Life always seems so much easier as soon as the sun comes out and it's a bit warmer. Today I'm wearing my spring coat for the first time this year, the cherry trees has blossomed and I'm on my way to balham for coffee and carrot cake at Bertie&Boo. So just wanted to let you know that life is pretty darn good.

 

Today, Thursday the 23rd of February, it's exactly one year since I arrived to London. If I remember it correctly I was already up in Lukas bed by this time, exhausted from all the new impressions. It's also exactly three weeks until I'm leaving and moving back to Sweden. By this time then I'll be on the airplane halfway there. This day has been proofing it's extraordinarity with 16 degrees plus and sun. I've been walking around in only t-shirt without feeling even a little bit cold. I'm also celebrating or mourning (depending on how you see it) with babysitting my little ones, it feels absolutely right considering it's because of them I'm here.

Anyway, I thought I'd use the time to finally upload the photos from last weekend.

Friday:

I started with dragging Pia and Emelie to the gym for a two hours long workout, only way to not feel guilty about all the unhealthy things we're eating during the weekend... No, just kidding, but it's always nicer to workout with others. After that Pia and I had lunch at my place, took the bus to Oxford Street and fought with the crowds for a while before giving up and walking down to Soho for a nice and quite italian dinner. We finished the day with a guilt-free snog (frozen youghurt) while walking down to leicester square and reminding us about how wondefully crowded and alive London always is on a friday night.

Saturday:

After showing the flat and having breakfast with Nikolina (who is the next aupair) I took the train to Borough Market to meet Pia. Our plan was to have the best tasting baguettes, which we did, and then take of to Greenwich, which we didn't. It was rather cold and windy so we changed our plans.


So instead we went to Westfield mall to do some shopping. I found nothing. Or well, I did find some shoes that I want, but since I don't know if I'll have enough weight I thought I better wait with buying them until I've packed.


Walking home I realised that it was quite beautiful outside. After a bit of resting Pia joined me again, we had dinner and got ready at my place.


And then spent the rest of the evening on the good old Grand. As you can see it's situated in an old theatre which I think is quite marvelous.

Sunday:

Since Pia slept at my place we where up and away rather early, well, at least for a sunday morning. The plan for the day was my favourite sunday-routine.


We started at Colombian road flower market.


If you look around a bit you can find hidden cafés, street musicians and tiny yards filled with old things for sale.


You can also find loads of really cute stores where you usually want to buy everything but don't really need any of it.


Like all of this.


Even in the darkest places you can find some light, Anne Frank is a perfect reminder of that.


The next stop was Brick Lane with lunch and after coffee with the yummiest thing ever, Malaysian Pancakes. I've asked Pia to send me baguettes from Borough Market and these when I move back to Sweden.


The last stop was the icing on the cake, or the dot on the i as we say in Sweden, pretty much what made an already perfect day even better. We spent the evening in Balham with Alena and Carla, first and Bertie and Boo's where they had candles in cups, and then dinner at an Italian restaurant.

Now I think the parents will be here any minute so I'm gonna finish this post. Hope you're all very weel!
xxx

Unfortenately I'm a bit to lazy right now to write about the weekend, but since I started a post about the week a couple of days ago I figured I could at least finish it. Since Lukas had half term and holiday it was a rather special week. The kids grandma came from Sweden to visit and help me out. She has been here almost all of Lukas's holidays and it's always really nice, she's very sweet and always gives me loads of compliments.

Monday:
So far when the grandma has been here she has always done things with Lukas and me and Siri has done or usual routine but this time I thought since Siri has grown a bit older it might be fun for her to also leave the safe little area around her home. So on Monday we all decided to take the bus to National History Museum to look at the dinasours, which was also really nice for me since I haven't been there before. Siri thought some parts, like the giant moving T-rex was a bit scary, but I think she liked the over all experience. Altough a couple of times during the week she remembered it and has been saying (l)"äskigt" (which would be like (s)"cary") and then "Hey hey" because I tried to making it less scary by saying "Hi" to the dinasours like we do to the birds and cats. It's really funny to see how something suddenly strikes her mind and how she then starts to talk about it. Any how, Lukas of course loved it but they both got a bit bored and tired rather fast so we had a early lunch and then went back home.




Tuesday:
Lukas went with his grandma to the National Gallery which I figured Siri wouldn't really appreciate so we instead spent the morning with Firdos on a playcentre in Fulham. Another nice place I discover only weeks before I'm leaving. In the afternoon I took the kids to the playground to let grandma have a rest and Lukas was playing very nicely with the two year olds that Firdos are taking care of. It's to bad that he can't be like that with Siri but I think he's to used to her. He can still be really sweet with her but only when he feels like it himself, else he can be a bit to rough. Since I didn't feel a hundred precent well after work I skipped the gym and instead walked home and made a delicious dinner: Potato and leek soup with fried tortilla bread (that Pia got for free on Borough Market), cherry tomatoes and hummus. I always feel a little bad when I make really good food for only me so because of that I have to post it here so I can at least brag a bit about it.


Wednesday:
The weather was so wonderful, almost like spring, so we decided to spend the morning in the park, all four of us. After lunch Lukas got to visit his mom at work which he was really thrilled about. Siri got to do it when I was sick the week after the christmas holiday, so everything else would simply be unfair. Since Lukas was away we invited the new aupair over to get to know Siri a bit better. For a five year old one month might as well be one year so because of that we decided it'd be better for Lukas to not know quite yet that I'm leaving. I really don't long til the day that he finds out, just this week he has told me several time that I'm the best nanny he ever had. He even said "I don't ever want you to leave, I want you to be our nanny forever". I wonder if he can feel that something is going on...

Thursday:
Me and Siri went as usual to the playgruop in the morning while Lukas and the grandma went to another museum. The afternoon we spent on, which also starting to get usual, playdate with Firdos. Although this time I also brought Lukas, which might not been the best decision. Let's just say that afterwards I really felt like I needed a drink. Luckily me and Pia already had planned the Bedford and "Vin's night in" for the evening. It was like walking straight in to a living room from the 80's. With biscuits and salted peanut on every table we sat and listened to wonderful music and a couple of comedy acts the whole evening, so absolutely amazing!


xxx

Just wanted to let you know that everything is decided now. I just booked my flight home on the 15th of March, 30 days from now, an one-way ticket. I also told my landlord I'm moving and cancelled my phone contract. I think I made the right decision. I don't want to leave but I really want to go home, and right now that feeling is stronger. Even so, the sadness that I already feel because of leaving makes me doubt my decision a bit. It's going to be so horrible to leave everything here; my little ones that I love more for everyday, Nathalie and Julian that have helped me with so much, my wonderful sweet friends that means so much to me and the city where it's always something new and exciting happening. The life that I have built here during this last year. On the other I'm really looking forward to coming home to my family and friends, having dinner with the neighbours, staying at home a whole day but still not feel lonely, working at the nursery with my friends, going to town to have a coffee or dinner with those who know me better than I do. Just going back to my normal life.

So, did I make the right decision? I don't know yet, only the future can tell.

xxx

Another weekend has passed by and now I might only have about four or so left, really weird. I think I might have to plan them a bit. Even though I do actually feel like I've done most of the things that I want to do while I'm here so it should be fine, no regrets! Well then, this weekend.

Friday:
I had pretty much the perfect Friday, very chilled but still with a lot going on. I got up rather early, even though I wasn't working I'd told Nathalie that I would come with her to have a coffee with the new aupair. Just to get two opinions and to help put with Siri in case she got bored. She seemed really nice and were also very intrested of the job so I think she will probably be the one after me. She even followed me home just to see the room that she could take if she wants to. When she left I made a chocolate cake and then took off to the gym to meet Emelie, it is so much more fun to work out when you're two people. After the gym I'd invited Josefina and Linnea for a swedish fika, Emelie also stepped by for a while and helped me make a blueberrie cake. So we ate two different kinds of cake, drank coffee and just sat in the livingroom talking for hours. Around 8pm I almost had to push them out since I had to meet Pia and Alena at sainsburys. They also came to my place but for dinner and to watch "One day", and then of course to just talk about nothing and everything until about 1am when they took the bus home and I feel asleep.

Saturday:

Pia met me by the shoppingcentre and we took our favourite bus, 87, in to central. We started of at apostrophe to get some soup. Lunch is necessary when you have a big mission ahead of you. This is the view we had from the café, not to bad or what do you think?



When we stepped outside we realised that just next door was the Twinings shop which I´v never seen before. Maybe not so strange cause we were as much in the middle of nowhere as you can be in the most central of central London.


The whole shop were filled with teabags and teapots. I bought 15 different teabags for 1.50, mostly for the memory.


After about half an hour walking, passing by St Pauls Cathedral and Millenium Bridge, we were standing at the foot of our mission for the day. Monument. We wanted to reach the sun.


There is 311 steps, all of them going around and around and around, and the further you get the more narrow it gets.


Pia needed I tiny break in the middle (or to be honest I asked her to sit down so I could take a photo).


Finally up there we realised that it was absolutely worth every single step cause the view was amazing. Here you can see the tower bridge.


The pointing building in the middle, which I always forget the name of, was Julian (the dad) part of making. Don't know in which way, but something in the architecture cause that's what he does.


If you look closely you can see London Eye at the far right.


The best part where that we did reach the sun. I stood the for a while just enjoying the feeling when it hit my face.


One last photo before walking the 311 steps down.


You might think walking down should be easier but the thing is that I was so focused on the next step and not missing it and fall down that I got totally dizzy.


But we managed to get down and even got a certificat.


"This is to certify that Katinka Fernström Richter has climbed the 311 steps of the Monument"


After stoping by Borough Market real quick I got on the train to go home and found a handprint on the window. The evening was spent on a quite unforgetable goodbye party for Josefina who is now going to Nepal for four months.

Sunday:
Me and Pia got on the 87 again, passed by the filming of James Bond, and got of at Covent Garden where we met Karolin and her friend Andrea. We had a lovely lunch at a not so lovely reastaurant, very nice food but not as nice staff.
:
When we were absolutely full Karolina showed us this wonderful new opened shop.


I couldn't resist and left with a really sweet little bag...


...full of swedish sweets. You wont know until you're without it for one year how good it is.

xxx

It's thursday evening and snowing outside. At first it melted as soon as it touched the ground but now it's making layers on the streets. Luckily I've been inside pretending that it's friday cause tomorrow my weekend is starting.

I started of with making a meal for only me, quite luxiourius since I've recently only eaten whatever I've made for the kids. Quorn, corgettes and mushrooms in a sauce with pasta and fresh spinach, hundredprecent vegan and very delicious.

The rest of the evening I've spent in my bed with the computer, eating chocolate ice-cream, drinking chamomille tea and watching the snow slowly fall down outside my window.

Now and then that's excatly what you need, to just do nothing special at all. Even more after a very nice but still so exhausting week with playdates, gym and cinema. Plans for tomorrow includes interview with a new aupair, foodshopping and gym, swedish fika with a couple of swedish friends and watching "One Day" with my german girls. Perfect for a snowy day.

xxx

Friday:

First free friday after the holidays and I used it to really take my time in everything I did. Sleept until 11, ate breakfast until 12 and then took care of all the boring stuff. Cleaning, gym, foodshopping and washing clothes. In the evening I got rewarded by watching The Iron Lady in Chelsea with Pia, Alena and Sanni. The photos are taken when I was waiting for the bus, it was rather cold but wonderful view made it quite alright.


Saturday:

Pia, Alena, Sanni and I started up in the morning with a big brunch to prepare ourself and get lots of energy.

Might seem a bit silly for some but for me and Pia it was a really big day. We had planned since August to do a Harry Potter Marathon and it was finally going to happen. We started watching at 12.30 on Saturday and was finished at 7.30 Sunday morning. We saw all of the eight movies with just one halfhour break to get som food.

Just inbetween the second and the third one Alena got upstairs and started screaming of happiness. It was snowing and London seemed even more like taken straight from one of the movies.


Sunday:

When all of the movies was finished we sleept for 2,5 hours until ten and then got up and went to Bertie's & Boo's for breakfast.

Since we all realised that we couldn't go to sleep until the next evening (which is right now) we decided that we better making something out of the day.

So we took the bus to Imperial War Museum.

It was quite fascinating, especially the part about the holocaust, even though I've heard about it so many times before it still seems so unbelivable.

After that I figured I had done enough for the day and took the train back home. For some reason I haven't been that tired though, everything has felt just like normal, except from maybe a couple of extra laughs and giggles.

xxx

It's just below zero degrees outside and it feels absolutely freezing. I'm wearing layer on layer and still feel cold, except from when the sun now and then strikes my face.

Lukas has said "I love you" and "jag älskar dig" with a British accent a couple of times now. Siri nearly everyday hugs me so hard I think I might break in a hundred pieces, either because of her strength or because of love.

I thought we wouldn't have any winter here, that we would just jump right into spring, but on Sunday it's going to snow. Probably not to much though, after all, it's London.

How can I leave this place? On the other hand, how can I stay?