A Day at Work?!

Well, it wasn't quite a day at work, we gave that up about 3 years ago. But we did have to get up early, throw some breakfast down our throats and dash to the car, before picking up Ann and driving to Mid-Sweden University in Sundsvall, getting there in time for the meeting. It really was quite like work!
However, we were going there of our own free will to watch an ex-colleague and friend, Susanne, defend her Ph.d thesis. The title was "Moving Beyond Internal Affairs" and the subject was the development of schools through some form of co-operation with external groups, such as private companies, or schools in other countries. In the picture she is explaining a point to someone on the examing committee who has just asked her a question.
As always it was a chance to meet previous colleagues, both those who are now retired and those who are still working. There was time to catch up on the news as we waited to hear what the examiners thought. They thought it was excellent and Susanne is now Doctor Susanne! Jan has a tradition now of doing a sort of mind-map whenever she is at one of these
events, and that was her blip. Once all that was over we headed back close to home to drop off Ann and to pick chokeberries that grow in her garden. We'd never picked these before but we got a bucket load before our hands started to really freeze.  Ann invited us in for coffee and while we were there her husband's new tractor arrived on a low-loader. It was an exciting thing to see and I'm sure that today Mats will be roaring around, scraping up gravel and digging unnecessary holes with it.
We came home and Jan set to making chokeberry jam from a recipe she chose from the net. It was delicious, and a little tart because the berries are very rich in vitamins and tannins, but not so sweet. It reminded me a little of cherry jam. I think we'll be making more of that jam.