swedenusa

Sam is a very fast reader. He loves reading books and he has probably read about 30 books this year. (?). Me… I am a very slow reader. I did not like reading as a kid and I read maybe 4 books in a good year. Both of us are really stubborn in what books to read. Sam wants to pick out his own books to his liking. Since I only get through four… well they better be my style and what I WANT to read.

I love the Lord of the Rings! I only read the books once through… BEFORE the movies. Sam… he read the Hobbit. He has refused to read any of the books because he has already seen the movies. On the other hand… he loves Dean Koontz writing. I read Swedish detective novells.

Sam has been trying to get me to read his Dean Kontz´s books and I have been trying to get him through Lord of the Rings. So we brokered a trade. Made a deal.

I will read Dean Koontz “Life Expetancy” and Sam will read the first two books in the Lord of the Rings series.

Sam had to buy some of that pop named Freaky Fläder. (as I am writing this Sam is reading over my shoulder and informs me that he in fact did not buy the pop… Rachael and Craig did). If you read the blog this summer you might remember. Sam thought the pop tasted like the bug spray OFF. Well… the after taste of it. So he bought some to have Rachael and Craig try it.

Fläder is of course Elder in English and you can make juice out of either the flower or the little black berries that grow on the bush or tree.

We all know it is an American celebration so we have to improvise. Having three… sorry four Americans (including the baby) in our home we have to do something special. It is hard to find turkey in the grocery stores and honestly… I don´t like cooking that much. Neither does Sam.

Christmas is right around the corner and most restaurants serve a Christmas smorgasbord. That is a buffet of all the traditional food Swedes eat at Christmas dinner. The restaurant is in a basement that is pretty cool, with pillars and stuff.

The food is all really really traditional and includes things that has been eaten for hundred years or so. The farmers would slaughter the pig and make all kinds of sausage, ham, meatballs, and more sausage. No veggies since they wouldn´t have made it all through fall and winter. Of course fish! Fish that has been pickled, fish that has been recently caught in the frozen lake. Yeah… you get the picture of the TRADITIONAL foods.

So one restaurant started it early this year meaning we could all go on Wednesday and celebrate Thanksgiving and experience some Swedish tradition. Had to make it a Wednesday celebration since we were traveling back to Stockholm on Thursday.

Nothing tops off a meal of meats as a great dessert table…. times two!

It is safe to say that Jaeger is the center of attention. And with all rights! I mean who can blame us!

He is very easy-going. I don`t think I have heard him cry… I mean REALLY cry. He is just eating and laughing. Mostly just looking around at these strange new surroundings. You`d expect a jet lagged baby would be much more upset! I don`t think he even cried on the airplane!

So let me end with a picture of me and the baby!

After our breakfast we had decided to go to IKEA. Sure it is Tuesday morning-noonish the parking was packed! Who can go to IKEA at that time?

We just strolled around and looked at all the rooms set up for display.

Don`t forget to ask Craig about the experience he had with changing the diaper at the restaurant downtown. Lets just say we were there for about 2 hours!

The flight from Reykavik was 1 hour delayed but they all arrived saftely. A lot of extra hazzle for the family with an extra security check on Iceland. Even little Jaeger had to take off his shoes. We got into dads car and started our roadtrip to Jönköping. Rachael and Craig fell a sleep and I think Sam was sleeping too as I pulled in to the town of Norrköping. It was time for some food!

We found a sports bar… very American. All things on the menu was in English making it easy for everyone. Jaeger had a Swedish shirt on and the server just loved it and gave him a matching wig.

We finally pulled into our town and the long travel was over. Of course we had some tea and open-faced sandwiches. Have to have that before going to bed. The same food would be called a “fika” during the day, but since it is right before bed it is called “kvällsmat” or “eveningfood”.

We are so excited that they are finally here!

We are so excited! Rachael, Craig and their little Jaeger are coming to Sweden! We have been looking forward to this a lot. So today… we are cleaning the house. After both Sam and I being sick we want to try to get rid of all the germs.

Sam had to break his sisters heart earlier this week. Rachael has been counting down the days at her job in Montana. Last time they were on the phone Sam said… so… Mirjam and I are planning to go to Norway next week….. (pause and silence on the phone)… Rachaels reply: but….

How evil! Sam has appologized for this cruel joke. Though we laugh about it now.

Sam and I are going up to Stockholm later today. It is a 3,5 hour trip and we are going by bus. We will be staying with my dad and he is kind enough to lend us his car for the week. Tomorrow (Sunday) the airplane will land and we will be waiting at the other side of customs!

We have a new show in Sweden called “lyxfällan” (translated luxarytrap). The viewers get to meet a couple that is living way beyond their means. These people are heading straight to bankruptcy. This is where the two experts come in and get power of attorney.

They sell the boats, the motorbikes, and the extra cars, then they start cleaning out the closets and have yard sales all to pay off debts. The family gets to understand what a budget is and how to keep it. It is sort of fun to watch. When we saw the first episode we started to wonder… would this ever work in the states? Teaching people NOT to spend! What would happen to the economy then?

On most billboards we have an add for a credit card. It goes something like… “You are not what you buy”. The slogan is Re:member you are in charge. The comercial on TV is a woman walking and talking saying something like

“get a perfect house, with the perfect furniture, get perfect books to show your perfect friends that you have perfect taste”. And then the end… you are not what you buy. Stay in charge…

I wonder if that would work in the states? If I wanted to use a credit card I would probably use that one… because I get some sort of feeling that I am actually in charge and I am cool no matter what I get because I am not what I buy. Strange reverse psychology or something.

Sam just informed me that Saturday next week is the non-purchasing day. So basically dont buy anything on that day…

It is that time of the year. When everyone around you seem to get sick and you know you are next in line. Sure enough. It started to come over me on Wednesday night and just got worse. Sunday was a day in bed. You know when you dont even get out of your PJs until sometime after 2 pm. Today… still a bit of a fever so I have been staying at home. Same tomorrow. I am not going back to work until Wednesday at the earliest!

Sam is a trooper like usual. Never complains just takes good care of me. I know he itches to get out. He is just not the kind of guy to sit inside and watch TV all day.

Sun sets earlier and earlier it rises at 7:46 and sets at 3:52pm. And we are not at the darkest yet. I think it wont start turning until sometime mid-December.

On Saturday night, I took my bike out on its true maiden voyage. 3 tires, 5 inner tubes and a desperate call to a repair shop was all it took to get me on the road. We had somewhat of a winter storm recently so the roads still had alot of ice on them, but I was assured that it is entirely possible to ride a bike in the snow. It turns out, that it is! 

I went to 2 cemetarys and took pics of the graves. I know that sounds crazy but in Sweden it is a day to remember the dead by putting candles on the graves.It is pretty cool to see all of the lights after dark. My pics didn’t turn out so hot because of the darkness, but I will post them anyway to give you an idea of what it looked like….