happy may day.

today is a holiday in sweden. yep. a random tuesday. well, not so random. it’s the first day of may. MAY DAY! and over here, that means a day off to celebrate the beginning of spring (after a night filled with bonfires and bbq’s). it means other things too, like protests, etc., but i’m not gonna go into that. for most people around here, it’s a day to relax and get into the spring/summer spirit. for me, it has been a very calm, lazy day off spent soaking up the gorgeous swedish weather. fiiiiiiiinally. we’ve had a few days in a row of spectacular blue skies & warm sunshine & it feels like spring is here to stay. i won’t mention the fact that there is snow & rain in the weather forecast for the weekend…

here are some pics from the valborg (coming of spring) celebration last night. we met at a camp/retreat site about 20 minutes outside of the city. oh yeah. out in the country. so, yes, i had a little nature fix, which means that i had a chance to breathe really deep. dirt, birds, trees, mud, bugs, leaves. perfect.

 ahhhh…

 bbq time!

 game time! ok. i admit it. i do not like games. i always feel so stupid. i love to watch games, though. we were divided into 2 big groups in order to fairly pick out 2 people at a time to go against each other in a challenge. i kept slinking back behind as many people as possible in my group, trying to hide and disappear. please, don’t call my name, i repeated to myself. alas, my name was called at one point. curses. all i was trying to do was take a picture, then i heard, “Liz! come and make an airplane with a piece of paper, and then throw it as far as you can.” no problem, right? easy. the only problem was i could not remember how i used to make paper airplanes. the silly, sad thing that i made flew out and then directly back to me. hehe. see what i mean. me. stupid. well, at least i gave some others a laugh. ok. i laughed too. it wasn’t that bad.

bonfire time. some of the kids got to light it. they were so excited.

tradition says that as the fire burns, someone gives a spring speech. so, here is a beloved member of the church sharing with us his thoughts on spring & the new life it brings to the world. we also sang traditional swedish spring songs. gotta love the traditions.

 nature. bbq. bonfire fire. songs. good people. =  great night. welcome, spring!

today lina & i opened up the windows, turned on some good music (reminds me. i wanna do a music post really soon!), and did some rearranging in our living room. nothing fancy. moved out some old art & put up some new. took down the curtains to give us even more light. and, voila! the room looks completely different. it’s amazing how just a few subtle changes can make a big difference. now every time lina & i walk through the living room, we make sure to the the other just how cool it looks in there now. if you ever get really bored, just move a few things around in your home. tips from me! hehe.

this afternoon we had a friend come by for fika, and then we couldn’t take it amy longer… it was time to get outside! so, we headed off to the park down the street, spread out a blanket, lay down, & chatted for an hour or so. the city was buzzing with people out & about. it was like a little bit of heaven.

so, it’s been a great day, and i believe i’ve caught spring fever. i don’t wanna do anything except be outside all the live long day.

hope you’ve had a great tuesday! peace.