Autumn

Even if spring and summer are the best, autumn has its beauty too. The road to Hannas school looks like this now:

David is ready.

Our neighbours.

Close to the busstop. Garageview.

No pictures today. The family, together with Victoria´s sister and husband with child, went to Stockholm and "trainmuseum".
We had good weather, but it´s worse in the souther parts of Sweden. Actually I read in the newspaper that it hasn´t been this bad (amount of rain under june) since 19th century.
So today I will give you a riddle (actually it´s a very famous one. I will not give you the link yet):
"What goes on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs in the evening?"

Tomorrow I will have some kind of philosophical thoughts together with you. It´s about money, giving, Bill Gates and the richest person in the world (when it comes to money).

Newsupdates:
Sports: It´s tennis at wimbledon now, and maybe something big is going to happen: the tennislegend Bjorn Borg is perhaps losing the incredible record of five wins in a row.

It´s 4th of july! A day of celebration.

The release of the new Harry Pottermovie.

Weather: flooded areas in Sweden risks to get more rain this week.

The terroristhunt in England has a new face: Seven of eight captured are doctors.
(http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=148&a=667487)

Shie and Jonas writes about: roadtrip, wedding, Simon´s Acproblems, a 4,5 pound steak.
Mir and Sam writes about: a flat town, marriage, Christian a new familymember.
Johanna writes about quitting her job.
Jay and Andrea writes about: a 30 yard dumpster
Kenton and Jen writes about: some people getting knocked over and hanging on basketball rims.

Time flies. It´s three years since our son was born. The water broke when we had friends over for dinner. Some more hours and David saw the world for the first time. I greeted him welcome the same way I did to Hanna: Welcome David, born free! (I have borrowed the words from All human rights – universal declaration of human rights, declaration 1).
When Hanna was really sad and cried a lot – She is really sad that she is born in the winter and not in the summer – I told her how it was when we came home from the hospital. How gentle she was with David, giving him lots of toys around him where he layed on the floor.
On the picture you can see how she played today (with the doll and all the toys around it), and told David the true story I just wrote about.
David, as well as Hanna (!), got a lot of gifts today. He has enjoyed them all for a long time today. Thank you all!!! Besides that we served coffee and swedish homemade cake.
Tomorrow I will give you a few more pictures and give you some newsupdates.
What say you about this link??

First, please notice the link to the right that goes to Candace´s homepage. It´s worth the time to surf there.

Ok, when we where heading to ALV we suddenly heard a noice from what I guess was from one of the tires and the brakes. We could hear the sound for about ten kilometers and I thought of a lot of possible scenarios that could happen. I prayed silently and nothing more happened.

The second risk of catastrophy: We, that is Victoria, Hanna, David, Johanna, Tobias and Berit, spent half a day in Borås.

We ate at Mc´Donalds, spent some money on clothes and icecream and while Hanna, David and I waited for the others, near by the parkinglot, our children decided to hunt the pigeons. It was a kind of street where only busses are alowed to go. I saw one coming, said to Hanna and David to wait. When the bus passed by us, Hanna ran out to hunt the pigeons again, only to see another bus coming from the other direction. She ran over the street just a few meters from the bus. It was seconds from a huge catastrophy.

Now to a question. What would you do/say now?
Tomorrow I will give you: A day of celebration, swedish cake, blue and yellow balloons.

As you may have seen, it rained quite a lot the first day we were at ALV. I realized that I am not only short on goodlooking clothes, but also on real raincoats. The one I had functioned the other way around. It was like bees to honey. But I am sure you agree with me that it´s just because of the “unexpected” or “special happening” that you remember it better. A time worth remember. It´s like 70 hours in a car, singing “100 bottles of…” or discuss important issues with close friends. Do I recommend you to visit this place? Yes!

Tomorrow I will tell you two things I experienced that could have ended in catastrophy.
Speaking of climateexchange; Here are some quotes and links that give light to the global warming and how close to disaster we actually are:
"According to Dr. James Hansen, a top climate scientist at NASA, it´s much more important to hurry than we thought. “-If we wait ten more years this way, we will pass the point where it´s impossible to make everything right again. It would be as warm as it was thousands of years ago…” …”if we shall have any chance to change anything it must happen whithin one, two or three years.”
Freely interpreted from expressen.
Av Lisa Jannerling expressen

The top climate scientist at NASA says the Bush administration has tried to stop him from speaking out since he gave a lecture last month calling for prompt reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases linked to global warming.

The scientist, James E. Hansen, longtime director of the agency's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said in an interview that officials at NASA headquarters had ordered the public affairs staff to review his coming lectures, papers, postings on the Goddard Web site and requests for interviews from journalists.
(http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/29/science/earth/29climate.html?ex=1296190800&en=28e236da0977ee7f&ei=5088)

The authors use the model for climate simulations of the 21st century using both "business-as-usual" growth of greenhouse gas emissions and an "alternative scenario" in which emissions decrease slowly in the next few decades and then rapidly to achieve stabilization of atmospheric CO2 amount by the end of the century. Climate changes are so large with "business-as-usual", with additional global warming of 2-3°C (3.6-5.4°F) that Hansen concludes "'business-as-usual' would be a guarantee of global and regional disasters."
"Climate effects may still be substantial in the 'alternative scenario', but there is a better chance to adapt to the changes and find other ways to further reduce the climate change," said Sato.
While the researchers say it is still possible to achieve the "alternative scenario", they note that significant actions will be required to do so. Emissions must begin to slow soon. "With another decade of 'business-as-usual' it becomes impractical to achieve the 'alternative scenario' because of the energy infrastructure that would be in place," says Hansen.
(http://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/news/20070530/)

"Civilization developed, and constructed extensive infrastructure, during a period of unusual climate stability, the Holocene, now almost 12,000 years in duration. That period is about to end".
Dr. Hansen has been saying for three years that we have, at best, ten years to stop the rise in CO2 emissions and start their decline, or the earth will become 'a different planet' than what we have taken for granted for thousands of years. But we have seen very little changed in government policy and it appears that Dr. Hansen feels it is necessary to take it up a notch.
(http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/06/374107.html)

Twentieth century sea level trends, however, are substantially higher that those of the last few thousand years.
Since 1993, an even higher sea level trend of about 2.8 mm/yr has been measured from the TOPEX/POSEIDON satellite altimeter.
Recent observations of Greenland and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet raise concerns for the future. Satellites detect a thinning of parts of the Greenland Ice Sheet at lower elevations, and glaciers are disgorging ice into the ocean more rapidly, adding 0.23 to 0.57 mm/yr to the sea within the last decade.
A global temperature rise of 2-5°C might destabilize Greenland irreversibly.
(http://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/briefs/gornitz_09/)

Yes, we are home again!!! A couple of days away from home is what our beloved children can bare. Even if they have had great days, they have realized that home is best. Or as David said (sort of…..in swedish) “I don´t live here (putting out his hands, looking around in his grandmas home), this is not my “nest”.
The following days I will give you rain, laughter, two frightening moments, roaring waterfall and one thing I need and want comments on.

Em

we are going to a small place in Sweden called Vimmerby. We are to spend two days in “the world of Astrid Lindgren ( a famous bookwriter; Longstocking and more). We will serve you some pictures soon. Today has been the day of packing and preparation. Me and our son David went to the store to buy food and rechargeable batteries and device. When I came home it didn´t work !!!! I drove back just to notice that they only sell this kind of device so I got the money back. I went 10 minutes by car to another store and bought a new one….after the sellsman opened the package and tried it. When I sat down for a while, collecting my feelings
I thought of Shie and Jonas and wondered how they felt when they prepared for the trip to Sweden last winter. Tired, lots of things to pack and clean, who shall do what…..and the joyfull feeling of soon being away.

”and so it´s midsummer! It´s supposed to be sunny, warm, barbequetime, party with close friends, potatoes, “sill” and swedish flags. We got all of that, except for bbq and good weather. It didn´t matter at all. We had a great time together.

Unfortunately this weekend is a “black weekend” when it comes to the trafficsituation.
Many people in accidents, and some of them die (http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=147&a=663985 )

Anyhow, more pictures from this day coming soon!

Have you ever tried to lay stones? We are, but can see the end coming closer and closer. We use a special type of stone. No stone is similar to another, neither in depth or length. And they are Heavy! I should have followed one of my brothers advice: to draw the shape of the stones on to paper and use the paper as a puzzle. It´s by trial and error you become wise I guess. But why is it that mankind has to “reinvent the wheel “/ do the same mistakes our ancestors did?
And here is another truth: I am stubborn and don’t give up, but the closer the end I get, the more bored of it I become. I want to paint now, not hurt my knees and back, lifting heavy stones.

This is David, a tired soon three years old boy. He has cried and screamed for about 30 minutes wanting me to carry him to the bathroom (2 meters away). I sat in the bathroom waiting for him, talking calmly and comforting through his “bad period”.

Yesterday our children spent their last day in "kindergarten" before summerholidays. But Hanna, and eventually David too, wanted to dance round the maypole today. So we went there and had a great summerhour together with all the other children. Some hectic days are coming, and we will give you pictures and interesting news soon. Em

Just married! and Sigtuna

It´s twelve years since me and my wife married! When I sit here, for the moment alone, except for our daughters cat eating his food in the kitchen, I think to myself: time is strange!
Twelve years is on one hand quite a long time in ones life, on the other hand these years have flown on light wings! We have truly been blessed and I am thankfull for that!

Victoria and I could leave our loved children with their grandparents this weekend.
We went to a town called Sigtuna. An important place with great history, not just for Sweden but also for Europe once. We had booked a room here! How can it be that the more expensive a restaurant is, the larger are the plates and the smaller are the food??? We joked about it when we sat there, eating our six (!) meals. “-do they have anything against us? Do they have headache? Where is the food? I can´t see it?....” Of course it was delicious and the time together with the one I love the most, is what really counts.

We followed a towntour on foot and listened to many interesting details.
At six a´clock in the evening we went to a church, listening to “Ingegerd – musicsaga”:
“Ingegerd, Sigtuna and the ferritale about Ingegerd/Irina/Anna (1001-1050 ac)
About ten years ago they made an archeologic digging in the garden of Sigtuna museum. Olof the king had his kingsgarden there. One day suddenly something shone: a small golden ring. Who had dropped it? The question woke up the name Ingegerd. A thousand years ago she was playing as a seven year old around buildings in the recently built city of Sigtuna. Her father was Olof Eriksson. The todays world knows of him because he started the making of coins. He stamped the coins with his face on one side and a christian cross on the other. By this he showed that the power over the money was his, given from God.
Between the lines one can read that Ingegerd was the kings favourit child.
Ingegerd grew up, heard about the Norwegian king – Olav of Norway – and thought that this was a man to marry. But Olav was the enemy of Olof. Her father said no, and gave her hand in marriage to “king” Jaroslav from Kiev.
In her new country Ingegerd became Irina. She gave birth to ten children. As old and widow, she became a nun, now with the name Anna. One of her three daughters, Anna, married the bourbon on the throne of France. Through Anna is Ingegerd/Irina the mother to all the kinghouses of Europe.” (the quotes are taken from “Ingegerd – a musicsaga”).
If you want to see this saga yourself it´s quite likely they will perform it in Ucraine next year as a diplomat from Ucraine nearly promised after the saga.
Em