Living in the countryside & more

Greetings from the other side.

Living in the countryside is very different from the life I was used to back home in Sweden. I've always lived in a town or city, so transitioning to life in a more rural area is definitely something different. Yet somehow it is also similar, and I have found it surprisingly easy to do so. You really have access to all the basic things you need out here. There is internet, a store, a church, good people, and anything you need that you can't find here is only about a 20-minute drive away in the city. I like the calm here, the d.i.y. mentality and the helpfulness that people exhibit on a regular basis. People help eachother out and it is the most natural thing ever. I like this mentality. I think it is the same thing in smaller communities back home in Sweden as well.

I love how open everything is here. There is forest, fields, open landscapes, and the sea. All clad in beautiful autumn colours. It is getting colder outside though, which is a minus. Pardon the non-intentional pun there. You can see the frost on the ground in the morning, and I have had to move my car indoors now to avoid having to scrape the frost off of the windows every morning before I head to work. At least I probably won't have to do any more lawn-mowing this year, which helps. Because of the warm weather all the lawns were growing like crazy up until a week or two ago.

As the days are getting inevitably shorter and it is getting darker outside, I sometimes wish I could gather a few friends and play some tabletop RPG. Go out on an adventure with my friends and get away from the darkness outside for a little bit. Sadly there is nothing set up here at home for that at the moment, except for the tabletop RPG books that are currently stored in the bookcase in our 'office'. I might try and get something set up in the future though, and see if I can scrape together some people to play a game or two. :)

Tomorrow we have my girlfriend's parents, siblings with their families, and her friends over for coffee to celebrate our engagement. Celebrations with my family and friends, who are currently back home in Sweden, will have to wait until they are able to get over here. I am looking forward to tomorrow. I am sure it will be a nice time and that lots of merriment will be had by all.

Had a chance to sit down and brain-storm a bit with my girlfriend today regarding my world-building. Even if she wasn't able to come up with too many ideas herself, she asked questions about things and let me speak freely, both of which helped get my brain-juices flowing. It is one thing sitting down in front of the computer with a blank document in front of you and try to write something, and something completely different when you get a chance to talk about and/or discuss it. I am grateful for her help.

One issue that has come up with my new phone is the ringtone. I can't really find one I really like amongst the ones that are already on there, and for some reason my mind has been drawing a complete blank on good music that would make good ringtunes. I am sure it will come to me eventually, but for now I am stuck with the default option, unfortunately. Other than that I am happy with it so far.

See you all on the other side!