Mid-summer with an English twist

Hello!
Time to celebrate "midsommar" again, this time with my parents visiting from England for the first time.

Beach parties ... keep 'em coming!

Today is Saturday June 7th, 2008 and we have had an unbelievable run of fantastic weather since the beginning of May. It is so hot in southern sweden that the Brits would not believe it! The children have been in the pool everyday and we are longing for the end of school term - just 4 days away.
As we live only 5 minutes from the beach, life is just that, and it's hard to find fault with life right now. Business is good, although we feel over-worked, over-stressed and downright exhausted, the upside really makes up for it. We will soon be figuring out a plan of action to keep business ticking over and the kids entertained during the summer all at the same time.
Most important event of the day was that I found my youngest sons "gromiti", which he had thrown during a game on the trampoline, across the garden into a corner of which is currently undergoing renovation - fence planks, dirt, stones and weeds cover the area, and the gromiti was a little brown and green figure. Great. 5 hours later of intermitent searching, and there is was - stuck under a foxglove plant.
Yes, once again I was the hero of the day (at least in the eyes of a 6-year old, and that, my friend, is life worth living.!)

Hello Summer, 2008!!

OK, so a delay of nearly 7 months of writing an entry into my blog is almost unforgiveable, but hey, we all know there is more to life....right?

The last entry I made when we had recently launched our new company AOB Travel AB. Business is good, and we're happy. The years first quarterly results proved that we are on the right track and we are dedicated to making this company fantastic. It's a fun business - a happy one at the very least. What could be nicer than planning holidays?

Speaking of holidays, we recently hooked up with our old and dear friends in Florida, whom we hadn't seen in some years. With children the same age as ours and a shared sense of humour, we spent a wonderful day at their home near Fort Lauderdale, and picked right up where we last left off, as only good friends can do. Our 8-year-olds now exchange email addresses (sign of the times), and now meet on-line in their favourite Webkinz room once a week.

We spent nearly 3 weeks in Florida. We took the kids to Disney (I loved every moment), Sea World, Kennedy etc. and gave them unforgettable memories spent with their cousins in South Florida. We shopped, shopped, shopped as only a favourable exchange rate lets you, and the best, the very best of all was celebrating my 40th with a Madagascar birthday cake, shared with my (older) sister, chosen by our children. After devouring the cake, the dozoens of tiny animal figures and trees were washed down and brought home - I guess the children think mummy can make an air-brushed Madagascar 10-storey rainforest birthday cake this year.....

Could life get any better? we return from 28 degrees C to snow on the ground in Sweden. Snow. Late March. The words "Endless winter" jump to mind. Still, not enough to get our the sledges, and it disappeared quickly to give us the Spring we have long awaited. And even if my geranium did get a bit of frostbite this year when I put it out too early, overall the garden is looking.....overgrown. I need a new lawn mower. Overgrown but heavenly, full of daisies and cherry blossom. My already over-full schedule has be lengthened to include some tree-felling, turf-removal, shingle-laying, tree-planting and fence building. I am currently teaching my 6-year old to read (English), my 9-year old to play guitar and my husband to juggle multiple jobs that only a woman can do. ha!

And in the words of my dear sister "I say, is it cocktail-time yet?!"

Busier than ever - and a new travel agency is launched!

Well, my long absence can be explained, for I have many great excuses not adding to my blog in a long time. Summer ended, Autumn is here (although early morning is decidedly wintry) and never have my days been busier.
It's ironic that when you start a new project, after the months and months of endless planning and suddenly you're really in business, your days become so busy that you wished you had had this volume of work a year ago. Apart from still working on several large copywriting projects, I am also back teaching English one day each week (just because I love it) but by far the best news is that our new travel agency is off the ground. AOB Travel AB has hit the ground running, and even before the website is finished the phones are ringing and myself and my 3 other business partners are working ridiculous hours but getting by on sheer adrenelin alone.

Check out aobtravel.se to see what we have been up to. Our new travel bureau is an internet travel agency (but of course we'll answer the phone too), and we've taken our time to get the best terms from all the major airlines and hotel chains around the world. Our overheads are low, and therefore all these savings are passed onto our customers. Yes, we know the industry is highly competitive, but firmly believe there is room for one more out there, and the bookings and enquiries we are getting confirm our gut instincts were right.
See you online! aobtravel.se And be patient - the website is a work in progress and is being added to each day - the booking engine is working beautifully though so search around for the best deals - it's all in Swedish, but hey, you'll manage.

Summer in England and Sweden, and dodging the raindrops

Yesterday it reached 27 degrees and at 6p.m it's still to hot to sit in the conservatory at our home. The mosquitoes are ferocious and I have to refuse my son's offer to jump on the trampoline with him - he seems immune to their bites but I certainly am not.

It feels like we are still recovering from a jam-packed holiday in England, the first visit in nearly 3 years. Rain greeted up, of course, although the second week was better in Cornwall, but no wet weather was allowed to put a damper on what turned out to be a fantastic holiday.

Not only did I get to meet up with my family - the children made firm friends with their American cousins and have since been keeping in touch by phone for the first time ever (t's fun to listen to what 7-year-olds have to talk about for nearly an hour) - we celebrated my father's 75th birthday in style at a beautiful place in the New Forest, we also spent a week in Cornwall, staying in Padstow and touring around. A place close to my heart and somewhere I had been longing to show my husband and children. It didn't disappoint.

Padstow was the summers of my childhood. This was the first visit back for over 25 years and I loved it. It was exactly as it should be. Beautifully restored fisherman's cottages, bright coloured houses, narrow cobbled roads and an array of shops, boutiques and restaurants that create a wonderful atmosphere. Some shops still existed from my childhood. On our first evening of the holiday, the children asked for a stick of Padstow Rock to eat. Having listened to tales of my summer vacations, of "99" ice creams, sticks of rock and crab fishing, they were eager to try everything. Rock was bought daily, and when it tasted as I remembered it - sweet and sticky but perhaps not quite as good as I remembered it as a child, all those years ago. As for my youngest, he wants to know "Mamma, why are there so many yummy goody delicious shops in Padstow?"

More on our vacation in the next article....