mr. bubbles

Remember when bathtime was more about fun than getting clean? Those were the days!

pumpkin patch update: just when hope was lost

They say you should not count your eggs before they hatch. As far as our pumpkins go I think we had done just the opposite starting to think we wouldn't hatch anything. Turns out we've got about a half dozen pumpkins of various sizes. We've got two big ones somewhere between grapefruit and (american) football size and we still may have a month to go. A couple weeks ago we had a cold spell which gave us a scare, but an unanticipated break from the snails also.

Keep hope alive! And away from the snails.

clip clip

Remember the haircuts Mom use to give us as kids - the story where function and form were on opposite sides of the room? Well Mon is actually starting to get it down, in a good way. Sammy is getting a haircut for next week's school picture.

pumpkin patch update - lessons we've learned.

So we've been in Sweden almost five months now. The official (short) growing season is nearly over. Though a few fist size pumpkins are still on the vine, Dad thinks it's not too early to start a check list for next year. Hopefully the remaining pumpkins will be able to mature a bit more before Halloween.


Things we've learned this year:

-Snails drink beer. We need more beer and frisbees next year. Nothing like policing a bunch of drunk frisbee throwing pumpkin eating killer snails.

-Bigger growing area. The old green house base is nice for a vine or two, but not nine. Bigger area will offer more maintenance and drunk snail removal opportunities.

-Fence in the patch. Pumpkins din't draw the attention of the deer this year but once we put up a nice fence, they'll be all over the patch. Now, where to put it up. Hmm...

-Sprout seeds earlier - like April. That will mean sprouting them indoors and transferring them once we're out from under the threat of frost. Like June?


-Pro-actively cross pollinate the boy & girl flowers more. For as many flowers and length of vines we have this years - not a lot of product.

-Figure out where I can get a can of pumpkin pack so we can bake Uncle Joel a pie(and us, of course). Now where is that American store in Sweden that Mon keeps talking about? Do you suppose they have a 20lb turkey and stuffing dressing too?

bunk bed!

We finally got the bunk bed we wanted for our room. It is really cool. I (Jake) have the top bunk and Sam has the bottom bunk. I let Sam come up to my bed during the day.

We went to Ikea and the bed fit into our car while we got a ride with mormor.

Thanks dad for putting it together!

pumpkin patch update (this means war!!)

So the pumpkin patch was sailing along smoothly. Sixty nine cents worth of seeds, nine plants, a little dirt, a new continent to share Halloween with - man this is fun!

Entering August we were giddy at the first sight of 'mangos' - baby pumpkins with a whopping three months to mature between now and first frost.

Then the snails showed up. Not the escargot type snails in the shell. We're talking the big brown slug looking snails that eat their own if they met an untimely demise. The snails decided they liked to snack on the mangos. The baby pumpkin pictured in a previous post is toast. Nuttin but a rind.

Since then I've declared war. Been stepping over snails all summer. Nearly wrecking my bike to avoid them in the road. Not anymore baby. Now I patrol the yard with a salt shaker every night and watch them writhe. Put a salt ring around the pumpkin patch with some effect.

-Syndrome(to Mr. Incredible): 'That's a little dark for you, don't you think?'

-Mr. Incredible: 'It'll be easy, like breaking a twig.'

Mormor one upped me by suggesting I put out a frisbee full of beer. Within 5 minutes we had five slither up to the bar. Supposedly they can't resist the smell of the beer and they drink themselves to death.

Needless to say the pumpkin patch experiment has taken a discouraging turn. Here's to hoping we get at least a couple pumpkins this season.

superman and spiderman

Today is the first day of school!! We got to pick out our own backpacks, I picked Spiderman and Sam picked Superman.

sam's toilet paper roll cell phone

Can you hear me now? Man the ten second timer on the camera sure is a long time.

school days

Today is Sam's first day at daycare/preschool. He's never been before. Always been home with me. The school wants to take it slow, working up to a full day in the next week or so. Today he only goes in for an hour, but still, it's going to be a big hour.

Jake starts next Monday, kindergarten(optional in Sweden) and afterschool program. We'll see how it goes there too. I think the hardest thing for him will be getting over the language hump. He's a class leader and it's hard for him to not understand or be understood.

As far as the language hump goes, Dad starts Swedish classes soon too. I can sit down with a book and memorize a chapter but if I don't use it, it's gone the next day. Hopefully the classes will give a better understanding and perhaps introduce this expatriate to other expatriates.

(yet another) pumpkin patch update

The pumpkins have been flowering. I think they do it mainly at night time. This is 6ish and it's already starting to fade. Anybody know if night time blooming is true for pumpkins?
We have several thumb size 'mangos' on the ground.

More flowers and morning dew.

Next year: more room, more security. Something's been nibbling. They take a bite and drop it on the ground. Pumpkin leaves, vines are all very prickly. Good natural defense but not enough to stop the taste testers.

We are considering a Halloween party at the end of October. Already our neighbor is on board to provide a tractor ride for the kids. Hopefully we'll have a good yield of pumpkins too. Best sixty nine cents we've spent since being here.

new raincoats

School starts next week for the boys. Some required equipment is raincoats. The teacher told us the kids play in all types of weather. And with the stack of raincoats by the school's front door, we believed her.

Boys have been wanting to try them out on a rainy day ever since we got them. Today was the day.














All right, so you may see some redundant cuteness. Sam reminded me of the Tyler-Davidson fountain.


















A little Saturday Night Fever action.














And of course, jumping in the puddle.

painting our room

One of the things Mom and Dad promised us before we left Ohio was that we could fix up our room when we got to Mormors house. Well, after patiently waiting nearly three months since we have been here, we finally got to do some painting today. Not done yet, but the process has started. Mom and Dad keep talking about this store called IKEA.

I wanted blue.

Sam wanted orange.

pumpkin patch update

It's official - the pumpkin plants have merged to form a 'patch'. Hard to distinguish one plant from another. One plant, the most photographed, has grown nearly a meter in the past week. No kidding. Now if we can just keep the snails off of them. The patch is located on the base of a former small greenhouse the family had. It's almost too small for the plants and we have a lot of growing yet to do. We're going to rethink the location next year.

Swan family update?

A really friendly swan family was hanging around as we were fishing the other day. Didn't know if it was the same one from around midsommar which had five chicks instead of three. We definitely got the impression the tourists have been feeding the local wildlife. Their 'hiss' turned from a threatening noise to one of asking for food.

Gone fishin' (the sequel)

Brothers fishing. Why do I want to whistle the Andy Griffith song?

pumpkin patch update

Update on the pumpkin patch. The top plant was the original one pictured when we started this. The plants have really taken off in the past week or two. May get some pumpkins afterall.

he did it!

Jake's training wheels came off on Friday. He's riding like a pro.

pumpkin patch update

Getting a little bigger. Dad is starting to wonder if we'll have pumpkins by Halloween. I think we'll be fine, even if they are small. Dad says next year we'll start them inside earlier so they will have a longer growing season than this year.

this is the good stuff

To me, this picture epitomizes why we came. Mormor offers Sam a taste after 'icing' a birthday cake with whip cream and fresh strawberries for cousin Jonaton.

winterharbor

Every day or every other day Dad and the boys ride bike up to winterhamn (the winter harbor, as opposed to the summer harbor for pleasure boats). This boat is one of the biggest ones and takes people out to Sandhamn, a nearby island.