Blue Water

This is a sorry excuse for a blog. I never write very much, just post pictures. Summer is all about water, though, and here are more... pictures.

We took a trip to Styrsö last week. It is an island in the archipelago where my great aunt lives and we frequently go to see her. She is my grandmother's sister and lives on the island which is a summer paradise.

I am also including some pictures of swimming. I would like to add that the water was perfect by Swedish standards. The summer we got married, 1999, Mark received a freezing shock as he followed my then nine-year-old sister who had just declared the lake water "luke warm." He only got as far as his ankles by the time Daniella and I were done stripping our clothes off on the beach, Swedish style, and were changed into our suits and dove in. Mark never did swim because of the temperature and he has relived the experience many times. (Nothing to compare to swimming in the ocean at Narvik [northern Norway] when snow is still on the nearby mountains). I wondered if Isak (who takes after Mark in many ways) would follow in his father's footsteps and refuse to swim because the water was only 60-62 degrees Fahrenheit. But I should have known better. The kid was born in Borås, for goodness sakes. He swam for 45 minutes, long after I had dried off, when I finally forced him out of the water. Elina and Annia, both born in Oklahoma, had no fear either. I should explain that the water does get warmer later on in the summer. 70-75 is normal in June-July, but I have experienced 80-82 degrees on rare occasions in shallower lakes.