Life in the Land of the Ice and Snow
Infiltrating Sweden one cinnamon bun at a time
I read a lot of children’s books to my kids and it’s always fun when you find interesting pictures in them. Sometimes the illustrator likes to hide funny things in pictures that not everyone notices. My favorite is from a Curious George book. It’s a little picture off to the side, almost hidden in the … Read more
While I was looking up restaurants today on the main restaurant site for Stockholm, I found some information on Thank’s God It’s Friday – better known to you and I as T.G.I. Fridays. I guess some ambitious writer took it upon themselves to demonstrate their knowledge of U.S. chain restaurants and thought they would write … Read more
It’s time to look at schools for our oldest son. After careful searching through the neighborhood, I finally found the perfect school. TORNADO SCHOOL!!!!! I know nothing about it, it just sounds exciting. Unfortunately, it’s a bit too far out of our area. Too bad. I was hoping he could start there, continue on to … Read more
I saw a paper yesterday for new students coming to Sweden. It gives helpful phrases they may need to know in Swedish. There were only about 20 phrases. The best 2 were, “How do you like it in Sweden? – It gets better every day!” (There was no option for ‘I don’t like it’ or … Read more
Don’t you hate it when you’re in the waiting room for the doctor and the only thing to look at is the giant poster on the wall that says, “Let me tell you about cholera….”?
So I go to put a Kleenex in the pocket of my new pants today only to realize that my pants are full of fake pockets!!!! There wasn’t one real pocket on there. I almost ripped the stitching out trying to get one to open. Luckily I had my boots on so I stuffed the … Read more
The news reported yesterday that we were going to get a little snowstorm today with another foot of snow. It’s been advised that people should stay indoors if possible and prepare for delays on public transportation. Everything was calm this morning, but I think the mini-blizzard has begun. It’s looking bad outside the window and … Read more
I’m reading a book right now called Artic Drift. It’s a great book but I’m starting to question whether this was the right time of year to read it. All of these people keep getting trapped in blizzards and floating out on icebergs and all I can think of is, “Yeah, I think that must … Read more
My son thought he heard Santa Claus this morning up on our roof. I didn’t think about it very much until I went outside and realized that there were several men on our roof. They were pushing off all of the snow, which is something that’s done quite often around the city, as people are … Read more
I was at the grocery store this morning when I noticed a new display with butternut squash. After years of seeing so many American recipes using butternut squash, it was amazing to find it for the first time in Sweden. Butternut squash is such a rare thing here that there isn’t even a translation for … Read more
So there I am, sitting in a crowded subway surrounded by surly teenagers, when suddenly out of my pocket a little man from Minneapolis says, “Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life….” Those touch pads on the iphone don’t seem to work quite fast enough when you are … Read more
If I were to start a music blog, I think my first post would be about the theme song to Underdog (popular cartoon from 1964-73). I recently came across the song in an old t.v. theme song collection and it really stands out. This was back when people actually put some thought into theme songs … Read more
I once had a great idea for a talk show hosted by howler monkeys. Each week, there would be a new celebrity guest escorted into a room with a family of howler monkeys. That’s about as far as it goes. You don’t really need any other plan. Just let the cameras roll. Pure entertainment.
I don’t think anyone could listen to Bootsy Collins and be depressed. If only we could all be as cool as Bootsy. I hope my neighbors feel the same as the music is really rockin’ the whole apartment today. These dark Swedish winters need a bit more Bootsy.
I accidently started a horrible dinosaur movie for the kids. It’s poorness complete with a poorness soundtrack. Every dinosaur in the movie talks like a 5 year old girl. Why would dinosaurs sound like little girls? Dinosaurs should sound like scary screaming monsters and all they should be doing is eating each other. They can’t … Read more
I picked up the Swedish paper this morning and had to ask myself, why is there a train full of virgins going to Moscow? After careful reading I finally realized that the report was about a train’s virgin voyage to Moscow. News is more interesting when I mis-translate. Earlier in the week I was confused … Read more
I am usually very careful about the expressions I use around people who don’t have English as a first language, but I slipped up earlier this week. A woman was asking me about our new apartment building and I told her it was nice, but it’s so new that they haven’t worked out all the … Read more
In the Peter Pan movie, do you think they had to add in the part about the pixie dust after the first screening went wrong? First Peter Pan says, “All you need to fly is faith and trust…… oh, and a little bit of pixie dust!” Always feels like that part was added in later. … Read more
I’ve been trapped in the house for a week now. I’ve noticed when you don’t get outside, your world gets a bit smaller. Today I will entertain you with the very important issues in my life right now. Heather’s Soup Review: Now at the top of the soup list is Campbell’s Chicken Noodle. Unfortunately this … Read more