Day 301: Nostalgia

Although I highly doubt he remembers it, this container once belonged to a former boyfriend of mine. By "once" I mean the beginning of the 1980s which I hesitate to add is more than 30 years ago. Whenever I've used it, I think of him with a smile. Chief among the many things he brought into my life was the love of food and eating.

The container (more specifically its lid) finally bit the dust but, after decades of excellent service, I couldn't quite let it go without giving it proper homage. On the bright side, I get to replace it! And those of you who follow this blog somewhat regularly (see An embarrassment of riches) know how happy that makes me! :-)

Day 300: Egg-citing?

The sun was shining brightly this morning and I was all set to take a long walk to counteract my extremely sedentary day yesterday. Until the snow flurries started. Sheesh.

I did venture out to the grocery store quite happy that I'd run out of bread so that I had good incentive to step out of my cocoon. Eggs were on sale so I bought those too and decided that a snowy day is a good day to egg-speriment. I'd already tried the peel hard boiled eggs by blowing them out of their shells method...no such luck, or perhaps my lungs are just not strong enough. So today, I thought I'd give another of the tips I recently read on FB a try: baking eggs to get them hard boiled (so to speak).

The proponent of this method assures us that the eggs would taste better and be easier to peel. Hmmm...two of mine exploded in the process, none was easier to peel and they tasted pretty much like hard boiled eggs. Add the energy-intensive nature of this approach (baking them for 30-35 minutes in the oven vs. boiling for 10 minutes) I'm sticking with the good old fashioned water on top of the stove method.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it! :-)

Day 299: Chocolate

I'm not that fond of chocolate. And the type of chocolate I do eat when I eat chocolate (that is, milk chocolate) most chocolate afficionados would not even consider chocolate.

What I do love though is frozen chocolate. Especially with hazelnuts. I'm thinking that it can't really be the taste because, as I said, I'm not really all that fond of chocolate. Could it be the crunch? But then why wouldn't, say, frozen carrots or simply ice do the trick?

Don't know what it is but whatever it is I'm always happy when I open the freezer and there it is...

Day 298: Personal gallery

Visited Erik today. He is close to 90 and quite on the forgetful side these days. Gave me pause to wonder to what extent my brain will function at his age (assuming I live that long, of course). His body is in good shape...not surprising with a lifetime of skiing, and ice skating, and cycling, and canoeing behind him. (Of these, he has only given up skating so far).

Turns out that he has a friend who stops by several times a week to check in on him. A friend who looks at Erik and sees a grown man. A friend who takes things in stride and remembers the person Erik has been. That makes me happy.

The photos are of the hallway outside Erik's apartment which Erik has turned into a gallery of his interests and handiwork. Very homey and quite inspiring. That also made me happy.

Day 297: Mamma said there'd be days like this...

...there'd be days like this my mamma said!

Silver Lining

Forgot to blog on day 297. Bummer.

Happy I remembered that I forgot though...there's always a bright side.

Day 296: Easter decorations

Easter comes relatively early this year, toward the end of the equally early Pesach. Hard to miss in this town with Easter feathers on sale and Easter decorations abounding. These consists mainly of twigs adorned with colorful feathers. Today, I passed by a store window displaying some in my favorite color (accompanied by yellow). Very cheerful, very Swedish. Made me happy.

Day 295: Good read

Potato chips, veggies and dip at my side, I spent a luxurious day with a book. Hours upon hours of reading. A hard cover book with a built-in ribbon bookmark. Borrowed from the library. The kind of book that envelops you in a world so rich and real and moving, that you wish you could step into it and meet the people involved.

When there were only about 50 pages left...I put it down. I was not ready to have it end, wanted the experience to continue. Soon after, I was pulled back in, drawn by curiosity, missing the people, wanting to see how the story resolves. Although I think I know. But still...

Day 294: Reliving the joy

In January, I attended the wedding of my cousin's granddaughter to her long-time beau. Weddings are always special and this one held a particularly special place in my heart. The bride and groom know why...let's just say I had a little hand in planting the seed.

Today, I watched the wedding highlights video and was soon blubbering at the memories and emotions it evoked. How lucky we are to be at a day and age when we can capture such occasions not only in photos but in action as well. And how lucky am I to have such a fabulous family and the means to share happy occasions with them.

L'chaim!

Day 293: The morning after

One reason I love having people over is waking up the following day to a clean apartment, dishes washed, floors sparkling. As an extra bonus this morning, sunshine was streaming through the windows!

Day 292: New horizons

Today was the monthly board games Sunday at my place and this one was extra fun as I discovered not one but two new games (new for me)...and I like them both. I look forward to playing them both again and hope their owners come to the board games Sunday in April!

Category 5

Saint Petersburg

Day 291: Three outings, two naps, one visit

A day chock full of stuff. In the morning, off I went to the opening of the Ruud van Empel exhibition at Fotografiska, including an interview with the photographer and breakfast. (Outstanding coffee, btw.) This began way before my usual wake up time and included a 2 kilometer walk in each direction, hence nap number one when I got home.

Then a one kilometer walk to meet a friend and her daughter for lunch at our favorite Mexican place...OK it's the only Mexican place...in Stockholm. More walking back to my place where we hung out and played a lot of peek-a-boo. When they left to go home, on came nap number two.

Woke up in time to go off to the Improvisation & Co. theater where I spent a good couple of hours laughing and enjoying the antics...and in English no less.

So, now I'm ready for nap number three...that I hope will last until morning ;-)

Day 290: Good day, sunshine

The sun is shining, it's a crisp springwinter day...springlike aromas in the air yet temperatures still close to the freezing point...and hocus pocus everything's just a bit brighter. Couple this with the resolution of a conflict among neighbors in our building and you've got what makes me happy today.

To celebrate, I am indulging in an oh-so-bad-for-you-but-tastes-sublime bag of chips and a glass of elderberry soda. And a movie.

Happy Friday everyone!

Day 289: Stockholm! Why?

This morning, I attended a workshop along with some 30 other non-Swedes sponsored by the City of Stockholm. The title of the workshop was the same as the title of this blog, and the purpose was to collect input from foreigners as to why they have chosen to settle in Stockholm, what we love about the city and ways in which we believe it could be made even more attractive to professionals and business people.

It was an interesting and stimulating few hours and I was struck by the decidedly positive vibe in the room. Over the years, I've experienced a great deal of bitching and moaning from folks who've moved here and, frankly, it's gotten tiresome. So it was refreshing to be in a room full of people whose basic attitude toward living here was positive. Not to say that they did not see much room for improvement, but even those suggestions were made with a positive tone.

It was a great way to start the day!

Day 288: Memories

The last of my relatives in my mother's generation died this afternoon...a wonderful, generous and steadfast man. He lived a long life, was 90+ years old, lived to see his grandchildren grow into fine young adults, and had the respect of everyone in our family.

It's hard to be sad for him...mostly I'm sad for his daughter (my cousin), his grandchildren and myself. I know we will all miss him. In thinking about him now, I find myself smiling at many fond memories. He visited my mother many times in NY...I can see them now, around her kitchen table, he playing solitaire, she meddling. And I visited him whenever I was in Israel where he often sat at the kitchen table playing solitaire. I remember, too, a much younger Tzvi standing guard at the bedroom door to ensure we youngsters went to sleep, when we would much rather have stayed up all night talking. Random memories. Lots of love.

May he rest in peace. And if there is an afterlife, I expect there is a big family reunion happening there tonight.

Me, my brother and Tzvi, Haifa, 2008

Day 287: Call Me Maybe

LOL! So a few weeks ago a FB friend posted a link to a YouTube video with the comment "What to do when you're bored in Afghanistan?!" The video shows U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan doing a lip sync version of Carly Rae Jepsen's Call Me Maybe. For some reason, for the past few days, that video and the song have been on my mind. Today, I decided I had to find it again and watch, if only to be able to let it go.

Could not find the link on my friend's wall. Went into YouTube and searched. At first, I had no luck because, as it turns out I was had the title wrong. When I finally figured that out, I got many hits. It turns out that this video is actually a cover of video that the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders recorded. So it took me a while to find the one I'd previously seen.

In the meanwhile, I got to watch a number of different versions, including the Miami Dolphin Cheerleaders original which made me appreciate the version posted on FB even more. I found myself laughing...and also quite moved. These guys (actually in quite a number of the videos I watched) put themselves out there, were obviously having a great time doing it, and put quite a bit of thought into their versions. And from the wide spread of talent, it looked like everyone got to be in the video, sense of rhythm notwithstanding. Now that's democracy.

So, without further ado, here they are:

The Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders

The U.S. Army in Afghanistan

A combo video that compares the two

Day 286: A girly topic...

Sometimes, I wonder where ideas come from, especially practical solutions to everyday challenges. For example, what first made me think to use rubber gloves (you know, the yellow dish washing kind) as an aid in opening jars? Or the egg slicer to cut boiled potatoes into slices for home fries? Or creating a grocery list from a recipe using cut-and-paste into a calendar entry?

Today's idea was to test shaving my legs before going into the shower using the built-in-shave-gel razor I've owned for several years now on dry legs. How is it that it never occurred to me before that this should work perfectly (which it did btw)? And why did it occur to me today?

I have no answers to these questions. Still, I'm delighted to have done the experiment and made the discovery which will ensure clean shaven legs much more often in future. I am sure you are all delighted to know this too... ;-)

Day 285: Being prepared

Yesterday afternoon, a former colleague and friend who lives in Linköping called. She was in Stockholm attending a course and her dinner plans (as well as a place to spend the night) fell through. I was so happy she called and, of course, invited her to spend the night.

That's when I was so happy I'd had my recent cooking frenzy. Dinner was just a frozen plastic container away! Lovely evening with a lovely person AND good food. And there's more where that came from...in my excellent new plastic containers.

:-)

Day 284: Twice blessed

Way back in August, I got the LCD screen of my iPad (1!) replaced. Just a few short weeks later, it tumbled off the bed and on to the carpeted floor and there went the new LCD screen. The screen was not cracked either time, it simply stopped working.

Naturally, I was quite frustrated and annoyed with myself and the iPad and couldn't help feeling cheated out of a working tablet. For months now, I've been debating what to do. Should I take it back to the repair shop? Would I be willing to pay to get it repaired again? Should I upgrade to the latest generation iPad instead? Should I make do with my iPhone alone?

And so the weeks turned into months and I did nothing. Every once in a while, I would look wistfully at the iPad in its gorgeous, handmade carrying case (thank you Dodi) and debate once again what to do. Finally, fed up with my own inertia, I decided to return to the repair shop with my tale of woe. The service person had me leave the iPad there with the promise that they would call when they determined what was wrong with it. That was on Thursday.

When they still hadn't called by 1 PM yesterday, I called them to get a status report. The iPad was repaired and they were surprised no one had called to inform me. Repaired? Without consulting me first? What was this fiasco going to cost me, I wondered? What I said was, "Oh," to which the person on the phone responded, "Naturally, there is no charge since it broke only weeks after we fixed it."

And they say the Swedes aren't service-minded! I picked it up today. As an added bonus, I found the bouquet of roses at the bus stop on my way home. :-D

Day 283: Turnabout's fair play

Over the past 48 hours, I have purchased tickets to two dance performances, two musicals, a movie and an improv club. I am supporting the arts. Now it's the arts' turn ;-)

Day 282: Zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Lullaby and good night...how does the rest go?

Fell asleep at a reasonable hour and slept through the night two nights in a row now.

HAPPY!

Day 281: Audio books

Happily listening to my first audio book ever...and what a treat!

A surprising number of the books we've chosen for book club (in English) are available at the public library in Stockholm. This month's book (State of Wonder by Anne Patchett) was no exception. In fact, the library stocks four copies, all of which are out on loan, no doubt to other book club members!? There was, however, an audio version available. The user reviews on Amazon give high praise to Hope Davis who recorded the book so I decided to give it a try.

The praise is well deserved. Ms. Davis brings the characters to life with just the right amount of vocal variation and reads the remaining narrative in a clear, pleasant voice at a good clip. I'm sure that has a lot to do with how much I am enjoying listening to the book. That and being able to do other things while "reading."

Guess you could call me a late adapter. As they say, better late than never!

Day 280: Synchronous movement

Three bodies on stage, moving simultaneously, identically, to music. Magical. Not easy to accomplish either but these three dancers got it just right. There is something about movement in unison, when it truly is in unison, that I find mesmerizing.

I took a nap this afternoon after getting back from a visit to the Åberg Museum in Bålsta today, and it took a great deal of willpower to propel myself out of bed and out the door for this evening's performance. I am very happy I did.

Day 279: Yemen

Monday evening means Language Exchange - Stockholm at the café. Tonight, three extra hosts showed up unexpectedly so there weren't all that many participants to go around. Half an hour into the meetup, I was ready to pack it in and go home when a latecomer walked through the door. I borrowed a participant from one group and together with the latecomer we constituted a small group and began conversing.

Turns out the latecomer, a woman in her thirties, moved to Sweden from Yemen about a year ago. When I asked her why, she replied that she was a political activist and found it confining to live in Yemen. During the course of the evening, we learned a great deal about Yemen, its political composition, the many problems it faces and the general geography of the region. It was refreshing and uplifting to meet a well-educated, intelligent and thoughtful person from the region who had deep insight into her country's problems and potential.

I learned as much current history from her as she learned Swedish from me. And I left feeling that I had gotten the better part of the bargain.

Day 278: Spontaniety

The phone rings while I'm still in bed at noon. I'm too lazy to get up and answer. Then my cell phone rings. The caller is persistent. Still, I do not answer. Finally, 30 minutes later, shame overwhelms me and I get my lazy bones out of bed and return the call.

It was from a friend I haven't seen since she saw Assassins with her son and daughter back in January. Since then, she's become a grandmother. So I'm quite delighted to have a chat and enthusiastic when she suggests a movie later this afternoon. I'm online in a jiffy and buy our tickets.

We went to see Beasts of the Southern Wild which I can highly recommend and then out for tea and a snack. Spontaneous plans on a Sunday afternoon. And a walk. :-)

Days 276-277: Gothenburg

Hotel within the Central Station. Tram lines. Local dialect that takes some getting used to. Tap water that tastes of minerals. Long walks across bridges. And best of all, the opening night of A Chorus Line directed by Assassins former assistant director in the company of two other former Assassins. Then an entire day today strolling around the city, fika in a charming local café. And now, the train back to Stockholm. Pretty darn nice way to spend a couple of days.

Day 275: Musicals

What could be more appropriate company to see Les Misérables with than a group from Assassins? And to cap the evening off by watching parts of the video of our production of Assassins together?

One-and-a-half musicals in one evening...now that's a happy day!

Day 274: An embarrassment of riches?

No such thing when it comes to plastic storage containers!

I've been passing this display at the local supermarket for weeks now, always resisting the urge to buy because, truly, I have my share of plastic containers at home. Still, it hasn't been easy, especially since there are a variety of shapes and sizes in my favorite color (turquoise) and they cost only 10 kronor (about one-and-a-half dollars or less than one euro) a piece.

Now that I still have more than two quarts/liters of chicken soup left after sharing with friends and eating myself, I decided I'd better freeze some. Guess what? I discovered that I really did not have the appropriate size container for soup. All of mine are too small. Joy of joys...I get to buy some after all!

All good things do come to those who wait! ;-)

Day 273: All's well that ends well

A pair of torn up theater tickets cannot be the source of happiness. Or can they? A friend and I were all set to go to Stadsteatern this evening and see From Sammy with Love, a tribute to Sammy Davis, Jr. starring two of Sweden's most renowned entertainers. At eleven o'clock this morning, I received a text message from the theater informing me that tonight's performance had been canceled due to illness. Disappointment! We had so been looking forward to this production and there was only one more performance left for this season and that performance is sold out.

Oh, well. At least it returns in the fall. We decided to take the bull by the horns and reserve our tickets now. As it is, we could not get seats together. The fall performances are almost sold out already. No matter. Go we shall. Then I discovered that I could pay for the new tickets by entering the ticket numbers from the old tickets online. How convenient is that?! To make matters even better, while I was online I happened to notice that the show's choreographer is David Dalmo who a) was a founding member of Sweden's hottest street dance group Bounce and b) I've known for many years from the world of Lindy hop where he had his dancing debut. So exciting!

You just never know how things will work out. What started as a disappointing day turned out to have a happy ending.

Day 272: Rings upon the water

About once a month, a group of women associated with the Chabad movement here in Stockholm arrange a women's evening. The themes vary and I make it a point to attend as often as I can. Last night, there was a guest speaker, a researcher who presented a bit of his work on stress and humor. He was a good speaker, passionate about his subject matter, considerate and sensitive to his audience.

I entered the building at the same time as another woman who recognized and greeted me. As we walked together, she told me that I had inspired her with the story of this blog (which I'd mentioned at a similar meeting last fall). She'd started writing the very next day, she said, and has kept it up ever since. She told me how finding something positive or joyful to write about every day has enriched her life. How she sometimes flips back through the entries and appreciates the record of happy moments that her blog has become.

Rings upon the water...paying it forward...call it what you will, it made me feel so warm inside.

Day 271: Overabundance

Am I alone or do toiletries seem to collect in your bathroom too? Lotions, creams, soaps, shampoo, toothpaste...you name it and I seem to have multiple bottles, tubes and jars of it all on my bathroom shelves. Some are gifts from well meaning friends (or maybe they're trying to tell me something???). Others I purchased myself during my travels when I inevitably forgot to bring some along. Still others are the products I actually use. If I were never to buy another hand cream ever again, I think I'd still have enough to last me a couple of lifetimes!

I saw a post on FB that a local soup kitchen for the homeless was being held at a nearby park today. Among the items that they specifically stated they have a need for were toiletries! At last, I had something useful to do with all those extra bottles. It made me truly happy to take a walk over to the park and hand over the goods. Right behind me was a greasy haired man who immediately asked the volunteer I'd given my stuff to if he could have some shampoo. :-)

We often hear of food drives or clothes drives or even toy drives to help the needy. Until recently, it hadn't occurred to me that items such as toiletries, tampons, razors, tissues and so on are also sorely needed. Not the stuff you'd think of immediately but it sure makes sense.

Day 270: Cravings

Still sleepless at around 4 AM, I began craving chicken soup. Not the canned Campbell's type (which in any event is not available here) but the kind my mother...and other mothers in our family...used to make. Could do nothing to satisfy that craving in the middle of the night when stores are closed and I did not have the requisite ingredients at home.

On my walk this afternoon, because naturally I was not awake in time for a morning walk, I noticed that the local supermarket had chickens on sale for a third of their usual price. I took this as a sign from the heavens. Just half an hour later, armed with the necessary ingredients, I set a pot on the stove. And decided to make matzo balls too.

This is the result:

All I can say is YUM! Soooo delicious. And so easy to make. Will have to do this more often. Of course, there's tons of it now (after all, you can't make "a little" chicken soup) so if you happen to be in the neighborhood, stop by. Plenty to go around...

Day 269: Strides

Today I am happy to report that strides have been made in the design and manufacture of egg slicers! This may not have been a high point in your day, but it certainly was in mine.

An egg slicer has been a staple among my kitchen utensils ever since I had my own kitchen to equip. In addition to using it for its intended purpose of slicing hard boiled eggs, I've long been using it to slice leftover boiled potatoes to make home fries. This is a much faster method than using a knife and it yields beautiful, even slices.

I was delighted to find an egg slicer in good condition among my mother's kitchen utensils when she passed away a couple of years ago. One of the metal bands on the one I had at home had become a bit bent over the years so I eagerly claimed hers as my own. Needless to say, this met with no resistance from my brother ;-)

They say nothing lasts forever and neither did that slicer. A couple of days ago, in my eagerness to slice potatoes, I pressed too hard and my mother's old slicer bit the dust. That meant I had to resort to a knife and settle for uneven home fries, which simply would not do in the long run. So, off to the supermarket today to purchase a new one. All I can say is, "Wow!" In the ensuing decades since I last purchased an egg slicer (and, no doubt, since my mother purchased hers) they've improved in design and execution. Don't ask me for technical details...what do I know, indeed, care? The new slicer works like a charm. Slices through the potatoes with ease. Releases the slices smoothly. I'm in home fries heaven!

Day 268: Set to celebrate!

Happy First (re-)Birthday to ME!

As I write in the description of this blog, my happy began on February 14 last year and today I celebrate that auspicious occasion with champagne and cupcakes in the company of friends. (A dwindling number as the day goes by and people fall victim to the variety of winter illnesses going around...)

Started my celebration with a yummy lunch at my favorite sushi restaurant in Stockholm. "Restaurant" is perhaps pushing the expression; this place is a little hole in the wall counter next to the subway station at Medborgarplatsen with seating for six. They do a great take-away business but I sat there and enjoyed the superb sushi listening to the less than superb techno music ;-)

Then off I went to purchase the ingredients for this evening's celebration. As I flitted around my neighborhood from shop to shop, I was struck by an overwhelming feeling of well-being and gratitude. Think how unpredictable life can be. A little over a year ago, I was all set to travel to Africa and work as a volunteer at an orphanage for 10 weeks. Then, on February 14, the day I was to climb on board the airplane, I climbed onto the operating table instead. The year continued from the ridiculous to the sublime...working as production manager for the Stockholm production of Sondheim's Assassins. 

Had one not happened, would the other? Who knows. What I do know is how great it feels to be alive. And healthy. And blessed with the love of friends and family, near and far. And how happy I am to finally have my own special reason to celebrate on Valentine's Day ;-)

I look forward to seeing what 2013 holds in store!

Day 267: Cooking rampage

If I could have found some rampage, I would have cooked it. As it is, I cooked many other things! Now the fridge (and the freezer) are stocked with meals for a least a week. How happy does that make me? VERY happy. Because this mood seldom strikes, whereas hunger strikes often.

YAY for cooking rampages!

Day 266: To each his own

There are some Swedish popular foods that I've yet to develop a taste for, among them the semla. Today is national semla day, known in the vernacular as "fettisdag" (a play on words; you can split the word in two different ways: fet+tisdag [fat+Tuesday] or fettis+dag [fatso+day]). However you split it, the point is to eat this cardamom-spiced wheat bun which has its top cut off and insides scooped out, and is then filled with a mix of the scooped-out bread crumbs, milk and almond paste and topped with whipped cream. The cut-off top serves as a lid and is dusted with powdered sugar. Traditionally, it was eaten in a bowl of hot milk, though nowadays most people eat it with a cup of coffee or tea. And I don't eat it at all...just the though of all that whipped cream makes me slightly nauseated.

Which isn't to say that I do not have my own sugar vices. I'm sure the Swedes would turn their noses up at the thought of consuming one of my favorite junk foods, the Pop Tart. I'll be the first to admit that it has absolutely no redeeming qualities (or nutritious value) whatsoever. Still, it is my personal favorite sinful delight. In my defense, I will say that I only bought one package on my recent trip to the U.S. and managed to save half of the servings and transported them home with me. They barely survived the trip intact as evidenced by the photo below but that did not decrease my pleasure in consuming them.

As the French would say, "chacun a son goût!"

Day 265: Back in the saddle

The language saddle that is. After a three month hiatus, I rejoined the Monday night Swedish language exchange. Someone changed the venue and when I showed up at the new café, I found it is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Fortunately, I was early and could post a message on the Meetup site to let people know. I also could post a note on the door directing people to the old venue (a different café just a short walk away on the same street) thanks to the kindness of a neighboring store owner who provided shelter from the cold while I wrote the note and a piece of tape :-)

There's something about helping beginners with Swedish which I find both satisfying and fun. And you often wind up talking about the oddest topics. Today's included wedding traditions in Iran, Spain, Austria, Switzerland and among Jews, disparate corporate cultures, as well as designing safety measures for the Stockholm subway system. All while listening with careful attention for grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary.

Brings back fond memories of my first months in Sweden all those many years ago.

Day 264: Lovely Sunday

A small but enthusiastic group gathered at my place for board games today. We played a couple of games new to me as well as a travel version of Clue. Even learned how to count to five in Turkish (bir, iki, üc, dört, bes) for a card game that I consistently lost :-)

Afterwards it was nap time on the sofa followed by one of my favorite meals (pictured at right). Then a phone call from a new-found theater friend simply to shoot the breeze. Now I can go off to bed happily and read some more Dickens. All in all, a lovely Sunday.

Day 263: Ingenuity

Out for a winter walk today, I passed by the ice skaters at Kungsträdgården. A happy sight, don't you agree?

Oh, and this bit of Swedish ingenuity also brought a smile to my face; baby carriage duplex parking at Kulturhuset (the Stockholm Culture Center). Gotta love those Swedes!

Day 262: Frozen treasures

As northeastern U.S. prepares for the freezing temperatures of a snow storm, I raided my freezer where, to my delight, I found homemade chili and the best saffron buns (also homemade, a holiday gift from a good friend). Yummo!

Happily ensconced on my sofa, I eat with relish and delight.

Day 261: The little things

My internet is working again. Every once in a while, for reasons I do not fathom, the wireless connection at my place simply dies. Usually, I can resurrect it by rebooting both the modem and the router but last night that did not work. Fortunately, unlimited internet access is included in my cell phone plan and this fall I learned how to create a personal hotspot using my iPhone. Sanity restored.

This afternoon, just as mysteriously as it disappeared the connection reappeared.

Yup, folks, it does not take much to make me happy!

Day 260: Efficient

When the systems I set in place work, it's pure joy! Sometime last year, I put reminders into my calendar to renew my passports. I have three so keeping track of when each expires is a challenge. Rather than risk discovering that my passport had expired when I was on my way to the airport for some future trip, I scheduled renewals a couple of months before each expiration date.

Today it was time to renew the Swedish passport. This being Sweden, you can make an appointment to renew your passport via the internet. Unfortunately, I missed my appointed time as I took the wrong subway line, so I wound up getting a drop-in number. Just forty minutes later, it was my turn. The police officer checked my height, asked whether I wanted my current passport canceled now or when I pick up the new (I chose the latter), asked for my cell phone number so they can text me when the passport is ready to pick up and then took my photo. I signed on-screen, paid by credit card and that was. The whole procedure took less than five minutes.

Gotta love them Swedes!

Day 259: Jet lag no more

Great cure for jet lag: go to the theater at 11 a.m.! You have to get up at a reasonable hour and stay awake through the performance (especially if you get a seat in the second row where you are as visible to the actors on stage as they are to you!). If you're lucky and it's a good performance, you'll leave the theater feeling energized.

My day continued with a trip to the grocery store to restock the fridge which was followed by vacuuming my flat and fixing my printer. Next on the agenda is a co-op board meeting. By the time that's over, it'll be bedtime and voilà I'm back on schedule.

Theater at 11 was the key :-) And today it was also free at the Royal Dramatic Theater (dress rehearsal for Les Liaisons Dangereuses).

Day 259: Burst of energy

Everything's in its place. Not only did I unpack, but actually reorganized one of the closets to accommodate the growing number of board games. And I found bread, milk, cheese and juice in the freezer, so food for the day solved without an outing to the grocery store.

Then I discovered that my American Netflix account works in Sweden now that Netflix has expanded to Europe. At 25% less than the Swedish price per month. Sweet. It simply adjusts the selection of movies and TV programs to the local market.

And to cap it all off, the spring 2013 issue of The Sondheim Review arrived in today's mail.

Happy camper.

Day 258: Home sweet home

Lost a day of blogging to the long trip home. Trip was uneventful and I spent most of my time sleeping, just the way I like it.

Luxurious to be picked up at the airport and thrilling surprise that my Sweeties were also there to greet me. Got a big running hug so you know I'm happy. Then off we went to a cupcake decorating session in honor of Dr. Levál. Such fun. And yummy.

Very nice homecoming indeed!