I now cycle to work two or three days every week. I still take the train on my workout days, because otherwise I’m too tired in the evening to do the whole groceries-school-dinner-bedtime thing. Cycling takes about 15 minutes extra each way compared to the train, so sometimes I’m tempted to save that half-hour… but then I remind myself of how good it feels to cycle, and do it anyway.

There’s a good cycle track for me to follow almost all the way, with few pedestrians and few traffic lights. For the most part, few other cyclists as well, but around Alvik it sometimes gets a bit crowded. In the afternoon I leave earlier than most people since I work part time, so the cycle path is nearly empty, which I like even better.

Not only is my path clear – so is the space around me. Whenever I switch from cycle to car for some reason, I feel closed in. I am pushed down and strapped into a seat, with a roof almost touching my head and most of my view restricted and criss-crossed by objects. On a bike, I am high up and in the open.

That is why I like cycling. The exercise is a positive side effect, but it’s not why I cycle. I do it for this feeling of openness – the sensation of wind against my face, of space, of movement, strong and fast and free, with nothing and no one in my way. Freedom. Until I get to the office.

I went to a nature photo event this morning. Calling it “morning” is generous, really – we met up at 3:00, before sunrise. We photographed for a couple of hours, had breakfast, and then photographed some more.

The subject for the entire event was flowing water. You know, the long exposure photos that make water silky smooth so that even the most ordinary waterfall will look magical. This is normally not my style at all (silky? magical?) but hey, getting out of your comfort zone is the only way to learn.

The scene we were photographing at Nyfors was, to my eyes, not inherently scenic – a pretty mundane rapids rather than a picturesque waterfall. Some clumps of grass, plenty of rocks, tree branches caught between them… I found it quite challenging to find interesting photos there.

Our instructor’s advice tended towards the traditional – for example, the rule of thirds, and to create depth by including some foreground, mid-ground and background elements. I tried, I really did! But all the photos I got using that approach just came out totally boring. Too cluttered on one hand, and at the same time devoid of anything interesting.

What worked for me instead was to get closer, to simplify and pare away. The more photos I took, the more minimal and abstract they became.

The world is white.

Fine, warm weather again, so we’re having dinner outside.

Setting the table is Adrian’s job around the house. He doesn’t like having to carry all the tableware from the kitchen to the deck, so on evenings like this, he grumbles more than usual about having to do all this hard work. But he likes eating outside on the deck.

After who knows how many months of setting the table, he still struggles with where the knife and fork are supposed to go. Sometimes he sets half the places the right way and the other half the other way. Telling him that the knife goes on the right doesn’t help, because how are you supposed to remember that? It’s just random, and could equally well be the other way round. Recently I thought of telling him to think of the knife as a mini-sword, and think about which hand he would hold a sword with, and then put the knife on that side. I think this might work better.

Today was the first day that felt like summer. We celebrated with ice cream in the garden in the afternoon.

Adrian’s favourite is Dumle, a cone of vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce and milk chocolate.
Ingrid had a Skruven, a multi-coloured screw-shaped ice lolly with flavours of passion fruit, mango, pineapple and peach.
I had a Kina Wafer, a chocolate ice cream with pieces of wafer and hazelnuts.
Eric was at work and missed the ice cream picnic.

Current themes:

• Talking. Adrian talks ALL. THE. TIME. Every thought that comes into his head, comes right out through his mouth.
• Losing baby teeth. One is out and another one is loose and is irritating Adrian a lot.
• Having to wash his hands, which he hates for some reason. He is grimy when he comes home from school, and somehow his hands always end up in his food to a greater or lesser extent, so I make him wash his hands several times a day. With soap, which makes it even more of an ordeal.
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars. It’s the best thing since sliced bread.

I hope one day we will look back at this era of cords and cables with the same sense of distance as we today look back at thick monitors and TV sets, or large cassette decks. They did the job, but today’s equipment does it much better and takes up so much less space.

Blue sky, wispy clouds, flowering cherry tree, and the tender green of young birch leaves. Can life get any better than this?

Much the same as last month.

This month’s highlights include scout hikes (one that has already taken place and one to look forward to). And of course Ingrid is already looking forward to the two scout camps she’s going to attend this summer. Plus summer in general – she’s growing tired of school and homework and all that.

Current favourites:

• Super short jeans shorts
• The Sims 4 and Horizon: Zero Dawn
• Katy Perry’s Bon Appetit

Given the choice, both kids always read while eating. Ingrid is a fast eater and knows exactly how much time she has and needs, so for her it’s not a problem. Adrian on the other hand often forgets the actual eating because he gets so engrossed in the Bamse he’s reading, so for him books and magazines are not allowed at the breakfast table.