ID card application FAIL

Well after all the excitement of getting the personnummers through at the end of last week, today has been particularly frustrating.
When we first went to the Skatteverket, we were told that I had to go for my ID card first as D's passport was too old for them to accept it as identification (he hasn't got one with a chip in it), and then I would be able to verify his identity once I received my official Swedish ID card.
So last week we made the payment into the bank for the cards which has to be done in advance, and today I duly trotted back down to the office with my payment receipt, personnummer and passport, only to be told that my passport was also too old. For whatever reason, the cutoff date for passports being valid ID is September 06 and mine is just a couple of months older than that. I got a little bit snippy at this point.
All of which means we have to go and pay for D's card at the bank, wait a couple of days then go through the hassle of getting a Swedish person from D's company to go down to the office with him and verify his identity. And then once his ID card arrives, he can take me down there and verify my identity.
Either that or fork out a load of money to renew our passports. Bah.

Personnummers

Very excited today as our personnummers have finally arrived! For those who don't know, these are the identification numbers that everyone in Sweden has (sort of similar to National Insurance numbers in the UK). Basically there's not much you can do without one - you need them to get a job, open a bank account, for a store card, to get a contract mobile phone - pretty much everything. We've been quite lucky in being able to do some of these things without having them, but things should be easier now. It means we can also apply for our Swedish ID cards which will save us having to carry our passports round in case we need id for anything (like going to the bank or getting prescriptions from the chemist).
So a pretty pleasing day really :))

The Apartment

We visited this particular apartment on our trip here in February and it was a very pleasant surprise when we arrived to find that it was actually larger than I remembered. Basically we have 3 bedrooms - 1 double, 1 small single and one large single with bunkbeds; a good size lounge; a kitchen-diner; a big bathroom (which also has a small washing machine in) and thankfully a second WC. Of course as we're on the 4th floor there's no garden but we do have a reasonable sized balcony. Fortunately there are also plenty of cupboards and places to put all our stuff (not that we brought a huge amount), as well as a little storage cage down on the ground floor for things like suitcases and boxes.
The local area is ok, we are on a fairly busy road which can be quite noisy - especially when the teenage boys ride their mopeds up and down late at night. There's a small supermarket open 8am till 10pm directly across the road which is great if you run out of milk or bread, or get the nibbles in an evening! D can walk to work if he needs to which is handy at the moment as we only have 1 car. The main downside is that there is no playground within a reasonable walking distance - the good one that is closest too us would be possibly be ok to walk to, but the return is up a very steep hill and a bit too far for small legs.
Laundry is a bit of a pain - there are 2 slots available each day, 7.30-2 and 2.30-7.30pm and you have to pre-book on a little board whenever you want to use it. Fortunately not all of the apartments are occupied, or not everyone wants to use it, as there are 20 apartments in the block, and of course only 14 sessions available a week. I'm managing to get in on a Tuesday morning at the moment but it's a bit of a nuisance having to go up and down to the laundry room several times - those girls create a lot of washing! The little machine in the apartment is useful though just to do the odd emergency load if we're starting to run out of anything. It's just drying things that's a problem; we have a clothes horse which is great to put on the balcony if it's a sunny day, but takes up half the bathroom if not. I'll certainly be glad when I have unlimited access to my own washing machine and drying facilities!
All in all, it's not really all that bad. Of course it's very different to where we were before but we're gradually getting used to it, and after all it is only temporary.
Photos will follow when I get round to changing the batteries in my camera...

3 weeks already

So we've been here 3 weeks now and it must be time for a little update. I know there are people out there who are wondering if we've actually dropped off the face of the earth, but I can assure you we haven't! Problems getting the internet connection sorted and the girls hogging the computer all conspired against me. Having bought a 2nd computer (an Asus Eee 1000HE netbook in case you're interested), things are improving so here I am. And I think we'll start with... the apartment.

House sold?

Still here, still finding our feet, but for now just a quick update on the house - we're very excited to have accepted an offer on our place back in England! The people want to move in by the end of August so fingers crossed everything goes smoothly...

We're here!

Yes, we've finally all made it to the apartment! Everyone (and everything) appears to have arrived in one piece. Most of the unpacking is done, just a bit of furniture rearranging needed now to get everything to suit us.
Still a little bit in culture shock at everything being different (not least living on the 4th floor by a busy main road) but I'm sure we'll get used to things in a couple of weeks.
That's all for now - will write more when I can get back on my own computer rather than D's horrible laptop...

Long overdue update

Ok, I know this has been a long time coming and I am probably one of the worst bloggers ever, but things have been moving on apace and my brain has stopped working to the extent that writing anything over 140 characters is a strain...

So here's where we are now:
House is still not sold;
D's car has been sold;
Half the house is in storage;
Most of what's left has been packed into cardboard boxes;
The girls have had a going away disco for their friends;
We've been and visited most of our family, and had our leaving party for our friends;
D and R set off on Monday in my car with all the clothes and bits & pieces we'll need for the first few months;
Me, F and G fly out on Wednesday.

Yes, leaving date is finally almost upon us! Buying one way tickets was such a strange feeling, and the first step towards it actually seeming real. Now that we are less than a week away, a slight sense of panic is beginning to set in, with all the accompanying doubts and second thoughts. However it's too late for all that now, and all I can do is carry on sorting things out and putting them into cardboard boxes - a chore that I'm fast tiring of.

I'm also struggling with the fact that I have to relinquish my computer on Sunday for 4 days... thank goodness for my Blackberry which will at least give me the illusion of still being connected to the wider world ;)
Monday and Tuesday will be an interesting couple of days, as I will be car-less with a 3 year old and 4 year old in a house that contains no toys, no tv and no computer. Hoping for some good weather so we can play out in the garden and perhaps catch the bus somewhere. Fortunately I have lovely friends and invitations to dinner on each day so that's one less thing to worry about.

Although the whole thing still doesn't really seem real, right now the emotions I'm feeling are panic, stress, nerves and excitement in roughly equal measures. And speaking of those, I ought to get on with my jobs.

Most likely the next entry here will be made from Sweden. When that will be, I don't know; it depends mostly whether the promised internet access really exists and works.

Hej så länge!