Sunday, June 11, 2017

Traveling back in time, hard work and lots of love













Hi my lovelies. I traveled back in time, to another spring and early summer on another latitude, Sweden. Rapeseed fields in full bloom, lilacs just starting... What a privilege to see it all one more time.

I arrived to a garden with high growing grass, green and lush. My Dad took out my brothers' lawn mower and got to work. He is good like that. The goal for this trip was to arrange sleeping places for everyone as we will have visitors from the US this summer. But I managed to do so much more than that. I'm quite amazed and very proud of all I managed to do on my most recent Sweden trip:

• I fixed (well my brother did... not me) a water leak in the bathroom
• I got rid of my old sofa and my TV chair
• I bought a new bed sofa second hand
• Me and my brother picked up the new sofa and put it in my house
• I painted my living room white
• I bought blankets, pillows and bed sheets for our US guests
• I bought new curtains for the living room
• I made the living room pretty
• I cleaned the house from spider web and dust bunnies
• I sorted and organized all drawers in the kitchen
• I wrote a list of what I will be hunting on "loppis" this summer: a small table for laying puzzles, an old cabinet with glass doors to store our textiles, a neat little TV chair, puffs for the living room, breakfast bowls, pretty pitchers, Carl Larsson art, Swedish art motives for my collection, puzzles, board games and more.

On top of all this I also managed to "fika" a lot with my brothers, sister-in-law, dad and a bunch of nephews and a niece. The only thing I didn't do was sitting on my veranda and crochet. Because there was no time. I worked hard from early morning getting up before 7am and not going to bed until midnight... And it was soooo worth it.

When we bought this house in 2014 it came with EVERYTHING included. A fully equipped kitchen, fully furnished and with a machine park out of this world for the garden and any handyman work needed. We only bought some new bed sheets and that was it. We could step right in and just live. It was perfect. After that first summer I strongly felt a need to make it our own. Bring in our own style, color and feel to it. But there is just so much you can do when you are on vacation. Your time is limited between family fun and excursions, relaxation and just being... hardly no time left over for big projects. So whenever I can squeeze in a short trip like this, I stay focused and get things done.

Our first year I freshened up the guest cottage where the kids sleep. Last year I transformed the veranda and Jay cleared out the sheds from old tools, junk and stuff we just don't need. And now I have also made our living room all nice and fresh. I wonder what we will do next? A terrace at the back of the house? A hall make over? Pimp up the kitchen? Or maybe add another guest house for future guests? Well, we're not lacking projects, that's for sure. I love this place and the projects that comes with it, and then I love it even more... It is a true love affair our summer house in Sweden.


PS  1: My super bonus on this trips was to hang out with my cute nephews, watch the glitter in my brother Thomas' eyes when he caught a super big wild salmon out at sea. And lots of laughter, bear hugs and great conversation. My family rocks!

PS 2: My latest WiP grew quite a bit on my flight to and from Sweden. Crochet love on an airplane. :)




Kärlek
Annette


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10 comments :

  1. Thank you for sharing the photos of your lovely summer house... you certainly have been working hard, and it all looks so nice. I would love to have such a nice summer house to spend summers in. We live in Florida, and our summers are so hot and humid, and lots of rain recently, but we really needed the rain, as it has been so dry here for quite awhile. Will miss your blog, but know that you will enjoy all the hours spent with your family. Thank you for all that you have shared. ~Jan C.~

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Jan C
      Thank you for your sweet words. We have family in Florida and my husband was born there. I know how humid and hot it can be from hearing tales from my mother in law on the phone. I hope the rain will help to cool it down somewhat. And THANK YOU for visiting and commenting. My pleasure to share and connect with the world from my corner here in Switzerland.
      Xx
      Annette

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  2. The living room is so bright now that is painted white, so much more cheerful! What a beautiful summer home you have, enjoy your summer!! Cathy in western New York state in the US!! PS, agree with Jan will definitely miss your blog, but so glad you will be enjoying your family. Let's face it, family is everything!!

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    Replies
    1. Hi
      Painting it white is always a safe card. I'm thinking to maybe paint the wall behind the sofa in a duck egg blue though... To add some interest to the plain white. We'll see if I have time this summer. White is a huge difference already. And yes, family is everything. Thanks for visiting today.
      Xx

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  3. Thanks for sharing your Swedish home with us! It's coming along nicely! How about another cottage and then holding crochet summer camp?! I would love to visit Sweden and crocheting with you in that setting would be so much fun! Enjoy your summer and family time!

    Karen B. In Virginia, USA

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    Replies
    1. Hi Karen
      It's funny you mention that, crochet boot camp. Last year I was seriously thinking about it. We had big plans on extending the cottage and make it nice for our future retirement and at the same time make it comfortable enough to hold guests as well. I had this idea of holding My Rose Valley Sweden Retreats with crochet at night... But the building plans unfortunately fell through and our cottage stays small and very simple for us to enjoy. Maybe one day we will give our plans another try. And maybe one day I will find an alternative spot/B&B or similar to do my MRV Retreats. It's a nice thought. I'll let you know if I ever get around to it. :)
      Xxx
      Annette

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  4. Hi Annette,
    This post is just so...refreshing. I feel like I was there with you. We sure got a lot done!
    ; )

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    Replies
    1. Yaaay! Hard work gives results. Well done! (Twink!)
      Xx
      Annette

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  5. It's so great to look back and see the reward of work having been done! It looks beautiful!! And I think that the cute littlest guy looks like you...just saying...hugs from NYC :)

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  6. Wow, you have been busy. Very well done you, and it must be very satisfying to see all you've done. You're making a lovely job of it, I'm sure the guests will feel very welcome there. CJ xx

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Thank you so much for visiting my world. I love reading your comments and I do my utterly best to respond to questions and sweet messages. Thank you again for popping by.

Kärlek
Annette

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