I started running again

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Somehow I have gained a few kilos this spring and summer. So I have to do something about it. Since I really like good food and snacks I have to tackle it the other way, by getting more exercise.

So I started running again. I write this today as it already is the second time I’m doing it. (I ran on Monday too).

I don’t know how many times I have started running and it has stayed at one time. Just this spring I started last time, that time it lasted only one time, then I got a cold. Last autumn just after my daughter was born I started running too and a few times before that. Now I don’t want to start running again until spring 2013.

Last autumn I even got new shoes. My old ones had been my running shoes for a few years and didn’t feel that good while running anymore. And they squeak. Now they are degraded to bicycling and summer out in the nature shoes, there the squeak doesn’t bother me as much.

I have started out with just a short run, basically running around Södra Ängby, a 4 km course mostly on asphalt. When I feel it is getting a bit short I will extend it a bit.

If I want to run in the forest, I don’t now due to high concentration of mosquitos; there are good possibilities for that too with the Grimsta and Judarn nature reserve just around the corner.

Last time I did regular running (more than just once every half year) I lost about 10 kg, I don’t know how much it will be this time and I won’t know any time soon either, this is something that takes time.

Okay, I might have to stretch some more now…

Someone wants to walk

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My daughter has a new thing going on. She wants to walk. Bumping is just not good enough anymore. (Bumping is explained in the post of How to not feel rejected).

We realized yesterday that she was a bit grumpy. Didn’t really know why at first. She didn’t need to go to the potty, (yes she does most of her business there), she didn’t want to get a snack from Susanna and she didn’t want to play with some toys she shouldn’t like cables.

As soon as Susanna or I held out my hands, she grabbed them, pulled herself up and started walking. Before she just would have bumped to her spot, but not yesterday. It was walking day!

After a while she did let go of our fingers, only to lose balance and we had to catch her to not hit her head or worse.

Just a few days ago walking with her was an easy thing, I could steer her the way I wanted. Yesterday she started complaining when I steered away for a room she shouldn’t enter. She then very decisive led us to the little pool we have had put up in the garden. She wanted to bathe.

She really practises standing. First holds both hands, then one, then just something else, like my leg or a table, then nothing, plumps. Stretch out arms to someone to get pulled up again.

I don’t know how I feel about it. I know she will learn to walk eventually, but she really doesn’t have to start so early. (Sure there are kids that start earlier). With her walking around, climbing will evidently come soon too. More things have to be child-proofed. More than one pair of shoes has to be bought. Cables protected. Flowers moved. (She likes digging in flowerpots). And she will be even faster from one room to the other. With bumping I can look away for a few seconds and I still have a chance to find her again.

Here is a picture of my daughter walking with Susanna and one of her walking with me

Susanna and Johannes walk with Ellinor

There are some things that will be better as soon as she walks by herself.

Our backs will be lest bent. If she holds my pinkie fingers I can walk with an almost strait back, but normally she grabs some other fingers first and it’s a bit hard to change fingers while she is holding on like it was for life.

We won’t have to follow her everywhere. We do have places where she can go by herself. It is comfortable to just sit down in one place and let her explore without one having to walk with her all the time. Bumping had the same pro, maybe even better due to the slower speed.

So let the betting begin: When will she walk by herself for the first time? I’ll buy the winner a beer. (Winner is the one guessing the date closest to the actual day here in the comment field. In case of a draw I’ll have to buy two (or more) beers. Susanna and I will be the undisputable judges of this contest).

How to not feel rejected

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My daughter is just a few days short of 10 months old. She isn’t speaking in a way that is understandable except for us if we pay attention and it still is mostly just guessing. She doesn’t walk by herself. She just today sat up from lying without help, twice actually. (We’ve been dreading that day, because now we can’t just put her down and she stays within a short distance of that place, but can get up and bump around all over).

Bumping is her second preferred way to get around, sitting on her but and wiggling getting around at astonishing speeds. Her first preferred way to get around is to grab some ones fingers, preferably Susanna’s or mine, stand up and start walking.

Anyway: She really shows that it is mom that is important. She doesn’t even have to be hungry. If she is in the wrong mood she just isn’t okay with Susanna leaving. I won’t do. Nothing can (to my desperate tries so far) change that.

Like this morning when Susanna went and took a shower. She immediately bumped towards the door, starting to whine when she arrived there. When that didn’t help, I wasn’t really that awake at that point, she got a bit louder. This had the effect that I took her up. Did that help? No. So I tried to play with her. No, that wasn’t okay either. Big tears went down her cheeks. Tears on my daughter’s cheeks just are a bit tough. So I take it to the next level and give her some of her toys. Nope, that didn’t help either, she just pushed them away. I gave them back to her, she threw them away. I haven’t seen her do it that fierce before. Like she was angry. I think she was. Angry that I didn’t take her to mom. That was my task! Okay, I picked her up again, sang a bit and rocked her gently. Sometimes that helps. Not so this time. I continued doing it, she cried louder. I gave her Susanna’s phone (one of her favourite toys that she can’t play with except when nothing else helps). She threw it on the floor so hard I was afraid it broke. (It didn’t). So I gave myself a little relief and put her down in the crib. Big mistake, she started to scream at the top of her lungs. Susanna must have heard that in the shower. I picked her up again. It went on like this for a little while longer, until; we both heard the sound of a lock and door being opened. She still was crying. Susanna opened the door to our room and Ellinor really tried to wiggle her way out of my arms with her arms stretched out to Susanna. Susanna could not take her over fast enough. As soon Susanna had her she calmed down, still sobbing a bit looking at me with some kind of “why didn’t you get me to mom sooner?” view.

This took about 10 minutes. Ten horrible minutes. Not every time is as bad as this, but she time after time shows me that I’m just not good enough. I pick her up; she turns to mom and tries to escape. I hold her just short while Susanna has to fix something and she starts whining. I stay at the table with her trying to feed her and she is turning her head away. All these things just make one feel less appreciated. Sometimes she just doesn’t let me do anything, not even change the diapers.

Then it’s important to remember the other times:

Like when I come home from work. When I get in the door and say hi, I hear Susanna’s voice somewhere in the apartment; “Did you hear who came now, papa is home.” Then she has the biggest smile on her face when she sees me. If she’s on the floor she starts bumping to me at top speed.

Or when we are together as an entire family. Sitting and having a cosy time on the sofa or in the bed. She just smiles and says “papapapapa” or “mamamapa” or something else that is really cute.

Or when I play with her, taking her for walks, letting her ride my shoulders. She really shows that she loves it when I do things with her sometimes.

Once in a while she just wants me to feed her too. Not accepting food from a spoon as long as Susanna holds it, but only when I give it to her.

Sometimes we just sit in the sofa and have a good time.

She loves me. I know that for sure. She just loves Susanna more. And that is just natural. Susanna is there much more of her time. I disappear to work. She gives the food and comfort she needs to calm down in the evening. This is nothing for me to get jealous of. I know I’m important to her too. She knows it too, I’m sure of it. Thinking of all that, especially when in moments like the ones in the first part of this entry, help me to not feel rejected.

Even when I am rejected by her, I know it’s not personal; it’s just there is someone that is more important to her. That is good. Susanna has to be more important right now. Later that can change. It doesn’t have to, I’m okay with being number 2, later I might even become number 3 or less, who knows. As long as I am the best father I can, in my eyes I’m good enough for her and she is always my lovely daughter.

2011 in pictures

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It’s about time. I finally got my picture-documentation of 2011 ready.

It was a year with many things happening but not as many pictures taken. Still I have managed to put together a little resume like the previous years.

A little preview:

From winter,

from trips,

a few trains,

and of course us.

Here comes the link to the page: 2011 in pictures

Enjoy!

Taking it easy

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Today was a good day.

A day with a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

All day with my lovely family.

Now the day is coming to an end.

The TV is on, great music is coming out of the loudspeakers. (Yes the music is coming from the TV show, Summerburst makes it possible).

I’m warm. (Not thanks to the weather).

Ellinor showed her finest side.

Susanna doesn’t mind the music too much.

Had a good nap on my parent’s sofa.

Nice talk with my aunt and uncle.

Enjoyed easy food, good food, bad (not to the taste) food, fun food.

Not thinking about getting things in order. (None of us did).

It all started already yesterday.

All three of us being laidback: The three of us all laidback That’s just how we are…

Ellinor’s first bike-ride

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Today was a special day. On Thursday, Susanna bought Ellinor a bicycle-helmet. Today we tried it out.

This afternoon we installed the seat in the bike-trailer. Now we can go for bike-rides all three of us. This will be great, so much better than to walk and take the bus or subway.

Afterward we had a little short test; we took a short trip of a few hundred meters to try it out. Ellinor seemed to be okay with it. I just have to be more careful crossing speed-bumps and curbs. Her head with the helmet on wiggled a bit much.

Here a picture of us when we got back in.

So many things have happened the last month. Ellinor eats more and more of the same food we eat. Sure we have to chop it up, but some things she eats whole. I don’t really know what her favourite is, but she really likes potatoes and tomatoes.

Her technique to move around has been perfected. Now she can get around the entire flat. We really have to be watchful, just looking away a short moment and she’s in boxes or pulling cables. Luckily her technique of moving around has the pro that a standing chair is a barrier she can’t get past, but for how long? We have started to remove things from floor-level; some things remain to be removed still. We don’t want to take all things away; she has to learn that some things just are not to play with and some things we just can’t remove; the electric outlets, luckily they are protected so that small fingers can’t get hurt. We don’t want her to learn that it’s okay though, one day she might get to an outlet that isn’t protected and we don’t want an accident then.

A short film of Ellinor eating tomatoes:

[embedit snippet=”ellinor-eating-tomatoes-2012-06-09″]

When I get home from work, if she is on the floor, she looks around the corner in the cutest way, leans forward to check, not having to take two or three more hops to the front.

Some days biking is fun

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Some days the bike ride to work is easy, other days it’s just plain agony. Yesterday it was fun.

This week I’ve only biked to work two times. Due to a trip to Gothenburg and Malmoe this week I couldn’t bike as much as I like. On Monday I biked to the Old Town in the morning. I was surprised with the amount of people biking to work these days. Back when I worked in town there were maybe 3-5 other bicyclist at the traffic-lights on good days. Now it was maybe 10-15. That’s some change.

So many other bicyclists are a bit of a hassle, the bike-paths are just not made for that much traffic. I had to break so many times not being able to overtake due to oncoming traffic. I can imagine doing this every day makes you do stupid things like cutting people off or just do a chicken-race with the oncoming bicyclists. I did see that happen a few times on my ride into town. Good I’m working in a different direction. I only overtake maybe four or five others on my way there and that’s just not as stressful.

Yesterday it was a rainy day. Most of the times I don’t care too much about rain biking. But yesterday it was just right. First of all I wouldn’t have any traffic. (There are just less people out bicycling on rainy days). Then I would really wake up. I have been a bit tired after working and travelling a lot. I had a meeting early at work.

The best part was that I had prepared good. The most important part was that I had my shoe-cover. This keeps my feet dry, even though I have a few really big puddles along the way. Then I did remember to bring a second set of dry clothes. It’s so much better not to have to change to damp cloths after work.

I was soaked getting to work, I didn’t get as wet on the way home, the rain had lightened up. This made up for two really fun bike-rides.

Travelling with our daughter

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Wednesday night we got home from our trip to Germany. This was the first time abroad for Ellinor. We flew to Frankfurt, took the train to Stuttgart where my uncle met with us to take us to his place.

 

One thing I realised travelling with her is that I can relax more than when I’m travelling alone or just with Susanna. I don’t know why that is, probably it’s because I have a different focus now.

 

Flying with Ellinor is easy. She does not cry much and enjoys playing with simple toys. After a while she wanted to sit on the floor, but that was not possible on the short (2 hour) flights. We found some really good seats (for us) on the plane that goes between Stockholm and Frankfurt, the row in front of the emergency exit has only two seats, so we didn’t bother anybody else there and there is an open space between the seat and window where we could put things that were in the way otherwise.

 

In Germany we met with all our relatives there. First we stayed in Lorch, a small town about 40 km east of Stuttgart were one of my uncles lives. There we met with the relatives on my father’s side.

A picture of the group in Lorch.

 

Ellinor had everyone’s attention from the start. She charmed all of us with her best mood and fun sounds. She has started to make more sounds again, some of them sound like mama and papa and lampa (lamp in Swedish).

Ellinor had everyone’s attention.

 

We had one day with better weather so Susanna, Ellinor and me went on a walk. (I had done this walk already on Sunday). It was really nice to get out into the fresh air, Ellinor really enjoyed it too, but that’s normal if you don’t have to walk by your own.

Klotzenhof, the furthest point of our walk.

 

Most days we had a busy schedule. We wanted to see as many people as possible. We tried dinner at a restaurant too. Not entirely a success. Ellinor does get tired in the evenings so Susanna, Ellinor and I had to leave before everyone else so that we could get her to bed.

Ellinor is a Schwab. (A person from Schwaben, the region in Germany where my dad comes from. In this region Pretzels are staple food).

 

After a week in Lorch it was time to get to the next place, this time my aunt with family in Hagenhill, a small village near Ingolstadt. I hadn’t been there for a long time and Susanna hadn’t met them before since they didn’t make it to our wedding.

 

The drive there was not as relaxing as one could wish for. Ellinor didn’t feel well so we had to make plenty of stops. I think it could be the fact that we took some smaller roads there and that it was lunchtime for her that made her upset. If driving with her is this bad every time it just isn’t fun. (But it wasn’t).

 

We had a great time there, catching up and getting to know each other. Here the days were a lot less crammed with activities so we got some well needed rest.

Ellinor playing in Hagenhill.

 

Here our car really did fit in, since this family only has BMWs (when it comes to cars, they have a bus and a tractor too), could be because the husband of my aunt worked there before.

 

The last day we went to my other aunt that just had returned from India. We had a nice day with her too. We had a walk through the nice old (more than 1000 years) town she lives in. In the evening we looked at pictures from her trip. We didn’t stay up that late this night since the next day would be a long one.

A few houses in Hersbruck.

Ellinor enjoying my aunt’s company.

 

The journey home started at eight in the morning. We first had to drive back to the airport in Stuttgart where we had rented the car and had the air tickets from. This is under ideal conditions a trip just under three hours. We had ideal conditions and some. Only one shorter traffic jam and a restroom stop (for me) left us time to do some last minute shopping, filling up the car and returning it in good time before twelve. Ellinor slept for most of the trip and when she didn’t she was happy with sitting in the car.

 

Our flight home went fine, even if the transfer time at Frankfurt was a bit short for my convenience, but hey, we didn’t have to wait at all.

Ellinor and Susanna in the plane.

My parent picked us up and drove us home, I’m so thankful for them.

I’m looking forward the next trip I make with my lovely family, they just make travelling much more fun.

Oh the joy of a beamer!

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This week we are in Germany, visiting my relatives and showing Ellinor off. We arrived in Lorch (a small town about 40 km east of Stuttgart) already on Saturday but since it’s easier to rent a car on a weekday we waited till today to do so.

I had booked a car in the VW Passat size. One never knows what kind of car that will be. Last time I booked a car with proximally this size, a Chrysler Sebring we got a Dodge Journey with the smallest motor possible.

This time I hoped it would be a bit more the same size and comfort.

When I got the key I liked what I saw. It had the BMW logo on it. Not too bad for a VW. In the car-park an X1 waited for me. This is the smallest SUV from BMW but still roomy enough for us.

First I tried the backseat making sure that there would be enough space for Susanna and Ellinor. It felt okay. Getting in and adjusting everything was easy.

Driving away was nice too. Just out of the airport on to the Autobahn overtaking a few trucks, looking down on the speedometer, ups, 170 km/h. No feeling of speed in the car, I have to be careful not to drive too fast on the smaller roads.

Susanna was happy about it too, trying the backseat on the way to the store and to the dinner. Most of all she enjoyed the fact that it had Darmstadt plates, as she had stayed there when she first came to Germany.

On the way back from the dinner Ellinor fell asleep, I think she likes the car too.

Music

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Today as I came home Susanna and Ellinor went for a walk, leaving me to make dinner. It was time for chicken.

As I stood in the kitchen I realised that I hadn’t listened to music in a long time. Not in a real way, just putting on something I like and turning it up. Now with the family on a walk I decided to do so.

I put “Mind the gap” by Scooter on and played it as loud as one can in a house with apartments. (Sorry neighbours if it was a bit too loud). How liberating it is to dance together dinner instead of just cooking it.

Just before Susanna came home the CD (yes I listen to CDs still) came to an end and I put on “Dream wide awake” by Omnimotion, something more appropriate for dinner. (And something Susanna doesn’t mind listening to as we not entirely share the same taste in music).

Sitting there at the dinner table with Ellinor and Susanna made me just realise how much I miss music. There have been times in my life when I listened to music almost all the time. Then there have been times when the music has been silenced. Lately it has been very little of listening to music.

At work I have moved out into the open office. Sitting there I have not had the possibility to listen to music, especially when I’m not super busy, not to miss out on opportunities to hear conversations where I might find something extra to do or just the fact that I look really busy with headphones on making it harder for other people to ask me for help. So not much music there.

At home Susanna doesn’t listen to much music and neither do I. Most of the times I want to listen to music that she doesn’t really like. I can listen to her music, but it’s not really my favourite.

In this moment of realisation I felt so much joy. Music does that to me. Articulates feelings. The joy of having such a good life.

  • Susanna as my wife, I couldn’t find a better one!
  • Ellinor my daughter, she is just so adorable. (And really good at eating her roasted oat flour porridge with mashed fruit).
  • The beautiful place we live in.
  • Great dinner (if I may say so myself).
  • A good beer. (Old Spreckled Hen one of my absolute favourites)

And many more things that just make my life great.

It is in moments like these that music is just right.

 

Just one more thing:

Don’t forget to vote for your favourite Stockholm 2011 building: Here is the link

Just do it!

Half a year

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Today Ellinor has her half year birthday.

This is something.

I haven’t kept you updated on my family life for a long time now. I have not really been in the mood to write most of the time and when I was I didn’t have the time. Now I have both mood and time.

So many things have happened already. She is more and more becoming a personality. Some things make her frustrated. Other things make her happy. And she really loves it when we sing.

Here comes a short little film I made yesterday and today:

[embedit snippet=”%c2%bd-year-old-ellinor”]

A film of Ellinor

It is just wonderful to see her learn new things almost every day. Just a few weeks ago she learned how to sit without support. She does tumble over every now and then still, with a complementary cry after hitting her head on the floor. Sitting with her is plenty of fun and we can play together with her toys.

Ellinor and I sitting on the floor.

She has also begun to move around. So far it’s only backwards, something she is very frustrated about. When we build her tower that she likes to tear down and she tries to get closer but it just get further and further away.

Ellinor on the floor, soon to crawl all over the place.

Life as an all year bicyclist

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As you probably know I bike all year around. No weather stops me from dragging my bicycle out of the shed in the morning to bike the 7 km to work. Most days I really look forward to doing that. I do have days I don’t look forward to it tough. Like the day it started raining just before I left, still being below freezing. Or maybe any day when I realise that if I just would have gotten out of bed half an hour earlier I would have gotten to work dry.

In general winters are more of a challenge than the rest of the year. Snow and ice just makes it harder and slower to get anywhere. And it also makes it just a bit more unsafe.

This year’s winter was (maybe is still, who knows if it actually is on its way out) an easy winter. Not much snow and the snow that did come came late. Still the city managed to make life harder than necessary for us cyclists. Getting the snow of the bike paths is not always easy. But most of the time it is done acceptable. Getting the snow of the bike lanes is a bit harder. Sometimes they get it right and you can use it, but most of the time it is used as snow deposit for the snow from the sidewalk and road. The connections between bike paths and lanes along the route I bike every day were almost never cleared. Most times they were actually used to put up extra big piles of snow.

This creates a dilemma: Do I bike on the sidewalk, or do I bike on the road? Most of the time the sidewalk is the better option, but at bus stops and in other places where there are many pedestrians it’s just not a good idea. I sent this question to the city officials but I haven’t gotten any answer yet and now I don’t need the answer anymore this winter, the snow has melted far enough to bike the right way.

The other day the city released a program to improve the conditions for bicyclists in the town. It looks like a good thing. They want many more to choose the bike to get to work. The only way to actually accomplish this is by improving the winter conditions. During the spring, summer and autumn many people already bike to work, but when the snow makes it tricky and in many cases dangerous it is a totally different story. To get more people to bike at times when the public transport and the roads are most overcrowded one has to have speck free bike paths and lanes. In fact they have to be better than the roads.

When I lived in Denmark they used rotating brushes to clear the last layer of snow on the bike paths, making them almost free of snow. If there came to much snow to clear with the brush, they used a plough and then the brush, always making it easy to bike. Stockholm could learn from that.

Leaving piles of snow on the connections is just not acceptable. If it isn’t possible to clear the snow from these places then they should be rebuilt to make it easier to clear the snow (some of them are very narrow now, making it impossible to clear them with a machine).

Yesterday I had to get my bicycle fixed. The pedals have felt a bit stiff for a while now and the gears started to malfunction letting the chain jump when I needed extra power. As I biked home on Tuesday the left pedal fell off. Luckily it was only the bearing that held it place that broke, so as long as I held it in place with my foot I could still use it. This left me with no other choice than to get it to the shop and get it fixed. So I did and with the spring not really here yet I got it done within the day.

Now it works fine again. I just have to get it clean. But that will wait until the night are not freezing, pouring water on our road that would freeze during night would not make me the favourite neighbour. It is slippery enough without me adding extra ice to the road.

As to the icy roads: I have spiked winter tyres on my bicycle during the winter making it sometimes harder to walk to the bike-shed than to bike to work. They really work wonders. (They don’t let me bike like there is no ice, but I don’t have to be afraid to slip as long as I’m not too fast). Like the day when it started raining just before I left home and the night had been cold. I saw cars that had a hard time stopping. Even I had a hard time at a traffic light; when I put down my foot it slipped (I stayed up though). But I had no problems with breaking or taking turns.

I’m so happy I work in a place where I can bike to. It wakes me up in the morning, gets me some basic exercise and saves me something like half an hour or so every day on commuting.

I recommend everybody to give it a try. You’ll feel better. (If you have a too long distance all the way, try to do a part of the way).

New Year, New Beginning

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Happy New Year!

This time last year I didn’t even know I was becoming a father. Didn’t know how living with a kid would be like.

Susanna and I were thinking that it would be nice to have a kid during the year, not knowing that she already was growing in her.

Not in our wildest fantasy could we have expected a more wonderful kid than Ellinor. She is just so cute, letting us sleep at night and giving us an easy time.

A few highlights of the year:

  • The positive test on Susanna’s pregnancy.
  • The first ultrasound of Ellinor. (Link to blog entry)
  • The visit in Germany because of Ulrike’s confirmation.
  • Easter in Skåne.
  • Ellinor’s birth on the 10 of September. (Link to blog entry)
  • Friends weddings; Leigh and Andreas, Suppe and Jordana and Mattias and Amy said yes to each other.
  • Christmas in Skåne with Susanna’s family.

I will remember 2011 as a great year. Only one big change accrued, but this change was probably as big as change can be.

What will 2012 bring? Hopefully a kid that starts to walk, maybe even say a word or two. I will go on father-leave from work in September. That will give me much more time with Ellinor. I don’t hope for too many other things to be done then, but that is just not the focus of being off work then. During my father-leave Susanna will be working.

Maybe a trip or two should be possible too, nothing really far away though.

In March I will be part of a team from work skiing the “StafettVasan” a relay cross-country ski race in the track of the in Sweden famous ski-race “Vasaloppet”.

I don’t have that many other plans for the year. Maybe I will try to be more aware of injustice and lose a kilo or ten.

My year will be great! May yours be great as well!

New Train Company

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Second of advent I went to Gothenburg with work. As usual I went by train. But I didn’t take a train from SJ on the way down, “Blå Tåget” (the Blue Train) a new train-company was my choice this time.

Blå Tåget has been in service for a couple of months now. It is run by Skandinaviska Jernbanor. Their homepage talks about a new experience in travelling with train in Sweden. (Here is the link to their page).

The ride takes a little bit longer, but that is compensated by higher comfort and good food. And the food is served on real plates not in plastic containers, at the table. The carriages are old Swedish first class carriages and an old German diner. All restored to high standards, equipped with wifi and power outlets at every seat.

One thing that is on most peoples mind today is if the train is on time, so many aren’t. This one was, but it is a bit easier to be on time when one doesn’t go as fast as most passenger trains. We’ll see how it develops, they have spare engines and carriages if things break and for a company that only has one train a day from Gothenburg to Uppsala and back that is something.

Here is a picture of the interior:

Here one of my dinner:

A few things are maybe not as good as they could be.

The power outlets are above the windows, leaving ones cable dangling around. Not the ideal position really.

I didn’t have an assigned seat. Not a problem when the train is half empty like this time, but when there are more people on board it would be nice to have a choice of seat, preferably pre-bookable, like many airlines do.

My total review of this new concept is good with only few ways of improvement.

Good luck, hope they survive.

Three months

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Yesterday Ellinor turned three months old. Not bad, she is growing and we have managed to stay sane.

One good reason for that is this:

She is just the cutest when she sleeps and she does that during the nights up to about 10 or 11 in the morning with only one break for food.

Last Thursday she got her first vaccine shots. Not my favourite activity. I took the afternoon off to be able to be there as support. That was necessary. Ellinor did not like the shots and got really angry with Susanna, who held her while the nurse gave the shots.

I totally understand the anger, the needle was super thick and it must have hurt badly. Then I could help calming her. As soon as she got into the elevator on the way out she fell asleep though. She slept well for a few hours, but then she was whining and not really eating well the rest of the evening.

She didn’t get any real reactions to the vaccine though, and already on Friday she was acting almost normal.

We are so happy to have a daughter that gives us joy and doesn’t make our lives too difficult.

4000 km

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4000 km, that’s what I have biked on my new bicycle. Does that mean the bike is still new?

I reached that mark when I got home from work yesterday. Didn’t think it would be so exact. But bicycling to church on Sunday helped.

Actually I have biked a bit more, but I only count the times I have my trip-meter on. I just don’t know how far I have biked without it. It’s not that much, but I have forgotten it a few times going to work and then I haven’t always had it going shopping. Better not to make estimations that just wouldn’t be right.

Last week the bike got taken care of too. Actually it had a flat tire on Monday that had to be fixed. When I got home on Wednesday from Örebro I took the time to wash it and change tires. Now we are ready for the winter. I think it was in due time too, on Friday the puddles on the bike-path were covered with ice and today there was ice and snow. (Not much though).

Ellinor is blessed!

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Last Sunday we had a special day for our little girl. She was blessed at church. We do this to dedicate her to God. It was a wonderful ceremony.

We were especially happy for all the friends and family who came to join us. It is so great to share moments like these with them.

The meeting in itself was a typical “New Life meeting”, with the translation and the “fika” in the middle. (Fika is a Swedish word that for a short coup of tea or coffee and some small ting to eat (like a cake) with friends). Stewart was leading the meeting in his usual humorous way. Katti was leading the worship (the songs we sing). That was really good. Both Susanna and I really like it when she is leading. Kjell was preaching with his typical orderly way. (I somehow wasn’t paying too much attention).


Caroline (the children’s pastor) was in charge of the blessing. First she said a few things. I prayed for Ellinor and then Caroline blessed her. After that the congregation came up to us and prayed for us as a family.

Us on stage

Here a picture of us on stage.

One a little more non-typical event was the collection of money, due to the fact that the church made it a special collection to get the last money to buy the new building. If you are wondering, yes we got the money to buy it, now we just need the money to adapt it to our needs, but there we have a little more time. The big move will probably be in the end of February.

Back to Ellinor’s day:

After the meeting we had invited a few friends to our place. It was a great joy to have them all over.

Thank you who came! We were really happy for you and Ellinor is so happy for her gifts (at least Susanna and I are, Ellinor is still not entirely getting the concept of gifts). It was a great evening.

And all of you who couldn’t make it, we were happy anyway, we can’t be at everything we are invited to either. Actually when we invited you we thought more wouldn’t come due to the short notice.

All of you we didn’t invite, we are really sorry, but there is just not enough space at our place to have all of our friends over at once. Just give us a call and we find some time to meet (probably just not this year).

One other great thing with the weekend was that Susanna’s parents and brother were here. It’s so nice to see grandparents taking care of Ellinor.

I have reached a goal

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Last Wednesday I reached a goal. Since the 9th of June I have biked to work 80 times.

Not much of a goal to reach, but I’m happy about it anyway.

In reaching the goal I have biked more than 4 out of 5 days I have been working. That was what I thought would be reasonable to manage, in regard to weather, work trips summer holiday and days off when Ellinor was born.

So now I’m on bonus time. I’m working three more weeks this year; will I bike 12 more times? Probably not, this week I’ll be on two business trips, it’s a bit tricky to bike to Örebro and Göteborg just for the day. (And I have got train tickets already). That make two out of five (I’ll be staying the night in Örebro, first night away from home since Ellinor was born).  Then in two weeks I’ll be going to Göteborg once more. So if I bike every day (I have already biked Thursday and Friday after I reach my goal) that I am at the office (as far as I know now) I will be biking 11 more times. In total I will have biked 93 times to work since the 9th of June. We’ll see if that will happen; as long it doesn’t snow so much I can’t bike, but then I probably won’t be able to get to work at all.

Within the next two weeks I will have biked more than 4000 km since I bought this bike. Not bad for one and a half year (I bought it in September 2010) mainly commuting.

More than two months

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Last week Ellinor had her two months birthday.

This weekend my in laws and brother in law are here. It is nice to have the home full with happy people.

Friday when I got home from work, a bit earlier than usual due to more work on other days, I was struck with fatigue like coming back from a week of hard labour.

I haven’t changed jobs; I haven’t had super exhausting things going on at work. So that shouldn’t be the problem.

I have slept okay, something between seven and eight hours every night, just like I always have.

I haven’t helped more with home chores than before. Making dinner some evenings, but not even close to every. Taking care of laundry a bit or cleaning a bit, nothing out of the usual.

So why am I so dead tired?

I just have to look at the differences: I just can’t dough down in the sofa when I get home. There are diapers to change, a daughter to entertain or a wife to give some extra time too. Not big things in my mind.

Obviously my body thinks different.

I have to get into better shape to cope with it. Or get more rest. Or just learn how to deal with the fatigue.

Friday morning I went to the gym, like I do most Fridays. That’s a refreshing thing to do and since we have breakfast at work on Fridays it’s the perfect day.

I have a hard time to eat somewhat fast in the mornings, if it’s not white bread with sweet spread on it. If you didn’t know it, white bread with sweet spread isn’t exactly the healthiest thing to eat. So I eat oat porridge at home on weekdays. (Weekends I’m too much of a sweet breakfast kind of guy, so that just happens).

So I do things to keep in shape. Main thing is bicycling to work. I have the intention to go running once a week, right now it’s more like once a year. And I do some cross-country skiing, but that’s on hold until the snow comes, who knows when that is?

Okay, enough with the rambling!

I’m so happy I have Ellinor and Susanna in my life. Being more exhausted on Fridays is worth it all and a bit.

Every day a new first

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I’ve been much less tired. Haven’t had as much time here, but that’s a small price to pay for the privilege to not be tired.

I think I’m actually in a very good place. Ellinor sleeps between five and seven hours every night in one go and after a good feed a few more hours. That is a true blessing.

There are new things happening every day. Most of them are small. But the other day, (a week ago or something like that) she turned over, from belly to back. That’s early. Susanna didn’t really believe it first, so I turned her over again. And after a few gruffs she did it again. I realised I need the camera. So I got my phone and started filming. Now it wasn’t fun anymore, only gruffs, but no turn.

On Thursday there was a not as nice kind of first. Ellinor had a rash in the morning. Susanna asked me to look at it and it was kind of small, so I didn’t think it was anything.

In the evening, during the marathon-feed evenings are, she had the rash again, but this time it was much bigger. We called the medical advice and they said it would be good to go to the hospital to have it checked.

Yippy! Going to the hospital late at night just when I wanted to sleep isn’t something I really like. Even less so not knowing how long we would be there. But if it is for the best of Ellinor it’s just no question.

Arriving there the nice nurse at the reception checked her and said we should wait for a doctor to look at her. She already warned us that it may take some time. And time it took. About three hours later we were called. (We then found out that there was one more Ellinor at the hospital, since the other kid’s mother also got up, there were at that time only two kids in the waiting area we were in, but there is one other waiting area too).

The doctor did some checks, and then asked if it itches. “How to know?” was our reply. “She has been really calm this night”. She did some more checks and looked something up and then she said that there isn’t much to do. If it doesn’t annoy her it is best not to treat, the medicine treating rashes isn’t good for so little ones. So we could go home.

Puh! It’s always nice to hear it’s not bad, seeing her sick was painful. (Being dead tired didn’t make it easier).

Friday was a bit hard, but a red bull in the afternoon and too much cake and sweets during the day made me go through it without collapsing on my desk and even accomplishing something.

Now Susanna’s cousin is here for the weekend. That is nice. That also gave me the possibility to make my filled aubergines, it’s not that often I make this my favourite vegetarian dish; normally I’m just too much of a carnivore.

Now it’s time to get some sleep, tomorrow we’ll take an easy day.

I have to change some things

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Last week I worked full time for the first time since Ellinor was born.
When Friday came I was so tired I didn’t even get that extra boos my trip to the gym normally gives me in the morning. When I finally came home, I almost fell asleep standing.
That’s just not okay. I have to try to do something about it.
Now you think: “But Johannes, you are a parent of an infant now, get used to it!”
“Why?”
There are things I can do to actually improve my sleep, without neglecting the family. (Actually I think not being awake while awake is even worse than sleeping a bit more).
I have to start getting to bed in time. Shouldn’t be that hard, lat in the evening Ellinor is feeding, I could then go to bed. Last week I somehow waited to her going to bed too, leaving me with just under seven hours of sleep, with a short break when it was time for the night-feed.
This week I’ll be trying to get to bed earlier.
Just hope I don’t get stuck here.

She is growing

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Today I was back to work fulltime. The day went fast, I think because of a fun task, (making a map) and an afternoon meeting.

I picked up the last part of the bike-trailer on the way home, so now it is fully functional, except the fact that Ellinor still is a bit too small to use it. We’ll have to wait to try it out on her until spring, now it will only be used for shopping or other transporting tasks.

Ellinor is growing! That is always exciting. She still doesn’t like to sleep when we want, but I guess that will stay until she has moved out of the house, sure it will be easier in a while and some nights it already is.

We realised that there are plenty of pictures of me with Ellinor. Like this one:

Ellinor and I

But not many with Susanna, so we made one with her too:

Ellinor and Susanna

They are just lovely!

This was just a short little update; more comes as more thoughts show up.

Ordered a bike trailer

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Today we ordered a bike trailer. Now we will be able to be even less dependent on a car.

I’ve been thinking about getting one for a while now and I convinced Susanna that it would be a good idea.

The one we decided to by is a kind that can be used as a stroller, children’s trailer or cargo trailer. This will give us possibilities to use it both to go on tours with Ellinor (once she’s big enough to wear a helmet) and to do our weekly shopping.

Now I have to learn how to bike with a trailer. It shouldn’t be that hard, but I have to learn to not speed along as usual, since one should not pull it too fast.

Last week there was a proposition made that cars would have to yield at bike path crossings. I think that is a really bad idea, in some cases it’s smart, when there is a yield sign before the bike path and the adjacent road is a main road it makes sense that cars yield to bikes, but when a bike path is crossing a main road it’s just plain stupid to not slow down and yield to cars, since there is a big chance that the driver on the main road won’t see the bike in time.

Here is the link (in Swedish) to a post by Stina Bergström where she writes about it. I think it is good to do promote bicycling, but to give the bicycles right of way is not a good way of doing it, it’s just too dangerous. Making it legal to bike on the road if you keep some kind of minimum speed (maybe 20 or 30 km/h) when there is a combined bicycle-walking path along it is a far better idea, due to the dangers of going fast on a path where there can be pedestrians.

But as usual, the first things to do to promote bicycling are not new rules but to see to that the rules there are, really are enforced. Both when it comes to bicyclist (like driving in the wrong direction, against red light or on the sidewalk), or motor vehicles (like parking on bike paths or turning without using turn signals).

And keep the bike paths clear of snow and slush in the winter!