I'm sitting here waiting for our telephones to come online again after a power failure down in Stenungsund. It's remarkable how sensitive we are to power: Without it, our entire business would be gone and everyone would be back in the 1930's. Hooah.

In the meantime, I'm listening to Cat Stevens' version of Morning Has Broken, one of my favorite hymns or songs of all time.

Morning has broken, like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for them springing, fresh from the Word!

After a long, cold and dreary winter, the sun shines again and the sky is blue from horizon to horizon. Temperatures rise, and while I'm in love with cold, glistening winter mornings, it's a delight to see spring come rolling in. In but a month or so, green little buds will be springing forth on all the trees, grass will turn green again. Birds will be singing everywhere around, and all of God's nature will burst out in glorious green bloom again. And before long, tulips - my favorite flower - will be everywhere again in bright reds and yellows and whites.

Here in Skövde, construction work goes on. Commerce is tearing out a whole side of the mall to make room for more stores. A whole parking lot got wiped out this morning as construction of new housing set in - further worsening the parking situation - and a new road is planned from Havstenaleden into Maxi and further out towards Östra leden. The student-apartment skyscraper is nearing completion, and Maxi will probably soon start extending their mall into our first megamall. :) And because of that, several other large chainstores are moving into town.

T'is betting big, aye.