I miss summer...

It's been a long time since my last post, and there is a reason for my absence: I was in the US visiting family and my Internet connection was veeeeerrrrryyyy slow.

There were two reasons for going to the States: I missed my mom and my brother-in-law was getting married. The only problem was that I couldn't be away as long as I would have liked. Ideally, I'd rather have at least a month when I make the "trek" across the pond. This gives me time to meet my friends and family in Philly, see my relatives in Smithfield and do things that I want to do--like shopping, going to museums, seeing a few movies months before they're released in Sweden. But this time I only had two weeks and I divided them by spending the first week in Philadelphia and the second week in West Palm Beach, where my brother-in-law and his new wife live.

It was colder in Philadelphia than it was in Stockholm--something no Swede ever believes when I tell them. In fact, the entire time I was in Philadelphia the temperatures were below freezing--there were a few days when the wind chill factor made it feel like it was below zero Fahrenheit. I didn't mind the weather--the sun was shining, and there was plenty of hot chocolate to be had.

Since I knew all of this in advance, I had to pack loads of winter clothing--or at least a week's worth. But since I was going to West Palm Beach I also needed spring or summer clothing, plus my outfit for the wedding.

My suitcase was not full--in fact, it was only half-full, but I had to pay Continental Airlines $25 because it was three pounds too heavy. I only packed one bag. If I'd packed two suitcases, I could have checked in 50 pounds per bag. I'd figured it would be easier to travel with just one suitcase and my bag for my laptop. Ah well. I bought a duffel bag and stuffed half of my suitcase's contents into it so I wouldn't need to pay that fee again.

Anyway, when I arrived in West Palm Beach, it was cloudy and 65 Fahrenheit. Ditto the next day. But then the temperature rose and the sun returned and suddenly it was summer, or at least it felt like it. And the longer I was in the sun, the happier I felt. The blue funk I've been feeling since September lifted and I felt like a human being again and not an icicle. It was enough (I think) of a taste of summer to get me through the remaining months of Swedish winter.

As I write this, I can see my snow-covered balcony and the trees in the courtyard of my apartment building are heavy with wet clumps of snow. The sky is a dull gray and they say the temperature is around 34F. None of this is very tempting, but I should go out for a walk. I need the fresh air. I have been translating documents all morning and I'm restless.

I also have to remember to work on my new writing project (well, not so new, I am still working on my unfinished Nanowrimo novel). It's March Madness with SWG and it will be interesting to see how much I manage to write this month.

But before I sit down to do any writing, I need to get out of this apartment for a while.
I will try to imagine myself in West Palm Beach again as I try not to slip on ice and dodge icicles falling from drains and rooftops.

I miss summer... I'll just have to hold on a few months until it's here again.