First, I have to write about the commencing week of May – an awful start with lot of violence at a too close range. Monday started with an unhoused man getting killed in the Broadway/Lafayett subway. He had been allegedly yelling and ranting on the train before being subdued by another subway passenger, who chokehold him and it is now ruled as homicide. (Even seen it being covered in the Swedish news).

The day after, there was a slashing on Olle´s campus in Chelsea. There was an altercation between some students from another school connected to the same campus. One hospitalized but luckily without any life threatening injuries…

That same evening, Johan´s friend from primary school was here on holiday and ends up in the hospital nearly bleeding to death, after being attacked by a person with a baseball bat in Soho. Miraculously he is doing well after this head trauma and was able to go home that same week.

Enough about those terrible incidents, and Imagine all the people, Livin’ life in peace…🎶

It really wasn´t all bad (except from also a quite tough food poisoning, I omit the all gross parts)… It was also a week full of great hanging out with some of my besties here, Ilze and I had an excellent lunch at Ladurée. Furthermore The Liljelunds had lunch with The Liljerts at Móle on Jane Street, a really tasty Mexican. Plus, Elvira and I were lucky enough to meet up with Karin and sweet little Mimmi at Soho Park on Prince Street for lunch, this was a great day…

And Tilda turned 24 on May 5 🎂🎁🌸🌷🌼🥰🐱❤️🐈.

On May 7 there was a bike race, and a lot of streets were closed to car traffic. This weekend was also full of sunshine, drinks and dinners. I also went to Chelsea to pick up a funny painting from a nice guy named Steffen.

Monday morning and Elvira is reading aloud the article by James Baldwin, A Talk to Teachers from 1963. The article is about the history of black slavery will always be a boundary between black and white people in US, as it can never be forgotten. This is actually what Olle has been discussing in ELA in 11th grade, but not wrong for an 8th grader (or for a mother) to read, comprehend and try to analyze. Link to the persuasive essay is found here.

And finally, summer is here and will probably stay until October. ☀️☀️☀️

At last, we have found a spot of lawn for Toffee! She is allowed to walk, sit and lie on it. Unfortunately all she is aiming for is to eat the grass… Later in the afternoon she was all grunting, coughing and almost throwing up. Anyway, she is so adorable and she is sooo in love with Elvira – guaranteed a mutual feeling.

That same Monday it was 37 years since my dad passed away. ❤️ I then was the same age Elvira is now, that puts things into perspective… Here´s an amazing song, a tribute to a parent from a grown up child.

We also had the Exterminator over once again, it seems a hard work to get rid of those ants. They are probably entering our apartment by rappelling the facade from the garden on floor 7… 🤣🤣🐜🐜🐜🐜

Suz and I grabbed a coffee at Laughing Man Cafe last Tuesday and her dog, Lucky, joined the party. It is very interesting to hear about all Suz´s stories, as she has lived here in the city for nearly 30 years…

Last Thursday Elvira and I took a trip over to Staten Island! So glad we did and hopefully I get to go there once more before we go back to Sweden.

Last Friday was a Jay Day! I really enjoy our small talk about music, books and writers, all of which take place during his spinal adjustments and manipulations…

This day I learnt about a book that he is currently reading, called The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven. He also loves Fredrik Backman, adores “Anxious People” and he has even seen the Swedish version of “En man som heter Ove” with Rolf Lassgård. He is still not sure if he wants to see the American version with Tom Hanks. 😉

Furthermore, he strongly recommended me to listen to BBC´s Desert Island Disc, especially the episode featuring Jens Stoltenberg. Jay is really into the Swedish and Nordic cultures, except that he will never get a Dragon Tattoo. 🐉🐉🐉

This same Friday, the temperature hit 87°F and that is relatively hot when in a city. Luckily, we have the Hudson River close by… Toffee also appreciates a cool drink in the shadows.

In the evening we hung out at Nat´s on Bleecker, a neighborhood local restaurant with New York classics but with a touch of whimsy.

Saturday morning and I did my first 10K run since Governors Island. In the afternoon we watched Eurovision (we skipped the broadcasting at the gay bar Hardware, due to no kids allowed 😉 ). And congrats to SWEDEN and Loreen, so cool!

Sunday morning and I awoke really early, since Malin and I were heading for Harlem and to the Misa Gospel Church. It was an exciting experience with African-American vibes and the entire service today was about honoring all mothers. We will give it another try with a Baptist church some other Sunday, where they might sing more of the common gospel we are looking for. But – so sad to see that East side of 116th Street is an area full of only junkies and unhoused people…

About Mother´s Day, it is a really big thing here. Also, two weeks prior to Sweden´s Mors Dag. I received congratulations from both our neighbor Andrew, and from the advisor of Elvira´s former school. In every store you are greeted with a “Happy Mother´s Day” (regardless of whether you have any kiddos around or not). And I got presents! Lots of hair care products – wrapped in gift paper and with rhymes! 💗

In the afternoon, Olle went to the barber for a haircut and then we just hung outside.

Monday 15th and the final day for Olle (if he wants to) to change his options for the Swedish highschool. All papers should be OK, so hopefully it will go smoothly for him to go back to school in Sweden.

We have a fun week ahead of us! Marika och Fredrik are coming here tomorrow and will stay until Sunday. We will probably do a lot of walking and sight seeing since this it´s their first trip to New York.

Next Sunday evening Johan and I are invited to a potluck at Andrew´s place, where we will celebrate AAPI Heritage Month. The Asian American Pacific Islander heritage recognizes the contributions, histories, and cultures of AAPI individuals and communities in the US, and we will be approximately 35 people at the gathering. We still have not figured out what to contribute, I was thinking if we can bring Vira´s classic Swedish “chokladbollar”. 🙂

On top of all this, our flight back to Sweden has just been booked for the end of June. There are many feelings swirling around at the moment! 🙂