I wasn’t able to move any of my power tools from my workshop in the US over here, so I started with only hand tools. The space I am renting provided workbenches and a few more hand tools. I did pick up a cordless drill; I’m not a psychopath of course.

I have pretty much everything needed to make furniture. I’ve been making the shop furniture from spruce and pine, which isn’t too particular about board thickness and is pretty easy to cut by hand. But no one really wants nice furniture out of pine or spruce, so I’m moving to hardwoods. I’m cutting the legs and rails of the hall bench I’m making from a 2″ slab of what I think is European Beech. It is dense like oak and a bit harder than red oak.

I have realized that it sucks to thickness a board by hand, and will go by the tools store today to order a thickness planer. Yesterday I decided that ripping the boards by hand was too much work. My goal is to enjoy building things, so I used the tools next door.

When I rented the shop, the landlord said I could use the woodworking tools in the shop next to mine if desired. They have a lot of large equipment from when the shop made furniture for IKEA between the late 1940s and the 1980s. Not all the equipment is hooked up (like the huge thickness planer), some of it needs work (the jointer needs the motor installed), but some of it works. And one of the ones that is working is the tablesaw. I hadn’t used it before and it is a large 3-phase machine with three motors/blades. Pretty intimidating to use. At least the section setup for ripping wasn’t too bad to setup.

Long story short, I have the legs cut roughly to size and am waiting on the planer to get to proper size. I’m not at the shop today, but tomorrow I’m planning on cutting out the rails. Joinery will have to wait. Soon I’ll need to order the danish cord and hooks to weave the top.

This morning I’m off to drop Susanna’s car off at the dealer. I’ll walk by Swedendro Tools on the way back home to see if I can order the planer. My plan is to organize our storage space in the basement before heading out to meet a friend for lunch. This afternoon Izzy is starting her after-school art program followed by a trial lesson at the boxing gym with a friend from school.

Izzy started school today, which gave me the chance to get back in the workshop. I’m starting the build on the Danish Cord bench. Today I started to saw out the legs. I don’t have any power tools in the shop yet (okay, I do have a cordless drill, but that is it), so the sawing is going slow. I’ll see how much I miss having a stationary saw, but I already know that getting the boards to proper thickness by hand will be a lot of not-very-fun work. So, a lunchbox planer is on my short list.

The shop itself is slowly coming together. I do need a place to hang my chisels, and better storage for the hand planes. But it is working for now.

The first week of 2026 has been cold, and the forecast for the next two weeks calls for more cold, with nothing above freezing for at least seven days. We got 9 inches of snow in the past week, and it will be staying for a while. I think a few more inches fell in Rottne on top of that. My workshop rent doesn’t include snow removal, so last time I was there I spent a while digging a parking spot for me. I’ll head back up there tomorrow and dig some more if needed.

It is Izzy’s last day of break before the spring semester starts. Izzy and I are taking it easy this morning, but Susanna had to return to work early this morning to make it for her preschool opening time of 7 AM. We’ve had a somewhat busy first week of 2026. Susanna, Izzy and I went ice skating over the weekend. I haven’t been on ice skates since college, so I don’t think I did too badly for not having been skating for three decades. Izzy and Susanna are hoping to get into skating lessons this winter, but we are still waiting to hear back about availability.

Things will start getting busy in the next two weeks. I’ll hopefully get my tax ID soon, but I know the wheels of the government turn slowly, even here. Izzy is back in after-school care three days a week so I can work on starting my business. Izzy is starting after-school art classes at the Kulturskolan (Culture School) one day a week. She is also trying boxing at a local gym with one of her friends.

Last year was tough at times. But I don’t think I was alone; I think it was a difficult year for a lot of people. There was a lot of change and disruption in my life, and that impacted not only me, but my family.

But it wasn’t all bad; with the changes came opportunities. A year ago we were getting ready to leave Sweden back home to the US and had been talking about our 5-6 year plan to move here when I retired. Then DOGE happened, and work became very painful, but it gave me an opportunity to retire early. So I start this year living in Sweden, several years earlier than we had originally planned.

There are times that I miss my old job, but I don’t regret leaving. I have had a lot more time to get to know Susanna and my kids better. And I got a lot of time with Izzy. A lot of time. Did I mention that we spent a lot of time together? We drove each other crazy at times, but I think that we became really close over the past year.

I’ve been thinking about goals for 2026 and have a few. I didn’t make a list of goals for 2025. If I had, I’m sure they would have been overcome by events.

My first and biggest goal is to get fully settled into life here in Sweden. I still have a decent amount to do, including getting my tax ID, signed up with a doctor, get a driver’s license, get a bank account and get into Swedish for Immigrants (Swedish language lessons).

My second goal is to build things. Back in my old life, it almost seemed that most of my woodworking projects were workshop improvements. I’d like to start building furniture. The shop is starting to get to a point where I can work on my first projects. It helps that we need furniture for the apartment. I’ll also spend time getting the space arranged and decorated as well, of course.

My third goal is to make the workshop self-sustaining by the end of the year. The rent on the workshop isn’t too expensive, so hopefully that isn’t too much of a stretch. I don’t think I’ll be able to make enough money just making furniture yet, but have a lead on some odd jobs that could help pay for it. But I need to get my tax identification number before I can register as a business. I think I also have a business name picked out, but I’ll post that at a later date.

My final goal is to keep active, go on hikes and get outside consistently. I need the exercise, and having a dog that needs to get out certainly helps keep me motivated.

Anyway, welcome to 2026!

I had hoped to get out for a hike with Izzy yesterday afternoon, but she was able to make last minute plans with a friend from school so we weren’t able to get out with Hoagie. The forecast for today was sunny, cold and windy. So, a perfect morning for a hike.

It certainly felt like a winter day today. The sun only crept 10 degrees or so above the horizon at its zenith. The wind was whipping up the waves in the lake and chilling us through our coats and scarves. The shallow inlets and coves around the island were covered with a skin of ice think enough for Hoagie to poke his head through for a drink.

Izzy and I bundled up in coats, hats, gloves and scarves for the 5km walk around the island; Hoagie wore his sweater. The temperature wasn’t terrible, just below freezing, but the wind made it cold. We skipped the optional look around Musön, the island just north of Hissö.

The trail was more crowded than I’ve experienced in my recent weekday walks here. However it is school break and the sun was out, so I shouldn’t have been surprised. I did have to keep Hoagie on the leash more than I’m sure he wanted.

I was able to get out to Lake Alstern today and take Hoagie for a walk. There was a little dusting of snow left on the ground. Not too much, but enough to offer Hoagie plenty of entertainment trying to eat the little left.

Yesterday was the traditional Swedish Christmas. Susanna cooked salmon (okay, ham is probably more traditional, but I think fish works as well) for lunch and then we watched Donald Duck on TV with half of the Swedish population. After the TV show we opened presents. That leaves today (Christmas Day) pretty open.

This morning I took Hoagie to the Kronobergs Slottsruin for a hike and pictures. It was overcast and cold and I didn’t have a lot of luck with the camera, but here are a few pictures from today.

It has been a month since I’ve posted, so welcome to a my scattershot method of updating my blog. It is also a good view into how my ADHD mind works. I’m squeezing in drafting this post between the Swedish Christmas Bingo (Bingo Lotto) games on TV tonight. I’ll let everyone know if we win millions tonight. Update: I haven’t won anything yet!

My move over here is progressing! I spent a few weeks back in the US getting my interview completed at the Swedish embassy. I had planned to return on Christmas eve. However, I was approved a week after my interview and moved up my return trip. The approval was only step one. I needed to get my biometrics done here to receive my residence permit. Susanna scheduled an appointment for me the day after I returned home last week and I received my residence permit in the mail yesterday! I have an appointment early January to get my personnummer (Swedish social security number). Then get a bank account, driver’s license, doctor, etc. It should keep me busy through the first part of 2026. But at least I don’t have to leave the country!

We are in the middle of the holiday season. Izzy had her last day of school on Friday; Susanna had to work today and yesterday, but has tomorrow off. Tonight is Christmas Bingo (and as of this point in the blog, I still haven’t won anything). Tomorrow is Christmas eve and the traditional day for opening gifts in Sweden. Izzy’s cousins are at their dad’s house on this week, so we went to Susanna’s parent’s house on Sunday to celebrate Christmas with her extended family. I drove the hour up to Vetlanda to pick up Susanna’s grandmother. Her English is pretty weak, so it was a good chance for me to work on my Swedish. Of note, her English is still better than my Swedish, but I am understanding more and more. It was a fun day of food and gifts, though the night ended with Izzy feeling sick with a sore throat and fever. Don’t worry, Izzy felt much better after a good nights sleep.

The days are short and cold, but the sun was out. I was able to get down to the lake around sunset on Sunday (which is a little before 3:30 pm this time of year). Hoagie enjoyed getting out to run in the woods, and everyone eventually made it out to walk “the loop” down to the cabin on the lake and back up the road. Luckily for Hoagie, there were no cows, pigs, sheep or other equally terrifying animals out in the fields.

The workshop is making slow progress. A few days ago, the landlord, Bo, and I installed a board over the hole from the door at the rear of my workshop. Yesterday Izzy and I stopped by to put the second coat of paint on the board. Today I spent a few hours cleaning up the room a bit and putting the shelves in place. The walls are still bare and I need to bring my tools over. I can use the industrial tablesaw next door and I think Dan has a router I can borrow for now, so I think it is time to start building a pair of hall benches. I know my ADHD will make it tough to work on a project and not just building out a workshop. I think I mostly spent time in my workshop in Preston making stuff for the workshop. I’ll have to work hard to make sure I’m more productive here.

I leave on Thanksgiving morning, or as they call it in Sweden, torsdag (Thursday); I’ll catch an early train to Denmark and a flight from Copenhagen to Boston. I have an interview at the Swedish embassy for my residence permit next week and I’m hoping that it won’t take too long to get approved. I’m running low on time with my tourist visa here in Sweden and only have a few weeks left before I need to depart for 3 months (if things take a while to get approved).

This week is about getting things in place for leaving. I dropped Susanna’s car off for service this morning. Tomorrow I’m planning on going to the workshop to wrap things up for a while. I’ll be dropping my car off with Dan and Charlotte on Wednesday and probably leave Hoagie out there at that time. I still need to pack; I won’t be bringing a lot back with me, so it shouldn’t take too long.

I took Hoagie on a bus ride to Söder (South Växjö) this afternoon to get some outside time. We walked around Bokhultet nature reserve for a while until we were both cold and then took the bus back. The cold will take a while to get used to.

It has been a busy week. We got snow. Not a lot. A few inches. But it snowed through the day on Thursday. Plenty of snow that would have certainly shut down the schools in Connecticut. And probably made for a delayed day on Friday. But this is Sweden. So I woke up early and drove through the snow to meet the electrician at the workshop at 0630 in the middle of a snowstorm. Izzy went to school and Susanna went to work. We all survived.

It is also getting cold. I got Hoagie a shirt/sweater to wear. He loves the snow and winter, but it seems cold enough that with his short fur he should have something extra on top. I can’t tell if he likes it or not, but at least he doesn’t seem to freak out with it on. I think I need a warmer winter coat and snow boots, but I’ll wait until I return from the states to pick them up.

Susanna’s car battery died last night. She had a late night at work, working the closing shift at the preschool followed by a team meeting after closing. I got a call from her at 8 pm that she couldn’t get the car started. Of course I didn’t have jumper cables (yet), so I drove the 30 minutes in the snowstorm to Hovmantorp to pick her up and drive her home. This morning she took my car to work. I took the bus (and walked) to the car parts store and picked up jumper cables. After lunch, Hoagie and I walked downtown and then took the bus to Hovmantorp and made the 20 minute trek to Susanna’s work to help her jump the car when she finished work. Hoagie didn’t mind the bus ride and spent most of it sleeping on the seat next to me.

The electrical work is done in the workshop. I’m hoping to get out there tomorrow morning to clean and organize after moving things around for the electrician. The new lights are a huge improvement, though now I can see where I messed up when painting the walls.