Time for studded tires

Today we started the day with forgetting that it was no longer Daylight Saving Time. We would have been able to sleep one hour more than usual, but instead we started the day a little bit earlier. The main project of the day was switching tires on the car since winter road conditions is approaching. The studded tires have been laying around in the basement since May, but today we had to carry them up to ground level. It was quite easy to remove the ordinary tires, but the winter ones were a little bit harder to fasten because of short bolts. Eventually all four tires were exchanged and we took the car for a ride to see if the bolts were tightened enough (and also to get some food and other articles for the winter).

The bad thing with normal time is that it gets dark already before 4 pm, and it will get even worse as we get closer to the end of the year. Hopefully it will get better when we have some snow on the ground, but on the other hand I guess that we can try to avoid that for another month if possible.

First snow of the season

When we woke up this morning there was something white on the grass. Evidently, the first snow has arrived. It also seemed that most of the lake Maria is biking next to was covered, which means that it also had an ice cover. Perhaps not that thick, but still. Since it is still just October, most of the snow had melted away by noon.

Preparing for winter outdoor activities

Pretty soon, it will be cold and dark outside, most of the day. In order not to sit inside for the next five months also during daylight, you have to do something that takes advantage of the snow. Olle already has cross country skis, but Maria has not owned a pair for many years. Today it was time to change that. We went to the store, were she found a nice pair from last season (they were the same price with the discount as this year's simpler ones, which according to the sales person only would slow you down). You don't have to wax these, you can just hit the tracks whenever you feel like. We will pick up the skis (including boots and ski poles) tomorrow, since the bindings have to be attached to the skis.

New computer

One of our computers was sent in for reparation earlier this year. The screen on the laptop didn't function that well, among others the back light could shut down and be impossible to turn on quite often. The screen colors were not right either.
Today a replacement for that computer arrived. Evidently it was cheaper for the retailer to do this way than to repair it.
It is nice to also have a webcam again.

Moose casserole

Around four thirty we went to Olle's uncle who lives in the city. Beside us, the two cousins with families also arrived. Tonight's dinner was moose casserole. The uncle is a hunter, and today he shot his first moose ever (but the one we ate was from the beginning of the season). It was a really long time since we had game meat and it tasted good. We brought some home baked sour dough bread (we bake that 4 times out of 5 these days).

Exercise Saturday

Today we went to the first group exercise since last December for Olle, and the first one on the floor for Maria since we arrived in Umeå. You could feel that it was a while since last time, but hopefully your body will adapt quite soon.

In the afternoon we passed a big sports equipment shop, where Maria bought a new floorball stick. The old stick broke last Thursday, but it had been used for over ten years so it was time for a new one anyway.

A rainy day

Sunday was rainy in more or less intense showers. Dressed top to toe in rain clothes we were outside for a while. The niece and a friend took two of the ponies for a ride. Unfortunately, one of the horses so badly wanted to get back into the stable, were the other horses were meanwhile, so the pony was hard to steer.
Playing some card games inside, as well as bringing the rabbits to the basement, were more tempting. In the middle of the day some rain showers were really strong, so being inside was excused.
In the afternoon we took the night train back to Umeå. Another night of sleep in the seats, but at least better than a few days earlier.

Birthday party

We woke up to some rain and didn't hurry out after breakfast. Instead we baked cinnamon rolls.
We had planned to watch Maria's nephew driving motocross, but the rainy day didn't inspired to a longer training, so we went back home instead of going watching after dropping the niece off at a birthday party.
Parts of the afternoon passed by while we prepared the dinner for the birthday party in the evening (a la family reunion). Maria's parents and uncle showed up, together with the brother with full family. Naturally the newborn (2½ weeks old) niece were in center for a while. Adorable how small the perfect fingers/nails are.

A trip to the south

Thursday evening we took the night train south. To keep the price down we had normal seat tickets all the way (not beds). Unfortunately, we got bad seats with no possibility to tilt backwards and short distance to the seats in front of us. It wasn't a beauty sleep, more a few necessary hours interrupted often.

Friday morning we arrived in Nässjö and Maria's sister picked us up. We tried to spend this sunny day outside, dressed according to the weather. In the afternoon we picked up the kids after school, while the sister prepared dinner. The niece trained some pony jumping.
In the evening we all went to Maria's uncle for a real sauna (= heated by firewood). Also Maria's brother with his two sons showed up, as well as the parents, so almost the whole family were there. The kids enjoyed playing with water, a useful trick for making them like being in the warm sauna.