Good and Bad Taste

Found a fun list of what Swedish home owners think is a sign of bad taste.

1. Plastic flowers - I have a friend who has some plastic orchids; they are pretty good quality but I still can't bring myself to think they are beautiful
2. Garden full of garden art
3. Saloon doors - Who has that??
4. Wall-to-wall carpet - It has come back into fashion though
5. Lace curtains - Though over in Britain they love them
6. Furniture in fake leather, tied with cuckoo clock
7. Ceiling fan - My parents got one, which they never even got to work and have talked about taking down for the last five years...
8. Mirror wall - I had one of those back in the late 80s, early 90s
9. Porcelain figurettes


And the list of what home owners do like...

1. Furniture by Bruno Mathsson and oak tables (another tie)
2. Lamino armchair
3. Backdrop wallpaper (fondtapet in Swedish)
4. Antiquities
5. PH lamps - Never liked them
6. Authentic Persian rugs and Myran chairs by Arne Jacobsen
7. Howard sofas
8. Josef Frank textiles

We don't have any of that except a Josef Frank tray and a backdrop wallpaper.

Source: Vi i villa / SvD

Missing Link

List going around at the moment - I first saw it over at Strandmamman's and Marianne's.

1. How old are you in five years? 38
2. Who did you spend at least two hours with today? My colleagues
3. How tall are you? 168 cm (I used to say 168,5 cm but now I don't bother anymore :)
4. What was the last film you saw? "Beck" on TV; haven't been to the cinema for a few months now
5. Who did you last call? Helena, a friend, to tell her about my excellent results from the health check I did a few weeks ago
6. Who last called you? Peter, about what to do for dinner
7. Do you prefer to call or send text messages? Text messages as I'm not a phone person, but it depends...
8. Are your parents married or divorced? Married since 1974
9. When did you last see your mum? Last week when I stopped by to drop off some gifts from the Canaries and to help her with her computer

10. What colour are your eyes? Blue
11. When did you wake up today? 7.45, a bit later than usual as I didn't have to go to work before my 9.30 doctor's appointment
12. What is your favourite Christmas song? Don't know
13. What is your favourite place? In my boyfriend's arms, otherwise Stockholm archipelago
14. What is your least favourite place? Don't know, maybe the dentist's but I don't mind it that much
15. Where do you think you are in ten years' time? Stockholm or some exciting city somewhere. Hopefully with some kids running around, my own that is
16. What scared you at night when you were a child? Everything
17. What made you last laugh? "Two and a Half Men"
18. How big is your bed? 160x200 cm (180 gets too big; I want to be close to my man!)
19. Do you have a desktop or laptop computer? Ancient desktop at work and about 4 laptops at home (or maybe just 3 now; we're trying to slowly discontinue the slow and old ones)
20. Do you sleep with or without clothes? Usually a little tanktop or similar, and socks because my feet are always cold!

21. How many pillows do you have in your bed? Two, one each, and decoration pillows for the rare occasions the bed is made up
22. What countries have you visited? Sverige (duh), Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland (if you count changing flights at the airport), Estonia, Russia, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, UK (England and Wales), Ireland, Spain, Italy, Malta, Turkey, USA, Canada, Bahamas (Turks & Caicos), Hong Kong (and Macau), South Africa
23. What cities/places have you lived in? Södertälje, Pittsburgh, Uppsala, Dover (Delaware, USA), Stockholm, London, Oxford, Brussels
24. Not on the list
25. Are you social? Yes, maybe too much hahaha!
26. What is your favourite ice-cream? Banana with real bananas
27. What is your favourite dessert? Crème brulée or ice-cream
28. Do you like Chinese food? Prefer Thai and Indian
29. Do you like coffee? Yes
30. What do you drink for breakfast? Tea and juice

31. How do you sleep (side, back, stomach)? Side or on my stomach (I twist and turn a lot!)
32. Do you know how to play poker? Yes, Texas Hold'em
33. Do you like getting cozy/cuddling? Who doesn't?!
34. Are you an addicted person? It depends what it is. I'm addictive as well ;)
35. Do you know anyone with the same birthday as you? Yes, Irina and Anna
36. Do you want children? Yes, two or three
37. Do you know other languages than English [the language you are writing in]? Swedish (mother tongue), French and Spanish but the latter two I wouldn't brag about
38. Have you even been in an ambulance? Nope, and I hope I never have to
39. Do you prefer the ocean or a pool? What kind of question is that?! The ocean of course!

40. What do you prefer to spend money on? Travel, houseware and design
41. Do you own any precious jewelery? Yes, not super expensive but very valuable to me personally, for example the Bismarck bracelet I got at my christening. I also have some beautiful jewelery given to me by Peter.
42. What are your favourite programmes on TV? "How I Met Your Mother", "Bing Bang Theory", "Heroes", "Bones" and all interior design programmes
43. Can you roll your tongue? Nope, that gene isn't a dominant one in me (my mum can, my dad can't)
44. Who is the funniest person you know? I don't know, maybe one of my British work collegues
45. Do you sleep with cuddly toys? Nope
46. What is your mobile phone ringtone? Don't know what it's called, something subtle
47. Do you still have any of your baby clothes? Yes, my first shoes and some other stuff in my parents' attic
48. Dog or cat? Prefer cats
49. Do you flirt a lot? No, have never been good at it
50. Can you change the oil in the car? Maybe, though these modern cars are so hightech they probably don't let you (ours is from 2001 so it may let me)

51. Have you ever got a speeding ticket? Nope
52. What was the last book you read? Look to the right (English translation "The Family's Project Leader Quits")
53. The best book you have read? Oh, so many! But if I had to choose, perhaps something with Bill Bryson or Jared Diamond's "Collapse"
54. Do you subscribe to a weekly or monthly magazine? Yes, Economist and Vanity Fair
55. Do you dance in the car? Don't understand the question??!
56. What was the last radio station you listened to? P3 or something at the weekend
57. What was the latest you wrote down on paper? To do post-its at work today
58. When did you last go church? Can't remember, think it was the Christmas Day (early morning) service back in December
59. Who was your favourite teacher in 7-9th grade ("junior high")? Didn't really have a favourite, maybe our Maths and Physics teacher
60. How long have you camped in a tent? I can't remember ever sleeping in a tent!

Show & Tell: Dream Days & Favourite Places

Erica is still in charge of Show & Tell and her choices for week 2 and 3 of March is - as you can see in one of the right-hand columns - my dream day and my favourite place. I will do both in one go - I'm that efficient! :) By the way, as Petra writes, the Swedish term for "favourite place" is much better; smultronställe, which literally means "place of wild strawberries", but since that doesn't make sense in English I will have to make do with "favourite place" or "favourite haunt". Maybe "picket fences place" would be a good translation? The Swedish word has a sense of pittoresque to it but that goes missing in the English language otherwise.

There are so many "dream days". For example there are days that I dream about, that I hope will happen one day, mainly my wedding day (and I'm not a bridezilla who has dreamt about the actual wedding and everything around it; I just want to be forever joined with the person I love) and the day my first child will be born (I hope to have more than one so I hope it will be more than one such day; of course, actually giving birth may not be something you dream about but you what I mean). There are also "dream days" that I have already experienced, or experienced variants of, for example a wonderful day with friends at a spa or a especially happy day with Peter, even if we didn't do anything in particular except for enjoying each other's company. Then there are also the more material, such as hoping to win the lottery one day or the very big view, such as experiencing a day when all war and suffering in the world has ended.

For my show part of the post I thought I'd show you some pictures from our week in the Canary islands. The photos span more than one day but they illustrate contents that make up one type of dream day.

Our hotel with several pools to choose from (though not all of them heated) and close proximity to the ocean.

A daily game of tennis - I hadn't played since school and then I only played once a year on sports day, but it was a lot of fun and Peter said I had talent!

We're not surfers but it's fun to watch them and the para sails were so colourful against the light blue ocean.

Fuerteventura's landscape is made up of mountains, including over 25 dead volcanoes, sand (including black sand and a small desert with sand from the Sahara) and little vegetation. This is the green side of the island.


The little town of Betancuria with its peaceful square...


...and a little restaurant in a 15th century house. The little "court yard" led to different rooms - kitchen, dining room, bedroom and bathroom - which were (except the bedroom) both the home of the innkeepers and the actual restaurant.


The small desert in the north of the island - the only desert I have been to (well, unless I have driven through desert in the US but that didn't feel like real desert).


Getting soaked by a wave can be quite fun as long as you know it's coming!


Lastly I also want to show a picture of what I see as my favourite place (smultronställe) at the moment, Peter's family's country house, where we have spent many dream days, most recently when Peter and I had two days there on our own just after Christmas.

A spring photo from last year.

Best Right Now

Intermission in the Swedish competition ahead of Eurovision (i.e. just a bonus performance, NOT one of the competing songs).



But the Russian Embassy in Stockholm is not too happy and wants an official apology from Swedish Television...Maybe because this year's Eurovision actually takes place in Moscow. What do you think?

After Sun

Back home, with a tan that's fading quickly. I guess my predicament can be categorised as a so-called I-landsproblem (luxury problem or developed world problem or is there a better word in English?).



* Video unfortunately only in Swedish but it may make sense anyway (?).

Show & Tell: My Blog Place & Other Stuff

This month's Show & Tell themes come from Erica and her first topic is my blog place - where, when and how do you blog.

I would say that 99% of the time, despite the fact that we have wireless, I sit in this spot when I blog. Peter and I sit with a laptop each, usually watching TV at the same time and sometimes not talking to each other for the whole evening :) I think about topics all the time but I don't always blog right away as some evenings I'm out or I don't have time or feel like blogging.


When I blog from the sofa I use this laptop tray to protect my legs from most of the heat. It's made of aluminium and in my opinion, useful as well as stylish!

Sometimes, but very seldom, I blog at the kitchen table. I never blog at work but I read blogs and comment from work sometimes, and every day I e-mail myself links to interesting articles and other stuff I read from work.

I think that sort of answers where, when and how. I also want to show another set of photos while I'm at it to cover a previous Show & Tell theme that I've missed: bags.

I bought this stylish Samsonite bag in the US last summer for a bargain (cheap dollar and massive sales). It may look a bit boring, being black and all...

But inside it has a very bright lime green colour in addition to smart sections and pockets. This evening I'm packing it full with shorts, skirts and bikinis as Peter and I are off to Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands tomorrow morning!

I also want to show the beautiful necessaire (toiletry bag) from Svenskt Tenn Peter's parents gave me for Christmas (the one on the left) and the smaller makeup bag I bought in South Africa last year.

Finally I want to show the set of three little leather purses Peter got me for my birthday in January. I now keep most of the stuff I usually have in my handbag in the smaller purses so that I can switch handbags more easily. Smart, huh! However, at the moment I use the black handbag in the picture most of the time anyway.

So, as we're off to the sun tomorrow you probably won't see much of me for the next week or so. We're bringing a computer but I will try to stay away from it and read some books and magazines instead. Hasta la vista!

Coffee Revisited

Found some coffee facts in one of the recent editions of SvD that are an interesting addition to my coffee post a couple of weeks ago.

Coffee history

• The first coffee house is said to have existed in Mecca in the 15th century
• Legend has it that coffee arrived in Europe as the Turkish siege of Vienna ceased at the end of the 17th century, when the Turks supposedly left behind hundreds of bags of coffee
• In Sweden Stockholm was first with coffee houses in the early 18th century. One of the most famous ones was Maja-Lisas in the Old Town (well, not "old" then)
• Shortly after the arrival of coffee in Sweden drinking coffee was banned and subject to a fine. But the coffee prohibition didn't last long

Today

• There are 2,200 cafées around Sweden, 300 of which are in Stockholm

Black gold

• Gross profit* on a single shot of espresso: 91.8%
• Gross profit on the accompaying cinnamon bun: 71.3%
• Gross profit on mineral water: 80.9%

* Sales price minus the purchase price, before costs for staff, etc. have been deducted.

Connected

Donated blood this morning and it felt very special since my friend is still very sick and currently in the hospital with the doctors desperately trying to find out what is wrong with her (not life-threatening, thank God, but still very serious and will obviously become life-threatening if they don't cure her). She doesn't need blood, but the care she's receiving is part of a system and to contribute to some other patient somewhere else in that system feels very important to me right now. This is not the first time I have donated but it felt especially worth-while today.

Wednesday Recipe: Colombian Mango Salad

I have been hooked on this salad since my friend Jenny made it for me a year or two ago!

Colombian mango salad
2 hard* mangoes
2 celery stalks
Cherry tomatoes
Walnuts
2 dl Greek yoghurt
Dijon mustard (or other mustard of your choice) for taste
salt & pepper

Cut the mango and celery in cm size pieces. Cut the tomatoes in half or throw them in whole, the same with the walnuts. Make a dressing with the yoghurt, mustard and salt & pepper to fit your taste.

Goes really well with grilled chicken. Enjoy!

* Why is it that when I'm looking for ripe mangoes there are none to find but when I really want hard, unripe ones, the only ones available are the ready-to-eat ones??

Show & Tell: Indispensable

As I was in London last week I didn't get around to thinking about that week's theme. Waking up Sunday morning and discovering that we didn't have any water* made me think about 1) how much we take fresh and plentiful water on tap in our own homes for granted and 2) how dependent on it and used to the situation we are. Luckily we could just walk the 5 minutes it takes to get to Peter's parents flat and take a shower and eat breakfast there, but most people in the world are not so lucky.

There is a really good commercial on Swedish television right now about sponsoring a child in a developing country. It illustrates really well how fresh (i.e. safe, drinkable) water is the first stage of improving the situation for people and how critical it is for survival, health and development, as well as how far a little bit of money can go.




Facts about water (in Swedish)

* We quickly looked up Stockholm vatten's website and read that there was a water leak further down the street. They said the problem would be solved in the afternoon or early evening and indicated where we could find fresh water (next street over). By four o'clock the water was running again.

Pretty Cool

The Swedish EU Presidency* logo was launched today. I think it's get a pass. Simple but elegant (I want to use the Swedish word "snygg" but there's no good English equivalent in this context).

Image from the Swedish government site

* Sweden will hold the Presidency July-December this year. The woman in the picture is Sweden's EU Minister Cecilia Malmström.