I'm here!

I've arrived! The crossing from Harwich to Esbjerg was terrible, there were force 10 gales and 7 meter waves. I fell out of the bunk five or six times... The boat docked at 18.00; I arrived in Nora at 05.30, having driven the trusty old Merc through the night. It's very beautiful in Nora, there was snow a few days ago but it's cleared now.

Number one priority here at the moment is to paint Marianne and Niklas's living room, and lay the carpet, before the grand piano and the 3000 books arrive next week (hence the lack of blog updates). Everyone else has gone back to Trolhattan until the "big move" on December 5th, so it's just me here. The other day I went and made friends with the lovely Swedish lady in the paint shop and bought a huge quantity of paint, and made a start that evening. The living room is big. No, it really is. It's massive. I measured it so I knew how much paint to buy - it's 18 meters long and 20 meters wide, and the floor area is 350 square meters. The ceiling is also 3.3 meters high. I found a huge (and heavy) wooden step ladder and started painting the bloody ceiling, it took forever; I was going up and down the ladder the whole time. Then I had a Good Idea; I fixed three broom handles together, then attached tha paint roller to one end, and got rid of the ladder. Then I was able to walk around on the floor and paint the ceiling. I was incredibly suprised and very happy when it worked!

Sara and I have moved into what used to be the "relaxation suite", a rather brilliant name that is staying. Or the "chill hut" for informal occasions. Although it's not much of a hut. It has 8 huge rooms, 4 toilets, a bathroom with 8 wash basins, 3 shower cubicles and a sauna. There's a big drying cupboard in the hallway, a bit like an airing cupboard, but it's connected to the heating system. The heating system is amazing, there are radiators everywhere, the entire bathroom floor is heated and there is also a ventilation system to bring fresh air in. It's a crazy bonkers place, ysterday I found a cleaners' cupboard with a mop cleaning sink in it - it turns out to be perfect for cleaning paint brushes. There is a drinking fountain in the kitchen also... I was going to get rid of it, but I've decided now we might as well turn it into a water feature.