Oh happy day... oh happy da-ayyy!

As I promised myself (and you) yesterday, I went telemark skiing today. And, believe it or not - the weather was with me. Bluebird for "opening day"... anyone who knows about the bliss of having sticks on ones feet knows that that's the dream, right there.

Yes, I did feel a teeny bit silly as I fastened my skis amongst the neighbors getting their mail or walking their dogs or whatever else they did. I decided to just call out "hej" and smile. It worked. (As in, nobody stopped me from skiing). And B, B was jumping around me like he had been stung by a bee... in excitement that is. He knows that as soon as I tie those sticks to my feet, I become fast. And fast me, he likes. Little did he know about me skiing on mostly flat land... but hey, he lives truly in the moment and the excitement at the time was worth it.

I, for my part, was also very excited when I took the following self-portrait:


Can you smell my hunger for making it a long loop? The desire to chase Beefy on sticks through the sticks and tackle everything that will come my way (like, for example, the rocks that are barely covered, the tight corners in thorny brush, the crossing of fences - and frozen (?) water ways). Yup, I had fun - even when the going became tough. But my feet hurt. Forgot about that minor detail. Hope I get used to the boots once again quickly.

My already slow speed was slowed down even more by some really sweet photo ops. I cannot help it, the sun is at a low angle and just gets the best out of B and the lovely landscape. He endured the stops (mostly) with grace. And otherwise with a couple of heart-shaped treats...

OK, OK, there were a few spots where I actually got to go up... and down :) --- that stuff is the greatest. Kinda makes me wanna go somewhere where there are mountains. Not that this is the first time that thought crossed my mind. Get this... I started skiing when I was 3... barely. And yes, it was more so: I was started skiing when I was 3... barely. I now am 32 years old - meaning I will be a snow _______ (insert funny term) for 30 (!!!!) years by the time this winter is over. Holy cow! Never thought of it that way. Good thing there is blogging. My point was, though, that this may become my 2nd winter ever (!) without a season pass. Think that one through for a minute if you may...

Wait, that was not a minute! ;)

Anyways... Beefy and I enjoyed ourselves mostly (minus my aching feet) and are eager to go again. Tomorrow we will actually tackle some snow-shoeing with friends. We are planning on visiting my potential future work place (the tiniest ski hill on the planet) - mostly so I can get a feel for the place to then really rock the interview on Tuesday... and then we're gonna play in the forest at a lake nearby. Should be fun. Plus it's gonna stay serious minus degrees here for a bit. That's how the ice grows. Which is really important for people here. But more about that whenever N has dragged me out to do some of that favorite sport of hers. It includes the danger of breaking through the ice into the lake or sea below in one's winter clothes... Ay!

Before I end my rambling I would like to let you know that I am officially NO BEGINNER at the Swedish language anymore!! How cool is that. Even though I call some of my activities Swedish learning I don't feel as if I have really done that much official Swedish studying. Anyways, I just took a test with Folksuniversitetet (where I may or may not sign up for a course at some point) and ended up in the category A2. Below me (literally speaking) are nybörjare and A1s... above me are B1s and C1s and maybe some others. Cool, isn't it?

Maybe my not so scientific learning (e.g. changing FaceBook language to svenska, watching Dagbok från en Motorcykel in Spanish with Swedish subtitles - hey, that takes some serious skill!!) is actually paying off. Well, one can always hope for the best.