Vaguely, tantalizingly spring-like weather is here, with above-zero temperatures on most days.

Indoors it’s not a lot warmer than before. The heating is still set to the same target temperature of 19°C, but on sunny days the system is more likely to overshoot slightly than to fall short.

The bedroom is warmer at night, though. I’ve switched from sleeping in long-sleeved thermal shirt, to short-sleeved cotton t-shirt (under the winter-weight duvet, still, and the flannel sheets, still).


Made a start at the Stockholm embroidery at the embroidery club meeting today.

Yeah, this will take a while.

I’m using Bayeux stitch to fill all that space for the houses. I learned that stitch here at the embroidery club, and I really don’t know what I would have done here instead if I didn’t know this one. It fits so perfectly.

Getting ready to start working on the Stockholm-themed embroidery at the embroidery club tomorrow. I haven’t done much figurative embroidery, but why not try.

Just choosing something to represent Stockholm was hard. I wanted a concrete picture of Stockholm, not something symbolic (like the subway map). I wanted something personal but also general: an image that would be clearly recognizable as Stockholm by not just me (not a view of our house, for example) but at the same time I don’t want a generic postcard.

In the end I settled on using this old photo of mine of Karlberg. The combination of earth-toned buildings, water, and greenery all together feel like quintessential Stockholm to me.

The group’s suggested end date for the project is mid-May. I’m pretty sure I’m not going to be done by that time. The marked area on the fabric is 30 by 45 cm. I get a lot for free from the background fabric – I won’t be embroidering much on the sky or the water – but that’s still quite a lot of fabric to cover with stitches. But I’d rather make something that I can be proud of, perhaps even hang on a wall, than focus on a deadline. If it takes me until Christmas – well, then it does.


The first snowdrops are out, among the detritus of dead things.


Buying fabric for my next embroidery project.


Víkingur Ólafsson played Bach’s Goldberg Variations. My favourite, by far, of the piano recital series. Wonderful experience.

Unlike the grumpy Russians, Ólafsson was personable and fun. Smiled, talked to the audience. Patted the piano to thank it when he was applauded at the end.

These things always end with extra numbers. They can barely even be called extras, these days – they almost always happen. But it was Ólafsson’s very definite opinion that the Goldberg variations were a whole, with a built-in encore in the shape of the aria being repeated at the end, and “you can’t just play a Nocturne by Chopin after it”.


Nysse, in my wardrobe, half asleep on top of a stack of my sweaters.


The mental shock of going from an active outdoors vacation to the humdrum realities of everyday life always hits me quite hard. It’s like coming down after an adrenaline high. Which I guess it is, just with different chemicals.

I don’t want to do anything. I especially don’t want to unpack. But I trick myself into getting it done, by picking up and putting away just one thing from the pile every time I get up for any reason.


Our ski passes and ski rental are valid for another day, and we could have gotten another good four of five hours of skiing in. But the weather is getting worse rather than better – even windier, even wetter – and it really isn’t looking the least bit tempting, so we’re packing up and driving home instead.

Adrian’s snowboarding technique is improving steadily, and is now actually better than his skiing, I think. He is faster and more stable on the skis, but pretty much just snow ploughs straight down, whereas on a snowboard he gets pretty nice curves in now.

Anyway, he was feeling confident enough that he and Eric also got onto blue slopes. The longest slope here in Stöten, “Mormors störtlopp”, is green and gentle one, and very nice if you want an easy and relaxed ride – as a skier. But the topmost bit is a long, flat, narrow section that is not at all good for snowboarders. Ingrid and I have had plenty of time to explore the pistes, and found a blue run that we thought would fit the snowboarders’ needs as well. So we could all go down together, for the first time this trip. Which was nice – and gave me great photo opportunities.








The weather was no better today than before. Still windy and with low clouds and lousy visibility at the top. Around lunchtime we got some sleet, and while that stopped for a while, it later came back as almost-rain.