Tomorrow is the beginning of the last week of summer vacation. On Saturday my mom leaves to go back to Texas, two days later Olof goes back to work, and Lydia back to school, and the day after that the three middle kids will be back in their respective classrooms. At some unspecified point later in the month, Yrsa will have a few days of orientation before joining Brynja at pre-school, and at the end of the first week of September, I’ll finally, finally be back in Uppsala to start the second year of my master’s program.

Before all of that happens, however, there’s still a bit of summer left, and we intend to make the most of it. Tomorrow afternoon we’re all of us — minus Lydia, who has to work — piling in the car and driving north to Byske havsbad, where we’ve booked a “luxury” cottage for three days. The forecast anticipates a bit of a mixed bag where the weather is concerned, but I’ve no doubt we’ll be able to get in a good amount of seaside fun and relaxation.

Tuesday is Tage’s eleventh birthday, so we’ll have a number of presents packed in with our clothes and towels and bedding and whatnot, and we’ll be on the lookout for a bakery with a good (or at least good-looking) cake to fill up with candles after a celebratory dinner at one or another pizzeria. It promises to be an enjoyable day, regardless of what the weather might bring. If we do lose a day to rain and grey skies, I’m kind of hoping it will be that one, when there’ll be plenty of other activity to keep us busy.

Thursday evening we’ll be home again, but not before a stop in Skellefteå for me to get my bee tattoo touched up. There may or may not also be something else in the works while I’m there. Stay tuned.