hidden entropic environment or welcome to our apartment

Here you go, a virtual tour of our abode. I know it looks tidy, but it the camera tells a story I have perhaps embellished. It is actually very spacious for us and it is taking time to fill it. Hope you like the tour, if you would like to have a real one don't hesitate. See that empty room, it is yours to stay in or to practice a little yoga, as we do.
If you click on a picture you get a closer look.

Morning view

This is an early morning picture from our living room.
The weather was really nice here over the weekend. Mathias and I travelled to Filipstad to visit his family since we won't be there for Easter.
Mathias bought a new speaker system for the car he has been anxious to put in. Of course it was a much bigger project than expected and it remains unfinished. He and his dad put in long hours tinkering. The plan was that it would be done so we would have a good system in for our long drive down to Lund durning the Easter holiday. He has one more weekend left....
I found this pic of Mathias and his dad during Christmas this year. Think they look alike?

a tour of Arvika

Some fresh pictures just taken. This is the city where I live. Very pretty and the weather is great but still a little chilly 4°C/39°F. Should be around 11°C/52°F sometime this week. I heard you Mainers have got dumped with snow. Bummer, but just like a Maine spring.
The first two pictures are down on the waterfront, still ice on lake. In the last two I am standing in the middle of the city center. You see the train station and opposite that is a statue "Fågel mannen" (The Bird Man). In the far distance is the church.

orchids

I thought I would send a picture of our orchids. We have 6 plants now. Only two have flowers, and as you can see It will soon be only one. The one with the long stem and single flower has a new grow tip, so there should be more coming. The pink one has at least two more flowers coming. The lady slipper just droped both flowers, they were really pretty. The one to the far left has been slowly dying, but I think it is finally stable and the roots look very good. I paid way too much for it, I was feeling a bit impulsive but with flowers it was very beautiful. Don't have a clue what type it is though. The one to the far right is the newest. We bought it on sale and it was looking sad but I am working some magic. If it ever blooms it will be a surprise what kind and color of flowers it has.

God Morgon!

Well, I thought I would give you a picture that was a little more recent. Mathias took this picture a few minutes ago. In fact I am still drinking the came cup of tea. So this is what I look like nowadays, specifically morning when my hair is all flippy. Gotta have my morning tea. Usually I go for English Breakfast, but I am out so it is Ceylon Supreme today.
This weekend will probably be the busyiest in quite some time. I will have a beer tonight with some fellow lady immigrants. Then it is up and at'em at 9am on Saturday to work on the cleaning and painting the printing studio. Saturday evening I will see "The Queen" with a Swedish friend. Then on Sunday Mathias and I will meet with his cousin Björn and his girlfriend Johanna for a cuppa. It should be a nice weekend especially if the warm weather holds.

mushrooms

These pics are from last October. We found masses of chanterell, what you see is only the tip of the iceberg. We are still eating some that we dried. Picking is the fun part, cleaning is tedious and outright boring. That is Jonas, Mathias' youngest brother, being his weird self. His mother Eileen is in the background.

Stockholm

Here is a beautiful picture of Stockholm Mathias and I took not long after I moved here. I have visited twice, both times in the winter. I look forward to visiting when it isn't freezing cold.
The tower has the symbol of Sweden atop its spire, three crowns.
The red horse is also very Swedish and you can see them in most homes over the holidays. They are made in a region of Sweden with a paint mades from pigments found here. This is by far the largest I have seen, but they are made as small as thimbles too.

On another note I went to a board meeting for KKV(Artist Collective West). It is a local non-profit art organization who is working to build a printmaking studio. There is a press and some supplies, but there is much work to do. In a back room we are now building a silk screening studio. That will be fun! The funny thing about the meeting was the other members elected me treasurer, but I only understood about 25% of what was said. Wish me luck!

a picture!

Oh boy, I did it all by myself! Here is a picture of Mathias and I at the top of a hill overlooking our new city, Arvika, at the end of January. It was a beautiful winter hike and we drank warm nypon soppa (rosehip soup) at the summit. We are actually on a tower whose steps were much more like a ladder. We could see people out on the lake behind us using sails and skates zooming across the ice.

after many requests

So here it goes, I am officially a blogger. Thought it might be nice for those of you so far away. I have also ordered a headset and should receive it this week for those of you who have skype. I realize it takes me a long time to get things rolling, but once I am on a roll this stone gathers no moss.