Kristinehamn, Sweden. Tuesday, early morning. A little drunk.


Alex, mon ami.

I have shown what you wrote to Sibel.

We have been yawling and bawling all over the place - THANK YOU so much!
The restaurant was great, but I believe the waiter thought us to be a little bit off-minded as we giggled all evening...

Let us know if we should bring you an ugly, hairy, fat and stinky elk. One from the woods.
They are really cuddly, you know. Mercedes Benz-approved as well. And they come quite numerous this time of the year.
You could place it in your garden as a biological lawnmower.

Wishing you all the best of luck and courage for a new life being born very soon. If your fathership happens in the next two weeks please let us know. I sent you the address by mail again, just in case.
There will be no internet, but you can send a letter or a card if you like. The next town is less than 10km away, and we promise to check every two days.
We want to plant a tree and some flowers here in the garden for your kid.

We will hop in on our way home to see how you are doing, and to bring you a little present.

These elks really are usefull and mostly tax-free, even in Belgium. They also produce organic fertilizer as an extra surplus. You really should consider having one.
Please state size and color if you want us to smuggle it in the trunk for you.

Thanks again, for making us laugh, and for letting us have a very special evening here with a tall and mostly unskilled waiter.

Sibel & Jean

Kristinehamn, Sweden. Late afternoon on Monday, July 23rd, 2012

Dear diary,

I am very unhappy.

Just 238 km left heading for Armpit Place in the woods of Dalarna.
The Turbo went to heaven, and other than supporting a stinky loss of speed, we did a screech&scrooch to the next town on backroads.

Trollhättan is not really far away, not if you are in Sweden. But it will take at least a day of shipping and repair.
If the garage gets the Turbo.
If the Turbo is still available.
If the Turbo is the fitting one.
If you drive the right Saab.

Well.
According to the flush it is the only car one should consider riding, and that is also something no other thing will ever give you.
Except for your girlfriend.
(She insisted I write that)

After all, it is not expensive. Not really.
Not if you happen to do a repair in Sweden.
For a Saab.
Done by a damn good Saab mechanic.
A unique opportunity one cannot (and shall not) miss, you surely will have to agree.
Considering all those facts, it is cheap by all means.

But I really do hope that there will be many fish in the lake we will see tomorrow or the day after.
And I'd love to see a lot of mushrooms as well, growing in the woods that hopefully will be numerous to feed hungry mouthes.
(They have elks here, tall and blonde and friendly people talking funny, and endless skies. Woods are not a problem in Sweden, either)

Those people here, you know. They are somewhat fantastic. I almost forgot about that.
I always had this thing for bleaky northerners, but even my new girlfriend (fromTurkey) starts to like them. And that was unexpected and not supposed to happen early.
There must be some (kind of) underlying meaning then - a one of which we have not notified before.
(Except for me, of course. I am a Saab owner)

We found a very promising restaurant here for tonight, and our doggie already made friendships with the locals.
Take that big fat Irish Wolfhound beast, getting a turn-of-head on ugly loud little yelling plushy couch potatoes and you have the thing to worry about: Pray.
Guess what? Thought I knew my Dolfie. He loves them.
Go figure. Maybe one day he is not my dog any more.

Even those bloody fur noses seem to be different here.

Every good story starts with a What If.

What If
- the Turbo would not arrive tomorrow?
- we had to stay another day?
- I start riding elks?

Sweden is ~unbelievably~ green, and there is more clean fresh air than we can breath. It feels good to be back.

Jean