The summer is finally here in Seattle

I just want to tell everyone that I am really happy that summer is here.

Today has been lovely, and I have spent time in my garden with a book.

One of my Swedish friends posted a couple of beautiful pictures of the Swedish west coast from which I am from. Some of the few things that I miss from Sweden are summer days and evenings by the sea with good friends.

I also miss the laid-back atmosphere that descends on Sweden during summer; people open up, become happier, and relaxed, and spend as much time as they can outdoors. Well, maybe not all, but many.

I remember my summer days in Sweden as care free and full of excursions, but I also took a lot of time to relax.

So enjoy your summer and "simma lugnt".

Summer reading recommendations

Have you spent some time reading in your hammock or garden chair yet? Well, now is the time. Half the summer has passed and it is a good idea to enjoy a book outdoors before the cold arrives.

Here are some good mystery reads that I can recommend.

If you have not yet discovered Phyllis Dorothy James White, or PD James that she is most commonly known as, I can recommend her Adam Dalgliesh mysteries. Her language stands above most mystery writers, but I fear there won't be that many more mysteries, because this British author is turning 91 this August and she might have other plans than writing mystery novels these days.

Another author that I can recommend is Barry Maitland. He was born in Scotland, raised in England, and currently lives in Autstralia. Barry Maitland's mystery novels take place in London, and I learned a lot by reading his The Chalon Heads.

One of my favorite Swedish mystery writer is Håkan Nesser and his Van Veeteren series, but he has written a few other books and they are all good. Some of his books have been translated into English, such as Kim Novak Never Swam in Genesaret's Lake, a very good summer read with a twist.

Here in the Seattle area, on Whidbey Island, lives Elizabeth George, an American mystery writer who spends her time between Seattle and London. Her Lynley series all take place in London. Yes, there is a lot of London in this blog post. Elizabeth George's books are easy reads but many times have a bit too many pages. So, if you are only looking for action, her books might not be your cup of tea.

And last but not least, I would like to recommend Ann Cleeves, a British mystery author who won prices for her Raven Black, which is part a quartet and takes place on the Shetland Islands.

And yes, of course there are other books to read in your hammock apart from mystery novels, but I won't talk about those this time.

"A book is like a garden carried in the pocket."
Chinese proverb

What I do when it rains during summer

The weather has been on my mind lately. The bad weather. The lack of sun. Where did you go? I want to say GET LOST to the clouds. But I do not want to complain too much. Or maybe I do. I do not see myself producing very much vitamin D these days, and I can feel it. I bet some of you can too, right?!

So I have spent a lot of time reading. At the moment, I am reading "Aprilhäxan" by Majgull Axelsson. A bit too early to say what I think about it. Anyone read it? I am also reading "1984" by George Orwell.



I bought "The Economist" to keep up-to-date with world affairs. I never can get through the whole magazine, but there are always a few interesting articles.

And Irene has started to accept me reading books without pictures. So I have started to read the "LasseMajas detektivbyrå" series for her.

But I do not spend all my time reading. Today I finally went to buy some flowers for the garden; mostly dahlias, and a couple of other flowers for Irene to plant. So as soon as the rain stops, I will be doing some digging.

I also tick off items on my to-do-list that I keep in my Iphone (had to mention my most treasured tool at the moment:)). The list is not too long, but some of the things take time and so are perfect to do on a rainy day, such going through all the CDs (I have a whole bunch to give away if anyone is interested), cleaning up folders on my computer, sorting digital photos, and I can hear you start sighing and yawning so I will stop right here. Well, it feels wonderful to see my list becoming shorter and shorter.

What do you guys have on your to-do-list?

Time for teenagers to leave

Zoe’s friend, Anne, has been here with us in Seattle for two and a half weeks, and tomorrow Anne and Zoe will go to Sweden. I never thought it would be this easy to have three kids in the house, but being used to the little rascal Irene, I think I can cope with anything:)

So how do you entertain two teenagers in Seattle?

Apart from a weekend in Portland, we have spent all the time here in Seattle.

Because the girls had not seen each other for three years, a lot of time was spent catching up and rebonding. They did this while going to the Peter Kirk pool, one of Lake Washington’s many beaches, jumping and somersaulting at Sky High, water sliding at Wild Waves, and shopping for Converse shoes.

Any Swede who dream of Converse shoes will get their money's worth in the US, because here they cost half as much as in Sweden. And you have to agree that the design is fantastic. Unfortunately, my feet do not like them, but I could almost consider buying a pair and putting them on a shelf at home as a piece of art.

One day we went to Alki Beach, which is a small laid-back community in West Seattle. We had picnic on the beach and did some cycling.

Anne also got to celebrate 4^th of July here. Zoe took her to a party at Ames Lake, including a sleepover. I think they had fun.

And we went out eating a few times. Here is a dessert that was quickly devoured at PF Chang.

Of course, we had to spend some time downtown as well. Apart from visting Space Needle, we strolled around Pike Place Market.

 

It has been fun to have two teenagers in the house. I did not need to use “the force” at all. Maybe it will all be saved for Irene…

Vacationing in Portland, Oregon

Since both Christer and I had our last day at work June 30, and since Zoe’s childhood friend from Sweden arrived a few days ago to spend a couple of weeks with us, we decided to go away for a long weekend to Portland, Oregon.

Portland is a very laid-back city, with a nice downtown, about 3 hours drive south of Seattle. The city has about 583, 000 inhabitants and is considered as one of the most “green” cities in the world.

For a gluten free girl like me, it is interesting to know that Portland is the largest shipper of wheat in the United States. And it is also the second largest port for wheat in the world.

Another interesting fact is that Portland has one of the largest independent bookstores in the United States, Powell's City of Books.

For IT interested people, Intel manufactures computer components here, and is the Portland area’s largest employer, employing about 14, 000 people.

Apart from relaxing, spending time by the pool and eating good food, we took the tram up into the “mountains” and went for a hike. From there we could see the snow-covered peaks of Mt Helen and Mt Hood. It was beautiful. The following pictures is taken from the tram with Mt Hood in the background.

Today, we plan spend a few hours downtown before heading back to Seattle.

An intense June

I can just conclude that working full time and blogging is an equation that does not work for me.

I spend all my days performing research, thinking, reading, and writing, and, at the end of the day, I am just not up for blogging.

However, things might be about to change as there has been some new developments in our family.

After a relaxing break in Vancouver, Canada over the Memorial weekend at the end of May, we moved into a rather intense phase in June.

First of all, Christer was offered a job at a company outside of Microsoft. Of course, this required a lot of thinking for all of us. While thinking, Christer and Zoe went on a mountain bike ride in Duthie Hill park in Redmond. Exactly what happened there I guess we will never know, because from the point where Christer became airborne, in one of the jumps, until the ambulance arrived, he has no memory what so ever. What we do know is that he landed on his face, which resulted in multiple facial fractures and a visit to the facial surgeon. For those of you who want the details, the surgeon made two incisions, one through the side of his eye and one underneath his upper lip. Now Christer has two artificial plates in his face and looks like Robocop. No. Only kidding. Luckily, the fractures were mild, and Christer’s face has healed nicely.

A few days later, I was laid off from work together with 38 other contractors at Microsoft. Apparently, they are changing their strategy for hiring contractors. So suddenly, I have some free time in the middle of the summer. Time for more thinking and planning.

And yes, Christer decided to leave Microsoft after 5,5 interesting and intense years. His new employer is another big Seattle company, Amazon, which I am sure most of you have heard about.

So, all in all, things have worked out fine, but I would not want every month to be like this month has been, thank you very much.