There will be a “children’s literature day” at school, when the kids come to school dressed as a character from a book. Ingrid first wanted to be Olaf from Frost but I couldn’t think of a way to craft an Olaf costume in time. Then she suggested a cat, but we couldn’t think of any interesting female cat characters. We then settled on Sigge, the white horse in the eponymous series of books. So I am crafting a white horse mask.

Took the camera to work. This is our bi-weekly Monday morning combined breakfast/company meeting/demo, in what is normally our lunch room but also serves as a meeting room for the largest meetings.

We spent the entire day at the children’s emergency department at the Karolinska hospital. It seems that Ingrid has contracted Lyme disease. Currently the main and only symptom is one-sided facial palsy, which is what you can see in the photo. Here she is trying to squeeze both eyes shut, and obviously only one half of her face is obeying her.

If you look carefully at yesterday’s photo you can already see the symptoms beginning to appear – which is why we went to the hospital.

The day consisted of endless hours of waiting; repeated application of anaesthetic cream on various parts of Ingrid; the leaking of that cream from the adhesive plasters it was covered with; repeated ripping off and reapplying of the plasters – and then a lumbar puncture as the grand finale, repeated twice before it succeeded. Ingrid emphatically said this was the worst day in her life.

Ingrid and I took the train to town for some serious shopping. Winter clothes, crafts material, advent calendars, books, etc etc. This is her on the way home.

Preparing for Friday evening movie time.

I used to aim for consensus, trying to get the kids to agree on a movie to rent. But their tastes are so different that this only led to nobody being happy. Now we take turns. Today was Ingrid’s turn to choose, so we got a Barbie movie.

It strikes me when I look at this photo how unconcerned both kids are about sitting on the floor. They are not at all bothered by wearing slightly dirty clothes almost all the time. The same with food stains etc.

For my own self, I draw a clear line between my “out” clothes and “home” clothes, and while I might well sit on a dirty floor in my “home” clothes, I set a higher standard for my “out” clothes. This has both benefits and costs of course.

Ingrid with iPad.

The “turning of the clocks”, the end of summer time, coincided with our trip to Madeira. It feels like the world just went dark when we came back. It’s twilight when I pick up Adrian from preschool and dark by the time we get home.

The lack of daylight complicates this photography project. I really need to figure out some kind new plan, or I will end up with an endless stream of dinner table scenes, kids with iPads, and Ingrid reading.

A totally tourist-y picture of bananas on a banana plant. I think it is awesome that they just grow there, in huge bunches.

It seemed like bananas were growing everywhere on Madeira. It’s like a combination of apple trees and strawberries: if you grow anything in your suburban Swedish garden, you probably have an apple tree and/or a strawberry patch. Madeirans seem to grow bananas.

From one extreme to the other.

First, Pico do Arieiro, Madeira’s 2nd highest peak. The peak was completely enveloped by a cloud, and therefore so were we. Wet, and no view whatsoever. But the drive there and back was beautiful.

Then, Madeira’s only sand beach, with sand imported from Morocco. Swimming, splashing, and sand castles.

Ingrid was disappointed by the lack of waves. The beach (like all the others at Madeira I believe) was enclosed by breakwaters because otherwise the waves would probably be too hazardous, so we could see them out there but almost nothing reached us.

We rented a car and went for a drive around the island. Incredible views that my photography really cannot do justice. Near-vertical cliffs with waterfalls, winding roads, picturesque white houses perched in improbable spots, lush subtropical forest, vast seaside views, etc etc.

Mountains, greenery and water is an unbeatable combination. And then maybe a touch of fog or dramatic clouds for added atmosphere. All the most beautiful places I can remember combine these. (Past favourites include Cornwall and Scotland.)