Our kitchen table and chairs have arrived

Our kitchen table and chairs were delivered yesterday. We ordered them from Tofta Möbel AB, since they always have the best service. They are from BITC. Strange taste that we have (as many less creative minds have pointed out through the course of the past year), we have combined materials here too. The table is Walnut veneer. We still have to oil it before we start using it, and 2-3 times a year.

We aren't 100% about which way to have it yet. I like it this way, but Stefan is convinced it would be better perpendicular to the window. We are going to have to get a feeling for it for a while and switch it around before committing to anything and buying a light fixture for above it.

By popular demand

See, it really is big. Or high, at least.

This weekend

Haylie bought colored pencils on Friday night when we went to Ica Maxi to go pick up a package from Grandma and Grandpa. She spend a large part of the weekend nicely coloring My Little Pony pictures. I guess colored pencils were the secret to getting her to color. She is a perfectionist, so it is easier for her to stay in the lines with a smaller utensil.

We got some more done in the house this week. The plumbers installed the bathroom sink in our bathroom, and Rikard was here again and put up the shower wall and door.

The cabinets/sink are from Aspen. Unfortunately the hardware to hang up the cabinet on the right didn't come with it, so we have to wait until that arrives. Then it will also be off the floor like the sink is. They are both in walnut. We haven't picked out a light fixture for above the mirror yet.

Our shower is done except for a couple glass shelves on the inside of the pillar and the magnetic closing for the shower door. But it is usable.

The floor

The builders put up the cabinet on the right of the fan, and installed the drawer pulls for the kitchen and laundry room.

Lots of snow still. It just keeps snowing more without melting at all. That is uncommon for a winter on Gotland.

Stefan bought a bonsai tree. He is just the kind of person to have a detailed long-term project like that. Now he is reading up on bonsai trees on the net.

At the plant store, I bought bulbs and materials to make two plantings of spring bulbs, one for myself and one for our friend Eva for her birthday. This was Saturday afternoon.

This was Sunday morning. Now, Sunday evening, there are 6 mini daffodils that have bloomed, and 4 purple crocuses (croci?). I planted them in shallow zinc tubs and covered the dirt with pebbles. The pearl hyacinths have a way to go before they bloom, so hopefully they aren't all done at once.

Haylie picked out a butterfly for ours.

Stefan had an I told you so moment today. About 7 years ago, he got this copper basin or whatever it is from his mom. I then asked him, "What are you going to do with that?", as we put it up in our attic for what seemed like all time.

Well, he now found a use for it. Firewood. It looked very nice too. He was smug.

Here is our one and only hallway. I ordered the lighting seen above from the electrician, who put in these nice lights from Hide-a-lite. They aren't all that common in Sweden. They add a really nice touch, and we don't even have to turn on the lights in the ceiling. We just use these in the evenings.

Now they installed the outer part of our furnace, which meant that we had plenty of hot water when Stefan showered tonight, which we haven't had up until now.

Here is my bathtub

The plumbers installed the bathtub today. It is from Gustavsberg and is enormous. I wasn't quite expecting it to be that big. I think we will need a step ladder to get into it.

Queen of the (sledding) hill

I took a walk around the neighborhood (which isn't that big) with Haylie behind me on her "snow racer". A snow racer is a Swedish sled on runners with a steering wheel and brakes. Walking down the plowed road was no problem, but trying to cross our backyard to our little sledding hills (rubble from when they excavated for the house and garage) was not easy. We have the most snow there has been for 20 years (so I have heard), and our whole backyard is over knee deep. I can't find my nylon pants either, so I had to wade through in my rubber boots, with them rapidly being filled by snow. It made me want snowshoes. I rather like snowshoeing, much more than cross-country skiing. It might be worth getting a pair if we have more winters like this, for taking walks in the woods behind us.

There were lots of hare tracks in the neighborhood, as we walked. Haylie and I have seen a few on the road during all the move-related driving. Yesterday at 6 PM we saw 3 deer as we drove through Sanda. There is one field where they are every night at that time.

I digress. I finally got to the sledding hill, which we both had to climb up. After that one time I was exhausted, so I dragged her to the front door. After that Stefan and his dad went out. They are making a sledding hill by shoveling and packing snow. Those are two determined guys when it comes to stuff like that. You would think they were planning on sledding.

Caught unawares through the window.

She was doing snow angels while leaving the grunt work to her dad and grandpa. That's my girl.

After the first week in our house

This week Haylie discovered the joys of cookie dough ice cream.

She had a good week, and seems to be liking living in our house and playing in her new room.

It is cold in here since we can't have the in-floor heat on everywhere, so she has been sleeping in our bed for warmth. We have a fire going when we are at home during the days, but the mornings are chilly. She has had breakfast in front of the fire in the mornings. I went and bought slippers for both of us (with Hello Kitty), so that helps.

We went out looking to buy a dining room set today, but this was all we could afford. No, seriously, we were shopping for furniture today, but didn't find anything that struck our fancy. We got some catalogs and are going to look around. We want something dark brown, like walnut, so it matches the kitchen. Everything is yellowy oak that other people buy.

We did buy a ceiling lamp, with the foyer in mind, but it ended up being right for the kitchen instead, above the island.

Here it is up-close tonight.