Craaazy

There is buildingwork going on in my house! It is so loud I cant hear myself think, I turned the volume on the tv up to max and I still couldnt hear it.
My head is pounding and the world is spinning (nothing new to tell Im afraid) and I think I might be coming down with a chestinfection.
There is one place where I can find some peace, is in the laundryroom in the basement. What a joyous life I lead!
I really hope that the results of the bloodtests I took last week are back today.

The best....

Im still sick, feeling worse than yesterday, running a temperature and have been on the verge of fainting a couple of times just by walking to the bathroom. So most of the day has been spent on the sofa, watching tv, reading a trashy magazine and sleeping.
I am a bit worried about working next week, and I feel guilty to let my colleagues down and make their workingdays so much harder. I guess I am a bit "damaged" from working in numerous companies in the U.K where we - the emplyees - were made to feel incredibly guilty for being sick and more or less bullied into coming back to work earlier than we really wanted to.

I remember the knot in my stomach when I had to call in and say that I just wouldnt be able to make it in because I was running a temperature, or I had the flu or I had a stomachbug. And get the icecold reply "FINE! Well YOU know how hard it is to work without one staffmember..."
And then it was just to sit and wait for the call that would come three days later: "When are you coming back? There are other people who are off sick now, so we really need you!"
Obviously it is flattering that a manager thinks so highly of me that the whole business is falling apart without me...but when you are ill, you just need to be left to rest and get better.

Anyway, I didnt need to have worried, because here, I have the best colleagues in the world! They just told me to get better, call them on Monday and let them know if I was coming or not, and just spend the weekend resting. They also told me they feel very sorry for me.
Isnt that lovely? Just what you want to hear.
I will have an early night tonight and hopefully get some more sleep than I did last night, and with a bit of luck and plenty of rest and fluid I will be fit as a fiddle by Monday.
I hope you all have a good start of the weekend.



Listen to this, I am trying to squeeze out the last drops of summer with this song. Even though I am looking forward to the darker evenings, the cool crisp mornings and the countdown to christmas.

But this song keeps the summer here for just a few more hours.

Time off

As I came back from Greece last week I was feeling dizzy and not very well at all. I figured it was due to being on a boat for six hours and then flying for three hours the same day and getting home after midnight so not getting much sleep. But on Thursday I was still dizzy, it felt like I was walking on cushions and the world was spinning upwards in various speeds depending on if I was standing up, walking, or sitting down. I decided to leave it til Monday, and if it still hadnt stopped then, I would call my GP.
On Saturday I was in town with my mum, I felt dizzy, but thought "Hey, whats new..." but as I was walking around the shoppingcentre I could feel my legs give way and the next thing I knew I was on the floor with my head in my mums lap. So she drove me to the A&E, even though I would rather have gone home and got into bed for a few hours, but my mum being a nurse, she wouldnt listen to that suggestion... I was put in a room of my own, they checked my pulse and heart rate then I was left on my own.

After an hour the doctor came in to see me, she shook my head backwards and forwards, side to side and concluded that I do not have "the crystal condition".
The "crystal condition" is (if I have understood it correctly) when the crystals in your ears are disturbed, so instead of just floating nicely in your ear canal as they should do, they bounce against the walls in the ears, which makes you feel dizzy and sick. I then had to wait for another three hours to see the earspecialist who also decided that I do not have "the crystal condition".
After another hour I was told that the doctors didnt think my condition was such an emergency that I needed to stay over night, so I could go home and wait for a referal to the neurologist. After six hours in the hospital I was happy to go home and have some of my mums meatballs for dinner before crashing into bed.

On Sunday Sofie came over for lunch and a catch-up. It was great to see her, we dont get to meet as often as I would like to, so it is always good with some girlietime with her.

I went to work as usual on Monday, but I really didnt feel well, so I called in sick on Tuesday and made an appointment with my GP. She couldnt find anything wrong with my brain activity, which I guess is good...
Yesterday I woke up with a blocked nose, sore throat and a temperature.
So was the dizzyness a "pre. flu attack"?
I am still dizzy and feel rotten but I can now relate it to the fact that I have a stinking cold and possibly the flu.

So, since I am in no fit state to sort things out that I really want to sort out, (tidying up the basement after flood or shopping for lamps for example) I have spent some time on YouTube, looking for funny clips to cheer myself up with.
And I remember this lady, who I was introduced to a couple of months ago, and instantly fell in love with. Watch the clip and then tell me she is not hysterical.



My teeth hurts just looking at this clip, and powdered sugar? What is that? I have never heard of it before.
There are more where that clip came from... I love this one aswell.



Just one (or two) more cooking question... powdered milk?? "Because we all know that children need milk"? Is powdered milk as good as fresh milk? I dont know why, but I always thought that fresh food is better than non fresh food...
And another thing that I wonder...how come she is not the size of a house if she eats what she cooks? If I ate those peanutbutterballs as a "snack" when I came home from work everyday, I wouldnt be able to get through the door soon. Then there is the clip of Paula eating a Lasagna sandwich. But I will let you find that for yourselves on YouTube..

Another thing I just love about Paula is her southern draaaaawl when she speaks.
I love the southern American accent, and how they make one word out of two (or maybe even three?) HiY'all!!
I think I will start speaking like that too...
It sounds so lovely when she says "Girlfriend" or "baby". I am not convinced I would get away with talking like that though...Especially not if I translated "babydoll" to Swedish. But maybe I should give it a try, just to see if someone notices?

Oh ok, I will give you the clip of the Lasagna sandwich..since I am sick, I quite fancy one of these badbois.. I always fancy something extra fatty when I'm not well. But I am too tired to cook lasagna at the moment, so I will have to make do with toast and watching Paula on my laptop. Unless someone wants to cook for me?



Well I will have a nap in the sofa now. Have a great day Y'all!

From Greece. WITH LOVE part two..

On the Monday morning, Frida woke me by shining her phone in my face and whispering "It is time for you to get up now"..So I did..it wasnt too difficult since we were continuing our adventure. Yet again we got on the bus and drove through a still dark Athens to the harbour where we got on the boat and settled in the firstclass area where most of us fell asleep. There wasnt much to do so we just hung out in the seating area and out on deck. After six hours we finally arrived at Naxos.



The hotel we stayed in was lovely. The owners truly know what hospitality means. There was nothing that was too much for them, or they couldnt sort out for us. I recommend it to anyone who wants to stay in a friendly authentic Greek hotel. Check out their website: www.prokopis.com.



Lina unfortunately had to go back to Sweden, so me and Frida shared a room for the week. I was a bit worried that she would ask to change rooms, since I occasionally "growl" in my sleep. Its not quite a snore, but neither is it just humming.. But I think I was very quiet for ten days, or Frida slept so deeply that she didnt hear me?
The days at Agios Prokopios (the name of the hotel and the beach) was spent relaxing in the sand, cooling off in the sea, eating lunch and sleeping in a sunlounger. The evenings was just as lovely, rinsing the salt and sand off in the shower, putting on a skirt and a vest, some lipgloss and head out for dinner or just a picnic by the pool. The first two days we gathered to get to know one and other a bit more, sharing wine, bread, cheese, nuts and sweets. It was a little bit of magic sitting there, getting to know new people, listening to their lifestories (one of my favourite things) and enjoying just being. Alive. Because I did.




Sandra and Andreas got engaged in Athens.

On the Wednesday night most of us caught the bus to Chora, the main town of Naxos. We watched the sunset from a cliff with a monument. I cant remember the exact history, but I can recall someone saying that it was built a thousand years before Acropolis, and the same person saying "Five thousand years of history, you cant expect us to remember all of it". We then wandered through the town, snapping photos like Japanese tourists, whilst deciding where we should eat.







We settled for a small restaurant called MezeMeze, where we ordered lots of small dishes which we shared between us, tasting little bits of lots of different foods. I tasted a delicious chicken cooked in curry and lemon. The pieces were so tender and litterally fell apart in my mouth. Yum!

The next day we rented quadbikes and drove around the island. It was the coolest thing I have ever done I think. Which might just prove what a nerd I am?
I have never driven even a moped, so taking charge of a quadbike was so exciting. We drove in a long caravan, G's cousin calling us the "Naxos army"



It was hot, dusty and sweaty, so after lunch we stopped by a small beach for a cooling dip in the sea, a cigarette and a cold drink. Again it hit me how alive I felt and how much I was enjoying myself. We carried on up and down the mountains, cerpentineroads made it difficult to drive fast, so we could really enjoy the scenery. Although I kept my eyes firmly on the road most of the time.
We arrived back at the hotel by ten o'clock, I showered the dust and sand off me and crashed into bed.
The next day it was back to the beach, the sand and the sunloungers and topping up my tan. I actually tanned this holiday, normally I burn myself and look like a lobster before going back to being white.
But this week I have got a healthy, glowing light brown colour to my skin.
I believe spending time doing nothing is something we all need from time to time. Some people need it more than others, but spending a few days just relaxing, reading, listening to music or watching dvds is like chicken soup for the soul.
The best way to recharge your batteries. I always take a few books with me to read whilst on holiday, this time I only read half of one of them. I guess because I was busy talking to my friends, I didnt have much time to really get into a book.
One night when I was just watching the world go by after having dinner with the great people that was on this trip with me, I tried to decide what has been the best part of the journey. But I couldnt pick one thing that was better than all the rest. But one thing that feels extra special, is that I had the oportunity to spend quality time with good friends. Getting to know them more and on a different level, without the stress of work, bills and everyday life. It felt like we were twentyone again without a care in the world.
I also feel very lucky to have made new friendships, I truly hope that we will stay in touch and get to know each other more.



Friends

The night before we were due to travel back we all gathered on a beach under a tree to have a last meal together. It was a beautiful evening watching the sun go down, eating more lovely greek food with lovely friends.





MARRIED

I feel maybe it is time for me to stop saying "lovely, fantastic, amazing friends" I guess it might be getting on peoples nerves. But it is true, I have amazing lovely people in my life. I do feel fortunate that they want to be my friends. But ok, enough now.
I am home again, C and G arrived this afternoon, my tan is fading rapidly, but the fire is still burning in my belly. Where do I go from here? And for how long?



So. What now?

From Greece. WITH LOVE part one..

On Friday the third of September, there was a group of tired and fairly pale people gathering at the airport Kastrup in Copenhagen, Denmark. We were excited about the next ten days which we would spend in Greece. In Athens and Naxos, celebrating the wedding of C and G.
The first day, arriving in Athens we were greeted with scorching heat and a waiting bus which took us to our hotel, Marriott Ledra. We had some lunch on the roof and then went for a nap.
The rest of the afternoon were spent relaxing by the pool and catching up with old friends.



We had dinner and met with some of G's family, on the roof of the Hotel, looking out over Athens with Acropolis in focus. I felt something come over me, starting at the top of my neck and moving down my shoulders and into my tummy. I was starting to relax and unwind.

The next day I went on a sightseeing tour with Jeanette, Jimmy and their two boys Neo and Adrian. We travelled with a sightseeing bus and saw many of the old Greek buildings, Acropolis obviously being the main attraction



After a quick shower and some curling of my own and Jeanettes hair we were picked up by the bus and driven to a small village by the sea. C and G said their "I do's" and promised to love each other forever and ever as the sun set over the small chapel on a cliff.
Even though I didnt understand what the orthodox priest said, it was very moving and emotional, there is something very special about being part of a wedding, especially when it is a dear friend like C who is getting married.




The dinner and party was held in a small cosy tavern, it felt very authentic and I cant imagine C and G and G's family arranging a wedding in anything that wasnt traditional Greek. So we ate dinner under the stars and drank a lot of wine.
It is not custom in Greece for the guests to make speaches, like in Sweden so we were able to start the dancing shortly after dinner. The maid of honor Sandra and the sister of the bride did say some beautiful words to C and G and since I was already in a bit of an emotional state I had to fight hard and think of some seriously funny things to stop me from crying like a crazy woman. I love personal speaches, no one have ever held a speech for me - which can be because I am not married - but I hope that one day there will be close friends saying nice words about and to me at a party where we celebrate love.


Sandra toasting the bride and groom

The rest of the nght was spent dancing



And dancing



A lot of dancing



Then we danced some more



Very late at night, after we had eaten cake and after we had finished the wine, the bus came and picked us up and drove us back to the hotel where me and my roomies Frida and Lina crashed in bed, talking and giggling like we did at sleepover parties when we were still in school.
The next day, Sunday, I went to the salon in the hotel to get my eyelashes dyed. Turns out it was easier said than done...the ladies didnt speak very good english so when I said I wanted colour on my eyelashes they brought out the mascara. It took a lot of bodylanguage, handgestures and nodding of heads, but in the end we had established that I wanted "blue/black" eyelashes. I was very happy with the result, but then I was offered to dye my eyebrows aswell. I was prepared for this and had established with myself that this was NOT going to happen. Since my hair is blond and my skin extremely pale I always end up looking rather odd with dark eyebrows. Even when they are supposed to use a "lightbrown" colour...
So I was a bit surprised to hear myself saying "OK" to having them coloured...
I had a niggling feeling in my belly that it wouldnt end well, and I was right...the "lightbrown" was infact bordering on black..
But the ladies in the salon opened their eyes wide, "ooohhed" a lot and said I looked PERFECT!! "Just like Greek!"
I tried to put it gently to them that I am not Greek...and I havent got the skin tone of a greek lady. I was then offered to spraytan my face to make it more even...
I just thanked them for their help and ran up to my room.
The rest of the day was spent by the pool on the roof or in my case, in the room reading a fantastic book I borrowed from Lina. I had a terrible stomachache and realised a day spent in my own company was just what I needed at that point.
When my roomies returned after their day in the sun they persuaded me to come in to town for dinner, which was great.
We got a cab from the hotel which dropped us off in the Plaka district, wandered around, looked in the shops and bought some souvenirs before heading off to find a nice restaurant. We were stopped by a gentleman who introduced himself as Langos, and he showed us the menu from his restaurant. He was very persuasive and wouldnt take no for an answer, so we ate souvlaki, greek salad, bread, lamb and drank red wine and ouzo.



It was a great evening, taking in Athens by night. It is a beautiful city, although the fumes and toxins from the cars are sometimes overpowering, and I would like to return maybe in November or the early spring.
Sitting in a taxi back to the hotel, driving through the streets in the warm night listening to the radio playing "Only you" by the Platters, I had a sense of being truly alive. I wanted to put my head through the sunroof (although this cab didnt have one...) and drag the dirty air deep into my lungs and awaken the beast, the travelbeast which have been asleep for too long now...

Back at the hotel we bumped in to a very happy Andreas, who had been for dinner with Sandra and their closest friends. He was wearing a ring on his fourth finger matching the one on Sandras hand. In a very romantic place he asked her to be his wife and be with him forever. And she said yes! So now we had one wedding and one engagement to celebrate.
We carried on up to our rooms to pack and get some sleep before a very early start on Monday morning.