Category Archives: Family

To Chris And Tanya’s

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We were all invited to Chris and Tanya’s last night, for a meal and film showing of Office Space, which Chris had suggested would be a worthwhile watch.

Freya made herself at home very quickly, and had no problem in involving our hosts in her activities. She has always had a soft-spot for Tanya, and has recently warmed to Chris, which is a nice development in her relationship with him.

During the preparatory phase of the meal I sidled to the computer to have my first proper exploration of World of Warcraft. They had shown me around the basics of the game before, chaperoning me through the on-screen menus more than the world of Azeroth. This time, though, I was truly on my lonesome, and enjoyed it as much as I had expected to.

The first levels involve the standard “kill/return” type of sub-quests, all the while unfolding the overall plot related to the Undead character I’d chosen. While it was unexceptional in its incipiency, the lush environment and “liveliness” of Undercity made for a different experience than Neverwinter Nights.

After WoWing, eating, WoWing a bit more, and eating dessert, Freya collapsed from 16 hours of being awake. Despite her desperate moanings of wanting to sleep at home, she passed out with ease, leaving the adults alone to continue the evening’s mirth.

Having watched Office Space (a decent enough film, by the way), Jo spotted an unwrapped Borat. Why they had kept it unseen is witless enough, but it had been in their possession for a couple of weeks. Unopened. Unseen.

We corrected this oversight by demanding asking for a showing. I have been planning on purchasing the DVD at some point (i.e when it comes down in price), so we were rather happy to have the to see it earlier than we’d anticipated. Suffice to say it rocked, and I have full respect for Sacha Baron Cohen for creating the character and to have the balls to put himself in peril for entertainment.

The rest of the evening (being early morning by that time) was spent chatting about all manner of things. I had succeeded in not becoming drunk (which aided sociability on my part, and the ability to wake up with Freya four hours later without feeling the effects of a hangover), leaving their place at a respectable 4.15am.

The Antepenultimate Match Of The Season

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An important match took place today, with Wolves meeting derby-side and antagonists, Birmingham. Both are currently in the play-offs with two matches after this meeting to go, so much was at stake for both aspirants.

I had read earlier this week that the O’Leary’s chain of restaurant/pubs was planning on showing the match, and became stirred at the thought of watching such an important match. Since O’Leary’s in Söder is usually the host for all televised Wolves games we went there, only to find out that they were not even open. I found this strange, with so many Wolves fans in Stockholm who would’ve descended upon the premises clothed in old-gold (yes, Jo, old-gold), in good voice, and with a wallet full of beer money.

Slightly fraught at the news, I tried ringing Truls, president of Swede Wolves, to find out further information and a possible alternative venue. Freya was quite keen on the idea of seeing “We Are Wolves” (as she calls them), as was I, and with only a half hour to go to kick-off, the stress levels were rising.

When I received no answer from Truls’ phone, we decided to take a short trip into Old Town, to an Irish pub that was also known for its football. I rang the pub when we got off the underground, to be told that the Wolves match was to be shown. Oh, sweet joy.

The match ended with Wolves losing 2-3, but the entire match was thoroughly entertaining; real end-to-end stuff with Wolves showing a fighting spirit I never saw last season. We could have equalised with four minutes to go, but missed a penalty, though we are still play-off contenders, and will succeed if we win our final two matches.

When I came back home I read on the Swede Wolves site that this is the weekend Swede Wolves members are in Wolverhampton for their annual visit. Now I understand why Truls was unreachable, and no other fans were to be seen in the pub. Still, it meant a more peaceful (if less ambient) family outing.

Åbergs Museum

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Today the family went to Åbergs Museum, about 45 minutes from our house, northwest of Stockholm.

Lasse Åberg is a well known actor, writer, director, artist and collector of all things Mickey Mouse. Part of the museum was given to this collection, whilst another part has been transformed into a jungle-themed adventure room for children (being based on one of his children’s TV programs, Trazan and Banarne.

Overall it was a nice afternoon out, and this is the first proper car adventure we’ve had since bringing our new car, a Volvo 740, back from the north at Christmas. I’m a little bit nervous about driving any distance, as it’s an old car with a dud battery; however, our (yet to be named) transport behaved itself very nicely, and I’m really looking forward to better weather, when we can start to use the car to its fullest.

The Second Eurovision Party Of The Year

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The second qualifying heat of the Eurovision Song Contest gave us the opportunity to host a little get-together with Chris, Tanya and Mats yesterday evening. We ate pizza, drank varying amounts of alcohol, and had a generally excellent evening. I actually didn’t get into the mood of things as much as I’d wanted to, this being due to shaking off some kind of illness, but I appreciated the company nonetheless.

As it turned out, the two chaps spent a solid three hours in front of the screen trying to sort out our problem with connecting the Nintendo DS through a recently purchased USB wifi connector. This is a fair amount of time for anyone (or, in this case, two), but these guys know their stuff when it comes to computers, so I’m mightily impresses with the result, which looks like the problem is solved. I just have to wait for Carrie to get back to her house so I can check the connection. Even if there are further problems, huge steps have been taken in the right direction.

Personally, I have learnt a bit about my firewall, which is where the problem stems from.

It was a long time ago we socialised with these three, and considering they all live within a few kilometres of us, it’s ridiculous we don’t do it more often. Hopefully we’ll “see” a bit more of Chris, though, since he’s looking to buy a DS himself.

A Weekend Of Fine Arts And Finer Tubers

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The problem with playing a newly-purchased game (Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, since you ask) is that I have little time to think about, and no time to write, this blog. This weekend, however, has been an eventful one for Freya, and so I need not delve deep to find something to screeve.

Three nights ago we forgot to put a nappy on Freya when she went to bed. For a fair few months now we have not been mentioning a night nappy to Freya (and will only give her one if she specifically asks), waiting, instead, until she was asleep before furnishing her with a nappy.

We actually forgot three nights ago, and it was only when the morning came that we realised what had happened, and at the same time realised the bed was dry. Since then (being a mere two nights) she has remained dry, which makes us (though not the manufacturers of nappies) very glad.

Yesterday we went to a hotel to eat a free brunch, something that came about through Jo’s work. Freya was given a couple of balloon flowers (they kept popping, which may have been due to the friction on the floor – I have no idea), and some new paints and glitter glue from Maria. The lunch itself was average for vegans, but the potatoes they served were fantastic, and Jo and I stuffed ourselves to get our money’s worth.

This weekend has also seen a general tidying-up, sorting out, and making Freya’s room more space effective. This has led to her having access to paints and recently bought felt tips (something that has been strictly supervised, due to possible unwanted redecorating), and she also received today some of my pearl-beads. She always loves playing with them when she gets the opportunity, and so having her own, in an accessible place, must be heaven for her. As soon as she got them she played “pizza” and “soup” with them.

Finally, today, we went to the cinema with her for the first time. We got free tickets from our neighbours (with whom we have become relatively friendly with, to the point where they are welcome to borrow our car when they want), and decided to see Laban, which lasted only forty minutes. Freya enjoyed it all immensely, especially the popcorn, and could have continued watching, but I think this was a good test of her will and concentration.