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.

In Case You've Been Wondering

I've been learning how to save the world at a climate and energy conference in London. Looking forward to catching up on my blog reading!

A Challenge, Literally

I've been challenged by my cousin Emma.

Rules: This is harder than you think! Each answer must begin with the first letter in your name! All answers must be real; don't make up words! If the person who tagged you have a name that starts with the same letter as yours you cannot give the same answers as he/she has. You are not allowed to write the same answer twice or use your name as an answer (except for the first question of course)! Good luck!

1. What's your name? Anna
2. A word with four letters: Able
3. Girl's name: Aurora
4. Boy's name: Amadeus
5. Profession: Accountant
6. Colour: Atracit grey
7. Clothing: Anorak
8. Food: Artichoke
9. Thing in the bathroom: Antiperspirant
10. Place/city: Arctic
11. Reason to be late: Accident
12. Shouting: Act now!
13. Film: Apollo 13
14. Drink: Amarula
15. Band: A Camp
16. Animal: Abyssinian cat
17. Street name: Artillerigatan
18. Car: Alternative
19. Song: American Pie
20. Activity with more than one participant: Arguing

It was indeed harder than I thought! I challenge whoever wants to give it a try!

Show & Tell: Coffee

Today's theme - from Simone this month - is coffee. With not so much time today to write or take pictures of colourful coffee beans or cups with steamy cappucino, I was wondering what I could blog about. But then I came to think of my first experience of coffee. It was actually in pre-school. The last year of pre-school, i.e. when I was around 6 (school starts at 7 in Sweden, well, now 6 if you count the so-called "pre-school class"), we had a few hours a week of school preparation. But it wasn't only about letters and numbers and stuff; it also covered other things we could usefully learn. Like drinking coffee.

No, don't worry, it wasn't like we were gulping down litres of coffee every day but I think their idea was that we were allowed to try things we were curious about, in a controlled and structured setting. One thing we did was to learn how to light matches. This both took away the excitement of something forbidden and taught us about the danger of fire. Another thing I remember is that those of us who wanted to got to try coffee. I remember I had mine with LOTS of milk and sugar :) We probably did a lot of other things in the preparation group but I actually only remember the matches and the coffee, come to think of it!

On a completely different note, or actually, kind of related at it is about taking risks and trying things, I heard a saying that I like twice this week: It is easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.

Have a nice weekend!

Wednesday Recipe

Girls' Dinner
5 friends
Nuts, crisps and dips for pre-dinner nibbles
A main dish of your choice
A salad or side dish of your choice
Wine and appropriate equivalent for the preggos and drivers among you
Cake, biscotti and sweets for dessert
Talk, chatter, giggles and laughter

Mix all ingredients and enjoy!

Me Want!

But why does it have to cost so much (€120 for a pillow through Inreda)?!

Show & Tell: Close to Heart

This week's Friday theme is close to heart or "closest to heart" if you translate the Swedish "närmast hjärtat". I could write about Peter and my family but the person most on my mind at the moment is a close friend, one of my three best, best friends, who's ill at the moment. It is not life-threatening (as far as we know) but she's been very ill for six or seven weeks now and the doctors don't know what it is. They think it is a very, very mean virus, but in the worst-case scenario it could be a chronic disease that will come and go all her life. Luckily the bad stuff has been ruled out, such as cancer. She remains in good spirits but it's of course tough not knowing what it is, being in pain all the time and not being able to work or do stuff.

She's probably not reading this but I just wanted to say anyway that she's in my thoughts and prayers. I don't really care about Valentine's Day but I did send her a card this year. She needs all the encouragement and getting well-wishes she can get.

New Career?

This morning I went for the annual health check* my employer pays for (well, I should say will pay for because it's a new benefit just introduced). It didn't start out well as I had waaaaaay too much wine to drink at a girls' dinner last night and as a consequence was not feeling my best this morning, a condition that wasn't helped by the fact that I wasn't allowed to eat anything before the check. Anyway, turns out that despite being hungover I have the eye sight of a fighter pilot!

* Very thorough examination including blood analysis, ECG, height and weight, vision and hearing, etc.

Wednesday Recipe: Mustard Surprise

You will find this week's recipe post here. Enjoy!

A Night at the Ballet

Went to see the famous Cullberg Ballet on Monday evening. I was a bit sceptical about the whole thing the first ten minutes or so (talking to Peter afterwards he told me that he had been thinking exactly the same) but then it picked up or perhaps we simply got used to the style. For those of you not familiar with Cullberg they put on very modern interpretations of famous ballets or their own very special repertoires.

The second scene (or whatever you call it; there were no proper breaks but you could tell there were different parts to the story...if there was a story) was very dramatic. The music got faster and louder and heavier and the dancing got more hectic and chaos-like. It was very emotional and I felt like my heart was going to beat faster and faster. I was thinking that someone in the audience is going to have a heart attack or a mental breakdown soon. It reminded me of the time I went to see the Kristina från Duvemåla musical and someone in the audience started screaming "help" and "turn the lights on" in the middle of a dramatic scene where Kristina almost dies during child birth. It was a woman screaming so I thought she had perhaps experienced something similar or had a post partum depression or similar, but it turned out to be her husband who had collapsed. They had to stop the show for about 20 minutes while the ambulance came. Fortunately it didn't seem to be life-threatening, as he was conscious when they took him outside.

But back to the ballet. Some of the other scenes were equally interesting but in different ways. While that scene hit my emotional buttons I interpreted the rest of the scenes to be about - though I could be totally wrong of course - modern life. There was one that seemed to show the stress of modern life, how we run everywhere, both in terms of things we want to accomplish, and literally, from work to pre-school to pick up our children. One scene seemed to be a fight between four men (or two against two) and another one about the competition in the work place or in business - about how we either support or fight each other or go it alone.

There was also a interesting snogging (making out for the non-Brits among you) scene where the couple danced and kissed at the same time. It was pretty cool how they were able to dance and stay mouth-to-mouth so-to-speak the whole time (almost). That scene started with each cast member kissing the guy, either on the cheek or the mouth, before the woman he made out with entered the scene. My yet again amateur interpretation of that was that the others were all the people that pass through your life before you meet the right one.

The title of the ballet was "Positions of Elsewhere", which made me think of how we humans sometimes want to be elsewhere or aspire to things, or think the grass is greener. That reinforced my interpretation of it being scenes of modern life.

Walking home I told Peter about all my theories and it was interesting to hear that he hadn't really tried to understand what it was about or interpret anything. He had just enjoyed the movement and the dancers' skills, the art form if you like. But he said that of course I could be right :)

I enjoyed the dancing too of course. I mean, this is one of the best ballets in the world and it's not just because of the modern choreography, etc. The way they moved their bodies and how they interacted with each other was amazing. There were several scenes, or parts of scenes, where they either worked with shadows on the back wall of the stage or had one dancer acting (dancing, I guess) the other person's shadow, which was pretty cool (well, the shadow dancer was not as good as she could have been but the idea was good). I also liked when in one of the scenes two or three people rolled on the floor and another one "walked" over them. It was syncronised so well so that it looked so natural, like floating. It's hard to explain it but hopefully you get an idea of what I mean.

We also loved the ceiling lamp that was the only decor on stage and we want to make a miniature copy for ourselves! I wish I could explain what it looked like...well, I'll try. It was like circles within circles and the circles moved so that sometimes all circles were aligned at the same level but most of the time the circles were all different and sometimes more up on the left side and sometimes on the right side. The lighting came in different colours and strength. We would obviously not be able to have an electronically controlled lamp but we could have cables or strings that we could adjust once in a while. Any lamp designers out there who can help us?!

The Cullberg Ballet is only in town this week so if you want to see them, you'd better hurry up! Tickets from Dansens hus or Ticnet.

Tickets Secured!

Saturday Ponder

Was listening to "Forever Young" on the radio while I was baking some cookies earlier today and was struck by what it actually sings about - the prospects of nuclear war.




This made me think about other songs from the 1980s and early 1990s that had a clear political significance for that time in (albeit recent, but important part of) history. It doesn't feel like that there are any songs of that kind anymore, or? Maybe it's because we haven't had such a historic change in the world since then? There is of course a lot of important change, both negative and positive, for example as a result of globalisation and climate change, but maybe it's too much of a gradual change to generate songs of the same calibre so-to-speak? Or maybe there's just too much music in general these days so "political" songs go un-noticed? Or perhaps I just don't listen to the lyrics as much anymore?

In addition to "Forever Young" I was thinking of Scorpions "Winds of Change" (original video version here).

Is This Real Life?

Meet 7-year-old David who's had a bit too much anethesia at the dentist's.

Wednesday Recipe: Japanese Sauce

Anna's Japanese Sauce (for fish)*
4-6 servings

1½ tbsp sesame oil
1½ dl sugar
1½ dl water
1½ dl rice wine
3 dl Japanese soy sauce
2 dl rice vinegar
½ dl lemon juice
3 garlic cloves
3 tbsp ginger
Maizena (cornstarch) or flour

Just mix all the ingredients and you're all set. Goes very well with tuna (and probably salmon too) and mashed potatoes. We used some of it as a marinade as we like our tuna grilled and the rest of it as sauce. Yum!

* Well, it's not mine from the beginning - can't remember where I found it, whether it was in a cookbook or online - but after having recommended it to friends, it has now taken that name :)

Recent Headlines

Good news

• - The EU bans pesticides (well, not all but a substantial number)
• - Obama ends Bush's ban on funding of abortions in the developing world
• - Obama starts tackling all other damage caused by Bush. Hopefully this will also be undone.
• - Ericsson freezes salaries - Ericsson has frozen its 200 top managers' salaries as the outlook for 2009 is uncertain and profits fell drastically last year. CEO Carl-Henrik Svanberg believes the company has survived well in the tough times but that it is unreasonable to think that the company would be unaffected by the economy in 2009. The company also wants to cut the workforce by 5,000, of which 1,000 are in Sweden and lower dividends to shareholders.
• - Sweden does well according to the Sustainable Society Index

Bad news

• - Swedish boards are still male-dominated
• - The World Bank still finances more fossil energy than renewables
• - Wall Street is still high on bonuses

Show & Tell: Find of the Month

As Petra also writes today this week's theme "månadens fynd" (the Show & Tell theme host this month has been Strandmamman) can be translated in two ways from Swedish to English; either as the bargain or the find of the month. I have chosen to interpret it as the find of the month because I want to show you the lamp we bought last weekend.

We've been looking for a ceiling lamp for our living room for quite a while and haven't been able to make up our mind (well, especially Peter as he's the most wavering person in the world!), but last Saturday we finally made a decision! And it wasn't necessarily a bargain so unfortunately I can't call it that. It's a pretty lamp - in my view - in goldish brown organza!

P.S. I'm still planning to write about my grandfather (last week's Show & Tell theme) as there is definitely a story to tell there, but not today!

Wednesday Recipe on a Thursday

Greek lasagne - 4 servings

Meat sauce
500 gr lamb or beef mince
1-2 yellow onions
olive oil for frying
1-2 garlic cloves
1 can of chopped tomatoes

1-2 tbsp tomato puré (according to taste)
1½ tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme

Sauce
2 egg yokes
6 dl mild natural yoghurt
3 dl grated cheese
14 lasagne plates

Turn the oven to 200'C. Fry chopped onion and pressed garlic in the oil (or margarin) in a big frying pan. Add the mince and fry it until it's brown and crumbly. Add tomatoes, tomato puré salt and spices. Stir and let it simmer for 5 minutes.

Mix egg yokes and yoghurt. Add the cheese and mix well. Layer meat sauce, lasagne plates and yoghurt sauce in a ovenproof pan. Finish with yoghurt sauce on the last layer of lasagne plates.

Bake in the lower part of the oven for 30 minutes.

Image from Hemmets Journal

Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are

I use ClustrMaps to track where my visitors come from. Some of you I know - I read your blogs and/or you read mine. But some of you are "secret guests" and I'm so curious to find out who you are (unless you absolutely don't want to reveal yourself of course)!

I'm especially curious to know about the countries towards the end of the list, with one or two visitors!

Sweden - 229
United States - 132
United Kingdom - 35
Finland - 19
Norway - 10
Puerto Rico - 10 Petra, are you reading from 10 different computers?!
Egypt - 10
Italy - 9
Belgium - 9
Australia - 7
Netherlands - 5
Canada - 5
Denmark - 4
Turkey - 3
Greece - 3
India - 3
France - 2
Europe - 2 What countries are "Europe"??
Japan - 2
Malaysia - 2
Austria- 1
Slovakia - 1
Ireland - 1
Portugal - 1
Mexico - 1
Hong Kong - 1
Guam - 1
South Africa - 1
Argentina - 1
Taiwan - 1
United Arab Emirates - 1
Romania - 1
Spain - 1
Bermuda - 1
Israel - 1
Switzerland - 1

Awarded

Skolfröken has surprised me with a very nice thing, an award in the category "you have a cute blog"! Her motivation, which I really like, is:

On Anna's blog you can read wise posts about world politics and feminism and be inspired with delicious recipes, watch funny videos and lots more. Moreover, Anna likes "West Wing".

I could pass on the award to so many people but as I have to choose one person I will choose Petra's blog, Petchie's Adventures, because she catches the reader with everything from beautiful pictures from Puerto Rico and stories of her everyday life on the island to recipes from her grandmother and travel packing advice (space bags). She also makes me want to live abroad again and even makes me long a little bit for Brussels (even though I didn't like that city very much when I lived there).

So, Petra, here's your award!

Creative Finances

Read something interesting in an old Economist (from September) about the financial system spiralling out of control:

American politicians have a lamentable record of intervening in setting [bank] executive pay. In the early years of the Clinton administration, Congress imposed a salary cap of $1m, beyond which firms faced a tax penalty. Pay rose, as one set of executives, beneath the cap, realised thay were 'underpaid' and another set gained from an outpouring of creativity, as consultants invented myriad option schemes, perks and pension benefits to get around the limit. This only made it harder for shareholders to know what was getting what.

I'm usually optimistic but when it comes to the financial crisis I think that unfortunately, once this recession is over and we're back to happy days again, those finance guys (the same or new ones) are going to grease the same old wheel again.

Mr Boss

Continuing on the gender equality topic...

Read a report from the (Swedish) Institute for Labour Market Policy Evaluation (IFAU), which concluded "dads become bosses - not mums". According to their research, when men become fathers their chances of getting a managerial position increase while the mothers' chances do not change. In other words, the family situation affects men and women differently. Men and women without children have equal chances of becoming manager, but as soon as parenthood enters the equation things change.

One reason for this is that fathers maintain a stronger link to the workplace than mothers after they have become parents. But the correlation is also there when other factors have been taken into account; working hours, education, civil status (i.e. married or not) and whether the person works in the private or the public sector. The study is the first one that has showed a clear correlation between change in people's family situation and change in their management responsibility.

I think this report just goes to show that even if we have the best parental leave provision in the world, it can also be bad for women. As long as parents do not split the leave more evenly, employers will see women as more of "risk" and not promote them in the same extent as they would men. And in a way I understand them. If you are an employer and you are choosing between promoting a man and a woman who are equally good at their job, as ambitious, etc., but you know that the woman will stay home for a year once or twice or maybe more times and also perhaps take more of the responsibility when it comes to caring for a sick child (so-called VAB or temporary parental benefit), then it is natural to opt for the man. Sorry you women out there who take long parental leave, but it's true. And perhaps you do not mind, this is a sacrifice you are personally willing to make, but unfortunately your actions affect all women, women as group. This means it cannot be a choice for the individual or the individual family.

So, the only way to even start changing this situation is to split the parental leave allowance 50-50 between women and men. The leave entitlement is so generous anyway, 13 months (and longer if you count the 90 guarantee days paid at a much lower rate, but paid). That is minimum 6½ months per parents, and 8 months per parent if you include the guarantee days. Compare that to 2-3 months, often unpaid, leave in most other countries, and for just one parent. And the argument "but we can't afford that, my husband earns more", etc. is not a valid argument. Yes, it costs money to have children. If you did not know what you should not have had them in the first place. And in terms of the second argument, yes, then we have to go into reasons why many women earn less than men in the first place...

So, 50-50 by law is the only way to go! Now (today literally) even the usually conservative Moderate party is talking about earmarking more months to the father in the name of gender equality so maybe it is not such an unrealistic idea anymore.

Some facts
Despite the fact that Sweden is one of the world's most gender equal countries women are still very underrepresented in managerial positions. Over the last 30 years the share of bosses among female employees has increased from 15% to 20% while the share for men has been around 30% over the same time period.

Managerial positions are defined as jobs with leadership functions, i.e. that the individual has subordinates.

Wednesday Recipe: Shellfish Cakes

Peter made me a very nice dish tonight!

Shellfish cakes with dill and chili mayo (6 servings)

Fishcakes
150 gram salmon
200 gram shrimps, peeled
150 gram crabmeat (though we only used salmon and shrimps)
1 egg
2 tbsp dried breadcrumbs
3 green (new) onions, chopped
2 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper
rapeseed oil for frying

Dill and chili mayo
0,75 dl mayonnaise (though we used crème fraiche and just a little bit of mayo)
1 tbsp dill, chopped
1 pinch of cayenne pepper
fish roe, for garnish
salt and pepper


1. Remove the skin of the salmon, cut the fish in smaller pieces and put in a bowl together with the shrimp and the crabmeat. Mix with a mixer but not for too long; you'll want the fish mince to be a bit chewy.

2. Add egg, breadcrumbs, onion and lemon juice. Season according to taste and mix thoroughly. Put the mince mix in the fridge for 20 minutes (we only left it for 10 minutes and I don't think it made a difference),

3. Shape c. 1-½ tpsp of mince to small burgers. Fry the cakes in a generous amount of oil for about 2-3 minutes in each side until they are golden.

4. Mix all ingredients for the mayo sauce in a smaller bowl. The flavours come out best if the you let the sauce sit for a while before serving it.

5. Serve the cakes with one pat of mayo sauce and one pat of roe. Garnish with fresh dill.

We also had some boiled potatoes and lettuce to go with it to make it a proper meal!

Image from Tasteline.com

New Chapter

Stole this from Skolis!

The Gender Constant

Time to write about one of my favourite topics - gender equality (my other favourite is climate change, as you've probably noticed).

Unfortunately last year, Sweden lost its no 1 position on the World Economic Forum's equality list, the Global Gender Gap Report. Fortunately we only dropped to place 3, after Norway and Finland (Iceland is no 4 and Denmark no 7 so the Nordic region sure dominates that list). The list compares 130 countries, covering 92% of the world's population.

The rest of Europe does pretty well; Ireland is no 8 and Germany no 11, while the UK occupies place 13 (I'm actually a bit surprised that Ireland and Germany do better than the UK; will have to blame it on my prejudices about Catholic pro-life Irish people and stay-at-home-mother-loving Germans). Don't move to Saudi-Arabia, Chad or Yemen if you are a woman.

The index is based on four main pillars: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, political empowerment and health and survival. The Nordics score very high in all those categories; Norway overtook Sweden partly due to its work on increasing the share of women in top management position (by legislating; Sweden has decided against that route - we'll see what strategy works best in the long term).

The USA is in 27th spot. One factor for the average position (towards the lower end for developed countries) is the limited maternity provision at childbirth. Here's an article from New York Times on this topic (from 2007 but it's still very relevant):

Paid Leave for Maternity Is the Norm, Except in ...
AMERICAN women sometimes joke that they plan to move to Sweden or France before they become pregnant, to take advantage of the generous paid maternity leave those countries provide.

In fact, would-be moms may not realize they have many more options than just those two: 170 countries offer some paid maternity leave, and 98 of them offer at least 14 weeks off with pay.

The United States is not one of them.

This point was starkly illustrated in a world map published in the August issue of National Geographic entitled “Who Gives Parents a Break?” The data was provided by the “The Work, Family and Equity Index,” a report released in 2007 by researchers at Harvard and McGill.

On the map, the United States stood out as an arid brown blotch, one of only four — the others being Liberia, Papua New Guinea and Swaziland — with no paid family leave.

Why doesn’t such a policy exist now, on a national level? There is no simple answer.

First, the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act does require certain larger companies to give workers who meet certain criteria up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave. But as many as 40 percent of workers don’t qualify under the provisions of that law — because their employer is too small, or they haven’t worked for the company long enough. And a survey in 2000 by the Department of Labor found that 78 percent of workers who qualified for this leave said they didn’t take it because they couldn’t afford to.

Employees may want greater government involvement, but many businesses object to the idea of being required to give paid leave. The main issue is financial, said Marc Freedman, director of labor law policy at the United States Chamber of Commerce, which opposes government requirements for paid family leave. “Paid leave is widely provided by many businesses already,” he said.

“Employers are at least resistant if not opposed because of their fears of the cost impact of this mandate. They would have to find the money to pay for these benefits.”

While companies may balk at the cost of paid leave, many workers often do need time off for reasons having to do with health or family responsibility — and they can ill afford to lose any wages, let alone their jobs.

As the lawyer Joan Williams notes in her book “Unbending Gender: Why Family and Work Conflict and What to Do About It” (Oxford University Press, 2001), many people, and not just employers, are still influenced by the outdated ideal of the single-income household, in which a working person typically relied on someone at home to care for a new baby or a sick relative or cope with any of the myriad situations that families face.

MOST families today are dependent on two incomes. But Debra Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women and Families, an advocacy organization in Washington, said, “Our policies don’t reflect the reality of working families’ lives.”

There have been changes at the state level. California has had a paid family leave law since 2004, and Washington State approved a parental leave law in April. Similar bills have been proposed in other states. Most of these measures are paid for entirely by employees.

In California, workers contribute a small percentage of each paycheck into a collective benefits fund; those who need a leave can take six weeks off at 55 percent of their wages.

At the federal level, Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, and Senator Ted Stevens, Republican of Alaska, introduced a bill in June, that would in effect become a financial supplement to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. Unlike the California program, funding for the Family Leave Insurance Act of 2007 would come from a combination of employer and employee contributions, and general tax revenues as well.

Clearly, there are a lot of details to work out. But given all of these proposals, and the 170 countries with paid leave now, surely there is some solution for the United States. There are plenty of good reasons to go to Sweden or France, but paid parental leave shouldn’t be one of them.

Show & Tell: Furthest Below

Tricky topic this Friday. Strandmamman's theme längst under translates sort of "furthest below" or "furthest down". Not sure how to interpret it even once I have translated it! *hahaha*

Okay, I started by looking furthest down my drawers. I really need to throw out some clothes. There are lots of stuff far down my drawers which I never, ever wear. I need to simply reach down there and throw some stuff out. I do go through my wardrobe regularly but with all the cheap H&M tops I buy they quickly fill up again and some stuff I have a hard time getting rid of. "I may wear this again some time even if I haven't wore it for three years..." So since we're not getting any more closet space until we move, whenever that will be, I'd better throw some stuff out (or rather, give to charity of course). I won't take the stuff that's literally furthest down in my drawers but furthest away from wearing I guess.

I'm all alone this evening which means I can do whatever I want; blog, post photos, randomly, surf, watch chic lit movies, etc. Peter sometimes feels he's furthest down on my priority list (because I hang out with the computer too much) but that's not true! That said, I do have a bad conscience about it. Probably many of you bloggers out there understand the feeling. I guess I just have to tell him that the only thing that will pull me away from the computer is a new hobby, like a baby or something! ;)

When I googled 'furthest below', most hits were about the stock market and how low stocks have sunk in the financial crisis. But I also learned which point is the lowest point below sea level:

The shoreline of the Dead Sea, on the border of Israel and Jordan in the Middle East, is the lowest land area on Earth. The altitude of the Dead Sea shoreline is approximately 1,300 feet (400 meters) below sea level.

I think I remember that from school geography actually. Together with the Mariana Trench as the deepest part of the ocean.

You may remember that I wrote about my hometown ice hockey team a while back? We went to a game and for a while they were doing a bit better. But now they are furthest down the league again :( I think they are f*d this season. They'd better play better next year or they'll be stuck in the lower league.

What other "furthest below" can I find? Well, in my list of favourite bloggers both here on the blog and in my favourite folder in my web browser, which happens to be in alphabetical order, Vardag i kängurulandet, is furthest down. That's kind of funny since she's literally as far below one can get in the world too, at least from the perspective of someone living in a country which has land north of the Arctic circle. Anyhow, she hasn't updated for a while but I hope she does soon because I want to know about their last few weeks in Australia and the move back to Sweden!

Okay, I think I have run out of ideas now. Time to watch the new show Lipstick Jungle and see if it's anything to get excited about.

One Word & Wednesday Recipe

Stole this list from Skolfröken. Wrote it at work (over lunch so no colleagues or bosses who happen to read this can complain!) and posted it tonight.

The rules: When you respond, remember that you are only allowed to use ONE word! Just one! It is not as easy as it may seem!

1. Where is your mobile phone? Locker
2. Where is your spouse? Work
3. Your hair? Lot
4. Your mother? Incessant
5. Your dad? Restless
6. Absolute favourite in the whole world? Peter
7. Your dream last night? Nothing
8. Your dream/your goal? Balance
9. The room you're in? Office
10. Your hobby? Blogging
11. Your fear? Illness
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Enskede
13. Where were you last night? Mentor
14. What you're not? Productive
15. One thing you wish for? Baby
16. Where you grew up? Södertälje
19. The last thing you did? Lunch
20. Your clothes? Jacket
21. Your TV? None
22. Your pets? Colleagues
23. Your computer? Slow
24. Your mood? Indifferent
25. Missing anyone? Grandma
26. Your car? Dirty
27. Something you're not wearing? Suit
28. Favourite shop? Design
29. Your summer? USA
30. Love someone? Several
31. Favourite colour? Pink
32. When did you last laugh? Morning
33. When did you last cry? Row


And since it's Wednesday, a recipe! I don't have a photo but I wanted to share my favourite sandwich with you!

Ciabatta (or similar bread)
Slices of pecorino cheese (I've just discovered that manchego works almost as well)
Slices of tomato
Ruccola/rocket salad
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Salt & pepper

Pretty self-explanatory. Enjoy!

Best Right Now

From the Swedish Oscars, the Guldbagge Awards.

Show & Tell: Change aka 2008 Recap

Today is Show & Tell day aka Friday theme and Strandmamman is in charge of the themes this month (you can see the themes in the left-hand column).

Today's theme is change and what better way to illustrate change than to give you a recap of my 2008 together with my thoughts for 2009. In the same way a birthday does not mean you turn a whole year older from one day to another, moving from 31 December to 1 January does not mean much actual, immediate change. Instead change, not all but most, is gradual. Yet, a new year does feel a little bit special. It signals fresh, new start and relief and can be that event that pushes you to do or change something. Even if it's just a frame of mind, making you think in a different way or encouraging you to dream or plan something.

So, to my 2008. This year's...

Happening
Peter's 30th birthday party. Lots of hard work before and after but such a success!

Project
(Excluding various work projects) Peter's party and planning our US trip

Song
I usually don't have favourite songs - I move on quickly - but perhaps Coldplay's "Viva la Vida" or Leona Lewis "Bleeding Love" (which happens to be a Coldplay produced song). I also discovered "Dancing in the Dark" by Jessy this year but I think it's from 2007?

Trip
Our US roadtrip along the east coast of the US - New York, Washington DC, Delaware/Maryland and New England (from Connecticut to Maine)

YES!
I will have to say Obama's victory as well as some of the progress made at least in the EU to combat climate change. We're far from there but some important steps have been taken.

Person
Peter is the most important person in my life of course but if we talk globally or generally I guess I will have to be boring and say Barack Obama.

Slavery
At least two high-profile official visits at work where we were given abour 4 days notice that the person was coming. Chaos, stress and long hours, but fun!

Garment
All the summer clothes we bought for cheap dollars in the US and couldn't wear once back in Sweden as the summer was already over. Good thing summer comes back every year! And of course any shoes as I'm a shoe-o-holic.

Book
As I mentioned in my previous post I didn't read very much in 2008 and I don't want to pick a book I didn't read, so I will have to go for "The Big House" as it's very much associated with our US trip (it takes place in Cape Cod, one of the places we visited).

Purchase
Technically Peter paid for it, but our D-SLR camera (a Canon EOS 450). I have had so much fun playing with it and learned a lot about photography.

Happiness
Many little moments with Peter

Hardest
Seeing friends struggle with serious illness as well as infertility (luckily not in the same family). And something more mundane, frustration at some of the archaic practices at work.

TV moment
At least not watching the Olympics with a 10-hour delay in the US

Gadget
I'm still waiting for my Kitchen Aid! In the meantime I will say Spotify. It's not an actual thing but I think it qualifies as a gadget.

Blog
Lullun in Greenland. Unfortunately she has stopped blogging now but for most of this year she taught me so much about Greenland, made me long to go there and in some mysterious way ;) got me an interview for a job there (which I didn't get but still, a fun coincidence)!

Community
Facebook and my blogging family

Change
Nothing dramatic. Only thing I can think of right now is starting to work with climate and energy issues (i.e. still with the same employer, just new policy areas)

Film
I don't know, "Batman" perhaps, especially since the late Heath Ledger was so good in it.

Personal greatest success
Various achievements at work

Memories
Our travels, especially the US roadtrip but also our trip to Italy with my parents and the long weekend in beautiful Gotland after Almedalen.

Forgot to do (deviance from normal behaviour)
As I mentioned in my previous post I didn't read as much as I normally do and would have liked to. I also feel like I didn't stay as healthy as previous years, especially when it comes to food (I gained a couple of kilos).

Mistake
As Anne said, no big regrets but lots of small ones

Greatest lesson
Living 3 minutes from the gym is not a guarantee for frequent visit. Need a proper schedule and no deviations and distractions!

Spending
Travelling

New people
Fellow bloggers and new nice and fun colleagues. New babies in my circle of friend, especially H's little Heidi.

Best weekend
The weekend between Christmas and New Year that Peter and I spent at the country house, just the two of us. The weekend in Tällberg with Céline and Diego was also very fun and relaxing. Probably we had fun evenings in the spring of 2008 as well but that feels like ages ago! :)

Most romantic of the year
A photo of a ring of pebbles shaped as a heart Peter made for me when he was in Prague with the lads and sent me in an MMS

Thoughts and wishes for 2009
I hope 2009 will be an important year, not just in terms of work (which is a given, considering Sweden will host the EU Presidency in the autumn and the world is scheduled to take some key decisions on the climate change front), but also for me personally. But I won't go into any details; if you say your wishes out loud they won't come true!

Read Books 2008

Before I start a new list for 2009 I thought I'd list the 12 books I read in 2008 - yes, I only managed one book a month, which is a pretty bad record in my view. I definitely need to do better this year! I love reading so it shouldn't be too hard but with the Internet (and blogs) as well as the daily newspaper and the Economist I don't have too much time left over, especially since I don't commute to work (normally a good time to read).

Anyway, here's the accumulated reading for 2008. I have put my favourites in bold.

"Vi i villa" by Hans Koppel
"Born on a Blue Day: A Memoir of Asperger's and An Extraordinary Mind" by Daniel Tammet
"The Big House: A Century in the Life of an American Summer Home" by George Howe Colt
"Kalla det vad fan du vill" by Marjaneh Bakhtiari
"Picasso valde också Kristinehamn" by Marcus Grahn
"Hey Dolly" by Amanda Svensson
"Om konsten att resa" by Alain de Botton
"The Undercover Economist" by Tim Harford (reading sporadically)
"The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir" by Bill Bryson
"Montecore: en unik tiger" by Jonas Hassen Khemiri
"Världens mått" by Daniel Kehlmann
"Bitterfittan" by Maria Sveland

Wednesday Recipe: Tomato Shrimp and Avocado

I thought I'd give the Wednesday Recipe theme another shot. I'll start a bit low-key, no fancy Martha Stewart or Delia stuff.

Shrimps in tomato sauce and avocado
1 avocado per person (or 1 for two people)
6-8 shrimps per person
Tomato sauce (I used sauce leftover from pizza making but you can use any kind, shop-made or homemade)

Mix the shrimps with the tomato sauce, slice the avocados and serve.

Very easy indeed.

I was supposed to post a photo but Blogger wouldn't let me *argh*. Will try to again tomorrow morning. I just realised this is my first post in 2009! Next time I post I will need to do my 2008 recap and tell you about our New Year's celebrations in Paris!

UPDATED with photo!

A Christmas Recap

Some pictures from last week of Christmas joy.

The Saturday before Christmas Maria and Daniel came over for dinner and some Wii. Daniel especially liked golfing even though he ended up losing against Peter. Luckily he beat him at bowling.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day featured quite a lot of food and eating!

Every year we break the Christmas presents record!

I played Santa. My parents have two trees, the plastic one on the left (which is pretty life-like still and has even started losing its needles) and the all-year-round miniature pine tree just behind me.

Christmas Day, or in the evening to be precise, I went for turkey dinner at Peter's parents. They had a beautiful real tree. Peter and I didn't have a tree this year but we plan to have one next year.

On Boxing Day Peter and I went to his family's country house in the Stockholm archipelago (Vindö) and spend two cosy and relaxing days. We took walks in the snow-free but frosty and sunny weather.

It would have been great if the lake had been frozen and we could have gone ice-skating!

We baked a delicious pizza!

We finished this Wasqij jigsaw puzzle in less than two days!

Merry Christmas

God jul!

Long Time, No See

You've probably wondered why it has been so quiet on the blog. The simple answer is a busy work schedule as well as social calendar. A recap:

Thursday 4 December - Preparations for Céline and Diego's visit from Barcelona; tidying up and baking for Friday's gathering (though I did blog that evening)

Friday 5 December - Céline and Diego arrived just before our other 15 or so guests for a glögg (mulled wine or Glüwein) evening.

Saturday-Sunday 6-7 December - As Céline and Diego have been to Stockholm before they wanted to see a new part of Sweden. So we chose an overnight stay in Tällberg, Dalarna (Tällberg is probably most famous for Tällberg Forum, an annual international conference). We visited a couple of traditional Christmas markets, looked at local handicrafts and stuffed ourselves from a huge julbord (Swedish Christmas buffet) as well as enjoyed a swim and a facial/body treatment at the hotel's spa. Most importantly, Tällberg was covered in snow, something we don't see in Stockholm too often these days. We even slid off the road on one of Tällberg's hills - note to self for next trip: don't bring a back-wheel driven car.

Monday 8 December - We dropped of Céline and Diego in Uppsala on Sunday night but Monday night they came back to Stockholm. Peter and I cooked some meatballs and mash for them, very traditional, and I have to say, better than the Ikea version! :)

Tuesday 9 December - On our visitors' last night in town I accompanied them for some souvenir shopping before we met up with Peter for a dinner at one of the local Thai restaurants.

Wednesday 10 December - Not an exciting evening at all; had to do the wash. Like many Stockholmers we don't have our own washing machine make use of the building's complimentary laundry room. We only manage to book it every ten days or so due to its popularity but with three washing machines, two dryers (though the one is usually broken) and one drying cupboard, we can easily do our washing in three hours.

Thursday 11 December - Time for my work's julbord, which I had organised, from 4 o'clock onwards. Unfortunately I had to leave already at 7pm since my mum was coming to spend the night ahead of our trip to London. Although after all the food I had consumed I was pretty tired anyway.

Friday-Sunday 12-14 December - Long weekend in London designated for shopping, eating and enjoying each other's company. Unfortunately I got a migraine and had (for some stupid reason) only brought this new medication I hadn't tried yet and it turned out not to work. So Saturday and Sunday I was a bit down but Friday I was still fit-for-fight - and quite a fight it is to do your Christmas shopping in London less than two weeks before Christmas. Saturday was really rainy so we went to the brand new super-size shopping centre Westfield in Shepherd's Bush. A great place to shop plus there's a very nice Italian deli near the entrance by Waitrose is located, where I had a very nice English breakfast and my mum had salmon and scrambled eggs on toast. All felt very freshly produced and the staff was very friendly.

Monday 15 December - Did nothing in particular except recover from landing late at 00:40 the previous night

Tuesday 16 December - Worked late; did an evening presentation for a bunch of teachers

Wednesday 17 December - The annual Christmas party at work with the usual after party in the work pub (didn't stay too late but sometimes 11pm on a work night feels pretty late!)

Thursday 18 December - Tried to do most of my remaining Christmas shopping

Friday 19 December - Dinner at Peter's cousin and her fiance who have just moved to Hammarby sjöstad. Very nice evening with glögg marinated pork tenderloin as main course and ginger cookie cheesecake for dessert!

Saturday 20 December - We were supposed to celebrate "little Christmas" with my relatives (aunt, uncle and cousins with families) but my parents, the hosts, got sick and it had to be cancelled. So I spent the day tidying up and cleaning and wrapping presents instead and in the evening our friends Maria and Daniel came over for dinner.

Sunday 21 December - After a well-deserved lazy morning I met up with Helena, Tommie and kids for a late lunch before going to a Christmas carol service at Sofia Church. Helena used to sing in one of the participating choirs and her sister still does so it has sort of become a yearly Christmas tradition. In the evening Peter and I attended a little glögg do at his sister's before it was laundry time again!

Monday 22 December - Last night I had meant to blog as I had the whole evening to myself while Peter was out with the lads! But I ended up wrapping presents, watching TV and weeding and posting photos on Facebook instead. Things that were also necessary of course! :)

So this brings us today, Tuesday 23 December. My last working day for five days! I left the office already at 3pm actually and picked up one last present. Then packed my bags and made sure I had all packages with me before setting off to Södertälje. Peter and I will spend Christmas Eve and most of Christmas Day with our respective families but on Christmas Day I'll go over to his parents for dinner with his sister + boyfriend, grandmother and uncle + cousins. Last year we spent Christmas in South Africa so everybody is happy to have us home this year.

So with the last few weeks' of hecticness (is that a word?) I haven't even had time for Friday Show & Tell! I did spend some time weeding old recipe collections around the time of the cookbook theme. I have four huge binders with recipes that I subscribed to in my late teens, early 20s, but since I have hardly used them (what a waste of money!) I have set a target to myself to reduce the collection of recipe cards to a size that fits into one binder. I have done pretty well and am now down to 1½ binders. I figured that I would only keep those that I know I will actually cook/bake.

When it comes to dream travel I will need to come back to that. It does remind me though that I still haven't blogged about the last legs of our US trip this past summer. I will simply have to make that one of my New Year's resolutions!

....Ask What You Can Do for the Climate

Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man.
No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.
John F Kennedy

Granted, things might be changing in the midst of the financial crisis, but the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency's yearly survey on people's attitudes to climate change that was presented three weeks ago did have some uplifting information.

• 8 in 10 Swedes think that they can contribute personally to putting a halt to climate change, which is a clear increase since 2002 when "only" 68% said yes and roughly the same response as last year

So how do people contribute*?

• by choosing public transport - 54%, up from 45%
• by taking the train instead of air travel for long-distance journeys - 76%, up from 71%
• by car-pooling - from 54% to 59%
• by leaving the car at home - 57% compared to 33% seven years ago
• by lowering the indoor temperature - from 36% to 59%
• by driving slower (eco-driving) - 63%, up from 41%

What other measures wouldn't people mind taking?

• buying energy-saving domestic appliances - 86% answered "absolutely"
• driving a car with a better fuel-economy - 77%
• taking the train instead of a plane - 76%
• decreasing the energy use in the home - 75%

But when asked if people were willing to eat less meat, only 40% said yes.

67% wants more information on climate change, especially help with choosing goods and services that reduce CO2 emissions.

What else did people say?

• 100% said that they knew or had heard about climate change
• 96% thinks that Sweden has already been affected or will be affected by climate change
• 71% thinks that it is very important that Sweden takes action against climate change
• 84% thinks that Sweden is able to do something to halt climate change
• 80% thinks that they themselves can do something
• 67% wants more information on how they can reduce their own carbon footprint through news in the media, while other information sources are preferred by between 21 and 46

Finger crossed that the EU agrees its Climate & Energy package (the 2020 package) in the coming weeks!

* Figures compare 2002 and 2008 if not otherwise indicated

Show & Tell: Christmas Preparations

I thought the theme this week (well, Friday three days ago; I'm late again in the usual fashion) was Christmas presents preparations but since I haven't bought too many presents yet (and don't want to reveal what I'm planning either since certain people read this blog!), I figured that I would just write about Christmas preparations. But then I looked at Marianne's blog again - she's been the hostess of the theme in November - and realised the theme is Christmas traditions. Oh well. I will just show you some of the Advent decorations we have put up so far and how far I have got in my preparations.

I guess this picture would have been better had I actually lit the first Advent candle... Oh well. This is our living room window anyway. I wasn't sure if I should put out tomten already now or wait until nearer Christmas but Peter hinted he wanted it so now it sits there and waits.

This little golden tree makes those long, dark winter evenings warm and cosy.

This is my parents old Advent candle holder. I like the wrought iron and the red (electric) candles!

The balcony is also ready for winter - the trees are supposed to survive winter if they are properly insulated with bark in a sack clothing - and decorated with what is probably the neighbourhood's brightest lights :)

Also wanted to show the amaryllis that my parents gave us - it's well over a metre tall!
Hope it doesn't fall over!

The glögg (mulled wine) has been purchased for Friday's get-together when Céline and Diego visits from Barcelona. I'm particularly curious about the chocolate glögg in the black bottle.

Finally, a collection of Christmas presents bought so far.