When I said yesterday that we had our first snow, I had no idea of what was to come! When I got out from work today, winter was all around! How did that happen?

eterisk and I went out for a walk with my camera. Now that his camera is away, I get to explore my photographic talent. I can even use his tripod! And he gets to be the assistant for once =)

This is our house, maybe you have seen it before. I think it is interesting how the different street lights make the colour of the house look so different, when it is actually the same!

Btw, if you haven't been to see the new Harry Potter movie - do it now! It is absolutely brilliant! The Goblet of Fire is also my favourite book of the six so far (although I hold no 5 and 6 almost as high, not to mention no 1, 2 and 3! *lol*)

Last night the first snow fell. It didn't last long, but at least in patches it survived the day.

Today was the first Sunday of Advent, which is a really big thing in Sweden. We decorate our houses with big stars in the windows (see below) and candlesticks everywhere. We light a new candle for each Sunday during Advent, so that on the Sunday before Christmas all four candles are lit.

In this time of year we also drink a lot of "Glögg" (mulled wine) and eat loads of "pepparkakor" (ginger snaps). Yummy!

My favourite decoration right now; our big star in one of the front windows.

Experimenting with my camera and little tripod. Not a very good picture, but I think it's cute enough =)

I've had a busy week at work, so no opportunities for snapping...

On Tuesday I was invited to a chocolate party! This fabulous event included tasting different kinds of chocolate and some nice facts about the history of that life-supporting necessity... And of course you could buy as much as you wanted! Just like Tupperware, only MUCH better! *lol* I will even be hosting an event like this next year myself, that's how much I liked it!

Today G and Eeyor got some company in my office window. Tomorrow I will decorate our flat. I can't believe Christmas is only a month away!

This morning I got up at 5 am to queue for tickets for the Robbie Williams concert next summer. I know, he's a "mainstream" guy, but I think it will be a fantastic show! I'll try to get as close as possible... ;-) And from the near disaster with the DM tickets I promised myself to bite the sour apple and line up for any major events I want to go to from now on.

J is reading today's paper that we nicked from the nearby McD. You need something to entertain you while standing still for 3.5 hrs in temperatures below 0 C!

The sun is rising and we are still alive! And the spirit is still high it seems.

Quite a few people had joined us too.

Happy happy ticket owners! It turned out later today that they released tickets for a secret, second concert at 12.30. But who wants to go to the second concert? ;-)

Remember to check out my Strasse pics posted yesterday!

Since I don't have any new pics from today, here are the photos from the Strasse gig as promised.

The two remaining original members: Max Abby (who actually played with Ultravox) and Ruzz. Lovely 80's names (no offense!) =)

Somewhat younger member Charlie (also working with Lustans Lakejer).

"What, can't I smoke here?" (How can you not have noticed there is a smoking ban in Swedish clubs etc. nowadays?)

If you don't have a strap to hold your guitar, why not get someone from the audience get a big chair for you!?

This is the real reason why I was at this gig - Ken Sandin. He's the brother of a guy from work, and Ken works for us from time to time as well. Check out his biography! I couldn't decide which of these post-processings I like the best, so I'll give you both =)

Altogether it was an excellent gig! It is in a way so much more inspiring with smaller gigs like this where you are literally in the band's face! I can't help thinking how much better my pics would have turned out with a new camera though... ;-)

Our pond is freezing! Maybe this year I'll try some ice skating?

Today we went for a walk by the sea, to enjoy the lovely weather. I had another motive though; this weekend we have a competition at work, using pedometers. The team that walked the longest distance wins! So of course I have to work on my contribution (especially since I am one of the organisers...) Today I walked over 13000 steps, which is really good!

On a day like this anyone can take good pictures... Everything is just beautiful!

I should give credit to eterisk for this since he was giving me instructions =)

There was no wind at all, so the water was very still. It almost looks as if taking a swim would be quite nice, don't you think? But I doubt it very much!

We met a very cuddly cat on the way! G found a new friend.

Probably my favourite picture from today. I have no idea what those berries are, but they look adorable!

This rose outside our house is flowering again, since we've had an unusally warm autumn. I haven't noticed it before, but this morning it was covered with frost. It looked very beautiful but I feel sorry for the poor thing being tricked like that...

After studying all of G's photo magazines, I've changed my mind about what camera I want to buy. Now my heart longs for a Canon Powershot S2 IS! But I still think it is much too expensive... Can someone tell Santa I've been extremely nice this year...?

Tonight I watched Moulin Rouge while G was studying. I can honestly say it is one of the most beautiful movies I know, in many ways. The filming is stunning, the feelings captured truely genuine and the music is witty when appropriate but very sensitive throughout the movie. The Roxanne scene is breathtaking and the scene where they convince the Duke to invest in their theatre fantastically funny. It makes me laugh and it makes me cry. Definitely a favourite, believe it or not!

We've had fantastic weather lately! And it's getting chilly to. It's ok; I don't mind it being cold as long as the sun is shining. And we need some winter here to get in the right mood for Christmas!

This is the view from my office building. Could be worse, don't you think?

Big game for us today, my team against G's. I couldn't believe my eyes! And this wasn't the end of it; they finished off losing by 1-7! G was happy since his team hardly ever wins against Frölunda. I will be hearing this for a while I'm afraid, but I can always remind him of 11-1 in September =)

We went to another concert this evening, and since G's camera is on holiday, I was the photographer of the evening. I have to work on the pictures though, so I'll post them in a few days.

I have a "new" car. Since someone molested my car last week, I now have a rental car while it's being fixed. This morning I came out and couldn't believe my eyes; was that snow? It's been so warm lately that you tend to forget it's mid-November already. It turned out it wasn't real snow, more like rain that had frozen on all the cars. I had to hack my way in.

I feel a sudden urge to get myself a new camera. Not that there is anything wrong with the one I've got, but I want something that feels more like a "real" camera. I'm thinking of a Fujifilm Finepix S5600, but I'm not sure. Also, I don't think this is where I should be putting my money right now. Any suggestions?

eterisk thinks he should get a new camera so I can take his. Not my favourite choice though, for many reasons =)

My department at work went out to dinner after a long day of meetings. I find it difficult to take good pictures of people; I want to do it without them noticing but still have good portraits. Also I don't like to use the flash, especially not the one on my camera.

I discovered I have a fellow photographer at work; you can see her camera in the right corner. Of course it's a bit more advanced than my Ixus 400... Not to mention my boss' camera, but then I guess he can afford it =)

We went to a libanese restaurant where you get served all kinds of small dishes; these are the warm ones. Delicious!

I guess taking pictures of food is not that exciting, but this just makes my mouth water =)

This at first looked more like an aquarium than a cup of tea, but it was very refreshing and actually quite tasty! For those who don't have this every day - it's mint tea.

I must say we had a pretty good weekend this week. Sunday turned out to be a busy day; we started with cleaning and going to the gym.

G insisted on saving the pumpkin from last weekend to take a picture of it when it was far past its best-of date... I finally made him throw it out.

We had a short notice, but very welcome!, invitation to have waffles at A's, together with J&E. Delicious! I loved the waffle iron tha A had inherited from her grandmother.

Then it was time for the only planned activity; Black Rebel Motorcycle Club live at Sticky Fingers!

I've really missed going to live concerts, we've had far too little of that lately. And I love this kind of rock n' roll! I must say though that I definitely prefer their first album to the last one. To quote themselves - "Whatever happened to my rock n' roll?" But I do admire them for having the guts to do something so completely different.

G got to take some nice concert pics. Unfortunately his camera broke down and has gone on a 3-week vacation now...

My pictures are not as good as his (could it have something to do with the equipment?) but at least I could have some fun with them learning new tricks in PS =)

This guy was hard to catch on film! He was also moaning all night since the club wouldn't let them play as loud as they wanted. What I remember from the time we heard them at Roskilde Festival, they normally play much louder than this time!

I'm not sure about the idea of having concerts on Sundays. The crowd wasn't very good, probably because people didn't drink so much. I never get drunk when I go to see a band play, but I can have a good time anyway, and also make it show! Some people seemed to have a problem doing that this evening...

Happy birthday Dad! Hope you are having a great time in Brazil!

Today eterisk wanted to go on a photo expedition in spite of the bad weather, so I went with him as assistant =) I also took a few pics myself. We went to a nature reserve by the sea south of Gothenburg. It was very windy!

On arriving there we met some surfers who were just about to leave with their boards on top of their car. I can understand why they had come there, seeing the waves roll on to the shore and the water splashing up.

See what I mean?

They are still clearing the woods after the storm Gudrun in January. Seeing what it did to the landscape on the west coast, which was not one of the places it hit hardest, I can only imagine what it must look like down in Småland!

On the way back we stopped by a friend from work. It was G's first time to meet her new baby (now 4 months old). No pictures from there though.

One of my favourite things about this season; you can light as many candles as you want!