Soon, Soon

I'm back from Nice (as of Sunday) and back at work (as of today) and I'm slowly going through four weeks' worth of holiday photos (as of yesterday) and I'm drafting travel stories (as of tomorrow). In the meantime, a funny news item from this summer:

According to a Visit Sweden survey on what the first thing foreigners think about when they think about Sweden as a tourist destination, many answered cold things like winter and snow. Next on the list were nature, countryside and forests. And here's the funny part (at least to me): Frenchmen thought about beautiful women, while Germans thought about elks (moose) and the royal family. Isn't that so according to the stereotypes?!!

Speaking of tourists foreign tourists are apparently spending record amounts of money in Sweden. Last year tourist consumption totalled 88 billion SEK. Tourists on a cruise spend on average 3,000 SEK per person and for every 100 SEK a foreign tourist spends around 45 SEK goes to the state. The top spenders are from Russia and China although most overseas visitors come from Germany and the UK, the USA and Norway. The attractions that bring in most visitors are Kulturhuset, Globen and Skansen. Personally I would think Vasamuseet is pretty popular too.

I leave you with a little travel story preview!

Back Home

Just a short post to tell you that we're back home. It was quite the road trip - we travelled 2,971 miles or 4,754 kilometres (475 Swedish mil) in two weeks!! And tomorrow we're going back in the car, well not the old people's car, a Mercury Grand Marquis, that the rental car company dumped on us in the US*, but our own, much smaller albeit big for Swedish standards, BMW combi, to go to our friends Åsa and Rikard's wedding in Västergötland. Back on Sunday and hopefully some time to post reflections and photos from the US trip before we're off again to Nice for a last vacation for this summer.

* Sure, petrol is very cheap in the US, even after the recent price increases, but this beast was pretty thirsty

Road Trip

Off to the US for a little road trip along the East Coast. Stopping in New York City, Dover (Delaware, where I'm visiting my old aupair family), Washington DC and New England (Cape Cod, towns along the New Hampshire , Massachusetts and Maine coastline, and Boston). Probably won't blog while away but will hopefully have some good stories to tell and beautiful photos to share once back.

Fellow blogger Saltistjejen gets a special mention as she and I have scheduled a little blogmeet in NYC, which is very exciting indeed!

See you soon!

Wednesday Recipe: Sponge Cake... and Travel Preparations

I feel I have been neglecting the blog lately. To my defence I can say that I've been busy researching over one hundred B&Bs in Cape Cod (well, perhaps not that many but not far from it!) and recovering from a very bad cold I caught in Gotland (must have been all that shaking hands and kissing on the cheeks with the political elite at Almedalen). We're also having very nice weather at the moment so yesterday after work we went for a picnic in Tessinparken and today to the beach in Lidingö (though I thought the water was a little bit chilly so I didn't go for a swim).

Time for this week's recipe!

Fatfree Sponge Cake
4 eggs
3 dl sugar
1.5 dl flour
1.5 dl potato starch
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp baking powder
1.5 dl water

Oven: 175'C

1. Grease a baking tin and bread it with coconut flakes
2. Mix the yokes and the sugar
3. Slowly add the water and stir carefully
4. Mix flour, potato starch, baking powder and vanilla in a separate bowl
5. Add the "dry mix" to the egg, sugar and water
6. Beat the egg whites until you have a foam-like mix (like you would when making meringues)
7. Carefully add the egg whites to the batter. Don't stir!
8. Bake for 35 mins

I haven't actually tried it yet but it sounds very delicious with the coconut! It apparently goes well with strawberries!

Wordle Fun

Want a summary of my latest posts? Inspired by Johanna, here's the result of my wordling:

Can't figure out how to make the picture bigger though...

Challenge

Another challenge is circling the blogosphere; this one reached me through Marit.

Rules
* Describe the rules
* Answer all questions
* Select 6 persons to challenge in turn
* Let the person who challenged you know that you have accepted the challenge

Five things on your "to do" list today
1. Go to work despite bad cold
2. Cancel dinner plans with friends (unfortunately, due to cold)
3. Calculate division of costs between Peter and myself for our summer travel
4. Book rental car for US trip
5. Blog and read the usual suspects (i.e. my favourite blogs)

I left work a bit early but managed most of the day with my little pile of tissues, cough drops, nasal spray and Savlon (to stop getting a dry and red nose) beside me. The rest is also accomplished except for the rental car but Peter is looking at that as we speak (or I write I should say).

What did you do ten years ago?
In 1998 I studied Political Science at the University of Uppsala for a term before moving to London to continue my studies (ended up staying for four years). I spent the summer in Darien, Connecticut (US) with the extended family of my 1995-96 aupair family and helped out hauling the kids around to different sports and other activities. I met a number of people who are still very good friends even if I don't see that very often these days.

Places where you have lived
--> 1995: Södertälje
1995: New Jersey
1996: Pittsburgh
1996: Södertälje
1997-98: Uppsala
1998-2000: London
2000-2002: Oxford
2002-03: Brussels
2003 -->: Stockholm (Hallunda, Hammarbyhöjden, Årsta and Gärdet/Östermalm)

Five things you would do if you became a billionaire
1. Pay off my student debts
2. Help my family with anything monetary they might need
3. Travel the world
4. Buy my dream house in Stockholm and a flat/house in London, New York and somewhere sunny and hot
5. Donate to charity

A lot of people have done this challenge already but I take my chances and pass it on to Fröken Johanna, Anne, Anna, Johanna, Petra and Nonna.

Wednesday Recipe: Strawberry Salad

Since I'm busy mingling with the political elite in Almedalen I won't do a proper Wednesday recipe today, but I will tell you about an interesting fruit salad that was served at one of the events I attended yesterday.

Strawberries, melon and cucumber.

Sounds a bit weird but it was pretty refreshing actually. I guess the cucumber made it a bit more food-like instead of desserty (is that a word?).

Give it a try!

Report from Almedalen

I'm spending a few days - for work purposes (though I'm quite happy I get the chance to go for personal reasons too) - at Almedalen, the political week taking place in Visby, Gotland, the second week of July every year.

This year is a bit special as it is 40 years ago Olof Palme started the tradition of political speeches, seminars and networking in Almedalen. This year is also special because all party leaders are here, which according to the official statistics has only ever happened before during an election year. The experts say that this is partly due to the fact that the alliance government (coalition of four parties) is faring very badly in the polls and partly because Sweden has entered a sort of permanent election campaign even though this year is right between two elections (last one 2006, next one 2010). They also say that it is because of some current high profile issues (e.g. the newly passed highly controversial wire tapping legislation) and that politicians have become more professional and more PR conscious (there are quite a few lobbyists here!).

My idea was to blog a little bit about the seminars I attend every day (this year is a record year with 660 seminars organised), about the political speeches (one political party per day) and about all the networking and mingling going on, but turns out that all of that takes so much of my time so that it is now 01.36 and I need to get some sleep (though the music from the nearby marina is pretty loud so we'll see how that goes). But I promise a longer report and perhaps some photos once I'm back home. I'm staying over the weekend to explore the rest of Gotland - Peter comes down on Thursday - but I will be back on Sunday.

Wednesday Recipe: Mozzarella Filled Quorn Fillets with Basil and Thyme

Petra started a new theme day lately - recipe sharing on Wednesdays - and since I never got around to doing last week's Show & Tell theme - cooking - I figured today was a good time to start.

I have discovered a new dish - thanks to my cousin Patrik and his wife Johanna - and want to spread the word! I'm not a vegetarian and neither is Peter but we both try to eat less meat (do you know that one piece of meat provides protein to last you four days?) and eat quorn and other substitutes instead. My cousins are vegetarians though and are a good source of new, delicious recipes.

Mozzarella filled quorn fillets with basil and thyme
4 servings

6-8 quorn fillets
2 packs of mozzarella cheese
fresh basil and thyme
olive oil
1-2 cloves of garlic
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 200'C

Use a blender to mix basil, thyme, olive oil, garlic and salt and peppar to a marinade. Slice a deep gash along the side of the fillets and paint the fillets with the marinade. Save some for greasing the oven tray or pan. Fill with thin slices of mozzarella.

Shove into the oven for 10 minutes or until done.
Serve with grilled potatoes or bulgur or whatever carb you fancy and a salad.

This dish can of course be made with chicken as well. Just remember that while the quorn fillets just need to be heated and get a bit of colour (and you want the mozzarella to melt a little of course), chicken needs more time. You may want to pre-cook the chicken fillets in a frying pan.

Smaklig måltid!

Haven't taken a picture of my new favourite dish yet so you'll have to make do with a similar chicken dish (however with spinach and tomatoes as well)

The Big Book List

In 2003, The Big Read (a BBC programme) compiled a list of Britain’s 100 favorite books. The program reckoned that the average adult has read only 6 of the books on this list.

1) Bold those you have read.
2) Italicise those you intend to read.

(Having seen the movie does not count, of course!)

1 Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien (started it once but really not my thing, though I’ve seen the movies)
3 Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë
4 Harry Potter series – JK Rowling (I’m probably the only one who haven’t read them yet!)
5 To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
6 The Bible (well, parts of it)
7 Wuthering Heights – Emily Brontë
8 Nineteen Eighty-Four – George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
11 Little Women – Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 – Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch – George Elliot (Marian Evans)
21 Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House – Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy (started it, will finish some day)
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll (although I was a bit scared of it as a child)
30 The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis (also scared me as a child)
34 Emma – Jane Austen
35 Persuasion – Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – CS Lewis (see comment on Cronicles of Narnia above)
37 The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne
41 Animal Farm – George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel García Marquèz
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney – John Irving
45 The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding
50 Atonement – Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi – Yann Martel
52 Dune – Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon
60 Love in The Time of Cholera – Gabriel García Marquèz
61 Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
62 Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History – Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas
66 On the Road – Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens
72 Dracula – Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From a Small Island – Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses – James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons – Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal – Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession – AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell
83 The Colour Purple – Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web – EB White
88 The Five People You Meet in Heaven – Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Magic Faraway Tree Collection – Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks
94 Watership Down – Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet – William Shakespeare (well, parts of it)
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo

I think that makes 25 read books! Pretty good I think considering the average is 6!

Young Shoe Lover

Peter took this picture when we were in Siena, Italy, a couple of weekends ago. The little girl didn't want to leave her seat* and she was pointing to a specific pair of shoes that she wanted. Her mum tried to lure her away but she had her eyes set on those shoes! Not even two years old and already a shoe fan! Or perhaps it's just two-year-old stubborness but I like to think the former! :)

* Eventually they left without buying any shoes .

Show & Tell: 5 O'Clock

This week's Friday theme is 5 o'clock. When I read Victoria's choice of topic for 20 June I immediately thought of: leaving work at 5 pm. I'm one of the lucky ones working 9-5; actually only 7 hours a day as my working day includes a one hour lunch break (usually that's not the case in Sweden). And due to some access restrictions in my particular part of the building I have to keep these hours. I can come in at 8 or 8.30 but I rarely work beyond 6 pm because if I do I need to find a colleague with higher security clearance who can stay with me.

I'm actually most productive in the afternoon but at 4pm I start looking at my watch, or the work desktop clock. At 4.30 pm I start "closing up the shop", clearing my desk a little bit and making neat piles of paper instead of the regular 9-5 chaos, checking if I have done what really needs to be out of the way that particular day. Then I go to the kitchen and put all the glasses and cups that have some way accumulated on my desk during the day in the dishwasher. Peter usually calls and we talk about what we're having for dinner and who will stop by the food store on the way home, or where we're meeting if we're doing something else after work. I only have a 15-minute walk from work to home, so most days if I'm not doing anything particular after work I will go home and have a snack and watch some sitcoms and surf the Internet until Peter comes back around 6 pm. I like this time of the day, winding down after work, having some me- time before it's time to cook dinner and do whatever needs to be done that day in terms of chores - laundry, ironing, hoovering or what have you .

Since I don't start work until 9 and I live only 15 minutes from work I don't need to get up until 7.15 or 7.30, which means that I'm very rarely up at 5 am. Sometimes I wake up around 5, especially this time a year when it hardly ever gets dark in Sweden, but I go back to sleep with a smile - another two hours of sleep, yes!

This feels like a very boring post but maybe 5 o'clock isn't very exciting! :)

List Fun

I always enjoy a good list and I haven't done one for a while so...

When did you get up today? The alarm went off at 07.25 and I usually don't linger for more than a few minutes

Diamonds or pearls? Both (conflict-free of course), but have neither if we talk about the real stuff

Last film you saw at the cinema? "Indiana Jones"

Favourite TV show? Used to be "Friends" but now it is "How I Met Your Mother" if we stick with the same category

What did you have for breakfast? Two pieces of bread with messmör, a cup of tea and some fruit juice

What is your middle name? Elisabet

Your favourite food? Pecorino cheese if that counts as food (I mean, it's not a meal)

What food don't you like? I like most things but I'm not too fond of cream based sauces

What is your favourite CD at the moment? Hardly listen to albums these days; I like to shuffle my iPod

What car do you drive? A Golf that we share with Peter's sister and her boyfriend although over the summer we have his parents old BMW. We were going to keep it but now we're thinking of selling both and buying a new less thirsty car

What is your favourite sandwich? Anything with pecorino cheese

What human characteristic do you simply not stand? Cynicism

What are your favourite clothes? I guess I have to say shoes considering my recent post

If you could go anywhere you wanted, where would you go? China (Beijing and the Great Wall) and New Zealand (and lots of other places!)

Favorite clothing brand? None in particular

Where do you want to retire? In a cosy house in the Swedish archipelago but not too far from the city. And apartments in New York and London and perhaps another little place somewhere hot and beautiful, in Africa perhaps. Gosh, I wish I will be that rich when I retire that I can actually live in all these places. Okay, I'm going out to buy a lottery ticket! ;)

Favourite time of the day? Either the morning when I can get ready for work in my own time or just after having got back from work and relaxing in front of the TV (or on the balcony this time of the year) before starting dinner

Where are you born? Södertälje, Sweden

What is your favourite sport to watch? Football (watching France-Italy in the Euro Cup as we speak)

Coca Cola eller Pepsi? Coke Zero, but I drink very little soda

Football or ice hockey? Football

Are you a morning person or a night owl? I'm both as long as I go to bed at a rather decent hour. Or not in the same 24 hours, as Skolfröken said

Pedicure or manicure? Pedicure. I like to get a foot massage and have my feet taken care of!

Any exciting news you can tell us? Nope, I'm afraid not, except that my work beat the Swedish Foreign Ministry at football today with the rocking results 14-4 (or maybe it was 12-4?). Photo evidence below

What did you want to be when you were little? Lawyer

Best childhood memory? Oh, there are so many! Skolfröken wrote something about recording tapes and that made me think of a tape I made when I was around 7 years old. I sing songs and talk about my doll and how I had had a fight with my then best friend Elisabeth. I still have the tape somewhere (maybe I should digitalise it actually)

Been to Africa? Yes, South Africa last December

Ever been in a car accident? Just a very small incident in the US when someone ran into the side of us. A girl ran into the back of us in Italy last weekend as well actually but the car didn't get a scratch and no body got hurt

Favourite day of the week? Friday

Favourite flowers? Red roses or lavender

Favourite fastfood restaurant? One of the thai places nearby

Do you own a bike? Yes, my grandmother's old one from the early 1980s. The tyres need air and it needs a good cleaning though

Who was your latest e-mail from? A good friend, Frida, asking when we should get all the girls together this summer

Bedtime? Usually around 22.30-23.00 but sometimes after 23.00 which makes me cranky

Last person you shared a dinner with? Peter

What are you doing right now? Blogging and watching football. Wondering if this list ever ends...

Favourite colour? Yellow and pink this summer

How many tatoos? None, and that will remain the case

Our team that beat the crap out of the Swedish MFA today! Granted we lost the last two years but now the trophy is back with us! I should have taken some photos during the match but first it rained and later I was too busy playing and this is even after most people had already taken off their shirts. We went to the pub afterwards so I forgot to stretch which doesn't bode well for tomorrow. In addition I have a very swollen bruise on my leg (didn't wear any shinguards), but it was fun!!!

Sad Day for the Jazz World

Very sad news today. Esbjörn Svensson, the lead in the Swedish jazz band EST (Esbjörn Svensson Trio) died yesterday in diving accident, age 44. I went to see them in concert five-six years ago and have enjoyed their music since. It's so sad that their won't be anymore of Esbjörn's excellent piano playing, and obviously, my thoughts are with his family a day like this.

Show & Tell: View

Thought I'd show you some views from Peter and my trip to Italy with my parents last weekend.

View from Il Duomo di Firenze (Florence Cathedral).

View from inside the dome.

Trying to get a glimpse of the oak trees on top of the Guinigi Tower, Lucca's most famous landmark.

View from the Leaning Tower of Pisa - people were really obeying the "keep off the grass" signs!

My parents, sitting by the fountain and trying to take a picture of Peter and me up in the tower.

The Lisbon Treaty and the Irish

Please Ireland, vote yes today! Since you're the only ones having a referendum on ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, you're holding its future in your hands! The EU cannot spend another four years on a new treaty (we all remember what happened with the Nice Treaty)!

I have written about the benefits of the EU several times before, for example here, here, here, here, here and here.

Updated: an older post specifically on the EU constitution (that has now been renegotiated into the Lisbon Treaty).

Best Right Now!

Fantastic Swedish commercial running right now! It's in Swedish but with English subtitles.

Show & Tell: Light

This month's Show & Tell themes come from Sunny Swede. Her choice of topics are:

6 June: Light (from ljus, as in illumination, daylight, bright, lightly coloured, etc.)
13 June: View (the Swedish word utsikt could also mean forecast or prospect/chance)
20 June: 5 o'clock
27 June: Cooking

Anyone is welcome to join the gang!

My take on this week's theme, light, is to show you the beautiful sunset I documented while in the Swedish eastcoast town Oskarshamn at the end of March. It was just before 6 am in the morning and so beautiful to watch it from my hotel room overlooking the Baltic Sea.

The Books Post

This evening I attended a book reading event at Kulturhuset in Stockholm (it was actually in the evening sun on the roof terrace - well done organisers!) and came back with a few reading tips for the summer. The theme of this week (I think it will be a weekly or monthly thing over the summer) was Swedish debut authors. Those that particularly struck my interest were:

• "Hej Dolly" by Amanda Svensson
• "Paris-Dakar", a series of novels by Jens Liljestrand
• "Picasso valde också Kristinehamn" (Picasso also chose Kristinehamn) by Marcus Grahn

I have written about books several times before. Previous posts labelled "books" (there might be more since I blogged before labelling was introduced and I haven't had the time to go through all old posts for labelling purposes yet):

• (unrelated to my reading but) about some new book about Ikea
• a book list from spring 2007
• five weird books I've read
• my "book nerd" level
• my book list from a few weeks ago

Those of you who use Facebook may be familiar with iRead and book recommendations. It lets you click either "I like it" or "I don't like it" and whether you have read it or not. They give you 25 recommendations at a time but I will just treat you to the 10 first ones. Today they are recommending me the following books:

• "The History of Love" by Nicole Krauss - Haven't read it but think I would like it
• "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson - Yes! A favourite! Read it and loves it"
• Joke" by Milan Kundera - Haven't read it but I have read his classic book and would probably like this one too
• "The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxfod Dictionary" by Simon Winchester - Read it! Excellent!
• "Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed" by Jared Diamond - Another favourite!
• "Death in Venice" by Michael Henry Heim - Haven't read it and not that interested
• "Ett öga rött" by Jonas Hassen Khemiri - Haven't read it yet but want to (have read his second book "Montecore")
• "The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure" by Hans Magnus Enzensberger - Sounds interesting, want to read it
• "Turbulent Souls: A Catholic Son's Return to His Jewish Family" - No, doesn't strike my interest
• "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides - Haven't read it and don't feel like it

Show & Tell: Shoes & Books

FINALLY! Time for my shoes blog. I LOVE shoes and I have a LOT of them so I had to post about them at some point!


I have purchased these really useful transparent shoe boxes from Inreda.com for my dressier shoes that I keep in my bedroom closet. Earlier they were just all over the place with some bags and purses thrown into the mix. The flip flops on the left are a new purchase - I always get blistards between my toes from flip flops but I'm hoping these softer ones will be different. The stripey Muji slippers on the right are a favourite.

This is my less organised shoes drawer in our hallway. I should say that these are my spring and summer shoes; my winter shoes are already tucked away in the basement.

Some more from the shoe shelf by the door. The shoes still on the shelf are Peter's - he doesn't have as many shoes as I do but probably 1/3 or even half of my collection and thus way more than the average man.

A recent purpose, well, actually a year ago in Hong Kong but I didn't get around to wearing them last summer. They are a bit hard and as I always get blistards I need to prepare my feet with plasters and Compeed before I'm ready to break them in.

Another recent purchase, this time from South Africa. It was summer when we were there in December but once back home in Sweden I had to put them away for a few months.

This is turning into an international shoe shopping post! I bought these slipper like shoes (with hard soles) in Hong Kong as well, but wore them quite a lot last summer. Especially since last summer wasn't that great and I often needed warmer shoes than sandals.

BOOKS - coming soon! :)

Foul Taste

Looking for a house in Sweden? Look no further.

A little taster...



But seriously, what were they thinking??!! And now all of Sweden (and the world) will know about their complete lack of taste.

New Toy

Abstaining from the Truth

In the early days of my blogging and reading other people's blogs, back in early 2005, my friend Nonna blogged about the abstinence education in Texas that had proven unsuccessful. In a comment to Nonna I cited a Swedish article on the topic, "Living in celibacy easier said than done":

"More and more Americans promise to abstain from sex before marriage, zealously supported by President Bush. But only every tenth keeps his/her promise.

Solemn promises of a life in celibacy until your wedding day ought to be quite difficult to demand of the drinkers at the clubs in Stockholm - and of the rest of Sweden. Statistics show that young Swedes on average make their sexual debut at 16. In the USA however, there is a nation-wide movement to persuade the youngest to practise abstinence. President Bush supports the work and Congress has assigned 131 million dollar to abstinence teaching. As a rule the debated is conducted with Christian characteristics. But the problems with teenage abortion, spread of HIV, and STDs have made a great deal of people outside of church listen. Since 1993 the movement True Love Waits has alone convinced 2,4 million young Americans to sign a promise of chastity:

'As a believe that true love waits, I commit before God, myself, my family, those I date and my future partner to remain sexually untouched until the day I enter into marriage'.

The effectiveness of the abstinence model is however strongly questioned by scientists. And many sexuality specialists believe that medical arguments can make more people wait than can promises to God. Especially if the promises are not kept anyway.

A new scientific report from the University of Columbia shows that 88 % of those who have given a promise of celibacy have not kept it. The frequency of STDs among these people was just short of as high as among those who had not promised to abstain. Those who broke their promises, quickly came even with the promise-free group by having many partners in a short period of time.A study at the A&M University in Bush's homestate Texas has showed a similar result. Among teenagers who have been taught abstention, the number of people making their sexual debut following the end of the course increased, in particular among the boys. The many young people getting pregnant in the USA are petitioned more and more firmly by abortion opponents. Around the country these organisations offer free ultrasounds in order to persuade women to reassess. Spokesmen claim that up to 90 % of these women have abandoned the thought of abortion after having undergone these examinations.

The abortion advocates accuse these clinics for leading the women to continue their pregnancies. At the same time these women do no get any information about contraceptives. Instead they are encourage to - exactly - abstain from sex."

I just read another article on the subject (from October 2007), by Amanda Robb at the New York Times, titled "Abstinence 1, S-Chip 0"

"DEMOCRATIC leaders are right to contest President Bush’s veto of their bill to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance program. But sadly, their “bipartisan compromise” will leave millions of young Americans vulnerable to sickness and suffering of the most preventable kind.

To entice Republicans to support the bill, the House of Representatives agreed to increase money for abstinence-only sex education by $28 million, to a total of about $200 million a year. Abstinence-only courses, the only form of federally financed sex ed, teach that sexual activity outside of marriage is likely to cause psychological and physical harm. If that were true, our health care system would be not only broken, but besieged. A 2002 survey found that 93 percent of American adults had had premarital sex by the age of 30.

In addition to provoking shame about a nearly universal activity, abstinence-only sex education is ineffective and dangerous. Last April, a 10-year study found that students who took abstinence-only courses were no more likely to abstain from sex than other students. Previous studies revealed that abstinence-only students avoid using contraception.

Programs in public schools teach patently false information like 'the chances of getting pregnant with a condom are one out of six' and H.I.V. 'may be in your body for a long time (from a few months to as long as 10 years or more) before it can be detected.'

The results are tragic. The United States has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the developed world (about the same as Ukraine’s), and the highest abortion rate in the Western world. Sexually transmitted infections like syphilis and gonorrhea are on the rise for the first time since the 1980s, and chlamydia is being diagnosed twice as often as it was a decade ago.

Among Americans living in poverty — those who might see the $4 price of a three-pack of condoms as the take-home pay for an hour of work at minimum wage — the unintended pregnancy rate has increased 30 percent since 1994. Our teenage pregnancy and abortion rates have declined during the last decade, but research suggests this is mainly because of increased use of condoms, something young people must learn about outside of school.

By dropping the financing for abstinence-only sex ed, Congress could save enough money to insure 150,000 children a year. And it would also demonstrate much needed resolve to protect all aspects of children’s health."

I can't believe that in 2008 some people still have such old-fashioned views and are turning a blind eye to the evidence and the social reality around them. Scary.

Chilled Chili!

I have a new favourite ice cream! For those of you who don't live in Sweden (or in another country where they sell it), you're really missing something!

Sia's new chocolate ice cream with chili (technically chili glaced pumpkin seeds).

Show & Tell: Cool and Refreshing

Friday and Show & Tell time! This week's theme is svalka, which is Swedish for "coolness" or "refreshing" and refers to a thing or an act that is cooling or refreshing, such as a chilled drink, a nice breece, a swim in the ocean or an icecream. You will agree that it has been while since I showed some South Africa pictures so I will let them illustrate this week's Show & Tell.

This was our semi outdoor shower at the game lodge in South Africa. Had we had better weather it would have been a very nice place to cool off (although it was pretty cool in the other sense of the word too!).

I didn't try this spirit but it looks like it can be quite refreshing. I like litchi fruit as well.

It's a bit tricky for the giraffe when he needs to drink.

This was in the bar at the Backpacker place we stayed at in Johannesburg - but none of us felt like trying it. A cold beer did the trick instead (plus I think that the tub was probably heated).

The Loch Ness is probably missing the cool water back in Scotland...

To be stuck in traffic in hot weather with this view can be quite challenging.

This is a really good place to go to cool off.

Peter braved the very cold water in Cape Town - it was about 6'C!

This sufficed for me.

I Am What I Read

I found a book questionnaire over at Skolfröken (I think it was). I love books and I love questionnaires and lists so here goes...

1. Which was the latest book that you read?
"The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid" by Bill Bryson. I really love Bill Bryson and have read probably 5 or 6 of his books!

2. Which book are you going to read next?
I have about 30 books on my shelves that I haven't read yet.... I'm quite the shopaholic when it comes to books but then don't get around to reading as much as I would want to, partly due to this blog (and reading other people's blogs) taking too much of my time... I have started "The Undercover Economist" but I think I need to read something fiction as well/instead.

3. Do you have more male or female authors among your books?
I have no idea actually, probably a mix. Whether the book is written by a man or a woman does not influence me when buying or reading a book.

4. When reading a book, do you count down the number of pages that you have left, or do you think "now I've read one fourth", "one third", "yes, half!", etc.?
Sometimes, but mostly if I'm bored with it. Although sometimes I don't want it to end, for example I wouldn't have minded "The Thunderbolt Kid" being much longer!

5. How do you choose what books to read? For example the cover, recommendations from friends, book reviews, bestseller lists, blogs, etc.?
I'm a member of a couple of book clubs (the kind that has a monthly magazine with a monthly book that you need to cancel if you don't want that month's delivery) and get recommendations from them. In addition to that I also listen to friends, read blogs and look at bestseller lists on different book selling sites. When I'm at the book store I'm quite influenced by the cover as well.

6. When does a book become too long?
Never in terms of number of pages, but pretty soon if it's boring.

7. Do you happily read in English (if it is the original language)?
This is a blog in English so I have to say yes. But actually it is true, it's always better to read books in their original language, the problem is that when it comes to the other languages I have studied (besides my mother tongue Swedish and my "second language" English), French and Spanish, my reading skills are not at the level that I would really appreciate the subleties of the language.

8. Which book was the most recent one you felt you just had to persuade ALL your friends to read?
I can't remember, I recommend a lot of books, but the ones I've really tried to "sell" in the last few years are "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson, "A Heartbreaking Work of a Staggering Genius" by Dave Eggers, "Collapse" by Jared Diamond and "Bitterfittan" by Maria Sveland.

9. Can you put away a book without finishing it? If so, when do you give up?
No, I always feel that I have to complete it but I sometimes put it away for months before I make myself finish it. It feels very strange not to finish.

10. What genre is overrepresented in your bookcase, and which genres are completely missing?
Probably non-fiction current affairs or other facts books (such as Bill Bryson's science book or "The Undercover Economist". I don't have any fantasy books, unless you count "Harry Potter" but those are really Peter's book (they are still on my to read-list).

Lingua Franca

Continuing on the education theme, which language should I learn?

You Should Learn French

C'est super! You appreciate the finer things in life... wine, art, cheese, love affairs. You are definitely a Parisian at heart. You just need your tongue to catch up...

What Language Should You Learn?

Luckily I already know French (well, used to is probably the more correct phrase...) so I don't need to do anything! ;) C'est super!

Education: Big Money and Free Market?

The Swedish National Agency for Education has just published its latest report on the development of so-called independent or free-standing schools in Sweden. Since freedom of choice for pupils and freedom of establishment for providers were introduced in the early 1990s the number of applications for new independent schools and the number of pupils attending such schools have risen substantially. (I should mention that independent schools are still publicly financed; it is a voucher system of sorts.)

This year 560 applications reached the Agency for Education in its capacity as reviewer and approver of independent school licences. Today 9.1% of Swedish compulsory school pupils and 17.4% of upper secondary school pupils attend an independent school. In some bigger cities, e.g. around Stockholm, independent schools cater for almost 50% of the pupils, while some rural, often northern towns have no or very few independent providers.

Initially most of the independent providers were parent co-operatives or association and trusts, i.e. non-profit organisations, but today most of the schools are owned and run by big education chains, a development which has its pros and cons. Since independent schools in Sweden are allowed to make a profit and filter back that profit to its owners (often venture capital and similar organisations), it makes sense that more and more companies want to have a piece of the cake, and that they want to grow. Economies of scale, makes sense. By the way, this is a very different situation to the UK where profit in the education sector is not allowed. This has however not stopped the Swedish education provider Kunskapsskolan, which is making an entry into the UK education market.

The National Agency for Education, and others, have expressed concerns over the disrepancy between the legislation - and the intent of the reforms - and the current situation and the consequences for society's control over these schools and the school system as a whole. Swedish municipalities are responsible for the education of its minor citizens, but what happens when all or a majority of pupils choose another school? How do they keep the municipal school open or in other ways prepare for having to take in a substantial group of pupils when an independent school close down (for whatever reason: bankrupcy, withdrawal of permit, etc.)?

The Swedish education sector has changed over the last 15 years but the legislation regulating independent schools has not been amended since 1994. The law talks about independent schools as a complement to the municipal schools, for example other types of pedagogical methods, and not big chains with schools all over the country. Despite a completely new and different situation, the regulation about municipalities' responsibility and obligation for education provision has not changed. When an independent school has applied for a permit in a certain municipality the Agency for Education especially looks at the municipality's consequence assessment, including pupil prognoses and possible effects on the schools and education programmes already provided in the region. Unfortunately the quality of the consequence assessments is varying and some municipalities do not have the resources to do one.

Another current topic is how many schools does the sector have room for when the competition for pupils gets tougher? And how long can independent (and municipal) schools compete on different conditions? According to the Agency for Education the risk of over-establishment is huge and the number of applications is a surprise to them. The development in the Swedish school sector has occurred at a time when the age cohorts have been large and growing, but next year is the peak before the numbers start to shrink. The competition will lead to both independent and municipal schools being forced to re-organise or close down. To give an example, in one Swedish municipality last year's applications to start independent schools covered 7,700 education places in a town with only 4,500 pupils.

The Agency for Education argue that the municipalities are badly prepared for tougher competition. Since the municipalities by law still have the utmost responsibility for the education in the area they must always have a preparedness for a transfer of students from independent schools and for having to keep a school open despite a low number of pupils. As government organisations however, municipalities are more slow-moving creatures than independent schools and they cannot get rid of personnel or facilities easily, which means that the cost per pupil increases in such a situation. The ability to plan long-term is diminished. A municipality thus risks both school closures and increased costs for its pupils' education. Since the independent schools do not have the same obligations and responsibilities, they conditions are not the same for the two types of actors. The education market is not a level playing field.

In addition to the "market factors", there are also other differences in conditions between independent and municipal schools. The principle of free access to public records (the famous Swedish offentlighetsprincipen) does not apply to independent schools. The Justice Ombudsman or the Attorney General do not have jurisdiction here. The only inspection that takes place is that of the Agency for Education, and the municipalities have some right of insight into the independent providers in their area. This means that in municipalities with very many independent school the citizens have very little control over a major part of the local school system.

The government is starting to address some of these issues by looking at how to increase national government control (through agencies such as the Agency for Education) over the school system and how to make the conditions for independent and municipal schools more equal, but the "solution" is not obvious. There are also other negative aspects of the present competition in the education sector, such as the methods used by schools (municipal and independent alike) to attract students, for example, through flashy brochures and offering laptops and other perks, instead of competing on the quality of the education and pedagogy. But that's a topic for a future blog post!

Source: Skolverket/National Agency for Education

Sad News

I had some very sad news yesterday. A fellow student at St Antony's College in Oxford (when I was there 2000-2002), Michael Bhatia, was killed in Afghanistan on 7 May. Already before studying for his MPhil at Oxford, Michael had been working with different projects in Afghanistan and now he was working as a social scientist in consultation with the US Department of Defense. I didn't know Michael that well but we hung in the same crowds and it's such sad, sad news. He could have done so much more good for humanity.

Copied in is an e-mail from a friend of Michael's with details on what could be done in memory of Michael, in case any of you out there happened to also know Michael.

Although Michael parted ways with the [Catholic] church as he grew older, no one cared for poor, marginalized people and people who had been victimised by war and ethnic conflict as much as Michael did. That, to me, is so central to living a Catholic life and also so central to so many of our other great religious traditions and secular moral values. Simply put, no matter our faith, these are values that so many of us share -- and Michael exemplified them as well as anyone could."

CONDOLENCES -- The Bhatia family would love to hear from Michael's friends. They can be reached at [address available upon request]. Please do not send flowers; in lieu of flowers they are asking for contributions to a scholarship fund (see below).

FUNERAL SERVICE -- Services will be held during a Catholic mass at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Medway, Massachusetts. A date has not yet been set. Funeral arrangements will be made by Crowley Funeral Home at 3 Barber Street in Medway.

SCHOLARSHIP FUND -- A bunch of us would like to set up a scholarship fund to honor Michael's memory. His mother has embraced this idea and we will set this up as soon as we can. We would appreciate the assistance and involvement of anyone else if you would like to honor Michael in this way. The contact person for now is the class president for the 2001 Marshalls, Alan Trammell (amtrammell@gmail.com).

In these moments, I appreciate more than ever our friends from our group at Oxford and I know that Michael would be so touched by all of our mutual expressions of love and support. Michael's mother has requested that this information be disseminated widely to all who knew him so please forward this email.

More info at the Watson Institute for International Studies.

Show & Tell: Breakfast

This week's Show & Tell theme is breakfast. What do you eat for breakfast? Do you eat the same every day? Is there a difference between your breakfast Monday-Friday and on the weekend? Are you a coffee or a tea person? Do you have any favourite cup/mug for coffee or tea?

I have never understood those who skip breakfast. That said, I don't eat a hearty breakfast every day and I'm a bit boring I guess because I tend to eat the same thing almost every day; two pieces of dark/rye/fibre-rich bread with either cheese or messmör, a glass of juice and a cup of tea. Sometimes I replace one of the pieces of bread with yoghurt or filmjölk with cereal. I never drink coffee with my breakfast but as soon as get to work I have some.

At the weekend I usually eat a little less healthy by trading the nutricious bread for toast with jam or marmelade. We have one of this advanced juice machines though so sometimes we make fresh fruit juice which hopefully evens out the intake of less healthy toast. Peter usually goes out either Saturday or Sunday to buy some freshly baked bread and croissants so that's another weekend treat for me. Sometimes we make eggs and bacon or American pancakes but that's just one weekend a month or so depending if we're heading out and planning to have lunch in town or not.

One of my favourite breakfast is a proper English breakfast but since that's difficult to find in Sweden I have to make a couple of trips to England a year to fill my baked beans need. Of course I could buy a can of it together with the other ingredients but it's not the same...

Doesn't it look yummy?!

Abort now!*

* i.e. stop this development now

I'm a bit worried by the latest developments on the issue of abortion in the EU. European Parliamentary Forum (EPF) has just published a new survey of European parties' view on abortion, which concludes that 36 out of 75 parties, mainly Social Democrat, Liberal and Left parties, are in favour of the right to abortion. EPF defined this as "still big support for" the right to abortion, as some of the parties that don't specifically express the right to abortion in their party manifesto implicitly support the right, but to me, that isn't good enough. Actually I don't know what the views of the party was last year or five years ago or ten years ago, but it feels like people are questioning this fundamental right for women to decide over their own body.

Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden are some of the countries where there is broad consensus on the right to abortion (though one wonders sometimes what the Swedish Christian Democrats really think), while parties in Ireland, Poland and the UK are more divided. For example, in the UK there are differing opinions within the Labour party if the right to abortion on socio-economic grounds should be extended or restricted.

24 of the 75 surveyed parties want to reduce the number of abortion, which is not obviously the same as wanting to ban them, but it depends how (and why) you want to reduce them. The Swedish Christian Democrats, Liberals, the Centre Paty and the Left party belong to this category although the Christian Democrats want to restrain the grounds for the right to abortion. I can also support measures that reduce the number of abortions if these concentrate on the causes of unwanted pregnancies, increasing access to and use of contraceptives and discouraging the use of abortion as a type of contraceptive, but any means that try to limit women's right and access to abortion is really a no-no for me. I think it's probably safe to say that countries where abortion is banned or restricted have as high number of abortions as countries where access is free, and more women in dying in the process.

Some facts about the right to abortion in the EU
Completely free until at least twelve weeks into pregnancy: Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, France, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Czech Republic, Germany and Hungary
Allowed on socio-economic grounds (also to save the women's life and on physical and psychological grounds): Cyprus, Finland, Luxembourg and Great Britain
Allowed only to protect physical health: Poland
Allowed only to protect mental health: Spain, Northern Ireland
Allowed only to save the woman's life: Ireland

Sources: Europaportalen and Political Party Mapping by European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development

Questionned

Found a blogging questionnaire over at Sweet Home Alabama.

1. How long have you been blogging?
Since 29 September 2004 but I only posted twice that autumn and started for real on 22 March 2005

2. What was your view of blogs and bloggers a month before you started blogging yourself?
Blogs were pretty new and exciting and my friend - Nonna - had started one, so I wanted to join the club. I figured I also had things to write that people might find interesting :)

3. What was the first blog you fell in love with?
I can't really remember but the first two I read regurly and which inspired my own blogging were Nonna's as mentioned above, and Tomato and Basil Sandwiches.

4. What do you think about your first blog posts when you read them now?
They are pretty good, some short but some pretty long and attempts to be a bit political. I didn't know how to post pictures then, or, I knew but it wasn't as easy on Blogger as it is now, so I lack illustrations.

5. How many blogs do you read regularly?
At least 30. Those in the link list to the left and some other ones.

6. Of the bloggers you read, how many are diary blogs and how many are subject blogs/e.g. technology, fashion, politics blogs?
A mix of everything. Most are general, every-day blogs but I read a few politics blogs. I hardly ever read targetted fashion, design or travel (etc.) blogs though. I like the mix of entries in each blog.

7. Recommend (and link to) a blogger who is very different to you, whose blog you like?
Alvas pappa (Alva's dad) blogs about his daughter and being a father, so that's obviously something I can't relate to, but I enjoy reading his blog a lot (and I hope he won' stop blogging!).

8. Recommend (and link to) a blogger who is very much like you, whose blog you like?
Lullun in Greenland lives a very different life to mine (so I guess she would qualify under (7) too, but as I begin to get to know her (through the Internet world at least) I feel that we have very similar personalities and interests.

9. What do your closest family and friends think about your blogging?
Most of my friends don't know that I blog (even if I'm wrong they are very bad at commenting or ever mentioning it). My mum reads it regularly and seems to enjoy it. Some of my relatives also read it and as they are bloggers themselves, I assume they are positive towards it. My boyfriend used to read it a lot in the beginning of our relationship but now not as much (though I have complained about that!) - it was a bit unfair actually as he learned all these things about me without having to ask! :)

10. Do people who know you think that you are yourself in your blog?
I think so. I try to be myself at least and write only my own opinions or take on things. Thereof the name of the blog: Anna, Fair and True!

11. Have you found a good balance for how private and personal you want to be in your blog, or do you move the boundaries all the time?
Yes, I think I started out pretty good and I have kept that "system". I have never intented to be neither anonymous and secret nor write about everything I do, think, feel and post a lot of personal photos (especially of family and friends who may not want their face on the Internet).

12. Name a few things you would never blog about and why?
I probably wouldn't blog about difficult things I was going through, or at least not tell the whole story, and I wouldn't rat on friends or others who could get hurt. I also sometimes avoid topics that I don't know enough about and don't feel qualified to debate.

13. To what extent do you blog for self-confirmation?
Part of it for my ego, I won't deny that. It's fun to write something and hear what people think about it. But it's not only about that but about getting people engaged in discussion, feeling community with other people, learning from what others write on my blog. It also fun to work out how blogging works technically, learn some htlm-code, try out different blog designs, etc.

14. Do you think you can get to know a person by reading his/her blog?
Definitely, especially if they are personal, even if they are anomymous but still personal. There are several bloggers who I would really like to meet because I think they seem like genuinely nice, fun and interesting people.

15. Have you met people IRL (in real life) after having made contact with them through the blog?
No, not yet but I would love to meet some of my regular bloggers.

16. Do you think it can be bad for certain persons to blog?
No, not so long as there are others things in your life too (my boyfriend thinks I spend too much time blogging, reading different blogs, Facebooking, etc. but on average it's only 1 hour a day probably so I don't think I need to worry). Some people with certain jobs or who are public persons should perhaps be a bit careful with what they write and how personal they are but in general I think blogging is a positive phenomenon.

17. Have you ever been hurt by anything that has been written to you/about you in the comments or in other blogs? If so, how have you dealt with it?
Not that I can remember. There have been differences of opinion but the discussion has never got out of the way. I know some people that have receive anonymous e-mails about something they have blogged about but it has never happened to me.

18. Have you written things you have regretted in your own or other people's blogs?
I don't think so, I hope not.

19. What are the disadvantages of blogging for you?
As I mentioned above, it's time-consuming and a little bit addictive (you don't want to let down your readers by not blogging regularly ;) but it's so much fun and rewarding so I think it's still on the plus account for me.

20. Do you think that you are still blogging in two years' time? If so, do you think your blogging will have changed?
Definitely! And why change a winning concept! ;)

21. Do you think bloggers have (or will have) some influence on our culture, or are they a group of people that mostly influence each other?
Both!

22. Finally, can you summarise what your blogging has meant to you?
A new hobby, a new channel for knowledge (i.e. for myself in new sources of info, opinions and knowledge) and a new group of friends.

23. Name 5 bloggers you think should answer the questionnaire?
I extend the invitation to all the blogs on my blog roll!

Show & Tell: Colourful

Désirée in Alabama has created this month's Show & Tell themes. And anyone can join in the fun!

2 May: Colourful
9 May: Breakfast
16 May: Coolness, refreshing (weather and temperature)
23 May: Shoes (YES! says the shoe fetishist!)
30 May: Books

Since Désirée said to be very creative with today's theme I thought I'd just blog about something colourful that I remember from my childhood. Not brightly coloured perhaps but a specific colour scheme, albeit a pale one.

It's a jigsaw puzzle that was a big favourite of mine, especially when I was sick and had to stay home from school. I used to play with it at an age where I was way too old for it (as a teenager), but it was cute and a nice pastime when you were ill and bedstruck. I used to have a tray on my lap (a red one in wood) on which I practised my creative skills (though I could probably do that particular puzzle in my sleep).

Anyway, the puzzle was a set of three with different motifs portraying the life of a cat family. It was just a mother and her kittens I think; I guess fathers are not too present in the cat world :) I think there was one kitchen scene, one outdoors play picture and probably some sort of tucking in/nap scene though I could be mistaken.

The puzzle was - and this is where the colour theme comes in - pastel-coloured, a lot of baby pink and blue, although the cats were black I think. What I also liked about the puzzle was that the pieces were really thin and sort of rounded along the edges so theye were really soft to touch.

I hope the puzzle is still in my parents' attic somewhere - so I can take it out and see whether my memories are completely wrong and also, once I hade kids of my own, pass it onto them. (Maybe my mother who reads this blog and never comments *hint, hint* can confirm whether the puzzle is still around?! :)

Show & Tell: Favourite Magazines

I've missed the last two weeks of Show & Tell but this week I thought I'd take the time, even if it's technically one day late.

One of my first favourite magazines was Bamse.

Picture from Tidningskungen

I think the first issues I remember were from 1982 when I was 6 years old. I saved all editions for years but at some point in my late teens I threw them out. It's a pity because it would have been fun to have those 1982 ones still. I don't know if my grandmother gave me my very first subscription but it became a tradition that every year in December when it was my "name day" (9 December) she gave me a subscription for the coming year as a gift. I don't remember when I stopped getting them but presumably when I became a teenager. I still prefer Bamse over Donald Duck though. I think the stories in Donald are okay but I don't care much for the drawing.

At some point as a child and a teen I also subscribed to Kamratposten. It had interesting stories and took up all those subjects about your body and feelings that you didn't want to bring up with either friends or adults.

Image from Tidningsbutiken

I was never a horse fan so I never subscribed to (and hardly read) "stables" magazines. As a teen I read a lot of teen and music magazines such as Frida and Okej.

Picture taken from Vassa Eggen

Nowadays my favourite magazines are the Economist to feed my current affairs needs and Vanity Fair for a mix of everything including some interesting articles. I got a subscription for VF from Peter for Christmas and I have subscribed to the Economist in the past but at the moment I don't feel like I have the time to read it and they just grow into a big pile on the floor (at the moment I have a little pile of VFs that I haven't read...). So I buy it once in a while instead.

Image from China Daily

I also read King when Peter buys it (he stopped his subscription for a while), which is a men's magazine but I find it much better than the equivalent women's magazines. Maybe because it's a bit more "exotic" or the abundance of useless fashion ads in the women's magazines.

Picture from Dagens media

Lastly I enjoy reading design and interior decorating magazines - I like those much better than women's mags actually. I also like gossip magazines but I hardly ever buy them; I read them for free and cafés or the hairdresser's instead. And I also get my gossip from Just Jared :)

A Party Well Thrown

Peter's 30th birthday party took a place last night and it was a hit with both the birthday boy and the 52 guests.

• We only had two late cancellations


• Everything was ready in time for the first guests to arrive


• There were some really entertaining, spot-on speeches


• Most people had seconds of the catered food but there were still plenty of leftovers for us to live on for a few days


• There were still 20 people left at 3am


• The dance floor was rocking all night


• Only one out of 54 attendees turned annoying and drunk


• We only broke a total of two glasses


• The cleaning the day after went smoothly, thanks to regular clearing up throughout the night

Less successful

• Why did we book the laundry room for 5-8pm on Sunday?