4th of July Stockholm Style

We got lucky with a gorgeous day on the 4th of July. 4 of us American women from my book club decided that it would be a good idea to gather our various spouses and dogs and boats and head out to the archipelago for a bbq picnic. Our friend Olle found this little gem of a spot south of Stockholm. Olle and Judy's boat proudly displays the American Flag in honor of our 4th of July celebration!
On our way out the water was extremely rough and I've never seen so many boats in the water. The summer vacation season has begun!
We were happy to arrive after the taxing ride out and once we got ourselves settled, realized what a great little perch our spot was turning out to be! It was hot and sunny and delightful. Our friends Mare and Kjell had their doggy, Cappy, with them. He is the absolute antithesis to Tanner! Calm and mild mannered, he found this little hole and just rested there for a better part of the evening! Tanner on the other hand, was dying to be in the middle of everything! Finally after swimming quite a bit, he settled down as well. 3 of us human types ventured into the beautifully clear but startling freezing waters of the Baltic. I was genuinely hot and wanted to cool off and I'd been in the water near town a couple of times so when I took my first plunge I wasn't quite prepared for how chilly it would be! At 15 degrees C, about 60F, let's just say exhilarating was one adjective that came to mind! Actually, it didn't take long for it to feel genuinely refreshing and the tingle began to restore my hot and tired self.Happy couple after a dip in the Baltic Sea.
Soon it was time to get the bbq prepared and I gotta tell you, this group knows how to put together a feast! Thanks to Doug and Kjell for grilling all the meat on the small one time grills as we forgot our little Smokey Joe grill! We had the charcoal, the "Girl Scout water" (lighter fluid), matches, food...but alas, no grill. Thankfully the brilliant Swedish invention of one time disposable grills came to the rescue once again!All of the food was just perfect and we ate as much as could have possibly have wanted to and then some. I had talked my friend Judy into making the delicious raspberry tarts she had made for book club a few months ago and even though she made me wait until we had eaten dinner to try one, they did not disappoint. What could more perfect than a cup of coffee and one of Selma's tarts on a rock in the middle of the archipelago?Much laughter ensued and pretty soon it was after 9.00 p.m. and we realized we had about a 1.5 hour journey back to the city so we began the process of getting packed up and going home. We engaged in one last photo shoot before departing! Don't you love the faux American flag backdrop?! Too funny. (The gal group photos are taken by Robert Cokery, Sandra's charming Australian husband who is a great photographer.)
The laughter and joy on our faces shows what a wonderful afternoon and evening we had all enjoyed.
We didn't blow off any fireworks, but the sun provided a beautiful display of natural beauty. Watching the day come to a close, around 10.30 p.m. is one of my greatest summer pleasures.The pup was worn out and sleepy from his island adventure.We finally landed at our Marina around 11.00 p.m. The bluish hue that the eastern sky takes on still thrills me. I marvel at the light late sky in Stockholm during this time of year. Likewise, I marvel for totally different reasons how dark it is so early in the day during the winter! We got the boat put to bed, drove home and put ourselves to bed, feeling very satisfied by food and friendship.The folks we spent the 4th with are dear friends. As we drove home through the gorgeous array of islands with the sky dancing and changing colors before our very eyes, I was reminded of how special my life in Sweden really is. I had a hard week last week. I was discontent about many things and felt some frustration with living in Sweden. Those feelings have not vanished with one beautiful night in the archipelago but I was reminded of what a gift friendship is and how beautiful and wonderful our life here can be when we choose to invest in the relationships that we've been given and to be thankful for the many ways that joy comes to us.
And so it is that another good day came to an end. Special thanks to my darling husband Douglas who works hard at the boating so I can enjoy it so much. And here's our little Finnmaster that makes all this summer fun possible. I am blessed in so many ways. I need to remember that when grumpiness and a lack of contentment lurks.

Dinner and A Swim

Some people like to enjoy dinner out followed by a movie. Thanks to a string of warm weather days and our little Finnmaster motor boat, we are blessed to be able to enjoy dinner followed by an evening swim in the Baltic. The weather has been exceptional lately and the fact that it is not dusk until well after 10.30 p.m. allows for great evenings on the water. Yesterday we headed out at about 5.00 p.m. with Tanner and our friends Hannah and Sven in tow. I had packed a perfect picnic supper and we were looking for our own little piece of paradise among the rocks and islands strewn throughout the Stockholm waterways. We found this great little perch where all but Hannah enjoyed a relatively warm swim before we indulged in the delicious dinner.This spot was a perfect swimming hole. Remarkably, we are very close to the city center here.
I never tire of the Swedish summer landscape. I always spot at least one waterside home where I feel I could spend a few days or weeks or months. And I really am captivated by the colors of the sky, the foliage and the water.
Tanner is always such a happy canine when he gets to ride along. He was very happy that we were swimming too.There is truly something amazing about being near the water when the high sun begins to change the color of the sky. This was about 9.30 p.m. as make our way back to the marina.
Your entire insides unwind and the mental refreshment that the lapping water and warm breeze allow for is unbeatable. The sky just kept getting prettier and prettier and the magic light that the high summer sun casts across the landscape made for a dazzling ride home.

Perhaps it is tiresome to continue to hear about these wonderful Swedish summer days and yet this is small pay back for the dark, frozen winter we live through. Hot, clear sunny days are not common here in Sweden and so when they come our way, there is a sense that you must drink in every moment of warmth, every second of light because one day, in the not so distance future, you will find yourself struggling the difficulty of the climate here. I know that rain will fall and clouds will come and so for now, during these days where the high pressure works to our advantage, I will continue to rave about my surroundings and take every chance to drink it in from the vantage point of being out on the water.

Boat Duties, Part II

The other "duty" we have at our marina is to participate in a work evening once each summer as well. The great thing about both the guard duty and the work evening are that by the members each taking a turn at these things, our marina fees are kept quite low. Plus, it's a great way to interact with Swedish society and engage the culture on a personal level.
Tonight we had our work duty. Fortunately it was a wonderful day so we arrived at the marina at 18.00 in shorts and T-shirts ready to report for duty. It's always nerve wracking because we still feel like foreign outsiders and we get nervous that we won't be able to understand what they are asking us to do or worse yet, they will give us a horrible, dirty, awful task. Upon arrival we met Hans, an older gentleman and his wife Agneta who have been members of the Lidingö Båtklubb for years and years. He is actually suffering from ALS so he doesn't have much physical ability but he is just about as sweet a person as I've ever met. Of course, he spoke only in Swedish to us and explained our first task for us. He said he had a job just for the two of us that was to basically fix a hose holder on one of the docks that had been removed in order to be repaired. Fortunately another person helped us locate the piece, the screws and the tools and we were off! It was an easy job that didn't take so very long. It became very clear to us that there wasn't much else for us to do. He kept us busy by asking us to check all of the docks to make sure that nothing was out of order. We tightened a few other things, picked up some trash and then I went into the kitchen to help fix the hot dogs and coffee that were to follow all of the hard labor! I had a chance to chat with this delightful couple and they were very gracious and kind. I learned that Hans goes to the boat club every morning at 10.00 to "fika" (have coffee) with the gubbar (old guys). The boat club provides him and his wife with a real sense of community which is lovely given that they are failing a bit in their older years.
After awhile, the other 5 guys who were present working came in and we shared some hot dogs and small talk! The whole evening was very easy and actually quite enjoyable. I really enjoyed speaking with Hans and Agneta, getting a bit of insight into their lives. They enjoyed finding out more about these Americans who are members of their boat club. It was a good chance for me to practice my Swedish and we felt good doing our civic duty to keep our boat club clean and shiny!
We have finished now with work and guard duties for the year! Hurray. Now we can enjoy the Swedish summer while others guard the marina and take care of the business around the grounds!
I love our boat club. It's a beautiful place and I feel lucky that we get to park our boat in this wonderful little corner of lovely Stockholm.

Boat Duties

Once a year we have to spend one full night at the marina "guarding" the boats and making sure there aren't any break-ins or suspicious activities. We try to get a night that is as close to the solstice as it is quite enjoyable to watch the summer sky as darkness really does not fall right now. This is how things looked when we arrived at 11.45 p.m.This year, 3 wonderful young people from church joined us, thinking that an outing such as this would be exciting! Here's the crew ready for action!We think that for them, any excuse to stay up all night was a good enough reason to join us on night duty! Little had changed in the night sky by 12.30.Tanner loves this night too. He gets to be off the leash all night and he runs in and out of the water, chasing all manner of water fowl, swimming, rolling in the grass, and running after other animals that might appear in the boat yard!
Doug and William tried to catch some fish. No luck but look at the reflection off the water! I take pictures and enjoy the view. With the extra company this year, we played a card game where the rules were a bit unclear to me until almost the end which explained why I was losing so badly!
Every so often you are supposed to make rounds around the marina. Usually you have to take photographs, but the camera was broken so every hour or so one or two of us walked the marina checking for the bad guys. What's so funny is that by 3.00 a.m. it's totally light outside so there's no real imminent threat!
It was a gorgeous night and the moon was shining brightly in the twilight sky.

At about 3.00 the horizon lightened considerably and by 3.30 it was all day light once again.Our harbor is situated in such a way that you can't see the sun break over the horizon. At one point, William climbed up on top of the mast holder and was taking a peak out over the landscape. I climbed up half way at about 4.30 and found a lovely view.Check out the mist on the water around 4.30 a.m.

This was the scene at 4.30. Day had fully broken and the morning was breathtaking. The sun was warm and the promise of a wonderful summer day awaited us.

Tanner still has plenty of life left in him even after only sleeping for about 30 minutes the entire night! The morning was so gorgeous that we decided to drive the kids home in our boat! At 6.15 a.m. we loaded up the boat and headed out. It was still and quiet and amazing.By the end of the morning, this is how we all felt!Our night watch had ended and we had enjoyed an early morning ride. The night has been amazingly beautiful and sharing it with the young people from our church who were incredibly helpful and enjoyable to be with. In Swedish, this guard night at the marina is called our Guard Duty. This is one duty that I definitely don't mind, although admittedly, it takes me awhile to recover from a night with little sleep. I guess it feels like jet lag, which is definitely something I'm used to but this time, the way in which I got the jet leg was much more fun than flying in a cramped airplane with bad air and food!Pulling back into the harbor at 10.00 ready for a day off and nap!