Detox

Urk! I made it without buying candy yesterday. Never knew it would be this hard...
Instead, I got my hair done. It's really short right now, and I like it. But some times I miss my long, wavy hair... But AH, it'll grow back, when I'm done experimenting with different hair styles :)

Now I'm going out for a walk, and later I'll reward myself with some carrots for the efford.

Yum.

/Fia over and out

Weight of the world

Yours truly is actually carying the weight of the world, at least of her own little world (which is chocolate heaven). I think I finally realized I'm on my way of becoming a little fatty this sunday when I was out looking for a pair of new jeans. Not only did the sizes I tried on NOT fit, not even the size above them fitted. I live in chocolate heaven but also seem to be renting a flat in the land called Denial. And denial, thy name is Ben and Jerry Chocolate Fudge Brownie....

I'm craving chocolate like a madman... But I'm not gonna eat it anymore!
........ as much as before.

I'm not that good at discipline either, so I'm just gonna try to exercise more, for starters. Last night I took a fast walk with staffs for about 45 minutes. I'm going to try doing that every other day.

Wish me luck!

A day at the beach

This wonderful saturday I've been a beach called Mossbystrand between Trelleborg and Ystad (we gave up Glimmingehus because of the heat). I've swam for hours, playing, standing on my hands in the water, making flipovers, diving around, just like when I was a kid. The beach had fantastic white sand and a small ice cream shop near by that had salt licorice *mmm*... For a little while I actually fell asleep while sunbathing, it was that nice. This night we've had minute steak, pommes chateau and garlic butter and some medium strenght beer, Mariestad, which is whichy-washy, but perfect in the summer heat.

Tomorrow I'll be going in to Malmö to look at a new car, shop and perhaps visit the park for a while for a picnic. One never knows!

Enough with the pictures!

Okay, I'll put a lid on the scot-pictures for a while, just to tell you what's really going on right now...

This week has really been about book cirkels. This tuesday I was with the girls talking about Thomas Mann's Buddenbrooks, which I wrote about on my book blog Boktimmen. Then tonight I went with the guys (and one other girl) to chat about Mary Gentle's Grunts.
In the girl circle we are about to read Siri Huss - Sorgesång (Mourning song) and in the guy circle we've decided on Alan Campbell's Scar Night.

I joined the first circle of only girls last september, when I got tired of sitting at home with nothing to do and noone to spend time with in the evenings, and then I decided to start my very own in.. (my god, when was it? goes to check..) march. Two circles means I get to know more people, and my very own circle has also a niche which I very much care for - Sci fi and fantasy. Of course, with SF being a really nerdy genré, there's not a lot of girls in the circle, just me and another one who will be leaving to study at Cambridge this fall. But I'll manage just fine with me and the guys, cause they're really nice dudes :)

Otherwise there's really nothing spectacular going on. I'm working, but I use the flex as much as possible during these lovely summer days, and this weekend I will try to go to Glimminge Hus (Glimminge House) in Ystad (Wallandercountry for those into those movies). There's a medieval happening there that I don't want to miss.

More after that!

Edinburgh Castle

On monday we went to see Edinburgh Castle, the most important castle in the Scottish history. The castle itself is situated on a hilltop. First you go through a huge gate connected to the outer wall, and then there are several large stone buildings, sort of like a little village, some connected and some standing by them selves, on different levels as you walk up to the actual castle.
As you walk along the steps and stairs you realise that your in the middle of an old military compound. To this day there's actually still a military regement living in one of the wings of the castle, and in one of the other wings they have a military museum with machines and guns.





In one of the grassy balconys (that's not a good word for them but I cant find a better) you find an old soldier dog cemetery (notice the headstones close to the wall).

The whole castle is surrounded by guards because they actually have the Scottish Honours in a separate museum where the kings and queens had their apartments. It's actually quite cool to follow the scottish history trail around in the rooms, and there's a long story to how the honours where kept safe during war, and then went missing, only to be discovered a hundred years afterwards in an old huge chest with a fake bottom. Of course, we weren't allowed to take pictures of them, otherwise I would have showned them to you.. :)

I'm sure some of you not-so-in-love-with-Scotland as myself must be thinking 'That all fine, but what's going on with you right now?' And to that I can tell you that I've started working again, with is really though because of the lovely weather and all. As soon as I see people heading to the beach I get really jealous. But I hang in there, thinkin' I'll get my chance during weekends. All though, it's weekend right now and I'm not at the beach (what am I doing in doors on this lovely hot summers day?!). I'm home alone and have rented a movie (Fried Green Tomatoes) and have bought crisps and Ben&Jerrys. Maybe I'll go out for a walk in a while, exercise is good, (or so I've been told).

The Wallace Monument

Here we go again. When we at Stirling Castle we realized we could actually see the William Wallace Monument, as it also stood up on a hilltop not far from the Castle. We took the drive through town and when we got there we realized - by god, what a hill! (I'm so glad I am healthy and fit..ish.. so that I had the strength to walk up.)

Here you see the William Wallace Monument with Mr Wallace himself standing watchful over Stirling county.

After that climb we went to our first BnB where we were going to stay two nights. It was situated in Inverkeithing, on the other side of the Forth River, close to Edinburgh. That night we took a pub-round (we call it 'pub-runda' in swedish) in Edinburgh and managed to find the cooolest pub in the whole of Scotland, Jekyll and Hyde in Frederick Street near Old Town, Edinburgh. It was completely redone to look like a mad scientists home with the darkness, the horror cabinets, the candelabers, the hidden doors in the bookshelf. Being a sci fi nerd my self, I fell in love with the place instantly!

The picture to the left shows a little alley we just stumbled upon in Edinburgh coming up from Market Street near the trainstation. Iit just like taken out of Oliver Twist or something similar?

The next day we went to the Deep Sea World where we saw sharks swimming above our heads. Unfortunately I didnt film it because the batteries had then ran out. Typically. All though, I managed to take a photo of a fake shark and it looks almost as scary as the real thing!

Grrr arrg.

That's all you get for tonight folks! Now I'm going to get comfy (is that how you write it?) with The Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann, and of course the obligatory chocolat. Some day I really have to think about quitting chocolat...but not today.

Haste ya back!

Stirling Castle

Just started transferring pictures to the computer and realized that I better divide it up into themes, starting with the first castle we went to, The Stirling Castle.

The first day that we were in Scotland we really didn't have the time to start sightseeing because we were just adjusting to driving on the left side of the road and trying to find our hotel in the million-city Glasgow, (which would have been really simpel if there just was one Mill Street instead of two)... The second day, we started out for Stirling Castle and then the William Wallace Monument (or as I constantly miss-said: 'The William Wallace Document'. I am a wee bit whimpsy, I am. I get that from my mother... ;)

The Stirling Castle is the second most important castle in all of Scotlands history, with only Edinburgh Castle toping it. It played a big role in many of the battles between scots and englishmen until it was destroyed in the 16th century and later rebuilt by the Stuarts (if I undetstood it correctly...)
Here's some pics, enjoy!

The inner wall, inside the courtyard, and looking out from the inner wall onto the outer defence, where I stood in the picture below.

Now, some of the more important historical persons of Scotland. Lets see.. there's me, Robert the Bruce and James Stuart the Fifth. In that order...

The view of Stirling Castle and from Stirling Castles outer defence.

Next post will be about the William Wallace monument, stay tuned!

I'm back!

I'm actually quite sad to say this... but I'm back from Scotland... (where I have spent one of the loveliest weeks in my life!) The trip was mainly across the country, staying at B&B's, visiting historic sites, listening to folk music and photographing mountains.

What surprised me the most was that the villages were so old, that every place had been touched somehow by the violent history of Scotland (and there is sooo much history). I loved how every house was so small and pitoresque (some of them even dating back to the 18th century) , built in and with old cracked slate roofs. And the town with the windling streets with cute little shops, with old signs... and of course the language was even better than I've imagined. I've heard scottish before (hello, Star Trek fan! Scotty is my main man!) but now I got to hear it in real life and I loved the melody of it and had so much fun small talking with people I met.

During my stay I've visited some acquaintances to my boyfriend, and they taught me a few scottish words. I learned the meaning of the word "haver", which I've heard a million times in the song "500 miles" but never fully understood... until now that is. It means yappering on, babbeling, talking mumbo-jumbo, bullsh$t, something like that.

I've been to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Perth, Inverness, Pitlochry, Kyle of Lochlachan, the Isle of Skye with Portree on it, and many, many more places. I've been on a boat trip on the Loch Ness, I've been to Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle, Linlithgow Palace, Eilen Donan Castle, The Man of Storr, The Kilt Rocks... I've seen the amasing view of the mountain group the Five Sisters on the road to Skye. There were not a lot of time though, and Skye I didn't see much of before I had to turn back towards Glasgow to get to Prestwick Airport in the early morning (for which I'm really sad).

What I know for sure is that I've fallen in love with the country and some way or another I will return, as often as I can. Maybe I'll book a weekend to wander in Skye, or maybe I'll take my dad on a whiskey and golf-tour, or my mother on an historic adventure. My acquaintances has told me that their parents have a house in Orkney where we could stay, and of course I want to visit Orkney and see that part of the country too, so I definitely think that'll happen.

Isn't it strange how you come to a place you often have thought of going, and when you get there you feel right at home? Maybe I'm actually ment to live in Scotland? Or at least have a holidayhouse there?

More to come when I upload all the pictures from the trip!

Fia over and out!

A rolling stone gathers no moss

I miss my parents yard... playing darts, sitting in the caravan tent at night, sitting outdoors drinking the old english style, working with the garden, pulling up the weed.

My parents now have old stone stairs that connect the lawn next to the house with the lawn on the lower level. The stones have been there for more than fifty years and were completely overgrown with grass, moss and weeds, until I started working on it. But I didn't have the time to finish my work, so I had to leave it half done. Manual labour can be so rewarding, so peaceful. And after a hard days work, you get to eat good food and enjoy your new suntan (if the weather was sunny).

I don't have a lawn here, just a common land which is not as pleasant to sit by because of all the neighbours watching. When we can afford it, we will buy a house where we can enjoy a large garden with wild roses and stone steps, swirling around the yard. Then I will invite you all to play cubb and crocket and darts, barbequeing and maybe even playing football. (Well, I can dream, can't I?)

Norrbotten pictures

One can see I've found good use of my new camera. :)