Saturday, February 7, 2009

This is my little cottage. As You can see it´s in need of repainting. Todays colours is so much worse than the old paits were. Nowdays algies is growing fast on our walls. The climate has become so much warmer and more humid that algies thrives here. This is also the corner I put all my sowings in winter, thats why You can se the blue plastic things.


Well we didn´t get any more snow this night, we got more warm winds instead. So the snow is now melting away fast. But the morning walk was really nice out in the forest and the rest of this day will be dedicated to sowing all the seeds that arrived yesterday. Probably I will take a look at the world cup in downhill skiing too.


The sky almost promised some sun today, but then the fog came.
But tonight it´s the first Swedish competition for the Eurovision Song Contest. How it works is seperate in every coutry that has this competition and at the moment I think it´s 34 countries in Europe and Israel. In Sweden there are five competitions before the final competition. In every program there are eight songs, not longer than three minutes, that compete to get to the finals. First we hear the songs onte time and then we can phone the number the best song has. The four songs that got the mest votes then has to go through this again. The two songs that get the most votes then goes to the final. The two songs that came third and fourth goes to the runner up program where they are going through the same thing again :-)

The old foxtrap. It´s so rotten nowdays that I don´t think that a fox will be trapped there for long :-)

The big swedish final then has ten songs and it all starts again :-) This is something really hughe in Sweden. The competitions take place in our big icehockey arenas, so there are live audienses with up to 13000 persons! Guess if the singers are nervous :-) At the same time tthere are more than three million people watching them on TV :-) The winner of it all then goes to the big final somewhere in Europe. The country that won last year is having it this year. Because there are 34 countries competing there are two semifinals before the Grand Finale. I don´t remember how many goes to the big final, but i think it´s about 25. During the semifinals all people in Europe can phone and wote for their favourite. Of course one can´t vote for ones own countrie.



The thinning of the forest continues.

The big final is much like the semifinals, but even the countries that didn´t reach the final can vote for the finalists. As You understand this is a hughe event, but funny enough, we never remember who won last year :-) I think that last year there were over one billion people watching this all over the world. Because it´s quite popular outside Europe to. This is not a way to be a big star or world famous. As far as I know there´s only one group that really made it after this and that is the Swedish group ABBA and they made it really big :-)

But this time the damages on the ground isn´t that bad.


So now we are going to talk about this for the comming five weeks. Most probably we will heckle those who got so nervous that they sang out of tune :-) or perhaps forgot the lyrics. Most certain is that no one is going to openly like the winner :-)
I really hope You could understand all what I written, I´m not sure I do :-)
Have a nice day now!



Before one couldn´t see through the trees here.











6 comments:

Anonymous said...

You did a fine job explaining the song contest. I checked out the euro-vision song contest Russia 2009 it is all quite interesting. I shall be watching to see Sweden's talent. Your cottage is nice and probably just right for only you and your animals.It looks similar to the home we moved into with 8 adults and children And a couple dogs when we first bought our property.I will post a photo of it later.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi Woody!
Yes my cottage is perfect for me and my animals. Badley planned if one wants a family to live here though. I´m looking forward to a picture then.
Christer.

Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...

I just discovered you had made comments to some of the comments I have been making and I was delighted when I went back and read them.
Your home is a TRUE cottage. I believe in England they consider much larger homes as cottages. To me a cottage is always small and snug.
Ok. Now...I am going to tell you something funny. I..have been writing to you thinking you were a woman. I guessed in her early to late 30's. It would have been smart if I had gone back and read your "about me" page. So.. :) I feel a bit silly. I even sent you a hug once. You must have thought me very forward. Well, from now on, before I write to someone, I will read about them as I should have in the first place. I have only been doing this since December..so am just learning. I even checked to make SURE that I hadn't done or said anything really stupid. :) So... hope you are smiling!
That was why when you mentioned walking on the bogs I became worried and commented on it. So...there you have it. Now I will tip toe away and be a bit more careful.
Mona

Anonymous said...

Believe it or not, if Woody and I sliced our trailer in half and placed one hald on top of the other, it would be no bigger than your wonderful cottage. Is it yours? It projects a warmth that comes from comfort and contentment ... For now this is you and could be that someday, somewhere else, that will be you, at peace - working, thinking, planting, taking pictures and hopefully blogging. If not, than keeping a journal and keeping in touch with some of us, where there will always be a place for Christer and Sweden in our hearts.
About all that wood-cutting? Are they slash-cutting and leaving their mess? Well, the ground will dry, bogs will look like wet blotches of wrinkled prunes and the birds and forest creatures will search for new homes. I want to think that no matter what is done to the earth, it will rebound in spite of us.
Hmmm, I think that watching to your Eorovision Song Contest is a fun and happy show to watch ... It beats thinking about felled trees and trashed forest floors!
Just regard my rambling as the emotional exhales of a Celtic French gal - Now that should explain it.
Take care ... AliceMary

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi Mona!
No I didn´t think You were very forward :-) I´ve noticed that people in America often sends kisses, hugs and love to others in the blog world, so I didn´t react at all. But I think that You´ll never se a Sweed (male or female) do that :-) unless we´ve met in real life. Perhaps I should write about how we are in this country, I´ve already written about Jantes Laws, but it could be fun to write some more perhaps? If one feels that one have written something that can be seen as forward one can always blaime our cultural differenses :-)


Yes, this is really a small cottage. Perfect for me and my animals or perhaps a couple without children. It´s really badly planned if one has a family, but for me it couldn´t be any better!
Christer.

The cottage by the Cranelake said...

Hi AliceMary!
Your trailer must be really big! The ones we can se here is about as big as my bottom floor at its biggest.

Yes the cottage is mine, bought it almost nine years ago, the best thing I´ve ever done :-) Hope I´ll never have to move away from here.


I´m not sure how they will do this time. Nowdays the are collecting all that isn´t wood in huge piles and then make chips of it. Then use the chips to make perhaps paper or pellets to warm up houses. I´m just glad that they only thinning the woods this time.

The Eurovishon last night was fun to watch. They now have added an internbational jury that will tell what song they think would be popular in Europe. They are making it more complikated every year it semmes. We haven´t done that well in the last European finals and now they seemes desperate :-)
It´s always nice to see You here AliceMary!
Christer.