Car guru verdict

I brought this spiff little red Mini Cooper that I have been eyeing over to my brother in law, aka car guru, so that he could give his blessing or not. I drove this little wonderful piece of I want to drive you forever and beyond, to his shop. My man is in the car repair business, he can spot a bad one from a mile away, just like my dad. That has by the way never stopped me from buying a car, I have had 2 Alfa Romeos that my dad secretly admired even though he said do not buy this one. So this is what happened today.

John;What's up Swede.

Jonas; Not much, go back to Ohio!

John; He, he, good to see you.

Jonas; The same.

John; You brought the Mini?

Jonas; Dude, it's right outside your window, the little red one.

John; Man, how about a Kia, you can't go wrong, besides a Sofia in a Kia. He he.

Jonas: Funny, are you going to look at it or not.

We walk out of the body shop, John leans his head a bit and says,

John; This little lady has a story to tell.

Jonas; How do you know ( I greatly insulted him, after more than 20 years in car repair he knows from a mile away).

John; First, the roof is repainted and they did a poor job, man it even has hail damage to it. Second, the hood has been worked on so has the quarter panel. Third there is all kind of mildew in the trunk and the rear muffler is rusted which makes me think that the car was in a wreck and went in to the salt marsh and sat for awhile before being repaired. I got to tell you bro, I'l l pass on this one.

Jonas; That's the smell, I thought that it smelled like something I recognized, sweet grass. Thanks bro, I appreciate it.

I crank the mini up and are just to leave the body shop when this great big man screams on top of his lungs, A Kia for Sofia!

What can I say more than that I love him? Thanks John, I appreciate it. I will how ever drag every used car your way that I come across that's just remotely interesting. After all you said that it's fine for me to do so.

All ways something

I fixed the toilet last night, only took two trips to Lowe's. The universal part who was guaranteed to fit all didn't fit. Apparently they meant most models and ours is off course not in the most category.

And now Betty is ill and I am about to give up on her. I am looking for a small fuel efficient car, so is most of America these days. I have found a few and one of them is not to badly priced and in good shape. I will drive it over to the body shop for my brother in law to take a look at it. He's the car guru at hand.

Always something to deal with. As fun it is with different cars I find it a royal pain to deal with them. The ultimate dream car is just not out there. Maybe one of these days I find the perfect fit.

What a princess

This morning Marta calls.

M; Don't get mad, I didn't do it.

J; Do what?

M; Break the toilet.

J; Who did?

M; Fia.

J; What broke?

M; The handle, can you fix it?

J; I'll have to go to Lowe's.

M; She also got a boo boo on her hand poor thing.

Yeah, poor thing all right. I'm the one that after work has to stop at Lowe's, find the part, head over to the clubhouse since it's Tuesday, get home around 8.00 pm or so to fix a darn toilet. Fia will be a poor thing when I see her, that's for sure.

How many..

bodies can fit into an Optimist?

More than you think.

Melted house

Last night Marta and I grilled some steaks on our gas grill, the one on the porch.

Marta; Honey, have you seen the ceiling, is that bubbles?

Jonas; Sure looks like it.

Marta; From the heat of the grill you think?

Jonas; Probably, maybe I should buy a fan at Lowe's tomorrow?

Marta; You should.

Jonas; I think we should have it turned on when we grill.

We stand there quiet for awhile, Marta turns the steaks.

Marta; Do you remember how we burnt the side on our old house the first day?

Jonas; Yes, he he. We hadn't even spent one night before we burned it. He he.

Bags of parts

As you know my dear Betty is getting old and grumpy. She has not wanted to distribute air as I would like her to as of late, all is blowing on the windshield.

So after work yesterday I pulled in to our garage and started to take the dashboard apart to get to the fan, John (my car guru and brother in law) says I have a vacuum leak that causes this problem.

Armed with every tool I have and a flashlight I went at it while Milu cheered me on and encouraged me with wet kisses. A few cuss words later I had half the dash apart, there's a lot of little clips and screws involved keeping a dash together, who would have known.

When Marta came home all she said was; Wow.

I think I will give up on this and bite the bullet and take the car to my mechanic, two bags of miscellaneous car parts and my check book in hand. I'm sure I get a discount since all they have to do is take the fan (big black plastic box) out. I mean, I see it right there behind the radio, how hard can it be.

Harbor fest

So, the festivities is over for this year. I worked a shift Friday and Saturday so today the whole family just enjoyed the fest. We spent almost 6 hours checking it all out.

We went to the pirate villige (50 pirate reinactors who did a great job), jumped in jumping castles, treasure hunting, boat building, studied plankton in a microscope, watched an acrobatic airshow and checked out all kinds of wooden boats, kajaks and tall ships.

Ran in to tons of people we know and hung with good friends. We were all so busy we forgot to eat lunch. That is the only thing we didn't get around to, eat some good food from the different vendors on site. Well, there's always next year.

Baseball season

It's been in full swing for a month but yesterday was the first time we went to the ball game this season. We tried to see what was going on, our seats are against the evening sun but just one row from the field which is pretty nice.

And we offcourse had some boiled peanuts, that's what's a ballgame is all about.

Ticket sales

Time to close the work week and head to do my volunteer duty selling tickets.

I see you there I hope.

High education

Read today that women with a higher education has a harder time to get an orgasm than women with a lower education. Apparently 68% of women with a college degree said that they don't get an orgasm during normal sex compared to only 37% of high school grads.

Wow, didn't that article just give me the best of an excuse.

Sailors

I so desparatly want for my kids to become sailors. Sailing is my passion and Marta tells me to lay low right now when it comes to the kids.

Fia is the one that I think will be as nuts as I am with sailing, Alex is a lost soul, he's in to ball sports. I guess we have to come to the conclusion that he's the one that has the only remote ability to finance this madness. Fia and I can work on to accept that thought.

Never the less, Alex do like his boat when it's in the water and Katie looks better than ever with a dinghy on top.

Roof racks

"Ever heard of roof racks Jonas?"

"I have but they are expensive."

"Expensive enough to put up with your wife's wining, using her car to transport Alex's optimist down to the boat on a Saturday afternoon, for 5 days in a row?"

" No, but I'm the man in the house, I do what I want"

"Ha"

"Point taken"

Next time I tie the darn dinghy on top of her car and leave it for a week. Who needs roof racks, you just can't fit any kids in the car,that's all.

What a great deal

Our local hockey team The South Carolina Stingrays have done real well this year. They won their division and are now playing in the Kelly Cup. If you have season tickets,which are good during regular season play, come play offs you have to buy tickets for that like everybody else.

You would think that they might give you a discount, at least first choice or so as customer appreciation. Heck no. Until today, some one called our office and offered a great deal to us.

Free parking and discounted tickets for a group of 25 people or more this Friday. Heck, we don't even have 25 people working here.

Man do they know how to market themselves.

And they wonder why the audience is dwindling in numbers year after year.

To their great offer, I say up yours. And keep you're stinking tickets for next year as well.

The South has lost again

Friends, family and random people I get to talk to visiting different places in the world always asks me if Southerners are as close minded and conservative as they have heard. I always answer that the war is still going on for a few of them. As a response I get a chuckle and I thought so.

As an alien in the South it is hard to be accepted in to a society of " good old boys". Fortunately there are less of them but once in awhile you come across some pretty obvious evidence of who still has a battle flag in his front yard.

And I can't understand a mentality like that, as I see it they are the ones loosing out in a great community. After all, we do live in a great place with people from all over who is here to make it an even better place to live.

From today's Post and Courier;

'Yankee' team?

Being a proud Southerner, there are certain things that get under my skin. One is, as a proud Southern town, how can we allow our local minor-league baseball team, whose baseball park is named after very Southern Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. to be part of the New York Yankees farm system? Do we not have any pride in our heritage?

Granted, while our team was an affiliate of the San Diego Padres, the Texas Rangers and the Tampa Bay Rays, we did not fare very well, and now the team appears to be decent. However, many other parent clubs could have given us competitive teams, but it looks as though the South has lost again.

I'd like to thank the very Northern Mike Veeck for allowing this to happen.

I've got an idea for a game day promotion for Mike. He can get in his car and make the drive back up Interstate 95.

T H

Charleston

Girlfriends

Our little Alex is a very good looking fellow. He's not as aware of it compared to how aware his sister is about her looks.

Alex has two girls that call him quite frequently, their moms call the number and put them on the phone.

To see, hear Alex talk to them is hilarious. He could care less but they have started to pick up on that he likes to play pirates. As soon as they suggest he be the pirate captain he's all game.

What worries me a bit is that they are only 4 years old, by the time he's a teenager I will go nuts over the phone calls. Or maybe I take to much for granted.

Mother's day

Yesterday was mother's day here in the US. I asked what Marta might want for her day and she said the day off. So she got just that and a card that hit the spot for once. I'm terrible at picking greeting card, to many to choose from and I get confused.

Alex woke up early and jumped in to our bed and got to watch the Disney channel. Marta fell asleep again and slept until 10.00 or so. When she woke up the kids and I had been gone for an hour.

We pretty much stayed out of site for a good bit of the day, I know mom got what she looked forward to, we might repeat it next Sunday as well.

Corfu

We spent our honey moon in Greece, on Corfu an island in the Ionian sea.

It came highly recommended, I surprised Marta with where we were going, and we had a great time. We were a bit disappointed with the lack of blue doors and roofs. Still we had the best of times.

Viking genes part 2

Marta and I have a very stylish bed of Scandinavian design. It is a very nicely designed piece of furniture that could have had a little bit more of sturdiness to it especially since it cost us an arm and a leg, it might have cost one of my kidneys as well.

See, every time you move, the darn bed squeaks and creaks. Yeah, yeah I know what you think, we didn't break it that way.

My point is that last night reading our books I got an urge to give Marta a kiss so I turn and the damn bed's middle support collapses again. I get so frustrated so I just jump out, get in underneath the bed and lift the bed up and put the support back, with Marta still in bed. Milu, who sleeps under the bed freaked out, what are you doing dad?

As I got back in to the bed Marta says " Oh, you're so strong honey!". Well, I am a bloody Viking for crying out load and that turned me on so I guess I see y'all in Valhalla, the bed might break tonight.

Summer vacation

After a hard rain storm this morning it has turned out to be a beautiful day here in Charleston. It feels like a perfect Swedish summer day.

Those days I miss, there's nothing better. We sailed for weeks at the time every summer vacation and I hope to do that with my kids one of these days before they are grown up and gone.

Meanwhile I just watch and remember those days far gone.

Nail polish

Fia is now in to have her nails painted just like mom, as the princess she is.

The other day she got a hold of a bottle of nail polish and went at it. She painted her hands, arms and some of her hair.

When I got in through the door that night the first thing I said was; It smells like nail polish remover.

Marta calmly replied; Ask your daughter.

So I did and Fia very happily exclaimed: Fia fin! (pretty)

All that was left from her beautification session was pink highlights in her hair. But pretty she is.

Volunteer

The weekend of May 16-18 you will find me selling tickets. I will proudly wear my green volunteer shirt.

They expect 80 000 people to come visit the festivities, that shall be fun.

Busy guy

Alex is a busy guy, to many activities maybe. This was yesterday.

0900-1400 school

1415-1445 golf lesson

1500-1530 swimming lesson

1600-1730 farmers market

1800-1900 soccer game

When he got home at 1930 he was rubbing his eyes. A quick dinner and a bath later he was snoozing away in his bed.

Sick

Fia has an inner ear infection that according to Dr. B looks really nasty.

It's so nice to be back in the regular grooves after a weeks vacation.

Who can beat Pooh?

Maybe Tigger?

Mickey

Alex remembers last year but Fia doesn't. She do recognise Mickey Mouse from the Disney Chanel and that is pretty much what Marta and I heard from the backseat of our trusted V70 for 6 hours driving to Orlando, FL.

I was about to drop the child at the nearest rest area for some peace and quite.

Did she get to meet Mickey? Yes she did, not only Mickey, Minnie too. Poor Fia had to put up with her stinking brother how ever. How do you get him out of the picture?

Where dreams come true

Vacation

Sorry for a week delay in blogging. We have been on vacation, it was fantastic. I will fill you in as I upload. All I can say is the dollar is weak so come on overt and we will have some fun.

By the way, this is where we went, Disney World. The picture is from Magic Kingdom. I guess you have to be there to get the grasp of the atmosphere, it is unbelievable.,