Perfect days in the woods.

I had been feeling a little under the weather for a few days, maybe even weeks,  (Ohhhhh, poor little Lee I hear you all sighing.) and it was with great relief we reached this idyllic hideaway in the Swedish woods where I could just hang out and be daggy for a while. Kristian’s cabin is old and a bit run down but it is absolutely perfect for us and we have had the most wonderful time here in the wilderness. Our many walks in the woods have given us a better understanding of how Hansel and Gretel kept getting lost. It all looks the same, one beautiful tree after another!

The enormous cherry tree in the back garden has been more entertaining then a chocolate covered climbing frame for the girls. They have spent days devising ways of getting to the cherries on the upper most branches with helpful comments from the adults such as, "We don't know how to say "hospital" in Swedish" and "If you can get up there by yourself, then you can get down by yourself." Last night we spotted seven little creatures pinching OUR cherries. I would have called them a stoat, Paul was sure they were minks and the girls definitely saw weasels. Whatever they were they were just too cute and far too quick to photograph.  They popped up again this morning at about 6 am but they just scamper away as soon as they are spotted.

There is not much to do around here.  The closest village is about 4 kilometres away called Figeholm where we heard the melodic Swedish accent from the locals and then a further 10 kilometres is Oskarshamn with a very handy little bibliotek.

Today was the last full day here and we had no plans so I thought I’d see how long I could get away with hanging out in my pyjamas. I lasted until 4:09pm before anyone commented. Wow, everyone was laid back. We lit a bonfire in the back and kept it going all day. The girls continued to collect cherries and berries interspersed with games of Rumikub and Euchre. Paul read his Classic Car magazine – in English, and I made a big, hearty stew.

After dinner we walked down the track to try and find that elusive moose. He must have been busy preening his antlers and we missed him but the girls were happy feeding some horses.

Leeska