North-western Stockholm has an acute shortage of swimming pools. The city grabs the best time slots for its own swim school, and other swimming clubs are left with odd times and places, or none. So Adrian’s swimming lessons take place in what used to be an outdoor pool but now has a giant tent erected over it. The showers are ridiculously cramped, but it all kind of works, and the swimming lessons themselves are great, so we make do.

Attending a full-day workshop about applied machine learning. Interesting stuff, and there’s less black magic in it than I had expected.

Chocolate balls (made of cocoa powder, butter, sugar and rolled oats) are a traditional Swedish sweet. Super easy to make, and (done right) quite delicious. For an adult version, add some espresso and rum. The one in the photo is a kids’ version: Adrian and his friends rolled their own chocolate balls during his birthday party on Sunday. Some of the boys made bite-sized balls; other balls were nearly fist-sized. The last and largest one we cut in two for Adrian and Ingrid to share.

That wall was meant to be climbed.

Adrian got a bunch of Pokemon-themed gifts: a Pokemon game for Nintendo, a Pokemon t-shirt with one of those reversible sequin pictures, a Pokemon key ring, and a box with Pokemon cards. Also a mini Rubic’s cube, and a cactus.

Adrian wished for a cactus for his birthday.

Ingrid loves drawing. In the evenings she often disappears into her room for hours and stays up late, drawing. Currently she likes drawing cartoon-style girls, practicing various poses, clothes, hair styles and backgrounds.

This is why I have so few photos of Ingrid doing anything other than reading. All the other things she does in a little dark corner in her dark room!

Waiting for swim school to start.

Adrian goes to Spårvägen swimming club’s swim school, just like Ingrid did when she was the same age. I really like Spårvägen – their approach to teaching kids to swim seems very sensible, and the kids generally enjoy their lessons. Even if Adrian isn’t always overjoyed to go there and sometimes tells me he’d rather not, by the time the lesson is over he is almost always having fun.

Ingrid is finishing off her Bulbasaur cosplay costume for next weekend’s ComicCon, which she has been preparing, saving money for and looking forward to since spring.

Ingrid reading a book for school.

She rather enjoys reading, but doesn’t have the same deep need to read as I do. I guess it’s like with me and movies: I can enjoy a good movie, but I can also go months without seeing one and not really miss it. I’m tempted to argue that books are different, but are they really?