Paintings for sale

My ex-husband has decided to be an artist instead of an IT guy, so if anyone fancies a weird and wonderful painting all the way from China, check this link out.

A sinister look

Taking the parasol with the broken button back to Ikea... I was a wee bit worried a SWAT team might try to take us out on the way in. 😂

Suntan

When schooling moved outside mid-April because of Covid, and May and June were amongst the sunniest we've ever lived through, it had a very cute effect on my wee specky!

Not only has she got no tan where the glasses usually sit, she's got no freckles in that bit either!

A compliment

I took Amaia to the optician the other day to pick up her new glasses. While she was fitting Amaia's glasses, I decided to chat to the assistant. 'Wow mum,' Amaia said afterwards, 'you can tell you've been in Denmark a while now. That woman understood everything you said, and you don't even sound like a drunken Swede any more!' 

I'm not sure it is great for the ego to have bilingual children, but I think that's a compliment, though I'm not entirely sure😂😂😂

Go girl!

Interesting conversation:

Amaia: When I grow up I'm going to be a fashion designer.
Me (surprised): Really? I didn't know you were interested in fashion.
Amaia: I'm not, I'm just SICK of the crap pockets they put on all girls' clothes!

Comparing schooling costs in Denmark and Scotland

I've been puzzling over this for a year now...

How can it be that this trip (350km/217 miles each way using a train, a coach and a ferry) and a week's stay in an outdoor centre can cost 400DKK (£48.30) for a 12 year old.

When this trip (57 miles/92km each way using a coach) and a week's stay in an outdoor centre last year cost me £240 (1988DKK) for the same 11 year old.

I suspect the answer is that Scottish parents are being done...

Home at last

Yesterday morning in Glasgow there were four flights from the usually busy international airport.

We'd managed to get a ticket for Amsterdam on a little klm city hopper plane on lastminute.com a couple of days ago but were still dubious as to whether it would be running, or whether the Netherlands was letting UK passports in. I rang Schiphol and they sent me an email saying they would let her in. There was nothing for Denmark till today so it meant an enforced Amsterdam city break but as luck would have it, the city had opened for business on Monday, so things went to plan yesterday.

On arrival, she got into the Netherlands, no questions asked and enjoyed an afternoon of sightseeing at 27 degrees before returning to Schiphol to wait for today. 

This morning was more scary. Denmark's external borders are currently closed to UK passport holders because of Corona but the rules were updated a week ago to allow family reunions. Armed with a copy of my passport, my health card proving I'm a Danish resident and a letter from me in Danish proving she's my child, Charlotte was questioned first by the Dutch police before being allowed to embark (some boarding card holders were turned back at that point) and then again on arrival in Copenhagen. 

But it seems my letter did the trick as they decided they didn't need to see the rest of the proof before waving her through. So after three whole months alone in an almost empty student flat, my biggest girl baby is finally home. And maybe I'll finally get to sleep tonight, as I sure as hell didn't last night 🙄

Now I just need to see my big boy too.