So, you've already heard about what miserable weather Sweden has in the winter. And now that it's mid-May, I still can't say that I can tell you what spring is like.
THAT'S BECAUSE WE SKIPPED SPRING AND WENT RIGHT TO SUMMER!!
Sorry for shouting, but my god, it's about time that I don't have to wear my huge North Face down parka everywhere. About 2 weeks ago, the temperatures went from the 40s to the 70s. And it's been sunny and amazing ever since. I've actually been wearing skirts, and bought two pairs of shorts this weekend.
The great thing about "spring/summer" in Sweden is that it's daylight from about 4:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. ... that's what it is now. It'll get even crazier by midsummer (11 p.m. and it's still light out people say).
Our fate of being able to enjoy good weather actually stems back to "Valborgs" day ... May 1. The night before is a celebration to usher in spring and say goodbye to winter. Every town in Sweden holds a bonfire, and people sing and dance. Rumor has it that if it's a nice night, we're in for a crappy summer, and the other way around. Lucky for us, the evening was miserable. It was so wet, they couldn't even get months-dead christmas trees to light. And it was so cold that I ended up catching a miserable flu. 
But, honestly, just a day or so later, we woke up to phenomenal weather, and it hasn't stopped. Lewis posted a great recap of the night on his blog: http://jag-heter-luis.typepad.com
Anyway, with the warmer temps, we've been a lot more active. Lewis has gotten a great start on building a fence for our new home. The owners are letting him take care of some projects before it becomes officially ours on June 1. And we've been taking some trips around Sweden. Last weekend we 
went to Göteborg (Gothenburg in English), Sweden's second-largest city and about a 2.5-hour drive away. We REALLY loved it and can't wait for an excuse to head back. It has a bohemian feeling to it, lots of old buildings, loads of coffee shops and some nice boutiques. Then this weekend we drove to Kristianstad (a cute little town with lots of charm about 45 minutes away) and the beach (just 15 kilometers from Kristianstad.) The beach is called Åhus (pronounced Oh-huse), and it was so exciting to see that a really pristine, natural beach was only an hour away. We already started a list of beach things to buy ... beach blanket, chairs, umbrella ... and we plan to really take advantage of being close to the ocean. The water stays pretty cold on the East coast of Sweden, so most tourists head to the West coast. People tell us that Åhus and the surrounding beaches are beautiful and stay relatively quiet through the summer.
Let's see, what else have we been up to? We celebrated our 11-year anniversary on May 5 ... no Cinco de Mayo celebrations going on in these parts, but we enjoyed some good pizza and reflected on how we could have never guessed that our lives would have turned out like this. I'm so glad I chose the right camp when Lewis asked me out 11 years ago. (Yes, it is a funny story how he asked me ... we'll have to tell you sometime.)
I also had a big catalog party for work this week, in which we played a karaoke game similar to Name That Tune, and I didn't get home until after 1 a.m. Swedes are known for being somewhat reserved, but man, not when there is free alcohol and music. I wish I had brought my camera! Our big IKEA Communications party is in a month ... I'll be sure to remember it then.
OH, AND I ALMOST FORGOT ... I took Tilly for a walk Saturday morning and then felt something itching on my leg. It looked like a scab or something, but I thought it could be some sort of critter, too. I got the tweezers out, and sure enough ... the damn thing was wriggling around. Yes, I got my first tick. We'll I've had ticks before on the East Coast, but since they are not very common in Colorado, this is a new world. It's a fact of life out here in the forest, and we're just going to have to check ourselves well after hiking (which is pretty much every weekend, and almost every day for Lewis.)
But, hey, if the weather stays this nice, yanking parasites off our bodies now and then is a small price to pay ...
Vi ses!
