03.30.07
Posted in Climbing at 11:21 am by tesstess
Last time I was climbing, just before leaving for my holidays here in Sweden where I am now, one of the responsible of the gym asked called my name when I came and then picked up this bottle of wine, cheese and sausage you can see on the picture. This was a price, for me! I was surprised and did not understand a thing. They explained to me that last months, when the climbers filled in a paper with all routs they had done, I was the girl who had managed to do the highest number of routs 
I was so motivated to climb after this, and a bit sad I had to wait two weeks to climb again. But on Tuesday I will, since I’m coming home on Monday.
I can explain a little how it works in there for you who never saw this kind of strange walls. As warm up, I just climb on what ever holes you feel for taking, usually big ones where not so much technique is required. Then I’m starting to do the routs. The people taking care of the gym have put up routs in different colors, where pink is the easiest and black is the hardest, which means not only hard, but totally impossible. I’m doing all pink, some greens, and sometimes some yellows. The route usually starts quite low with a tape in the color of the route. I put both hands on this whole, and the feet on other wholes which have tapes next to them in the same color, and then starts to climb. I’m only allowed to use wholes where my color is put and the goal, usually somewhere close to the ceiling or even in the ceiling, has two tapes in a V-shape and there I have to hold both my hands for three seconds. It will take between one and five minutes to do one route. As you can see on the back of the climbing gym on the picture, some walls are leaning, which means it’s very physical to climb on them. Goood for the stomach
I go climbing Tuesday and Thursday lunch between 12 and 14. Anthony, Thomas and Matthew are coming from Amadeus too. It’s really great to have this two hour lunch where you can do a sport like this!
It’s a little bit expensive to climb inside, but as Anthony pointed out to me just some days ago, the dancing weekends with courses are almost as expensive as a yearly pass to the gym, so I have to admit that it’s not too expensive after all. I’m just so used to pay for the dancing, and it have meant so much to me that I never reflected over what it costs.
Anna came with me to try the climbing gym when she was visiting me, but it didn’t take many minutes before her muscles were all shaking of tiredness. It’s very heavy to climb when you’re not used to it, and new muscles that most people never use. So very good for computer people! Anna loved it and said she would see if she could start in Stockholm when she came back home.
Now it’s warm enough again to climb outside so for all visitors from Sweden (or anywhere else from) we will take you to the real mountains to try this wonderful sport
03.27.07
Posted in Hollidays, Sweden at 9:46 am by tesstess
I går var det måndagsdans och jag var och dansade. Underbart att träffa så många härliga människor och få så många varma och glada kramar. Jag hade så kul när jag dansade, framför allt med Christian. Nu på morgonen låg jag och funderade på det här med dansen i mitt liv och kom på att det kanske kommer funka att lära ut Lindy där nere i alla fall. Jag kan ju försöka hålla en nybörjarkurs på Amadeus i höst, antingen på lunchtid eller efter jobbet. Antingen får jag hitta en tjej som jag kan lära att dansa tjej, eller en kille som kan i alla fall traska runt i grundsteg, och så kan jag hålla i allt pratandet. Nog borde jag väl kunna få Anthony att göra de enklaste grundturerna? Om han gick en grundkurs på Herräng, en av helgerna kanske, han behöver ju inte stanna hela veckan, men jag skulle så gärna vilja visa honom Herräng och dess stämning. Och kursen jag skulle hålla på Amadeus, jag behöver ju inte ta så mycket betalt första gången, det skulle ju bli som ett prov om jag fixar det, och mest för att ha roligt. Jag saknar verkligen att stå i mitten och vara glad.
Igår var jag först hemma här i Skogstorp, det var underbar sol och riktigt vårvarmt i luften. Vid fyratiden åkte jag ut till Volvo Tuve och träffade Monica för att lämna tillbaks mina securitaskläder och min bricka. Det var lite konstigt att se henne och stället igen, Lasse satt där fortfarande fast han borde ha varit pensionerad för säkert fem år sen, och allt var helt som vanligt, men mitt liv har förändrats så otroligt mycket!
Sen åkte jag till Inet och köpte ett RAM-minne till min laptop. Idag ska vi sätta i det och jag har stora förhoppningar om att datorn kommer bli mycket trevligare att jobba med. Då kanske det inte tar en minut att öppna ett explorer-fönster längre…
Och sen åkte jag till Pärlehuset. Det är Ellens sista vecka där, och framtiden är oviss för dem. Ellen vill ju köpa företaget men hon som säljer vill ha för mycket betalt. Ska bli spännande att följa fortsättningen på den historien. Jag köpte ett par pärlpåsar och sen åkte vi hem till Ellen och hon lagade en jättegod pastasås med dadlar i. Har aldrig sett det i mat, men det var fantastiskt gott
Jag berättade för henne att jag försökt få en tid för klippning hos Emilia på den salong hon jobbar på i Kungsbacka men att hon idag ringde och sa att de var fullbokade hela veckan. Jag förklarade hur Emilia hade sagt att hon skulle kunna klippa mig och Ellen lös upp och plockade fram skvallertidningar med just en sån frisyr. Hon sa att den kunde hon säkert klippa och då frågade jag om hon kunde göra det nu med en gång. Usch vad läskigt det var att höra saxen i nacken! Så kort har jag aldrig blivit klippt innan. Ellen var nöjd när hon klippte och sa saker som “åh det här blir bra” och “vilken volym håret får här bak alldeles av sig självt”, så det lugnade mig. Och efteråt var det jätteroligt att kolla i spegeln och se att en ny Tess är född. En lite mer mogen look och lite mer tuff.
Vi åkte upp till Forum och dansade och jag fick flera kommentarer om fin frisyr. Himla roligt. Längtar efter att visa Anthony nu. (han lovade att inte kolla bloggen förrän jag kommit hem och visat i verkligheten om en vecka)
03.26.07
Posted in Hollidays, Skiing at 12:50 pm by tesstess
Between the 9th and the 18th of Mars me and Anthony went for skiing holliday in the south/middle alps.
We left on Friday afternoon from Valbonne, where there was such a wonderful warm weather that we were asking ourselves why at all we were going somewhere else. We wondered even more when we reached Valloir, our first place to stay, and there were no stnow at all. In fact we were really worried! What is a skiing vacation without snow?
Fortunately when we woke up the next morning we saw that even if there were no snow in the village itself it was snow up on the higher mountains. We started our first day in the skii station in Valloir and had a great day.
On the Sunday we went out in the wild for the first time. We rented hiking skiis for me and had asked the man in the shop where to go and about the risks of avalanche.
The beginning of the day was beautiful and we took it slow. Since it was a Sunday we were far from alone on this mountain and Anthony was a little bit dissapointed for this but for me it felt safe to meet other people now and then. We didn’t go very early since we had to rent my skiis in the morning. When doing hiking skiing it is important to start early, because later in the afternoon it can either become cloudy or the sun can melt the snow so it becomes more hard to skii or even dangerous. I was slow this day, not used to this kind of sport and my feet ached.
After some hours clouds were beginning to show up behind some mountains. Anthony decided that we would stop before reaching the summit and have lunch and then turn back home. I was greateful for this decision since I now was aching a lot in my legs. We had a nice lunch sheltered by some rocks and the sun stayed with us since the clouds decided to stay over the other mountains and not come our way at all.
We decided to do another hiking skiing trip the following day, and so we rented the skiis the evening before to be able to start really early. At least at eight.
The weather was perfect and the snow on the mountains looked like mareng.
Not all was perfect on the way up. At one point it was steep and the snow was hard and a bit icy. My skiis started to slide backwards and I fell in the snow, I didn’t manage to get up at first which made me a bit panicked and I was crying for some time before I managed to continue. But after this passage everything felt easier and I was happy to be there out in the wild with Anthony. He is really a safe and good guide
This time we reached the summit and here we are, at the top! A stunning view and a perfect weather. This was my first summit on hiking skiis.
Here is our summit camp. Anthony digged a hole in the snow so we could sit and have our lunch without the wind. It was so warm in the sun!
From the summit we could see “Les aiguilles d’Arves” which is three very carachteristique mountain tops. The other days we were out and even when we went to Briancon, we could still see those summits which was allways fun.
On the way down we made these traces in the snow. The round and more beautiful ones are of course Anthony’s and the ones going form one side of the picture to the other are mine. Not so used yet to turn in deep snow.
The view from our window in Valloir. The town is beautiful and has much more charm than other skii resorts where the houses usually are bigger and less personal.
Here is the street and the white house on the left side is where we stayed. The room was not very good looking but it was cheep which was important for me now when I don’t have a job.
The old church in the middle of Valloir.
We found this small cheese store where we bought the most delicious cheese. On the first picture you can see Anthony standing inside, waiting to be served.
And here I am in front of our favourite resturant. It had a genuin charm and every thing they made were homemade as they made it long ago. The first evening in Valloir we wanted to eat there but they were completely full, so we had to go back another day to book a table. We ate fondu there: boiling cheese with wine in where you dip try bread. Very tasty, and a speciallity from the region. Another day when we went there we just took the and I had hot chocolate. Delicious hot chockolate. The best one I EVER tasted! Antony told me it is made from real chockolate, not from powder. I had also sweet whipped cream on top. We had to go back another day to drink it again. That time we also took a creps with chestnut cream and some toasts with homemade bluberry jam. Mjamjam.
The following days we stayed in the station and I became much better at skiing. In the beginning of the week I only did blue slopes but now I did read without to much troubles.
On Wednesday evening we took the car to Briancon, the highest situated city in Europe. Our bed and breakfast was situated in a village not so far from the town.
Here we are, eating bluberry tarte during our lunch in the new skii station.
And here are me and Antony at the highest point of the skii station, where it was a great veiw.
Friday was our last skiing day since we decided to go touristing in Briancon on the Saturday. We went hiking skiing and again, the weather was totally perfect. I can’t believe we were this lucky with the weather all week! If we would have gone the week after it would have been snow storm almost all days.
The first part of the hike was in the forest, first not so steep, and then very very steep. I was wondering how on earth I would manage to get down from there again!
Sun and great veiws, again.
The end was tough and I was tired, but I was surprised I had not hurt myself in the whole week and my feet was hurting, but not too bad. It seemed like my muscles also got used to the skiing after some days and it was not so hard anymore.
But I must confess I was complaining a bit on they way up. Not least here where it was to little snow to bring the skiis and we had to take them off and walk the last half an hour to the summit.
And we reached it! The second summit of my life on hiking skiis!
Anthony making advertisement for sports clothes Isn’t he the most good-looking private mountain guide on earth!?
Did I mention I also took a trip on the moon?
I was getting better and better at skiing and this day I had the highest quality there is on hiking skiis. On the way down we made those beautiful traces, mine is on the left.
Then came the forrest we had to pass to get down to the car… I found it funny to skee among the trees, didn’t seem so steep when going down as it had looked on the way up.
I managed to turn even at some tricky places. But then there was one place, where it was quite a long way to the nearest tree, but it was steep, very steep. I turned, but the skiis didn’t and I fell forward…
I slided on my stomach and saw this small tree on the picture coming closer quite quickly until I hit it, felt my back bend backwards (not very comfortable), and my skiis went in different directions. I lost my breath, and was hurting a bit in my breast and back, but just some minutes later I was in good shape again and could continue. Good to know where my limits are.
Here is the house we were staying at. It was initially built in 1896.
Just imagine to wake up and have this view from the bed!
Our charming room.
We spent Saturday morning on the grass outside the house, playing with Vicky, the dog.
In here is where we ate breakfast each morning. The came down and it was a view up on a mountain. Both of us felt that this glass thing on a house will be a must-have on our future home.
All in all, we really had a lovely week, and we also celebrated our first six months together Bye bye!
03.06.07
Posted in Valbonne at 11:10 pm by tesstess
It’s here! Six and a half weeks after we ordered we finally have our wonderfull sofa. And it’s better and more beautiful than we even could imagine!
It takes up half of our room, but since it’s so soft it doesn’t matter. And now the BIG tv doesn’t seem too big anymore.
The cuchion in the corner is a special one that I chose, it’s brown and “fury”, and supersoft.
Come and join us and our sofa!