Who loves the sun?

Here I am. I'm here again. I've been waking up at what I continuously think is 9:00 because the sun is blazing its way through the curtains; it's always 4:00 in the morning when this happens. Tomorrow will be the longest day of the year (read: I'll wake up at 3:50 instead). Friday brings the most Swedish of Swedish traditions, Midsommar. I plan on dancing myself around the Maypole donned in a flowered wreath atop my head, a strawberry in one hand and a Blå Gul in the other. First year abroad and I'm trying to do it all right.


Last weekend Nilla and I took advantage of a beautiful day and kicked around Stockholm. It turned out to be a great way to celebrate her birthday as well as to get out of Uppsala for a bit. Stockholm gives me really good city vibes, the same sort that Chicago gave me so many times. Do I see a possible change in location on the horizon? Possibly. We're working on moving our life that direction, as long as we can still live nextdoor to a forest and continue to pay dirt-cheap rent! We shall see...

But tonight, oh my, it's Sweden vs. England in their final World Cup group match.England is already guaranteed to continue into the second round but Sweden is in desperate need of a win to secure their spot. As crazy as it might seem, England has not beaten Sweden since 1968 and they've played each other 11 times in that timespan. England deserves a World Cup championship the same way that the Cubs deserve to win the World Series; tradition and a long streak of "bad luck" make it this way. But of course, come on, I want Sweden to win. A victory for Sweden tonight will do that thing it does where it puts one gigantic smile across the face of this entire country. I like that sort of thing.