Life in the Land of the Ice and Snow
Infiltrating Sweden one cinnamon bun at a time
I’m writing this a week before we go on our vacation, which we will be on by the time you are reading this. No internet and no phones. Total disconnect. It’s like being one with nature…. …..but with microwaves….and t.v……and restaurants….and a car….. Ah, close enough.
I’m taking my husband and kids on a surprise trip today to celebrate my husband’s 40th birthday. He knows he is going on a trip but has no idea where. He will find out when we get to the airport. If I had my way, I’d put a blindfold and ear plugs on him and … Read more
My husband recently got some of my grandfather’s old Life magazines. As you know, the best part of old magazines are the commercials. I’ll be posting the best ones now and then. Today, the race is all about how many blades your razor can have, but back in the 60s, it was about how many … Read more
I have decided there are just too many Swedish words that are similar for me to read the news. Today I was wondering why snails (sniglar) were wanting to have the right to be inseminated. Took me a while to realize that the word was “singlar” (singles) instead of “sniglar (snails). So I suppose I … Read more
Dunkin’ Donuts is planning to open in Sweden. I’m surprised this hasn’t happened earlier. This country loves donuts and many other EU countries already have Dunkin Donuts. Yea for us! However, one of my friends pointed out that the health concious people are complaining, so Dunkin Donuts plans to have a few healthy options. As … Read more
I went to a concert last week at Globen Arena in Stockholm. I’ve been to events there before but have never had the “opportunity” to use the restroom. Often during breaks or before shows, I see the typical long line of women outside the bathroom and consider myself lucky that I remembered to go before … Read more
When I lived in Houston, I enjoyed listening to the college radio station. You never knew what they would be playing. It could be anything from Robert Johnson to the Muppets. The best part of finding the channel was the DJs. After most blocks of songs, there would be at least a 10 second awkward … Read more
Oh no. There goes our tourism. C’mon guys, let’s get back up to at least third! This is our most important issue this year!
For 2 weeks now, there has been a booth set up outside McDonald’s that I pass each day as I walk my 2 miles to school. This booth is for cyclists so they can get their bike checked out for free while having an orange juice. It’s a thank you to people who ride their … Read more
My children just ran up to me and said, “Mamma, can you help us with our music? We need a playlist that we want to call ‘Annoying and History’.” Seeing as how they’ve been playing “Carol Cats” in their room all afternoon, I think they’ll have to figure this one out without my help.
I found out that my son hit another boy last week at school. My son is normally very calm and quiet, so I was concerned and asked what happened. He said, “That boy was saying bad things about Texas!” I had to hold in my smile a bit while I told him that we don’t … Read more
I had a test today in my Swedish class. It was a writing test. Out of the two topics given, I chose, “Write an opinion letter to your local paper to either support or complain about an airport being built close to your house.” It started out well. I discussed the stress of noise and … Read more
In Swedish, sometimes just one letter can mean a whole word. “i” means “in” “Ö” means island “Å” can mean river, so I was wondering if it meant anything else. Thanks a lot English dictionary!
Now this is how you take over the world. My kids would follow Japanese cartoon characters anywhere.
Well it snowed this weekend again. Happy May from Stockholm. In other news, there were camels in the field by our house. Traveling circus or new neighbors with odd taste in pets?
Ok, I understand that parents are outraged, and I probably would be too, but you have to admit it is a little funny. I think we’ve all had days where we felt like doing this: “Baines Middle School students on the bus said it started when the driver became angry because several children on the … Read more
Welcome May! Weather prediction in Stockholm for the day – SNOW!
Today is Valborg. This is the holiday in Sweden where people build bonfires to burn off the winter branches to welcome in the spring (or something like that). Personally, I think it’s just a good way to get rid of old Christmas trees.
Yes, I’m going to mention the 3D printer again and you’d do the same if you had one too. (It takes over your life – beware.) Anyway, I went into a knick-knack type store today and was unable to shop because I realized I could make every product in there. It’s good and bad. I could … Read more
I decided to start listening to an Italian language podcast called “My Daily Phrase.” Why Italian you ask? Because we need a third language when we want to talk about people. Anyway, I just started up this podcast to realize it’s being hosted by a Scottish man. Really? They couldn’t find one Italian for their … Read more