Another week done and dusted

What a whirlwind of a week and I am NOT complaining - I LOVE it!
It feels like some has finally found the on-button for this carousel called life again, and it's slowly started to turn. Just about in the right speed at the moment, to get used to it all again. But if it was up to me it could go even a little bit faster, I just enjoy everything going on right now so much!

This week I have played another Americano padel tournament, and some Tuesday-padel too. Sunday morning was a bit warm, but still ok; but the weather Tuesday night was absolutely perfect, great temperature, no sun, small breeze, aaahhh!
I have done two tours at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, and as the museum has been busy rotating tons of artwork, I have been busy in between reading up on all the new things we have now on display. Massive, massive job, which in a way is never-ending - but just the type of reading I like! So many lovely new interesting pieces to incorporate into my future tours!

 

I have also been to the hairdresser, and decorated the house ever so slightly for this Halloween weekend. The kids don't really care anymore, but I bought a gorgeous handmade bat-decoration off a lady who runs her own business. It's always great to support small businesses, and isn't it absolutely adorable..?

Kids have hung out with some friends, now it's the weekend so we are taking it easy. I have another tour tomorrow, and also I should try and get on with my Women and Surrealism UNI-exam which is due next week...

We have also been eating really good food this week:
Chili and ginger chicken with two beans
Lemon butter cod with potatoes and green salad
Lamb and zucchini couscous
Steak taco salad with lime dressing
Poke bowl with chicken

Six weeks done

This has been another very happening week!
Exam week for me, so I have been head down in the books, studying 16th century dress codes and interiors. Funnily enough I have still had time for lots of other activities: a visit to the Expo2020 on Sunday, Korean lunch on Tuesday and padel that same evening. Yesterday I celebrated Linda and today I had lunch with Frida after having played padel this morning. In between all that I have managed to finish the exam though, so now it's onwards and upwards with the next syllabus which starts on Monday.

The kids have started their Extra Curricular Program at school this week. Lucas is participating in a course about Business Quantitative Techniques on Sunday afternoons and Linnea is playing netball, on Wednesday mornings at 06.15. Yes - before school... So extra early starts for us those days.

Menu this week was:
Lamb meatballs with ratatouille
Salmon with sweet potato, tzatsiki and salad
Tuna pasta for some/Left overs for others
South African curry with geelrys
Pizza for some/Left over for others

Optimism?

What is that?! Is that optimism I feel..? Maybe, just a little bit, but very carefully. What a strange feeling!
The weather is still too hot for my taste (and hotter than usual this time of year, I would say), but at least - it's October, it's coming! Sucky September is now behind us and every day we get one day closer to the best time to be here in the UAE - wintertime!

The weekend was really, really lovely, because Nathan was off it felt like a real weekend! Kids hung out with their friends on Thursday night, and Nathan and I went to the movies. First time since pre-Covid, and it was absolutely fab! Sure, watching movies in the comfort of your home is nice, but that's all we have been doing for the past 1,5 years, and I didn't realise how much I'd missed the big screen! The latest James Bond-movie wasn't too bad either, so it was a success.

On Friday we hung out with good friends and had a great night with drinks by the pool, a delicious dinner, competitive ping pong playing and all around socialising and good fun. Just what we all needed, more of that please!

Saturday was down-time day, also well needed as the weeks get more and more intense for each week, for all. This Sunday started with a bang with kids back at school, Nathan at work and me off to Dubai for a whole day at the Expo2020 before I have exam week with one of my UNI-courses ahead of me. Bring it!

2nd week done

In the car this morning going to school Linnea said "It already feels like we are half-way through the term", and I agree - it sure does! The kids have settled right back into school rhythm real quick, although we are all still super tired both in the evenings and when the alarm goes...

So we closed the book on the second week of school and I am still unsure if it was a better week than last or not.
I did spend four hours of my Sunday last week chit-chatting with my friend Frida over coffee and cake. A great start to any week obviously! I also really enjoyed the Swedish Ladies breakfast morning on Thursday, but that was about all the fun I had last week.

Other than that, last week was about boring jobs, and watching 'Schitt's Creek'. Took the kids for their PCR-tests for school, took Lucas for his eye-test for the drivers license and to the Driving School to open his traffic file and for his theory lessons. I sat at the hairdressers a whole morning, only to end up with a way shorter style than I meant to, and Nathan had his vaccine booster shot.
Linnea was the only one being a bit sociable this weekend. I took her to the mall on Thursday afternoon for her to hang out with her friends. Instead of dropping her and picking her up I decided to stay behind, which was a bad idea as I got bored already after half an hour... So I spent a while people-watching in a café, then another while walking round and round closing my rings.

Anyway, somber September continues and I wish I could say I'm doing my best to beat the blues, but the reality is that I'm just trying to at least roll with it.

This weeks menu for the archives:
Cheese-filled meat loaf with lemon roasted potatoes and tomato & pepper sauce
Sausage stroganof (A complete failure. I can't seem to find the right mortadella to replace the 'falukorv' needed)
Chicken satay with vegges and rice (Apparently was a success as Lucas wanted the leftovers in his lunchbox the next day)
Lasagna
Take-away Chinese
Fish & Chips
Sushi at the mall

25 April - 1 May

Sunday and ANZAC Day and padel got canceled again. We are a bit vulnerable when it's just four of us that have it booked in, once someone has a last minute issue. But no biggie, I jumped on the treadmill and watched Lets Dance (= Swedish version of Dancing with the stars) instead.
Then Nathan and I went to sort out our new sofas, had a look both here and there and ended up ordering one at IKEA and most probably decided on the other one from Homecenter. It's all coming together. Next is to decide on wall colour and book the painters, we collected two quotes today.
In the evening I went to a very giggly Game Night with red wine and lasagna served up, and the others at home had grilled chicken for dinner.

Monday and a really fun padel game this morning. A lot of long, good runs. I am starting to reach my limit though, it's really hot and I've suffered head aches for the rest of the day the last few times after playing. Let's see.
Nathan went to work and I prepared the last things before the painters come, and decided on paint scheme (eeek!). Pulled pork soft tacos for dinner with a bit of Vem bor här? on the TV with Linnea.

Tuesday and Nathan and I were both up way before the alarm. I didn't sleep particularly well, I guess there is too much going on at the moment (compared to how quiet life has been for the past year) so there is a bit of overload in my mind.
I had a seminar today in my "other" Uni-course, about non-Western art, and today we discussed Japanese manga. So fun! I knew nothing about manga so really listened carefully, and after the seminar I dove right into the assignment. Beef ragu and macaroni for dinner when Nathan got home from work, and some last preparations for the painting team for tomorrow.

Wednesday and BIG day around the house. Painters started early in the morning and maintenance team came to work on the water pump box in the garden. The cleaners turned up in the afternoon and since the rest of the house was chaos they did a top-to-bottom kitchen clean. Add to that the usual deliveries and you understand that me trying to do anything else than just sit in the middle of it all supervising and answering questions, was pretty much impossible...

Love Linneas choice of colour! I must admit I was dubious at first, that it was going to be too dark, but it turned out really great. Especially since she is only having it on two walls.

I managed to exercise late afternoon when Nathan was home again, and then I took the kids for their PCR-tests, and then Linnea and I took off to order the second sofa and get a new armchair for her room. We were in such luck, exactly the one she wanted was in the "As-is"-section at IKEA for less than half the normal price! Good thing my car is a beast, so we could just chuck it in the back with no trouble at all!
Hot dogs at IKEA for dinner on the run!

Thursday and such an exciting day as the painters were now starting downstairs. I was so nervous, but so pleased once the colour went up, it was just as I wanted!
Our new TV arrived and it got mounted in the evening once the painters had left (apparently the wall was dry enough they said). So we could have fläskpannkaka (thick pancake with pork) for TV-dinner!

Friday and Valborgsmässoafton and all morning and most of the early afternoon was spent moving furniture and things back into place. We are still waiting for the things we sold to be picked up, for our new sofas, for things to go back on the walls, and other things, but it's starting to give us an idea. I like the one side of the room, the other might take a bit more moving about... not sure.
After a quick workout Linnea and I took Lucas to the mall as he was meeting his friends to go to the movies. Linnea and I did another IKEA shop-up, and filled the car with new rugs, some curtains, my new reading chair and some other bits and pieces. Then we brought home Burger King for dinner. Linnea mounted my IKEA recliner all by herself! It's coming together slowly. It's not all done but you can get a small taster of one corner:

Saturday and so thankful both my weekend mornings have started with coffee in bed. The simple pleasures and a great start to the day.
The day went with more moving, sorting and fixing around the house, and exercising. Nathan and Lucas went with Valle and Henke to the shooting range and tried shooting clay targets for the first time. They had a good time and came home to pasta and meat sauce for dinner.

21 - 27th February 2021

Sorry, not sorry - I can't quite let the diary form go, luckily it's my blog and I do what I want with it!

Sunday was such a good day! I had a really good padel coaching session in the morning, I think I played better than ever before. Then I joined the 'International Tourist Guide Day' celebrations via Zoom, and after that it was so nice to get to pick the kids up from SCHOOL! Who would've thought that seeing school buses drive around the neighbourhood would bring such joy!
Nathan was at work, Lucas took a nap and Linnea and I popped to Souq Planet to get some more lunch box supplies. Then we had an easy dinner of pasta and sausages.

Monday felt like Tuesday already, as Sunday had been such a long day - in a good way, it was almost like two days in one! I did my exercise and then got stuck into some Uni work. So much that I forgot to go pick up the kids!! Ha ha! Well, Nathan was home too, but both of us got surprised when the phone went at 14.10 with Lucas wondering where I was... Oups!
Steak and veggies for dinner.

Tuesday I sure was on the ball when it came to picking the kids up! Exercise in the morning, only did the minimum on treadmill, no real mojo - and then my LAD Study Group. We have finally got into the "juicy" chapters, where there is just endless things to discuss and highlight!
Nathan went to the track in the evening, and then we had Sloppy Joes for dinner.

Wednesday was a busy day. Nathan was working and I went to padel with the Swedish crew in the morning - there was nine of us playing, so two full courts (and a spare)! Great fun!
After picking the kids up we went straight for their PCR-tests out in Al Bahia. I also got a PCR, from the Mobile Testing Bus which came to the compound!
And in the evening, I dressed up and went to Emirates Palace for a night out at their 'Hakatini Night'. There was actually 15 of us, but as you still only can sit 4 a table, I only kind of talked with Katarina, Susanne and Mi at my table. We enjoyed dim-sum and super tasty cocktails, or mocktails for me, as I was driving.

Thursday Nathan went to work again, and I had another padel game. Good fun as usual, and even in the rain for a bit of it! I didn't stay for coffee as I had another coffee date at the LAD with my colleague Emilie. She hadn't seen the new temporary exhibition yet, so we did a browse through that, then had coffee and chatted for a bit. I did some research in trying to decide for the theme of my big essay coming up, and I think I have finally narrowed it down. I bought the catalogue as I think I'll use some of the artwork from this exhibition for my work.

In the evening the boys took on the drifting experience at the Yas Marina Circuit, as blogged about earlier in the week. I wanted to go out for dinner after, but got voted down and instead there was pizza ordered for the sofa back home (although I opted to have spicy lentil and tomato soup).

Friday morning I had longed for a sleep-in, but I woke up well before 8 am and with a head ache. Duh. Unfortunately I didn't feel all that for much of the day. I drove Lucas to and picked him up from volleyball, but that was about all I was in action all day. I think it might have been a bit of social hangover from an unusually full schedule and lots of new impressions the past few days - not that I am complaining at all!
Nathan was at work and Linnea took a chill day too. Soulful take away for dinner.

Saturday I managed to sleep in at least part 8 am, and started the day without a head ache. Nathan had work, I did my exercise, and then I had promised Linnea to take her to the mall. We ended up spending most of the afternoon, or actually ALL of the afternoon at IKEA and Yas Mall; but we came home with the things we had been looking for, groceries, and sushi and shawarma for dinner.
Then I had an end-of-the-week-bath with some Epsom salts, Swedish TV and a G&T (of course!) before calling it on this week. Bring on the next one!

A February Friday... and Saturday

I have said it before, I'm no fan of weekends. We don't really have "real" weekends, because Nathan so often works parts or all of them.
I don't know why but we always end up doing absolutely nothing on the weekends. Sure, I have done my exercise, Nathan went for a big bike ride yesterday morning and to work this morning. Lucas hung out with a friend, and Linnea has caught up with some school work. But nothing special at all, compared to other people who seem to do most of their fun things on the weekends.
I seem to have another strategy of filling up the weeks instead, to avoid boredom.

We ordered way, way too much take-away on Friday night which took us all through today as well. Yay for not having to cook at all, but a bit overloaded on Chinese now after we had left-overs both for lunch and dinner. I hate waste though, so there you go.

Corona Diary, Day 318-324

Day 318, Sunday 17 January
Oh how I had hoped today was the day the kids were going to get some normality back in their lives by getting to go to school, but helas no... As Nathan says - it is what it is, unfortunately.
I started my day with a nice walk in the sun with my friend Frida. 

 

It was well needed as life really doesn't feel much fun at the moment. A lot of disappointing changes, not just about school but regarding travel restrictions too. My neck hurts from constantly shaking my head in disbelief, I fail to see the logic in the decision making.
Made Linnea's favourite Mexican Stack for dinner.

Day 319, Monday 18 January
Another few hours on the treadmill today. Everything else feels really meaningless at the moment.
I started the new Uni-courses, but unfortunately the main lecture is scheduled for 4pm my time... zzz... not my most focused time of the day! Felt good to get stuck into a new subject though.
Salmon, veggies and okonomiyaki (Japanese cabbage "frittata") for dinner and then I had made 'semlor' for dessert after seeing way too many of them in my social media feeds lately. So proud, they came out looking real good, and tasting even better!

 

Day 320, Tuesday 19 January
Super foggy outside these days in the mornings. Quite happy actually I don't need to drive anywhere, it's like milk out there! Instead I did some exercise, read some articles for Uni, took a nap - and then went out for a Ladies Night with my LAD-ladies! Still only able to sit four per table meant we were a bit spread out, but it was really good to catch up in person, as a change to our weekly Zoom-calls.

Day 321, Wednesday 20 January. Birthday!
Started the day with presents and balloons, then Nathan made the kids pancakes while I set off for some padel. Lucas had asked for roti for lunch, and then we had another semla as dessert. In the evening we went for sushi at a place we hadn't been before, with a view over the Maqta Channel. (All the photos are in our birthday-post from earlier in the week). All in all a really good day.

Day 322, Thursday 21 January
It's crazy how different the weeks are at the moment. Some I don't even leave the house for four-five days in a row, then this one, I've been really busy every day!
Today I went for another walk with Frida over in Al Zeina. 5 km around her neighbourhood and a coffee at the beach afterward. Better make the most of the perfect weather while it's there, although this morning I wore my hoodie for almost all the walk as it was 14 degrees when we started.
Then off to the hair dresser. I had planned to have my hair done before my birthday, but unfortunately they had to reschedule me for today, so I didn't get to look all pretty and fresh last night, but hey.
I was so pleased with the cut last time that I was still real excited for today. Decided to stick to the slightly shorter style as I had so easily been able to style it this time around, a real good cut apparently.

Nathan thinks it's a scam and that I'm little by little cutting it all off..! Ha ha, not quite, but I enjoy this shorter length. Pasta Bolognese and a G&T in my new glasses for dinner.

Day 323, Friday 22 January
Another blank day, at least for most of us in the family. Lucas had his school volleyball thing at lunch time, and tonight he was out having dinner at Yas Marina, and monster shakes at Black Tap, with three of his friends as a bit of a birthday celebration. The rest of us, well, we just made this day pass, and had honey mustard chicken and rice for dinner.

Day 324 Saturday 23 January
Today I turned my daily schedule upside down, and spent the morning working on the first assignment for my Museology Uni-course. Linnea and I did a little excursion to the Game Shop in Al Wahda Mall during the afternoon, and I got myself some belated birthday presents.

Then I did todays exercise in the early evening as I wanted to have a bath after, and inaugurate my new bath-tray! The pillow and the tray worked great - the G&T-glass dried out real fast though...

We also had birthday cake today instead of the other day, spreading out the goodies over the week a bit, ha ha! But you shouldn't miss out on blowing out candles for your birthday, so better late than never!

Corona Diary, Day 283-289

Day 283, Sunday 13 December. Lucia Day. 3rd of Advent
I started my day at the padel court with Petra and Coach Javier. Petra and I have decided to get some coaching sessions, before we start developing bad habits and to get a better grasp of the game faster. It's nice to do them together, and have a coffee after!
Linnea went to the mall with her friend Kashmira to do some Christmas shopping, and Nathan, Lucas and I hung about at home.
This year there was no Lucia celebrations at the Ambassadors Residence of course. So Linnea and I enjoyed the Lucia-celebrations from Jukkasjärvi via SVTPlay that little bit more.

Not a big change from normal Lucia for us actually, we usually watch them online.

Day 284, Monday 14 December
This morning Linnea and I went to the Jubail Mangrove Park for a walk and a coffee with Susanne and the girls. Another stunning morning.

Nathan spent a few hours (yes) on the bike, and I did some studying. Mexican stack for dinner.

Day 285, Tuesday 15 December
This morning we got the kids up early (8am!) to go play padel again. Yay kids!
The rest of the day was spent at home. Nathan spent another few hours in the pain cave, and I had one of those days when I took a nap in the afternoon. Prawn pasta and 'The Christmas Chronicles 2' for dinner.

Day 286, Wednesday 16 December
Today I did a virtual tour of the Qasr Al Hosn for the Swedish ladies. It went really well, and I'm very proud of myself of this new venture. I had prepared a really nice presentation, where I had learned how to add movies and everything.

And after having done my weekly Uni-lecture, I weighed up all the Zoom-ing of the morning with some Christmas baking in the afternoon.
Nathan and Lucas went to play padel with Coach Javier this morning. Then they went to the mall for some Christmas shopping, although it just looked like they came home with a bunch of new sports clothes - for themselves..! Nathan cooked some Thai Garlic Pork for dinner.

Day 287, Thursday 17 December
This morning it was time to enjoy some of the Christmas baking at a nicely set table. Homemade lussebullar, saffron gooey cake and shortbread, gingerbread snaps and Skumtomtar - and an orange and gingerbread frozen cheesecake. Om nom nom!

One week to go to Christmas, and the Aramex-guys are coming to see us every day at the moment.., ha ha!

Day 288, Friday 18 December
Got some exercise in this morning finally. I'm kind of out of routine with it all. I do exercise every day, but I seem to have trouble finding the good mojo. I don't enjoy it the same as I used to, I think part of the reason is I get energy from so many other things at the moment.
The others went to the movies this afternoon to see the new 'Wonder Woman'-movie, but I opted for some alone-time at home. It's pretty rare at the moment! I had my failed Pav Christmas Tree moment and then we had pan-fried salmon, warm potato salad and avocado-and-tomato salad for dinner.

Day 289, Saturday 19 December
Linnea went to see a friend today, and the rest of us got the day to pass with the normal things - exercise for some, gaming for some and more baking for me! Saffron and pistachio biscotti today.
Another week done and dusted - next week we do Christmas.

Corona Diary, Day 276-282

Day 276, Sunday 6 December. 2nd of Advent
Today was the first time this term we saw below 20 degrees on the school run! Winter is here!
With Nathan at work and Lucas at school, Linnea and I spent our morning studying and having rice pudding for lunch, yum!
Exercise was done in the afternoon before we had daal for dinner (yes, it's a favourite, and so fast to make!) and some TV.

Day 277, Monday 7 December
Today I did a walk about the mangrove park with Susanne after school drop off, before I had a long 2,5h training session with the LAD. Good balance of outside and inside this morning!
Tried a new Cookidoo recipe, chicken meatballs and Mexican rice with beans for dinner. Yeah nah, will not do that one again.

Day 278, Tuesday 8 December
Padel! Padel! Padel! Nathan and I played with Petra, Susanne and Tina today. Great to try our new rackets, but we had trouble getting the play to take off, as we are all new beginners.

Day 279, Wednesday 9 December
Time for Uni lecture again, this week without sitting by the pool at the same time unfortunately. Otherwise a pretty boring day. Nathan spent several hours on his bike, I did my exercise and Linnea and Lucas their school work.
Linnea finished baking with the gingerbread dough, after she had made us Chicken & bacon pasta for dinner, although Nathan went out for dinner with a friend.

Day 280, Thursday 10 December
Moooore padel! This morning I played with the SWEA ladies again. Getting better every time!

School was out early as it was the last day before the winter break. Linnea and I went to celebrate the holidays with a Festivitea at the Westin, together with Linda and her boys.
Then we went straight to Galleria Mall to sort out some Christmas shopping, had dinner at PF Changs and got home really late. Busy day!

In the meantime the boys (of course) had ordered their dinner and were planted in the sofa when we got back.

Day 281, Friday 11 December
Nathan and I got up early this morning to get going and sort some Christmas-related things out before the crowds hit the mall. Just the two of us for an early lunch, and jobs got sorted. Quite a lazy day all around (apart from the daily exercise, of course!), even had pizza for dinner.

Day 282, Saturday 12 December
I tried a new hairdresser today, on recommendation from a friend who looked absolutely fab last time she had been here. I was very pleased too, with the colour, the cut and the whole experience. But above all with the blow-dry which held the whole day, and if I wasn't sporting tomorrow, would probably look good then too.

Lucas saw some friends today, and Nathan went down to Yas Marina to sit on a friends boat and watch the qualifying of the GP. It's really weird that it's F1-weekend, but since there are no spectators this year, it's without the usual full-on circus that comes with it.

Corona Diary, Day 248-254

Day 248, Sunday 8 November
So this week started with new rules, again, on entering the emirate. We had hoped it would let up soon, but instead it's getting increasingly difficult. Now you need a negative PCR or DPI test not older than 48h, to cross the border into Abu Dhabi. If you are staying on you need another PCR test on the 4th day, AND a further PCR test on the 8th day. Yeah, we are not going anywhere anytime soon.

I went to Hudayriyat Island with Linda, a bit of a walk and a swim to start the week!
Nathan went to the SideHustle warehouse to help Chad out with labeling the newest shipment, and the kids had school. Our favourite Skinnymixers pork fillet and homemade bearnaise for dinner while we started our latest series 'The Queens Gambit'.

Day 249, Monday 9 November
I had a busy day on Monday. Morning walk at the Mangrove Park with my friend Kathleen and in the afternoon two Zoom trainings with the Louvre Abu Dhabi.
Unfortunately it was also a day of bad news. First there was another round of firings among the pilots, although it seems like Nathan kept his job this time as well, phew. Such a stressful time this is, feeling like your whole livelihood is in jeopardy all the time. Of course it turned out to a bit of a down day for Nathan, facing now to have to say goodbye some of his colleagues and friends, again.
Then school very disappointingly let us know that "We will welcome all students back to school in January" actually means there will be a one week on-one week off schedule for the Grade 6-10 students. Booo!

Lucas went to have dinner with his friends at the Mall and I had a bit of a walk-about there when I had dropped him off. Checked out the Christmas stuff in the shops to cheer me up, and started actually looking forward to decorating and enjoying the festive times. I might let Linnea convince me to start earlier than I had thought.

Day 250, Tuesday 10 November
We had about 3,5 hours of virtual Parent-Teacher conferences this morning, which by the way worked even better than the normal ones I would say! All on time and with none of that endless walking back and forth between buildings! Good feedback mostly, for both the kids. No surprises, just the usual stuff really - "can do better", "need to push a bit more", "could do with some better time management" etc.
Having done all the conferences in one go then meant the rest of the day (and tomorrow) is free, as conferences are always scheduled across two days.

Linnea went to the mall with a friend, and I went and checked out the newly opened 'Art Space' there. Nathan had a sleep since he was about to go flying all night, and then we had our favourite fast food combo sushi & shawarmas (so easy) for dinner.

Day 251, Wednesday 11 November
An extra day off. Nathan landed early this morning and had a bit of a sleep. The rest of the day we were all just lounging around at home.

Day 252, Thursday 12 November
So I was in the city today, at the Jysk shop, and at the second Art Space location.
Linnea baked the first gingerbread cookies of the season (all by herself!), and after a quick trip to IKEA to get a big 10 L pot (in preparation for one of the weekend dinners) we had some Creamy Satay Chicken for dinner and watched TV.

Day 253, Friday 13 November
I dropped Nathan to spend the afternoon and evening at the Craft Beer Event at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club. Linnea spent her afternoon perfecting her icing skills on her gingerbread cookies, and I cooked a great herb-crusted eye beef fillet with cauliflower and parsnip mash for dinner. Winner dinner, even with the kids!

Day 254, Saturday 14 November
One of those days that I am not very fond of, that feels like a waste of life - especially now when weather is so good, and while we can go out. But I seem to be the only one who wants to "do things". Linnea did go a friends house for a few hours while Lucas hid in his room and Nathan lazed in front of the TV. I attempted to do some studying but gave up and have one of those afternoons just staring into the blue (ha ha, who am I kidding - into the beige!) instead. *Sigh*
Dinner took hours to prepare, but it was worth it, very yummy pork knuckles! First boiled nearly two hours in our new big pot and then in the oven for another hour and a bit - you could hear the crackling pop as they came out..!

Corona Diary, Day 241-245

I mentioned in an earlier post that I felt like the blog turned a bit one-sided last month, as I only wrote about our outings and adventures. I am really happy that we have had outings and adventures to write about, of course! Although I do also want to remember all these other days. The normal, or maybe not so normal days, because of the whole Covid-situation. So I decided to start weekly wrap-ups again.

As Linnea is still not going to school but doing e-learning from home, we are still counting the days since the last school day - which today is 245 (!) by the way...
On a positive note regarding schools, this Tuesday we finally had official news that they will resume for ALL students in January. Yes, good. But, we are not celebrating yet. That's still TWO months away! A lot can change between now and then.
Plus, why wait two more months?? I still fail to understand why these kids have to stay home from school, yet they are welcome to visit theme parks, beaches, shopping malls, cinemas, libraries, tourist sights, sporting activities etc; basically everything else is open as normal, but schools. Duh.

Boel: I have had a lovely week this week. Last week I actually almost got a bit socially overloaded (only almost!), so I tried to make this week a bit more balanced. On Sunday I went to the LAD with a few of my colleagues, as we had heard there had been rotations in some galleries and we wanted to check them out. New artwork (on loan) in place - by Van Gogh, Monet, Degas and others! Joy! I can't wait to present these on my tours!

Monday I got some outdoor exercise done at the Jubail Mangrove Park with Linda; and Tuesday it was time for my Zoom Study Group with the LAD girls. I so enjoy these sessions. This week we had a particularly good one with lots of interesting presentations and rewarding discussions. Wednesday I was back on Zoom - to do my very first Virtual Guided Tour! It was a success, worked really well actually! It was a tour of Masdar City for a group of Swedish ladies.

It was also time this week to start the next syllabus in my Uni course. It's called "The Mask of Beauty" and covers the genre of portraiture art during the 16th-19th centuries. Super interesting.

Nathan: Nathan has been working a bit this week. He's had early starts though, so he has been back home well before lunch time already. He took his bike and went to the track on Sunday night. He has been on a roll with his biking and exercising for quite a few months now. Good stuff.

Lucas: Not much happening there. School and homework. At least we get the pleasure of his company for mealtimes, just.

Linnea: Her at least we see a bit more of as she still prefers to do her school work at the dining table. I guess she likes the company. I took her to the Pink Shops on Tuesday as she got a big easel in birthday gift from her friends, so now she needed more canvases. It's nice that she is spending her spare time doing something creative, rather than just watching TV.

Freedom!

This week has not only been the second week of school/e-learning, it's also been the week where Linnea and I were finally allowed to get out into society again! Saturday was our last day of the 14 day never-ending-quarantine and Sunday I was in the car early morning ready to go... - anywhere!

We've been rather busy. I've seen Linda, Linnea needed to get to the dentist to mould a new retainer as she broke one part of hers in Sweden; I went to the hairdresser and had a few other necessary appointments, and Linnea wanted to come along to do groceries on Sunday afternoon.

My University lectures started, and the Louvre Abu Dhabi is currently running a recurrent training course for us External Guides, so I have been following that as well as some independent seminars about art history and presenting in a museum. Tomorrow it's time for another visit to LAD with one of my colleagues to see if anything has changed or rotated over the summer.

Some summer traditions

Yes this was definitely a different trip than our normal summer visits. There was a lot of things we didn't get to do - we didn't visit any family or friends (other than my parents); we didn't do any inside activities like visiting museums, bounce parks etc; and there was no big shopping days (I still did some shopping, but online!) etc.

We didn't even get to hug Mormor and Morfar. Even though we stayed at their place, we were really careful and kept distance, used surface disinfectant on everything every day, and washed our hands incessantly. 

But there was still things we could do, just like every year - like getting to eat a whole "Kexchoklad", but only out on the grass... (Definitely NOT in the car..!)

Play croquet and Kubb (=Viking Chess):

 

 

Doing puzzles:

Going on bike rides: