Going places, doing things.

As much as I started this blog with intentions of documenting

the process of decorating our apartment from scratch.

 Making crafty things, and maybe catching the eye of someone 

who might like to employ me...

Life happens, and other things take place.

The loss of a loved pet can bring up all those feelings of grief 

in exactly the same manner as losing a family member.

Our daily routine, suddenly upended 

and even the smallest things bring up a memory of her.

Of course there are times when I think to myself,

- Gosh, she was only a cat! 

(And I'm sure that others are thinking the same when I go on about her...)

However any living being, whom we interact with during our lives 

will always be difficult to part with if you know you won't ever get to see them again.

 One sure thing I've learned about death and grief, 

is that you can never be sure how you will react to it until it happens.

As it turned out, we couldn't be in our apartment for the first few days. 

So for the first time in a long time we were able to go on a few day trips together. 

For the whole day, not having to split up or cut it short 

in order to get home and look after the sick cat! 

First of all, we went to Trollhättan which is about an hour north of Gothenburg, 

It also lies on the Göta Älv canal 

which directly links the west coast to the largest lake in Sweden.

Some pretty big boats use this waterway so there is a very impressive dam and lock system, which make for some quite spectacular viewing at Trollhättan!

We also came across a rather large gathering of classic cars which apparently happens every Wednesday in the summer if the weather is nice. 

Our next day trip took us west, 

out to the coast and then further on by boat to the island of Styrsö.

Some of the views were postcard perfect! 

I really enjoyed sneaking a look in to some of the back yards 

and checking out the sweet little hideaways.

There are no cars on most of the islands out in the archipelago. 

The closest thing to cars are the electric golf buggies, 

or small motorbikes with a large tray on the front for carrying your stuff 

(or your girlfriend). 

Some of the smaller islands don't even allow these mopeds and the way of lugging all your stuff around is by good old fashioned wheelbarrow!

Now that we're feeling a bit more refreshed and sociable, 

we've been able to hang out with some friends, 

enjoying bbq's and beers and the good life! 

  Through all of this, 

I have to say that we've been very lucky to have such wonderful friends 

who've given us lots of love and support. 

We've even made some new friends, including this guy!

Doesn't he just melt your heart!?