03.30.10
Posted in Garden, Valbonne, Every day life, Family at 11:31 pm by tesstess
What lay hidden under the snow comes to light at last. One thing that was hidden for a long time, more than just a winter, is the brother of my mum. A couple of weeks ago they call me, my parents, and they say, a bit like when they once told me when I was 6 years that I would get a brother, that actually my mum just got a brother. I took some time to get it into my head. Can you repeat that? You just got a what? A little brother? But my grandmum just turned 80 years old!
But it’s true! Thanks to my new cousins (vink vink om ni läser detta! ) my grandmother got a letter telling that her son, Patrik (med eller utan c?), that she didn’t see or heard of since he was born, is having a good life, a wife and three daughters. She felt a bit scared that we would be angry at her now when her secret got out, poor mormor, but no, why would we, it’s just great this story! I’m impressed that she managed to hide her pregnancy for mum and her sister, 9 and 11 years old.
My parents met the new brother and his family this weekend, together with mormor and the sister of my mother. I got some photos, but I would have loved to be there with them, hope there will be an opportunity to go and see them this summer.
Some spring photos from (soon to be) our new house (final signature planned for mid april):
03.15.09
Posted in Garden, Lindy Hop, Every day life at 9:42 pm by tesstess
Well, I cannot show you a lot of flowers, they’ll come later…
But I got 34 tagetes (oeillets d’inde).
Today I attended a small workshop in Acrobatics held by Olivier & Natasha. I was lucky that there was a girl who couldn’t come so I could borrow her guy. We learnt ‘over the back’ (armkastet) and ‘la hanche’ (höftkastet) (don’t know that one in english). Well, I knew them before, but since I love acro I couldn’t resist the chance to practice them again. They taught the techique of ‘over the back’ a bit differently to what I’m used to, more round, always interesting to try different approaches. I tried to take some pictures but none of them turned out very well.
I promised mum to show my new friend Gwladys, with whom I went with to Grenoble last weekend, with whom I’ll go on all lindy camps we can afford and with whom I’ll try to start up a small lindy club in Amadeus.
01.04.09
Posted in Land&House, Every day life at 9:44 am by tesstess
Ibland när man vaknar har man en känsla av att allt är bra, och sen plötsligt slås man av det som hänt dagarna innan, som ibland varit något hemskt. Man kan knappt förstå det är sant, det är en konstig känsla att må bra en minut och sen dåligt resten av dan.
Som tur är så känner jag mig inte så idag. Jag vaknade av ett skratt i en dröm, mådde bra, sen kom jag att tänka på igår och vart jag var, och då mådde jag fortfarande bra. Inte stressad, roliga projekt att fundera över, perfekt kärlek, bra helt enkelt.
Det som fick mig att fundera på den där upplevelsen var att jag drömde om dans. Det var en lustig dröm där jag dansade lindy/blues med folk från folkdansen, på Stefan och Annas bröllopsfest. Vi sa att vi skulle träffas och dansa så där varje fredag kväll. Jag dansade med Niklas och Urban. Sen kom det en dans då alla kavaljererna var upptagna, då gick jag för att leta efter min kamera, och såg på vägen Joachim som satt i en babyväska på urbans rygg. Han var kanske 3 år. Jättesöt med sitt röda, aningens lockiga hår. Urban dansade runt och när jag gick förbi gjorde han en shimmy på skoj. Jocke hängde inte riktigt med (en shimmy är ju rätt snabb, det är när man skakar axlar/bröst) och hans ansikte var så roligt när det skakade, svårt att beskriva i ord ett avslappnat ansikte som skakas snabbt så kinder och haka vobblar. Det såg så roligt ut att jag skrattade högt, och så vaknade jag.
Dans är mitt gamla liv. Det är som om jag slutat ett liv och börjat ett helt nytt. Efter min dansdröm trodde jag nog några sekunder att jag hade kvar mitt gamla, och sen kom minnena från att jag är i frankrike, med Anthony, har ett bra jobb och letar hus på fritiden. Ett bra liv, men mycket annorlunda.
På tal om hus och tomtletande så har vi fått en dålig nyhet från Anthonys föräldrar. Den summa som de tänkt hjälpa oss med är blockerad och kan inte tas ut nu på grund av krisen, har vi otur är den halverad i värde också. Det kan dröja två-tre år innan pengarna blir “upplåsta”. Typiskt, det är ju nu när hus och tomtpriser går ner som man ska köpa. Jag tror jag fått Anthony att förstå att jag inte är så sugen på att sätta mig i en liten lägenhet i fem år, utan att jag hellre satsar på hus nu, att bygga hus, så vår plan är (som de senaste två åren…) att vänta ett år och sen köpa en tomt. Förhoppningsvis vet vi mer om de blockerade pengarna om ett år, då kan vi köpa en tomt med de pengar vi har, sen vänta på de blockerade pengarna och utöka lånet för att bygga huset. Idag har jag tänkt jag ska göra en mer detaljerad budget av det scenariot.
Jag hade just bestämt mig för att själv börja ringa runt till mäklare och gå på visningar av hus och tomter. Även om vi inte planerar att köpa nu är det bra att vara insatt i marknaden, och ha sett mycket så man vet precis vad man vill ha, och när man ska slå till. Dessutom skulle det vara en nyttig övning för mig att ta kontakt och prata franska. Någon gång är det ju dags att lära mig säga “vous” istället för “tu” (franskans förfärligt krångliga ni-form).
Men, nu har anthony lagt ner min plan, han vill inte att vi går och tittar på potentiellt interessanta tomter, om de skulle finnas kvar sen när vi vill köpa, då har vi ju försummat chansen att gå direkt genom ägaren och slippa dyra mäklar-kostnader. Jag håller med. Typiskt. Min super-favorit-tomt är kvar och jag vill verkligen se den. Innan jul åkte jag runt i hela opio, säkert en och en halv timme på alla småvägar jag hittade för att leta rätt på tomten men inte en skymt av någon skylt eller gräsplätt som liknade fotona. Bästa lösningen är att skicka någon vän att kolla på tomten, på så sätt skriver de på mäklar-pappret om att de sett den, och sen kan de berätta vart den finns, ibland träffar man ju till och med ägaren när man besöker tomt med mäklare. Men, vänner är det inte så gott om, i alla fall inte som Anthony känner för att besvära med att besöka en tomt som både är för dyr och som vi inte planerar köpa för att det är för tidigt för oss. Men jag vill! Jag vill använda den som exempel när jag lär mig mer om hur det funkar att bygga hus. Igår köpte vi en bok, vi bestämde att jag ska koncentrera mig på att lära mig mer om husbyggarteknik, papper osv, istället för mäklar-kontakt. Det är också intressant och lärorikt. Än en gång är jag besviken på att jag inte har några egna vänner här nere. Hade Kat eller AnnCharlotte varit här så hade jag ju kunnat fråga dem att gå och besöka min lilla tomt.
Nu är det ett nytt år och jag tror det blir ett bra år. Anthonys nyårslöfte är att ta hand om sin hälsa. Han har några små problem, bland annat att synen “darrar”, som han ska ta tag i. Själv ska jag bli mer ansvarstagande och drivande i saker vi gör, jag började igår med att laga en supergod middag alldeles själv. Det blev helstekt kyckling i ugn med päron bitar, aprikoser och fikon karameliserade i honung och vitt vin, och som var i ugnen sista halvtimmen med kyckligen så den fick en god smak av dem, och sen couscous brevid. Vi var imponerade båda två.
06.04.08
Posted in Garden, Every day life at 5:26 pm by tesstess
I haven’t been smiling for three days now. Starts to get boring. I got all my four wisdom teeth removed on monday, they put me to sleep, took only half an hour, but the longer to recover. In fact it doesn’t hurt too much as long as I keep still. This morning I was dreaming something and managed to hit me with the hand on the side of the face where I’m swollen. Do I need to tell that it hurt? A lot. I have ice on most of the time too keep it from getting swollen, I would have been much worse otherwise, helps also for the ache.
My favorite hobby at the moment is to sit and watch anthony when he makes a hole in the garden. It’s not a grave, it will be filled with tomatoe plants. They can be seen on the picture below, four different kinds waiting to be planted. The orange flowers, tagetes, are to be planted in between, apparently they give a smell that will scare away insects.
All those pills I’m eating makes me a bit dizzy, yesterday I slept most of the day, in the sofa and then in the hammock under the avocado tree. Vincent have lent me the last harry potter book, it keeps me company but I can only read when feeling a bit better (goes up and down all the time) because it’s in french and when it hurts or I’m tired I don’t understand a thing.
I just managed to open the mouth enough to see that they put some points in there. The doctor didn’t tell me after the operation how it had been, and I wasn’t able to ask… When I met her earlier she had told that it was one of the roots that went down in a nerve canal and when taking it out I would risk to loose sensibility in my lower lip. At least that didn’t happen, I have still all feeling left. I’m in a good hope that I will be able to smile again in some days.
Do you know what ‘negerbollar’ is? It’s swedish cookies, and translated it is ‘nigger balls’. I guess they exist in other places as well, but then named ‘chocolate balls’. Anyways, AnnSofie and Oscar brought us homemade negerbollar last saturday and I was so happy, I really missed them! But I forgot to take them out and serve after the dinner and now Anthony is eating them with good appetite. I’m happy that he likes them. I get plenty of saliva in my mouth when I see him eat, so I tried as well. I took tiny pieces of a ball, to make tiny negerbollar, and then chew with my tongue. Not easy, but well worth the effort.
This morning I got strawberry milkshake for breakfast. Delicious. For lunch and dinner I’m having soup, a very tasty soup made of lots of different vegetables, well mixed. And of course I’m eating it with a straw. I’m looking so stupid!
Frustrated. When reading harry potter I’m realizing that things happened that I don’t recognize, and after some discussion with Vincent I realize that I haven’t read book 6. Pah.
Taking pictures doesn’t hurt. Karin, have you seen how beautiful the Lobelia is this year compared to last year!?
03.09.08
Posted in Every day life at 8:20 pm by tesstess
It’s alive! We put out the frog some weeks ago now, and I’ve been a bit worried because the temperature the last week has gone down to three degres during the night. But just now he was quacking! Outside!
Anthony should have been skiing today, but unfortunately he is sick with fever. We’ve been coding on his webpage all day and it’s coming alive more and more.
The only time we lefte the house was to go go to the garden store, ca 4 minutes with car, and there we dreamt a bit about what we will do in our garden when it gets warmer. We only bought a litte bit fertiliser for the flowers and berries. I’m longing so much to put my hands in the ground and plant! We’re thinking of maybe try to grow some small tomatoes.
I tell about our very simple, very expensive but very good dinner. A pasta sallad with small pasta shells, magret du canard fume, mango in small cubes and small leaves of spenat/epinard. (*checking if it is in Klas lexikon*: but no, it was not there, I had to ask for it, what a luck that I allready knew it, but I cannot remember what it is in english…).
Kram
02.03.08
Posted in Every day life at 7:02 pm by tesstess
I feel good, nananana.
Today I’ve just been home, except for the hour I was out running with Klas. I’m very proud to have run for a whole our, it was 8.3 km. Then I’ve done some cleaning and now I’m putting the audiobooks I found in the library yesterday (in french of course) on my computer so I can listen on my ipod.
Talking about the ipod, Klas had a very funny thing that counted the steps, how long time, and how long distance he run. I want one too. Maybe with such a thing I would be able to motivate me enough to hold my new year wish of doing once per week a ‘long’ sport.
Yesterday I was out shopping. I didn’t find so much to buy, but it was very funny anyway, and it gave me lots of energy, as shopping always does. In the evening we were seven friends from Amadeus who ate våfflor/waffles/goufres at Klas place. Do I need to say that it was delicious and very filling? And after we went down to antibes and had a beer in a bar. It’s good for me to see some other people sometimes, to get out of on my own a bit.
I have also been very happy this weekend because a friend gave me some very good news on friday. But I don’t know if it is official yet so I wont say more than that it really made my weekend happy.
Anthony just showed me all work he did in the garden on saturday, and then we took in a big branch Mimosa to have in the kitchen. The daffodils are just beging to open in the garden.
02.02.08
Posted in Garden, Every day life at 11:00 am by tesstess
It was some weeks now since I took this funny picture of our frog. I was going to lift the brown box you see on the second picture when something green fell down on the shelf. I screemed and jumped backwards, but then I saw it was only a toy, and I was wondering why we had a toy frog there… and then I realized - it’s THE frog! Fast out with the camera. The frog hid itself between two tea jars as you can see. I waited for the frog to start moving again after taking the picture, and I was standing just close, but when I turned back my head after talking to Anthony it was suddenly gone, probably it jumped silently back into the plant which is just under.
He is still making ‘quack quack’, almost every morning around five. Sometimes I count, and it’s most often around eight ‘quacks’, which is a little bit short to be able to record the noise. Karin promised me to analyze the sounds, to see what kind of frog and if it’s a he or she… but even if I have the recorder close, there’s not enough time to sit up and turn it on before the frog stops again.
I’m putting a couple of worms every third day in a cup placed in the plant next to the small bath I also put there. Some time ago though I realized there is a problem with the worms. Just before putting the cup down it was standing on the kitchen bench while I was closing thing with the other worms, and then I saw the worm coming up from the cup, straight up, and then over. Which means… that each morning when I think the frog has been eating during the night, the worms might just as well have escaped and now live happily in the big pot of the plant. Anthony gave me a quite discusting solution - to cut the worm in two. First I refused, but then he say that worms have no sensations, and I was thinking of all people going fishing with worms, so I cut it. He wasn’t very happy at first, the worm, making all kinds of strange movements. But then… they were two. And then, two worms started going up the side of the cup and were just as good at escaping as when they were just one. Puh.
Now I’m having a bit bigger cup, and I try to give the worms just before going to bed, hoping that the frog will hear the worms and be able to catch them before they go down in the ground. I’m not sure though how the frog actually hunts, if he can hear and see the worms…
It’s just some weeks left now until I’ll put the plant back outside. It seems like our frog will have survived the winter!
01.16.08
Posted in Every day life at 11:08 pm by tesstess
I just tried my new wireless headset for skype and it works perfectly! Now I can do ironing, or paint the ceiling and talk to sweden at the same time.
Anthony was fixing his skiis in the kitchen, and then he came in with a the to me. He is so nice my boy. Suddenly I heard strange noises from the kitchen, and an “oh Noo”. In fact the the was not very tastefull, he had forgotten that he had put the cleaning powder in the water boiler, and he reused the old water when he made the the. I’m happy I didn’t try it before Anthony.
I’ll try to load in the picture I took of the frog so you can see. *brb*
01.06.08
Posted in Skiing, Every day life at 9:52 pm by tesstess
I’m tired. I just survived the first skii day of the season. We’ve been in Isola 2000 and it was probably the best day of the year to be there. Sun, great snow, and not too many people. The first turns this morning were scary, but I came fast into it again and went in red slopes in the afternoon. One time I went off pist, had to do that to find a nice place to eat. The snow was around 40 cm deep and so soft that it would be impossible to hurt oneself. In the end of the day I got cramp in my legs. It hurt. Sophie said it can be because I drank too much. We had blueberry soup with us, warm and sweet. French people don’t drink this, but in sweden it’s a must when you go skiing!
The frog-news is that she ate 4 worms in two days, so now I have not given for two nights, thinking she could be too fat. But tonight I think I will give her some again. This evening she quaked around eight times, around eight in the evening. I can recommend this pet, very funny!
01.04.08
Posted in Every day life at 10:58 am by tesstess
I natt åt grodan en dagmask. Och i förrgår svarade den mig när jag skrattade i vardagsrummet.
Tonight the frog ate a earth worm. And the day before yesterday it answered me when I laughed in the livingroom.
Cette nuit, le grenouille a mange un ver de terre. Et avant hier elle m’a repondu quand je rigolais dans le salon.
01.02.08
Posted in Every day life at 3:26 pm by tesstess
Nu är jag tillbaks på jobbet. Gick in på mitt kontor med ett “dadaa, nu är jag här!”, men det var tomt. Jaja, det sitter en kille i kontoret jämte som jag tänkte gå och ta en kopp kaffe med nu.
Missade bussen från flygplatsen med två minuter. Jag pratade till och med med chauffören men Anthony hade inte kommit med väskorna än. Vi fick med oss hängmattan på flyget denna gången, så nästa gång någon hälsar på blir besökte ännu trevligare! Thomas var snäll och kom och hämtade oss på flygplatsen för nästa buss gick inte för än en och en halv timme senare.
Utsikten är gråmulen och blåsig. ACn har jag satt på att blåsa varmluft.
Kaffedags var det ju! Ses!
12.16.07
Posted in Every day life, Decoration at home at 4:03 pm by tesstess
I love advent. Candles, christmas songs, snow… eh, maybe not snow, rather having lunch outside in the sun without jacket.
It is sometimes frost during night, so we decided to move in the plant from the terrasse. It is now filling half the kitchen:
Then the same evening we heard a strange noise from the kitchen. A quak quak. We believe it is an Hyla arborea (Lövgroda) living in the plant. We saw one on the terrasse last summer, and apparently he found this place the perfect one for spending winter. However now it is suddenly spring and he is quaking but with no reply. Today I was in the livingroom, explaing the frog-problem to my parents and I was doing a quak sound, and then a minute later he answered from the kitchen!
If anyone has experience of frogs I’m happy to hear. We wanted to take him out again, but the plant is so big we cannot find him. For now I think he’s ok, I found lots of spiders and small black worms in the ground when searching. But maybe soon he will be out of food… And if I put the plant back out it will dye. I’ll add a water bath in the plant, and try to spray it so it at least is not too dry for him, then we’ll keep looking and the day it comes out and we can see him, we’ll try to bring him back out.
Here is my christmas creation. It hides the ugly shelf very well!
12.01.07
Posted in Every day life at 8:37 pm by tesstess
Finally, after one and a half year in france, I’m ready to stand on my own and take responsability of my own life: I have a french mobile.
With an incredible number: 06 87222202!
And 87, that’s the birth year of my brother.
It’s a Samsung U600, 19Euro since we took it with a new line. We have a shared account now me and Anthony, meaning we have a number each but two hours to call for together.
Up to now I like the mobile a lot. I find the design beautiful and the menus nice. The only two minus I have found so far is that there are tactile buttons for on the left and right of that small wheel you can see in the middle. When using the middle buttons it’s too easy to press the hang up button, which I can imagine also is the case when you talk, which I haven’t tried yet (the line will be opened the 13th of dec. but you can call to it already now). And the second thing is the software program to connect the phone to the computer which I find very ugly and non user-friendly.
I took some pictures to try out the camera. You can see the pictures on the photo page. Not the best quality pictures of course, but I believe it can come in handy to have the camera for remembering things etc. At first I made the mistake of holding my fingers infront of the camera… but I’m learning.
Pink bananas. uäk. I prefer normal ones, or apples or oranges.
Lunchtime at work.
Today we went to Nice and we tried the new tram (spårvagn). I wanted to take pictures of it but I forgot. I have to get used to have the camera with me.
PS. I will still keep my old swedish mobile and number: +46 (0)703 098321.
09.21.07
Posted in Every day life, Family at 10:38 pm by tesstess
Today it’s my dad’s birthday.
Ja må han leva, Ja må han leva, Ja må han leva uti hundrade år. Javisst må han leva, Ja visst må han leva, Javisst må han leva ut i HUNDRADE ÅÅÅR.
This week they said it would rain, starting from monday afternoon. Monday night I was on the way home from dancing charleston and I saw dark clouds, then there was a flash covering all the sky infront of me and heavy raindrops began to fall. I hurried to get home but driving carefully since it’s slippery when it hasn’t been raining for two-three months (I’m not joking!). That evening was cosy, it felt like autumn and we had candles lighted. And the, the next morning, guess the color of the sky! Blue, blue blue. And the mountains were so beautiful, newly washed, and the rest of the week stayed just as beautiful. I’m having a thin jumper in the evening, otherwise skirt and a small blouse. I love the south.
All that just to say that you’re very welcome down to visit me and to forget the autumn, dad.
07.29.07
Posted in Uncategorized, Every day life at 9:09 pm by tesstess
I’ve done one full working week. The first week in my life. It’s a new feeling this weekend, a feeling of freedom. Sure, I was free for six months. But now I’m free in another way. I’m independant! I’m working, I’m able to save money, to make up plans, to start my life.
I enjoyed my first free day with Anthony, we went shopping: a bike! I planned to buy one next month but we found a really good second hand bike for almost half the price compared to what I had planned, so then it was in my budget to buy it this month. Then we went to Cap3000 to look for shorts for Anthony. We didn’t find any since it’s the end of solds, but he came with me to the ladies department and helped me try out a new brah (bh). I’m so impressed by Anthony, he didn’t complain the least to go there and help me, the opposite. I told him there is not a big percentage of men that are able to do such a thing for their girl.
In the evening we had a bbq at home with friends, we were seven and the evening was really great. It’s the best time, the time with friends, laughing together. And, you know what? I understand what they’re saying! All but Jerome who speak far to fast for me.
An especially funny memory from this bbq is when the watering system went on. We have a powerful water canon for the grass which turns, and this time it happened to start in the very direction of the grill. Anthony screamed and ran the fastest he could towards the place to turn it of but crashed into a chair on the way and the water went over the grill twice before stopped. Luckily we have a grill with a big round cover which was on at the time. Puh, I don’t want to imagine the meet all wet.
Today (sunday) we went for a bike trip just after breakfast. We tried the way to Amadeus, and in fact it was not too hard for me. It took approximately 50 minutes, but then we had some short pauses on the way as well. A very beautiful road, small, through the forest all the time, and at one place following a small water streem.
On the way back we had different choices of path, long, same, physical, technical. I choose the technical one and was surprised how easy it is with this kind of bike, a VTT (in french), mountain bike in english. It does everything on it’s own, it’s more like riding a horse than a bike. The path was sometimes full of rocks, sand and sharp turns and it was really fun to go.
At one place there was a sort of stair going down, with wide steps so it was possible by bike. I had made a small fall with the bike just before so I was walking down most of them, but Anthony said I could try at least the last one, to see that they were in fact easy to take with this kind of bike. I backed to start on the beginning of the last step and went up on the bike, but… with to little control. I don’t remember exactly what happened, but I think I lost the pedal with one foot and with the hands I was only holding the handles, not the breaks, which resulted in that I took the stair too fast, and in a little bit of panic I was reaching for the breaks… you know what happens when taking the front break with full power? Flying. I flew over the bike, and the bike after me down on the ground of rocks. When Anthony heard me and turnd his head I was having the bike over me on the ground, and he run back to help me up.
I was chocked for a long time, almost so that I had to throw up and I had to lay down on the ground to rest. I was not to hurt, I will be blue on one leg and one arm but nothing really bad.
Next time I will bring two more things on my bike ride: helmet and water.
The rest of the day we stayed home, taking it really cool, cleaning a little. AnnCharlotte and Petter are coming tomorrow.
Now I’m ready for my next week of work. It’s a lot to learn now in the beginning. I’m so happy with my team and what I will do. The way of developing software is close of what we were doing at Chalmers so I feel at home. The atmosphere in the department is really nice, relaxed and friendly. It couldn’t have been better. And I know all that time, all the time since I got to know what e-travel and SEP was that it was there I wanted to go. I was so right!