Life in January & February 2021

January and February mostly revolved around putting everything in boxes and taking it all out again (we moved to a new apartment). I also turned another year older. But aside from that, the rest is a bit of a blur. New Year already feels like many months ago.

I took this moon photo at midnight on 31st December 2020. Not bad considering I was winging it with what I had to hand (18-300mm lens). I actually went to the window to look at fireworks and grabbed my camera when I saw how clear the moon was! People over the road were stood on their roof with sparklers. People on the ground were laughing and drunkenly zigzagging their way along the road.

My last birthday was a normal one because it fell just before the pandemic — we were actually in Stockholm looking for an apartment that week. This year, I unlocked the Covid birthday achievement. We booked a couple of days off work to relax at home, squeezed in a snow hike and met our friend at their Summer cabin for a socially distanced chat in front of the fire.

I found some excellent vegetarian hotdogs in Coop! We ate quite a few in the name of embracing Swedish life. Crispy onion bits take them from good to great.

We found my childhood bear while packing. Named Big Bear because he looked big at the time and well… he’s a bear. Turns out he makes a good plate rest, not that I can remember why he was used as one in the first place.

Getting the keys to our new apartment was the highlight of February! We got in, did a couple of video tours and drank some fizz on the floor. Then counted the number of what looked like glory holes in the walls — they are actually cable holes but the glory hole theory is far more entertaining. This one goes through the bedroom and into the kitchen cupboard.

I am so glad we chose the previous apartment as our first home in Sweden. Our neighbours became friends and made us feel so welcome. They also sent us away with flowers, a plant pot, a bottle of fizz. They even cooked for us the night before the removals company arrived. Moving really has been bittersweet.

We’ve been busy buying things we need like furniture, towels and a clothes rack — it’s really hard to get excited about that one but I’m glad we have somewhere to dry our clothes. The windowsills have been treated to a few new house plants too. Next up will be a waffle maker (very exciting!) and we’re planning to go full Swede by adopting their duvet system. You have one each and roll it up like a sausage on the bed each morning. I’m fully converted after so many holidays in Scandinavia.

Some lazy baking on the kitchen floor. A trial run of banana and chocolate chip muffins. Sweden has different flour so I’ve been trying to figure out which ones to use and how to make my own self raising flour. The muffins were a success!

We were treated to a whole day of sunshine last week. A whole day! I stood in front of the window and let the sun shine on my back for a while. It was glorious.

I’ve been loving tulips lately. Our local supermarket is overflowing with them, and are selling two bunches for 75SEK (£6). Seems pretty good for twenty tulips and it’s nice to see some colour, especially as the snow has melted and we’re back to standard grey days.

Now the chaos of moving is over, I’m really looking forward to recalibrating — spending some time enjoying our new home, catching up with myself and getting some extra sleep.