Goodbye Stockholm, hello London | Djursholm barnfotograf

On the way to meet this charming family for our portrait session back in July, the heavens unexpectedly opened.  It rained so much, I thought we'd all need an ark to get home!  We huddled under our rain-battered umbrellas for a good half our, willing the torrential rain to stop.  Eventually it did and we went on to have fun-filled shoot by the water in Djursholm.  This beautiful Swedish backdrop will serve as a wonderful reminder of the family's time in Sweden, as they settle into their new lives in London.  The mum was so happy with the results of the shoot that she immediately said she wants to book me for another session the next time I visit the U.K!  There's nothing like a satisfied Jolly customer ;)

8

Eight years ago I gave birth (in a foreign country, where I didn't speak the language, with no support network around me - but we won't dwell on this part) to a beautiful, healthy, dainty, pouty-lipped, blue-eyed little girl.  Thank the Lord she inherited her mother's love of sleeping and slotted nicely into our new (starting-from-scratch, in a state of culture shock) lives.  We laughed when she started to crawl, but could only go backwards, and her little backside got wedged underneath the couch until we could stop laughing and rescued her.  This fiesty, quick-witted, still-dainty girl of ours has given us many reasons to laugh since, although thankfully she no longer gets stuck under furniture.  Happy birthday, Twinkle!  Hope you don't hate me for revealing your nickname to the Internet!

This is me

It occurred to me recently that I don’t post much about myself here. I guess it’s mainly because I’m a private person and, for the most part in life, I tend to keep to myself.  As I’ve gotten some new fans lately though, I thought I’d share a bit about me, so you know more about the person behind SJP :)
- Frogs repulse me. One jumping near me would quite possibly send me into cardiac arrest.
- My favourite beer is Budvar. I’m a Larry Lightweight though, so maximum three.
- Rammstein’s Mein Hertz Brennt is the first song on my walking playlist.
- I’ve had my appendix removed, which is handy in case I ever become a doctor who winters at an Australian Antarctic station.
- Despite being a photographer, I’m not a techy person and dread the thoughts of being cornered in a conversation about megapixels or buffer memory. Pass me a Budvar, please.
- My nickname is Dusty.
- I have, at last count, 33 first cousins.
- I love to be around spiritually-aware people, who dream without limits and are as curious about the workings of the universe as I am.
- Walking over bridges is risky business for me, as I always get the urge to fling my handbag into the water.
- I love to make people laugh. A grievance counsellor I went to last year actually asked me if I'd ever considered a career in stand-up comedy!  I can be funny even when I'm grieving, apparently!
- If not for my husband and kids, I probably wouldn’t have a phone. I don’t like being contactable all the time and I love to go off the grid.
- I’m afraid of the dark. My going to bed process when I’m home alone is a very tense, drawn-out experience.
- I still practice the ancient art of writing letters.
- I always eat before I go out for dinner just in case, God forbid, the food is delayed and the whole evening descends into low blood sugar chaos. I’m not me when I’m hungry. I’ll take a Snickers with that Budvar, please.
- Down through the years, I’ve had many psychic/sixth sense experiences.
- Indiana Jones is my favourite action hero.
- My favourite things to search on YouTube is stand-up comedians and impressionists.
- Graceland and Tuscany are at the top of my would-like-to-travel-to list.
- I love to be in quiet and peaceful places, like the forest or an empty church. On a recent trip to Berlin we found a Room of Silence and I thought I’d died and gone to heaven until my husband got the hiccups (!).
That's me, folks!  Thanks for reading and thanks for staying awake during my rambling revelations.  You are still awake, right?!