As written by Will this week at school:

Wants to be a scientist
Inside recess stinks
Loves dogs
Loves books
I like school
A boy who likes weekends
My favorite food is pizza

Okay. I’m not talking about that far back in time. Though, I’m sure my kids think that I witnessed the carving of the statue to the left in person (with a little encouragement from Susanna no doubt).

No, I do not lament for “the good old days.” I am a firm believer in the benefits of technology. Technology allows us to keep in touch with family and friends that are miles (kilometers for those in Sweden) away. I couldn’t imagine being able to do my job without using a computer. The Internet has made a trove of information (good and bad) available to us – I don’t think I could have so easily started my woodworking hobby without the resources available on the Internet.

However, I think nothing comes for free. With the Internet and computers we are given content. It becomes easy to become lost in the sea of content that streams into our houses through our computers and phones and TVs.

Susanna and I have been talking about that a lot recently. She has noticed that in her classes, the other students will get lost into their smart phones instead of talking to each other. All her class assignments are to be electronically turned in via the college’s online portal. I can feel the pull at work. It is easier to send an email off and forget about something, than actually call someone. I can see it in the boys- if we let them, their days would revolve around using their electronics.

But I don’t think work or even school is where the real problem exists. I think it is in our homes. The first think I used to do every morning was to check my iPhone. I would catch up on Facebook and email. Is my connection to the Internet so important that it is the first thing I check in the morning and the last thing I do at night? I have been starting to think that it should not be.

As a family we have been pushing to take a little step back in time – to when we weren’t so connected. We have started having “no electronic” days. Susanna has been leaving her phone downstairs at night. I have been (sometimes with more success than others) trying to avoid checking my email all the time.

Maybe our houses should be a refuge from the world that is overstimulated with media? Are we the only ones that feel this? What steps do other families do to limit the intrusion of electronics into their homes.

And yes, I do see the irony of spending my evening on the Internet typing on how I am trying to limit using the Internet and electronics at home.

The past couple of years with Susanna has been a wonderful adventure. We have traveled to Australia, England, Sweden, Denmark and up and down the east coast of the US. We have built a life here in Preston – we have learned how to make our blended family work with Will and Ben. We have made a home together; we tore down a shed and built a patio; we repainted several rooms, and are working on painting the outside of the house. We have done many trips to New York City. Susanna finished her studies in Sweden and started working on her degree here. She has helped me focus on my work in the workshop, and I have a workshop that is cleaner and more organized than I ever have (okay, maybe not right now if you walk in there – but it is still cleaner than it has been years ago).

Yesterday we decided that we wanted to take the next step in our adventure together. We are planning a wedding for next summer. I love looking back at how far our journey together has taken us, and look forward to being able to reflect on where our lives take us from here. Rarely anything worth anything in life comes easy, and we have had to work hard to get to where we are.  But I am thankful to have had her help through the difficult times as well as shared in the many joys of life. It seemed that three years ago, there was an ocean between the lives we wanted together and the lives we were living; but now it seems that we are both on the same shore, and can look back together at the long journey to this point.

It is sometimes nice to just let the ADHD take over….  so here is a bunch of random thoughts/updates.  So, if either of the two readers of this don’t want random, I suggest you skip this post (Susanna excepted – she gets to read all my posts, good or bad).

In addition to enjoying NYC, the girls have been helping out around the house.  This week they scrapped the trim on the front porch – the most complicated of section of exterior trim.

So… Project updates:

-Sailboat: The trailer is making progress – I need two more pieces of steel to finish repairs.  Still working on the topside repairs and making trim for the interior.

– Kitchen Island: On hold until after the summer projects.  The lumber is milled, hopefully it won’t get too warped before I get back to it.

– House Trim: Only progress on the porch mentioned above.

In addition, we are teaching Targa how to “shake” in Swedish.  The command is “Vacker Tass.”  He is doing pretty well.  We decided that Tucker is a little too slow to learn Swedish this week.

Now off to the casino to walk around a bit…

Random enough?

Susanna’s youngest sister, Rebecka, arrived from Sweden yesterday. That brings the number of Swedes in the house to four, outnumbering the non-Swedes for now (unless you count the dogs). It is quite crazy with both boys here and three guests – crazy, but fun.

We have two days with a full house, then the boys head back to their other house. Today will be a “take it easy” day – the boys want to invite friends over (so we can have more boys in the house than girls – the normal balance of things) and have Sofia and Linda cut their hair. Tomorrow will be Six Flags.

This weekend it will just be four Swedish women and me. I’ll lock myself in the workshop. And visit the Sawyer farm – fewer Swedes there.

It is quiet during the day with the boys not here. That gives me a chance to catch up on chores. But I’d rather have the noise of kids running around and squeeze in chores on the edges.

I picked up (and planted) tomato, pepper and celery seedlings from the Sawyer Family farm. I also picked up a freshly slaughtered chicken – dinner one night for the boys and me.

I mowed most of the yard this weekend (a little left to finish next week). The yard is coming together. The garden is planted. The flower beds are getting cleaner (ok, still work to do).

I also covered the hole in the second floor of the barn where the original stairs had been. I am getting ready to install a large (4′ x5′) window in the south facing wall. I will hinge it so I should be able to get a nice breeze in the summer. I had to repair glazing on the window and paint it.

In addition I removed four of the glass storm windows and installed screens (I have only 3 screens, so I’ll have to make more this summer.

It finally feels like summer here. Now for pizza and beer while enjoying the evening from the patio.