på semester

I'm on vacation ... and boy do I feel lazy. I wonder if that's what happens when you get old. (Yup, 36 is just around the corner.) Anyway, Lewis has been busting his butt with all these kitchen renovations, and I feel like I can put in 3 hours of manual labor and then I'm just whiny and cranky. Or, maybe I just want to spend my vacation relaxing instead of construction! :)

We did manage to get some R&R in during my first week of vacation. We drove up to Dalarna, an area about 6 hours north which is known for its natural beauty and Swedish folk traditions. It's where they make the Dala Horse, Sweden's national symbol. We bought a really beautiful one for the house. It's big enough for Harley the cat to ride.

So we hung out for a few days there, saw Sigur Ros play in a quarry and then drove over to the High Coast to get some beach time, a few hours north of Stockholm. The beach was nice, but we preferred the atmosphere of Dalarna better. We're hoping that we can make the drive up to the area again before we move back to the U.S. or wherever life takes us.

Attached are some photos of the journey ... dude hand-carving some dala horses, Tilly playing with her ball on the beach, Lewis taking a picture of a cute coastal island town.

The next blog post will be the unveiling of our new stylie IKEA kitchen. The final touches of the install are happening as I write this. The stove, oven and sink are installed. And now the dishwasher is going in. Lewis and I finished almost all the wallpapering yesterday. Good thing we did before it broke up our marriage. It's pretty exciting to see it all come together. I think you'll be pretty shocked to see the before and after.

Stay tuned!