furniture pieces so that the plumber and electrician can come back to finish their part of the work...I"m NOT making a guess when it will be finished because we never seem to complete things on a schedule! Better to just avoid the let down of a "due date". I'm just so happy it's getting worked on finally!

Mostly Maya projects & flood

The project Maya picked out to do together continued the last few days.... and we finished "Peach" on Friday! Isn't she cute? Her hair is rather thin as I only had some left over yarn from my Mom's needlepoint work. Maya would like me to make some clothes for her next but in the meantime, she was able to find this outfit that belongs to another cloth dolly she has. Apparently, Maya has plans in her head for 7 more of these dolls! (A few mermaids, of course!)
Notice there is no nose (like her orginal drawing of Obama!) ....Maya told me that the doll didn't need one! Can't argue with that!
Friday evening...of course, just after "normal" working hours we had a disaster on our hands! Nothing was flowing through our drains! AGH! So instead of the dirty laundry water going OUT of the house...it was flooding my crafty room floor! Quickly I had to pick everything up off the floor (yucky wet gross water!), scream for Bo, and keep Maya out of the mess! (she put on her rubber boots to help me!) Luckily, an 'emergency' plumber was in the area (he came from Helsingborg) and he fixed the stoppage in about 20 minutes. Charged us a reduced price since he had already driven out here on another job. (very nice of him!) It was quite amazing work...he used a remote control machine to go through our drainage pipes! How clever!
The school Maya attends is participating in this Piggelin contest for fitness! She will get a certificate at the end if she completes 50 points in physical activities. This has really motivated her to do a bit more than usual with less complaining (like walking with the dog 500 meters for 2 points). What amazes me is how much excersise she gets during regular school activities...(which also count for her Piggelin points). Attending her Tuesday gym class she gets 2 points because they have to walk to get to the gym hall (+ 2 points for the class time)! Then for Thursday's swim class she gets 4 points because they walk even further to get to the swim hall (+ points for the class time)!
Later...photos of the twin quilts...

Projects & Plumbers

Six year old Maya's first completed sewing project! She made this at "Fritids" the After School Care at her school in Sweden. Isn't it cute? This has inspired her.....So I showed her my first sewing book (I think I only made one or maybe two things from the patterns when I was a kid). I bought it at the Book Mobile in the early 70's. (Remember the Book Mobile Sales? do they still have them?) She picked one of the most "difficult" projects to start with....so that means it's mostly MY project. She has stuffed some of the body parts and will paint the face. We'll see what else.... Together we read this part about "PATIENCE" & "MISTAKES" and discussed what & how that applied to her project! She was really getting pushy about it so I was happy to see this page at the front of the book. It's a little hard to do many things at once, especially when Mommy has tonsilitus and really doesn't feel good! And the plumbers were here today for the bathroom reno....these guys are great! The only plumbers in our town of 8,000 and I feel like they give us special care and treatment. But I know others folks in town who think the same thing about these guys! They'll be back later....after some other stuff is done! And somewhere between tonsilitus naps, Maya's projects, plumber & electrician work, making dinner and walking the dog...I've managed to get some work done on this little baby quilt from my 1996 WISP! (work in slow progress) It's a little odd pattern...but remember I had a stack of these triangles cut for just one quilt and I divided up the group to make two similar quilts for twins...the mostly green one is still in pieces but soon will be an official top! I plan on getting more WISP finished this month for the CHALLENGE! To encourage my progress some...I've joined the Easter Swap (click on my side bar Easter Bunny for more information if you'd like to join). Some of my WISP's (circa 1997?) are fabric baskets for Easter....hopefully I can finish them in time for that Easter Swap!

Bathroom renovation project

After nine years of living with this ugly bathroom....it's finally OUT! I'm so excited and happy with my husband for getting everything ready for the tile guy! Bo and my father-in-law took out all the white/blue cabinets last weekend. We are almost done taking off all the ugly plastic wall paper and blue vinyl flooring....the sink, shower, toilet and bathtub are gone now. Monday the dry wall will go up. Bubble girl will miss her "happy splashy bathies" for a month or so....but then she'll be able to have them again in a gorgeous new room with Mexican tiles and sink, new cabinets, toilet and shower....it's going to be so nice! And I'll treat us to new towels, too! I haven't bought new bath towels in 20 years!

Busy with my Gainesville High School 30th reunion preparation! Starting early to hopefully be in touch with as many as possible from my graduating class of over 300 people! It's been so fun to discover "old" friends! If you haven't tried Facebook...I recommend it, especially if you have a lot of time to waste! HA HA It's addictive, I tell you! No wonder the young kids are into it!

This is my Soccer Team (football) jacket...I can still wear it although I don't. I loved practicing with my team several times a week in high school...I wasn't very good at it...I don't like to run that much but I am quite a good kicker! Actually, I enjoyed the practices more than the games...too stressy! I loved the comradship during field time and locker room giggles! If I could I'd still play, just to participate in the training sessions.

Did any of my Quilter friends play in High School sports?

Slow progress due to distractions

I'm in other worlds these days....

- the dreaded bathroom renovation has gotten started at last...so that means no water or toilet up near our bedrooms, have had to reorganize stuff, many times, not finished with the stuff part.
(photos come tomorrow...so you can see what's happening!)

- working really hard on my High School blog site...having fun getting in touch with friends old and dear, some far, some near and we have 3 years until our 30th reunion and I've taken it upon myself to find over 300 missing people! (Ok, so I've gotten some help from others with Facebook ) Realistically, I will be glad to find a quarter of them but....you never know! I'm adding new things to that blog nearly everyday as friends are sending me photos to post on the blog with updates about them. I have even gone digging in my old photo albums to find fun photos to post as well...memory lane! (wish Santa had brought me a scanner for Christmas though...I'm taking photos of photos so the quality isn't good.)

- been sick, as you know, but am feeling better. Cough, cough

- busy back at work...went to a Buddhist Temple with Grade 5 kids as part of their Religion Class. very interesting. The monk was from Vietnam and didn't speak Swedish but a nun (?) translated for him and the kids asked great questions! I'll post photos of that too....they were very generous with their time and fruits! (left overs from Chinese New Year)

-weather is a real drag...hoovering around freezing day and night...some rain, NO SUN!
BORING B-O-R-I-N-G!!!! snow, why can't there be some SNOW!!??? (oh yeah, global warming...it's been 3 winters since really good snow!)

That's all...lots is happening! I have just few days to finish some WISPs for the Challenge! Gotta get going on that!

PS- Betsy asked me what I was listening to lately....Bets, I listen to the radio...but haven't a clue as to who the performers are these days. I'm just not very cool anymore! LOL

Three days left....

I've got 3 days left of my vacation and no more house guests (after 3 weeks worth). Although I am still sick (the damn flu-cold-cough-mucus thing but no fever), I'm not as bad as I was a few days ago as long as I don't talk too much (then I lose my voice or lapse into a coughing fit).
Anyway.....among my big plans for the next 3 days is to find a place for all of Maya's new toys (which includes about 9 Polly Pockets and all their gear--given to Maya by a friend of mine in Chicago who finds them at second hand shops) and BOOKS...oh, the books!

Now, this is where I need HELP! As a first time mother of only one child....I've not had too much experience with this.

How do I get a 6 year old to release her ownership of toys she hardly plays with anymore?

It was easy when she was younger, I simply took them out of her room, even in front of her, and she didn't notice as I dropped them into a bag marked LOPPIS* on the side. But now it seems she's made some sort of inventory of each little item! Since she's been older (around 4) I've been removing some things on the sly by placing them into a closet in a "holding area". So if she misses the item I can "find" it for her but if she doesn't mention it or miss it, then after about 2 months I've been placing that item into the LOPPISbag out of her sight. This method is not only time consuming but a part of me feels a little sneaky doing it this way and I'm not sure it's OK in the "good mommy" world. (If I'm honest, I'm not so objective either because I remove the items I don't like and leave the unplayed toys that I like!) On the other hand though, when I request her assistance in filtering through the toys, there is, of course, NOTHING she doesn't play with and she wants to keep it ALL! HELP...please give me ideas about how to go about this! She knows that her toys will go to a place where other children will use them...not just to the trash. Actually, she's ok with that...and even gives me one or two token items but it's not enough reduction in the clutter of her toy areas. We also read the above book...which was entertaining but not helpful in passing along the message!

Of course, her father and I should be role models for this desired behavior. Unfortunately, we both come from generations of sentimental pack rats! But when I do clean out my clutter, I should make sure she recognizes what it is I'm doing in hopes that she will follow my example one day!

Please leave me a comment about sorting through a child's toy area!
I can use some tips! Thanks!

*LOPPIS is a Swedish word for "flea market".

Holiday Happenings

Maya's newest job...candle snuffer!Dad's tradition....PISCO SOURS! (a Peruvian delicious drink!)
Maya has learned at school how to give massages! She is quite good at them! Swedish studies have shown that children who touch each other in kindness are less likely to touch each other in meaness! A couple of times a week they sit in pairs and massage each other for about 5 minutes. She has learned many different hand motions for this almost like a little story (jumping dolphins, waterfall, spider crawl, etc). The head massage is the best!
My Dad's favorite present! "Feed the birds" says the squirrel in disguise!
My mom has been busy since she arrived making 4 of these little cross stitches! She's amazingly fast!

Happy NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
This will be my last post until next year!
Wishing you a safe and fun evening with family and friends!

Christmas Day & Leif's 45th

Santa Claus (American) came in the night of the 24th....he ate the cookies, gave the reindeer the carrots we had left them and left a pile of gifts with a card for Maya. He thanked her for all the ways in which she has been "good" this past year! Maya was so pleased!

The stockings were knitted by my mom over the years...one of each of us. They stay in Sweden now and we use others when we are in Florida for the holidays. Unfortunately, we have to be careful hanging the stockings to close to our fireplace because we use it and it gets extremely HOT! After a morning of opening Santa's gifts and our "American" gifts...we went to Malmö to celebrate Leif's birthday. Maya is ready to go....but Mom was not feeling well and stayed home to rest. She looks pretty good for not feeling well, eh?
See...you can still be GOOFY at 45 years old! Leif is Bo's youngest brother!
Why is Maya standing at the table? She's singing Happy Birthday to Leif Swedish style! Everyone stands up to sing to the honored person and children often stand on the chairs to be just as tall. "Vi gratulerar lille Leif idag!"
My mother-in-law is just as goofy as her sons at times...I appreciate it so much because in her infinite experience as a mother of 3 boys, grandmother to 5, and a professional "fritids" (after school teacher) she knows just when to employ the goofiness to the adults' advantage to get a task accomplished! In this case, get Maya's jacket on to go home after the exciting party at Leif's place!

Swedish Christmas on December 24

Maya could hardly wait to open the last of the advent calendar gifts! Up early to see what was in the top of the tree! Later in the morning, she and Uncle Tom made gingerbread cookies to serve with the glögg in the afternoon. Messy fun!
Bo's parents and brother, Leif, arrived before "Calle Anka" (Donald Duck) Disney shows started. It's a tradition in Sweden to watch about an hour of Disney at 3:00pm on Christmas Eve. I think this tradition started back when there was only one channel available and the staff was not there at the station on Christmas Eve so that they just played a film with continuous Disney all afternoon. (Giving parents a moment to prepare food, etc) Well, that's my theory anyway. Some day I'll find the truth as to why most Swedes watch these condensed versions of Disney shows on the 24th. (Maybe my Swedish friends could tell me?)

So here we are after the Disney, drinking glögg and eating cookies! Yes, my husband is wearing our cat, Basil, as a scarf around his neck! Later we ate the traditional JulBord food....(herring, potatoes, rye bread, eggs, meatballs, prince's sausages, cabbage, beets, snaps, Christmas beer & soda) YUMMY! (Now that I"m used to it!)
This year Maya was so excited about making and giving gifts! We all loved the things she made us! Here she gives Farfar a window ornament she made.
Later in the evening we heard a knock at the door....who could it be? It was the JULTOMTE! And he asked if there were any good children in the house! Maya, a bit shy, piped right up and said "YES, ME!" He handed her 3 gifts and then he left as quickly as he came! He was having a busy night!

I felt the earth move under my bed......

We had a 4.7 level earthquake today in Skåne! The last strong one in Sweden was in 1904! I knew it was an earthquake as soon as I felt the whole bed shake and the house walls creeaak...I jumped out of bed along with the dog who was already up and the cat! I screamed "Earthquake" to Bo but he only replied by saying "jord...." (the word in Sweden which I've already forgotten since I've never used in a practical way before). Then Bo went back to sleep but the animals and I stayed up and checked things out. The centre was much further south of us near Malmö so they must have felt it quite strongly. (Read about it here.) Some of my colleagues reported that their dogs started to bark just before it happened.

So I was thankful that there were no earthquakes in Sweden....but now I know otherwise! Should I prepare an "earthquake kit" like I had ready all the time in Los Angeles? If the next one happens in another 104 years I don't think I have to worry too much! I should still be thankful!

The great thing about having family for a visit....

picking mushrooms! Since moving to Sweden I have learned to pick mushrooms...edible ones with no side affects! ;-) My father-in-law is an expert on them and he has shown us all the tricks to finding the best ones. As a result, my own family is also learning to find the most delicious of mushrooms in the forest by our house (and sometimes, even in our yard!). With the warm temperatures we've had this summer plus the rain, it is turning out to be a FANTASTIC MUSHROOM SEASON! Here's what my family picked while I was at work......mostly Karl Johan now (porchinni) but we've gotten chanter ells too! And the other great thing is.....everyone likes to prepare our meals with mushrooms! Tonight (Monday) Tom will be cooking up something delightful! This is Tom concentrating on the mushrooms on Saturday when it was so rainy! (We didn't go anywhere, it was a cozy day at home.)
Apples are ripening...and dropping from the summer house's wild apple tree. Mom makes a yummy, flavorful apple sauce with all the little apples. It's good on ice cream, yogurt, cereal...alone! I hope there will be enough to freeze for later.
And my Dad....well, I'm so lucky! Every night that they stay here in our house...HE DOES THE DISHES!!!! I"m being spoiled big time!
Guess who I found making out in my kitchen after supper!???? Geez...gotta keep my eye on them! BTW---sunset is around 8:30 pm here so that's why it's light outside after dinner!
It's wonderful to have my family visiting us...and I'm so grateful that my darling husband enjoys their visits, too! All this togetherness feeling has to last long after they leave because it will be several months before we see each other again!

Before I go to bed....

In Orebro we saw a few art displays around the castle , there was some festival going on that weekend.....Check out these "banners"...look carefully! This art piece at the Orebro Castle was called "Out of the murky depths, rise into the light" (by a Finnish artist). cool!
And there really is NO PLACE LIKE HOME! (from our hotel wall in Tällberg!)
And since coming home...Pappa has worked more on Maya's incredible play apparatus! The SWING is in business! He's making a climbing wall on the forest side and a platform for a hide out somewhere there. Plus we've ordered a horse-tire swing and she'll have a rope ladder and hanging rope and.....and.....it keeps growing!