The List

When we moved to Sweden one year ago (and it will be one year this coming Friday, September 2) we had the weekend, Labor Day, and then we both reported to work on the following Tuesday. Now this house is big, there is no two ways about it. It is hard to keep clean especially with two dogs but for the most part we have managed. Where we have struggled thus far is the garden. 

The property surrounding the house is not large, to mow the lawn, front and side takes maybe 30 minutes on a slow day, but when the landscaping was done a lot of thought went into it. What we have noticed is that from Spring all the way until late Summer there is something blooming. We have been able to identify lilacs, peonies, spirea, rhododendrons, roses and one other flowering tree that I can't identify. We have been told it is jasmine, but I am not convinced.

The trouble with all of this is that there is no landscape plan, and no gardener. We are supposed to do this all ourselves and to be honest I have a brown thumb from hell. In addition we have not had the time to really work on it like we should. Once again, two dogs have not necessarily helped either. After next week my goal is to read up on the plants, and do some major work out there in that garden. Things need to be pruned, deadheaded, mowed, plucked, cleaned and may a weeds pulled. I am looking forward to this but intimidated at the same time. I have started a list of what we have and how to take care of it and this will be my road map.

In addition I have started a list of things around the rest of the house that I have noticed and just not have had time to deal with, or have been so tired I just ignored it. There are some draperies that need rehanging, some pictures that need to be moved and hung up properly, maybe even swapping out a light fixture or two. I know it is not our house, but we are going to be here another three years so I want it to be something we are both comfortable in.

Anyway, the garden and landscaping shall be first so we don't piss off the neighbors. I so wish we could afford a gardner LOL. Will keep you all posted to progress!

Okay, I might like this...at least for a short time.

So I took today off to go touring about Stockholm and the surrounding area with some friends from the US and Australia who are visiting and we had a marvelous time. We went to Vaxholm and while the guys went and took the ferry over to the fort, I stayed behind and had a cappuccino, a cinnamon roll and walked around the shore for about 45 minutes while they were gone. I have worried about what I am going to do after next week when my employment ends, but I have discovered that there is more than enough to explore in the area to keep me busy. At least for a little while. Here is a picture of the fort at Vaxholm. 

Sorry! Been away...a lot going on yet nothing much.

I have been remiss in posting! My apologies. Lately I have been just plodding through life the past week or two. I am still kind of adjusting to the fact that in 2 weeks from today I will be out of work and trying to figure out what is next for me. 


I want to do something that will allow me to make some money, and do something I enjoy but not sure what yet. Add a language barrier to that and it make it a bit harder. 


In the past couple of weeks we have had a few guests come through Stockholm, and it has been fun to see them all and there are more arriving this weekend. It's been a lot of fun and next week I am actually going to take a day off and go out and sightsee with the visitors a bit. 

The Swedish Quidditch Cup....Sorta

So, today we went to see a match of the Swedish Quidditch Cup that is being held here in the Stockholm area. We expected it to be odd, and probably funny to watch, but sadly it was...well....boring. 


Now knowing darn well that a fictional sporting event involving flying brooms and magic brought to life are sure to be a lesser event then what one sees on the screen in a "Harry Potter" film, my expectations were low. That being said there weren't even brooms. I at least expected little brooms they might ride like a hobby horse to at least keep in the spirit if things, but no. It was more of a keep-away/dodgeball thingy. The only thing creative was the Snitch. As most people know there are 3 types of balls; The Quaffle (1), the Bludgers (2) and the much coveted Snitch. 


The Snitch turned out to be a pert blonde with a punkish haircut, and a little gold outfit. Within the last minutes of the match she starts to run. Kind of around the pitch with the Seekers chasing her and they must pull off of her a black flag of some sort to "capture the Snitch." All in all it was about 30 minutes of us complaining on how wrong it was. Ah well. It was still a lovely day in the sun. Here are a few pictures for your enjoyment. 

Change, good or just scary?

As I have mentioned in previous posts my current job contract is ending mid-September and that means I am going to have to find another job here in Stockholm. This is kind of daunting as my Swedish is hardly good enough to land me a job. 

I also am worried about boredom until I find something to do. I want to be sure that I get out, and see parts of Stockholm, and even Sweden that I have not seen yet, but I also know myself well enough to recognize I can just as easily do nothing all day too. 

I've also considered trying to do something here on my own, kind of build a business for myself. Maybe a dog walking business, or a home cleaning business or I might see if I can get some photography gigs. It would be nice to have something that was flexible and portable. Something I could do from wherever I am, but I wonder if my photography is actually good enough. 

Ah well, we shall see. 

Unmotivated

So much going on in the world; the London riots, The US economy and credit rating in the toilet, and in general the US seemingly entering a holy war. Christians v/s the world, govern by the bible, and all that malarky. 

Changes afoot here with me as well....it is becoming more and more likely that my contract won't be renewed/extended at work so come mid-September I will find myself unemployed. It makes it kind of hard to get up and go in there every day, but I do it so I can try and get as much as I can done and not leave it for others to clean up. If this does come to pass, there will be a very long post about it and how I feel about it, but I will wait until the appropriate time. 

Keep those in London in your thoughts, as well as these guys from San Francisco. This breaks my heart and puts a lot into perspective, but it also pisses me off beyond words. 

SF Gay Married Couple Loses Immigration Bid DOMA is enforced.

Pride, the morning after

Well done Stockholm! I have seen more than my share of Pride Festivities in my almost 44 years, but Stockholm is now up in the top 3. I have never before seen so many people come out to watch a parade. The entire city was there, and I spent my day standing next to Louise, a woman I'd say in here late 60's who was as into the parade as a 20 year old. She is not gay, but is just as proud of the fact that being gay in her country and being able to be out, and married is such a non-issue. She wouldn't let me take her picture though LOL! There were so many people in attendance from all over Northern Europe too, it was amazing.

There were many moving things: for instance, those who marched to represent those without rights.

One of the most moving for me were the members of the Social Democratic Party all carried Norwegian Flags as a remembrance of those who were recently murdered there.

And as usual there were all sorts of interesting and fun things to see, from scary drag queens, to the new rugby club (The Berskerkers) who my husband plays with. 

If you look on the link to the right, there are many more pics of Pride. Thank you Stockholm for an amazing party!

Stockholm Pride

This week is Pride here in Stockholm and today is the Parade. Forecasts indicate that there are 50,000 marchers and about 500,000 viewers along the parade route which will take approximately 3 hours. Carl is marching with the Berserkers Gay Rugby Team and I am going to try to photograph as much of the parade as I can. Pictures will follow. 

'Semester' or 'Why yes, I am the only one in the office...'

Swedes have this wonderful thing that is called 'semester', or as the rest of the world would call it, vacation. Now where I come from you get 2 weeks of vacation a year. That is it until such a time has passed that you have had enough years of service to get maybe an extra week. In Sweden you get 5 weeks, right out of the gate. 

This summer I have had an extraordinary amount of work to accomplish, all of us at work have as there are several projects going on. Oops, forgot to mention that I report to and am based out of Canada so I get all the (limited) vacation time that most Canadians have (read:2 weeks) so I have been going into the office every day. 

It seems that most Swedes take their summer holidays for the month of July. Yes, that is the entire month. I noticed this when I returned to work from my one week off at the beginning of July and came to the realization that myself, and the receptionist who was a temp, were there only two people in the office. For an entire month. 

Now that wouldn't be so bad, except now that August is here everyone is returning and asking me; "where did you go on semester?" to which I must reply; "Oh I spent a week in the US." Of course I then get the; "where else did you go" and I have to say "nowhere, back to work." 

It is at that moment that the eyebrows raise, and a look of genuine surprise and I then must explain the differences between vacation time in Europe and North American vacation time. I have gotten used to explaining it (though I think I might just have to have it printed on business cards to make it easier) but I still have not gotten used to that slight look of pity I get. LOL

So, why I am here...

For anyone stumbling upon this and reading this I thought I would post a bit about why I am here. I am 43 (soon to be 44) and a gay man, married and living in Stockholm, Sweden. I am here because my husband is posted here for his job, and we have been here almost 1 year now. This will be where I post some thoughts on Sweden, Canada (where I moved here from) and the US (where I was born). 


Watch this space, and hopefully I will have something insightful, witty or snarky to post. 


Cheers!