Family visiting

Thursday afternoon my sister and her husband came up for a few days.  The evening meal were going to be the traditional 'Surströmming', the fermented herring that some of us consider a delicacy and others cannot stand. An acquired taste I would say. We'll, I got my wires crossed in the planning and had forgotten to buy the goodies, so we had to make do with sill, which is traditionally consumed at lunch! but what the heck! we had a lovely time all the same and afterwards we played a game of cards. 

Kristina won.

The following day, after breakfast, we went for a walk in the sunshine. The goal was Lomudden where we sat for some time resting our eyes on the glittering water and enjoyed the stillness.

Later we took the car and went to Leksand to buy the 'surströmming' and did a little sightseeing. Gunnar didn't feel so well, a bad back and a cold, so he stayed at home.

At last we could partake of the fishy feast. On the verandah, of course, because of the pungent smell. It was a calm evening, if a little chilly.

A little schnapps is a must on these occasions.

On Saturday we all went for a walk again, this time in the opposite direction, to Kollsjödammen. It was an overcast morning, perfect for walking.

We enjoyed a coffee/tea at the picnic table, before returning. That was 4K in all.

We admired the view from the bridge across the stream,

 and we checked our Geocache on the way home.

After a late lunch and a coffee, Kristina and Sune left after an all together too short visit, and the house felt ever so empty. 

It's a dog's life

We've had two visitors, Humlan and Kolan. It was 5 days of hard work. Unfortunately, they don't know how to behave on the leash, and two large, strong 2-year old Golden Retrievers, boy! do they pull!

What, me pull? Never!

Luckily we had a few days of dry weather and they could stay outside in the garden. They really enjoyed that.  If Gunnar hadn't had a very bad back at this time, everything would have been easier.

Inside they were as good as gold, almost...... They are really beautiful dogs, and friendly.

We've just come back from an evening walk to Lomudden, and this is what we brought back. The forest has been very generous.

Another beautiful day

This place is called Lomudden.

A nice place to swim when the weather is right,

Or to have a picnic as we did today with our friends.

In the afternoon it was time to start the barbecue,

and to make a salad.

Two friends sampling the wine. Cheers!

The master chef has done it again.

Dinner time

For dinner tonight I made waffles, yummy. I used an old waffle iron on the wood stove.

It's raining outside and it feels a little chilly, so this is a great way to keep warm.

Bon appetite!

Excercise

Gunnar's preparing our walking shoes, rubbing in the special wax to soften the leather and make them withstand all the water and mud we're sure to encounter on our trek.

Then we're off for our daily exercise. Trainers will do this time, it's only a couple of k's up the road and back. Look, someone has drawn a happy face on this road sign!

Chanterelles

It rained all morning and look what that brought! We found them on our evening walk, chanterelles. We'll dry them and bring them to Cyprus with us. We've put some aside to fry in butter on toast, it is delicious.

A trip to Älvdalen

Yesterday morning saw us on the road to Älvdalen, about 7 Swedish miles north of here, we were visiting friends. It was yet another fabulous day. 

There was very little traffic until we approached the village, when we started to see lots of gleaming old American cars cruseing along. There was a week of Music and Motor events in full swing.

Our friends took us to their son's weekend house by a sweet little lake in the forest. We parked and walked the last bit on a winding track.

There are no neighbors, only peace and quiet.

Karin unpacked the lunch and we sat down to a lovely pasta salad.

Half way through, we were joined by a young fox. 

It seems that he has been coming around regularly since a puppy and was not afraid of humans. A little wary, yes, but not afraid. He sat 2 meters from us and eat the bread we threw him. It felt very special to experience this.

Gunnar was interested in the solar panels, of course.

Later in the afternoon, and after a coffee at their house in Älvdalen, we were invited to see the place where Karin grew up and where her sister now lives. It houses some beautiful wooden furniture and works of art made by her grandfather, who was a famous artist.

This beautiful Canadian Spruce seems to like it in the Swedish forest.

Then it was time for us to drive home.

A walk

Today was a walking day. We packed coffee, tea and cinnamon buns and started out. 

First stop for water. It's a warm day.

Our route took us round Kollsjön which is the lake closest to us. Right across there is our house.

This sight met us when we reached the road. A lot of money laying here.

Coffee and tea break in the middle of it all. All in all a bit more than 10 k.

"The Wild Forsen"

A visitor during morning coffee. Isn't it beautiful?  It has a powerful jaw which turned out to serve it well when it started to munch on a, hopefully already dead, large insect in the grass.

Another visitor today. Conny popped in together with Humlan and Kolan after their long afternoon treek. There has been wolf sightings around these parts, so he's always well armed during the walks. In his left hand a Winchester, on his right hip a pistol of type "Wild West" and on his left a huge "Crocodile Dundee" knife. Come on them, wolfie!

Falun today

Falu General Hospital is not new, but really clean and pleasant. We only had to wait a quarter of an hour before seeing the surgeon for a check on last year's procedure. Everything is fine.

All over the place there are paintings and sculptures to liven up the atmosphere. This is a cute one! Guess which one is the work of art ;)

Lunch at the hospital restaurant. Surprisingly good! Crisp sallad and meatballs with lingonberries.

Beautiful, tasty chantarelles. This is the harvest from a few days ago that I used in a sauce. (Gunnar's just emailed me the pic. and I had to share it with you.) 

A busy day

A busy morning for the man of the house. A spin with the new lawn mower. Colour coordinated, isn't he?

Then it was time to climb the ladder to the roof for a little tinkering with the hot water tank. He has put a temperature gauge in it, so now one can see how hot the water is.

Can you see him behind the solar panels?

Later, I took a walk down to the main road and back. There are a lot of fantastic stones in these woods. Some of them have faces (if your imagination is good).

Sweet part of the river this.

I like to explore all the little tracks leading off the road.

I love it that Conny puts out this sign every summer. We brought it back from Australia for him.

Today we invited him for dinner. He just loves spaghetti and hot meat sauce, so that's what he gets. Isn't his beard magnificent?