Sunday, June 22, 2025 • 2 min read
I listened to an interview (it’s in English by a Swedish journalist) with the American songwriter and producer Desmond Child. He mentioned that he had used one of his creations in three different productions with three different artists: If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man) – Bonnie Tyler You Give Love a Bad Name – Bon Jovi Kings & Queens – Ava Max Here’s a short audio clip with the intros back to back.
Saturday, June 21, 2025 • 4 min read
A while back, Ava kindly invited me to take part in her wonderful initiative, the Bear blog question challenge. You can read my answers here. Now that I’m on a new platform, I thought it would be fun and interesting to do a Micro.blog version of the same challenge. Below are Ava’s original questions, but with Bear swapped out for Micro.blog (and the tags part removed, since MB doesn’t use tags).
Friday, June 20, 2025 • 2 min read
Today is Midsummer’s Day here in Sweden. Of all the holidays we celebrate, this might just be the biggest. Yes, even bigger than Christmas. This year, I spent it with my family in Åkersberga, the neighborhood where I grew up. It was a lovely day with great weather, lots of people, and of course, the iconic Midsummer pole. Part of the tradition involves decorating the pole with flowers and birch branches before raising it.
Thursday, June 19, 2025 • 2 min read
It’s been a couple of weeks since I moved my blog to Micro.blog, and it’s been a nice experience so far. I like the possibilities the platform provides without having to come up with half-baked workarounds. But, as with any platform, there are some things I miss. Here are some that first come to mind for me: Category Description I’d love to add some text to the categories I create. Nothing fancy, just a simple description with Markdown support.
Thursday, June 19, 2025 • 2 min read
My blogging workflow used to involve writing in Swedish and then translating it into English. I did it that way to make the writing process as smooth as possible. Today, I decided to try writing in English from scratch. It doesn’t feel natural, and it takes longer, but I want to give it a fair shot. Maybe it’ll help calm my recurring blogging overthinking (probably not). But the main reason for this change is that I think my writing will be more “true.
Wednesday, June 18, 2025 • 2 min read
I’m dragging my feet when it comes to writing this post. Or rather, publishing it. Not because I find it embarrassing (well, okay, maybe a little). But mostly because I’ve touched on this topic so many times before that it’s starting to feel boringly repetitive. If you’ve followed my blogging for a while, you already know what it’s about: my ambivalence about blogging. On one hand, I love blogging. On the other hand, I never quite seem to figure out how I want to do it.
Tuesday, June 17, 2025 • 1 min read
Today I spent the whole day working in the Swedish archipelago. A colleague and I traveled around by water taxi, visiting several fantastic islands of varying sizes. On days like this, it almost feels wrong to call it work. It feels more like a vacation. Beautiful weather, open water, stunning nature, and places that seem straight out of a fairytale. Of course, not every workday looks like this. There are only a handful like these each year, but I’m just as grateful every time.
Monday, June 16, 2025 • 2 min read
One ongoing project for this new home of my blog is to move content over from my old platform—like I just did with the BlogBuddy shortcut. There’s quite a bit to go through, so it’ll probably take a while. I plan to bring over one or two posts every now and then; otherwise, it starts to feel unmanageable. This principle often applies to life in general. Some tasks feel overwhelming when we focus too much on the big picture.
Sunday, June 15, 2025 • 1 min read
I recently read the autobiography of one of Sweden’s most well-known actors, Mikael Persbrandt. Among other things, he talks about his deep interest in cars and motorcycles, and how he finds something meditative in tinkering with them. It’s his greatest passion in life, and he mentions that he believes having a hobby is important. I agree. Even if we have a job we love or think, “my work is my hobby,” I still believe it’s important to unwind with something entirely different.
Saturday, June 14, 2025 • 1 min read
There are many reasons why I love my job. One of them is all the amazing places I get to visit. I make up to seven customer visits a day, so that’s a lot of places – places I never would have set foot in if not for my job. Yesterday, I spent the entire day out in beautiful Värmdö. During lunch, I visited one of my favorite cafés there: Stavsnäs Hembageri.
Saturday, June 14, 2025 • 3 min read
You probably recognize the inspiration behind the title. Even though Voltaire coined the phrase, most people likely associate it with Spider-Man: With great power comes great responsibility. That quote came to mind as I was thinking about my new choice of platform for this blog. Micro.blog offers many useful and convenient features: photo albums, a book tracker, sharing bookmarks, a natural way to post status updates, and more…
Friday, June 13, 2025 • 2 min read
I started the weekend with a visit to a burger joint in my neighborhood. I took a seat on the outdoor patio, feeling grateful that this time of year finally has arrived here in Sweden. It was almost full. When a group of friends couldn’t find a table, I offered them to sit at mine. Since I was alone, I couldn’t help but overhear their conversation. One of them told his friends he wasn’t feeling great.
Friday, June 13, 2025 • 1 min read
There are so many things I love about my job inspecting houses. Getting to meet people in their homes every day, and visiting places I never could’ve dreamed of otherwise, is something I’m genuinely grateful for. Right now, as I’m writing this, I’m out in the beautiful archipelago, sitting at one of my favorite cafés—Stavsnäs Hembageri—enjoying a cup of coffee in between jobs. That kind of work bonus also aligns with one of my main interests: the web.
Thursday, June 12, 2025 • 1 min read
I visit up to seven places a day in my line of work. That adds up to a lot of driving. And with all that time on the road, there are plenty of moments when I think other people are driving like idiots. I’m sure plenty of drivers feel exactly the same way about me. It’s often said that people find it easier to list their flaws than their strengths. But so far, I’ve never heard anyone admit that driving might be one of their weak spots.
Wednesday, June 11, 2025 • 1 min read
Those of you who’ve followed me for a while know that I like to collect useful links related to blogging and web design. Everything from handy guides and colorful patterns to inspiring articles and other reads that help spark creativity. I’ve now moved this extensive — and constantly growing — collection to my new blog here on Micro.blog. The page has also been updated with lots of fresh content. So without further ado, here’s the updated Blog Inspiration page.
Wednesday, June 11, 2025 • 1 min read
The other day, I received an offer that sounded both fun and interesting. I started drafting a reply: “Absolutely, that sounds great! I’m looking forward…” Then I paused. Something didn’t feel quite right. I deleted the message and instead replied that I’d get back with an answer the next day. I let it go and slept on it. And when I woke up the next morning, I immediately knew what the right thing to do was: I politely turned down the offer.
Tuesday, June 10, 2025 • 1 min read
We all feel disappointed, sad, hurt, or unfairly treated from time to time. When it’s something big, we speak up—if we can. We explain what we believe was wrong and why. Sometimes it gets resolved; other times, it doesn’t. Then there are the smaller things—the ones we don’t think are worth trying to change. These happen far more often than the big ones. A common “solution” is the age-old habit of talking behind people’s backs:
Sunday, June 8, 2025 • 2 min read
As a blogger, one of the questions I sometimes get asked is, “Where do you get your ideas?” The truth is, inspiration is everywhere—you just have to tune in. Most of my posts are sparked by everyday experiences. It might be something that happened at work, a passing comment during lunch, or a conversation I overheard in a busy coffee shop. These seemingly small moments often carry something bigger. There’s something quietly powerful hiding in the ordinary.
Saturday, June 7, 2025 • 3 min read
This day started like any other. I woke up and did my usual little yoga routine in bed—a comforting habit that helps me land in my body before the day really gets going. But not long after, the day took an unexpected turn. I felt something itchy behind my knee. At first, I thought it might be a small scrape or a scab. But when I looked closer, my stomach turned—it was a tick.
Friday, June 6, 2025 • 2 min read
Today is Sweden’s National Day, and I celebrated it with family and friends in my childhood neighborhood, Åkersberga. It was a lovely day! We combined the celebration with a birthday party for one of my sister’s children, who turned 12. There was delicious food, cake, and plenty of joyful memories. Sweden’s National Day is still a relatively new tradition. It used to be called Swedish Flag Day, and it’s actually only been a public holiday for about 20 years.
Thursday, June 5, 2025 • 3 min read
Now that I’ve moved my blog to Micro.blog, my blogging routine looks a bit different. So I figured it’s about time I updated my contribution to the Our blogging workflow list. Writing Most of the time, I write my posts in TextEdit on my Mac, in full-screen mode. I love the completely stripped-down experience – a blank screen slowly filling with words and sentences. Even though my blog posts are in English, I write them in Swedish.
Wednesday, June 4, 2025 • 1 min read
I’ve conducted over 6,000 home inspections. That’s taken me to countless places — and brought me face-to-face with even more people. Each inspection is unique, not just because of the property, but because of the people I meet along the way. Every now and then, I come across a customer I’ve met before. With around a thousand visits a year, it’s not always easy to remember every face or every name.
Tuesday, June 3, 2025 • 1 min read
I was a few minutes early to one of the jobs today. I sat down on a park bench to wait. The first thought that popped into my head was: “What can I use this time for?” As if something always has to be happening. As if it’s a loss not to do something productive the moment a gap appears. As if a quiet pause is a waste of time.
Monday, June 2, 2025 • 2 min read
When I finished one of the day’s jobs, the customer asked if I wanted a cup of coffee. I politely declined and explained that I had to head to my next appointment. He smiled at me and said: “Oh yes, you have time.” And of course, he was right. Sure, I had another customer to get to, but it really wasn’t that urgent. There was room for a Swedish fika moment.
Sunday, June 1, 2025 • 2 min read
This blog has moved from Bear and now has a new home on Micro.blog. But it was far from an easy or obvious choice. I posted my first entry on Bear on February 16, 2023, and I still love the platform. My time there has led to several valuable connections, thanks to the fantastic community that has grown around it. Creating the Bearming theme also brought me both joy and new knowledge.
Sunday, June 1, 2025 • 2 min read
Junited is all about sharing. If you’d like to join in—or just see which bloggers are taking part—check out the Junited 2025 post. Each day in June, I’ll update this page with a new link to a blog or post that I think deserves a little extra love. My first attempt at iOS app development by mgx I Like Your Blog If… by Lou Plummer You’re the One Making This Heavy by prickly oxheart The illusion of knowledge by Vince My BEARy First Anniversary by JCProbably The Strange Rhythm of Loving Books by Yordi When we stopped reading by Alex’s Blog via dearmishmash Who says you have to choose between yourself and others?
Monday, April 21, 2025 • 1 min read
I listened to an interview with the Swedish artist Ernst Billgren. Among other things, he said: “If we had half as many opinions, and if the ones we had were half as strong, I think we would live happier lives in a more peaceful world.” I am convinced that this is true. There is so much suffering in our world and in our lives that could have been reduced or completely avoided with less strong opinions.
Saturday, June 22, 2024 • 3 min read
Inspired by Juha-Matti Santala’s post, Short History of My Blogging Journey, I decided to write a little about my own blogging journey — which has been a bit bumpy, to say the least. I started blogging about 20 years ago using Movable Type, which was pretty much the only tool available at the time. After about a year, I switched to WordPress. My first blog was called Smidigt (Swedish for “easy/handy”).
Saturday, June 1, 2024 • 1 min read
Junited is all about sharing. Each day in June, I’ll update this page with a new link to a blog or post that I think deserves a little extra love. Building software to last forever The world’s worst boss Cheers to the Small Web The moment of a lifetime Lighten your grip Attracting similar people I’m a Little Fed Up Nothing is easy Heptathlon 2 – a weekly summary of interesting links.
Friday, May 24, 2024 • 2 min read
May has been—and still is—all about the wonderful WeblogPoMo. Just one more week to go. Let’s keep it up, friends! Some folks have been asking if there’s anything fun or inspiring lined up for June, while others are secretly hoping there isn’t. But before you say, “Not another challenge,” hear me out—it’s not really a challenge, I promise. I believe being a blogger isn’t just about writing posts; it’s just as much about enjoying and engaging with what others share.