Life in the Land of the Ice and Snow
Infiltrating Sweden one cinnamon bun at a time
I was telling my oldest son about an article I read in Reader’s Digest about the Best Foods for your health. He said, “Yeah, I started to read that too, but then I realized it was about healthy foods and not best tasting foods, so I skipped over to the joke section.”
With all the government news lately, I’m starting to feel that we might be losing focus on what’s happening in other fields. On CNN today, there was a list of stories all having to do with governmental issues, except for one buried right in the middle. Do they expect us to glance over this, because … Read more
Following my post last week on Alexa, or the Amazon Echo, we sensed Alexa might be lonely and added a Google Home device to the family. For those not familiar with a Google Home device, it’s Google’s version of Amazon Echo, a talking computer that can set kitchen timers, add something to your shopping list, … Read more
I keep reading stories about how people who own an Amazon Echo device should be concerned about a loss of privacy with its constant voice monitoring system. Anyone writing these articles obviously doesn’t own an Amazon Echo device, otherwise they’d know what my family already knows… it barely understands a word you’re saying. Example at … Read more
My husband started the morning by showing our young boys the indestructible power of an old Commodore 64 joystick. Now, I could write about how we are low on money and I eat mostly crackers at the end of the month just to save while apparently my husband NEEDS to buy two old Commodore joysticks … Read more
Heads up. My kids have been singing this since November. Apparently it’s getting even bigger. Warning: Extremely stupid…. but extremely catchy. I guess what I’m trying to say is you’ve been warned. Embrace it or buy some noise-cancelling headphones.
I keep buying winter hats that look great on the models in the ads, but terrible on me. Sadly, it took me this long to realize that NO ONE looks good in a winter hat in real life because no one smiles when they’re out in the cold. We all have sinuses and flu symptoms.
Even though I’ve lived in Sweden for almost 17 years now, I still see many commercials through the eyes of an American laughing hysterically at weird “foreign” ads. But honestly, how can I not when things like this are common? This is an ad for a glassses company. And this is an ad for a … Read more
Today is Knut’s Day, January 13, where many Swedes celebrate julgransplundring (‘Christmas tree plundering’), stripping the tree of its ornaments and throwing it out of the window. As that’s not very nice to the environment, most people take it to a recycling center these days. We have gone to a few Christmas plundering events. … Read more
I have a feeling my kids snuck this article into “The Local.”
They’re heiffing mad and they’re not going to take your bull any longer.
Our family was playing a board game together on New Year’s Eve. My youngest son needed to draw a certain type of card for his next turn. He said: “Please God, let me draw the right card!” I said, “God probably has more important things to do than help you find a game card.” He … Read more
I’ve spent the last 5 days alone with the kids and their various friends who come over to visit. My life has a running background soundtrack of Pokémon, Minecraft and Skylanders. It’s non-stop. How can they talk this long? It can’t be possible. They might not be human. Also, you know when you get a … Read more
Because when I read ads like this, all I can think of is this… Spara
Who do you think Sophisticated Beet Man is bringing this Christmas greeting to? If it’s Demure Carrot Woman, then he’s out of luck because she’s spending Christmas with Distinguished Onion Fellow.
In Sweden, Santa delivers gifts personally. Santa visits Swedish homes (after Donald Duck) to hand out gifts personally to the kids. Unfortunately, this usually happens after dad or another male member of the family has just stepped out to check for the newspaper and he misses Santa every year. When my husband (often the only … Read more
The Christmas gift poem is not as widely done these days, but some people still practice the tradition. The gift-giver writes a couple of rhyming couplets on their presents, hinting at what’s hidden inside, which is then read out before opening it. Example (Perfume): A lovely scent of mystery in a bottle you’ll admire a … Read more
This Disney Donald Duck Christmas special has been shown at 3pm every year on Christmas Eve since 1959 and almost all Swedes organize their celebrations around the show. Most families, like ours, open gifts when the show is over. It’s an hour long show with the same set of cartoons since 1959. Everyone has the … Read more
