© All photographs and text by the author, John Wyatt, 2012, unless otherwise acknowledged
Our Home
We live in a small Swedish village, in a large house that was once the local church minister's house, ie the vicarage or rectory. The house was
built in the 1800's and is constructed from solid tree-trunk logs, packed with moss in the cracks - but that is now hidden behind the plastered walls,
except in the attic! It's well insulated and warm in winter and cool in summer. It's also very light and airy. Obviously it has been renovated and
modernised several times over the years, but has retained it's original features and charm. Like many Swedish homes it has a large "allroom"
upstairs which is where we sit, chat, play and watch TV. You can look around the house in pictures here.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Family:
Mum, Dad, 2 children and 3 pets (and counting ...). Dad is retired after working for over 10 years as the IT Manager of the Birmingham housing
and resettlement project, St Basils. Now he spends most of his time gardening, planning the "Bed and Breakfast" using our guest rooms, and
driving the children around. Both children go to school locally and quickly adjusted to being bi-lingual and having all lessons and instructions in
Swedish. Mum is upgrading her training and seeking job opportunities.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lucky:
Lucky is really friendly, although she used to be terrorised by Hannes when he was younger! She is loved
by John and Vibeke, and cared for by us all. She loves to play in our garden, tolerates Blossom ("the kitten")
and Mist (our puppy). Nowadays Hannes is learning to be gentle with her and our other pets, and she lets
him stroke her, whilst keeping an eye on her get-away route! After arriving in the winter she was kept
indoors until the snow had gone. She then loved the outdoors, but got scratched, bitten and vandalised by
the huge local ‘wild’ prowling cats, and then spent less time in the garden. Lucky iwas our first family pet and
travelled from England with us. After a year she is now well settled, has found her place in the local cat
community (so isn’t beaten up anymore!) and sleeps indoors for hours when there is snow on the ground
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vibeke:
A bright happy girl, who loves her pets, horse riding and living in the countryside. An excellent swimmer, she also enjoys drawing, painting, dog
training and scouts. She is currently learning the flute at music school, and has become totally fluent in Swedish.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hannes:
Outgoing and very active, into everything, and all questions and tantrums - a typical 5 year old boy! He enjoys school and has several buddies in
his classroom "gang". A mop of curly hair which he is proud of, and had cut for the very first time in 2012! Interests - dinosaurs, knights and fire
appliances.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mist:
Our Shetland Sheep Dog puppy (a "Sheltie") is a lovely family pet, still puppy-ish and into chewing
everything, likes walks, snoozing on the best chairs (and beds) and chasing the kitten. Mist is Vibeke's
main responsibility of the pets and they enjoy training together.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blossom-Pirate:
Hannes' is allowed to call Blossom-Pirate his own pet, even though she (?) actually belongs to all of us.
Why two names - we thought she was a female and decided on the name Blossom, but then Hannes
objected to "his" cat having such a girlish name, and we were also told "she" was a he!! So, Hannes got
to choose a second name in case she was a Tom cat - hence "Pirate". Now “she” has finally been
confirmed as a female!
Home
© All photographs and text by the author, John Wyatt, 2012, unless otherwise acknowledged
Our Home
We live in a small Swedish village, in a large house that was once the local church minister's house, ie the vicarage or rectory. The house was
built in the 1800's and is constructed from solid tree-trunk logs, packed with moss in the cracks - but that is now hidden behind the plastered walls,
except in the attic! It's well insulated and warm in winter and cool in summer. It's also very light and airy. Obviously it has been renovated and
modernised several times over the years, but has retained it's original features and charm. Like many Swedish homes it has a large "allroom"
upstairs which is where we sit, chat, play and watch TV. You can look around the house in pictures here.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Family:
Mum, Dad, 2 children and 3 pets (and counting ...). Dad is retired after working for over 10 years as the IT Manager of the Birmingham housing
and resettlement project, St Basils. Now he spends most of his time gardening, planning the "Bed and Breakfast" using our guest rooms, and
driving the children around. Both children go to school locally and quickly adjusted to being bi-lingual and having all lessons and instructions in
Swedish. Mum is upgrading her training and seeking job opportunities.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lucky:
Lucky is really friendly, although she used to be terrorised by Hannes when he was younger! She is loved
by John and Vibeke, and cared for by us all. She loves to play in our garden, tolerates Blossom ("the kitten")
and Mist (our puppy). Nowadays Hannes is learning to be gentle with her and our other pets, and she lets
him stroke her, whilst keeping an eye on her get-away route! After arriving in the winter she was kept
indoors until the snow had gone. She then loved the outdoors, but got scratched, bitten and vandalised by
the huge local ‘wild’ prowling cats, and then spent less time in the garden. Lucky iwas our first family pet and
travelled from England with us. After a year she is now well settled, has found her place in the local cat
community (so isn’t beaten up anymore!) and sleeps indoors for hours when there is snow on the ground
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vibeke:
A bright happy girl, who loves her pets, horse riding and living in the countryside. An excellent swimmer, she also enjoys drawing, painting, dog
training and scouts. She is currently learning the flute at music school, and has become totally fluent in Swedish.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hannes:
Outgoing and very active, into everything, and all questions and tantrums - a typical 5 year old boy! He enjoys school and has several buddies in
his classroom "gang". A mop of curly hair which he is proud of, and had cut for the very first time in 2012! Interests - dinosaurs, knights and fire
appliances.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mist:
Our Shetland Sheep Dog puppy (a "Sheltie") is a lovely family pet, still puppy-ish and into chewing
everything, likes walks, snoozing on the best chairs (and beds) and chasing the kitten. Mist is Vibeke's
main responsibility of the pets and they enjoy training together.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blossom-Pirate:
Hannes' is allowed to call Blossom-Pirate his own pet, even though she (?) actually belongs to all of us.
Why two names - we thought she was a female and decided on the name Blossom, but then Hannes
objected to "his" cat having such a girlish name, and we were also told "she" was a he!! So, Hannes got
to choose a second name in case she was a Tom cat - hence "Pirate". Now “she” has finally been
confirmed as a female!
Home
