Yesterday we couldn't get on line, and that was because our surftime on the wireless was empty. No matter how much Mom tried she couldn't load it to work. Not sure the guy in the store knew what he was doing, but in the end we got a new modem, and now it seems to work ok. We also got a thing to charge the PC on 12 V so there should never be any excuses not to help me update my blog................right ?  

Next thing we need is a solar panel to charge the batteries, and after some research there is an inexpensive one that's easy to install and seems to do the trick.

Driving south Mom got sleepy so we pulled over for a little nap................still driving on the main "expressway" E4, Mom decided to pull in to a city she always pass, and to our surprise they're having a motorweek with lots of activities, so we'll be staying for a few days. We're parked in the harbor and parts of it is roped off for racing.

This is the wiev from my window in the evening

In the morning there was a lot of cars showing, and later the races started. I stayed in Lucy because of the awful noice that bothered my ears, and the crowds was no fun for me either.......................

all kind of cars was racing 

even a cowboy was here ??

A young girl was driving her car on 2 wheels, and her Dad was driving next to her.

she was only 13,driving the blue car, and said she started driving at 1,5 standing in Dads jeep.................not very legal of course..........she loves to drive and practice every day to get better.............I'm sure te motor sport will hear more about her in the future.

this car wasn't racing, just showing off

This town called Hudiksvall was founded by King John III in 1582. 

At the time, fishing and the trading of furs, skins, iron, copper and wood products were the main sources of income, and the city flourished. But the city lost its privileges for foreign trading in 1636, and its development was somewhat stalled for the next two centuries.

It has been damaged by fires some 10 times, the most severe when it was burnt by the Russians in 1721, whereafter only the church remained. The current street structure was applied in 1792 as part of the reconstruction necessitated by another fire............the population is 15 400

This proud fisherman is looking over the old warehouses

This is a real cool display of art, not sure what the building is...................

Today is ladies cruising day, and they're supposed to parade all dressed up and we're to judge the best dressed and nicest car..................that'll be a lot of fun, wish I knew how to wolf whistle..............that'll confuse the hell out of them 

The shoe store was showing what they got for the 50 ie style

I'm hoping weather is getting a little warmer so we can enjoy todays show............at least it isn't raining now............but the sky doesn't look good.................

This is my morning wiev ............

that's all for now.......................be good 

We left the village we been staying at and stopped by our friends house to say goodbye, and leave a ladybug Mom painted green to match her kitchen...

Than MOm had to run a few errands in the city while I watched Lucy. She was supposed to buy me more food, but she came back with a clipper,and no food.   I guess I'm finally getting a much needed bath and shave......but what am I supposed to eat ?

So NOW it's ok to sit on the table.................you should have heard the complaints when I did it on my own.......

As we're driving south Mom saw the sign to this place that so many was saying it was so nice, and as far as she can remember the weather rapport on the radio always mentioned this place for the sailors.

So we drove forever on this awful bad dirt road, and than on a really bad broken paved road. 

It was nice, but not worth the long drive

well, the history of the light house and the story about the inventer was iinteresting, I may add that tomorrow .....

There was some strange looking branches there.............looked like a wooden puppy

We only drove as far as we were back on themain road, and than stopped at a campsite because Mom needed to get power...............at 5 am she snuck me into the shower and I finally got my bath. 

Back in Lucy she had the heater on to keep me warm, and than she plugged in the dryer..................after a while she blew a fuse................no not her, it was a fuse on the pole....

That was an easy fix, and I now look awesome and smell good. 

This is the wiev at 5 am............Swedes use a lot of windmills for power

Not sure why Mom is having grass for supper ? Maybe she's scared of her friend Max ?  There was a few small pieces of meat for me on it ..

We stopped and made supper at a place where it's very popular to hike.  One goal is an pretty easy climb up to the cave where the trolls live......

Neither one of us was n the mood...........

next town has a ski jump slope pretty much in the middle of the town.............here Mom went for a quick shop stop.

they also have a really strangest highrise I've ever seen.................last time we were here they were building it, and it looked like a lego..................Mom thought it was very ugly than.....................this time she kind of liked it ?...........................

the drive continues south, and Mom is getting sleepy, so we started to look for a place to wild camp.

SOme reststops are really nice, and Mom likes the wildflowers a lot, but don't try to pick this one.............it's pretty but prickly

The first place we stopped there was o WIFI to speak of. Mom decided we needed to get to a city so we can find a hot spot. 

We again went over this bridge that Mom finds so scary. They were fixing the pavement so there was only one lane open.............she thinks it's scary and can't look to the sides or she gets dizzy....................but she can take pictures while she's driving ??????

we finnaly came to a city and are now parked at the harbour. We're so lucky, a lot of festivities are happening here tomorrow .............

This is the wiev I'm enjoying from my window right now................

Time to get under the covers for a good night sleep.................see you in the morning .............wooff

Finally three days in a row with sun and warm weather, Mom is slowly coming back to life. We're still at the same campsite in Burträsk, a small village outside the city. Sunday morning the church bells called for sermon...........

Not many people showed up.................they parked their funny looking vehicles outside and went inside to listen to .???............who knows, I'm not allowed inside ..........and that's because I don't have any sins Mom says.............oh and what about you than ? I heard some real good stuff the other day, maybe things that God would be interested in hearing ? .................Nah, he's too busy with other peoples confessions.......................and who wants to sit inside on a day like this ?

I tend to agree with Mom on this issue when I found a very comfortable chair to lay down and sun myself..............it's almost as warm as in my other home in Florida...............aaaaawesome

Mom chatted with yet another puppy friend from school, there was stories........................... but not as juicy as the ones I heard with her other friend, so I took time to make some friends on my own.......

We were sitting outside their fleemarket shop, and as the custom is...............FIKA

This place is so nice, and weather so good, Mom decided to stay a third night, and I don't mind at all. We have been riding the bike, walked in the woods. Strolled around town, and this morning Mom decided to take that bread Lotta bought, that tasted like cardboard (according to Mom)and feed the ducks........

Happy ducks came running when they saw the bread, 

but turned their beaks up and left very disappointed ..............no good no good they said.........

the seagulls came in millions, and they'll eat anything.....................good thing they cleaned up the mess we made.

every morning they have a meeting at the bridge outside Lucy's window. Glad they're keeping it down since they are early birds....................as Mom is too...........

Tomorrow morning we'll be leaving this place and head south, not sure how far yet, but time will tell.................I could tell Mom has a little cabin fever, so I have a feeling it'll be city life soon...............oh well, I'll adjust..........................

Second day without rain ...........2 with some sunshine, but looking up at the sky now, it doesn't look promising today. 

At least Mom got a little sun charged so she's in a better mood.

Another thing that got her in a better mood is meeting her puppy friend that she hasn't seen in 45 years. I listen to their stories, but if I was to repeat them I doubt I'll make it to next year. She'll make me into that bedroom rug she threathen me with sometimes. .............so all I'll say is, they sure did a lot of hitch hiking........she was so excited she forgot to take pictures ......?

It has been very cold in the mornings, with no heat, but now we got help from Lasse and Greger with a new battery, and than we needed a new propane can...............all is well now Thanks guys, and Thank you Madde.

After that meeting we went back to cousin Birgittas house, and when I noticed that, I jumped up and down in my seat............free to run around again..........love that place

In the morning Mom decided to go on one of her offroad drives, looking for moose and bears...............I wish she didn't, it's like driving on a washboard, impossible to take a nap......but it would be pretty neat to see a bear................we didn't, not even a moose.....

we didn't drive very far, we stopped at a campsite in a small village where they had a fiddle meeting.

( It's callled something else, but it's a word I don't know ) To me it sounded like a million cat's complaining, not sure Mom liked it either since we didn't stay very long...........phew....

That fiddeling kept on all day and all evening, so we went for a long walk in the woods.............that was nice

This is a very nice campsite, and Mom are doing laundry. We're also expecting company from  more puppy friends of Moms. ..............more stories I'm sure................more treats, and my lips are sealed...........

This is the view from Lucy now...........

and there she is........

We're going to stay here for a couple of days, than we may start our trip south again ............Mom feel like going to Copenhagen.......... I've been there once...............hope the sun is there

 miss you all

Thursday morning, and it’s still raining and raining, we’re both getting real tired of this. If the weather would be any better somewhere else we would go there, but unfortunately, that’s not the case. We’re also waiting for the battery to be installed, as it is now Mom can’t run the heater............which is mostly ok, but in the morning it would be nice to turn it on for a little while

 Yesterday morning we went for a long walk along the river, we passed the hood where Mom grew up, and I could hear her reminiscing. 

I was in my stroller most of the way.............

Lejonströmsbron is a wooden bridge close to Moms puppy home. The bridge was completed in 1737 and is the oldest wooden bridge in Sweden. It is 207.5 meters long (227 yards)

In the first years there was a bridge toll to pass  as follows:

• A walking person - 1 öre
  
• A rider on horseback - 3 öre
• Carts pulled by a horse - 6 öre
• Wagon pulled by a several horses - 12 öre

In 1868 a speed limit was introduced over the bridge. If you drove or rode faster than a pedestrian, you’ll be fined five crowns.

As a puppy, Mom and her buddies used to climb down to the stone pillars and fish, ( fishing in the river require a license, which they had no money for )

Mom looked trying to figure out how on earth they did that ? it looked very dangerous to her now....................and I told her she’s to old and fat to even consider a trying................oooopps, there goes my afternoon treat..........

town has done a great job building this river walk,( it used to be a steep muddy bank )and after we crossed the bridge we came to the church where Mom was confirmed.The stone church that was built on the site in the early 1500s included the sacristy and part of the masonry of the new church which was completed in 1800 after seven years of construction

When I was a kid I climbed up in to that clock tower Mom says, as she dreamingly looks up...................

This time I kept quiet, ( not risking another treat ) but I was thinking the same thing as I did on the bridge.

we continued to the old city of farmers..........

400 years ago the church village was the centre of the region surrounding Skellefteå. The church-goers from the countryside got together here during church holidays and conducted trade, drank, fought, proposed, asked for God’s forgiveness and listened to priest’s sermons.

Several of the timber houses are well over 150 years old and in the old days the Church Town got erected due to the obligatory church visits for the farmers and their families. Today there are 116 houses with a total of 392 chambers. These were used as overnight stop for parishioners who lived too far away to make the journey to the church and back in one day. 

This was also a place Mom and her friends hang out as kids, ( there was always someone who had a family member that owned one) Good thing these walls can't talk..........

after a short stop at a friends chamber, bath room visit, Mom decided to walk back the same way, instead of through the city and a different bridge, which would have been closer, but not as pretty

Yesterday morning a childhood friend of Moms stopped by with cinnamon buns he had baked..........( did you hear that Max ? ) His Mom used to work at the cafeteria in our school, and she lived close by so we went to see her. She's 96 years old, but still remember Mom ? and told me a story about her ...............(risking a treat again )

Yesterday afternoon we left the fish camp, and are now staying in the city, parked by the river. This is our current view

It has been raining all night, and all day, so we're hibernating in Lucy, me napping, Mom knitting while listening to a book.

Before we left fish camp, mom went to their museum, (yet another place with "no dogs" signs ) she stayed for a loooong time, and there was million little things to look at .

Mom had a bob like this, except hers was all red

They put planks on the horse shoe, so the can walk across the swamp........

mouse traps from the 16 to 1800..............those big metal ones on the wall, must have been made for some big a$$ rats............

This is an invention Mom remembers, the tetra pack for milk............stupid............hard to pour

from, and took up way too much room in the fridge

This is a grave yard for vaccum cleaners

There's also a place to eat, and on the menue was moose and reindeer meet with roasted potatoes and veggies. .............The moose was terriffic

so we ate and explored the place, 

during our stay aboth 30 men showed up on different old mopeds ? ..........it was veteran clubs having a meeting..... This model was supposedly the first moped sold in Sweden.

a lot of people rent for the season, and keep theis camper in one place. Not a bad idea mom thought, maybe when we don't want to drive anymore ?  some people made it look so nice around their camper.

and a lot of dogs live here ............

hey MOM ! who's that in my lap ?

there's plenty of rainbow trout in the bay...............the rent fishing poles, so Mom was tempted, but you have to pay 65 crowns a kilo, so it's not worth it for us...............

I sure hope the weather get better real soon..............if this keeps up we'll get cabin fever..........

Need a new battery for the living part of Lucy............good thing it doesn't get dark at night.............all is well

To all of you that have written to Mom and told her to contiune to help me write, I say THANK YOU, and you'll get a licking when I get home.

So, we left Jukkasjärvi and the melted ice hotel, and continued south towards Moms and Lottas puppytown , still too far to make in one day, so we stopped for one night in Gällivare. There it was raining cats and dogs ???? grass was soaked and hughe puddles everywhere...........no fun for sightseeing, so we stayed in Lucy and continued in the morning........

Here we are at the artic circle.....................almost home Mom says

I did hear some talk about going back to Norway, and that means more ferries...........please please I pleaded .........they are so scary...........I think I won this battle....

  o

We stopped at a very nice place by a river for "fika" and they had caught some char, that they grilled over open fire. Mom and Lotta salivated over it. I tasted it, but wasn't all that impressed.

Weather is getting nice, but still pretty cold at night ..........easy to deal with just bundle up ............what's hard for Mom is the mosquitoes that's so plentiful they are sucking all the blood out of her so she's at risk of fainting.............well, that's the drama queen speaking..........I have no problem with them....... 

We finally arrive at Mom's cousins house, and Lotta took the bus back south to Stockholm, which means I got my seat back.................yiiiipppiieeee..............s
till miss her tough...........sometimes she was nice enough to let me sit in her lap, and that was very cozy

     

   

I have one more favorite place here in Moms puppy town, and that is here............It's Vanja and Lizzes house..........and where our trip started this time. Picture is from a month ago and is the reason for no flowers.

 

 

 

This time the weather is quite pleasant so we got invited to eat “ surströmming” in their gazebo............( you have to be inside a mosquito net, or else )

Let me tell you about this dish ...........my sensitive nose got an overload on aroma. They’re eating canned sour fish ??? and Mom have a problem when I eat little tootsie rolls from Lilly ??

 

It is a fermented Baltic Sea herring that has been a staple of traditional Northern Swedish cuisine since at least the 16th century.

Just enough salt is used to prevent the raw fish from rotting (chemical decomposition). A fermentation process (which converts sugar to acids, gases, and alcohol) of at least six months gives the lightly-salted fish its characteristic strong smell and somewhat acidic taste.

When opened, the contents release a strong and sometimes overwhelming odour; the dish is ordinarily eaten outdoors. According to a Japanese study, a newly opened can has one of the most putrid food smells in the world.

The Baltic herring, is smaller than the Atlantic herring, found in the North Sea, and fished in the brackish waters of the Baltic sea.The herring used for “surströmming” are caught just prior to spawning

They eat in on potatoes and bread, garnish with lots of onion and tomatoes..................

 

 

This is a Curlew bird that we always welcomed in spring, they are endangered  and we don't see them as often as we did as kids...........this is a lucky shot.

Well, I think I'm caught up on my travel log, this is where wee have been staying for the last 2 days, not far from Moms puppytown. I think we'll leave today, but I'm not sure...........I'll keep you updated for sure..................wet kisses from Buttons..............Mom says hello

Oh, and here's a midsummer picture of us

and here's a classmate to Mom that I have rapped around my paw.................

yesterday Mom and I went to a dog show...........she was especially interested in the Shih Tzu’s there.Needless to say, she couldn’t find anyone more handsome than me................of course, did she really expect that ?????

   

     

 

   

 

   

     

       

 

 

   

 Finally the right wing of the altar, which shows a funeral, marriage, and a happy woman............Mom don't remember why 

The organ, made from reindeer horn and birch, is decorated with images from Sami mythology. And, more curiously, the mummified bodies of locals who died during the 18th Century are still hidden somewhere beneath the church floor.