The backup camera is in place and Mom is really happy about it and the help she got was invaluable because it was no way she could do that herself. Can't really call it wireless when there were cables and drilling involved, but if you think about it, the camera needs to get a signal when Lucy is in reverse, which means wire connected to the backup light. 

It’s done and it works wonderful, many thanks to the lady who lent me her husband for a few hours.

 We left in the afternoon before the dance started, and I was pleased not having to listen to a lot of noise.

I thought we were going to be at Lotta’s house today but Mom got too tired so we had to pull over and sleep.

Sweden has never ever been this hot for so many weeks in a row, and it's all people talk about. It has been in the 80ies every day and since Lucy does not have AC it becomes pretty tiring. Mom bought me a small table fan that connects to the cigarette lighter, and it helps a little. Mom tells me it's cooler in the back on the floor, but I prefer to ride shotgun so I know what's going on. We're staying by a lake

There's a cat living here too but not a very nice one. He/She follows me around and every time I stop to smell the flowers He/She sits down to stare and hiss .....I do miss Lilly

As soon as the sun goes down at 10 pm, it cools down considerably and that's a blessing so we can sleep. Of course, the new ceiling fan helps a lot too.

This is the sky at 10 pm

I think there's always ducks at lakes so I have seen them so many times I find them completely uninteresting. Mom thinks the babies are so cute so she just HAVE to feed them.

time to turn in Good Night 

Yesterday we said goodbye to Ove, Elvy, and Helge and drove south a couple of hours to meet up with a gentleman that offer Mom help with the backup camera she bought.

The ad of the camera said it was cordless so Mom thought she could just slap it on and it’ll work but after reading instruction it turned out to be a lot more involved, like drilling and wires for a sender and other stuff Mom doesn’t understand. Here's the first casualty for the season.

We met up with this gang of super-gigantic buses which was remodeled for luxury living. Our Lucy looked like a little ant in this company.

We are parked on a field next to a big barn that once housed several hundred cows, but since having a milk farm aren’t very lucrative anymore these smart farmers made the barn into a dance palace, so every weekend people show up to listen to their favorite band and many do line dancing. Last week it was a Pink Floyd cover band. Too bad we weren’t here than Mom says. I say I’m glad not having to listen to so much loud noise.

Early morning we went for a walk exploring and a very friendly cat came and made figure eights around Moms legs and purred very loud. He was bigger than I so I kept my distance and the cat respected that.

A lady in the barn saddled her horse and went for a ride, and as Mom watched she was dreaming about doing the same, but from experience she knows she's unable to do so. Se’s afraid of heights hahaha

I got a whiff of those delicious meatballs that horses make, but unable to get a taste since Mom watched me like a hawk.

This place is so idyllic now, but I have a feeling it’ll get much louder tonight, so I hope Mom drive away before the band shows up.

At the moment the camera is being installed and I got locked up in my carriage because the drilling terrified me. 

Mom thinks this man is amazing who so kindly offered to help a complete stranger. I licked his leg for a long long time to let him know I appreciated it too.

That's all, for now, folks........................love Buttons 

Finally, I get to update my blog. Mom has been pretty much under the weather since we got here but is now slowly coming back to life. She says the flight is so uncomfortable and long, and then it’s the time change and different air that makes us both sleepy.

To me the flight is no big deal, I sleep very well in my bag and have no complaints about the food either. Mom turned her nose up to what was served so I ate all the ham and cheese while Mom only ate the brownie included.

We made a short stop in Copenhagen and after landing in Stockholm we managed to make the first train to our final destination where our friends Ove and Elvy met us.

On the train, I made a friend because for the first time ever Mom decided not to hide me so we got to ride in the wagon dedicated to dogs. It was fun.

The first night we spent at our friend's house and following day we got a ride to where Lucy was. She now has a new solar panel and a fan over the bed.  

Elvy rode with us to her country house and boy was I glad to arrive at a place where I’m completely free to roam around.

We have been serviced by Elvy entire week and Ove is still pretty easy to charm and he goes directly to the fridge when I tell him to. In other words, we’re both getting quite spoiled.

Yesterday we went for a bike ride to the lake. It was great until Mom decided to toss me into the water to see if I could swim…………...Of course, I can swim, but it wasn’t very nice of her. I had to inspect the life-saving raft to make it sure it was in a proper working condition.

To get even I rubbed the wet sand from my body on her towel.

Mom got shamed into getting in the water even though she thought it was freezing cold.

We have been here a week now, and the weather is absolutely fantastic. It’s so nice and sunny so most Swedes are now complaining it’s too hot? Which I don’t understand at all

there were billions of little frog babies in the water..................

In the afternoon I was exhausted so I took a  long nap in my carriage.

Mom painted her ladybugs while I relaxed, and after that was done everyone was relaxing.

seems like not much will be done today, gorgeous weather, birds chirping, can't ask for anything better says, Mom.

It's noon now and I just heard that snap-click sound when someone is opening a beer, and too my big surprise it's Mom doing it? and if this keeps up every day I'll be scolding her, but she promised as soon as we get on the road in Lucy it'll be water only. That's reassuring I think

greetings to all my friends

Only 10 more days and we are getting on the plane for that long ride back to the warm sun. I know Mom is not looking forward to the travel but it'll be nice to see everybody again.

As of lately, it seems like it has been raining every other day and it's getting quite chilly at nights. Fall is definitely coming to Sweden.

We have spent a week with Moms puppy friend again just relaxing doing nothing which is ok sometimes. 

Her friend now has 4 chickens and a rooster, the latter which made so much noise in early mornings Mom threatened to put a sock over his head. Birdbrain didn't care............

Selma is cute and I'm pretty sure she remembers me, but she is no Lilly who will cuddle with me. Selma prefers to check me out from a distance, I learned to ignore her, same as I ignore the senior cat Morre.

Fall is the time to pick mushrooms and this year there's plenty in the forests. Mom says it's a real delicacy which I have no opinion about since I didn't get a taste. Guess it's no good for dogs? I know some of those are poisonous so it's a good thing Lotta is an expert who knows which ones to pick.Mom only knows 2 for sure.

these are definitely poisonous, the prettiest ones usually are..............Mom thinks 

fried Chantarellens on buttered toast and parsley is amazing ...........mmmmmm

The foals are getting big and soon they'll be moving out of this pasture and going home to their owners to train to run really fast. People will bet on them and the fastest will make a lot of money for their owners.Mom wishes I could make money like that too.................

 

We have spent all this silent time in Moms puppy town visiting friends and relatives so there hasn't been much to write to you guys about says Mom and this time I have to agree. 

Yesterday we started the trip south and spent most of the day driving. Mom is cursing the fact she's born so far North and thinks this is the most boring road in the entire universe. She says she knows every turn, every stone, every house on the way, and since I've done it a few times I'm recognizing it too..............Mom says that BS since I'm napping most of the way, she doesn't understand that even if my eyes are closed I register everything going on .............ha

This is the view from our window this morning.

Mom has been nagging her cousin Lars to go fishing for years, and he always promised to do so, and this year he followed through................Mom caught the biggest fish, a pike, but she felt it was too slimy to touch.

For a short while, Mom took the oars, she says it's like riding a bike, once you learned you know it.............but the strength is not the same I noticed..................Mom calls BS again, she says I wasn't with her when she was a puppy so what do I know......

Lars won the Perch competition even if Mom tried to cheat and hold her tiny fish closer to the camera.........

being on the water is very exciting I truly enjoy it, and so does Mom. The evening was very quiet, the water still and a nice sunset, although a little chilly

On August first I got to experience something I never have seen before ??? All of a sudden it started to snow marbles _???   it didn't last long but it was quite exciting and Mom being the kid she goes outside to play in it..........I thought it was kind of scary...........

look at this short film 

One day we went to an old farm where people show how things were done many years ago, some even before MOm was born ( a really long long time ago)  some were playing a key-fiddle which is a rather complicated instrument.

accordions are also very common with the old timers. The people we spoke to were worried all this will disappear since the newer generation aren[t interested in keeping all this alive. This farm is worked by all volunteers so they are probably correct.

I visited with the pigs and a few more farm animals, none of them seemed interested in making my acquaintance.

One day when I was left alone in Lucy I almost gave Mom a heart attack, I had made myself real comfortable behind the pillows and she didn't find me, and I didn't answer her call since I wanted her to sweat for leaving me alone. She ran around and called for me outside too? how did she think I opened the door? sometimes she doesn't think very clearly .............

This is Fiona, she's a little kitten living with a friend of Moms, she didn't like me at all which is really hard to understand

It isn't sunlight all night anymore and it's pretty obvious we're heading towards fall season. This is from an evening walk around 9pm and the sun is on it's way down.   

we walked by a pasture with cows (not cows its bulls mom says)  so what, I say the difference is not very easily noticed so I call them all cows. Anyway, this entire herd has harts on their forheads ? that's pretty cool don't you think ?

It's now 9 am and we're ready to continue our drive south. Not sure where we'll end up next, but I'll keep you posted.

ALl is well.

It's been a few days since my update so I have to go back a few days and tell about the visit at Moms relatives that have ducks.

I jumped out of Lucy and ran to greet them but that scared them so much I was told not to that again and being the nice guy I am, I didn't.

They also had a Turkey that wanted to be close all the time and took any chance she could get to run inside the house. She loved being held by the young daughter and often fell asleep in her lap.

There was a car show in this town too. American cars are very popular in Sweden and I think almost every town has a meeting during summer.

girls dress very nicely, 

This car is called the cadaver and Mom questioned if it really could pass inspection and supposedly it did. I think these guys are having a lot of fun with it and mostly using it for party time.

After the car show Moms relatives went to a party and the young daughter of the house and Mom were home alone, and THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED !!!!!!

Following day we went fishing in the lake next to their house. This time Mom didn't get any fish, but for what I can see her heart wasn't really into it.

Before we moved on to Moms puppy town she wanted to give the Turkey a good hug, figuring they'll never meet again (cause she'll be meat) Not sure Turkey liked it very much 

.

The young girl is going to art school and she showed Mom this painting. She also told her the story behind it, why she chose the colors she did and what it all represented. Mom thought it was absolutely brilliant and was very impressed that a 17-year-old in Sweden knew so much about US politics. I hope she's willing to share her essay so Mom could translate it for you all.

Still hanging in Moms puppy town and visiting a lot of old friends. Yesterday we had coffee (fika) with the lady that owned the little convenience store Mom used to shop in from when she was 5 years old. I could tell mom was really excited about that..............and I'm pretty sure it was mutual.

ALl is well.

Since we now are in the part of the country where Mom spent her puppy years, we are doing a lot of visiting, going from one relative to another. 

Continuing my story from a few days back while we were in the small village called Gunnarn

Early one morning while we were still relaxing in Lucy these people had been out in the forest picking our forest gold called cloud berries. Mom refuses to go along since she vividly remembers her puppy years picking these on the swamp where the gnats, mosquitos, and those pesky horse flies lives. Never the less they truly are a delicacy especially warm on ice cream, also very expensive. I didn't think Mom deserved it since she didn't go along but she did get a bag to take home...............and I bet she'll do just like she did last year...........(hid them all the way back in the fridge without sharing)

In the afternoon we went fishing at a lake and Maria made supper over a bonfire.............

this guy, Thomas are the most difficult guy I've met in my entire life. No flirting what so ever soften him up to give me a taste. Lucky for me was that he's also a little sloppy and dropped a few pieces on the ground ;-)

We were fishing for perch and the first one they pulled up flopped around and hit me on the head............fishing was very good they said, and they kept about 20. Mom did get a few too, which made her happy as a lark.

they had an electric engine to drive the boat, but on the way back we had no more power so Thomas had to row quite a distance. Both Mom and Maria offered to take turns, (Mom wouldn't be that good though) ..............They didn't need to because a happier guy to row is hard to find...............his singing ??? well, not AS good but I'll give him an A for effort..............it would have been better if he remembered more of the lyrics

At the moment we are at Moms cousins house and she did all of our laundries but before we got here we stopped at yet the place of another relative, and yet another car-show which is very popular here, but I'll continue that story tomorrow (if I can get Mom to help)

All is well. 

Nothing to tell is once again the excuse Mom is giving me and my protests don't seem to matter anymore...........Oh well, I guess I have to settle with the little time I do get.

We spent a few days at Mom's aunt and her birthday party, where Mom got to meet a lot of relatives which was great for her. It was pretty good for me too because I managed to smooch a few goodies from the guests.

Last day there they ate that smelly fish which I have smelled before and trust me it's a very unpleasant smell.............and that's coming from ME ? Mom says .............not sure what she means about that.

This is a type of fermented Baltic sea herring and is smaller than the Atlantic Sea herring.The herring used for surströmming are caught just prior to spawning.

During the production of surströmming, just enough salt is used to prevent the raw herring from rotting. A fermentation process for at least six months gives the fish a characteristic strong smell and somewhat acidic taste. According to a Japanese study, a newly opened can of surströmming has one of the most putrid food smells in the world, stronger than similarly fermented fish dishes from Korea and Japan.

You eat in on a kind of Matza bread with boiled potatoes, butter, chopped onions tomatoes and sour cream...........

Here's a perfect "klamma"

Following day we continued driving north, and all you see is trees and more trees, again a good time to nap. Since Mom also thought we should take it slow, we stopped at our favorite camp site in Vilhelmina.

This is our third time here and it's great to see the owners who are so nice and service minded.

Here things work on the honor system, you want an ice cream? take it and you put the money in a box, if you want to use the washing machine there's a fee, just put the money in the box. It's a real "feel good" place Mom says, and I agree.

I met this smiling girl there

Many rest stops have this kind of BBQs for people traveling. Lokals chop wood and leave for everyone to use.

The people in the north believe in slowing down and enjoy the nature and that's really cool

We have been to this village before, I remember that moose standing in front of the grocery store.........

We didn't have many more miles to go to stop at another relatives hose a little further north so Mom made several stops to look around, and this stop is a camping place where you have close to fishing which the other place also have so it'll be hard to choose next time.

I met this cute girl there, same age as me .............she has potential I say

in the afternoon we arrived at another relative to Mom and they hunt and fish for most of their food so in the evening they BBQed moose which was delicious.

This is Maria, the chef in charge and a totally awesome cook.

Their dogs are hunting dogs so they stay outside a lot and bark a lot, drives Mom nuts............haha........they were both nice to me. I walked up to them to say hello and they treated me with all the respect a senior deserves.

Second evening the appetizer was smoked moose hart, and yessssss I did get to taste a small corner, it was very tasty. Mom never ate this before and was a little suspicious but she really liked it too.

The main course was a lasagna that was outta this world made with moose meat, and for dessert fried rhubarb with ice cream and cookie crumbs. Mom ate way way way to much so she better get on a diet soon.

We have a great view here and it never get dark at night.............all is well